First, the good news. I did manage to lose over three pounds in the first three days of our vegan detox, and my husband lost more than five. You just can't argue with results.
The bad news? I have NO idea what I'm doing and it shows. I'm learning as I go, which, of course, means I spent an obscene amount of time in the kitchen over the last few days. I suppose if most of the recipes I whipped had actually been edible, I would consider it time well spent, but apparently flavor was taking a backseat to nutritional value here.
My husband choked down most of them, not wanting my efforts (or the grocery budget) to have been for naught. His support and encouragement is all the kept me going after spending four hours making soups to freeze that came out all wrong. I think the best thing to come of this experiment won't be the weight loss after all, but the teamwork. Nothing brings a couple closer than working together toward the same goal.
So, my husband and I are spending lots of time together trying to figure this thing out, but it has been so time consuming that my kids hardly recognize me. Not good. Six weeks of being confined to the kitchen? Something has got to change.
Going forward we'll be making a few minor changes. I'm not admitting defeat, just making the plan livable. We are now allowing small amounts of oil for cooking only. We'll stick to oil-free salad dressings, but the water stir frying is difficult, and in my experience, mushy. This is still vegan, just not a strict adherence to Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live program.
Along the same lines, I am making an exception for a couple of natural sweeteners, such as honey and agave nectar, to be used in small quantities for sauces and smoothies. Making these changes opens up a whole new world of recipes, hopefully allowing me to spend less time worrying about food and more time playing with the kids.
As a result, the weight loss might not be as aggressive, but my sanity will remain intact and we'll be more likely to see this project out to its end.
What I've learned so far:
* Never go to the State Farmer's Market on a Saturday. The crowds are unbelievable, parking is nearly impossible, and the prices are higher on the weekends.
* Keep it simple. When it takes six cashiers at Whole Foods to identify something in your cart, you're probably in over your head.
* There is not an easy way to recreate a vegan Almond Joy latte. Any suggestions?
What soups did you try to make? How did they turn out wrong? I can help with soup.
ReplyDeleteThey were soup recipes from Eat to Live. The Anti-Cancer Soup was thick and bland. The Gingered Carrot soup was my fault - I tried to blend it smooth and my blender is too old and small to blend kale smooth. That one is a texture thing. The problem in general was that I jumped into the complicated recipes off the bat. My new mantra: Keep it simple!
ReplyDelete