To Vegan or Not To Vegan

Every once in a awhile there comes a person across your path that makes your soul scream, "Get to know them!"  This happened to me with a lovely couple from the school I teach at.  Their kiddo isn't even in my room-next door-and yet everyday when I would see them come in or walk out, my soul would just scream!  So, I did the grown-up thing and checked them out on Facebook only to find out that their both bloggers!  (Check their blog here- http://vernonsvision.blogspot.com/) With that in mind, I stalked them for two weeks before I introduced myself as "their family blog-stalker" and asked if we could ever get together to talk.  I'm pretty sure the Mrs. thought I was the craziest person on the block!

Anywho, fast forward a couple months and Nick, my sister Anjuli, and I scored ourselves a dinner invite!  Now here's the fun part-their Vegan!  I thought for sure Nick would fight me on it, but he's used to my antics and seems to find it easier to just go along. So, in the weeks prior to the dinner, Nick and I start the conversation about healthier eating, slowing down life, and the same 'ol same 'ol conversation that comes twice a year.  However, something happened that I wasn't quite expecting.  Health issues began popping up left and right, counting pills every night has become a norm, and let's just say (I can't believe I'm about to share this) I'm the heaviest I've ever been.  While a lot of it is due to the med's, I can't let them take all the blame.

DINNER

Slowly, our conversations turned into full-blown, "We gotta do something!!!"  Nick's only concern about the vegan thing was "grilling season" is coming up.  So, we looked at this dinner date as an opportunity to begin somewhere and boy did it take us somewhere!  The food they prepared was simple and delish!  Couscous with 7 different roasted veggies-even purple potatoes!  A beautiful salad with 3 different homemade dressing to choose from and a grape/berry fruit mix.  I was stuffed!  Then they had us try their morning banana and spinach shake and homemade granola.  Again, it was yummy and super filling.

 Smoothie Time

We talked well into the night with Anjuli and Nico getting one-on-one with the Mr. and me just writing in my notebook all the ingredients, websites, documentaries, etc. that was listed.  One thing that simply amazed me was this families passion for changing their family tree.  They simply decided to "go vegan" only 2 years ago for the sake of their children's health, as well as their own.  I was stunned watching their middle chow down a salad unlike any other I've ever seen.  In fact, their 3 kiddos ate the food with relish and there was no complaining!  In fact, Nico didn't even complain!  He LOVED it!

So, where does this leave us?  It leaves us with a ton of questions, a lot to read and watch, more dinners to test, and making goals.  Starting the day after our dinner, we decided to start incorporating a Vegan style of eating through the summer.  We will make banana/spinach smoothies every other day with cereal and Almond milk on the opposite days.  3 days a week we are going meatless and incorporating much more veggies and fruits into our diets.  I feel this will be easy for me as I'm not much of a meat eater to begin with, but Nick will struggle with lunches as his new job has them dining out frequently. In the mean time, we are going to educate ourselves and slowly ease into the vegan lifestyle-so, don't be surprised if you see us eating a piece of meat every once in awhile!  Of course, we will blog along the way the hardships, recipes, and changes we see along the way.  If you have any questions or stories you want to share with us about going Vegan, please let us know!