Celebrating 1 Month Meat-Free =)

Ok so, yesterday was my first Month-aversary (not anniversary because, as my brother once pointed out, that would imply that it's annual) of being a mostly-vegan-ish, vegetarian-type person.

Woo!

Here are some things that I love about not eating meat: 
1. Believe it or not, I'm not as hungry and I get full faster. Therefore, I don't eat as much. Go figure.
2. I'm not ingesting all kinds of nasty, gross things that I don't wanna think about. But I don't eat them, so I don't have to think about them.
3. No animals were harmed in the making of this meal. Or any meal.
4. I feel like I'm conquering world hunger, one vegetarian meal at a time. I should get a cape or something.
5. The support I have received from my family and friends. Seriously, I love you guys.

Here are some things I don't love about not eating meat:
1. People asking me, "What do you eat?" Answer: Everything that doesn't contain anything that came from an animal. If I have to list every item, we could be here awhile. (Sidenote: I do understand that some people genuinely don't know what it means to follow a vegan diet, but PLEASE, for the love of GOD, rephrase the question. It makes me wanna punch you. A simple, "What does it mean to be vegan?" or "What things have you given up eating?" would be completely sufficient, thank you.
2. People assuming that I went into this blind. I did a lot of research. I read 2 books before even making a decision about doing this, and I've read several articles since then.
3. Since I did do research, I do understand the concept of protein. I appreciate the concern for my health, I really do, but I am not an idiot. And it's actually a myth that vegetarians lack protein, just to clear that up. Think about every animal you've ever seen that is an herbivore. Have you ever, in your entire life, seen a giraffe, for example, with a protein deficiency? No? Oh yeah, that doesn't happen.

On another note, I weighed in at Curves yesterday as well. Here's what happened:

I was 100% optimistic about this weigh-in. I feel lighter. My clothes fit differently. I like it. I got on the scale, and I was down three pounds. In my head, I was like:

Disclaimer: If strong language offends you, you should skip this part of the story. Jump to the next bolded line. 


klsdjfklsjdfFUCK. THREE fucking pounds? That's ALL? Jesus, I've been doing this for a month. WHAT IS THE POINT? GOD DAMMIT. Damn it all to Hell.


Ok, you're safe now. Sorry, mom. Trying to keep it real. 


It wasn't pretty. But then I got over it for 3 reasons.

1. I got measured. I lost a full inch off of my waist, abs, and arms. Score. Plus all 3 pounds were pure body fat, not muscle mass.
2. I realized that I hadn't weighed in since before Christmas, so it's completely plausible that I first gained weight, then lost more weight than the scale was showing.
3. I didn't cause the death of any animals today. Or any day for the last month. So, ha.

So, anyway, one last thing. I mentioned before that my family and friends have been so supportive. I just wanted to say thanks again.

• Thank you to Mom for buying me every vegan-related book you could find and working diligently to not cross-contaminate when cooking meat and non-meat items. 
• Thank you TuTu for subtracting meat from your diet with me. 
• Thank you Juls for texting me with recipe ideas. 
• Thank you Tuna for posting delicious dessert recipes on my wall on a regular basis. I know you were concerned that my dessert intake would be unacceptably low, but I assure you, non-dairy ice cream is equally as delicious as the regular kind. =) 
• Thank you Court for telling me that you look to me for inspiration. That really keeps me on track. 
• Thank you Liz for eating vegetarian Tuesday night dinners, even though you have no interest in being a vegetarian. 
• Thank you Shannon and Debbie for your comments on my last post. They really did make me feel better. 
• Thank you Tracy and Kimmie for sharing awesome vegan websites, which I continue to browse on a regular basis. 

And Thank you, whoever else is reading this, for embarking on this journey with me. One month down, a lifetime to go. Looking forward to it. 

Ok so...

I realized recently that I had been kind of half-assing this whole no dairy situation. And at first, I was okay with that. But I won't really make any progress unless I cut out dairy. About a week ago, I started limiting myself to one dairy item per day. That item does not include milk, yogurt, ice cream, etc. I don't eat those. But if I read the ingredients in something and a dairy product or eggs is, like, the last ingredient listed, or close to the last ingredient listed, I can live with that. I'll eat it. And I definitely have no issue with eating things that are merely produced in the same factory as products containing dairy. I'll risk it. I don't know, what do you think? If you're reading this, give me an opinion. Is this a cop out? Eating no dairy at all is REALLY hard. Especially becasue a lot of meat substitutes (usually the tastiest ones) contain a small amount of milk or eggs. I think I'm ok with that becasue of the comparison of how I eat now to how I used to eat before I felt morally obligated to stop eating meat. I've cut back on it by, like, at least 90%. I used to use a gallon of milk in a week. Seriously. I mean , come on. Is being mostly vegan ok?

