Menu for Vegan Week of 3/22 - Switching to a Plant-Base Diet

So over Spring Break, I read a book about the benefits of eating a plant-base diet: The Engine 2 Diet, and I must tell you that I am a convert. The book is written by an Austin firefighter and triathlete, Rip Esselstyn. The diet was conceived by his father, a cardiologist, and the arguments and data he shows are very persuasive. A group of 60 people got on this diet for 28 days. At the end of the 28 days, their average total cholesterol had dropped by 30% which totally makes sense if you are eliminating animal products, you are basically eliminating bad cholesterol! Mind you, the study was not "scientific" (ie, there's no control group, no statistically significant data, etc.) but still very convincing. Many of the participants also mentioned feeling an increase in energy shortly after starting this diet.

Then, when we got back home after Spring Break, we opened our Stanford Alumni magazine and there was a short, but inspirational article about an alum who at 40 realized he needed to go back to his athletic self (he was a champion swimmer in his college years). He switched to a plant-based diet and noticed how much more energy he had after only a week on the diet. He now runs triathlons and is writing a book about his experience.

So we thought, what the heck? What have we got to lose, but bad cholesterol? So we are trying out being Vegan for just a month. We are calling it our detox diet. :) We are not sure we are going to stay on it after the month, but are hoping it will help us lower our overall intake of animal products.

Our kids are not participating yet. They still love their chicken nuggets, ham, pork chops, milk, eggs, and cheese (plus all their veggies, fruit, and other healthy food), but we are hoping they will slowly make the switch with us, especially after we let them watch Food Inc. I don't think Nati will be eating meat if she sees a single animal in distress because of her eating habits.

So far, it is going well, but then again, it is only day 2! Below is our menu for this week, including breakfast and lunches.

Saturday:

• Breakfast - Cereal with soy milk and fruit
• Lunch - Falafels
• Dinner -Aloo Ghobi Masala (south east asian potato, cauliflower, and peas dish), Vegetables with dip, Mango Sorbet

Sunday:

• Breakfast - Pancakes made with soy milk, apple sauce, whole wheat flour, and Ener-G egg replacer instead of cow's milk, oil, white flour, and egg.
• Lunch - Sandwich made with avocado, tomato, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, cilantro, lemon and cracked pepper. LOVE THIS!!!!
• Dinner - Potato and cauliflower soup with bread, steamed edamame, orange sections, veggie tray and strawberry sorbet (starting to think this stuff is too sweet for me!)

Monday:

• Breakfast - Corn tortilla tacos of scrambled Tofu with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, turmeric, and dash of Tabasco sauce
• Lunch - My favorite sandwich (see yesterday's lunch!)
• Dinner - Leftover potato and cauliflower soup with homemade bread and salad with homemade peanut dressing

Tuesday:

• Breakfast - Corn tortilla tacos made with potatoes, soy bacon, and salsa
• Lunch - Bean burritos with corn tortillas, leftover salad
• Dinner - Linguini with Mushroom Stroganoff made with tofu and nutritional yeast

Wednesday:

• Breakfast - Scrambled Tofu a la Mexicana (with serrano pepper, tomato, onion)
• Lunch - Leftover Linguini
• Dinner - Black beans with toppings served over brown rice

Thursday:

• Breakfast - Oatmeal with raisins, almonds, bananas and honey
• Lunch - Leftover black beans and rice
• Dinner - "Cheesy" Broccoli Soup (made with cashews, nutritional yeast, and pimentos instead of cheese) - ANOTHER FAVORITE!!!!

Friday:

• Breakfast - Migas (scrambled tofu with tortilla strips, tomato, onion, pepper, mushrooms) with Refried beans and Tortillas
• Lunch - Leftover broccoli soup
• Dinner - Whole wheat pasta with Tomato Sauce and salad

This is so much fun!!!!