Linguine With Roasted Asparagus And Almond Pesto...

Linguine With Roasted Asparagus And Almond Pesto

Stephen and I were at our grocery store checkout stand the other day and noticed this magazine and Stephen said "that looks yummy."  I picked up the magazine and said I can make that.  

The only change I made was the 2 Tbsp finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, I used vegan parmesan instead.

It is a beautiful dish and it tasted fantastic and made the house smell like Italy.  And we have leftovers, I know what I am having for lunch again tomorrow.

Give this recipe a try for yourself and let me know what you think.

Southwest Taco Salad...

Southwest Taco Salad

This is my concoction.   Lettuce, rice cooked with taco seasoning in the water, tomatoes, whole kernel corn, black beans, crushed tortilla chips, salsa, a dollop of Tofutti sour cream and on Stephen's black olives (note the smiley face).

Rosemary Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Garlic Aioli...

For lunch today, I made Boca burgers but instead of baked fries I wanted to try something new...

I made Food for Thought with Claire Thomas' Rosemary Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Garlic Aioli. I have seen her TV show a few times and had recorded the one called Old World Recipes.  I tweaked her recipe to make it vegan.   I used 3/4 cup of Vegenaisse instead of the egg and oil.  Yes, I tried the roasted shallots but I think they were still to powerful so next time I will use a sweet yellow onion.

Fun Weekend Food...

Vanilla soy yogurt, KIND granola, banana and mango.

Milton's whole grain crackers with Athenos orignal hummus.

 

Chili-Sweet Mango Noodles

The one on the left is Stephen's with the chives and mine is on the right sans chives.  :)

Funny story for this dinner.  I love spicy food.  I eat spicy Thai, Chinese, Mexican, Sushi (not wasabi, I don't like wasabi at all).  But the spicier the better.  I always say if my nose isn't running it must not be good.

So I see this recipe in Everyday Happy Herbivore and and think this will be great.  I love spicy, I love mango, I love Udon noodles, I can omit the chives on mine, perfect.  I make the recipe as it calls for.  It says to taste the sauce and add more chili sauce if desired or more vegetable broth if it is too spicy.  I almost just added more chili sauce but I decided to not kill my husband and taste it first.  I was shocked how spicy it was and so I added some more vegetable broth and called it good.  I plated the dish, added Stephen's chives and photographed both bowls.  We pray and then start eating.  It is very good but the more you eat the more our tongues were on fire.  Stephen was cracking up that I was dying since he has never heard me say something was too spicy.  We both drank two bottles of water each, then sucked on ice cubes after dinner.  I just kept going over the recipe in my head and thought maybe I added 1 Tbsp instead of 1 tsp but when I checked the recipe it did call for 1 Tbsp.  Then I reread the entire recipe.  When I got to the 1 Tbsp red chili sauce a lightbulb went on in my brain.  I used 1 Tbsp red chili paste (you know the concentrated version of the sauce).  We laughed and laughed.  I will definitely make this again but have already put a post-it note in my cookbook to be sure I use sauce and not paste.  The flavors were amazing and if the mango had not been included we would have died for sure.

Naan bread (w/o eggs), hazelnut spread, chopped hazelnuts, banana slices and honey.  

Yum, yum and more yum.  

The next time we make this we will leave off the honey,  it is not necessary.

Cholesterol...

Wow, I just received my blood test results and after just two weeks of eating vegan/vegetarian I have dropped my total cholesterol 35 points, it is once again under 200!!!  I have not had cholesterol under 200 in forever.  I can't wait to see where it is at next year.  My triglycerides are waaaaay down, about a 350 point drop.  My HDL has dropped a bit too.  If any of you have high cholesterol this might just be the way to eat for you too.  And I don't have to stop eating carbs, I just eat better carbs now.

Oatmeal, Salad and Dinner at a friend's house...

This morning I ate oatmeal with brown sugar and almond milk.
Lunch was nothing special just a simple salad.

But for dinner we were invited to one our fabulous friend's house who make us a completely vegan dinner.  The most impressive part is that they are not vegan and she had never cooked vegan before. They served three types of vegan appetizers with champagne.  We then dined on quinoa, yellow curry vegetables cooked perfectly I might add, asparagus spears and panko breaded eggplant.  I don't have very much experience with eggplant but she had made up my mind that I like it a lot.  I have no idea how she completely cooked the eggplant and kept the panko crunch, it was amazing.  And if all of that was not enough she made a no-cheese cheese cake from scratch with a strawberry puree and whole strawberries.  I already knew my friend is amazing but this was such a delectable dinner we left even more impressed.  She didn't need to go to all the trouble but we all cleaned our plates it was so devine.  I wish I had taken photos of this meal.

