Anniversary dinner

My 12 year wedding anniversary was a few weeks ago. My husband asked where I'd like to go and I said Watercourse! I have never been to a vegetarian restaurant. I am always the one ordering a salad or if I'm lucky, a veggie burger. My sweet carnivore husband agreed and we had an incredible evening. We started with seitan hot wings (my husband LOVES wings and it used to be a favorite of mine too, 15 years ago). They were incredible. I then had BBQ tofu with mashed potatoes and gravy and Corey had a quesadilla. I was stuffed, but had to order dessert since it was all vegan. I must have had a smile on from ear to ear the entire night. Part of it was just being in a place where people think and feel like I do and of course the other part was connecting with my husband, just the two of us sitting at the bar, talking without interruption and just being with one another. My mom has offered to take me there for my birthday lunch. I will happily go again.

naughty little vegan

After what seemed like months of healthyish eating and cooking, I have regressed a bit. Still vegan mind you, but not sure that Cocoa Puffs and almond milk are all that healthy. After surgery and recovery, I really don't have a taste for much of anything, especially vegetables. Before surgery, I made myself a bunch of this awesome raw salad thinking it would be easy and delicious to have around. Unfortunately, the only thing I can really stomach are comfort foods and sweets, so the salad will have to be made for another time.

We haven't been to the store either, so dinners have been chik nuggets and pasta. I plan to start the whole cooking thing again next week and hope my taste buds will cooperate.

a salad a day

So, I know it's pretty ridiculous to be a vegan (aspiring) and not eat a ton of vegetables, so I have committed this week to eat a salad a day. I eat other veggies throughout the day, but it's those darn leafy greens I need more of. So far, so good. I bought one of those huge tubs of baby field greens and have stayed on track for three days. My hope is that at the end of the week, my body develops a taste and a need, or even a craving, for these veggies. Wish me luck!

Not a good poster child

They always say the best way for someone to understand, admire or aspire to your vegan ways, is to set a good example. So far, I look like a reason not to go vegan. I am five pounds heavier than I'd like to be, I'm still breaking out and not especially energetic. I do have to give credit to some of this crap to my damn surgeries. I'm working on it though! I guess I thought going vegan was an automatic pass to skinnydom. Wrong. It's calories in/calories out, plain and simple. Just because they are not made of animals, doesn't mean they count any different. And I, of course have made it a priority to find vegan sweets. It's a process and I'm not beating myself up. I do believe I will lose these 5 pounds, my face will clear up, and I will find my rhythm.

Vegan Phase II – Reality Check

So, I went vegan Feb 7th. It's been a process getting all of the dairy out of my diet (I've been pescatarian for 18 years) and using up some stuff I had around the house. I think I'm totally vegan now, minus a minor slip up - like one tiny piece of milk chocolate a week. Problem is, I'm a vegan eating anything that's vegan, not necessarily healthy stuff. I went though this being a vegetarian too, you know, eating grilled cheese and pasta for the majority of my meals.

I have finally come to the point where I'm ready for the next level. Not ready for full on superhero, but ready for healthy recipes, more vegetables and whole grains. Honestly, vegan lovebird's blog helped a lot. Her dishes look so incredibly delicious and it helps to see a day's worth of meals. Wow, vegans really don't eat a lot, do they? It's nice though, to shift from eating purely for pleasure, to eating for health. We don't need all of that extra crap. I'm happy there are great processed vegan options out there, but they don't need to comprise much of my diet.

This weekend, I will plan out all my meals (that's what I have to do, right?) for the week and get to cooking! I don't cook, so it will still be simple, but at least I won't be continuously reaching for PB&J or the latest gardein item (which is unbelieveably yummy by the way). Made some wonderful cookies from "vegan cookies invade your cookie jar" but I know it's time to lay off of that for a while too. At least until I get this healthy eating under control and have a pattern of healthy eating. Then I can add a treat now and then. Not the other way around :)

Anyway, wish me luck. I think I'm finally getting on board!

