Days 22-24: WOW! Week 4 begins

I never, ever, would have believed that I could go without meat and cheese for 3 weeks and not miss it. But I did. And I don’t.

Not. One. Bit.

Now week 4 has begun and I can’t imagine ever ending this way of eating…way of living actually.

I feel lighter in mind and body.

I am smiling more. Much more.

My yoga is more satisfying, gratifying, joyful and deeper. I can’t wait to get to a class. 4 times a week was a goal but a bit of an effort, although one I made. Now, I don’t think I can go a day without. I’m going to try a 5-day in a row yoga week this week. Maybe 6. I seriously can’t wait for 6:30 am tomorrow morning. Bring it on, Darcy!

I am stressed out less about food than ever before, probably because I know that as long as I don’t eat animal products I am fine eating anything I want.

Really, I am stressed out less. Period.

My weight is down another couple of pounds. My blood sugar is just fine with the carbs I am eating and it has not once dipped too low since I changed the way I eat.

Life is good. And that’s more than just a saying on a T-shirt for me.

So what about the food?

An acquaintance told me early on in my veganventure that I would be shocked at the range of foods I would start eating as a vegan. I chuckled a bit, thinking about the range of foods I thought I ate as an omnivore. The joke has been on me.

We have eaten every kind of vegetable, legume and grain imaginable, from kale and pumpkin, spicy peppers and mushrooms to French lentils, black-eyed peas and black beans.

We have incorporated raw cashews, pecans and dates into our foods, replaced eggs with flaxseed in baked goods, fallen completely for steel cut oats and almond milk and began enjoying, again, homemade whole grain bread with jam.

We have discovered coconut milk ice cream bars covered in dark chocolate and almonds, the complex and intriguing flavors of Indian food and the tummy and soul-warming soups created from local squashes, vegetable broth, curry spices and our fall 2012 honey . 

I have rediscovered the joy of trying new recipes. I am back to an old habit – reading cookbooks like novels. Every meal is an adventure and so far, no flops! Last night, the Stuffed Acorn Squash from The Vegan Table with Brown Irish Soda bread from Vegan Baking was amazing. A glass of California Petite Syrah from Preston Vineyards in Dry Creek, Sonoma rounded out the meal.

Pasta has entered our life again, as well.

We are eating the real thing now, albeit whole grain, and enjoying every minute of it with vegetable sauces, vegan sausage and home made pesto, hold the cheese. Actually, the pesto that I made was so amazingly delicious that I’d like to share the recipe with you. Give it a try, especially if you, like I do, still have some basil in your garden. Harvest the basil in the next 24 hours before it’s blown away by Hurricane Sandy. If you don’t, buy some from Olivia’s Garden and perhaps cut this recipe in half. Either way, you will be blown again by the flavors.

VEGAN PESTO

·      4 cups of cleaned, patted dry and loosely packed basil leaves

·      2/3 cup raw cashew pieces

·      1 large or 2 medium fresh cloves of garlic

·      ¼ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

·      ½ teaspoon salt

·      ½ teaspoon nutritional yeast (optional, but I tried it both ways and the yeast makes a positive difference)

·      Olive oil

Place the pine nuts, cashews and garlic cloves in a food processor and process using the pulse mode until finely ground (but not to a paste). Add basil leaves and salt (and yeast, if using it) and process until the basil is entirely incorporated into the nut/garlic mixture. Add olive oil is a slow stream until the consistency of the pesto is to your liking. I like mine just a bit on the firm side of runny.

I froze some of the pesto and it froze well. I stored a small jar in the frig and preserved it by pouring a thin layer of olive oil on top to seal in the flavor and preserve the brilliant green color.

We had it on a whole grain pizza crust one evening with roasted red peppers and kalamata olives as an accompaniment to soup. It was extraordinary.

Enjoy!