Yogurt, Sushi and Boca...

Yesterday started with coconut milk yogurt, granola, mango and a banana.  I liked the coconut yogurt but prefer the soy yogurt, especially the vanilla.  The mango was so sweet it tasted like a peach.  If you haven't had one yet this year, go buy one today.

For lunch Stephen took me to our favorite sushi restaurant Sora Sushi, in Woodinville.  We had a lovely lunch but when we left I made a comment to Stephen that went something like "see I can go to sushi and stay vegan" to which he quickly replied "how do you figure?"  I stated that "I ate vegetables tempura and a spicy California roll, no spicy tuna, I was a good girl."  Stephen laughed and said "what do you think is in a spicy California roll?" I said "rice, soy wrap, avocado and imitation crabmeat.  It's not real crab meat so I am good."  He laughed again and said "what do you think imitation crabmeat is?" to which I said "I don't know tofu or soy or something." This is when he informed me that it is white fish that they make taste similar to crab.  I, of course, told him he was wrong and I would prove it with Google.  As I typed away on my iPhone I told him I had never given the imitation crab any real thought but I was sure he was wrong.  According to my Google search it is made from white fish skins and parts.  So basically, I had just eaten the equivalent of a fish hotdog.  I was sooooooo grossed out.  Before becoming vegan/vegetarian I would have been just as grossed out by this.  So it pains me to say, I was wrong and my beloved husband was correct.  The bad part of this silly story is that technically I cheated yesterday on white fish parts but to my defense, I didn't know I was cheating and let me assure you I will not be eating imitation crab ever again.   
Believe me, if I was knowingly going to cheat I would have had my much loved and still missed spicy Ahi Tuna roll in soy wraps.

Dinner was my attempt at the Red Robin Bonzi burger but with Boca Chik'n instead and I served it with baked potato wedges.  It was okay.  The teriyaki sauce was wrong so that threw off the flavors.

New Title...

I have been giving this a lot of thought I have decided to change the name of this blog to The Veggie Paige.  I think this is a better and a more accurate name.  

I am going to live a vegan life but if I want to eat something I am going to eat it and not feel bad about it.  I also don't want my friends and family to worry about what I will and won't eat so I think calling myself a vegetarian is easier on others and not so restrictive for me.  Don't misunderstand what I am doing, I fully intend on eating a plant based diet.  So far so good and I have only "cheated" once in two weeks.  That is a lot of vegan meals.  I will still disclose what I am eating each day, even if I "cheat" and will photograph almost all of my meals.  

I hope you like the new name.   :)

Oatmeal, Boom Noodle and Lemon Basil Pasta...

This morning I started my day with oatmeal, brown sugar and almond milk.  I know I eat this often but I love it and oatmeal is so good for you.  Stephen had soy yogurt, granola and a banana.  I try to vary his breakfast for him so he doesn't get sick of anything.  Honestly, I think he likes me making him breakfast every day so much that he doesn't really care what I put in front of him.

Lunch was at Boom Noodle with a dear friend of mine.  I had the edamame puree with vegetable chips and spring vegetable rolls as my lunch.  Both were delicious.  My friend had the Thai Chicken Salad and said it was so good that I should try it.  So I did and she was correct it was amazing.  I did not try the chicken and if I ordered it I would get it without the chicken or cilantro but I will be ordering that next time I am there.

Lemon Basil Pasta

Dinner was Lemon Basil Pasta from the Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook.  It is spaghetti noodles, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, lemon, freshly ground pepper and on Stephen's capers.  Clearly the photo on top is mine, I am so not a caper fan.  This was light, refreshing and we both thought is was delicious.  This will be made again and for guests as well.  I think anybody would like this dish.

Oatmeal, Granola & Curried Quinoa...

This morning began with oatmeal with brown sugar and almond milk.

Vanilla Soy Yogurt with Banana and Granola

Lunch was vanilla soy yogurt with granola and banana.  My stomach was still upset from last nights dinner so this made for a calming and healthy lunch.

