Day 7

Well, it's my last day of the Vegan Challenge, and I have mixed feelings about it.  While it's been a bit difficult to follow the strict diet every meal of every day, it's been a real eye opener for me.  I think going forward, I will choose 3 days a week to be completely vegan.  Then as I get a better handle on those days, I'll keep increasing it by one day a week until I'm eating a fully vegan diet every day.


I think this will make it easier to learn some go-to vegan meals and snack choices without the daunting task of checking every meal I eat.  I have certainly enjoyed the foods I have been eating this week, but there were too many moments when I would reach for something to eat or to cook with and suddenly realized I didn't have a vegan substitute for it.  This way, when that happens, I can just write it down and get it the next time I'm at the store, and I don't have to re-think my entire meal plan for that day.


For those of you that were following along this week, how are you feeling?  What problems or speed bumps did you encounter?

Day 3

I did well today, had a veggie burger for lunch and vegan red beans and rice for dinner.  The dinner was AWESOME!  I got the recipe from "Vegan Cooking for Carnivores" by Roberto Martin, and it was really delicious.  My parents even loved it, and they don't generally eat many of the vegetarian dishes I cook.  Especially my mom, and she really did like this one.  

I'm feeling rather good, too.  It's been difficult at times to make sure I'm not accidentally reaching for something out of habit, but I'll get used to it.  

I'm curious, how many of you have become vegans, or are doing the Vegan Challenge with me, and how you are coping?  Please leave a comment and let me know!

See you tomorrow :)

Day 2

Today was a LOT harder.  Not because of my resolve or determination, but because of circumstances.  I ended up spending almost the entire day in the Urgent Care Center with my mother unexpectedly, and I had to grab my lunch from the hospital cafeteria.  They had very limited vegetarian options, much less vegan, so I did the very best I could and chose a roasted vegetable sandwich.  It came with cheese, but I took it off.  I can only hope the bread met the vegan diet, but I am guessing it probably didn't.  But as I said, I did the best I could.  If I had known we were going to be there all day, I would have brought something with me from home.


For dinner, I had a veggie burger topped with jalapenos and grilled onions, and some french fries on the side.  We ordered out since we got home so late, so that wasn't what I was planning for dinner, either.  


Oh well, I'll try to do better the next five days.  I have meals planned, and they're ones I really want to try out, so I'm hoping I am able to do so without further interruptions.  I know I can do this!


See you tomorrow!

Day 1

This post comes a day late, and I apologize.  I was having issues with my internet connection last night. 


Today was the first day, and I did fairly well.  I had toast for breakfast, some mac 'n cheese (made with daiya vegan cheese) for lunch, and for dinner I had a prepared dinner from Amy's (veggie loaf with vegetables) and 1/4 of a large sweet potato.  


I had to stop myself quickly before grabbing a handful of goldfish crackers from the kitchen in the afternoon, but I did stop and that is what counts.  Right?  Man I'm gonna miss those things!  It will be a challenge every day to just remain aware of each and every thing I normally eat without thinking as long as they fit within my usual vegetarian diet.  That's the hard part.  


Well, I made it through the first day, and I'm proud of myself.  It's a small step, but it's one I took, so I'm happy.  :)


See you tomorrow!

Tomorrow's The Big Day!

Well, tomorrow is the big day!  I think I'm ready.  I've bought everything I can think of to get me through a few days, so if I'm missing anything, I'll just have to go buy it.  I'm really looking forward to it.  I'm sure I'll stumble a bit during the week with suddenly discovering things I had not anticipated, but I'll manage.


I hope those joining me in this challenge will be able to make it the whole week, and maybe even continue it going forward.  I know that is what I hope to do.  It's so interesting each time I have to look at my food in a whole new way.  I know when I became a vegetarian, there was a learning curve, but I made it through, and I'm confident this will be much the same.


I will be posting each day this week to document how I'm doing, and how I'm feeling.  Excited!!