And I said to myself "how did I get here"?!

Hi!

I'm Debi, and my name hasn't been changed to protect the innocent!  The food here isn't that incriminating, so I shouldn't need to go into witness protection over it!  So yes, I am Debi and I am on a quest.....

This is me looking bookish at the pool reading The China Study ( great book)

I recently became vegan, unexpectedly.  ( May 8, 2012)  I bet that sentence has never been typed before.   I had some health issues, and I decided to do the Beachbody Ultimate Reset - I like to link what I talk about, so you are all in the loop.  www.ultimatereset.com/applezz , so there it is.  The Reset has fantastic health benefits and isn't some hokey gimmick.  I saw evidence of people losing 30-90 points off their cholesterol, dropping 10lbs, coming of BP meds, and diabetic meds, because they had regained their health through food.  Basically, it is a 3 week transition to vegan, with the goal of exposure to the way we should eat, but done in a gentle and tasty way.   Along the way your body becomes NOT addicted (so is that unaddicted?? LOL) to caffeine, and sugar, and processed stuff, and is chemical free for 3 weeks.   My liver was a little sub par, so thought I would give it a whirl.  I did the 3 weeks, (lost 14lbs), learned that vegan is a very flavorful diverse way to eat and I surprisingly loved it.  I dropped 56 points off my cholesterol and it wasn't even high!  It went from 183 to 127, and best yet my liver became normal again.  Yay me, a happy ending, but that was really the beginning. ( I have not idea why this is in white - I didnt do it!!!...well not intentionally!)

Before I finished the Reset, my plans were to just eat whole foods ( chicken, tuna, eggs, grains, fruits veggies).  But when I was finished, I felt so FANTASTIC eating vegan, I really didn't feel the need to go back.  Then I watched the movie Forks Over Knives (FOK) ( you can see it free on Hulu http://www.hulu.com/watch/279734 ) and FOK sealed it for me, that I didn't need to go back to meat and dairy as I was thriving on a vegan diet.

I was delighted.  BUT, the more I thought about it, the more concerned I became about my kids ( more on them later).  Left to their own devices they would live on boxed carbs, sugar and junk food.  That is what they craved and wanted, even over fruits and veggies that they like, but would RATHER eat junk.  ( I hear you parents out there all nodding your heads and signing!)  Sure most kids are like that, and initially I thought that veganism is a hard lifestyle to push on a kid.  But then it occurred to me, if I didn't at least expose them to a super healthy way to eat, then I am leaving them to the standard american diet (SAD) and virtually handing them over to a life time of fighting weight issues, being more prone to illness, heart issues, the list goes on and on.  Sadly, the SAD is very sad.  :(

It then occurred to me, that most families eat the same 10-15 meals in a rotation of sorts over and over.  With the odd special occasion, or new recipe from time to time.  So I thought, if I can come up with 10 - 15 vegan recipes that they kids will tolerate, gasp - dare we say enjoy, then I can expose them to a lifestyle that may save their lives.

I am by nature VERY forgetful.  REALLY, REALLY, forgetful.  To date,  I have found 5 vegan recipes that they like so far, but I am having trouble remembering them all, AND remembering what we have tried.  So I thought if I blog about the recipes and reactions I will have it all down for posterity, entertainment and mostly, so I DON'T forget!!

And that, my friends, is how Debi Does Dinner came about. ( I shall be sure to mention here that my very witty friend Robyn came up with the title, so when you giggle at it, it is she who gets the credit!)  My hope is that by the end of the summer I have 15 meals the kids can eat at home and they may develop a taste for vegan food.  My dream is that they choose at some point to be 100% vegan.  Currently, I would class them as casual vegan, where I serve all things vegan to them at home, but if we are out some place, ( we never do fast food, so perhaps a restaurant) and they want chicken or a dessert that probably isn't vegan, then they have it.

and that is how I got here.  :)  This is my quest to find 15 vegan recipes my kids like..........