The VEGAN Challenge: DAY 3 & 4

Day 3
Today was very productive for me,
I decided to try a Vegan Banana Bread recipe

Fresh out of the oven!

Ready to eat and time for the taste test!
It was DELISH!
Even the hubby liked it!
It was pretty basic,
I didn't have any nuts or 70% chocolate on hand,
but it was still super yummy!!
So that was my breakfast :}


Lunch: 
I had leftover veggie marinara spaghetti
Still YUMMY!


Dinner: 
We made black bean and brown rice burritos with whole wheat tortillas.
Wow was that hard to swallow, literally!
It was very bland,
we added non-dairy cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, radishes,
but still pretty plain :{ 
I wasn't really sure how to season it,
so I suppose that was the reason!
But like the hubs said, 
"once it's in your stomach and you're full, 
it doesn't matter what it tasted like!"
Good job staying positive babe!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Day 4
Starting to Break


Breakfast:
Kashi Cereal and light Soy milk


Brunch:
I met friends for a birthday brunch
at one of my most favorite breakfast spots,
and this is when it really starting breaking me!
Watching everyone order their 
Macadamia Nut Banana pancakes,
Raspberry French Toast,
Egg, Toast and Bacon,
all smothered in syrup
and then looking down at my 
measly potatoes and fruit cup
really made me question, "why I was doing this?!"
But I did NOT cheat!


Snack:
 Some people may think Oreos are not Vegan,
but as far as I'm concerned,
 the ingredients don't lie!
And at this point I am losing hope :(


Dinner:
I CRACKED,
I CHEATED :(
We went to dinner at my parents house to celebrate
my Grandpa's 86th birthday!!
Happy Birthday Grandpa!!


I am not even going to tell you everything that I cheated on,
because it is bad, real bad!
I will tell you I had a cupcake with 
vanilla confetti frosting!!
SO FREAKIN' GOOD!!
After missing out on 
ice cream cake on Day 2
I was DONE,
I picked the worst week for this challenge!


So I guess the moral of this story is that 
I GAVE UP! :(
I admit it and I am proud of the almost 4 days I did complete! 
I have learned a lot about food
and feel like I can make better decisions for me and my family.


As for being Vegan,
it's just not for me!
 We plan to reduce our meat intake to a few days a week,
and add some healthier choices,
 like the meat-less spaghetti,
so that will definitely go on the monthly menu!


As for the vanilla Soy creamer,
I will never think it's better than my coffee mate creamer
and since I am not lactose intolerant, 
I will most likely go back to regular milk for my cereal and cookies!


And last, but surely not least,
Nothing compares to
REAL CHEESE!
I LOVE CHEESE way too much
and if you have been to my house,
you know this is true!
American cheese, jalapeño cheese, sharp cheddar,
goat cheese, brie, blue cheese, gorgonzola, monterey jack,
the list goes on!!!


Almost everything SUPER delicious has some type of 
DAIRY
in it and I am not ready to give that up!!


But another thing I realized during this challenge,
was that even if I don't eat like a Vegan,
there are other ways I can be Vegan!!


VEGAN SHOPPING!!
{not groceries, but CLOTHES!!}


I was just shopping around on a website I frequent called 
LuLus.com

and found their 

VEGAN PURSES and BAGS! 

They also have

 VEGAN SHOES! 

Pretty cool and cute! 
I have never seen a strictly VEGAN section on a shopping website!

I really wanted this pair

But they are out of my size :(

Love the Cheetah print!

So maybe this will be my next challenge ;}

Happy VEGAN Shopping,

Erica

xo