Day Thirty

As of today, I have been following a vegan diet for an entire month. My conscience is clear, and I am feeling wonderful. 

The weight loss has slowed a bit in the last week or so, but I know that all of the good I am doing for my body and the planet is paying off. Also, in reading some testimonies from various patients of Joel Fuhrman, M.D. and Neal Barnard, M.D., I got the message that although the weight may come off more slowly for some of us, it does continue to come off if one sticks to a healthy, whole foods vegan diet. I am only around ten pounds over what I was in high school, and so really, I am okay if it takes longer than it might on some crazy crash diet to lose the last ten or so pounds. I must also admit that I have slowed down on the exercise a bit. (It's just not my favorite thing in the world to do!).

I finally watched the feature film Forks Over Knives yesterday with my mom. Wow. Not that I needed any more convincing, but this film has me ready to raise my right hand and take an oath swearing to never eat any animal products ever again. Mom is ready to try a plant based diet as well! As T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. shows us, if you want to feed cancer, eat animal protein. Period. If you want to increase your chances of having a heart attack, eat animal products. 

If you want to see cancers diminish or even go away, heal your arteries, improve or reverse diabetes, lower your cholesterol, get off poisonous medications, lose weight, increase your energy--basically, completely improve your health--then eat a plant based diet (vegetables, fruits, legumes, and grains). 

T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. has the science, and Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D. has the clinical evidence  to back this up, and they explain it all quite simply in the film. Both men were born into families that owned and profited from the meat and dairy industry, but they could not deny their findings. They gave up animal products and are both well into their seventies, practicing what they preach.

So let's talk about food!

I washed and peeled a sweet potato the other day, and as I sliced it, I somehow sliced the pieces fairly thin like potato chips. I was living in the moment, if you will, and I did not have a plan for the potato, so I went with the flow. Homemade potato chips sounded great, so I gave it a shot. 

I heated the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit, covered a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper, and spread the potato slices evenly over the surface. Then, I lightly sprayed a thin coat of Trader Joe's fat free olive oil spray over the potato slices, and sprinkled garlic powder, paprika, parsley flakes, and onion powder over each piece. I considered tossing the slices in a bowl, wetted with water, with the spices to avoid using the olive oil spray, but honestly, I could not stand the idea of washing another dish. 

The thinner slices burned to a crisp, but the thicker, more evenly cut pieces looked like this:

They were in the oven a little over twenty minutes. Abby, our five-year-old Abyssinian cat had come to sit on my lap while they were baking. As she is not much of a lap cat, it was such a treat that I did not dare get up to check the potato like I should have. The next time I make this, I will probably check it in ten minute increments and pull out the thinner slices before they turn black. Very tasty though, even without salt and tons of fat like the store-bought variety. 

This salad consisted of romaine lettuce, heirloom tomatoes, cucumber, raw beet slices, and a little carrot. Boring as I can be, I am still using Annie's Naturals Fat Free Mango Vinaigrette. Delicious! Looked so vital and alive that I had to take a picture of it.

Believe it or not, these are red split lentils. Dry, they are a light coral red, but once cooked they lose their color and turn greenish-yellow. They cook up very quickly, which I love. (By the way, I had considered calling this blog, "The Lazy Vegan," but that title was already taken). 

I cooked the green onion, garlic, mushroom, and carrot in some vegetable broth for about five to ten minutes prior to adding ~3 cups of broth and 1 cup of lentils. I used my usual favorite spices: garlic powder, parsley, and poultry seasoning (maybe some thyme, too--cannot remember). After the broth heated through and cooked the lentils for about ten minutes, I then added about five big handfuls of spinach and wilted it before stirring everything together. The lentils soaked up the liquid quickly, and so to avoid burning them, I turned off the heat, covered them, and let them sit before serving. I had company over, so I let them sit for fifteen to twenty minutes prior to serving, but I probably would have filled up a bowl sooner if I had been alone. 

The plan is to branch out a little more this week. I bought some arugula and plan to follow the Italian Beans and Greens recipe in Neal Barnard, M.D.'s book, The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook. I made it a few years back, and although I am not normally a fan of the spicy arugula, I did like this recipe. The diced tomatoes and chickpeas seem to tame this leafy green. Photos coming soon. 

In addition to my usual favorites, I also purchased an eggplant today. Not sure what I am going to do with it yet, but I feel confident that it will be something good. 

And now on to month two...