What Our New Diet Has Been Like

So we're trying to get away from the idea that meat is the center of our meals. Before, the rest of the meal was centered around the meat. And, if for some reason something else couldn't be found, then just the meat would do :) But now, we're "re-centering" our meals, as it were.

The center is now potatoes, rice, beans, and/or pasta. These are the starch based foods that provide a solid center for a vegan diet.

Here's some of the meals we've had in the last week:
- Seasoned and baked diced potatoes, steamed broccoli and squash
- Wheat soft tacos with (vegan) refried beans, Spanish rice, lettuce, and Taco Bell sauce (surprisingly vegan)
- Beans burgers with pickles, lettuce, mustard, and ketchup with baked potato fries (Angela and Tracy Reed made patties from a bean-based recipe)
- Wheat spaghetti noodles with a garlic and herb spaghetti sauce by Ragu
- Rice with carrots and broccoli eaten with soy sauce
- Chili with Williams brand chili seasoning, pinto beans and cannellini beans, eaten with wheat crackers
- Boca brand vegan "chicken" patty on a whole wheat bun with Lays baked plain potato chips

- Tomato basil soup with wheat crackers
- Breaded and baked eggplant

For desserts we've done
- Fruit salad
- Pineapple sherbet
- Frozen fruit (cut up strawberries or blue berries)
- Vegan brownies

For breakfast we do:
- Fruits
- Organic oatmeal
- Organic or whole grain cereal

For in-between snacks and such:
- Baby carrots
- Veggie tray of some kind
- Peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat or multi-grain bread
- Fruits
- Organic or whole grain cereal

Some stuff we've got coming up:
- Steamed corn on the cob
- Nutty french toast with maple syrup
- Potato boiled with fresh green beans

So as you can see, we've been eating pretty great! We've been careful to read the labels of the food we buy so as to avoid stuff with lard or milk or eggs as ingredients. It's amazing how much stuff has these things in them... especially milk and eggs.

When possible we choose things with very little or no oil/fat content and as little sugar as we can. And we've been choosing organic foods whenever possible. When presented with the choice, we choose sugar over oil. Sugar will process out of your body way faster than oil.

With this diet, Angela and I have been losing weight, and have felt healthier than we have in a very long time. We've also be amazed as how much more often we get hungry. Snacks are a must!