Hi, Mama & Papa Herbivore here with a update on how we are doing. It's hard to believe it has been 15 months plant-based and we can honestly say it is not a transition anymore, but a lifestyle of eating healthier. Our daughter's recipes have become our bible of cookbooks. We still make a lot of our old favorites from HHC , have new ones in EHH and get a different taste of many countries in HHA .
Our taste buds took us to Thailand for Thai Pineapple Curry (p. 94), which was bursting with the sweetness of pineapple and coconut milk with a nice blend of ginger, cloves and curry. We served it over brown rice.
Another favorite from the Asian cuisine is Spring Rolls (p. 77), which we enjoy. I like that many different vegetables can be used to make them.
On to France, where we make double batches of Cassoulet (p. 18), which is truly a comfort food when the weather is cloudy and raining. Leftover, the flavor is even more enhanced.
Then to Mama Herbivore's favorite country, Italy, for the divine taste of savory Lasagna (p. 177) like my mama use to make — but healthier. As we continue to savor many more recipes from HHA, I do also have to mention some of the wonderful desserts:
The great smell of Cranberry Bread (p. 279) (made into muffins) on a relaxing Sunday morning.
Everyone loves a Chocolate Doughnut (p. 155) with a glaze — need I say more?
A beautiful Blueberry Bundt Cake (p. 151) with a cup of tea.
Last but not least, Pineapple Upside Down Cake (p. 280), to top off any amazing meal from HHA. [Editorial Note: My Dad made this for my mother for her birthday!]
That was the Thai Noodle Soup (p. 29), which I added mushrooms & carrots to. We like a lot of veggies in our soups.
We now have another favorite Indian dish in the Vegetable Korma (p.100). We made the curry version and loved the creamy sauce and combination of vegetables that the spices brought out, and one vegetable that is a favorite of ours, peas, that we don't get to use that often.
[Editorial Note: before being plant-based, my parents (especially Mama Herbivore) wouldn't even try Indian, but changing their diet has really opened their eyes to so many new foods and flavors. Indian is now one of their favorite cuisines to cook. I'm very proud of their journey and exploration of new tastes!]
German Lentil Soup (p.14). The lentil soup was a smooth combination of spices to give it that hearty comfort food taste and flavor.
You know how much Dad loves Queso (p.198) dip, and this was the closest you can get as far as the cheesy flavor and all the right spices. We like to add a can of Rotel tomatoes. [Editorial Note: She says "Rotelli." I think my mom's Italian upbringing comes out with her words ;)]
From the other books:
We love the Veggie Biscuit Pot Pie in EHH, but I serve it over noodles instead of biscuits.
We also made and enjoyed the Vegan Deviled Eggs recipe . I added some potato into the "filling" and it was delicious.
Now that we're more comfortable with this way of eating, we've also started to make our own recipes or adapt recipes we see in magazines or the newspaper. Cooking from Lindsay's books has taught us a lot and given us confidence to try out our own ideas. Here are some successes:
We made a Vegetable & Barley Stew recipe I got from Anne Marie [the daughter of my parents' best friends]. It was in "Today's Woman Magazine," but we adapted it to be plant-based and more to our tastes.
This was Aunt Connie's Hamburger Soup. Obviously, we made it without the hamburger! It was delicious. We've made it several times. We use lots of vegetables: cabbage, carrots, green beans — no meat needed.
Split Pea Soup made by us. I just made it the way my mom made it without the ham. I use some smoked paprika to give it the smoked ham flavor, a trick I learned from my daughter's Swedish Split Pea soup in HHA.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What we enjoy the most is after eating all this healthy food every day is how wonderful we continue to feel. Don't get me wrong, cravings still happen — but not quite as often. For me, it was bacon and for the Mr., it was egg salad or sausage, which is only natural after so many previous years of eating that way. We continue to thank our daughter for her great recipes and her support. It means a lot to us that she cares so much about our health.
We would also like to thank our generous daughter for our fabulous food processor and pressure cooker , which make it so easy and much faster to make our favorite recipes.
Lastly, we want to again thank all the Herbies for all your kind comments and supporting us these last 15 months. It means more to us than we can ever truly express.