My start to plant-based meals

I ordered Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's The Vegan Table in August 2010. I never really thought I used this book often, but I recently lent it to a friend, and I miss having it. There's at least 20 recipes I've fit into our regular rotation of meals. 

For a long time, our goal was to try a new dish each week. It's been exciting, and so amazingly delicious! 

I also love the way she winds compassionate-thinking through the recipes. Lots of cooking tips, which is invaluable to me! Remember, I never cooked anything besides Kraft dinner or toast! Troy did all of the cooking. We ate: meat, cheese, bread, carrots, potatoes, corn, and green beans.
I kept a list for the first eight months of being vegan and I added 42 different foods to my life.
Don't get me wrong, I  ate other vegetables before, Troy just didn't. Troy has helped me, but I knew I had to learn to cook. That's what I did. With my severe brain injury!

I also got Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet. I loved her book, and the recipes were unusual, but great! Her Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups are The Best! Better than Reese's. Yeh! I said it! And I mean it!
The first half of the book is spent on explaining why being vegan is where it's at. (And it is-btw!)
I appreciated the way she set up 'flirts', 'vegans', and 'superheroes'. I spent about 4 months transitioning, or 'flirting'.
My first official vegan-day was September 12, 2010.

Please also know, that being vegan is not synonymous with perfection. I made a ton of mistakes! Some, I was not aware of till later, and some I knew. I still make mistakes. I have learnt a great deal!

So, I went to the nutritionist at my doctor's office with The Kind Diet in tow. She got me set up with an organization that helps people with cooking. They're called HELP, or Home Economics for Living Project.  I had a private vegan cooking class! I learned to make pizza, black bean soup, and bean dip. It was awesome!
Unfortunately, there are no vegetarian or vegan cooking classes offered in Regina, Saskatchewan. So that was it!

In September 2010, I got Simple Little Vegan Slowcooker by Michelle Rivera. More soups and stews that I can leave to fill the house with that mouthwatering aroma. It's seriously so good that I am salivating thinking about it! Fiesta Soup and Vegetable Stock I use often. The author recommends making your soup stock and freezing it in ice cube trays for later use. Pretty clever, I must say!!
I measure the stock as a cup of soup stock is 8 cubes. It's pretty simple. Course, I have a severe brain injury, so I have it marked on the freezer bag of soup stock cubes I keep. It's pretty straight-forward for half-measures and quarter-measures and such. Plus the house smells delicious and I use up vegetables! Win-win-win!!!