Has it been already 4 weeks?! Holy smokes this month came and went super fast. I have to say it has been one heck of a journey and there are things I have covered and things I have kept. I am going to spill the nitty gritty on everything.
First and foremost I was never perfect throughout. I ate meat and cheese behind the scenes and I didn't share because really it happened on more than I can count on one hand but less on both. As I stated on a previous entry I never really craved meat so much I gave in. It was all based on convenience. I have to say when I did have meat it wasn't this foodgasm I've been urging forever. It wasn't until I got sick I really reverted back on my old diet.
When you're sick you tend to lean towards the chicken noodle soup-esque food. For me I had ramen and pho. I ate eggs and toast and drank lots of tea with honey. It was so bad and even though I could have went with agave I gave in. There I was standing in my kitchen staring at the honey sitting on the counter and I lunge towards it and squeezed it into my mouth. Yeah that was cross contamination in some aspect but I was desperate!! I hated my cough so freakin much. That honey kept that cough at bay.
Then when I got better a friend suggested grabbing burritos and that is what I did with a nice cup of horchata. The horchata wasn't memorable, but the burrito was much needed. Stuffy nose and all I inhaled it and I don't regret a moment!!
Since I'm better now, I reverted back to vegan. . . 90%. I'm more vegetarian who eats dairy and I'm still buying the meatless items. I have to say this past month I have lost weight due to my vegan diet. The only way I know this is because people have been telling me and I believe once people start pointing out you losing weight you know you lost a good chunk. Every morning I look at myself in the mirror and I see the same me. Of course when it's someone else, it's more apparent to them. Other than losing weight I can't really say about my general health. I will know by tomorrow about my blood pressure and my iron; I'm donating blood. Backtracking, I really can't say whether I lost weight or not because I never really weighed myself. I rarely do due to the fact if the number is something I like or not I end up emotionally eating.
The last week was this realization about changing one's diet completely. Unless you slowly change into that diet it's going to be hard to break habits you're use to. Who am I to know if there are restaurants have the vegan option. I did enough research and meal planning for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and snacks. I never did any research on vegan dishes when sick or vegan restaurants or like vegan items from restaurants, that would have saved my butt. DID YOU KNOW? McDonalds french fries are vegan? Hell yeah!!! Then of course when I was done being sick I wanted to self-indulge in comfort goodness. I should have saved that sweet potato burrito recipe, I'll share it with you guys when I find it (probably will post tomorrow).
For anyone who wants to take that step towards veganism do it!! Try it!! Embrace it!!! This was such a great experience for myself and to have such a supportive group. There will be slip ups and there will be days where something in your pantry will tempt you. For me I learned so much about different foods and spices. I fell in love with vegan cheese and now I don't have an urge to eat as much meat. I'll still eat it as long as Taco Bell exists, too much in love with their cheesy gordita crunch. If I was to look over my month and rate how I did from 1-10 (1 being total failure and 10 being totally vegan) I have to say 8 with my screw ups. I say 8 because even during the times of last minute meals and I'm STARVING and will be about to eat anything I did choose 75% of the time something vegan. It's so much easier when you have it already at hand of course.
If there is any advice, take it how it is, to give to those who would also like to take the Vegan Month Challenge here it is:
1. RESEARCH - The amount of research I did was more than I did throughout my college career. Just kidding, however you can only imagine my late nights consisting of looking at vegan recipes and the vegan life.
2. FIND SUPPORT - If it wasn't for my friend Laura and Hangry Vegans I wouldn't have made it as far as I've gone. At the beginning she sent me an e-mail with e-books and what will happen to my body and other materials of the vegan diet. Support is key because no one wants to be judged about eating a black bean burger and it's more than support it's getting encouraged. Laura checked up on me once a week and she went out of her way showing my recipes and people's Instagrams.
3. PLAN AND PREP - This goes hand in hand, due to the research I was able to plan my week and prepare. This was 40% of being successful. If I didn't meal plan and prep at the start then I wouldn't end up where I am. I have to say there were more than a handful of recipes I have not made but it was great to fall back on those recipes when I was in a pinch. Since I also planned for in between snacks and dessert I really couldn't fall through a crack, everything was covered.
4. READ THE LABELS - Other than the amount of reading I did with my research I also did quite some reading at the grocery store and no, I wasn't reading the magazines. I was constantly reading labels because I didn't know if by any reason any of the products had honey or butter or other fun stuff. This is probably why a lot of vegans make food at home, you really need to search for those items and it can be limited. I have to say though Trader Joe's is a vegan saver; expect a entry on my love of Trader Joe's during my vegan journey soon.
