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It’s Vegan Week!

May 13, 2009

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harira-lentil-soupI’ve been considering going vegan for a while (and #67 on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list is:  Go vegan for 1 month).  So I decided to go vegan for a week instead.  Being vegan isn’t that much of a change for me since I’m already a vegetarian, but it’s slightly more inconvenient.  The main reason for trying vegan for a week is to detox and be healthier.  My focus is more on whole foods and eating a lot of vegetables versus just eating non-dairy items.  Just like with vegetarianism, not eating meat doesn’t mean you’re eating healthier. I know plenty of fat vegetarians.

I started the week out with a meal plan and using Gyminee to track my calories and nutritional intake, so I make sure to eat enough.

Day 1
Breakfast: Oatmeal, raisins, grapefruit, coffee with soy milk
Lunch: Dave’s Killer bread peanut butter and banana sandwich, carrots, Kettle chips
Dinner: Vegan chili with tortilla chips
Verdict: I missed having yogurt for breakfast, but overall today was pretty typical.

Day 2
Breakfast:  Bob’s Red Mill Old Country Style Muesli, applesauce, almonds, coffee with soy milk
Lunch:  Bay Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant: Mango Curry
Dinner: Asian Lettuce Wraps (butter lettuce, mango, scallions, bean thread noodles) with Chai Pow Yu instead of beef
Verdict: Today was the perfect vegan day! I didn’t feel like I had to worry about getting enough calories

Day 3
Breakfast:  Bob’s Red Mill Old Country Style Muesli, soy milk, Dave’s Killer bread, peanut butter, honey, almonds, coffee with soy milk
Lunch:  leftover lettuce wrap ingredients mixed into a salad
Dinner: Ya Hala Lebanese Restaurant‘s Mezza Plate: hummus, baba ghanoush, tabouli, pita bread, stuffed grape leaves, fried cauliflower, falafels
Verdict: I think I actually ate too many calories today!

Day 4
Breakfast:  Banana muffins (with applesauce substituted for eggs), honey, pear, apple, coffee with soy milk
Lunch:  Chips and guacamole
Dinner: Sweet & Sour Stirfry (pineapple, bell peppers, broccoli) with Chai Pow Yu instead of pork, rice, vegan cupcake
Verdict: I ate a lot of food today, but I’m starting to feel like I’m foraging for food.  I guess I really just felt like snacking or a dessert, so I bought a vegan cupcake at New Seasons deli.

Day 5
Breakfast:  Mother’s Day breakfast at Bar Carlo: Vegan Skillet of potatoes, avocado mushrooms etc and coffee with soy milk
Snack: frozen yogurt (we’ll discuss this later)
Dinner: Brazilian Black Beans, rice, beets, chips, guacamole
Verdict: I accidentally ate a frozen yogurt at IKEA today. It wasn’t even a temptation thing, I just completely forgot that I was going vegan this week. And I’d been there for hours, and I was tired and hungry… oops!

Day 6:
Breakfast: Sweetened Wheatfuls, soy milk, banana, coffee with soy milk
Lunch: black beans, rice
Dinner: pita pockets, hummus, baba ghanoush, tomato, cucumber, apple juice
Verdict: I felt like I was foraging again today.  I’m a little tired of eating a massive plate of rice, beans or vegetables and then being hungry again a few hours later.

Day 7:
Breakfast: Dave’s Killer Bread, peanut butter, banana, applesauce, coffee with soy milk
Lunch:  black beans, rice, pita bread, hummus, baba ghanoush, apple juice
Snack: Starbucks Soy Chai Latte
Dinner: Lentil Soup
Verdict: I was a little annoyed to find out that Starbucks charges you 40 cents extra to have soy instead of milk in a chai.  Lame!

Overall, vegan week has been fairly easy, except for my amnesia day when I bought a frozen yogurt for $1 at IKEA.  Personally, I’ll stay a vegetarian (or pescatarian) because it’s much easier for me to stay healthy.  Being vegan takes a little more work in planning meals and going out, but the main thing is the calorie counting. I hate feeling like I’m not getting enough to eat, and dairy is a much simpler protein source. Plus, I love cheese!

  • ben
    September 10, 2009 at 9:22 am

    honey is an animal product. not vegan

  • Balla
    June 26, 2009 at 7:57 pm

    No disconnect, kitty. Most vegans I know do so to limit animal cruelty.

    Confused about the calorie counting comment. You calorie count when eating vegan, but not otherwise? Why?

    I get the cheese thing–it took a few years for me to ramp down my cheese consumption. It used to be the staple of my diet! But it just didn’t feel right anymore, and as I ate it less, I noticed how crappy it made me feel anyway. Finally it just all came together.

    • poweredbytofu
      July 9, 2009 at 9:59 am

      Hi Balla, the calorie counting while eating vegan was to make sure I was getting enough calories each day. :)

  • kitty
    May 16, 2009 at 1:49 pm

    Great counsel on reasons to go dairy free/meat free, for the health sake of vegan. Last night at a restaurant the waitress recommended a particular “vegan” dish and then proclaimed she was vegan. A few minutes later she was outside the building having a cigarette break – but she is vegan. There is a disconnect with this type of thinking.

  • Andi
    May 14, 2009 at 2:50 pm

    I’ve been a vegetarian for a decade now. I loved your vegan diet for a week. I think I’ll take the challenge too. Eggs is my only weakness, because I workout a lot and it’s easy protein.