I was feeling quite anxious the weeks prior to the challenge. What with the holidays just ending and all the hoots and hollers of family and friends, I just felt real unsettled and a little lost, especially at work, which is never a good thing. As I venture further into this PlantStong concept, my head has cleared and I’m feeling settled again.

Ok, so I know it sounds bizarre or maybe uneasy to swallow, but things haven’t stopped being completely stressful and fast paced around me, I just feel like I am now flowing with them. It’s a good feeling and I’m hoping all of our E2′ers are feeling something quite similar.

My last class I also discussed the relationship between and minds and the foods we’re introducing to our bodies. Detoxing from the “bad” and introducing the “good” can only lead to positive responses in our bodies. Have any of your “bad” cravings stopped since you’ve begun your challenge? If so, are you too feeling the confidence I am feeling when I reach for those carrots and celery sticks as snacks instead of that once stress reliever, too many calorie and sugar chocolate bar!?! haha! Ok so I’ll be honest. I’m not easing through this as much as I’d like. There is a downside.

Probably the hardest thing for me on a Vegan diet and this is going back to when I as vegan in college as well and that’s the banning of cheese! I can let go of everything else dairy with ease. Alternative milks are a staple of mine already, but whenever I try to write the goodbye letter to cheese, I have no alternative better to replace it with so it makes it very hard to do. BUT WAIT! So, before when I was vegan, I just let the thought of eating cheese go.

Sure there are soy cheeses and what not, but honestly they never tasted similar to the real deal so I wouldn’t even try. Now that I have been introduced to “nut” cheese, thanks to the RAW foods movement, I can honestly say, I could easily replace dairy cheese with this progressive approach to cheese! We’ll be making some nut cheese at my class tomorrow night and I’ll show you how tasty a treat it really is!

You can use it as a spread or just dive right in and eat it plain and simple, it’s delicious! Completely RAW completely VEGAN, healthy for you and easy to make! Another area I feel the temptations a flowing are when I get those calls to join a friend or group of friends out for a bite or a drink! For the first few attempts, I blankly said no to their requests and explained “I’d be no fun, because I can’t really eat anything out or drink.” Of course it was understood and I stayed in for the night catching up on some much needed sleep anyway.

But then I got to thinking how there are so many Vegans in this world and so many individuals with special diets that I am sure are faced with the same problems when they choose to hit the town. Some ways to get around feeling “left out” when dining out, is to check out the restaurant’s menu online ahead of time. That way you can leisurely plan your meal at home instead of panicking when you’re at the actual restaurant.

Try ordering a meal made from side dishes. Most restaurants always have potatoes and veggies or rice as side dishes. Just ask for them without the added condiments such as butter or cheese! When I first became vegetarian, I lived off the side menu. It came out just like any other meal and there was no “left out” feeling when I wanted to spend a night out with friends and family. Don’t let your diet control your life, YOU control your diet and life! Happy EATING OUT!

If you attended my class this past Wednesday, you’d hear me stress the importance of finding foods you love that correspond with the diet and making delicious foods out of that instead of re-inventing yourself and the foods you like! So following my words of advice, I LOVE anything Mexican when it comes to food. Omit the cheese and things just don’t seem the same though, so I need to do what? That’s right GET CREATIVE!!

In college, I LOVED the word deconstruct. In one of my art classes my professor would use it to pick apart pieces of art that told a story, so I figured, hey if it works well with art, why wouldn’t it work well with food! So I’m deconstructing food here and if you wish to tag along then welcome! So my first deconstruction is with taquitos!

Who doesn’t love taquitos right! Rolled little tacos, easy to eat and handle, you don’t need a fork and did I mention how delicious they are! So, take the oil out, the cheese, the meat and what are you left with…a corn tortilla! Oh BOY! So here’s the creative part. With the Engine 2 diet being a plant based diet, I’m thinking with every meal how I can insert as many veggies in my diet as possible.

So we’re keeping the corn tortilla because one, they are delicious and two, we can!! It’s totally Engine 2 approved! Most corn tortillas are made without oil so go forth and EAT! I on the other hand take it another step further and make my own. It’s very easy and so cheap.

Just come down to Whole Foods and pick up a bag of the corn flour we have down our baking isle and voila! Add water to make the “masa” and then roll them out and heat them in a pan or even in the oven till you get these warm thick wonderful little tortillas!

Next, I’m thinking ok what to put inside these delicious wraps. So omitting all the traditional ingredients, I’m thinking load it with veggies, but I don’t want to make just another veggie wrap.

