September 2009
M T W T F S S
« Aug   Oct »
123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  

The Vegan Venture

Welcome to September – the month I have chosen for my Vegan Month Challenge, here on out known as The Vegan Venture. :)

vegan: A vegetarian who eats plant products only, especially one who uses no products derived from animals, as fur or leather.

WHO: Me (and anyone who chooses to join me – I know there are several of you planning a Vegan Thursday, Vegan Wednesday, etc.)

WHAT
: All plant-based foods, all the time

WHEN
: September 1 – September 30

WHERE
: Wherever the heck you or I may be!

WHY
: I have actually gone back and forth with vegetarianism since middle school, even dabbling in veganism for a couple brief stints in time. The times that I’ve gone out of a vegetarian diet have been because I didn’t want to offend someone (i.e. I didn’t want to refuse the food prepared the first time I celebrated a holiday down south with my in-laws) or because I was led to believe that proteins like boneless, skinless chicken breasts are one of the best and easiest ways to get protein into my daily diet. (What’s easier than a plant-based protein that doesn’t take nearly as long to cook and prepare?) I’ve never been a fan of beef or pork, and it took me a while to acquire a taste for salmon and other fish. To this day I do not eat shellfish, because I have a sneaking suspicion I have a shellfish allergy.

The things that have pulled me out of a vegan diet before have ultimately been my love affair with dairy. And boy, do I love my dairy products – Greek yogurt, cheeses, milk, ice cream, frozen yogurt, cheesecake (heck, my wedding cake was cheesecake!)…I could go on and on. However, as I’ve gotten older, I have realized more and more that dairy does not like me back. Having experimented with going a couple days, a week, etc. without dairy – I know that many of my stomach and digestive issues clear up when I eliminate dairy. I feel so much better when I avoid dairy.

What I am hoping to get out of my Vegan Venture month:

  • I’m hoping that avoiding dairy for a month will eliminate all dairy cravings that I may have, enabling me to feel better all the time without all the stomach/ digestive issues.
  • I’m hoping to see if veganism is a lifestyle I could realistically apply to my life.
  • I’m hoping to improve my overall healthiness.
  • I’m hoping to become more aware of what I’m putting in my body (i.e. instead of just grabbing that cookie because it sounds good, I need to actually see what’s in it).
  • I’m hoping that since most “common” baked goods and sweets are not vegan, that I’ll be able to cut down on my sweet tooth.
  • I’m hoping to determine that eating a healthy, vegan lifestyle can be done on a budget.
  • I’m hoping to see that I can get enough of my dietary needs from plant-based sources.
  • I’m hoping to pick up more reading material on the vegan lifestyle to grow in my knowledge of a vegan diet during this month.

A couple notes to clear up, because I know I will be asked:

  • While Ross is looking forward to trying new vegan meals that I prepare, this isn’t something that is a big priority to him. He still enjoys meat and dairy, and it doesn’t pose as much a problem to his health as it does to mine, so he will still be enjoying things like skim milk with his cereal and deli meat in his sandwiches.
  • Honey – I know this is a pretty controversial topic amongst vegans. I tend to use raw agave nectar over honey anyways (there are actually still some nutrients retained in raw agave nectar), but if a product contains honey I’m not going to worry about it (i.e. I’d rather have a veggie sub on honey wheat bread for the whole grains at Subway, than have the same sub on plain white bread). Plus, there are health benefits to honey – if you eat local honey, it can help with your allergies! :)
  • Fur & Leather – I’m not a big fan of fur and leather in the first place (I just don’t like how it looks), and the majority of my shoes/ purses are made of synthetic leather.
  • I think I made this clear by now, but I am not doing this just for giggles, I’m not doing this because of some fad, etc. And also – while I am very sensitive to the treatment of animals, I am first and foremost doing this for my health.

There you have it! I extend an open invitation to any of you who may be contemplating a vegan diet yourself. There are many excellent vegan cookbooks out there (Veganomicon, Vegan with a Vengeance; eat, drink & be vegan). Do you want to commit to trying a recipe or two during the month? Commit to going one day out of the month as a vegan to see if it’s as hard as you think? One day a week? One week? Go all out with me? :) While I am doing this for myself, if anyone else chooses to participate at all, send me an email/ drop me a comment with a vegan recipe, a recap of a day of vegan eats, etc., and for each comment/ email I’ll enter you into a contest at the end where (at the very least) you’ll get some of my awesome homemade vegan cookies. :)

If you have any questions, general or personal, I’d be happy to answer/ look into an answer for you. Leave a comment or shoot me an email at mrslcblog (at) gmail (dot) com.

05C6429C140BC18A6065751377CDA7D9 The Vegan Venture

17 comments to The Vegan Venture

Leave a Reply

 

 

 

You can use these HTML tags

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>