I need a chef

I have never been much of a cook, but if ever there was a time to give it more of an effort, this would be it. Oh boy. I'm fine with NOT eating the things that are un-vegan. I am however struggling with getting the good stuff in my body. For instance, today I have eaten a wheat/raisin/walnut bagel thing, dark chocolate, wheat bread with tofurkey and vegan cheese with veganaise and mustard. Yummy, seriously. But I'm sure you can see the vegetables are missing, and the fruit too, for that matter. Usually I'm really good about the fruit, but my trip to the grocery store is overdue. Vegan recipes (well the final product) appeal to me, but I just haven't made the effort to follow them. Lacking in my diet are the bean, pepper salad with quinoa. I suppose this is just one more step on my journey. I do think that my fat levels are down since the omission of cheese but honestly can't say that my diet, today, is much healthier than anyone elses. I'm missing the point.

Better luck next week. At least no animals were hurt because of me, I'm just not reaping the benefits yet.

One month

So, it's been a month. This is not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. The only animal products still in my diet until they are gone is whey protein and fiber bars and the occasional cookie. Girl Scout cookies are gone finally and I plan on baking my own vegan treats. Whey powder has about 4 servings left, and maybe 6 fiber bars. I've been more studious about reading labels. I have been eating Amy's soy cheese pizza with my family on pizza/movie night. It has casein in it, so not sure what I'm going to do with that though. Baby steps.

One issue is what to eat. My diet is very simple and bland. I don't cook, but if I'm going to do this long term, I'm going to have to learn and make time for it. I've checked out numerous vegan cookbooks at the library. It's just going to take effort to find something I can make and that I like.

eyeballs

I try to take inventory on what's changed since going vegan. My eyes are whiter, really. I used to have this gross yellowish stripe across the middle that was bulgy. It's much better. I've looked at my eyes in every mirror and every light possible to be sure.

progress week 1

So far, so good. I successfully cut out cheese, minus one day where I ate pizza with my family. There are still things I eat that contain cheese, eggs or milk, but this is a process. I am using up food that is not vegan, like whey protein and my favorite fiber bars. I feel good. Can't say anything remarkable has happened yet, but I'm waiting! I have purchased vegan cheese (I don't love it, but it is ok in a sandwich), silk creamer and veganaise. I never really ate mayonnaise except in my favorite recipe, so I'm going to try and substitute.

That's it for now. I know this is going to be extremely hard to be completely vegan, especially when eating out, but progress is progress.

Oh, and one more thing. I am hoping for some improvement in the quality of my skin. It's weird because I am breaking out, a lot, but the parts that are not breaking out actually look better. Smoother and more glowy.

The leather bag

I've been a vegetarian for something close to 18 years, although it took many years to evolve, so probably more like 13 good solid years. I still eat (or ate) fish on occasion, so I guess that makes me a pescatarian. I've thought about going vegan for a while, but wasn't sure I could really do it, and am still not sure. But I do know this, that I'm going to try and that I'm at least going to become more vegan. This blog is merely a record.

This all really started with a new handbag. I needed a new purse and looked and looked and looked. I fought with the thought of buying leather. Don't get me wrong, I have leather shoes, but as my vegetarianism evolves, I think more and more about every decision. In the beginning, I still ate white meat and considered picking the pepperoni off of my pizza ok. A few years later I gave up the white meat too and read labels more closely. I've always been really aware of buying cosmetics, cleaning products etc. that are not tested on animals as well. So anyway, I bought the leather bag. I even called my husband from the store, distressed about buying it. He said that everyone does what they can and I'm doing my part and I'm the one who has to live with carrying it. Turns out, I feel so bad about it that I'm going vegan. This happens to coincide with some other issues; like a few pounds I can't lose and getting past a cancer threat.

So, I know that this is going to be a process and I'm still figuring out the rules for me. I decided week one to give up obvious dairy. No more cheese or eggs. I already drink only soy milk. I think I'll try for a couple of days a week pure vegan and the rest without the obvious culprits and maybe a day here and there where I just let myself eat cheese. I had pizza last night for instance. It will be interesting to see how it evolves. I may be strict vegan in a few weeks or longer, or never, I just don't know yet, but I know I will be more vegan than not. This week means no more butter and reading labels more closely. I love that being vegan means more vegetables by default, I need that.