I thought I would give an update on my new vegan life. As of right now, the vegan part only involves the food & beverages, not the other aspects of life that can be "veganized".
I reference the following site quite a lot:
http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/accidentally-vegan.aspx
It is Peta's site, and it give a list of everyday foods that you may not have known were vegan - they were "accidentally vegan". I'm so glad I can still enjoy Oreo's, Cocoa Puffs, Life cereal, Wheat Thins, etc. It makes the transition a lot easier.
I have been making vegan dinners each night, and I have been using recipes from the books of Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Terry Hope Romero and Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. I own quite the collection of vegan cookbooks, so I have many things at my disposal for ideas on recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
My breakfasts each morning before work consist of a bowl of Cinnamon Life cereal and some Silk Light Original soy milk. I will change up the cereal every now and then, so that I won't get bored. I do this type of breakfast because it is easy, and I don't want to have to fuss with a "homemade" breakfast each morning. Once I become more comfortable with the new way of eating, I might try to make some breakfast items on Sunday that I can freeze and heat up each morning. Who knows?
My lunches (M-F) are peanut butter & jelly on vegan sandwich bread, some original Sun Chips and some no-sugar-added applesauce. I have been eating this lunch for quite some time, and I am not bored with it...yet. I am not one that enjoys leftovers too much, so I do this lunch. I also have to be in the mood for salads, so I don't really bring those to eat.
With the lunches on the weekends, I will get some vegan items from a fast food place because I don't feel like eating at home! I have been cooking at home all week, eating at work for five days, and I just need a break. The bean burritos at Taco Bell with just the beans & red sauce (and lots of fire sauce) are quite sufficient and satisfy my appetite time and time again. The french fries at most fast food places are vegan, so I have that option as well.
True, these items aren't that healthy and are usually processed, but they are free of animal ingredients. That in and of itself makes you feel better about making a decision of what to eat at a fast food place. One can still maintain a healthy diet when utilizing the convenience of a fast food restaurant. I've heard many people say (and have read many books & articles) that it is all about moderation and you must let yourself have these types of food every now and then in order to be successful with your new way of eating
On top of that, I don't eat a lot of it when I do have some fast food, and I am usually on my way to some other place where lots of walking will be happening (i.e. shopping), so some of the calories will be gone!
This site helps me in making decisions at fast food restaurants: http://www.veganeatingout.com/.
Last night, my boyfriend and I ate at Applebee's with a couple of friends. I was a bit hesitant to accept the invitation because that restaurant is not known for being that healthy, let alone have many choices for vegans. We looked at the menu before we left, so that I could have some idea of what I was going to order before we arrived there. I decided on the Paradise salad thingy with romaine and fruit. The really annoying thing is that the price included chicken, and they didn't have a price for the salad without it. I still got the chicken, but on the side for someone else to enjoy. They weren't getting free money from me. The salad was sub-par, the dressing (which I got on the side) was not very delicious, and while I felt almost full after eating the salad, I wasn't satisfied.
After we paid and left, we went to the grocery store to buy some sorbet to help with my sweet tooth and to fill me up some more. That helped my appetite a lot. :)
'Til next time when I give another update, post another vegan recipe that I cooked or review a vegan product! Thanks for reading and leave any comments you may have!
No comments:
Post a Comment