Vegan Days 4 & 5: Feeling light as a feather.

I've been vegan for 5 full days now. I feel light, energized, and healthy! So far, I've been very satisfied with the food I've made and the food options that are available to me. Dan and I have both commented that we feel so full after our meals but without the weighted feeling that we often experience.

As much as I want to say that I will stay vegan 100% of the time once this challenge is over, I don't know if I can fully commit to that. I feel guilty saying that, because a vegan lifestyle is not about being on a diet. It's about living a compassionate lifestyle and refusing to support the horrible conditions and cruelty that millions of farm animals experience every single day. I do want to make the choice to remain vegetarian and to eat vegan meals as often as I possibly can. As selfish as I feel saying this, I feel I cannot live my WHOLE life without having a "normal" pizza again, or scrambled eggs, or real cheese. Then again...who really knows? I'm pretty certain I've stated in a past entry of this very blog that I would never go vegetarian or vegan, and now look at me!

I came across a great article recently called "The 10 Most Common Vegan Myths". The author did a great job of addressing many of the criticisms she regularly encounters as a vegan. I will say it has definitely been interesting to see and hear the reactions from my friends, family, and co-workers when I tell them I've gone vegan. Some are supportive and applaud my efforts. Some are curious and ask what I've been eating. Most are critical. Even Dan has told me his co-workers are ridiculing him for eating Boca burgers at work. Some of my co-workers have made comments like, "Animals are lower on the food chain! Too bad for them." or "I love meat too much." When I mention the documentary I watched that made me want to start this challenge, several have said, "Of course that movie would make you want to go vegan, it was made by a bunch of activists spreading their propaganda." Um, no. The movie contained factual information and was not preachy in the least. Perhaps you should watch it first before making that assumption!

One section of the 10 myths article that I really liked was this one:

9. Veganism is inconvenient.

All changes in life are an inconvenience. New jobs are a pain in the neck the first couple of weeks. You don’t know how long it takes to get there or where to eat or how to dress. New relationships are inconvenient because you know nothing about the other person’s likes and dislikes. Veganism is the same. It takes 3 weeks to get over the challenges and withdrawals of your old bad habits, but you’ll form new ones that work just as well. After a while you’ll carry nuts and nutritional yeast in your purse just in case. You’ll make hummus and pesto and vegan crackers in case you need something fast after a long day. You’ll bake all sorts of delicious things on your day off so you’ll be ready for the next week. You’ll have two or three recipes that you can make on a moment's notice.

I think everyone can take something away from that section when it comes to making a change or starting something new. I am very interested to see how I feel about remaining vegan 3 weeks from now!

One thing Dan and I agree we've made a permanent switch on is milk. We are crazy about almond milk! Dan has also tried soy milk, and he likes both. The first almond milk I tried was by Silk. I liked it, but it was thicker than I expected. I've been a fat free milk drinker for over 10 years, and this milk reminded me of 2%. The next time I went to the store, I bought Blue Diamond's Almond Breeze unsweetened almond milk. Love, love, love it! The consistency and taste is much more similar to skim milk - but it tastes much better than cow's milk. You'll never be able to tell the difference when using it in a bowl of cereal. And, the Almond Breeze version is only 30-40 calories per cup!


                                                   

Today I'll be cooking a tofu stir fry for lunch, planning my meals for next week, and grocery shopping. I have lots of recipes to choose from, I'm excited! While I liked the Cajun pasta dish I cooked on Wednesday, I've found the recipes I've made with beans, breadcrumbs, quinoa, etc kept me satisfied much longer than the pasta did. I'm going to try to stay away from pasta dishes. Here are my food and exercise logs for days 4 and 5.


Thursday 4/4 Food & Exercise Log

5 AM
-1 cup Multigrain Cheerios with 1 cup Almond Breeze unsweetened almond milk

5:30 AM
-45 minute boot camp session

8:45 AM 

-Thomas's 100% Whole Wheat Bagel Thin with 2 tbsp Skippy Natural Peanut Butter - creamy style, 1/3 less sodium and 1/3 less sugar

-Coffee with Silk French Vanilla creamer and 1 packet of sugar

12:30 PM

-Leftovers: Cajun pasta with white beans and kale

2 PM

-Felt hungry. Ate more of the Cajun pasta.

7:30 PM

-Leftovers: Eggplant burger with hummus on a 90 calorie Slimwich bun

Friday 4/5 Food & Exercise Log

I wanted to wake up and work out this morning. I really did. It didn't happen.

8:30 AM

-1 Fuji apple and 1 orange

-Old Fashioned Quaker Oats with a spoonful of Skippy Natural Peanut Butter stirred in
-Coffee with Silk French Vanilla creamer and 1 packet of sugar

Noon

-1/4 cup of the leftover quinoa

-Grape tomatoes and hummus

2 PM

-Cajun pasta

7:45 PM

-Cajun pasta (the leftovers are GONE! While this pasta was good, after having it for 4 meals in 3 days I'm pretty tired of it!)

I take a women's multivitamin and vitamin B12 every day. I also take iron supplements, but I took those even before going vegan because I have low iron.