28 Day Vegan

Tomorrow is March 1st (can you believe it!?) and thus ends my 28 day vegan adventure. It's been a month of high highs and totally desperate lows. I am not going to lie, the first week was rough. The problem was I did not prepare adequately. You may remember from my first post on this subject that James was away for work for the first two weeks of the month. I figured that would make the transition easy. The problem was that without James home, I didn't plan dinners, heck I didn't really eat dinner. I was really busy that week with extracurricular activities (1, 2) and didn't find time to make a proper trip to the grocery store. So for that first week, I lived on carrot sticks and peanut butter and jelly. By the end of it, my stomach had suffered through a baby shower and a super bowl party and I had lost three pounds! I was starving and desperate and knew I had to take action or I was going to fall off the wagon for sure.

On a suggestion from a friend, I bought an amazing cookbook called Veganomicon. A-MAZING. Go out and buy this book, even if you want to add cheese to every recipe (I promise you though, you won't) it's totally worth it. There are so many awesome, easy recipes (notice all my post-it notes) along with lots of helpful tips about shopping for and cooking with natural, healthy foods. Armed with this beauty, I set off for a Whole Foods shopping spree and I was well on my way to gaining back those three pounds. Below are some pictures from some of our meals this month. If you want any of the recipes, let me know, I'd be happy to send them your way.

vegan pancakes with Earth Balance spread and agave nectar

vegan veggie pizza with Daiya "cheese" - James was a big fan


Tofu stir-fry with buckwheat soba noodles

sweet potato burritos with Tofutti sour cream and fresh guacamole

roasted Tofurkey with mushroom gravy

spinach linguine with artichokes and homemade basil cilantro pesto

James' vegan valentine peanut butter cups...mmm

vegan black bean brownies - to die for!

The truth is, after my minor stumble in the beginning, my vegan diet this month wasn't all that far off from how I already eat. If I was bound and determined, I think I could certainly remain vegan and feel full and satisfied for the rest of my life. But make no mistake, being a vegan isn't easy. It takes a lot of time, planning and preparation. Grocery shopping becomes a two hour ordeal (okay, that's a small exaggeration, but you wouldn't believe how long it took me in the bread aisle alone!). Depending on where you live, you might not ever be able to eat out again. If you do venture out to eat, be prepared to ask your waiter a gazillion questions before ordering. Even then, it's hard to know for sure if your breaking the rules. Snacking? It will never be quite the same again. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to pass up those cookies your co-worker brought in or those donuts leftover from the morning meeting. But rules are rules and I stuck to them. And I'm glad I saw it through.

A lot of people have asked me if I'm planning on remaining vegan. For now, the answer is no. I think I'll always look at veganism as a goal, sort of the line in the sand that represents the best nutritional and ethical me I can be. The closer I am to that line, the better off I am. Forcing myself to stand on the line just won't work for me though. At least not at this juncture in my life. Darn it, I just love mayonnaise too much.

Definitely delicious!