Vegan Challenge Recap

I can't believe it's already been 30 days. When I first decided to do this, one month felt like such a long time, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to finish through with it. Other than one accident and an unavoidable situation at camp, everything was good! I never had any cravings, which was surprising to me. I would say that a vegan diet requires a little bit more work. I had to make sure to read ingredient lists more carefully because a lot of things have milk or egg in them, and normally I would never think twice about putting it in my mouth. Overall, I don't really feel any different. Maybe I don't eat as much dairy as I thought, so the adjustment wasn't a huge change.

Nothing Like a Big Salad

 

After eating camp food for 4 days! Camp was just as awesome as last year, and I couldn't have asked for a better team. Mao Hiem! This was my second year at Len Duong camp, but it was also my first real challenge during my vegan month. It was hard enough just getting vegetarian food there, so I definitely was not vegan for those couple of days. That's okay though, because sometimes you just have to work with what is offered, and being from Texas, vegetarianism is pretty foreign to a lot of people. But now that I'm home, I can't wait to start experimenting with new recipes again!

First Test

I was making these crackers when my dad came home bearing pizzas from Dominos! Anyone who knows me I absolutely love pizza and can always eat it. Unfortunately, I couldn't this time, because it was covered in cheese, even the crust. And I was proud of myself for not caving in! Also, the weird thing was they forgot the tomato sauce! My dad called Dominos just to make sure he didn't order wrong or something, and they definitely left it out by accident. Has anyone ever heard of that??
Anyway, this was my second time making these crackers. I rolled out the dough thicker this time, so it had more of a chew. The seeds in the crackers definitely make the recipe; it gives such a nice nutty flavor, and wonderful smell.

Improv

I don't even know what to call the breakfast I've had the past two days, but it's so good I had it again. Still wasn't quite satisfied after the oats bowl, so I had a CLIF bar. Pretty excited to learn they're vegan!

Today, I started my summer job at Alphagraphics, but didn't really have the work hours confirmed, so I didn't think to pack a lunch. My really nice boss offered me some fruit! And cheese, which I had to decline.

I was really craving some tofu/veggies with brown rice when I got home, but realized we were out of rice. So tofu/veggies with pasta it was!


When my mom came home, she brought my favorite Vietnamese dessert that my aunt had made! My sister and I used to make tre troi nuoc with my grandma when we younger. We loved to roll the mini dough balls.


After reading this post, I was in a baking mood! Of course I veganized it with flax eggs; also, omitted the dried mango and coconut. The muffin was a bit dry, but still good!

Repeat

Double post today since there's been problems with blogger for the past 2 days.
A day of repeat eats!
Same breakfast as yesterday + strawberries. . .still delicious



I went to College Station again to meet with a professor, and ended up at the same Indian restaurant for lunch when I was in CS last time. Naan is soo good. 



We got home later than expected, and I didn't feel like making something new.. so, more yummy tofu tacos!

Pringles Aren’t Vegan

I woke up kinda late this morning, then got distracted by Grey's Anatomy, so "breakfast" was more like a very late lunch. Leftover oat flour from yesterday's "cookie dough" balls combined with almond milk, honey roasted PB, bananas, almond cluster crumbs, and strawberry banana flaxseed muffin...so good.


Random snacking the rest of the day . . where I discovered lots of things have dairy in them, like Pringles..whoops.

I want to try to make at least one new recipe each day, so dinner tonight was inspired by spicy tofu tacos  from one of my favorite blogs, Peas and Thank You.

I Got Some Bubblicious. . . For Old Time’s Sake

Third day in a row of waffles for breakfast. . . can't get enough of 'em! strawberries + honey on one, bananas + almond butter on the other


Today I met up with Vicki in the Woodlands for a shopping day! 




Afterward, I had a salad at Hubbell & Hudson. The salad bar was like Whole Foods, and it was so expensive. It seemed like I barely had anything, and it was almost $7. Pretty good though. . I threw in beets, broccoli, baby tomatoes, edamame, black beans, corn, brown rice, spinach, romaine, lentils, chickpeas, artichoke, mushrooms, and a barley stuffed grape leaf.


Vicki and I shared a strawberry/mango mix for a snack later.


Pasta with marinara for dinner.


For dessert, I made some of "cookie dough" but changed up the recipe a little by omitting protein powder, adding 1 tbsp of flax, and additional tbsp of oat flour. Mmm, so good. I ate two before the picture, whoops.

So my sister moved out of her dorm for the summer and had to use up some dining dollars, so she came back with some random things and came in exclaiming "I got some Bubblicious, for old time's sake!"

Overall, the first day went well. I feel like my snacking when I'm not hungry habit won't happen as much because I usually go for something with dairy in it. Also, I've noticed how much more aware I am of making sure there aren't eggs or dairy in what I'm eating, which is something I never usually think about.