[Amber Week 3/4]

Weeks three and four of this experiment were a mixed bag for me. I already knew that the struggle was VERY real thanks to week two, but I was still optimistic. I tried out some new recipes, a lot of them were tasty and filling. My downsides during these weeks came when I planned a girls night with my college friends and my sister-in-laws baby shower. At least for my sister-in-laws baby shower, I could bring my own food. It was hard to resist the yummy temptations my sister and mother made for the shower, but I did it. And I didn't go hungry. The problem was that everyone noticed what I was eating. And asked me questions. Or made comments on how "i'm so healthy". The description just didn't fit with me. I don't feel like a healthy person. I can demolish candy like its my job and eat more chips and junk than I care to admit. So when people point out how I'm singling myself out with my "healthier" choices, it makes me uncomfortable. Kind of like when someone says they like my shirt and I say how cheaply I bought it for. I deflect. I guess that was one of the things I was learning this month. I felt uncomfortable. Like I was segregating myself. It was weird for me. Although, oddly enough, everyone was very supportive the challenge and said that my food photos made them want to try out vegan. So I guess that was a win for me this month.

Then when my dinner date with the girls came around during the last month, I was met with the same frustration I felt when I had to pick a date night location. I didn't want to be difficult. I didn't want to make it harder for the girls to find a place to eat. But I also didn't want to eat a salad without dressing. Luckily my friends are super accommodating and found somewhere for me, but really, my options on the menu were limited. And thats not to say I didn't have a delicious meal. Its just hard to go somewhere and know you pretty much only have one options. And then drool over your friends meals that you probably would have ordered had you not been vegan.

I guess the biggest thing is with going vegan is your mentality. I love to eat. I love to eat eeeevveerrryything. So when your diet becomes as restrictive as mine did this month, you feel like your taste buds are missing out. Even though you know you've made tasty things. That vegan food isn't boring or tasteless. In my brain, I always think about what I CAN'T have instead of what I CAN have. And thats probably my biggest struggle with this. But alas, I made it the full month without giving up and I can honestly say I'm super fucking proud of myself.

Stay tuned for my honest review of our vegan month!

Lemon Blackberry Breakfast Cookies : These things were super easy to make and super delicious. I ate three every morning and the stash lasted me a solid week. I'm a sucker for anythihng tart and the burst of blackberry in these certainly fits the bill. These were my favorite breakfast during hte month, hands down. 

Smashed Chickpea & Avacado Salad Sandwich : At first this sandwich kind of tastes like egg salad...and then it does not. Its kind of got an interesting taste. I can't say I loved it but I didn't dislike it. I did add chips to the sandwich to give it a little something. 

Black Bean Quinoa Bowl w/ Cilantro Lime Dressing: Classic flavor staples for me. I made this for my sister-in-laws baby shower so I'd have something to eat. It was tasty but nothing overly special for me. 

Spicy BBQ Tofu Flatbread w/ Lemon-Dill Sauce: This shit was banging! The flatbread recipe did not work at all for this however, which was frustrating. I had to make another flatbread recipe I found in a cookbook after I wasted over a half hour trying to make the recipes flatbread, meaning my attempting this on a week night was an utter fail and I didn't eat until closer to 10 that night but man, it was good.

Kung Poa Chickpeas: I love spicy! These chickpeas were easy to make. You do have to marinate the chickpeas for a half hour but this recipe makes a decent amount of food. I think I got a few lunches out of the leftovers once you add the rice. I would highly recommend this recipe, vegan or not. 

5 Minute Oatmeal Power Bowl: This was eh. It makes a lot of food but  I think I needed to add something sweet to it. Maybe brown sugar? I'd like to try it again and see if I can spruce it up a big more. It does make a TON of oatmeal so thats nice. I'd recommend it since you can add whatever toppings you like and make it your own. 

Mediterranean CousCous Salad (J.J. McNallys): Such a yummy salad! I love this restaurant and found it a vegan friendly go to this month. Thank goodness for that! 

Banh Mi-less Banh Mi Bowl: This was maybe my favorite dinner meal I made. It takes forever to prep and make but it had a lot of flavors and is very filling. I already got the ingredients to make this post-vegan!

Mandarin Pasta Spinach Salad w/ Teriyaki Dressing: This was good. Nothing special but made a lot of food, which was nice for lunches for the week. 

The Worlds Easiest Cinnamon Rolls: NOT the worlds easiest cinnamon rolls. This recipe was a tragedy of errors. I couldn't get the yeast to activate (maybe because I used dry active instead of instant yeast) so I gave up, set the bowl aside and made the pancakes. Then it did activate so I continued with the recipe but think I added too much flour. Then it wasn't rising so I gave up again. Came back and it did WAS rise, just muuuuch slower than the recipe stated. So I let it go, then rolled them out. Didn't look anything like the picture. Thought I'd let them try to rise again. They did, but again, veeeery slowly. When they had almost doubled in size I baked them. They did not rise anymore in the oven and they were dry and lacking in flavor. What a dud! They took me almost all day to make and such a bust. I'll leave it to Pillsbury next time. 

Vegan Blueberry Muffin Pancakes: The best fucking pancakes of my life, vegan or not! So flavorful, very simple to make and fresh, tart blueberries made all the difference. I made these Saturday and Sunday morning. And will continue to make until I die. So good!!!