Curried Quinoa Salad

Dinner tasted as yummy as it looks.  Both Stephen and I loved this salad.  He even asked me to make it again and for his parents.  It is spinach, mango, cucumber, celery, raisins, vanilla soy yogurt was the dressing and top with quinoa cooked in curry and vegetable broth.  The recipe is from the Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook. You don't need anything other then this salad for dinner.  We were both stuffed and I could not finish mine even though I really wanted to.  I highly recommend this recipe.

Boca Chik'n Patties and Vegenaise (who knew)...

This morning began with rolled oats cooked with a bit of brown sugar and a splash of maple syrup, then topped with a sliced banana and some almond milk.

For lunch today I made two new items.  I made baked potato wedges with a little bit of Johnny's seasoning salt on them.  I also make Boca chik'n patties, I chose to bake them.

Then I toasted the sesame seed bun, smeared a little bit of Vegenaise (soy based vegan mayonaise) on the buns, added lettuce and tomato.  It was really good.  Stephen and I both enjoyed our vegan lunch.  It was so nice to eat fries that didn't leave an after taste of grease in your mouth.  Healthy and yummy, who could complain.

I am so sorry to report that I officially cheated for dinner tonight.  Stephen and I went to an Italian restaurant and I had fettucine alfredo for dinner.  I only ate half of it, because I was full but it was delicious.  I am so glad I had a healthy lunch because dinner was so unhealthy (egg noodles, cream, cheese - ugh).  I have gone a week and a half without cheating now I must beat that record of mine. 

Vegetable Stock...

Today I am making more of Gwyneth Paltrow's vegetable stock from her first cookbook My Father's Daughter.  I highly recommend this cookbook.  It is not a vegan cookbook but does have symbols to let you know what is vegan (see below).  This recipe is so good you could make your own Pho with it or any soup.  I can't help but taste it as it cooks.  I deviate from Gwyneth's recipe by cooking it on simmer for hours and I always double or triple the recipe and add more water then called for since I cook it down every time.

As I have told you in a previous post, I like to freeze my vegetable stock in ice cube trays.  Then pop them out of the ice cube trays and store in freezer zip lock bags.  That way I can add a little vegetable stock to anything and it melts much quicker then a larger block would.  I try to have vegetable stock in the freezer at all times.

Today's meals...

Breakfast was rolled oats cooked with bits of apple, then sliced banana, sprinkled with brown sugar and then topped with almond milk.  Quite yummy if I do say so myself.

Lunch was at Red Robin, yes you read that correctly and yes I am still vegan.  I had my first Boca burger, which is a soy burger.  I was extremely nervous and assumed I would not like it but it was delicious.  I ordered a Bonzi Boca burger so it had teriyaki sauce, pineapple, lettuce, tomato and I did not realize when I ordered it but cheddar cheese.  I did eat it with the cheese, which is so not vegan.  Next time I will order it without the cheese and I am sure it will still be fabulous.  Stephen also tried my Boca burger and liked it.  No, he did not order one for himself, he ate a cow burger (or at least he thinks he did, just kidding).  We liked the Boca so much we stopped at the grocery store on the way home and bought some to try at home.  I should have taken a photo of it with my phone but honestly I did not think of that until now.

Dinner was vegan.  I made spaghetti without the meat.  It needed some protein so next time I think I will try it with some Boca burger in it.  Hey, I could make Stephen some Boca meatballs.  :)

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies...

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today we had oatmeal for breakfast, taco soup for lunch and vegetable yakisoba for dinner.  We decided to try a vegan recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  The only wet ingredients were applesauce, almond milk and vanilla extract.  They aren't bad but not great either.  I asked Stephen to rank them from 1-10 with 10 being the best ever and he say they were a 3.  That being said he continued to eat them so clearly they were better then a 3 but I wouldn't give them more then a 5.

Taco Soup Veganized...

I have veganized taco soup.  Is "veganized" a word, well it is now.  :)  A few months ago I started making taco soup in the crockpot and Stephen absolutely loved it.  I wanted to make him something yummy for being such a great sport and support during the 3-Day Reboot and I thought about the taco soup recipe.  Here is the recipe I used today:

Vegan Taco Soup

• 1 can chili beans with liquid
• 1 can kidney beans with liquid
• 1 can black beans, strained
• 2 cans whole kernel corn with liquid
• 1 can tomato sauce (8oz)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (28oz)
• 1 can hot diced green chiles (4oz)
• 1/4 cup taco seasoning
• 1/4 cup onion powder
• 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes

Add all the ingredients into a crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.  Top with crushed tortilla chips and tofutti.

