My Favorite Lunch

I've never been one to try new things, until I met my husband. I was pretty boring. I liked my routines, and I ate the same TV dinners every night (for the 3 months after my divorce) and I was happy with that. When I met my husband I was inspired to start trying new things. He's from Maine, so he's used to eating a variety of foods and when we went vegetarian I had to get creative with dinners. Lunch tends to be pretty simple for me, and while salad is nothing new, I thought I'd do a post on this because my hubby, once again, turned me on to something new... Sunflower Seeds.

My First Vegan Recipe

I attempted my first vegan recipe yesterday. I made banana bread! My husband had made banana bread about a week ago, but used a regular recipe. About 10 minutes before my bread was done, my entire house smelled like cinnamon and nutmeg.

When I pulled the loaf out, it was smaller than my hubby's banana bread, but WOW did it taste SO much better! My daughter and I ate it in one day (hence why I don't have a picture!) 

I'll make more in a couple days and share what it looks like. I really thought the bread would taste horrible. Applesauce instead of eggs? I've been wanting to get away from eggs for months now, and this is my step toward making veganism in my home a reality. 

I wanted to prove to myself and my family that banana bread the vegan way was just as good if not better than the bread my hubby made the week before. WOOHOO I was right!!

I hate bananas!

I've always hated bananas. Anything banana. You know those little bananas in the Runts candy boxes? I always gave or threw them away. In December 2010 however I found out that my potassium levels were dangerously low. So low in fact it caused heart palpitations and excess swelling in my knees after injury. So, I started eating bananas (I get really nauseated if they aren't green ones) and bought a potassium supplement. I was getting no where near the 4700mg we need daily. I was getting maybe 1000mg, and that's being generous.

I've become somewhat immune to the taste of bananas as long as they are green. I sometimes can't eat a bunch of bananas before the green turns to brown so the brown ones end up as banana bread because my hubby hates to waste ANYTHING!

Those bananas? They're too ripe for me.

My hubby is the best at making bread. He uses a bread machine most of the time, but not for banana bread. I LOVE his banana bread. A little butter and I'm all set!

The recipe for this bread is in the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook on page 124. (It's the 15th edition.) Here's the recipe now that I've given credit to the author!

The First

I haven't been vegetarian for very long, just about 6 months and have just recently found an interest in Veganism. I went vegetarian for the health benefits. 

I suffer from high blood pressure, migraines, osteoarthritis and generalized anxiety disorder. I was also quite overweight. I was 250lbs, and only 5'9" tall. I was pretty depressed about my weight, and I knew I had to do something about it. 

I started working out in November 2010 when the Kinect came out for the Xbox 360. The game Your Shape Fitness Evolved came out shortly thereafter, and I got my hands on it for $20! (These games are usually $59.99!)