Days 15 & 16

So yesterday, we didn't follow the plan exactly, but still stayed within the limits.
For breakfast, I had to leave early for choir, so I grabbed an orange...which tasted soo good.
I fixed a panini sandwich for lunch, but there was something about it that wasn't settling well in my stomach so I couldn't finish it.
For dinner, we had Thai food.... phad thai, green curry over brown rice, & som tum salad.  I even made the phad thai with tofu.  The only thing not completely vegan was the fish sauce we used in all three dishes.  Then we made dark chocolate brownies, with whole wheat flour, raw sugar, & unsweetened applesauce.  The dark chocolate chips did have some milk, but they were 60% cocoa.  The brownies were cake-like, which is what happens when you substitute applesauce for the oil, but they were yummy and hit that chocolate spot.

Today, I made Lemon Cornmeal pancakes with rice milk & soy yogurt in the recipe.  It was topped with real maple syrup & a berry sauce made from frozen blueberries, raspberries, & blackberries, water, & a little agave.  Everyone liked them.
Then we went to see "The Hobbit" and did not eat one piece of buttered popcorn!!  But we were hungry when we got home.  I had made Split Pea soup earlier in the day, so we had that and Thai left-overs for our late lunch.  I will admit that when we got out of the movie and could smell Five Guys burgers across the street, I wanted to run over there for dinner.  Split pea soup did not sound as satisfying as I knew a burger and fries would feel.  But hey, I can last 28 days.

I am not a fan of split pea soup, but this turned out well.  Emily even liked it.  Jeremy didn't, so he grabbed a sandwich made with hummus, tomatoes, fresh spinach, & alfalfa sprouts.  The boy could live on alfalfa sprouts alone.  He eats them by the handfuls. Weird.

Tonight will probably continue to be more leftovers, as will lunch tomorrow.


Here's some of our previous menus:
Day 1
Rip's Big Bowl---actually really good.  Lots of grains & fruit. Jeremy prefers it with freshly squeezed orange juice.  Everyone approved of this breakfast.
Stuffed Pita with hummus---we haven't perfected the homemade hummus yet and prefer the hummus from Costco, but it does contain a little more fat than the homemade variety
Spinach Salad & Gnocchi with homemade spaghetti sauce---we made our own sauce instead of using an organic store-bought sauce.  No one liked the gnocchi. Our sauce, as always, was fantastic.  We've been making it for years.  It's the only spaghetti sauce the kids like.

Day 2
Banana & Toast, Green Smoothie---we've found 2 recipes of green smoothies that Brian and I like. Jeremy doesn't care for them, and it depends on Emily's mood if she likes them that day or not.  We make a chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie and a cherry chocolate almond smoothie.
Wrap sandwich--ok, the kids like the different sandwiches. I usually take leftovers to work, along with a salad.
Black Beans & Rice--really really good.

Day 3
Simple Cereal Bowl---basically a bowl of GrapeNuts with almond milk & fruit-yum!
Open-faced sandwich with hummus
Stir-Fry over brown rice---really good, the kids don't like mushrooms so we cook them on the side and add them to our stir fry.

Day 4
Strawberries & toast, Green Smoothie
Green Leaf wrap with left over stir fry
Chalupas & salsa--These were really yummy.  I can go food with a latin flair anytime!  I love beans and salsa and avocado.  I could get fat on beans. Just saying.

Day 5
Hot Lap Bowl---good for a cold winter morning, stick to your rib kind of breakfast; basically a bowl of oatmeal with fruit & vegan milk
Basics Taco---these went over well too. We've learned to like corn tortillas over flour tortillas.
Portobello Mushroom burger with sweet potato fries---the fries were good. The kids don't care for mushrooms so I had bought them a vegetarian garden burger, which they enjoyed.  I thought I could do the mushroom burger, but halfway through I realized that if I took one more bite, it would all come back up.  Never again.  I realized that I like my mushrooms like I like my tomatoes---a nice small part of a meal, but never as the main course.  I love tomatoes in any Latin food, but I cannot eat them like an apple or as a sliced tomato salad.  I love mushrooms as a small part of a whole, but not the whole thing itself.

Vegan?

So on January 7, we went vegan.  The challenge is to make it 28 days and we are half-way through now.  I just got the idea to post about it and wish I had started at the beginning, so I could make comments on what we've been eating, but I will start doing that tomorrow on day 15.

