As I mentioned earlier, I spent the last week on a vegan diet. I guess I saw it as something of a personal challenge. Some people run the Boston Marathon, I try to stay away from baked goods. It's a pretty fair trade.
Admittedly, at first I thought it would be relatively easy; I already don't eat much meat and made the switch to soy milk years ago. But there's a difference between choosing to use soy milk and not being able to consume dairy. Plus I've realized just how much I enjoy things made with butter and eggs. Also, being vegan takes a lot of work. I already spend a large portion of my day thinking about food, but it's usually in a fun way. This was more of an 'ok, I have to plan my entire day around what I'm eating' kind of way, which is pretty exhausting. Apparently I'm not a great planner. I will say that I added more vegetables and fruit into my diet as result, which I will try to keep up with. I also discovered some fun substitutions, namely that hummus works just as well as cheese in a quesadilla. But over all, I spent most of the time eating some variation of this:
Admittedly, at first I thought it would be relatively easy; I already don't eat much meat and made the switch to soy milk years ago. But there's a difference between choosing to use soy milk and not being able to consume dairy. Plus I've realized just how much I enjoy things made with butter and eggs. Also, being vegan takes a lot of work. I already spend a large portion of my day thinking about food, but it's usually in a fun way. This was more of an 'ok, I have to plan my entire day around what I'm eating' kind of way, which is pretty exhausting. Apparently I'm not a great planner. I will say that I added more vegetables and fruit into my diet as result, which I will try to keep up with. I also discovered some fun substitutions, namely that hummus works just as well as cheese in a quesadilla. But over all, I spent most of the time eating some variation of this:
I came pretty close to breaking down while in Whole Foods one afternoon. I was starving and it was 4 pm and I hadn't eaten lunch. You'd think a place like Whole Foods would be Vegan Heaven, but even there my choices were pretty limited. I almost gave in until I saw a vegetable roll in the sushi case. Thank GOD.
Originally I thought I'd spend the week trying out different, exciting recipes, but as I said earlier, I'm not too good with the planning.
I did manage to make one new thing: Mark Bittman's chocolate pudding with silken tofu. My friend Ceylan had made it for her birthday a couple months ago and while I was googling for vegan recipes, it popped up. That in itself was a revelation and made the whole week worth it--even though I spend a while searching Stop & Shop for non-dairy chocolate. ( This also wouldn't have been a big deal, except it was close to 7 pm and I was starving.) I have to say that the texture of Bittman's tofu chocolate pudding rivaled my chocolate mousse that I'm so proud of. I may never go back.
However, I have returned to the meat and dairy-eating world. But, I do feel like I accomplished something during my vegan-for-a-week challenge. Or, maybe it's because I aim low--less chance for disappointment.
I did manage to make one new thing: Mark Bittman's chocolate pudding with silken tofu. My friend Ceylan had made it for her birthday a couple months ago and while I was googling for vegan recipes, it popped up. That in itself was a revelation and made the whole week worth it--even though I spend a while searching Stop & Shop for non-dairy chocolate. ( This also wouldn't have been a big deal, except it was close to 7 pm and I was starving.) I have to say that the texture of Bittman's tofu chocolate pudding rivaled my chocolate mousse that I'm so proud of. I may never go back.
However, I have returned to the meat and dairy-eating world. But, I do feel like I accomplished something during my vegan-for-a-week challenge. Or, maybe it's because I aim low--less chance for disappointment.
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