Thursday, August 23, 2012

Vegan Week: Preparations

In college, my roommate once told me she didn't think I could make it a week as a vegan. I immediately said something along the lines of "challenge accepted," and then ate nothing but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the next two days. On the third day, I really really really wanted a candy bar. That sweet milk chocolate was the end of my foray into being a vegan.

Until now.

I do believe it's possible for a carnivore like myself to go vegan for a week (otherwise I wouldn't have kept it on my Life List!). I think the problem with the first time I tried to do it was I had zero plan going into it. I didn't have items to snack on that were vegan-friendly. I didn't know what I was allowed or not allowed to eat. I tried to subsist on my normal food and just cut out whatever animal products didn't fit into the vegan diet without replacing them with other things, so I was hungry the whole time.

But not this time. This time, I made a plan. And starting on Sunday night, I'm going to attempt this again!

• I chose six vegan recipes and figured the seventh day would be a leftovers day. (The recipes are: Peach Gazpacho, Balsalmic Veggies & Quinoa, Barbecue Tofu, Portobello Hero Sandwiches, Pesto Minestrone [using veggie broth instead of chicken broth] and Greek Salad Sandwiches [hold the Feta].)
• I plan to eat leftovers for lunch, and if there are not enough leftovers, I will make a salad with beans and veggies. (Question #1: Are salad dressings vegan? If not, it's okay, I ate a lot of lettuce sans dressing as a kid.) I suppose if worse comes to worse, I can always make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
• Breakfasts will be cereal with soy milk, which my dad used to drink, so I know it tastes fine.
• Question #2: What do vegans eat for dessert? I really need to have a plan for dessert, because it is my Kryptonite.
• My everyday snack is popcorn. I will just buy some that doesn't have butter in it. If they don't make butter-free popcorn, I will get pistachios or mixed nuts. I might do that anyway.

Have you ever tried eating vegan? Do you have any tips for keeping on track?

P.S. I'm not trying to make any kind of statement with eating vegan. I just want to know how people do it, how it works and how I feel while doing it. I've had stomach problems for most of my adult life, and have always had people suggest I might feel better if I cut certain things out of my diet — like gluten and dairy — but none of them have ever worked. And I've never legitimately tried to eat vegan. So it's purely a personal experiment.

7 comments

  1. Hey! Try this blog for vegan desserts- http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/ She has other savory recipes as well, but tons of desserts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the link! Definitely doing to be making some "ice cream" this week!

      Delete
  2. For the salad dressings, I'd say it depends on the dressing - check the ingredients list! You'd be amazed what they add 'milk solids' to.

    There are tons of great vegan baking blogs out there with lots of great recipes. I sometimes bake vegan just for the fun of it, even though I don't adhere to that lifestyle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just checked all my salad dressings (we have practically a whole door shelf devoted to them!) and thank goodness Italian will still work!

      Delete
    2. I second Chocolate Covered Katie. I made her chocolate chip cookie dough during my vegan week and it was CRAZY delicious. I'd also suggest homemade popsicles. You can add a can of coconut milk to whatever pureed fruit combo you like for creaminess.

      As for the popcorn thing: this is the greatest popcorn popper in the history of ever. http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-60120-Microwaver-Popcorn/dp/B00004W4UP (You can get it at Target for $8.) All you need is kernels, canola oil, and salt for some out of this world vegan popcorn. (Seriously. I haven't bought bagged popcorn in like two years. So good!)

      Delete
    3. I don't know why it never occurred to me that you could make popcorn from kernels in the microwave. I always wrote it off because I didn't want to have to use the stove every time it was Popcorn Time! I'll give it a try!

      Delete
  3. I don't know much about eating Vegan, so I have these same questions. That popcorn Sarah W mentions sounds delish!

    ReplyDelete