the first five days of my vegan challenge -- warning: this is a LONG post!

It's a new year. And that means millions of people are making resolutions. I'm not a fan of starting the year that way. So many resolutions are never accomplished, leaving the resolutioner feeling guilty, defeated, down. How's that for a happy new year, right?

So instead of a year-long resolution, I decided to make a 30-day commitment to trying something new. Enter the vegan 'challenge'.



For 30 days, I will stick to a vegan diet (of whole foods), cooking at home as much as possible. Since I eat a mostly plant-based diet to begin with, eating vegan foods won't be the difficult part. The real 'challenge' will cooking meals at home. While I love cooking, I also love eating out, a habit I'd like to break (or take a little break from).

This is what I've discovered in the first five days:

-- Extra holiday weight falls off pretty quickly when you're eating a plant-based diet.

-- Planning meals ahead of time is key. That way you'll have ingredients on hand at mealtime.

-- Cooking your meals at home is the only way to take 100% control of what goes into your body.

-- Salads are delicious, even in the winter when it's cold (hint: add hot grains to your salad or heat your dressing).

-- And, sticking to a vegan diet has been easier and more fun than I originally thought!

I wanted to share the recipes and photos of the foods I make and eat over the next month so I hope you enjoy them as much as I do eating them :)

Peace and love

~Jo

Day 1: Breakfast

Green smoothie

Smoothies, especially green smoothies, are delicious when made in a powerful blender (i.e. Vitamix) so the cell walls of the veggies can be broken down, resulting in a creamy and refreshing smoothie (instead of sipping salad). 

Smoothie ingredients (in this order)

1 cup frozen pineapple

1/4 to 1/2 cup of filtered water

1 banana

2 large fist fulls of baby spinach

3-4 ice cubes

Start with 1/4 cup of water. You may need to add more to get the desired consistency.

Mix all ingredients in the blender. Blend, baby, blend.

It's that simple.

Day 1: Lunch

Carrot and cabbage salad with sesame-ginger-tahini dressing

Salad ingredients

5-6 carrots shredded

2 green onions, chopped

1 1/2 cups cabbage (I used green but savoy would work well, too)

1 TBS of sesame seeds, hulled

I didn't have any avocados in the house at the time, but they would make a great addition.

Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl and set aside while you prepare the dressing.

Dressing ingredients

A variation from Natalia Rose's Raw Food Detox Diet "Asian Dressing"

2 tablespoon raw tahini

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, chopped

2 tablespoons Nama Shoyu soy sauce

1 lemon, juiced

3 tablespoons sesame oil (I used dark)

4 drops of liquid stevia (you could use honey if you aren't following a vegan diet)

Mix all ingredients in a blender.

Lightly toss the carrot salad with the dressing. Note: there will be more salad dressing than needed for the salad. Start with a little dressing and taste the salad. The worst thing is having an over-dressed, soppy salad.

Day 1: Dinner

Vegan pesto pizza 

This pizza was so good. My mouth waters just looking at the photo.

Side note: my husband, who we'll call, ME, is not doing the challenge with me so his non-vegan pizza is sitting behind mine.

Pizza ingredients

Pizza dough (I 'cheated' and used a ready-made pizza dough)

1/2 cup Pesto sauce (recipe below)

1/4 cup red onion, sliced

Sliced mushrooms, chopped into smaller pieces  (I only used a few because my pizza wasn't big)

1 cup Daiya vegan 'cheese', mozzarella style

If you're using store-bought dough, take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before you're ready to start the pizza. 

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. 

Roll the dough out to the thickness and size you desire. Spread the pesto sauce on the dough, leaving a 1" circumference for the crust. Spread the cheese on top of the sauce and layer the other ingredients on top.

Sprinkle some cornmeal on a baking sheet (or pizza stone if you're using one) and place pizzas on the sheet. Place the pizzas on the lowest rack of the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is a light brown color.

Pesto Recipe

Growing up in an Italian household, I adore pesto. I've spiced up my mother's pesto recipe by swapping walnuts for pine nuts and took out the cheese. Even she can't tell the difference! Walnuts are packed with healthy omegas so nourish your brain while you enjoy this sauce :)

2 cups fresh basil, loosely packed

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup walnuts

1 teaspoon salt (I use Himalayan rock salt)

1 cup olive oil

Combine basil and salt in a blender and blend at low speed for a few seconds. Add the other ingredients but only half of the oil. Be careful not to over blend because pesto is best when it has texture. Scrape the side and bottom of the blender and re-blend on low for a few seconds. Pour the mixture into a bowl and add the remaining oil and blend by hand.

