The Challenge

I've been a vegetarian for a year and a half and have been gradually becoming a vegan.  I have now made the commitment to becoming entirely vegan.  My family, though, are meat eaters and will eat vegan when I'm cooking.  So, my challenge is to show my family (and anyone else) that eating vegan can be exciting and delicious. 

I plan to create a dinner menu for every day of the year that is full of variety and nutrition, that is tasty, delicious, and mouth watering.  You see, I've had a difficult time over the last year with coming up with recipes that continue to satisfy my carniverous family.  I've managed to create a few hits.

Part of the challenge came from converting my old favorites.  Most of my old dishes utilized some form of meat base.  While not using meat for flavor was hard at first, I've adapted.  And a lot of my old favorites are my new favorites in different form.  Another part of the challenge was finding dishes that emphasized flavor.  I bought a vegetarian cookbook, but some of the ingredients were too exotic or the dishes too bland.  But more than that, just planning a meal was hard.

Not anymore.  But I still meet lots of people who refuse to even try vegetarianism because it seems so boring.  Well, it's not.  And giving up dairy isn't too big a problem either once you have some ideas about what to make.

Part of my inspiration came from Women's Day magazine.  I used to read that magazine a lot when I was first married, and one thing I liked was the monthly menu they included.  It gave ideas for dinner meals every day of the month, sometimes even having dinners as "planned-overs," using food left over from the day before.  I would like to do that too, only these menus will be vegan.  My goal is to give you 365 menus with no repeats.  By "no repeats," I mean no dinner will every be exactly the same.  They might be similar (maybe you'll have the same salad twice, for example, but the rest of the meal will be completely different).  I'll also include an occasional breakfast and lunch here and there in addition to the menu.  I might even list a dessert here and there.

My goal for now is to write out a weekly menu.  I'll include recipes (or links to recipes) when and where I can or at least give you the basics.  Let's see just how many dinner ideas I can come up with.  Happy reading (and eating)!