Day 5: Vegan Feast!

Okay, my sister-in-law Erin, is an amazing cook.  This vegan feast was the BOMB!  I was in heaven.  I wish I could eat like this every day.  Too bad she can not open a vegan restaurant in Houston.  Is there any???  I know in California, they are everywhere.  But in Houston?   We are so in need of a healthy place to eat.  And I mean really healthy.  Sigh.

So those of you who do not know Erin, she is a science guru (among her many talents) and our dinner topics sometimes take a scientific turn.  So of course I had to bring up the beans and the flatulence issue as I was still curious.

I learned that beans break down into a sugar that the body can not digest.  So to help digest this sugar, we need the help of a bacteria or enzyme.  Now if you do not eat beans on a  regular basis this bacteria/enzyme is in low supply.  As a result, there will be an increase in the amount of gas byproduct during the breakdown process since the bulk of the work  will have to take place in the large intestine.  When you start eating beans on a more frequent basis, the bacteria grows again in numbers and efficiently helps the body digest the beans before it hits the large intestine with less gas byproduct.  So yippee!  There is hope with this diet.  Feel free to share this new found knowledge at your next mealtime conversation.

Today was finally a good day.  I slept in really late today and was completely lazy but I enjoyed every minute of it since I plan to hit it hard with the workouts this week.

Brunch:

• Flax Oatmeal with bananas, blueberries, & cinnamon
• Toast with hummus
• Toast with almond butter

Snack:

• Cup of pomegranates
• Apple juice

Dinner (photos and titles courtesy of Erin with recipes to come):

• Two kinds of crostini: a dill nut cheese spread with roma tomato and canelli bean spread with pickled red onions
• Marinated tofu on a bed of sauteed Swiss chard from my garden and farro salad
• Armoniche with veggies and a white wine lemon sauce
• Vegan chocolate almond cupcakes (These were so mouthwatering good!!)

If I ever win the lottery, I would hire Erin to be our personal vegan chef or help her open her own restaurant.  What a delicious treat!  I am a revived woman in this challenge again.