Hidden Ingredients & Random Musings

I think one of the hardest things about embarking on this new way of life is learning to read ingredients on food. I did find this handy list over at PETA and another one over at Vegan Peace... but... man... animal products seem like they're everywhere! Even in things that are non-dairy, and other strange places.

My biggest challenge right now is what to put in my coffee. I weaned myself off of the half-and-half after a truly disgusting experience. I had some Organic Valley Half-and-Half and I'd had it open and in the fridge for less than a week. One morning I was pouring some into my coffee and this jelly-like, mucus-y-ish mass of I-don't-even-want-to-know-what descend into my coffee cup with a... yup... splash. Swallowing my urge to vomit, I pulled it out and all I can say was it was exactly to consistency of phlegm. I haven't touched milk or half-and-half since then, but I've been using "non-dairy" Coffee Mate, which has casein (a milk derivative) in it. Go figure. I tried the Silk Creamer, but it had such a weird taste I couldn't stand it. I read somewhere that Coffee Rich is casein-free, but I haven't been able to find it yet. *update* I found it... and I bought it... and according to Viva Usa it's vegan :)

The above experience certainly helped push me over to veganism, along with books I have read over the years, but the other reason stems from a new "diet" that mom and I are trying. It's called Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, and I suppose it's more of a way of life than a diet, but I did lose 5 lbs in the first 2 1/2 weeks. I really have to start exercising... but more about that later. So E2L is vegan, and pretty restrictive with carbs and soy and sweets and salt and basically everything enjoyable in life. But I have been dying to get rid of this post-quit-smoking weight so I'm willing to suffer for a little while. And the funny thing is... I've felt amazing! So what better time to make the switch (finally!) than now.

In other news... today I made Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins and White Bean & Roasted Garlic Soup - both from Vegan with a Vengeance. The soup was amazing, but my muffins came out a little dry... I think it was because I left them in the oven too long since I used the mini muffin pan instead of a big one. I also swapped out the oil with applesauce (in the hopes of cutting out some fat), but I don't think that would have dried them out. I also used lemon soy yogurt because WFM was actually out of plain, so I cut down on the amount of lemon zest. I was worried it would be too lemon-y otherwise, but I should have used the full amount. They're still edible though, so it wasn't a complete waste :)