day 1

the day before i start my 90-day vegan journey, i told ry "i don't think this is going to be that difficult for me"

boom...this is what greets me this morning:

not only is it the first day i start going 100% vegan, but it's the first day of teacher appreciation week. which means i should expect treats on a daily basis for the next five days. caramels from monterey, biscotti, homemade chocolate cake, and a jar filled with all my junk food vices...granted i could probably get away with eating the potato chips seeing that they don't contain any animal products but figured that could lead me to very dark places...plus i read that a good rule of thumb to this whole vegan diet thing is that if a food has more than five ingredients listed and/or you cannot pronounce any of the items, best to stay away from it all together. so here is what i ate today:

breakfast:

2 cups spinach
1 frozen banana
1 cup mixed berries
1 cup water
1 T chia seeds
2 ice cubes

snack:

1/2 cup whole grain oats
1 cup soy milk
1 T chia seeds
strawberries, toasted coconut chips & slivered almonds

lunch:

1 1/2 cups quinoa
1 avocado
1 tomato
olive oil, salt & pepper

dinner:

mexican stuffed peppers with quinoa & black beans

recipe:
http://www.onelovelylife.com/?p=4854

i snacked on pixie tangerines, a handful of almonds, and cups & cups of green tea.

ry really liked the stuffed peppers with the exception of his "it could use some chicken" comment. i was apprehensive about this cheese substitute:

and after eating it, felt even more despondent about finding an alternative to my cheesy cravings. but after doing some research, i'm optimistic that daiya products ought to do the trick! stay tuned...

as far as exercise goes, i went for a brisk walk around the neighborhood (50 mins, 3 miles)

in this kind of weather: