I thought it might be harder to live my vegan lifestyle while having an out-of-town visitor stay with me, playing tour guide and being out all day eating at restaurants and such, but so far so good. I figure, there are salads wherever you go, right? Just order them without dressing. Only vinegar and oil on the side and I'm good. Since I've been out and about though, I've realized that there really are vegan options wherever you go and if you plan it just right, you can travel with your own vegan side substitutes so that you don't even feel like you're missing out.

At Trader Joe's I discover a gold mine. I'm hungry. It's lunch time. I have a small (already not the healthiest) snack waiting for me in the car (popped veggie chips) but decide that I do need something of substance. Money is tight but nevertheless, I know that I need to eat something while I'm out playing tour guide so that I can function and keep my strength up. For $3.99 I find a tray of two wraps filled with spicy (I love spicy) red lentils, cabbage and tahini sauce. I think I've gone to heaven. They had other vegan wraps there as well...some filled with humus. I could do that myself at home, is what I'm thinking! Yum.

Lunch was wonderful today and for some reason it set the scene for the evening at home. I was, once again, so motivated to cook up a storm. The whole house was loving it. First, I made my second batch of 'super moist pumpkin bread' (which, on purpose, wasn't as sweet and moist as the first batch because I decide to use a bit less sugar and leave out the walnuts since I didn't have any handy...though it was praised nonetheless). Then, I whipped up a week's supply of humus, half of which was gobbled up immediately. And after that, I slaved (and I do mean slaved because of the lack of a sharp knife to cut and peel the pumpkin...my hands are killing me) over a festive pumpkin soup (using coconut milk instead of cream). I thought the substitution would matter, but it didn't bother me a bit. My family isn't into this particular soup anyway, and never has been, so I don't have much to judge it by. My friend seemed to enjoy it, though she could have just been saying that she did just to make me feel good. Either way, I loved it and would make it again even though I'm not a big soup fan myself. I do think that I should consider being one though. Great stuff!

In the past few days I've eaten some homemade soups that I know could possibly save me in my vegan lifestyle. They are packed with EVERYTHING my body needs. Yes, I should get used to them. For instance, my mother made a soup on Sunday. She added tomatoes, potatoes, lima beans, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, parsley, salt (very little since my dad had his heart surgery) and black pepper. In addition, I added black beans, kidney beans and kale. It was sooooo good. Even more so knowing the variety of vitamins and minerals it was packed with. Woooohoooo!!!!

Final note for the day: I was gifted with a book called 'The China Study' by a dear friend named Cynthia. I've only read the introduction and the first few pages but as far as I can see, this is exactly the book I need to be reading at this very moment. I'm scared but excited to read it. Excited, because I know what I'm about to read and I've been living it (if not physically, then mentally, for many years (for the most part, anyway) and scared because I know that I have to make this a reality for my son again (it used to be, but we've been living under different circumstances in the past two years...I need to take back control...another obstacle...always doable but never easy). I look forward to the read and welcome the challenge.