Recipe by Paige

Tofutti is a sour cream substitute that is made from tofu.  Stephen and I tried it for the first time tonight and we both were shocked that it was good and tasted and smelled just like regular sour cream.  The one thing Stephen asked of me when I began all of this was to not serve him substitutes (like fake cheese, butter, sour cream, etc) but that almond milk was okay.  You will notice that the Tofutti is not in the photograph because I didn't want to make him eat it if he didn't want to.  But he lovingly agreed to try it.  I am still in shock that it tasted like sour cream and that he agreed.  

P.S. this does not mean I have joined the tofu bandwagon.  That may never happen.  Then again, I never would have thought that I would go vegan either.

Pear Walnut Salad...

As promised in my first post here is a photo and the recipe again for my Pear Walnut Salad.  It made for a wonderful lunch today.

Pear Walnut Salad

·      1 - head of green leafy lettuce, cleaned, dried and torn

·      2 - pears, pitted and chopped

·      1 - 11oz can mandarin oranges, drained

·      ½ bag - Emerald glazed walnuts

·      ¼ cup – poppyseed dressing 

Mix all of the ingredients above into one bowl and serve.

Recipe by Paige

Vegan One Week...

I have been vegan for exactly one week as of yesterday.  

I am proud of myself for sticking to this and I am happy to report it is a lot easier than I thought it would be.  I am proud of Stephen for taking this 3-Day Reboot with me and not cheating.  I appreciate his support more than I can say.  In the last week I have lost almost ten pounds.  I have been full and don't feel like I am dieting at all.  I am not sure if that is because I have chosen to make a lifestyle change or because I am eating a higher quantity of healthy food.  I have also noticed that my insomnia has gone away, please God be gone for good.  I have been sleeping on average seven hours a night which for me is something of a miracle.

I have a tendency to dive into things head first.  This was no different.  Now that I have a week under my belt I am thinking ahead and have been struggling with labels and socializing.  Maybe instead of calling myself "vegan" maybe I should call myself "vegetarian" but live a mostly vegan lifestyle.  That way I would not put undo pressure on friends and family.  I know how hard it is to cook dinner for friends that are vegan when you don't know that much about it.  I don't want my friends and family to feel like they have to cook me "special meals" and I don't want to be that person who goes to someones house and picks at the food on my plate but not really eat anything.  I have had that happen to me and Stephen and I always end up reviewing dinner and having that conversation about how weird it was they he/she did not eat even though we thought dinner was wonderful.  I did not become vegan because of animal rights issues, I did it for health and weight loss reasons.  So I don't have a hard time being around meat or people eating meat.  I am grossed out by the thought of what they do to the meat and what it does to me.  The only foods that I kind of miss is sushi, fish and thought of never eating fettuccine Alfredo (egg noodles, cream, butter - lots of none vegan issues with this one) or butter cream frosting.  Clearly the last two don't help with weight loss or my health but would an occasional taste kill me?  I know, I know it's a slippery slope.  

I am still in the thinking stages of this but I will let you know what I decide.  For now, I am still vegan.

Day 3 of the 3-Day Reboot wrap-up...

Lunch was Supreme Sweet Potato Tacos.  I forgot to take a photo of them but they were just okay.  Stephen really liked them.

Time-To-Thrive Moroccan Stew

This was extremely hardy stew that tasted good.  Again, dinner was nothing to write home about but it was fun to make something new and different.

Roasted Pears

These were yummy.  You roast the pears then drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with cinnamon and top with pecans and a dash of powdered sugar for effect.  They look wonderful and tasted very good.

The 3-Day Reboot Wrap-Up

All in all this was a good experience and I am glad I did it.  I learned about some healthy food that I like than I didn't know if I liked.  I made some really pretty food and most of it was quite good.  I lost about five pounds and no one could say this was a starvation diet as most of the time I could not finish my food.  I was pleasantly surprised that Stephen did the full 3-Day Reboot with me and really enjoyed himself.  I have no delusions that he will be calling himself a vegan any time soon but he has learned he can eat vegan and not starve to death or live on salads alone.  He to lost weight and he did not finish all of his meals either.  I hope you enjoyed seeing and reading about the fun meals I have making.  I will now be working from my new vegan cookbooks and reworking some of our favorite non-vegan recipes to make them vegan.  Sorry Stephen there might be some scary meals ahead.  :)

Day 3 of the 3-Day Reboot breakfast...

Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie

Now this is what I call breakfast of champions.  How could you go wrong with almond milk, banana, peanut butter and unsweetened cocoa.  I have no idea how this is good for you but it sure tastes delicious and surprisingly filling.  What a nice way to start the day.  Cocoa and a smile!

Day 2 of the 3-Day Reboot dinner and dessert...

Mellow Mushroom Creamy Barley

To be honest, I am embarrassed to day that I did not start this dinner with a very good attitude.  However, I did try at least five good sized bites and just could not handle it.  I was done.  Stephen thought it was very good and asked me to save mine for him to eat another day.  Barley, mushrooms, cooked spinach are not at the top of my foods I like list so this was kind of doomed from the beginning but I did try it.  Being a semi-picky eater is not ideal for meal plans but this is the first meal I did not finish so I am proud of myself for that.

Banana Bliss

Dessert on the other hand was amazing.  I have never blended bananas, almond milk, vanilla extract and cinnamon but I will from now on.  The recipe actually asked for frozen bananas but I had not read ahead so I used room temperature bananas and it was sooooo good.  This recipe is going in the make again pile.

Day 2 of 3-Day Reboot lunch...

Luminous Lentil Salad

Lunch was lettuce, kale, a pear, lentils and balsamic vinaigrette.  I honestly was not looking forward to this lunch but it was fine.  I didn't mind the lentils at all.  They don't have tons of favor but they were not bad.  I don't think this one will be a regular part of my diet but it was fine. 

I'm still not sure about my barley and mushroom dinner.  I am not a mushroom fan and it is the co-headliner of my next meal.  Stay posted.

Day 2 of the 3-Day Reboot - Breakfast...

Red Radiance Quinoa!

Who knew I liked quinoa.  This mornings breakfast had quinoa, raspberries, strawberries, cinnamon, honey and vegan soy yogurt.  It was amazingly good.  I will make this again and again, yummy.

Day 1 of the 3-Day Reboot dinner & dessert...

On the menu for tonights dinner was Power-Up Pineapple Stir-Fry.

It was spicy but very good.  Basically it is pineapple, red bell pepper, red finger pepper, coconut milk, yellow curry and some spices.  I made some Jasmine Rice to go with it.

For dessert we had a Stimulating Strawberry Shake.  Almond milk, banana and strawberries is pretty hard to mess up.  It was a nice end to a spicy dinner.

Just a side note - I am not making up the names of the meals.  :)

The Power of Habit...

I just watched a very interesting YouTube video on the Power of Habit that was recommended to watch by the 3-Day Reboot.  I watched the 3 minutes 38 second video.  I then saw the next video on the YouTube search by the same guy called the Good Life Project: Charles Duhigg - Power of Habit but it is done in a interview style and is 37 minutes and 17 seconds long.  I highly recommend both.  Let's be honest the idea of rewarding myself for exercise with a piece of chocolate makes perfect sense to me.  You had me at chocolate.  :)  Hey we all have habits we want to create and habits that we want to reprogram, this is about how to do just that.

Day 1 of the 3-Day Reboot lunch...

For lunch today we had Pump-It-Up Pumpkin Chili.  I made it last night so I could send it to work with Stephen for lunch today.  After making the chili my hair smelled like cumin which in my opinion smells like bad body odor.  I kept washing my hands thinking it was still on my hands when I finally figured out it was my hair that I was smelling.  I don't dislike the spice just the smell of the spice.  Of course, Stephen thought it was funny.  The chili itself was fine.  Not bad at all but not the best either.  I am pretty indifferent about it.  I think it tastes better today then the spoonful I tried last night.

Day 1 of the 3-Day Reboot breakfast...

We are supposed to drink a Daily Detox Drink every morning with breakfast.  I took a quick look at the ingredients and thought no problem.  I mixed it up, gave it a good shake and took a drink...YUCK.  Holy vinegar, who knew 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar would be so powerful, I do now.  I think tomorrow I am either going to cut the amount of apple cider vinegar or omit it all together.  All the other ingredients were just fine but that apple cider vinegar was just to much.