Day 2: Dinner

Scalloped potatoes with garlic and basil

Potato ingredients

6-7 yukon gold potatoes, sliced (I used my food processor to get the right thickness)

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/2 cup Earth Balance

Salt

Pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 

Using a mandoline, food processor, or (if you have a steady hand) knife, slice the potatoes 1/8" thick. Layer the potatoes in a 13 x 9 baking dish, adding salt and pepper over each layer. Set aside.

Melt the Earth Balance over medium-low heat in a small to medium saucepan. Once melted, add the garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes, making sure not to burn the garlic. Add the basil and continue to saute for another 1-2 minutes. Pour mixture over the potatoes and bake in the oven for at least one hour, checking after about 40 minutes until top layer of potatoes are brown and crispy. 

Day 3: Dinner

Hearty salad with Field Roast and 30-second vinaigrette

Hearty salad ingredients

2 fist fulls of salad greens (I chose arugula and field greens)

1 avocado, chopped

1 handfull of grape tomatoes

1 handfull of walnuts

1 cooked Field Roast link, sliced

Place greens on large plate. Arrange the rest of the ingredients on top. 

Serve with 30-second vinaigrette.

30-second vinaigrette

Cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil (first press, if possible)

Balsamic vinegar

Dijon mustard

It's really this simple: find a container and lid with a tight seal. Add olive while counting to four (1, 2, 3, 4). Stop. Add vinegar while counting to 2 (if you have a stopper on your vinegar bottle, shake it out while counting to 5 since it takes longer for the vinegar to come out). Add a spoonful of dijon mustard. If you really like mustard, add another half spoonful. Make sure the lid is on tightly and shake away for 10 seconds. 

Drizzle over salad. Store the rest in the fridge.

Day 4: Dinner

Avocado and tempeh sandwiches with chiptole 'nayo' and sweet potato chips

Sweet potato chips (make these first before starting the sandwich)

I used Martha Stewart's recipe that can be found here. 

Suggestion: don't leave the lime out. It really makes a difference!

Sandwich ingredients

2 slices sprouted bread (I love Alvarado Street Bakery)

3 slices tempeh bacon (I use Litelife Organic Smoky Tempeh Strips)

A couple slices of red onion

Chipotle 'nayo' (recipe below)

Handful of arugula 

In a large pan, cook the tempeh bacon over medium heat until brown and crispy on both sides. Set aside.

Toast the bread and spread a layer of chipotle 'nayo' on one side of each piece of bread. Arrange the arugula on one side of the bread, over the 'nayo'. Break the tempeh bacon in half and arrange on top of the arugula. Add the avocado on top, along with the onion. Cover with the last piece of bread and cut the sandwich in half.

Chipotle 'nayo'

2 tablespoons dairy-free mayonnaise (I use Nayonaise)

1-2 teaspoons chipotle powder, depending on how spicy you want

Combine ingredients in a small ramekin. 

If you want to make a bigger batch, use 1/4 cup of dairy-free mayo and 2-3 teaspoons of chipotle powder.

Day 5: Breakfast

Mixed berry chia breakfast pudding

I'm new to the chia party but I LOVE it. I love how it gelatinizes and can be added to smoothies or made into pudding-like treats. Chia is also packed with omega-3 and omega-6! I added walnuts and banana to my breakfast chia but you could add anything you like. 

Mixed berry chia breakfast pudding ingredients

1/3 cup chia seeds

1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk (I used homemade almond milk)

1 cup frozen mixed berries (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries)

Agave syrup

Combine non-dairy milk and berries in a blender and blend until well mixed. The mixture will be a gorgeous purple color. Pour into a container (with a lid) and add chia seeds. Stir mixture twice in the span of 10 minutes, cover and place in the fridge to set for about two hours. Once set, the mixture will be a pudding-like consistency.

Side note: you can make this the night before and stick in the fridge so it'll be ready for you in the morning.

Add agave syrup to achieve your desired sweetness. Garnish with fresh fruit or nuts and enjoy!

Day 5: Dinner

Mixed green salad with quinoa and homemade dijon dressing

(Pictured with another batch of sweet potato chips ... they were that good)

Salad ingredients

2 fistfulls of your favorite mixed greens

1 avocado, sliced

Handfull of grape tomatoes

1/8 cup red onion, sliced

3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed and cooked

Dijon dressing (recipe below)

Cook quinoa according to package's directions. In my case, I boiled 1 1/4 cup of water, added 1 cup of rinsed quinoa and simmered for 12 minutes. 

Mix greens, avocado, tomato and red onion together and place on a large plate.

Add quinoa to the salad. Serve with dijon dressing.

Dijon dressing

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (I use Bragg)

1/4 cup cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon of agave syrup (or honey, if you're not following a vegan diet)

Combine all ingredients in blender until smooth. 

Serve with salad. Store the remainder in a container in the fridge.

Stay tuned for more photos and recipes!