Since we won’t be frying it in oil, I’m thinking let’s keep it simple just in case it falls apart. So I’m thinking beans, refried beans mashed with no added salt or oils to them and cabbage. CABBAGE!! I know, what you’re thinking but TRUST me! Why cabbage. Well it’s a great veggie. Its crispy has a great flavor and will def. hold its consistency so I figured I’d give it a try.

I’m really into texture when it comes to foods so my thinking is the smooth tortilla and the smooth beans contrasted with the crunchy crisp cabbage would make a perfect meal! So I bought the already pre-shredded container at Whole Foods Market located in their “short cut chef” area of produce, and mashed my pinto beans I made earlier in the week and began my experiment and deconstruction of the taquito.

I took the warm tortilla, spread the mashed beans (lightly) onto it and then added a healthy pinch of the shredded cabbage. Then I rolled the tortilla and placed it with the fold part down on my iron skillet. Now if you don’t have an iron skillet, you can use a pan too, but the iron skillets get so hot I figured it would be best to work with since no oil will bind the tortilla together. I let it sit face down for about 2 minutes and turned it over to find that SUCCESS! It will stay closed so then I proceeded to rotate the rolled tortilla till all sides became brown and crispy!!

I have to say, there are some interesting combinations of foods out there and if you’re willing to experiment, please experiment with this, because it was extremely delicious and still very healthy for you! Just as I previous thought, all the ingredients complimented each other very nicely and I couldn’t be happier with my new found taquitos!

If you want, you can purchase some of your favorite salsa or better yet make your own and dip it in there as well. I also experimented with mashed potatoes (no butter) for this recipe as well and again delicious! Don’t be afraid to try new combinations. Make it fun, make it interesting, surprise yourself and your family with some progressive foods! Best of luck to you all!! See you at next week’s meeting!!

Happy and Healthy Eating!

Diona

Rip’s Big Bowl, wasn’t big enough for me this morning, but I knew the transition would be hard. Maybe it’s not so much a hunger issue but more of a mental issue.

You see, food is delicious and I LOVE to eat. I can eat all day every day. Of course I pride myself on eating healthy throughout the day but still, I eat ALL DAY!

I guess my biggest challenge going into this well “challenge” will be accepting that someone else or more so “this diet” is telling me what I can and cannot eat! Ugh the nerve!

Isn’t it funny that, I can spend my days chomping down delicious raw veggies, raw fruits and nuts and not have a problem with not eating the “bad” stuff, but the minute I put myself on a diet where there are restrictions, all I want is what I can’t have! Anyone else feel this way or am I just being a brat?

On the other hand, I’m looking forward to experimenting with some of the E2 approved foods. There are a lot of recipes to choose from via the book and the website, but honestly I work best with what I know.

As I have been preparing for this diet, I find myself looking at the shopping lists and looking at the recipes and circle the things I am familiar with and LOVE to eat!

From there I’m making my list of what to buy and possible recipes to make. For instance, I instantly went to the “Comfort dinners” section because I figured I’d get the most out of those foods and yup, some of my favorites were there. Let’s look at the Shepherd’s Pie. What  a delicious recipe! Unfortunately I don’t use a lot of the “Vegetarian or Vegan meat crumbles” so I substitute it with whole wheat couscous!

Whole wheat couscous takes minutes to prepare and can be introduced into just about any dish! It’s basically semolina rolled very small and tightly to form a grain-like texture, so it will absorb any flavors you add to it! So once you get it cooked, just add your favorite all purpose seasonings to it that are of course E2 approved and add it to your Shepherd’s Pie! YUM. This will defiantly reduce some calories and fat from the dish and so you’ll get to enjoy MORE!

Going into this diet or any diet for that matter is never easy. We all feel like we’re missing all the wonderful things we “used” to like to eat, but that’s where we’re wrong. Try what I am doing and see if it works for you. Find things you’re used to and like that are “accidently” E2 approved (meaning they fall under the E2 guidelines but are not necessarily in the book) and get creative with your meals! Nobody is saying we can’t enjoy what we’re eating or enjoy cooking! Who knows, we might even find some new delicious recipes that we’ll continue to make in the future!

Day 1 and I’m feeling pretty confident and excited about taking on the challenge. Good bye hunger, Hello, delicious healthy foods! If you need some help with recipes or just need a guided hand, please feel free to comment and respond! We’d love to hear from all our E2 challengers! Good Luck!

Diona