*Sorry this is a little late!
If you didn’t check it out already, click HERE for the intro/explanation to my vegan challenge. I knew going into the two weeks that I had no long-term plans to become a full-time vegan. That did not change, at this point I can’t see my life without eggs, yogurt, and the occasional turkey burger. That said, I really enjoyed the two weeks and would like to repeat the challenge again at some point this year. Maybe even a Vegan Month.
I am really proud of myself for sticking to this challenge. Maybe I can’t be bothered to train for a half marathon, but I did successfully make it two weeks without losing it to any meat or dairy products. I am also proud that I did not depend on imitation products during this challenge. No soy yogurt breakfasts and tofurkey sandwich lunches here! While I recognize that many people have healthy, happy diets with those products, the point of the challenge was to rely on whole foods.
Here are some of the main things I learned during my 2 weeks as a vegan –
- Green Monsters rock my socks
- I prefer smoothies without milk or yogurt in them
- Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan is a book no kitchen should be without
- I actually like tempeh
- vegan baked goods taste better than ‘normal’ ones
How do you classify your eating habits? Vegan, semi/vegetarian, raw, carnivorous? For now I am semi-vegetarian who doesn’t eat mammals. But I’ll be eating a little less dairy than I used to.
Eating Chalk 
I should try a vegan challenge sometime! I worry that it would be tough to manage at school though. I think it would be doable as long as I brought the right snacks with me though.
Congrats!
Just a question, and I really don’t judge whether you did or did not because I eat anything and everything…but did you technically go all vegan since I know many packaged tortillas and SO MANY other things have ingredients in them that are derivants of meat or dairy products (many times ingredients that you don’t suspect are so derived)….and I also notice you ate french fries at restaurants/fast food places…many times these are fried in animal-derived products. Not trying to be harsh, just wondering if perhaps you weren’t aware of how many things actually aren’t vegan, but rather are simply vegetarian? I’d be interested to know if you considered any of these things!:)
Not harsh at all, thanks for the question! Going into the challenge I tried not to worry too much about incidental non-vegan sources, my focus was more on eating whole foods and switching up my diet so that I didn’t eat 7 yogurts a week as always 🙂 The idea was to try more new things and recipes, not necessarilly worry about cutting things out. For example, I decided honey was fair game. I did read all packaging I had access to (and didn’t buy/eat anything with ANY animal derivations) but for things like french fries and bread at a restaurant I decided just not to stress. If we had been at our home for the entire 2 weeks of the challenge I would have treated it a bit differently but since I was with my very NOT vegan in-laws I made some allowances.
thanks for the response…that all makes sense:)
hm. Well I am definitely an omnivore! I wouldn’t even consider restricting my diet unless it was for a health reason.
Of course, I find no problem with people who do, and I’m very interested in the alterations that can be made to make meals veg/vegan/raw, etc. There was an amazing influx of new foods and ingredients once alternative diets came on the market, and though I’m not buying BECAUSE of my diet choices, I love to have the options of farro, millett bread, coconut milk, chia seeds, tofu, nutritional yeast etc….all things we couldn’t have found a few years ago.; And also, raw recipes are the bomb, especially in summer where cooking does not seem appetizing.
There are, of course, things I prefer not to eat, such as highly processed foods, or imitation sweeteners (though sometimes that one is hard to avoid…but always in moderation). I recently cut cheese out of my diet, but that’s because I am trying to lose some weight. I am a recovering cheese addict. 🙂 I also abstain from alcohol for personal reasons.
I enjoyed your recap. I still have to flip through Eat Drink and Be Vegan, it’s on my desk at work and I keep forgetting!
As for me, I am a carnivore. I could do without meat (and have) but from experience run better on high protein so I would have to plan extra to go meatless. In a perfect world where I had extra cash flow and extra time, I would eat clean because that is when I feel my best.
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