I have become a food hoarder!

It's true, ever since we started our plant-based/whole foods diet I have become petrified of finding myself without everything I need in my house to prepare a meal (actually meals for a crowd)! A little of it has to do with the fact that we are in Cedar Key without access to a natural foods market, but the fact that five out of seven days there is a produce stand open less than a mile from our house should negate that issue. I've always lived with a full pantry and have tried to trim that back while living full-time in our motorhome but at this point right now, with what we have in the pantry, refrigerator and freezer we could probably live for at least a month! I am actually putting undue strain on the hooks that hold up our shelves and have already had to replace a couple - not good.

My first vegan cookbook: Everyday Happy Herbivore by Lindsay S. Nixon

I think it started with getting my first vegan cookbooks and looking at the lists of what you should have in your pantry - I didn't look at it as if it was a guide but the rule! And I must say that most any recipe we pull up whether in the cook book or on the internet we can make with what we have in the house, which is a great convenience, but at what cost?

One thing we do need to work on with our diet is to cut back on the processed foods we use. Because I have always been a pretty lazy cook and I am always worried about making sure Bill is fed I have a freezer stocked with some vegan entrees and every time we go to town I am sure to buy some pre-made treats, like a Thai noodle salad. These are all vegan and taste great, but I think they also contain quite a bit of oil, more than we should be eating. While at Trader Joes yesterday I had found some rather yummy looking Chicken-Less Crispy Tenders - oh they looked yummy and I was just thinking about how I could use them in tacos when I turned the bag over to see the ingredients.  Number 2 ingredient, after water, was Soy Protein Isolate. I've been reading a lot about this lately and it's something you really don't want to incorporate into your diet.


Once in a while when we go out, like last night for my birthday dinner, it's ok but we need to start moving away from these meat, chicken and fish "substitues" to more fresh, whole foods. These products did make it easier for our transition and using them here and there is fine, but not as part of our regular diet. What we should strive for is not more than 5 ingredients on the package and they should all be items you recognize and know, like Potatoes, Onions, etc.

So how am I going to stop becoming a hoarder? How am I going to relax and realize that we aren't going to run out of food?! We aren't due back into "town for two weeks now so that does give us some time to "shop in our cupboard" but what happens when I hit Tampa and run for the nearest natural foods store? I think I'm going to need some help with this...maybe I will just send Bill, can I really do that? Will he find all the hidden yummies I might locate on the bottom shelf in the corner of the store? Probably not, and that's a good thing! Let's see how I do...stay tuned.