I don't know why, but I have decided to try and eat vegan (or as close to it as
possible) for the next month. It's not for political or religious or animal rights reasons, it's just to see if I can
do it. A personal challenge, if you will. And, I figure blogging about it will keep me honest.Over the next month, I'll be sharing my experience with you on Tuesdays and Saturdays. I'll tell you what worked and what didn't. I'll share my recipes sucesses and failures. I'll tell you what vegan products are edible and what products taste like sheiss. I wouldn't lie to you.
Nothing gives me more pleasure than cooking, so my focus will be on trying to create delicious vegan dishes with lots of variety and flavor. I also have a family to feed, so I whatever I cook has to appeal to my toddler and preschooler as well.
Before anyone freaks out, I reserve the right to feed my children the things I know they will eat. I'm not going to make them subsist on nutritional yeast and mung bean sprouts. Their health and well-being is my foremost concern. They already drink almond and rice milks, and love beans, seaweed, green salad, tofu and soy products, and fruits and veggies, so shifting a little more towards vegan won't be a huge shock. But if they want fish, I'll make them some fish.
To head off any heated emails from hardcore vegans, I also reserve the right to learn as I go. I know that honey is bee vomit and that even veggie cheese can contain rennet. I know about hidden gelatin. I've recently learned that certain forms of Vitamin D can come from sheep's wool. Life is a learning process, so please, vegan experts: go easy on me.
Do I think I could be vegan for life? No. But who knows what will happen at the end of the month. Be sure to check back on Saturday for a review of the first week. I'll be talking about roasted sweet potato salad, vegan "fish", and two, inspiring cookbooks.
DIY Foods: Making homemade sausage
Cakes so amazing they'd be hard to cut into
Fruit juice: An invitation to diabetes?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-11-2006 @ 11:17AM
Robyn said...
cool plan! i did not know honey was bee vomit or what rennet was.
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4-11-2006 @ 11:46AM
Jessica said...
I went vegetarian 2 years ago just to see if i could- because i loved meat and pretty much hated vegetables. Now I can't stand the thought of eating meat, and the thought of vegetables makes me shiver with joy.
So my experiment was successful and somehow changed my taste-buds.
I did start eating fish last year, for more protein. And I'm a sushi addict. So technically I'm a "pescetarian"
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4-11-2006 @ 12:05PM
Wendryn said...
I spent six years as a vegetarian (I couldn't quite deal with going vegan) and the Moosewood cookbooks were incredibly helpful. I still use them a lot, even though I've gone back to omnivorous eating again. One note about tofu - if the texture bugs you, get the extra firm stuff, freeze it, thaw it, drain it thoroughly, and then use it. For some reason freezing it changes it to a chewier texture which, at least for me, was easier to eat.
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4-11-2006 @ 12:14PM
BJL said...
Good for you. I'm a fish eating vegetarian, and so is my youngest son. My husband and oldest son still eat meat, so food in my house is always interesting. When I made the switch, I actually found it quite easy, and had a few surprise perks. Clearer, brighter skin, a healthier feeling belly, some weight loss without trying, but I need to be careful about that since I'm on the low side of normal.
I've always been really into healthy foods, so maybe that's why it was easy from the start. We've never gone to fast food places, bought soda, and junck/processed foods are extremely limited here. You'll do well I think!
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4-11-2006 @ 2:11PM
gastronaut said...
You'll have better luck and a better time if you avoid all the 'vegan replacement' products. trust me, just go without--as a cooking exercise it's a learning experience, but these 'faux' products make vegans look bad--or at least, makes them look like they don't have taste buds. if you run into questions, i'm happy to help.
cheers
G
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4-11-2006 @ 8:57PM
Callisto Shampoo said...
Heh, I talked to my husband about doing this for a month, not too worried about the fine details, just cutting out the meat and seeing what I could do with what I have left.
I realised I love umame, it's my "thing" and as I've been learning to cook more things, I've been finding more vegetables and recipes that are vegetarian which still taste great to me. I find foods with little umame just taste watery and lifeless to me.
Good on you, though, I think it will be fun.
:-) One day I'll talk my husband into trying it with me!
Calli
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4-12-2006 @ 5:27AM
soco said...
i went vegan for a week to sort of understand what some of my college friends had to go through. sort of a put-myself-in-their-shoes kinda experiement, and after that week, i felt fantastic. so good, that i kept it up for 2 years. i only stopped when i came to Europe. figured it'd be difficult to remain vegan and really get a taste of the experience.
i actually didn't have a problem with some of the replacement foods. some are tasteless, but there are others that are still pretty tasty, in my opinion. Tofurkey was my favorite though.
i'd make a simple recommendation of trying to track down some nearby vegetarian restuarants that also do vegan foods. i got a lot of inspiration just from seeing some of the masters create yummy vegan foods. more inspiration than from most of the cookbooks i plundered over, which generally seemed to have more bland recipes that were vegan.
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