One month down and I must say that I have adjusted to my new diet quite happily. After a rough first week, I learned that in order to thrive on mostly-vegan diet it is best to go high calorie. [Gasp] Dare I utter the words high calorie? You betcha! Even with all my nutrition knowledge, I had overlooked something. Here's why: when you eat animal products, they take up a good chunk of your calories. Fruits and veggies become side dishes and if you want balance (i.e. not turning into a walking beach ball), you have to keep them light. [Lightbulb over the head.] I had approached this with my a meat-eating mindset: lean protein, more veggies. This left my meals particularly lacking and in my quest for adequate protein, I had not accounted for what really satisfies: fat. This simple realization opened a huge door of culinary possibilities and gustatory satisfaction.
Summing up the month:
Week 1: The hungry toot machine (thank goodness I moved on!)
Week 2: Gaining confidence - my first restaurant
Week 3: Missing substance - attention to food textures
Week 4: Fully transitioned - creative planning
When I talk about animal products, I think it's important to clarify what that means. Briefly, that includes meats, seafood, eggs, milk and any product derived from or containing those things. It sounds pretty simple at first but this experience has made me realize how many of our foods depend on animal products as a key ingredient beyond the obvious: chocolate, most baked goods (i.e. cakes, cookies, brownies, muffins), puddings, custards, ice cream, protein powders, sports bars, cream sauces, mayonnaise, yogurt, sour cream, whipped cream, many soups, mashed potatoes, butter sauces, coffee shop drinks, baby formula, supplement drinks like Slim Fast and Ensure. I could go on and on and on. When you really think about it, it's pretty crazy. If you're going to really go there, it is tough to be dedicated.
The Tricky Encounters:
Provided lunches at work - I only encounter this one day a week but I have started bringing some leftovers from home. I broke down one afternoon when they served Chick-Fil-A chicken fingers, a former favorite of mine. I had 2 and justified myself in thinking that I didn't want it to get wasted. They were good but it was a bit anti-climatic. It wasn't like tasting water for the first time after days in the desert. I find I'm much happier with my own back-up lunch.
Restaurants with friends - My first restaurant trip was much harder than I expected. My boyfriend and I met friends at a seafood restaurant. I haven't quite made up my mind about fish but I was hoping to find something that had no animal products at all, essentially vegan. In my naivete I failed to check the menu in advance. As I settled into the booth and studied my menu, my heart sank. I realized how few options there were that were vegetarian, zero that were vegan. Everything had meat, fish, or some kind of dairy! There was one non-fish entree with chicken. Beyond that there were 2-3 "vegetarian" options that had milk or cheese in them. I literally had no choices and I was really hungry. On this occasion, necessity dictated and I decided that I could eat seafood afterall. To me, that was better than having dairy.
In the past month I have had animal products a handful of times, maybe two times a week. In it's place I have been exploring soy and rice milks, meat alternatives like tempeh and tofu, and eating many more nuts, beans and whole grains. I have gotten much more out of this than just knowing that I am helping to make a difference for animals and changing our food system. It's motivated me and forced me to become more creative in the kitchen. I have been eating a larger variety of foods. My kitchen is full of fresh, wholesome foods and interesting herbs and spices. I've also become a lot more resourceful about using fruits and veggies that I might have otherwise thrown out for being too old. I'm spending a lot less money on food, actually spending less than food budget for the first time, and saving time by making dinners with shorter cooking times.
Let me also premise that I am scientifically trained in nutrition. In this arena, it is of utmost importance that everything we recommend be the product of research rather than adage or "this worked for me" philosophy. There are clear benefits of a diet high in fiber, fruits and vegetables and I am always thinking about whether I'm eating healthy on some level, but until now I didn't realize how often I chose meat or cheese over veggies and whole grains when I was hungry. Eliminating many animal products has given me more room in my diet for other foods. I'm gonna pull a "this worked for me" and say that health-wise I really do feel better. I suffer from regular, often constant headaches from a combination of allergies/sinus problems and TMJ. They have been fewer and less severe. I also think my digestion is better. My family and close friends have always known that I could hold my own in any burping contest. Not anymore. My stomach overall just feels better.
Summing up the month:
Week 1: The hungry toot machine (thank goodness I moved on!)
Week 2: Gaining confidence - my first restaurant
Week 3: Missing substance - attention to food textures
Week 4: Fully transitioned - creative planning
When I talk about animal products, I think it's important to clarify what that means. Briefly, that includes meats, seafood, eggs, milk and any product derived from or containing those things. It sounds pretty simple at first but this experience has made me realize how many of our foods depend on animal products as a key ingredient beyond the obvious: chocolate, most baked goods (i.e. cakes, cookies, brownies, muffins), puddings, custards, ice cream, protein powders, sports bars, cream sauces, mayonnaise, yogurt, sour cream, whipped cream, many soups, mashed potatoes, butter sauces, coffee shop drinks, baby formula, supplement drinks like Slim Fast and Ensure. I could go on and on and on. When you really think about it, it's pretty crazy. If you're going to really go there, it is tough to be dedicated.
The Tricky Encounters:
Provided lunches at work - I only encounter this one day a week but I have started bringing some leftovers from home. I broke down one afternoon when they served Chick-Fil-A chicken fingers, a former favorite of mine. I had 2 and justified myself in thinking that I didn't want it to get wasted. They were good but it was a bit anti-climatic. It wasn't like tasting water for the first time after days in the desert. I find I'm much happier with my own back-up lunch.
Restaurants with friends - My first restaurant trip was much harder than I expected. My boyfriend and I met friends at a seafood restaurant. I haven't quite made up my mind about fish but I was hoping to find something that had no animal products at all, essentially vegan. In my naivete I failed to check the menu in advance. As I settled into the booth and studied my menu, my heart sank. I realized how few options there were that were vegetarian, zero that were vegan. Everything had meat, fish, or some kind of dairy! There was one non-fish entree with chicken. Beyond that there were 2-3 "vegetarian" options that had milk or cheese in them. I literally had no choices and I was really hungry. On this occasion, necessity dictated and I decided that I could eat seafood afterall. To me, that was better than having dairy.
In the past month I have had animal products a handful of times, maybe two times a week. In it's place I have been exploring soy and rice milks, meat alternatives like tempeh and tofu, and eating many more nuts, beans and whole grains. I have gotten much more out of this than just knowing that I am helping to make a difference for animals and changing our food system. It's motivated me and forced me to become more creative in the kitchen. I have been eating a larger variety of foods. My kitchen is full of fresh, wholesome foods and interesting herbs and spices. I've also become a lot more resourceful about using fruits and veggies that I might have otherwise thrown out for being too old. I'm spending a lot less money on food, actually spending less than food budget for the first time, and saving time by making dinners with shorter cooking times.
Let me also premise that I am scientifically trained in nutrition. In this arena, it is of utmost importance that everything we recommend be the product of research rather than adage or "this worked for me" philosophy. There are clear benefits of a diet high in fiber, fruits and vegetables and I am always thinking about whether I'm eating healthy on some level, but until now I didn't realize how often I chose meat or cheese over veggies and whole grains when I was hungry. Eliminating many animal products has given me more room in my diet for other foods. I'm gonna pull a "this worked for me" and say that health-wise I really do feel better. I suffer from regular, often constant headaches from a combination of allergies/sinus problems and TMJ. They have been fewer and less severe. I also think my digestion is better. My family and close friends have always known that I could hold my own in any burping contest. Not anymore. My stomach overall just feels better.
I'm also smarter and more attractive. Okay, not really, but I think you get my point.
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