- Vegan Cooking from A Veganized Mom -
About me
I always considerd myself a regular mom. I was busy raising my 4 children, getting them to school, managing the home, working part time, etc. My dinners, for the kids, consisted of the usual chicken nuggets, pasta with butter, fast food and mac and cheese. I also made dinner for myself and my husband and always offered what we had to the kids. I would make the same things each week, because you can go to the store, buy the same groceries, know what your cooking and just get that job of cooking done each day. (Don't you just love when your family asks, "What's for dinner mom?") My usual's were meatloaf, chicken cutlets, hot dogs (AHHH), pasta with meatballs, stew, pot roast, etc. I always did a lot of take out too, pizza and such.
At 16 my daughter said she was not going to eat meat anymore. My husband and I thought this was nuts. We both thought she would change her mind. She started cooking herself simple meals. (I was relieved about this because I surely didn't know how to cook without using meat). She asked one day if I would consider cooking without meat once a week, we would call it "Meatless Mondays". Well, sure, I was on board with this. She gave me a recipe, it tasted great (it's funny because I was afraid to eat a vegan dish like it would do something funny to my insides or something, lol). She was so happy to have her mom cooking for her!
Years went by like this... now my son comes into the picture and declares he is now vegan. My husband and I also thought he was nuts too! Now I'm thinking, "jeeze, I don't know enough about all of this to change how I cook." One day was enough, I told them they would have to cook for themselves. And they did.
Here is how I started my vegan ways...
I would come home from my physicals over the years talking about how my cholesterol would go up and my blood pressure was high and I would have to watch my sugar level. I would always try to eat healthy. Eating chicken, fish, veggies etc. After one doctor visit, he wanted to put me on medication to lower my blood pressure. I was sad about this and my son said, "mom flax seed is very good at lowering blood pressure." So I added it to my oatmeal every morning. Went for a recheck, eh, not that great. My son said, "mom please read these books (How Not To Die, by Michael Greger, and How To Prevent & Reverse Diabetes, by Neal Barnard)." I did. I was so intrigued by the information and studies done on how food can effect your health. It's amazing how food can cure you even better than a pill. (I also wonder why my doctor never mentioned dietary changes, he always wanted to give me a pill). I followed the vegan diet for 3 months, went for blood work and was amazed that my cholesterol went down 35 points! My blood pressure was in check and my sugar levels were nothing to look at anymore. It's almost a year now being a vegan and I feel great and enjoy cooking for my family (my youngest daughter is now a vegan too!).
By creating this website, I'm hoping to help moms everywhere if they have someone in their family that would like to try a vegan lifestyle. My husband will not give up eating meat nor will my other daughter. I cook many dishes that go both ways and it's not a lot of effort at all. Try by cooking one plant based meal each week. You will be amazed at all the delicious recipes you can find on the internet and in books.