reflections

♥ happy valentine‘s day!! ♥

brad and i celebrated our valentine’s day on saturday night with a nice dinner in and some snuggling on the couch! my friends in my program all find themselves without plans with their significant others’ tonight, too, so we’re getting together tonight for a little girls’ night. i’m excited!

*****

well, the vegan for a week challenge has officially concluded. we had a great twitter party last night hosted by morgan, the fabulous inspiration behind the challenge! it was a fun way to reflect on the challenge together, but i wanted to recap my experience here too!

this is going to be difficult, because i had many thoughts about my experience with the challenge. i think a bulletted list would be my best bet. here we go!

• following a vegan diet takes effort. in general, foods at restaurants and social gatherings are not vegan. the only times i had trouble following the diet were the times during the week when i ate meals that i did not prepare myself. for example, the time i was most tempted to “cheat” on the challenge was at the conference i attended on wednesday.
• following a vegan diet can be easy. if you’re prepared. meal planning and being prepared was essential this week. i planned my meals and went to the supermarket for supplies on sunday. that set the stage for me to succeed this week. also, when i knew i’d be eating at the conference on wednesday, i packed a bag of snacks that i knew would supplement a non-vegan meal.
• there are many foods that you would think are vegan, but aren’t. worchestershire sauce and sugar are the two that i was most surprised by this week. but also, wine and beer, dairy-free creamers, and chapstick aren’t necessarily vegan!
• vegan meals can be delicious and flavorful! i loved the mexican flavor bowl i threw together friday night,

the black bean burgers i made on wednesday,

and the pasta dish we had for valentine’s day!

• it really is important to think about the source of your food. while i am not opposed to eating meat or animal products, they are generally not obtained in the most sustainable and humane methods possible. this week made me realize how important it is to vote for sustainability and humane treatment of animals by only purchasing products raised and produced that way. i will definitely visit the willy street coop and our farmers’ market more to buy my meats and cheeses in the future. and yes, that will mean that i consume less meat & cheese – it’s ok.
• even though i had the BEST intentions to follow the vegan plan 100% this week, brad pointed out that one of my supplements that i was taking all week isn’t vegan. it’s a tuna fish oil supplement and it’s so ingrained in my daily habit that it never occurred to me that it isn’t vegan!
• whole, REAL, unprocessed foods taste the best! the only thing that i really hated this week was the rice “cheese” that i tried friday night. that was definitely the most processed thing that i ate all week.
• i noticed a significant difference in how i felt after eating my meals. before this challenge, i would really feel bloated after most meals. i’m not sure if it’s related to dairy or something else, but i didn’t experience that bloating at all this week. i will definitely pay attention to how i feel when i reintroduce dairy to my diet.

ok, so i’m not good at short bullets. sue me. i really enjoyed the vegan for a week experience. i’m so glad i did it and i am definitely planning to keep up many of the habits i started this week.

*****

thanks for sticking with me and reading this week, even though i know it might have gotten old seeing all of my meals! i have some fun stuff coming up that i’m really excited about. here’s a hint:

what could it be?!?

*****

what are your thoughts on eating meat? animal products?

Tagged as: vegan for a week