I've been brainstorming...trying to remember all the foods I've been eating since I started on this venture. One thing's for sure. There've been lots of soy products going into my body and this has been a big adjustment for me physically. A not-too-pretty adjustment, might I add. Not too long ago, I'd heard that soy isn't exactly as healthy for our bodies as we've been led to believe, and that many people suffer from side effects after eating products containing soy, but even so, I've given it the benefit of the doubt and made it part of my diet anyway. Some of these soy foods just taste soooooooo good and when you've cut out so many other foods that your body was accustomed to and you truly loved the taste of, well...you cave...at least I did (and still am). I think my favorite soy find is Trader Joe's soy churiso. Yum. It's so spicy and flavorful and you can include it in just about every recipe you could think of. Tacos filled with this stuff in place of meat are absolutely amazing (this wasn't my idea, I got it from Alicia Silverstone's book 'The Kind Diet' ). I sort of modified this recipe and threw together a taco salad instead (not so messy and easier to eat). I've also been adding it to my breakfast quesadilla's (using soy shredded cheese, of course) and cuscous with beans for lunch or dinner. I've made grilled cheese sandwiches with sprouted bread, Earth Balance soy butter and soy cheese slices. Soy yogurt (I've only tried raspberry so far) isn't too bad either. Then of course there's tofu, which I've had in the past but not yet since I've gone vegan. I have purchased some thought, of the sprouted variety, so I plan to experiment with that soon. Since I've noticed some changes in my body within the last week though, I've slowed down with the soy, eating less of it on a daily basis. I realize that going vegan doesn't mean eating soy...it means eating green. So now I've loaded up on bok choy, lettuce and spinach as well as a butternut squash and a pie pumpkin out of which I'll be making pumpkin soup (just as soon as I come up with a similarly creamy substitute for heavy cream.

So, I've mentioned that the soy has been doing a number on me, right? I guess now, it's time to reveal how. Well, let's just say that my tummy's been grumbling lots lately. You'd think that this would have been the side effect of all that cheese I used to eat, but no it's soy that gives me gas. Yay! In addition, I can honestly say that I will no longer need to take that Chinese herbal slimming tea to help my digestive system function properly. So, so far, I'm gassy and running to the toilette every couple of hours. Double yay! As if that weren't enough, I'm itchy. Yes, itchy. My whole body itches and no, I'm absolutely positive that this has nothing to do with fleas or lice or hygene whatsoever. It's the soy.

Of course, this is a transition...a huge one. To completely change my diet from one minute to the next cutting out foods that I've eaten all my life and adding foods that my body has never experienced before...it's no wonder it's acting up. It's confused. In time, I'm sure things will calm down and the systems will regulate. Hopefully sooner than later.