My Attempt To Go Veg

My first mostly vegan xmas

2012-01-04T13:13:00.001-08:00

So having never had a vegetarian holiday meal this was quite the experiment. Results: awesome.
We had a good friend over who's vegan so it gave me even more excuses to make new dishes. Her idea which was the best was the squash.
Baked butternut squash with salt and pepper stuffed with stuffing. Yum. Other than that my newest dish was a rice pilaf made with my mom's homemade veggie stock. I was extremely impressed overall. The group favorite though seemed to be my sweet potatoes that I've perfected over the past two years: mashed with maple syrup and cinnamon, almost dessert.
My guest also brought homemade apple pie and ginger snaps. Excellent very filling evening for all of us.
Next thing I want to try? Baked squash restuffed with other yummy things.

Today's cooking experiment

2011-12-12T08:17:00.000-08:00

So today's experiment is going to be completely perfecting my red beans and rice recipe.
Surprisingly, this has to be one of my favourite things to make and eat.
I've gotten a really good sauce, but now I have to perfect the proportions.
Hot sauce + soya sauce + olive oil with garlic and onions and some spices... I really need to start writing down exactly what I put in my food >.<
New favourite take out: deep-fried tofu... nom nom nom.

My progress so far...

2011-12-07T17:32:00.001-08:00

So for a while now I've been passively attempting to go vegetarian. Passively is more to the fact that I could do it so easy: just don't eat meat. I didn't think it would be a difficult thing to do but so far, it's been rough.
I have all but cut out red meats and pork over the past 4 years, other than bacon that was actually pretty simple. Since last December I've been trying to cut dairy to get my body a little more balanced. But right now my issue is everything else.
Some days I'm strict with myself and manage to stay away from everything dairy: it feels so much better. Other days, like the past week I've been falling off the wagon. Little slips here and there are turning into all out cheese-eating-fest. I miss cheese the most...
Dairy aside, the lifestyle adjustment has been pretty difficult. My boyfriend is a huge carnivore: if it doesn't have bacon it's not good enough. He loves my cooking but he always wants to add meat to whatever I make.

Things I'm finding it hard to live without:
-seafood
-soft cheeses
-modified milk ingredients (they're seriously in everything)
-food court food at work

Things I'm scared to try because I'm pretty sure I'd hate them:
-eggplant
-lentils

Things I've discovered that I really do hate:
-raw tomatoes
-peppers (love the taste, hate the texture)

Hardest part: avoiding the tempting foods my boyfriend leaves in the fridge....