During my pregnancy and the past month or so of holidays, I have had to explain to folks that just because I am vegan does not always mean I am healthy. I still eat macaroni and cheese and french fries and candy. I just eat it prepared in a different way. Now yes, I am much healthier in what I consume because there are much more veggies involved but at the same time I gained weight when I became vegan because before everything I ate made me ill for the most part. The thing is though, cake is still cake. Vegan cake is still fat and sugars and flour. It is just vegan sugars, plant based fats, and organic flour. All of which still hit you right on those hips.

So when I went to the grocery store with my younger step daughter I thought, we need to clean our menu up just a little more. No more white and wheat bread from the store, we need whole grain bread. No more refined white pasta, lets try some new grains that the kids aren’t used to like quinoa and blends of brown rice and amaranth etc. We need to change this up and make more “whole foods” come in. My husband had just complained the week before that he had been on a business trip and was so sick from the garbage food he ate while away that he couldn’t wait to come home. He even asked if we had something to detox him so he could feel better faster. I gave him some Detox tea by Yogi and a salad. I think that should start the healing. The idea though was a profound one, we had adjusted our lifestyle just enough the last 3 years that we couldn’t be an “average” American eating out and having subs anymore. I took a little pride in this but also was kinda shocked that these little changes I had made for myself had truly affected my whole family. Even my Midwestern, meat eating, cheese loving, butter dipping, corn fed husband.

So last night I tried a new vegan product and figured this would be one more step to eating better but still not completely compromising. I tried “Vegg” eqq yolk replacer for cooking (not the baking kind, although I tried that the other day and it worked great on cookies) and tried to make a quiche with broccoli and Daiya Jack cheese. I failed at the recipe miserably and I still am not sure why. I think it was a sign that maybe even this was too processed and rich. It smelled amazing but just would not come together and set. It kept turning to liquid. So I finally gave up after almost 2 hours of baking and made vegan “chicken” and a side of couscous and spinach for the kids and sulked in my room. When I came down 2 hours later the quiche had set while it was on the table! I tried it and it was tasty but I had heartburn straight through this morning from it. So for lunch I made a sandwich with Whole Grain bread some curried chicken salad with Beyond Meat, Just Mayo, Cranberries, and sliced almonds. I have realized that my combo of healthier vegan meat/egg options mixed with whole grains, veggies, fruits, and nuts is what is going to work for our family. The kids love the fake meats and the whole grains so its easy to integrate in veggies they like. I think this will be our “recipe” moving forward this year.

So here is to a not so unhealthy 2015 that is filled with good whole food and hope and not so much refinement 🙂

Much Love. Food is Love.

The Hippie Gypsy.