Vegan MoFo blogging begins October 1 - 31 2011

Inner Vegan has previously followed along with the Vegan 21 Day Kickstart! Beginning October 1st I will join the Vegan MoFo (Month of Food) blogging event! http://veganmofo.wordpress.com/

Got your own vegan blog? Sign up here to participate https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dGNHSXlFNXg2cExYTUR5eFc3Y1hKamc6MQ&theme=0AX42CRMsmRFbUy0wNWZjMWRjZi02YmY2LTRlODItOWEzZS0xNTAyYTQzMDY0YTk&ifq

Back at it...Round 2 of the 21-day Vegan Kick Start

We are officially on Day 6, but I will give the quickie catch-up of the previous week.

The last 21-day was in 2009. I completed the whole thing and was very successful. Lost 15 pounds, discovered some new fav' recipes and walked around with a grin on my face (mostly without my knowledge - my body was just grateful). From there I spiraled down, down, down. So now that I've see what's 'down' there, I'm ready for another go at the vegan kick start and a vegan lifestyle.

Day 1 was January 3, 2011 - I was pleasantly surprised to get a very sweet and encouraging voicemail from Alicia Sylverstone on my cell phone. The vegan kick-start website has improved greatly and if offers a daily short vidoe (1 - 3 minutes) giving my the what's up for the day. I started the morning off with a spinach/mango smoothie which I discovered while trying out some raw foods - love it! And such a pretty color! Lunch was a quinoa salad and a falafel wrap on the way to school. Mix in some fruit and veggies and I would say the day was a success.

The rest of the week was right on track till Friday night - my cheese-crack dealer came calling and my resistance was low. That brings me to this morning, suffering a queso hangover and begging forgiveness from
Daiya the patron saint of dairy-free cheese.
So what is on the plate today? For breakfast a simply-scrumptious plate of Vegan Banana Pancakes, fresh sqeezed OJ and coffee (no pics as my hands quickly shoved them down my throat before I could get my camera lens cap off). Lunch will likely be some leftover Baked Falafel that I made previously in the week with a lovely side salad. Dinner tonight will either be my favorite potato tacos or Vegan Fishcakes; I'll let you know who wins.

Days 17 - 19 The Home Stretch!

(pictured: Seiten Stew)

So my weekly menu got slight revisions this week. Thursday was Day 17. I cooked a recipe from Cooking Light Mag "Pecan Crusted Trout" I think I used catfish. Rave reviews from the fam. I was going to try Pecan Crusted Tofu but I did not marinate the tofu ahead of time so I opted for leftover Veg Loaf (much better reheated) with fries and broccoli.

Day 18 Friday...I did not have pizza. Ate up some leftovers in the fridge and went to a coworkers house. Snacked on chips and salsa...not on my diet but still vegan. Oh, and wine. Did I check my vegan wine list....no. But I do have it loaded on my IPod and will remember to check it in the future.

Day 19 Saturday: Went paddling with the hubby! Didn't really eat anything before we left and neither of us packed anything. I don't think we expected to be gone so long. It was a gorgeous day but we were starving by the time we got home. So glad I had prepared the Seiten stew in the crockpots before we left. Came home to a wonderful savory smell in the house. Had stew for a late lunch then wanted to visit with the neighbors. Took over some margaritas and nacho tray! I made a separate container of beans layered with salsa, vegan ranch with green chilies, guac, lettuce and green olives for myself. Did not miss the cheese at all!

Day 16 Potluck and Veg Loaf

Mexican potluck at work today. Made up a layered dip. Was worried, but turned out really good. From bottom to top: mash sweet potatoes with salsa, refried beans, salsa, vegan chili ranch dressing, lettuce, black and green olives and diced avacado. Mmmmm!

Thank you to Katie who made a very good hicama/mandarin orange/cucumber salad with vegan dressing. Will need that recipe.

Tonight's dinner for the family was pork loin with mash potatoes and green beans. I took a Cooking Light recipe for turkey meatloaf and converted it to a veg loaf using Gimme Lean Sausauge Style. A little bit spicy, good flavor but slighty mushy since I did not use egg nor did I use something in its place. Still good though! Will work with this one.

Day 14 & 15

Day 14 - Monday was leftover spinach mushroom enchiladas (no pic). Didn't come out as well as I hoped but was worth reheating for lunch the next day. Dinner was chili and cornbread. I love that my grandfather's chili recipe is still suitable for this diet! It's my favorite!

Day 15 - Lunch was leftover chili/cornbread. Yum! Dinner I made a Coconut Curry with Chickpeas (chicken for the family) Turned out better than I expected. Will definitely make that one again as the family enjoyed it too!

Day 13 - Meal Planning

I rely heavily on weekly meal planning to keep on the vegan path.
Most recipes only require small adjustments to accommodate family (in parenthesis) while others are  more work but so worth the extra effort!

Sunday - Spinach Mushroom Enchiladas (sour cream chicken)
Monday - Chili and cornbread
Tuesday - Seitan (Beef-recipe from October Cooking Light) Provencal over eggless noodles
Wednesday - Green Curry Chickpeas (Chicken)
Thursday - Veg Loaf (Pork Loin), Mash taters, green beans
Friday - Pizza night
Saturday - Pecan crusted Tofu cutlets (Trout), carmelized onion/broccoli, quinoa

Now off to the grocery store! btw...I do plan on trying the Ambrosia Salad recipe sans coconut flakes
that was sent by the sponsor of the 21-Day Vegan Kick Start!

Day 12 - Saturday Morning Pancakes

From "How It All Vegan" by Sarah Kramer...mmmmmmm!