Tomato...in a muffin? Yup!

Okay, so I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes.  Like, at all, really.  I don't like chunks of tomato in my pastas, soups, sauces, toppings, or anything else.  And I definitely don't like them on sandwiches or hamburgers (when I used to eat them, that is...now I don't like to eat them on my veggie burgers  :)  ). 

So, I was pretty shocked when I found that I LOVE these new muffins.  (Although it might have something to do with the sugar...)  With my first bite I wasn't so sure about them.  It was one of those things where you take another bite to see if you really like it or not.  Then I noticed I'd eaten the whole muffin!

The muffins have a tomato juice base which acts as a reactant to the baking soda, giving them a nice rise.  They also stay moist for a few days (although in all seriousness they've only been around for a few days).  Plus, they're great for when a recipe calls for only a few tablespoons of tomato paste and you have some leftover, wondering what in the world to do with it.  You can add 3 or 4 parts water to the tomato paste to make the tomato juice.  Same with tomato sauce (although it's a different ratio). 

So, after all that build-up, here's the recipe!  Hope you try it!  And if you do, be sure to come back here & comment and let me know what you think! 

Vegan Wheat Cranberry Nut Muffins

Oh, and I'm usually not a fan of nuts in things (like cookies, breads, muffins, and stuff like that), but they are good in these! 

Things I've Learned

There's lots of stuff I've learned since becoming vegan.  Like how to bake without eggs, for example. 

One of the cool things I've really enjoyed about becoming vegan is the chance I've had to try lots of new (and retry old!) vegetables.

I've found:
-I really like leeks
-Brussel sprouts are actually pretty awesome
-I still don't like avocados, no matter how much I want to
-Sweet potatoes aren't my favorite, but I can manage to eat them in a few things as long as they're mixed in with other vegetables/sauce
-I still don't like mustard.  At all.
-Beets are growing on me.  I like them, but I can't eat them everyday or anything.  Once a week is probably my limit.
-I still don't like grits.  Never did.  I'm very tempted to put this into the "never will" category.
-I still don't drink glasses of milk
-Speaking of milk, I think unsweetened almond milk is my favorite, although I like the other kinds, too (soy, hemp, rice, coconut, etc).  Of course I'm a fan of the light chocolate soy milk!  :)
-Dates are awesome to bake with!  So delicious!
-Nuts are actually growing on me...I can eat them in stuff now instead of just on their own.  I like them in muffins and SOME cookies now (sorry Ju!), but definitely not in brownies or chocolate chip cookies or things like that.
-I like cabbage
-Carrots are still one of my favorite veggies
-Cauliflower is also a pretty useful veggie in vegan meals

I'm sure you were lying awake at night wondering which veggies I've found I like, so here you go - you're welcome!  :)

Week 3

I've read a lot about vegan diets, which is partly why we're even eating vegan (obviously).  So one of the things that always kind of stuck out to me was theory that after eating vegan for a while the body gets used to breaking down the chemical compounds in the grains, vegetables, and protein areas and therefore has to work much harder to break down the more complex chemicals that are found in meat & animal products.  There are multiple reports out there of how after eating vegan for a few weeks, people noticed how meat & other animal products affected them negatively when they accidentally (or purposely) ate them.  So, for the sake of research, I conducted my own experiment.

Last weekend for Halloween I made Oreo Truffles.  Basically, it's a mixture of crushed up Oreo cookies creamed together with a block of cream cheese, then dipped into melted chocolate.  (Well what did you expect - I said they were truffles!!)  There were still a few left over (don't you just hate it when that happens?  I just love bringing home an empty plate!) so I put them in the fridge.  Well, this afternoon I decided to see if we'd been eating vegan long enough to induce a reaction from animal products (if there even is one).  So, for the sake of research (you're welcome), I ate 4 balls/truffles.

