Plant Based Diet Week 1

I am going to post hopefully every friday a wrap-up of my week on the whole plant based diet thing.  I'll apologize right now to those of you who couldn't care less.  But it's a good way to keep myself accountable if I put things out there that other people can see.  9*9**9*9--------*999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999*

Okay- see all those 9s?  I went to the bathroom and came back to Moyz blogging for me!

Anyway, on to week 1 summary.

Week one was better than I thought it was going to be in terms of me not feeling hungry all the time.  I really thought I was going to feel like I was starving, but not so much.  I ran out of items to make tabouli 2 days ago, and this diet is a lot harder to figure out what to eat if I don't have that around.  But my kids thought it was time for me to move on anyway.  They repeatedly asked me how many times could I eat tabouli, and I have to admit that while I completely love it, even I was getting a little tired of it, not sick of it, but tired.

I have not had one episode where I could feel my blood sugar crashing so I am excited about that.  But I have had quite a few moments where I wished I could have eaten something.  I miss eggs like crazy.  I usually eat some form of eggs for breakfast, and hard-boiled were often snacks.  I also was craving a yogurt smoothie with plain yogurt and fruit, but no go.  It will be interesting to see if I still want these foods after an entire month.

Last night I went to the Hunger Games again, and two girlfriends of mine just happened to be there.  And they had a humongous vat of movie popcorn with them.  I was so sad.  The smell was so wonderful, but I resisted!

One of the biggest issues I have had, and it's not a very delicate one, eating all these vegetables has given me gas like I have never had before.  I am not kidding.  I fart all of the time.  I am hoping that this issue will resolve itself, because I don't want to be known as the lady that farts all the time!  Owen thinks it rocks that I can fart a lot.  And poor Chris, let's just say I feel bad for him!

This is what I am making tonight:

Lentil Soup


Ingredients:

• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot sliced
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup dry lentils
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• dash salt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Preparation:

In a large pot, sautee the onions and carrot in the vegetable oil for 3-5 minutes until onions turn clear.

Add the vegetable broth, lentils, pepper, thyme, bay leaves and salt.

Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until lentils are soft, about 45 minutes. Remove bay leaves and stir in lemon juice before serving. Makes 4 servings of lentil soup.

I will probably have something meat related for the rest of my family and a salad as well.  I haven't really missed desserts, but I have sort of compensated by eating a lot of strawberries, still I would love a piece of chocolate.  

And of course, the last piece: weight loss.  I have lost 2 pounds this week.  I was kind of hoping for more, seeing as I am only eating vegetables and fruit for the most part, but I am not going to be upset at any loss.  For those who may be wondering how the whole going to Peru thing is going, I have been feeling really bad at a trip that would literally cost thousands of dollars that definitely can be spent more wisely somewhere else (like finishing the basement to get more bedrooms!) but we will be doing something big if I can lose that much weight.  My little trip to Montana set me back big time.  I gained 4 pounds in 4 days.  I don't even want to talk about it!

PS. I know at least one of you is doing this as well, and I would love to hear recipes and how it is going for you!  I checked out happyherbivore.com that one of you suggested and it is a great website for anyone who might be interested in it.