I’m officially done with the first 2 weeks of my month-long vegan challenge. And you want to know something? It has been surprisingly easy and I don’t miss meat or eggs or milk all that much and when I am missing cheese(amazing, glorious, tasty, melty cheese), I have found a vegan cheese that is pretty satisfying. AND. Even more amazing, I’ve lost 6 pounds the past 2 weeks. No lie. And I have by no means been starving. I’ve been eating lots of bread, noodles, french fries, big loaded salads, nuts, and even an occasional Oreo(yea, Oreo’s are vegan). Nathan and I even went to a vegan BUFFET. I’ve felt lighter and feel like I have more energy. The only bad thing was I got sick last week with a pretty nasty cold and everyone was making fun of me saying it’s because I’m doing the vegan thing…I don’t think the two are related, but because of my cold, I haven’t run in about 10 days. So, even without exercising in that time, I’ve lost 6 pounds just by avoiding animal products. I’ve tried a lot of different products, a vegan restaurant, and read a book about veganism and I thought I’d share all that and tell you what I’ve liked, what I haven’t, and what I would do even when I go back to being at least a part-time meat-eater(because let’s be honest…I will have another bacon cheeseburger someday…it’s going to happen).
So first thing, I decided to read a book all about veganism and I went with one that seemed pretty friendly and lighthearted. I read The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. Yea, the actress. I didn’t know she was a vegan and an animal rights activist, but her book was actually a really well researched and written overview of veganism. I liked the way she set the book up. First, she went over what are considered “nasty” foods. “Nasty” foods are things like meat, cheese, milk, eggs, and processed sugar. Those foods are things that aren’t the best for our bodies, but also not the best for the environment. She really drove the environment point home in a way I had never really thought about, but after reading her book, seemed pretty obvious. The animals we raise for food, especially cattle, take our resources that could be used for humans(did you know it takes about 445 gallons of water to produce 1 POUND of beef? 1 POUND. That’s a lot of water) and just puts a lot of strain on the environment that’s never been there before. The next section of the book was the “kind” foods. Basically, whole grains, plant-based proteins(beans, tofu, etc), vegetables, and natural sweeteners. She didn’t really mention fruits all that much, but that too. So once we have the food categories broken down, there are different levels of The Kind Diet. First, you can flirt with the diet. Flirting means you pretty much only eat “kind” foods, but you may fall off the wagon every once in a while. Or you may purposely follow the diet most days of the week, but have cheat days. Then, you have the vegan diet. You use no animal products and limit processed foods and sugars. Finally, you have the superhero diet. It’s vegan, but then you eliminate all processed foods and sugars and eat only locally grown, organic, seasonal foods. And the last 100 pages of the book are recipes for both the vegan and superhero levels(and a lot of them look really good). I think this book was a great introduction to the whole vegan lifestyle and for anyone interested in dabbling in it, this would be a great place to start.
So, the book was really good. My next venture was to try a vegan restaurant. My boyfriend Nathan, being as supportive and sweet as always, decided he would try it out with me. I read some reviews online and decided to try out a local vegetarian and vegan Indian restaurant called Banana Leaf. It’s located off Bethel Road in Columbus in a kind of janky looking strip mall. They have a vegan buffet. Not every night is entirely vegan on the buffet, but we just happened to pick an awesome night. They have a regular menu, but the buffet was about the same price as a lot of their entrees and we wanted to try a little bit of everything. For $14.99, you get your money’s worth and you don’t feel like you’re missing out one little bit because it was DELICIOUS. All of it. First thing, before you even get up to do the buffet, you get about 6 appetizers to try and each of them was very flavorful and used pronounced spices and textures. Then, the buffet has several entrees and side dishes, as well as desserts and mango drinks. We were stuffed by the end of it, but I literally tried a bit of everything. I want to go back another time and do it all over again. Even Nathan loved it and he’s the biggest meat/dairy eater I know(like, he’ll eat a meat pizza with cream cheese on it…really anything with cream cheese on it come to think of it). Also, the people working were just really nice and patient and explained everything to us so we knew what exactly we were eating. It was a little out of our comfort zone, so that was very helpful. So that experience was a real winner too.
Now, this post turned out a lot longer than I expected and I still have to go over all the products and recipes I’ve tried…and I think that will have to wait until tomorrow. Because I’m tired and still trying to get over my cold. I think I’ll leave you there and go slap some Vick’s Vapor Rub all over and read and try to get some sleep. Come back Tuesday for Part 2!
These are the first batch of books I’m planning on reading this summer. What’s on your summer reading list??
Dear Flannel Pants,
This unexpectedly cold weather won’t let me quit you. I ain’t made about it.
Sincerely,
Emily
I checked this book out from my elementary school’s library so many times, the librarian told me I couldn’t take it home anymore. What was your favorite childhood book??
The next day, we made more bread, although this batch did not turn out as successfully. They were not as airy and light as they should have been. But we’re learning!
leaseonlife21 