Day One

BREAKFAST

Breakfast was an interesting challenge. I figured whipping up a batch of vegan banana french toast wouldn't be too bad. & then I realized: I had to cook without butter.

I'm Pennsylvania Dutch. Asking me to cook without copious amounts of butter is pretty much like asking me to do brain surgery. I really had no idea how to start. Sure, I've heard of this mysterious substance: vegetable spray -- but that was an alien concept. I've used it on my shovel in winter so the snow wouldn't stick to the metal, but I've never once used it in actual cooking.

All-in-all, the actual vegan banana french toast was not bad (as long as you don't mind the over powering taste of bananas -- It was kind of like raisin-free semi-soggy banana bread), but I think it could have been a lot more visually appealing. See, it didn't become a light golden-brown like REAL french toast (mainly due to the egg & butter combo). With mine, a fine layer of dark brown crust was instantly formed on my toast the moment the bread hit the pan which made it difficult to judge when it was finished cooking (but it didn't matter too much, there's no worry in eating 'raw' banana because it has salmonella).

Vegan Banana French Toast	Non-Vegan French Toast
-2 Bananas -2/3 cup Soy Milk -2 tablespoons Maple Syrup -1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon -1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg -1/8 teaspoon Vanilla -Bread	-4 Eggs -3/4 cup Milk -3 tablespoons Brown Sugar -1 teaspoon Nutmeg -1 tablespoon Cinnamon -1 teaspoon Vanilla -Bread

So in all reality, the vegan french toast wasn't drastically different in comparison to the real-deal. I actually think I got a whole lot more batter out of the vegan recipe verses the original recipe I previously used.

LUNCH

I noticed up until now, I've been excruciating hungry. I think it's a little bit too early to say that it's because I'm missing animal protein. I mean, it could be that, it could be that breakfast has less sugar, or it could just be that I'm being weird. Either way.

Vegan Pasta Salad	Non-Vegan Pasta
-2 cups Rotini Pasta -1/2 cup Baby Corn -1/2 cup Snap Peas -Several stalks of Asparagus -1/4 cup (crumbled) Tofu -4 tablespoons (crushed) Peanuts -2 tablespoons Olive Oil	-2 cups Rotini Pasta -1 can Tomtato Sauce -Ground Beef -Dash of: parsley, thyme, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder.

The vegan pasta was definitely a lot lighter than the "traditional" kind of pasta I'm used to. Filling, but it almost feel like it doesn't "hit the spot".

DINNERDinner was a pretty easy meal. I grilled up a couple Boca burgers (because beef burgers have been a regular dinner item ever since the weather has been pleasant). Although, again, I had to change how I cook it. Normally, I'll marinade the beef burger in Worcestershire sauce. However, Worcestershire sauce contains some sort of juice from sardines (delightful, eh?) which was a complete disappointment. I was also somewhat dreading the cheese... Something about neon-orange "rice cheese" really just didn't seam too appealing to me. However, I really couldn't tell the difference. Sure, it didn't melt the way "real" cheese does, but the flavor was almost spot-on. I was impressed.

Boca Burger	Beef Burger
-Boca Burger Patty -A1 Sauce -Rice "cheddar cheese" -Toasted English Muffin -Ketchup	-Beef Patty -Worcestershire sauce -Cheddar Cheese -Toasted English Muffin -Ketchup

The really nice thing about cooking vegan dishes is that you don't have to worry about cross-contamination. I'm somewhat of a germaphobe (& I have my mother to thank for that one) so I can become super particular when I cook meat.
IE: If a surface touched raw meat, it must be sanitized the moment the meat is off of it. Once the meat is "cooked" on the outside, I'll find a new spatula/utensil that has not touched the same meat when it was previously "raw" on the outside. Yeah, I'm that insane about it.
Instinctively, though, I just wanted to sanitize the counter after the spatula I used to flip the boca burger was set down on it. I actually had to pause & remember that there was nothing "dangerous" about uncooked veggies smashed into a patty-shape. How convenient.

On an interesting note: I'm also feeling somewhat nauseous. I think it's far too soon to say it's the diet bothering me THIS MUCH already, so for now, I'll assume it's some sort of bug I must have picked up from work.