I’ve had several people ask me how the vegan thing is going, so I thought I’d update. The most common question I keep getting is, “But what are you actually eating?” Ha.

It’s hard, people, it’s hard! But not as hard as I thought it would be. It’s been a much smoother transition than I anticipated. We aren’t being very creative with dinner ideas right now, but I don’t tend to get very bored with the same meals anyway, so it might be awhile until we branch out further. (Although Dani is about to mail me some of her favorite vegan recipes, so we shall see… I think Topher would like me to kick things up a bit.)

Costco is rocking my world. I’m able to buy veggie patties that are made out of actual vegetables (instead of only soy), dried tart cherries and goji berries without any sulpher additives, huge amounts of organic spinach, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocadoes, peppers, apples, bananas, wild blueberries, strawberries, kiwi… are you tired of reading my grocery list yet? But it’s nice to buy bulk instead of running to the grocery store 2-3 times a week and stocking up on produce, hoping the price is reasonable. They also have organic nut butters, organic fruit spreads, organic alternative milks, hummus, etc. I’ve been surprised at how easy it is to find things we can actually eat and enjoy.

I make smoothies at least once a day, and tend to put kale and carrots or cucumbers into whatever frozen fruit we have on hand. (Whole Foods has frozen acai on sale this week, blender-ready, both sweetened and unsweetened - healthy!) We usually eat whole-grain oatmeal for breakfast, with applesauce or cut-up fruit and raisins. Lunch is nut butter and jam, or hummus and veggies on a pita, usually with a smoothie. Dinners have been bean and lentil soups, spinach salads, veggie patties, homemade cheese-less pizza with tomato sauce and veggie toppings, bean and veggie burritos… very exciting, yes, I know. Eating out has lost any appeal (outside of not having to make it myself), mostly because menu choices are so limited. Which is probably a healthy thing!

We snack on items like sunflower seeds, dried fruit and baked goods that we’ve homemade, like vegan banana bread or blueberry muffins. Oh, and shhh… chips & salsa, too. (Dr. Fuhrman isn’t a fan of additional salt in the diet, although we get unsalted tortilla chips from WF.) Thumbelina still recognizes the milk in the fridge (which belongs solely to Daddy) and asks me about it every once in awhile. I just tell her we don’t use milk on our cereal anymore, and she accepts that. She hasn’t asked for cereal or yogurt in awhile. Although cheese is still a hopeful request.

I spoke with the naturopath and he clarified that his test will screen 96 different food allergies, so I think we’ll go ahead and move forward with it. Her sensitivities are still a mystery to me and I notice that they continue to flare - so I’m wondering if wheat is a culprit. I hope not! However, I’ve read that it takes up to three weeks to see if eliminating dairy is truly significant, and we’ve only been attempting for a couple weeks. She has not had any dairy whatsoever, except that she ate a Luna bar with me - which I’d read on a dairy-free site was supposed to be dairy-free, but later realized this to not be true. Getting rid of cross-contamination is now our biggest challenge, because everything seems to be put through facilities that also handle dairy. So, I’m a little frustrated we now need to wait another three weeks to see if this is really making an impact or not, due to our Luna bar snack on the go. However, I really think that even if her allergen test shows that she isn’t allergic to dairy, we’ll probably stay off of it for the time being. I feel better not consuming it, even being sick! And I think she does, too.

So, in case anyone is wondering - no, we’re not starving as vegans (yet, anyway). I feel blessed that we’ve reached a comfortable framework for our nutritional desires and that we have the means in which to buy the food we selectively choose. It’s an easy gift to take for granted. I think back to my childhood of steak & potatoes and mac & cheese, realizing that my parents believed every meal should be hardy - and hope that Thumbelina will know that we did our best in trying to feed her as wholesomely as possible. She may roll her eyes at some of our granola habits, but hopefully she’ll recognize the love behind our veggie meals!