Wow! Time sure flies when you are having fun! I had no idea that it had been so long since I had updated this blog. Mom's Weekly Menus seems more like Mom's Quarterly Menus. My only excuse is that time is a limited commodity. Thank you for reading!
Well my life and my menus have changed in the past few months, specifically the past 57 days. In September I found a book called The China Study - Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health by T. Colin Campbell, PhD. Later in the month, I heard about a new documentary titled Forks Over Knives which I watched. I don't think it is too much of a stretch to say watching that movie changed my life. The book and the movie are primarily concerned with how our diets contribute to our long term health. I was fascinated. The healthiest diets they found were whole foods, plant based diets. What does that mean? More foods from plants, less food from animal products. After watching the movie, I searched for books to further my understanding and found Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's book, The 30-Day Vegan Challenge. I enlisted my BFF and we decided to take the challenge together. So on October 1, 2011 I embarked on a vegan lifestyle. I originally thought I would just try it for 30 days, but I feel so good that I have continued. My wonderful husband has joined me on this journey. The food has been so tasty that I can honestly say that I have not missed meat, dairy or eggs. I have also enjoyed the new challenge of finding good vegan recipes. Through it all, I have kept my weekly menus. The only downside to being vegan is that going out to eat is not nearly as fun as it used to be. It is harder than I expected to find restaurants serving vegan meals - at least where I live. So, I have nearly two months of menus. I will choose a week's worth of my favorites!
Monday
With the weather becoming cooler, chili is a good place to start. Chili without meat is not even that much of a stretch. I have really enjoyed Chili to Take the Chill Off. It has great flavor and you won't even miss the meat. This is one recipe I have made several times in the last two months. I serve it with a green salad and corn bread. I know what you are thinking, "How do you make corn bread without eggs?" I love this recipe. It tastes as good as any cornbread I have made.
Tuesday
With our school and after-school schedule, Tuesday has evolved into my weekly grocery shopping day. The problem is that I usually make it home about dinner time so I need something quick and easy on Tuesday nights. For that reason, Tuesday has become pizza night. I buy (or if I have time, make) individual pizza crusts and use a jarred marinara sauce, then everyone makes a pizza to suit his or her taste. For the omnivores, I provide pepperoni and mozzarella cheese along with fresh cut peppers, mushrooms, olives, artichoke hearts, and even fresh spinach. Everyone simply makes their own pizza. My daughter wants only pepperoni and mozzarella. My son, when home, wants a mixture of all. My husband has vegetables and sometimes a little cheese. I use sauce and the vegetables with no cheese. Yes - pizza is still great with no cheese! I usually make a side salad to go with our pizzas.
Wednesday
Ethnic foods lend themselves to being vegan more than traditional American foods. I have enjoyed adding more ethnic flavors to our menus. I have started having some type of curry every week. I am still trying to find a curry I make that I like as much as some I have had in Thai restaurants. Thai Red Curry Vegetables is pretty good. I have several more I look forward to trying. Curry is always good with some type of rice - I like Basmati rice. Since this curry had so many vegetables, I added some fruit to balance the meal. Right now, citrus is plentiful so grapefruit or Clementines (Cuties) are good additions.
ThursdayOnce I began to be more mindful about what I was eating, I realized that vegan food is not that strange or weird. Black Beans and Rice with a salad and bread is a pretty normal meal. I made a Caribbean Mango Black Beans from a new cookbook, but I like my usual black beans seasoned with oregano, cumin, onion and garlic just as well. I usually use brown rice, but have started to experiment with other grains such as quinoa. The local farms I visit have had beautiful Bok Choy this fall so I served a Crunchy Bok Choy Slaw rather than the usual green salad.
Friday
Okay, on Friday we still want quick comfort foods. There are quite a few good recipes in the 30-Day Vegan Challenge and I have found other good recipes in the Happy Herbivore. A very good meaty meatless dish is the Sloppy Joes found in the 30 Day Vegan Challenge. Instead of beef or turkey it uses tempeh. We have really come to love tempeh and I have used it to "veganize" a few old faithful recipes. Tempeh is made by fermenting whole soybeans with a grain, usually rice. It is very different from tofu in texture - much meatier. I served the Sloppy Joes with Rustic Yam Fries from the Happy Herbivore. It definitely reminded us of Friday night burger and fries!
Saturday
Mexican food lends itself to a vegan diet. Actually, I should say homecooked Mexican food. Restaurant Mexican food uses a lot of lard and cheese. We enjoyed simple bean burritos (the 30 Day Vegan Challenge) along with a Mexican style Jicama Cole Slaw. Of course, chips and salsa always add to a Mexican meal!
Sunday
Sunday is the day of the week that I often offer a meat for the omnivores that end up at our table. This menu is actually our Thanksgiving meal from yesterday. I had many omnivores at the table, so I made a turkey, but all of the side dishes were vegan. Because I wanted to keep as vegan as possible, I made everything from scratch and that included the rolls and the pie crusts. I found some awesome pie crusts! Here is the menu:
Herbed Turkey in a Bag (from the 1991 Southern Living Annual Cookbook.)
Mushroom Gravy (the 30 Day Vegan Challenge) This was a hit with everyone! It is good on everything!
Grandmother's Dressing - I took the recipe from the 1991 Southern Living Annual Cookbook and made it vegan by substituting vegetable broth for chicken, using the Vegan Cornbread mentioned above, using flax seeds and water to substitute for the eggs. It ended up a little dry.
Mashed Potatoes - used non-dairy milk and vegan butter and sour cream
Green Beans with Lemon Herb Sauce (1991 Southern Living Annual Cookbook.) I used vegan substitutes for the chicken broth and butter.
Roasted Beets and Garlic
Cranberry Salad I replaced the apples with crushed pineapple to mimic a congealed salad I usually make. With the added coconut in this recipe, no one missed the jello.
Sourdough biscuits
Apple Pie with a Flaky Pie Crust - the pie was okay. The crust was awesome!
Pumpkin Pie with a Buttery Crust - this recipe was given to me by a friend from her November Yoga Journal. It was fantastic!
I do not know how long I will remain vegan. I have loved it so far. It has not been nearly as difficult as I had expected. I just ordered and received two new cookbooks - Veganomicon and Vegan Cookies Invade your Cookie Jar so I know I will continue cooking vegan for awhile. I have found a few things I do not like such as Seitan, but mostly I have loved the food and I have loved the way I feel even more. Mom's Weekly Menus will continue to exist but the food will be decidedly vegan. Even if you have no interest in a vegan diet, I hope the menus and the recipes will still help you plan your meals. I will keep you updated on my progress. I need to have my cholesterol checked to see if eating this way has already made a difference in my health.
Until next time,
Enjoy playing with your food!