Day one's breakfast was delicious.  It was Opulent Oatmeal.  It looked beautiful, it tasted great and I am stuffed so this is a good start.  Rolled oats, applesauce, cinnamon, a banana, some blueberries and almond slivers = yummy.

Vegetable Stock Tip...

I made vegetable stock the other day and used a tip I had read on the internet, sorry I can't remember where I read it, but it said to freeze your stock in ice trays then store in zip lock bags so you can grab a cube as needed and it melts down quicker than a huge chunk does.  I did this and it works great.  I loved this idea so I thought I would pass it along to all of you.

If you are looking for a fantastic vegetable stock recipe I highly recommend Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook My Father's Daughter recipe.

Boom...

Tonight we went to a restaurant named Boom.  It was very good.  It is not a vegan restaurant but I made it work.  I am finding that I can order out just about anywhere and stay vegan.  You just have to be okay asking questions and asking the have some ingredients held.  High maintenance is not new to me so I am fine with both.  :)   We started with Boom Edamame Puree which comes with crispy vegetables and pickled cucumber.  This was my favorite dish of the night and could order this starter as a light meal for myself.  Then for our main course Stephen ordered the Beef Yakisoba, clearly not vegan.  Stephen said it was the best Yakisoba he has ever had.  I ordered the Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with no pork and no cilantro.  It was cold, which surprised me for some reason, I knew it was a salad but I guess I just assumed that the vermicelli noodles would be warm.  We will definitely go back to Boom it was very good.

3-Day Reboot starts tomorrow...

Starting tomorrow I am doing a Happy Herbivore 3-Day Reboot.  It is a meal plan for three days to "reset your body for maximum health in only three short days!"  The cost is $9.99 for the downloadable plan.  It even comes with a grocery list so you can check off the items you already have and go shop for the ones you need.  I printed mine off so I could do it more than once if I like it.  You will be reading and seeing photos of meals I might not have chosen for myself but it is good to try new things so I am going to give them all a try.  Expect some rudely honest posts Monday-Wednesday.  Wish me luck.  :)

Chickpea Soft Tacos...

Last night we tried another Happy Herbivore recipe called Chickpea Tacos.  I doctored it a little for a couple of reasons, first being that I had flour tortillas in the fridge and I wanted to use them, and the other being I wanted to add avocado and salsa for more flavor.  The cooked chickpeas smelled amazing and tasted really good, I was pleasantly surprised.  In my carnivore days I always had a taco Tuesday (not every Tuesday but often) so I am happy to have found a yummy replacement.

This morning I ate my Apple Crisp Muffins I made yesterday and they were just a delicious as they were yesterday.  I can't tell you enough, you have got to make these!!!

Just a reminder, anything that is not black text is a link to that website, just click on the orange or blue word(s) and it will open a new page to that site.  I have been linking all the recipes to their websites so you can look at them or look for other recipes to try yourself.

Also, there are is a "post a comment" link at the bottom of each of my new posts.  If you have a suggestion, recipe, or just a quick thought you want to share feel free to comment.

Raw Pasta with Marinara...

For lunch I tried another new recipe from the Happy Herbivore website called "Raw Pasta with Marinara".   I made it just as the recipe said to but then I started doctoring it.  I added half a box of Piccolini (mini farfalle noodles - vegan), halved cherry tomatoes and red pepper flakes.  Instead of 2 whole tomatoes I used a can of diced tomatoes and I omitted the vegan parmesan.  I am not a mushroom or olive fan so I simply added them to Stephen's half.  I like this recipe, I feel like it still needs something but I'm not quite sure what, and no don't say meat. :)  I think the key is to season it well.  Enjoy the his and hers photos of this dish.

Apple Crisp Muffins...

I downloaded an Apple Crisp Muffins recipe from the Happy Herbivore website the other day and just tried them for the first time this morning.  Beyond easy and quick to make and WOW are they delicious! Both Stephen and I loved them.  This recipe will be made often and is just to good not to share with you all.  Seriously, even if you never intend on eating a plant based diet try this recipe, you will love them.

How it began...

I woke up this morning with the idea I would begin to blog about my vegan experience.  This is how it all happened...

