Day 40 of eating vegan!!!!!!!

Yes I have not posted in a while but I am still eating vegan! yippee! Last week my family joined a local health club and we have been going everyday which is one reason for my absense here on the blog. The other reason is that have been the past three days with sort of zombie sinus/head cold thing. Today I have decided to got to the doctor because I don't want my three day weekend coming up to be ruined.
So today will a quick update and this evening or tomorrow I will post all my new recipes that have been hits...and some flops.

K, so up until a few days when I came down with whatever it is I have, I have felt great!!!! More energy than I have ever had before going vegan. My clothes fit better each week and some activities are just easier in general.

The family is now on board....well at least not complaining.....about me only feeding vegan foods in our home. I have noticed hubby making healthier choices when we go out as well.

Speaking of hubby, since going vegan at home he has brought is blood pressure down quiet a bit. He is still in the high zone but at least he is out of the "bout to have a stroke" zone. His chiropractor he saw a few days ago has been very impressed and I am super proud of him too.

I have had some folks tell me I got sick this week because of my vegan diet. Yes thats like saying eating  a twinkie will make you well....stupid. Honestly though, being sick once in almost two months is kinda a record low for me because I tend to spend half my days feeling like pooh anyway.....so yes I got sick but I still feel I am winning.

Ok thats all I have time for right now, got to head to the doctor now. Have a fabulous day everyone!!!!!

One Month Eating Vegan!!!!!!

I have passed the first month mark of eating only vegan!!!! I hate to brag, but yeah, I am so proud of me. It has not been easy the entire time thus far but when I compare how I am feeling now versus before going vegan, it is easy to stay on track. Some weight and inches have come off although I am not sure how much yet because I have not stepped on a scale but my clothes are fitting better and I feel "lighter" in general. I have an appointment with my thyroid doctor coming up this month so I will find out then how I am doing. For once I am super excited about this appointment, normally I am nervous about what the blood work and scale are going to reveal each visit. This time I am excited to see the positive changes in the data that I feel confident are there.

I realized real quick last week that if I am going to only serve healthy vegan food at home to the entire family, I had better provide lots of yummy vegan snacks to ward off the whines from my family. My husband and kids love chips, which are mostly vegan but also loaded with chemicals and fat. I discovered roasted chickpeas this weekend and they were an instant favorite. These yummy bites remind me of corn nuts and you can season them with just about anything you want. I have used plain salt, taco seasoning, a dry bbq rub which makes them taste like bbq flavored chips and plan on doing a vinegar and salt  version this week. These babies are so good that I have a hard time keeping them made because they disappear as soon as they are cooled.

To make these all you need to do is buy some dry chickpeas/garbanzo beans from your market. You can used the canned cooked version but for ultimate crunchy goodness start with the dry ones instead. I bought mine from the bulk bin and filed a good sized container for less than a few bucks so this is also a very economical snack as well. Once you have your dry chickpeas you will need to rinse them then place them in a bowl of water to soak. I let mine soak overnight or for approximately 4-5 hrs, you want them to be almost double in size and soft enough you can bit into.

Next drain and rinse ans spread them out on a towel of some sorts. I use a big flour sack cloth on my kitchen counter for mine. Let them dry for about 2 hours, you don't want them wet because they will chewy instead of crunchy in the end. If you are using the canned chickpeas than you will want to drain and rinse them and lay them out to dry in the same manner.

Once your chickpeas are fairly dry, spread them out on cookie sheet or shallow pan. I put the tiniest faintest amount of non stick spray on mine but if you are not concerned about the fat you can just toss the chickpeas with olive oil first. Bake on 350 for about an hour, stirring every 15-20 minutes. As soon as they come out of the oven season them and place somewhere they can cool. I usually just pour mine onto a plate to let cool.
Once they are cool you can store them in any container really, keep them in a baggy in your purse, a jar in your office or car....they are yummy and easy anywhere.

I have so many more new recipes to share with you, I can't wait....but I must because I have a ton of errands to run today and I best be getting with it.

Have a lovely day everyone!