Now, the following could be a reaction from the cream cheese, milk in the chocolate, and milk & butter in the cookies.  Or, it could just be that I haven't eaten something that sweet/rich in 3 weeks.  Regardless, the results were pretty crazy.  Within the first 30 minutes, I had some digestive issues (lots of gurgling and noises all over...although I promise I haven't eaten any beans this week.  And FYI, speaking of beans, after a while the body gets used to breaking them down and it doesn't produce as much gas.) and some cramping in the abdomen area.  The cramps intensified over a period of about 15 minutes at which point they finally began to subside.  But the fun wasn't over yet...my stomach felt really really heavy (like I swallowed a brick) and I had a dull headache for about an hour afterward.  Maybe the result of a blood sugar rush and a subsequent insulin release?  Who knows.  But I truthfully felt the sugar high much more now than I did before we went vegan.  So I think for a while I'll stick to vegan desserts (mostly sweetened with maple syrup, agave nectar, prunes, and dates) or at least go much less in quantity if I choose regular sugared desserts.


Stats:
Lori: loss of 1 lb this week; net loss = 5 lbs (although after the truffles, I might have already gained it back)
Brent: loss of 2 lbs this week; net loss = 5 lbs

Week 2 Update

Well, we're two weeks in!  It doesn't really seem like it...oh how time flies!

We did break our veganism on Saturday night when we hosted a potluck, pumpkin carving, and s'mores night at our house.  I had worked out most of the day on Saturday and was STARVING when I got home, so unfortunately I ate a lot of cheese and desserts that night (hey, you try to say no to homemade apple strudel and 3 types of homemade enchiladas!!)

Workouts are going well and no big news to report.  I think last time I reported I said we felt tired and had to push through the entire workout...not so much anymore.  They're starting to feel like they did before in that even if I'm having a day I don't want to workout, I force myself to start and then it's usually smooth sailing from then on. 

Digestion is going well...I would even venture to say that I'm feeling better eating vegan.  I am going to the bathroom a little more than I used to, but a lot of information I read says that's the result of better digestion.  But who knows, really.  I also noticed that my bowel movements are not only a little more often, but takes less time to get out.  Still good consistency, just better movement.  I consider that a plus.  Although it is kinda sad in that that's usually the only time I get to read non-school books or magazines, and now I'm getting to read them even less!  Ha ha ha!  

A friend that knows we went vegan came up to us Sunday at church and told us how proud she was of us.  She was a vegetarian for most of her life (since she was 7), but went back to eating meat about 8 years ago during the pregnancy of her first child.  She also said she could already see my face getting thinner.

This week could prove to be a challenge (again).  We're invited to two Halloween parties this weekend and I get extra credit in my class on Monday if I bring in something sweet.  Then again, this is the perfect time to use up the last 3 eggs & a block of cream cheese in our house that have been just sitting there. 

I've found that eating at friend's houses is probably the hardest.  We don't want to feel like we "inconvenience" anyone, and when someone who's not vegan hears that we are after they've invited us over for dinner, there's an initial panic phase of "what in the world am I going to feed them?".  No one's rescinded their invitation, though....yet.  :)


Stats:
Lori: loss of 1 lb this week; net loss: 4 lbs
Brent: no loss or gain this week; net loss: 3 lbs

Week 1 Stats

We are officially one week in!

I've got to say - I'm liking our new eating plan more than I thought I would.  I find that I get fuller faster, eat less or about the same amount at meals but feel more satisfied, and feel better overall about the increase in the amount of vegetables I'm consuming.  The hard thing about it is there are a lot of things out there on grocery store shelves that have milk or egg ingredients.  More than I ever thought.  Things that I would think, "Oh, that definitely shouldn't have eggs or milk", when I look at the labels, certainly DO have them.  So, it's a lot of label-checking when grocery shopping.  

I am missing cheese a little bit, mostly for fast comfort foods like nachos or cheese toast, but Brent reports no food cravings. 

Since we live pretty much in the middle of nowhere, we haven't gone out to eat yet.  But there's this restaurant we've been wanting to try (even before we decided to go vegan), Annapurna's World Vegetarian Cafe.  Their menu looks amazing!  It looks as though it's going to have an international flair to the food, which we're both excited about.  I just love trying foods from different places!  And it apparently has a vegan bakery, which of course, if you know me at all, I'm really excited about!!

