Almost there....

So, tomorrow the great adventure that is veganism begins. In preparation, I've been feverishly going through my vegan cookbooks, trying to decide which recipes I'm brave enough to try. (And which ones I can trick my man into eating). The problem that I keep encountering is this. Just because a recipe is vegan, doesn't necessarily mean it's healthier than a non-vegan meal. I mean, sure, you cut out cheese and meat, but there are still cheese substitutes and meat and dairy substitutes that are still quite high in fat. Not to mention, so many times these vegan substitutes are way more processed and "fake" than the real thing! I don't want to cut one type of junk out of my diet, only to replace it with an equally bad junk. And there's also the fact that I'm a bit unsure when it comes to meat substitutes.. I know a lot of vegetarians and vegans love them, but honestly, I think I'd rather just eat grilled or roasted veggies than try to choke down tofu, tempeh, seitan, or textured vegetable protein. (Seriously, could they think of less appetizing names for these things?) So trying to find recipes has been a challenge, because most often, vegan cookbooks are chock full of normal recipes with vegan meat substitutes instead of real meat. And then there are the cooking methods. There are so many recipes that look so yummy, but they're fried! And yes, I love french fries as much as the next girl, and it's great that they're vegan but.. umm.. I'm trying to lose weight here!

I have found one book that has been super helpful, and that is the Engine 2 diet book. It's written by a former triathlete and current firefighter who eats only a plant based diet, and trust me, he's still got plenty of muscle. He's also the son of one of the scientists cited in the documentary Forks over Knives, which is what drew me to him. Not only does he advocate eating a plant based diet, but also cutting out all added oils (gasp!), refined sugars, and eating only whole grains. I actually haven't read the entire book.. cause I wasn't looking for just another diet. But in the back, he's got quite a collection of recipes. Some are also on his website, here, if you're interested. Some of these recipes look really great, and so easy to do! There are simply weekday breakfasts and lunches (you know, for those normal people who have school and jobs to go to, and don't have time to spend all day cooking) and some really good looking dinner recipes too. He uses tofu a little bit, but not too often, and hardly ever as the main dish. He also has some awesome looking recipes for oil-free, egg-free, dairy-free salad dressings! Yeah, I didn't know it was possible either.  I'll definitely be reviewing some of those for you here soon! He's even got quite a collection of desserts! The book has definitely been worth the price, even if only for the recipes. 

In other news, I'm still looking for a job. Which sucks. Interviewed last week at Red Robin (Ha! It'd suck to work there and be vegan), but I haven't heard back from them yet. Applied for an administrative assistant job, which pays up to 22 dollars an hour (!), and I'm hoping to hear back from them this week. The man had an interview with Target on Monday, and I have one tomorrow with a daycare, and Friday with a caregiving company. So hopefully something comes out of one of these leads. If not.. well, I guess we'll just keep plugging away. For the moment, I guess I'm off to do laundry and make myself a grocery list. Being grown up is not all its cracked up to be.