Last week I talked about the things I learned from doing my no-sugar challenge, and some of them were no-brainers. However, the one thing that the challenge made me realize was that:
10. I really want to become a vegan.
After reading delicious vegan blogs and lurking on The Kind Life forums and doing more reading and doing a lot of thinking, I know that living a vegan lifestyle is a goal that I want to attain. However, while I'm 75% there already, going the final step and cutting out all eggs, chicken, and turkey will be difficult, especially since I need to think of my two guys, their wants and needs, and my own time constraints with working full-time, going to graduate school, and spending time with my family. I don't have the time or resources to constantly be in the kitchen. So, instead of jumping right in and making this another "challenge," I've decided to do this gradually, which will allow for some experimentation and trial and error.
The first thing I'm doing is removing meat from my diet when I'm by myself. Meaning, when I'm at work, when I'm at school, when I'm home alone (okay, that never happens). That will cut my meat consumption down about 50%. The second thing I want to do is to introduce meatless meals to my two men at home (this is where the trial and error will come in). I'd love to find several meals that all three of us will enjoy that are vegan, or have easy non-vegan options (cheese on a salad for my husband, for example). Neither one of my guys are adventurous eaters, however, so it may take some sneakiness on my part. My husband reads my blog, so I will have to post in code or something.
Along with that second step, I'm going to continue trying new recipes and new foods to add to my diet. I was a vegetarian (still ate dairy and eggs) for a long time, but I wasn't a healthy vegetarian. I need to learn how to cook kale correctly, and incorporate more beans into my diet, and figure out what to do with that kombu I bought at Whole Foods last week. I need to research supplements, and probably get bloodwork done to make sure I'm not deficient in anything. (Okay, I left myself wide open there.)
I think this will give me a lesson in flexibility, as well as one in patience--two things I believe I still need to learn.
Oh, and frozen bananas + coconut milk + a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder = deliciousness in your blender!
Hi Hollie, thanks for linking to my blog! Glad you like it :)
ReplyDeleteI went veg nearly a year ago & consciously started to eat vegan in January, so the best advice I'd give is to take it slow - it took me ages to get to the point now where I don't eat dairy every day or once a week etc. It gets easier bit by bit. It just doesn't feel like something I want to eat anymore, rather than something I want to eat but can't.
Also if you 'slip up' don't stress! Occasionally I will have something that's not vegan and if I really want it (it won't be meat, I mean like dairy chocolate or cake) then that's that. But it gets less and less to be honest.
Great blog. I love the honesty of it. One meal you may want to try that worked for me - everyone loved - we have Tostada night. To make it vegan I replace meat with beans. I take black beans (but Im sure pinto will work as well if you do not like black beans) and I cook them with the taco seasoning you would use for meat. Then we take lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, salsa etc. and make our yummy tostadas. No one has missed the meat from this dish, and its easy!
ReplyDeleteI remember back to the days when you were a vegetarian. 90% of our meals at home were Tortellini. And the other 10% was going to Olive Garden. Now, since Dairy is out, it should be interesting to see the alternative.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have to bite. Hollie, the doctor can't measure if you are deficient in tech skills. Of course, you are doing more programming than me these days, so maybe that joke doesn't work anymore.
Hollie I love your blog and what you write. I don't miss meat or dairy or any products probably because I love the food I am eating. Sometimes I am almost crying in joy when I eat...where has all this great food been my whole life. :) Recipe books I love besides TKD are veganomicon and 1000 vegan recipes. Keep trying recipes and sharing them with your family. I love kale. Try the sweet potato bake recipe on my blog it has kale, sweet potato, pasta and an amazing sauce. Kale chips mmmm. Just kale in stirfrys or the mac and kale I made recently. And just because its vegan (like you said) doesnt mean it is healthy. Oreo's are vegan :) white sugar and white flour are vegan and I know you know this. enjoy this new chapter or adventure in your life.
ReplyDeleteGood luck girlie! :D
ReplyDelete