Still Going Bananas

For lunch today, the kids and I had chicken nuggets with the nutrient-rich side of macaroni & cheese. Tonight we're going to McDonald's. Every time I eat now, I lament that it may be the last time I eat that particular meal. I try to enjoy the crunch of the baked-on batter and the salty creaminess of the cheese sauce. When we were at Mickey-Dee's last weekend, I actually took my waiting time to look around the lobby and soak in the atmosphere. I thought of how I may never stand in that spot again with desire in my heart. And no, a McDonald's salad does not produce "desire in my heart."

Saturday I drove to the Dells for a meeting. And as I passed the many fields of cattle, I looked at all the big, stupid cows standing on the precious commodity of fertile earth. I wondered how much more of the world we could feed if we eliminated farm animals. But then I considered how much I love me some Texas Roadhouse. Oh the complicated life of me.

While Jeremiah and I made a pretty good dent in our browning bananas yesterday, there were still 4 hopefuls left hanging over my fruit basket. Coincidentally, I had the opportunity to watch my niece Malia for a few hours today. I can think of no better way to bond with a 5-year-old girl than to bake together. So bake we did. And yes, banana muffins were again on the docket. This time I followed a recipe I have for blueberry banana muffins. This recipe has oil (unlike the others) and used honey as a sweetener. Still no dairy or sugar. This one was the best of the three so far (I don't remember which website I picked up the recipe, but I can get cha a recipe upon request).

I also went to Target today and picked up a cuter binder to keep my recipes in. The recycled one I had started with was breaking, and the top ring of the "3 rings" didn't hold the pages when I turned them. That was a little irritating (to keep it G-rated). Anyway, I am posting my first ever blog photo, because I really like the dumb thing :)

Banana-rama

Guess what?! Only 8 months until Christmas! (You may proceed with a groan or a smile or whatever response that idea evokes.)

We experimented with 3 different recipes this week (2 of which are nearly identical). Sunday we had Tim & Ness over, and together we whipped up this cool little concoction. I had some reservations about it, but it turned out so VERY yummy. We're not sure which of the seasonings betrayed us, but something was way too spicy. If only we could add sour cream. *sigh* We'll experiment with it and hopefully pinpoint the Judas. Because it was quite delicious :)

This morning, my little Jeremiah really wanted a banana. But every one he opened had at least one huge, black spot of slimy nastiness looking up at him. And you know what they say, "When life hands you black bananas, give them to mom for baking." Well. . . the saying could go like that. Who likes lemonade better than banana bread anyway?

Needless to say, I proceeded to bake. I tried two different banana "muffins." One was actually supposed to be a cookie. Meh. Reading comprehension was always a weak spot for me in those scantron bubble test dealies. They still tasted good. Here's the site where the recipes came from. The cookie thing is on Day 1, and the muffins are on Day 19.

Today I started assembly on my 3-ring binder home-made cook book. Not because I'm crafty and cute, either. No single vegan cookbook contains more than, say, 5 recipes that sound edible. And I'm not about to buy my own cook book. I decided to make it with page protectors instead of punching holes in easy-to-tear, easy-to-stain paper. I also had the brilliant idea of sliding coupons for ingredients in different meals right into the slip cover. That way I can't forget to use the stinkin' things. That felt like a stroke of brilliance.

Grocer Swap?

So for the past 3 or so consecutive nights, I've had dreams of being a vegan. Last night's adventure included eating the best red beans & rice ever known to man. I was SO excited that something so ordinary could taste so amazing. Come to find out, the lady who was making them for everyone was arrested. Why? For enhancing the recipe with marijuana. Ugh, you can't win them all.

This was my first week actually shopping at three different grocery stores. Wednesday, I hit up Walmart for some basic re-stocking. Today I went to Aldi (the staple in my budget) and then Woodman's for all the "weird" stuff like bulgar, oat flour, cereal without sugar or additives, soy yogurt, nutritional yeast. I think I may be needing to make the switch to just Woodman's & Aldi. *deep breaths* Change is good. Change is good. . .

Some of Woodman's prices are definitely better than Walmart's. Overall, prices are pretty comparable. It's just hard to muster up desire to shop somewhere completely foreign. I feel like a tourist walking all slowly, squinting at the aisle-description signs. Grocery shopping (especially with wee ones) is laborious enough when I know where EVERY item in the store is located. This "new" thing is for the birds.

And does anyone know what's up with their mini carts? Who can fit more than 2 days worth of food in those things? And am I the only mom on the planet with a baby who thinks her purpose in life is to shift every item (within reach) from the basket to the floor? I seriously doubt it. With these carts, every item is within reach! Who product tests these things? Worst.Design.Ever. Rant complete.

I should just be thankful we even have Woodman's. This fast would be significantly more difficult if we were trying to do this with the stock on Walmart's and Aldi's shelves. Ness did go to the co-op today and said it's like hippie-ingredient heaven (not an exact quote). Apparently I'll have to be checking that out some time. Hopefully their hemp products don't get me arrested. Yes, vegans eat "hemp" stuff. It was news to me too.

T minus 2 weeks

First of all, I'd like to say that I intended this "user" to be named "Six-Week Vegan" and not the lame name I typed in and canNOT for the life of me figure out how to change. That being said. . .

Two weeks from yesterday, we will begin our dive into veganism. I think I just made that word up. We're feeling rather veganistic. Vegan-ish? Vegany? Ooo, we could be Veganese. Maybe we can re-title it veganarianism. Wow, a bunny trail in the first paragraph. Yikes!

Why vegan? Well about 2 weeks ago, I came home to Rodney watching this documentary. We laid in bed the next morning talking about the things he learned. What stuck out most to him was the connection between animal protein and cancer.

(There are several links between the two, and you can watch the movie to find out all about it-- because I'm certainly not explaining it here :) It's on "instant" for Netflix right now.)

The generation just before Rodney has been almost completely wiped out by cancer already. So this kind of struck a nerve in him. He wants to get blood work done before we start the "fast" and again after the 6 weeks to see if there's a noticeable change.

We have company in this. My brother and his wife (Tim & Ness) are going to join the endeavor. It's great to have someone along because I know nothing of tofu, quinoa, flax seed, TVP, xanthan gum, nutritional yeast, tempeh, or any of the many many un-prounouncable hippie ingredients that are IMPOSSIBLE to find. Clearly, everyone knows that if Walmart doesn't carry it, then no one does (I have never spent so much time gawking in foreign grocery aisles. I feel like a Kindergartner deciphering which clown is the least scary). Anyway, it's nice to have someone to experiment with, to park their butt next to mine in Barnes & Noble (whilst they try kicking us out), and to just sift things out alongside me.

My sister-in-law Julia actually watched the same movie we did and just got up and went shopping. She's already cut out a lot of dairy and most meats. That's just not fair. I'm trodding this all precariously, like a cat stepping around puddles, and she's off like a shell from a sniper rifle.

I can say that my appreciation for the internet and its wealth of information has come to closely resemble worship. It answers EVERY question I have! Right away! Awesome. How do I substitute wheat flour? What is glucose? How do I cook non-meat, non-processed, non-dairy foods?!?!?!?!?!

Seriously. We've had processed food for like what, 100 years? That means we've had 10,000 years of mommas cooking up rice & beans & veggies. And I can't find more than a handful of recipes that I can even pronounce, let alone cook. Something must be wrong with me. BUT with the amazing internet, I'm able to cherry-pick the wealth of informative websites and pull bits and pieces from where I want.

The journey is becoming less scary all the time. I'll keep ya'll posted.