Thoughts on Going Vegan: Week 2

Week 1 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Meal Ideas & Afterthoughts

I've successfully completed the second week in my month long vegan challenge. The second week went much smoother than the first, but it did have its fair share of hills and valleys. Vegan eating is starting to feel a little more natural (and a lot less like work). Here are a few personal observations about my second week*:

• On Monday, I awoke to a pounding headache for the third day in a row. I felt weak, tired, and sore, as if I had gotten the flu. I was retaining fluids. When I finally crawled home after a long day at work, I collapsed on the couch. A quick internet search confirmed my suspicions. I had 11 of the 13 symptoms for a protein deficiency. Twelve days into my vegan challenge seemed too soon to be having such real symptoms, but I didn't eat much protein before the challenge either (with all of it coming from milk, eggs, and turkey slices).
  
  It was the first time since taking on this challenge that I began to question whether it was the right move for me. In that moment, when I scarcely had the strength to walk around, I seriously debated quitting the challenge and cooking up a frozen chicken breast hidden in the depths of the freezer. My body was craving it, needing it. I didn't give in (the thought of standing that long seemed intimidating) and headed for bed instead, with the resolve to find a way to overdose on protein the next morning.


• Protein has been, hands down, the biggest challenge for me. So many of you have pointed me in the direction of beans, nuts, and lentils to satisfy this need. However, I am deathly allergic to tree nuts (besides peanuts and almonds) so nuts aren't really the right direction for me. I also have a confession to make—I've never cooked with beans or lentils before. Growing up, they were never a part of my diet so I've never had a positive experience with them. This isn't an excuse, of course, but it doesn't make getting protein any easier when you don't have any tried and true recipes using them.


• For the most part, I've stopped craving non-vegan foods. Unless you waft a greasy hamburger beneath my nose, I don't feel like I'm missing out. In fact, the thought of eating cheese right now is almost repulsive because it seems like it would be way too rich.


• There was not a single search in my browsing history this week asking "Is _______ vegan?" I'm getting better at this game.


• I still struggle with finding a quick lunch during the week that's vegan, but filling enough to hold me over until I get home from work 7 hours later. I've started making hummus sandwiches and, while they taste all right, I find my stomach growling 4 hours later.


• For the first time since starting this challenge, I can start to imagine what it is like to be vegan while surrounded by non-vegans. It's similar to those (like me) with allergies, where you can't accept "foreign" foods and have to eat on your own before you visit with friends (or pack your own meal). It's certainly not convenient, but it's starting to seem closer to the realm of "doable."

After the second week, I feel a little more comfortable with being vegan and it doesn't seem to take as much willpower as it did the first week. I still struggle with my on again/off again protein deficiency (when I wake up with a headache and no other symptoms, it's my body's way of giving me a warning sign), but I'm trying to open myself up and consciously base every single meal around protein rich foods, like chickpeas and quinoa. Let's hope week three is much healthier (and headache free)!

*I mean no offense to those who have gone vegan for moral beliefs and obligations (in fact, you have my utmost respect). This is just a record of my personal experience with the lifestyle.

(The photo above features a vegan hot dish I threw together with a wine sauce, peppers, mushrooms, and onion with soy meat that looks/tastes quite similar to the real thing).

Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I would be lying if I said vegan baking wasn't a challenge. As both a professional and home baker, butter and cream have become my nearest and dearest of friends. Scarcely a day has passed in the last few years where we haven't created beautiful things together (or, at the very least, greeted one another when I opened the refrigerator door). I like to imagine I've developed a feel for baking—for the elasticity of bread dough beneath my fingertips or the proper weight of a cookie balanced on an outstretched hand. I've grown so much as a baker in the last couple years, from my hesitant beginnings to here and now.

Vegan baking, however, makes me feel like I've started back at square one.

I made a promise to you when I took on this challenge—to use familiar, everyday ingredients and keep the recipes approachable. Little did I know it was much easier said than done. There are so many recipes out there that use "faux" versions of butter, eggs, and cream in place of their real counterparts (and the recipes just don't measure up). While I know butter isn't good for me, I can't imagine partially hydrogenated soybean oil is going to be any better. I can't even buy vegan egg replacement in my neck of the woods.

The vegan recipes I want to share with you aren't intended to be lesser versions of originals, but rather unique and delicious on their own accord.

