Day 2: Bananas and Burgers

I ate a banana today.

Not “ we interrupt this newscast” worthy, but I haven’t eaten one in about a year and a half. And my, it tasted good and was an entirely satisfying mid morning snack. I found myself almost hiding the guilty behavior as I peeled it, lest someone see me eating the dreaded high-carb fruit. But then I remembered…I’m not counting carbs anymore.

That fact was pointed out to me today in my bi-weekly nutritionist appointment with Kim Norbert at Nutritionworks in Portland. I’ve been working with Kim since May of 2011 and have found her to be knowledgeable, supportive, smart and funny; everything I could want in a nutritionist. When I told her my decision to try a vegan diet, she whole-heartedly approved. She said she has 4 clients who are having great success with vegan lifestyles and have experienced both controlled blood sugars and substantial weight loss. Kim went on to recommend a coconut creamer for my coffee, a vegan “cheese” and various other foods to try. Kim is a type 1 diabetic, as well as someone who loves to cook, so she tries a lot of alternative foods. She has been an invaluable resource for me over the past 18 months and today’s visit confirmed that she will continue in that role. Another brush in my vegan make-up bag.

This evening proved to be a bit more of a challenge than I had anticipated this early in the month.  I knew when contemplating this ‘vegandventure’ that planning for rushed evenings would be a must. My husband and I lead busy lives. Even though we are empty-nesters, we both are involved in several community activities, serve on non-profit boards and belong to book groups, as well as work full time. However, I didn’t expect day 2 to be one of those evenings. But it was.

I found a terrific stuffed squash recipe that cooks in a crock-pot during the day and got everything ready before work this morning…only to leave the house without turning it on. Rut-roh. Fortunately, I had Blue Mango Burgers in the freezer. Some sliced tomato, vegan mayo, and ketchup on a whole wheat English muffin, a tossed salad and away we go. I was going to crisp up some smoky tempeh strips, as well, but didn’t have the time. The Blue Mango burgers are tasty, a bit spicy and filling. 

A terrific quick meal that we especially appreciated, as Peter had about 25 minutes from the time we arrived at home until he had to leave for a Cumberland Country Beekeepers Association meeting.

That leads to the “will we eat honey” conversation. Peter is an avid beekeeper and keeps about 10 or 11 hives in various places around Greater Portland. Our little friends produce amazing, rich, buttery honey. Actually, this coming weekend we will spend few hours extracting dark, fall honey from hive frames. Honey, most vegans state, is an animal product. But no, mon cheri, says King Bee Peter. It does not come from the bee. But, for me, honey is sugar, which is not my friend. So, I’ll let Peter wrestle with this dilemma himself.

And speaking of dilemmas, the girls ramped up their egg laying today with two perfect little eggs. My mother, supportive as ever, offered to take the incredibly delicious eggs off my hands. That woman just gives, gives, gives.

On to day 3. If only I can remember to turn on the crock pot in the morning.