5. DON'T FEEL BAD OR GIVE UP WHEN YOU SLIP - You will not be reprimanded by the vegan police nor PETA will be protesting at your doorstep when you slip. When I first slipped I thought, "Now no one will be interested anymore!! Someone is going to find out and hold me responsible! " >____< It will happen, nobody is perfect. You learn and you find out what can you do differently. Even though my month is done I'm still going to have vegan meals and I'm going to have vegetarian meals. I'm slowly incorporating it as a part of my daily diet. If you don't make the month, it's all good see if you can tack on another week, I know I am.
6. KEEP YOU IN MIND- There is one thing I learned about myself as I did my challenge, I'm a fucking picky eater or I can be. If there was one thing I fell flat on the first week, it was making something I never tried. Initially I thought of "What would a vegan eat" and went from there; that shouldn't be the mind frame to use. My taste buds were in a shock and boy did I feel like pressing the restart button and wait for the next month. From then on I told myself I'll be eating things I like and slowly incorporate other plants I haven't been accustomed to yet. Eat what you know and pinky toe your way in other foods. It's not as fun eating what you don't enjoy or making something you're hesitant about. This goes back to the research, research cuisines you already favor.
7. MAKE IT FUN - To continue from the last point, take some of those dishes and make them vegan. Yes, you are challenging yourself and it should be fun on the way. What I mean by 'fun' is being able to "play" with your food; to experiment and zone in your taste buds. Remember this challenge is a journey and journeys are adventures and adventures are fun. This will be something you'll be sharing with others, everyone should enjoy the ride.
Being vegan for the month was quite an experience, not profound but its subtlety really impacted how I eat and what I eat. When it came down to it my whole experience was cooking from home. I rarely ate out and when I did it wasn't really satisfying. . . except for Taco Bell. Cooking from home made me a better cook, I saved money, and I was able to stay disciplined. My eating habits also changed as well and now I don't tend to eat a lot and my taste buds are getting accustomed to other flavors.
That is what I wanted to take out the most was to expand my taste; how can I call myself a foodie if I can't embrace every food out there? I really can't, to me being a foodie is connecting to people who love food as much as me, even if it means dishes I have never ventured to or I feel intimidated. This was a great step for me to break down my own walls from shunning other cuisines and diets.
Even though my success on eating vegan wasn't as great as I wanted it to be I did it and that's the first step into being successful in something.
First and foremost I was never perfect throughout. I ate meat and cheese behind the scenes and I didn't share because really it happened on more than I can count on one hand but less on both. As I stated on a previous entry I never really craved meat so much I gave in. It was all based on convenience. I have to say when I did have meat it wasn't this foodgasm I've been urging forever. It wasn't until I got sick I really reverted back on my old diet.
When you're sick you tend to lean towards the chicken noodle soup-esque food. For me I had ramen and pho. I ate eggs and toast and drank lots of tea with honey. It was so bad and even though I could have went with agave I gave in. There I was standing in my kitchen staring at the honey sitting on the counter and I lunge towards it and squeezed it into my mouth. Yeah that was cross contamination in some aspect but I was desperate!! I hated my cough so freakin much. That honey kept that cough at bay.
Then when I got better a friend suggested grabbing burritos and that is what I did with a nice cup of horchata. The horchata wasn't memorable, but the burrito was much needed. Stuffy nose and all I inhaled it and I don't regret a moment!!
Since I'm better now, I reverted back to vegan. . . 90%. I'm more vegetarian who eats dairy and I'm still buying the meatless items. I have to say this past month I have lost weight due to my vegan diet. The only way I know this is because people have been telling me and I believe once people start pointing out you losing weight you know you lost a good chunk. Every morning I look at myself in the mirror and I see the same me. Of course when it's someone else, it's more apparent to them. Other than losing weight I can't really say about my general health. I will know by tomorrow about my blood pressure and my iron; I'm donating blood. Backtracking, I really can't say whether I lost weight or not because I never really weighed myself. I rarely do due to the fact if the number is something I like or not I end up emotionally eating.
The last week was this realization about changing one's diet completely. Unless you slowly change into that diet it's going to be hard to break habits you're use to. Who am I to know if there are restaurants have the vegan option. I did enough research and meal planning for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and snacks. I never did any research on vegan dishes when sick or vegan restaurants or like vegan items from restaurants, that would have saved my butt. DID YOU KNOW? McDonalds french fries are vegan? Hell yeah!!! Then of course when I was done being sick I wanted to self-indulge in comfort goodness. I should have saved that sweet potato burrito recipe, I'll share it with you guys when I find it (probably will post tomorrow).