So far, the cooking experience at home has been fun.  I love trying out new vegetables and new techniques.  I feel like I'm a beginner cook again, as I'm following recipes exactly since I'm unsure of what flavors go well together or how strong a spice will be when added.  There's a definite learning curve for me here, and I'm still not to the point where I feel comfortable subbing ingredients out (unless we know we don't like them).  So we're just taking everything as is right now and so far everything's been eaten and at least liked, with a few favorites in the lead.  No major disasters or throwing out meals.  I haven't had the time to try baking vegan yet, but that's definitely on the menu as soon as I find some time.  Hopefully next week.  Oh, and I also hope try to make vegan sushi rolls soon.  I'm sure it won't be the same as regular sushi (sad for me, yay for Brent), but I love sushi and I'm still excited about it.

One of the cool things about going vegan is they make all sorts of cool stuff I never would have noticed otherwise.  Like vegan chocolate chips, vegan marshmallows, vegan miso, vegan ice creams (right now our favorite is So Delicious (Coconut Milk) Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough), and seitan (a wheat protein substitute...sorta like tofu).  I've always been a fan of soy milk, so that hasn't been a huge change for me, but we found that Brent likes soy milk better than almond milk.  I'm a fan of either.  We have yet to try rice milk...that's for our next shopping trip.  :)

Okay, so finally, here are the stats:

Weight Loss/Gain
Lori: down 3 pounds
Brent: down 3 pounds

Grocery bill
This week we spent about $150 total, including a lot of set-up costs like Earth Balance butter, miso, seitan/tofu, vegan cereal, soy milk,  rice, quinoa, bread, etc that should last us a little while.

Thoughts/feelings
The beginning of the week (so the middle of last week) was a little rough for both of us...we were super tired.  Things are better now and we can tell a little bit of energy is coming back.  No big mood swings.

Physical stuff
Workouts were a bit harder at the beginning of the week, just feeling like I had to push myself through every step.  However, now some energy is coming back and workouts are getting a little easier than last week. 

I had slight headaches that would come and go last week, but we're unsure if that was caused by the new vegan diet or not.  No headaches in the last 3 or 4 days.

First test

First test = fail.

Tonight we had our first test of going to a neighbor's house for dinner.  We haven't exactly told them about our new eating habits, and as an avid hunter, I don't think our neighbor would know what to feed us even if we did tell them.  So tonight we broke our new diet and ate a tiny bit of meat.  Then we totally splurged and had ice cream for dessert.

What???  It was mint chocolate chip!!!!!!!

Day 2.5

So we officially started our vegan diet on Monday night!

Today's Thursday, so we're 2.5 days in! (Not that I'm counting...)

And I am TIE-RED.

It's kinda weird since I'd heard many times that a vegan diet should actually give you a lot more energy, help to clear up ache (not that I struggle a lot with that particular aspect), and help you lose weight (if you choose the right foods, that is).

So I'm not entirely sure why I've been feeling so tired this week. Maybe it has to do with the amount of hiking we've been doing lately. Or the exercise tests I've been undergoing in classes. All I know is, it's a different kind of tired than workout-tired, or sleep-deprived-tired, or even I-haven't-worked-out-in-a-week-tired.

Even yesterday, when I forced myself to workout (starting the workout is usually the hardest part for me), usually after the first few minutes I'm in a grove, ready to go, and can feel a release of energy to help fuel my workout. Not so much yesterday. More like I had to push myself at each step and all the way through it.

Even Brent noticed & mentioned it, and that was before I ever said anything. We've been sleeping longer at night, usually ready for bed around 9:30pm, and sleeping until 7am or 7:30am, and probably could sleep longer if we didn't have places to go & people to see.

I'm hoping this is part of the withdrawal phase and that our energy will return soon!!



Other than that, not too much to report. I did have a little bit of a headache on Tuesday, but not sure if it was due to the diet or to slight dehydration.



I also noticed that I get hungrier more often, even though I'm eating roughly the same amount of food as I used to.