Cutting the Cheese

Somehow dairy has made it into my body. I'm not sure how since I know if flares up my eczema, makes my head stuffy, my emotions moody and my sleep less sound. So I wouldn't consciously consume it. But somehow it's come in, and I want my buoyant energy back.

Two out of three of the girls' meals are vegan. They really only eat cheese, but making their grilled cheese for lunch is such a temptation, I decided I needed to cut all contact with cheese and make all their meals vegan. At least for a couple days. I figured it would do them more good than harm. But would I be able to feed them vegan meals without only making PBJ's? It's turned into a challenge, to see how long I can go without feeding them their typical quesadilla, grilled cheese or mac and cheese lunches.

Here is what they ate for the first day of their no cheese diet:

Yesterday we went to their library class. It's awesome. They do all kinds of dancing and singing and then they let the kids loose in a room filled with toys and puzzles. I love that the library provides this resource. Afterwards, we went to the park for a picnic. Thérèse knows if we have a picnic she gets a juice box, which makes her excited about life.

Lunch was a burrito: frijoles con papas. Boiled potatoes, salted and mashed in extra virgin olive oil with lightly fried and mashed beans rolled into a tortilla. I used canned because I didn't have any made. Not ideal but certainly practical. Avocado would be a delicious addition to this burrito.

 

Snack: Popcorn and pears.

Dinner: Fried rice and broccoli. I almost had a melt down because I ran out of soy sauce. Soy sauce is essential to fried rice. Plus my kids love it. They will eat anything if it is smothered and cooked in soy sauce. It is the equivalent to ketchup in this house. Thankfully, they ate this dinner right up. I did have to bribe them with vegan ice cream sandwiches, but still, they didn't complain about eating this. Simple flavors go a long way with kids. 

Fried Rice: Sauté one leek, two garlic, add one zucchini, one small carrot, all finely diced. After veggies slightly brown, stirred in three cups leftover brown rice, two teaspoons soy sauce and add half a package of crumbled firm tofu. Serve with steamed broccoli.

 

Basic flavors go a long way with kids. And my husband enjoyed it too, so win/win. Don't ask why the baby stroller is on the kitchen chair. Thérèse said she put it their on purpose. Okay....

I know you all woke up this morning and thought, "I want to know what Arisa's kid look like messy and preoccupied with vegan ice cream sandwiches and a grain of rice stuck to her chin." Well here you are. My kids eat a lot of veggies. We need an incentive they love and that doesn't destroy all the good the veggies did. 

I will be updating our adventures in Cheeseless Children. I can't make promises in how often. I started this post at eight this morning and it's almost eight in the evening now. There are a few distractions around here...

Monique just fell. I gasped and laughed at the same time. I didn't know I could do that.