I went to lunch with a dear friend of mine on Monday, April 8, 2013.  She took me to I Love Pho in Factoria.  I was a Pho virgin so I ordered exactly what she ordered, Vegan Pho.  Vegan Pho is vegetable broth, vegetables, rice noodles.  The vegetables included broccoli, carrots, celery, snow peas and green and white onions.  My friend was sweet enough to offer to take my white onions as I am so not a fan of raw or blanched onions.  I worked around the green onions (as I type this sentence I can see my husbands eyes rolling).  We doctored the Pho with red stem basil, a jalapeño pepper slice, hoisin sauce and Sriracha hot chili sauce.  It was amazing, I can not believe I have been missing out on Pho all these years.  This particular friend has been vegan for about a year and a half.  She shared with me some of the reasons she is vegan and some interesting sites/blogs she has been on since.  I asked her to share the sites/blogs with me and that is where my story really begins.

On Tuesday I went to get my nails done and I mention this because my nail artist is Vietnamese   She was so excited to hear that I finally tried Pho.  She informed me that the quick way to tell if a Pho place is good or not is to look at what kind of basil they serve.  According to her, if they serve red stem basil it is good, however, if they serve white stem basil it is bad.  She claims that white stem basil is for cooking only and that some Pho places save money on basil by serving the white stem basil to Americans who don't know better.  I don't know if all of that is accurate but I do know the red stem basil tastes and smells fabulous and that I am a fan of it.

When I returned home on Tuesday, I started looking at the blogs and wedsites my friend had shared with me the day before.  One of the most interesting was an hour video I watched called "Uprooting the leading causes of death"on the nutritionfacts.org website (click the title of the video to watch it).

Some of the sites I went to are listed below.  Many of these sites have cookbooks and and all of them have email subscriptions that you can sign up for.

• Nutrition Facts - nutritionfacts.org
• Happy Herbivore - http://happyherbivore.com/
• Engine 2 Diet - http://engine2diet.com/
• Knives over Forks - http://www.forksoverknives.com/

I decided to become vegan on Tuesday afternoon.  I had already prepared dinner, which included ground turkey, cheese and sour cream and we had my in-laws coming to dinner so I did not change dinner that night.

My vegan experience fully began on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, that being the first full day of eating a plant based diet.  I ate steel-cut oatmeal with brown sugar and almond milk for breakfast with a bottle of water, that was no big change.  I had lunch plans with another friend at 520 Bar and Grill and was a little concerned as I did not recall seeing vegan choices on the menu but I ordered one of my favorites the BBQ Chicken Salad with no onions, no chicken and no cheese.  It has black beans so I knew it had protein and it was delicious.  For dinner I made an old favorite of mine that I call the Pear Walnut Salad (recipe below - no photo for this one yet but I will post one next time I make this salad, it is beautiful) and four Milton's crackers with Athenos traditional hummus smeared on top.  I wasn't sure if this meal would fill up Stephen but even he was surprised that he was not hungry.  I did serve a large portion of the salad to each of us but it is good for you so I wasn't too worried.

Pear Walnut Salad

1 - head of green leafy lettuce, cleaned, dried and torn

2 - pears, pitted and chopped

1 - 11oz can mandarin oranges, drained

½ bag - Emerald glazed walnuts

¼ cup – poppyseed dressing 

Mix all of the ingredients above into one bowl and serve.

Recipe by Paige

Thursday was steel-cut oatmeal with brown sugar and almond for breakfast.  Salad with green leafy lettuce, celery, carrot, cucumber, tomato, almond slivers and croutons for lunch.  I Love Pho for dinner.  This time I took my husband and my in-laws.  They too are now fans of Pho.  Stephen had Pho with beef and Carl had chicken chow mein.  Norma ordered the same as me but with the onions.

A few cookbooks arrived that I ordered on Tuesday from Amazon.com so I plan to spend some time tomorrow marking pages I want to try.

Friday I made my steel-cut oatmeal for breakfast but this time I added some cinnamon and apple sauce and it was very good.  For lunch I had bean burrito, chips and salsa.  And for dinner we had salad with green leafy lettuce, celery, carrot, cucumber, tomato, almond slivers and croutons.

This morning I decided to try a recipe I got off the Happy Herbivore website called Apple Crisp Muffins.  They are in the oven now so I will let you know what I think and I will include photos.