So far, so good.  We each had our blood work done and the idea is to check it at the end of the challenge and see if it made a difference.  We've all done well.  I think we've each had very small, minor "mess-ups", but overall, we're doing great.  Some of the meals have been great and some not so good. 

What I've learned so far.....
I can live without meat & dairy & sugar. 
I really like crunchy things, like chips or whole grain crackers. 
Costco has some great fresh salsa that we devour quickly. 
I don't care for gnocchi.
I CANNOT eat a portabello mushroom...ever.
Vegetarian tamales are actually good. (I learned that today! For dinner, I bought some frozen vegetarian tamales & we had a big salad with them. YUM!)

We are following the Engine 2 Diet-28 day challenge. 
Some other inspirations we've found are Forks over Knives & the China Study.

Why are we doing this?  For quite a few years, I've felt prompted to move to a more plant-based diet, but I've not had the courage or the energy to re-haul my kitchen and cooking.  With the 28 day challenge, the meals & grocery lists are planned for you, so that alleviated 1 stress for me.  I literally went through my kitchen and gave away or packed away whatever was not whole grain or plant based.  To be honest, we haven't missed any of it.  Sure, there are moments when we've thought: "Vanilla ice cream would sure taste good on this!" or "A supreme pizza would be awesome right now!"  But the moments pass.  We figure we can do it for 28 days and then decide how we want to adapt our lifestyle.

Bottom line: we want to be healthier & prevent disease.

Wish us luck!

Les Miserables

I'm so proud of my kids.  Since September, Jeremy & Emily have had play rehearsals every day for 3 hours.  When I heard Provo High was putting on Les Mis, I was thinking they were thinking pretty ambitious and I hoped they could pull it off enough to do the play some justice, but they have more than exceeded the expectations I had.  It has been terrific.  I've seen it twice already & look forward to the last 3 nights.

Jeremy & Emily have had a wonderful time being a part of the production.  I can tell they've put their heart & soul into their parts.  Despite being only a member of the chorus, they have had a great experience.

I'm proud of all the PHS kids.  They have worked so hard & so long.  And it has definitely been worth it.  Each night, I get tears in my eyes, not because of the story (though that's definitely worth tearing up for!), but because I feel so proud of the hard work they've given.  And I hope they all feel that pride in what they have done.  Not in a vain way, but proud of their accomplishing something so difficult.

I love to see my kids on stage. 

Skype

I'm so grateful for the ability to Skype my parents!  What wonderful technology!  How can you feel far away from anyone now? 

I remember as a child thinking of wild, crazy, fantastic things...like phones that had a camera so you could see who you were talking to, or cars that told you where you were going.  And to think that's really happening now.... crazy.

This is my favorite picture of all time.  It was the first time we were able to Skype with my mom & dad.  I love how all the grandkids are gathered together looking at the computer talking with Gramps & Nana.  They are such a blessing to my parents. And my parents are such a blessing to them.

New Days

I'm grateful for good nights' rests and for bright mornings that allow us to start a new day.  Things feel better.  Life feels new again.  Ironically, I am a night person, but it doesn't do my emotions good.

Elder & Sister Manning

Emily & I have shared a few tears over the weekend...at odd moments.  Which is what happens when you miss someone.  But I am so happy that my parents have this opportunity.  It's a new day for them in their lives. Their chance to give & to serve--which they are so good at already.  It's a new day for us too -- to experience missionary work from the "sending away" part, to share in their experiences, and to prepare for Jeremy's mission (which will be in 1 year!!).

Grandkids had to have a picture 

with their missionaries!

Spencer (10)

Jeremy (17)

Morgan (6)

Garrett (8)

Emily (14)

Tanner (1)

Aubrey (12)

Group Hug:   Me (though you can't see me!), Matt, Mom, & Dad

I think about how much the Gospel of Jesus Christ has changed my family's life...
Because a member family was brave enough to share...
Because a sister missionary was wise enough to knock...
Because good ward members were kind enough to invite...
Because an Elder's Quorum president & 2 elders were bold enough to visit...
We are a testament of Member Missionary work.

The gospel brought a "new day" into our lives.
All 4 of us have a testimony of Jesus Christ.
All 4 of us have served the Lord through our missions. (all 4 of us left in October too!)
All 4 of us have been sealed to our families in the temple for eternity.
All 4 of us love each other and Jesus Christ.
We have so much to be grateful for.

God be with you, til we meet again.