For anyone who wants to take that step towards veganism do it!! Try it!! Embrace it!!! This was such a great experience for myself and to have such a supportive group. There will be slip ups and there will be days where something in your pantry will tempt you. For me I learned so much about different foods and spices. I fell in love with vegan cheese and now I don't have an urge to eat as much meat. I'll still eat it as long as Taco Bell exists, too much in love with their cheesy gordita crunch. If I was to look over my month and rate how I did from 1-10 (1 being total failure and 10 being totally vegan) I have to say 8 with my screw ups. I say 8 because even during the times of last minute meals and I'm STARVING and will be about to eat anything I did choose 75% of the time something vegan. It's so much easier when you have it already at hand of course.
If there is any advice, take it how it is, to give to those who would also like to take the Vegan Month Challenge here it is:
1. RESEARCH - The amount of research I did was more than I did throughout my college career. Just kidding, however you can only imagine my late nights consisting of looking at vegan recipes and the vegan life.
2. FIND SUPPORT - If it wasn't for my friend Laura and Hangry Vegans I wouldn't have made it as far as I've gone. At the beginning she sent me an e-mail with e-books and what will happen to my body and other materials of the vegan diet. Support is key because no one wants to be judged about eating a black bean burger and it's more than support it's getting encouraged. Laura checked up on me once a week and she went out of her way showing my recipes and people's Instagrams.
3. PLAN AND PREP - This goes hand in hand, due to the research I was able to plan my week and prepare. This was 40% of being successful. If I didn't meal plan and prep at the start then I wouldn't end up where I am. I have to say there were more than a handful of recipes I have not made but it was great to fall back on those recipes when I was in a pinch. Since I also planned for in between snacks and dessert I really couldn't fall through a crack, everything was covered.
4. READ THE LABELS - Other than the amount of reading I did with my research I also did quite some reading at the grocery store and no, I wasn't reading the magazines. I was constantly reading labels because I didn't know if by any reason any of the products had honey or butter or other fun stuff. This is probably why a lot of vegans make food at home, you really need to search for those items and it can be limited. I have to say though Trader Joe's is a vegan saver; expect a entry on my love of Trader Joe's during my vegan journey soon.
5. DON'T FEEL BAD OR GIVE UP WHEN YOU SLIP - You will not be reprimanded by the vegan police nor PETA will be protesting at your doorstep when you slip. When I first slipped I thought, "Now no one will be interested anymore!! Someone is going to find out and hold me responsible! " >____< It will happen, nobody is perfect. You learn and you find out what can you do differently. Even though my month is done I'm still going to have vegan meals and I'm going to have vegetarian meals. I'm slowly incorporating it as a part of my daily diet. If you don't make the month, it's all good see if you can tack on another week, I know I am.
6. KEEP YOU IN MIND- There is one thing I learned about myself as I did my challenge, I'm a fucking picky eater or I can be. If there was one thing I fell flat on the first week, it was making something I never tried. Initially I thought of "What would a vegan eat" and went from there; that shouldn't be the mind frame to use. My taste buds were in a shock and boy did I feel like pressing the restart button and wait for the next month. From then on I told myself I'll be eating things I like and slowly incorporate other plants I haven't been accustomed to yet. Eat what you know and pinky toe your way in other foods. It's not as fun eating what you don't enjoy or making something you're hesitant about. This goes back to the research, research cuisines you already favor.
7. MAKE IT FUN - To continue from the last point, take some of those dishes and make them vegan. Yes, you are challenging yourself and it should be fun on the way. What I mean by 'fun' is being able to "play" with your food; to experiment and zone in your taste buds. Remember this challenge is a journey and journeys are adventures and adventures are fun. This will be something you'll be sharing with others, everyone should enjoy the ride.
Being vegan for the month was quite an experience, not profound but its subtlety really impacted how I eat and what I eat. When it came down to it my whole experience was cooking from home. I rarely ate out and when I did it wasn't really satisfying. . . except for Taco Bell. Cooking from home made me a better cook, I saved money, and I was able to stay disciplined. My eating habits also changed as well and now I don't tend to eat a lot and my taste buds are getting accustomed to other flavors.
That is what I wanted to take out the most was to expand my taste; how can I call myself a foodie if I can't embrace every food out there? I really can't, to me being a foodie is connecting to people who love food as much as me, even if it means dishes I have never ventured to or I feel intimidated. This was a great step for me to break down my own walls from shunning other cuisines and diets.
Even though my success on eating vegan wasn't as great as I wanted it to be I did it and that's the first step into being successful in something.
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