Day 1 of the Vegan Experiment

So this is the first day of trying veganism.

After spending a quarter of my paycheck at Whole Foods my fridge and pantry are stocked with meatless staples.

I'm curious to see if it's as hard as everyone says it will be? Will it be impossible for me to go out to eat with friends? Will my friends avoid coming to my home for dinner out of fear of me serving them strange nut loafs and flavorless dishes? Will I be hungry all the time? Will I abandon my initial reasons for doing this and fill up on nothing but bread all the time?

I'm not totally clueless, living with a vegetarian and always in the pursuit of eating healthier I make a lot of meatless, flavorful, vegetable packed meals and I'm excited to expand my repertoire of recipes and meals.

Tonight nothing to fancy, were having veggie burgers, potato salad, and steamed broccoli. Desert is fresh fruit.

The thing that worries me is trying to like egg-free and dairy free things that are invented imitate things like yogurt and mayonnaise for people who don't want or can't have those things.

Such as the Nayonaise which I used for the potato salad tonight. Nayonaise is an egg-free soy based sandwich spread that is suppose to be like mayonnaise. I'm not sure but the "fake" stuff has always made me queazy. I couldn't even bring myself to try the fake cheese slices my boyfriend Chris would sometimes buy. Funny, I found myself at whole foods today asking a women next to me about which fake cheese melted best.

So back to the Nayonaise, I made the dressing like I would before with mayonnaise and it was awesome!
And if you are considering finding a good tasting alternative to mayonnaise the Nayonaise has 3.5g of fat and 35 calories for one serving vs. the Hellmanns in our fridge that has 10g of fat and 90 calories per serving.
So since it taste good and it's less fattening I can check off one Imitation product that I may adopt long term.

I've heard from others the first few weeks are the hardest but as of now I'm only trying this for a few weeks so I have a feeling I have a rough and cheese-less road ahead of me.

Finally since I will be useing this blog as a way to share my experience - both positive and negative- with veganism. I hope any of you that are vegan or enjoy eating vegan occasionaly will share your advice and recipes.

Vegan Potato Salad with Fresh Dill and Nayonaise

-5 medium sized red skinned potatoes scrubbed and cleaned and then cut into cubes

-4 tablespoons of Nayonaise

-Salt and Pepper to taste

-2 tablespoons of fresh (fresh is best!) dill chopped finely

-1 tablespoon of dijon mustard

1) Boil cubed potatoes for about 18 to 20 minutes till soft but not too mushy.

Drain potatoes and let water drain off in colander while you mix the dressing.

2) In a bowl mix Nayonaise, dill, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.

3) mix in cooked potatoes stir with a large spoon ( don't mash) and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.