Living without....

January has been an exciting month. With the new year, I decided to turn over a new leaf and let go of my carb addiction.  As a vegan, "we" tend to rely on carbohydrates for EVERYTHING! When in doubt carb it out.  With that being said.  It's been an interesting 30 days.  I've had to really pull out all the stops and think hard on what to cook each and every night.  Now, I have to preface this by saying I didn't stop eating ALL carbs, but I did relinquish my reliance on bread and pasta.

When you take a good long look at what you eat as a vegan, and what restaurants offer us, it relies heavily on breads, pastas and "cheese".  I did take a few wrong turns and have a potato and a bowl of brown rice or two, but, in my defense those carbs are in their natural state and as wholesome as possible.

Breakfast, was a hard one.  The meal alone, in my house, is usually pancakes, toast, or a sandwich in some form or another.  With the wonderful group of fellow bloggers I found inspiration in all shapes forms and ethnic backgrounds.  Rice and soy milk slightly heated with a touch of cinnamon, yes hot rice pudding is a wonderful breakfast.  Or, quinoa, agave nectar, toasted walnuts, golden raisins and dried cranberries.  HEAVEN.  Tofu scramble was reinvented with left over tortilla chips, salsa rojo, chopped avocados and pickled jalapeno peppers, GOOD MORNING!

Lunch.  Now, salads were my go to meal.  Again, thinking out of the box, fried green plantain as bread, topped with refried black beans, red and green cabbage with a creamy avocado dressing and spicy jackfruit.  Delish!  Or how about Tempeh salad with sprouted raw crackers and bib lettuce.  In my quest to replace bread I discovered so many different vehicles for lunch.  Rice paper, tofu pouches, sprouted corn tortillas, lettuce, even thin sliced veggies.

Dinner. 30 days took us around the world in more ways than one.  We toured the ring of fire, the far east, South America, even the continent of Africa.  When my family gathers around the table, they never knew what they might get.

Over the next week, I'll be posting some of the recipes.  As an homage I'll include links to those bloggers who inspired some of these dishes as well.  So stay tuned fellow vegans!