With these lofty goals, I approached the kitchen last weekend feeling confident. After scraping half a dozen inedible delights into the garbage can, it was obvious I had come up short. Somewhere between the banana bread and the brownies, I lost hope in any of my baking abilities, growing frustrated by the deceiving scents wafting throughout the apartment. I gave up. Good riddance, I yelled at the batter splatted spatula and dirty mixing bowls as I threw them in the sink.

I made granola instead.

Late Sunday evening, when the sun hung low in the sky, I crossed my fingers and gave vegan baking one last chance. And it worked.

Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies are soft baked and chewy. The batter may be a little unusual to put together, but the final product, scattered with chocolate chunks, is a treat. While these may not replace your go-to recipe, they are a lovely dairy-free, egg-free cookie for feeding friends and family who may have allergies. I brought them to work and nobody could guess they were made without butter. I call that a success.

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Thoughts on Going Vegan: Week 1

Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Meal Ideas & Afterthoughts

I've successfully completed the first week in my month long vegan challenge. It wasn't quite as challenging as I initially thought it would be, but I can't say it's been very enjoyable. I guess the best word to describe it so far would be interesting. The first week has been a little like treading water as I learn what I can eat (and what I should eat). Here are a few personal observations about my first week*:

• I can walk through the entire grocery in a third of the time. Since there's no longer a need to walk past the meat/dairy/frozen food sections and most of the aisles containing "forbidden foods," grocery shopping is suddenly a breeze. Downfall: I have to willfully ignore and pass all the foods I wish I could be eating.


• I rotate shopping between three separate grocery stores in order to buy a wider variety of vegan food. The small towns of the Midwest typically aren't vegan friendly so most chain stores where I live carry very few foods I can eat beyond the fresh fruits and vegetables. Luckily (or unluckily?), each grocery store carries a slightly different selection.


• I've spent more time reading food labels in the last week than I have in my entire life. I never realized how many products contained eggs or dairy products. You could say it was a very eye-opening experience. Did you know most white wines and certain brands of sugar are off limits?


• There are at least one hundred identical searches in my browsing history: "Is _______ vegan?"


• Out of curiosity, I wanted to try the vegan equivalent of common American foods. Though I don't mind veggie burgers, vegan burgers are entirely something else. The soy burgers have a charred grilled taste to cover up the fact that they don't have much flavor. They are edible with too much ketchup, but I can't say I enjoyed eating them. Vegan pizza was an equally interesting experience. The frozen pizza box excitedly mentioned the "cheese" actually melts (which I should have taken as a warning sign). The pizza was not very good warmed up (in fact, the "cheese" very much resembled melted glue in taste and texture). However, it wasn't bad when it was cold, indistinguishable from any other cold frozen pizza I've ever eaten.


• I am irrationally excited about discovering these meatless crumbles. Delicious!


• Since I often need to grab quick lunches during the week, I've tried some very unusual sandwich options, including a chickpea avocado sandwich. As I told my friend, once you get over the taste and texture, it's actually not so bad! I fear this will become my motto.


• I couldn't imagine trying to be vegan while living with non-vegans or having non-vegan friends. The temptation to eat "forbidden foods" would be unbearable. I find it difficult enough passing the hot dog stand in front of the supermarket as the smell of a summer barbecue wafts over me (and I don't even like hot dogs). It would take an enormous amount of self-control to watch a close friend eat non-vegan foods in front of me. Perhaps this changes if you feel morally obligated to practice veganism instead of pursuing it as a month long challenge?


• Going vegan is expensive. I've spent more on groceries this week than I have in the last few weeks all together. My digestive system is also slow to adjust to the changes in my eating habits, leaving me in uncomfortable situations.


• If I have to sit through another commercial featuring gorgeous, sizzling bacon, I will throw celery sticks at the television.

After the first week, I've concluded that veganism is surprisingly do-able with a Mount Everest of willpower (and a pocket full of cash). However, it hasn't been an enjoyable experience for me just yet. Once I fit a few more recipes into my repertoire and have a few standby meals on hand, I hope it won't feel so intimidating (and overwhelming) to me anymore. Here's to week two!

*I mean no offense to those who have gone vegan for moral beliefs and obligations (in fact, you have my utmost respect). This is just a record of my personal experience with the subject.