A little bit vegan or how we became crunchy granola types

You might not believe this, but the man of the house and I have been eating vegan. Seriously. Most of our meals no longer include meat and dairy. Except for the weekends and the moderate amounts of cheese we use when we make pizza.

You might not believe this either, but we make our OWN granola. I suppose that makes us crunchy granola types now. David eats it every morning for breakfast, and I just know it will be a long-term habit. (Considering he ate the same breakfast cereal each morning for four years prior to that.) As for me, I eat oat groats. Sounds appetizing, doesn't it? Quite simply, it's the whole oat kernel, not the "cut oats" most of us are used to eating. And for me, a big bowl of oat groats ensures that I will not be hungry again for five hours at least. A big change for me--and I am a lot less grumpy before lunch these days. :)

What has possessed us? We joined a CHIP (coronary health improvement program) program a few months back and took a 30-day eating challenge. We were going to clean up our diet and eat foods simply prepared, foods as grown. Something went terribly right with both of us on this program, as I stopped getting those dastardly "blood sugar swings" that make me grumpy. David, well, he's in a league by himself--having lowered his blood pressure and dropped twenty pounds total. (He had started losing some weight before the program.)

So, anyhoo, I'm a nicer person now, and David, well, he's fit into a suit he hasn't worn in years. The one I was insisting should go to Good Will only a few months ago.

Just to give you an example of what we eat, here are some of our new recipes:
-pasta primavera (sauce made from cashews)
-mediterranean lentil soup
-carob almond peanut butter bars (to die for! we make them almost every week)
-millet cheese (an amazing nacho cheese substitute-made with cashews & pimientos--that is great with mexican)
-spicy beans, tomatoes, and rice
-tamale pie (with cornmeal, kidney beans, and olives)

And, wow, how our shopping list has changed! We're really enjoying our vanilla silk soy milk, but we have yet to dive into the tofu world, although we're considering it now. We've also found that when we occasionally do eat meat we eat less of it, since we're filling up on grains and fruits and veggies. Anyway, I'm seriously considering posting the best of our recipes very soon, since some facebook friends also want them.

And I'd simply love to post a picture of my hubbie making granola. He's got it down to a science--and oh, the smell of honey and cinnamon in our kitchen. As Mr. Food would say, "Oooo...so good."