While I do truly want people's opinions on this, there is one thing you should know.  I will never, under any circumstances, stop eating Nutella. Nutella has milk in it. I don't care. I freaking love Nutella and it makes me happy, ok? Don't judge me.

=)

I can't even...

This. Is. So. Gross. Thank you to Tracy Ogle for posting this on facebook. I am so, so, so glad that I saw this after I stopped eating meat.

http://docakilah.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/can-you-guess-what-mcdonald%E2%80%99s-food-item-this-is/

Soaked in ammonia. SOAKED. IN. AMMONIA. How can they even sell that?

I'm appalled.

An update on my last post..

Cow Pus. That's how I'm going to not eat dairy. I'll spare you the details, but I'm going to think of cow pus. I read about it today. And I'm going to conquer dairy tomorrow using this strategy.

Then I'm going to conquer soda, then aspartame. But, I mean, one thing at a time.

=)

I'm not into labels, man.

So, how long do you have to abstain from eating meat before you can call yourself a vegetarian? Cuz sometimes people ask me if I'm a vegetarian and I say yes, mostly because it's easier than being like, "Well, I guess I am but I've only been a vegetarian for 9 days." Also, I don't even think I can call myself an actual vegan. I try not to eat dairy. Sometimes, I fail at this. I've cut back on it a lot. I would like to transition to fully vegan. But right now I would consider myself a vegetarian with strong vegan tendencies. I suppose it doesn't really matter anyway. I eat what I feel like I should be eating and don't eat what I feel like I can't morally eat or what I feel is really bad health wise.

Being in New York this weekend was an interesting test. It's pretty hard to eat out at regular restaurants when you can't eat dairy. I suppose it's not impossible. But it's really difficult, especially if you don't want to eat a salad every time you go somewhere. And salad gets really boring. I guess in normal life, I won't be eating out as much as I have been, what with it being Christmas break and me visiting New York and all of that. I still want to be able to go out and do stuff, I just want to eat healthier while I do it. So I pick meals with no meat and as little dairy as possible. Maybe I'll eventually get to the point where I don't even want to eat dairy. I am doing more reading and sometimes that stuff is gross and scary. That's what got me to the point of feeling like I'll never eat meat again. It could be that the same thing will happen with dairy products. In the meantime, I'll stick to soy milk, steer clear of things that are blatantly dairy products, like ice cream, and read the ingredients in everything I eat.

It does not help my situation that most Morningstar products contain milk and/or eggs because their meat subtitutes are delicious. Like, it's not a lot of milk or eggs, but eventually, I would like to not eat them.

We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck.

About Tofurkey

Turkey sandwiches used to be a staple in my diet. I ate them alllll the time, especially when I was home where turkey is constantly in the house. Well, I ate a tofurkey sandwich for lunch today and let me tell you, tofurkey does not look appetizing in the least. I was actually a little bit nervous about eating it. However, don't let it's looks deter you. It tastes like turkey. Especially with cheese and mayo, both vegan. Yum.

Also, last night I tried tofutti ice cream. It is seriously delicious. I can totally stick to this whole vegan situation as long as I have substitutes such as these.

Tonight, we try vegan tacos. Meatless crumbles, vegan cheese and sour cream. Should be good.

This weekend I'm going to New York (which I am incredibly excited for!!!!) so I won't really get a chance to cook anything. Trying new vegan recipes will have to wait till Monday.

Goals for next week:
1. Try, like, 3 new recipes.
2. Cook something with Tofu.
3. Figure out how to eat Tempeh.
4. Read a bunch more stuff and stay updated on this blog, both of which seem to help keep my focus.

Until next time. =)

Is this Heaven? NO, It's Whole Foods!

Whole Foods is the single greatest store I've ever been in. Seriously, you walk in and it just smells like everything in the store is going to be delicious. Plus they have an incredible selection of vegan food. (Sidenote: If you're allergic to gluten, shop at Whole Foods. I swear that, like, half of their stock is gluten free.) I cannot wait to eat it. All. And this lady was making fresh guacamole, which I sampled and it was delicious. I mean, she worked there.  Don't worry, I didn't buy guacamole from some random at Whole Foods. I just love it. So much. However, here's the issue. Nine months out of the year I live in Frostburg. Do you know where the nearest Whole Foods to Frostburg is? Pittsburgh. That's 123.7 miles away. I might as well just come home to go grocery shopping. Plan: stock up for a month at a time and transport in a cooler. Not ideal. But whatever. And they do have stuff that I can eat at regular grocery stores. It's just not as cool as Whole Foods. Whole Foods is the greatest.

Also, I ate at Ruby Tuesday last night with my aunt and my brother. Did you know they actually have a pretty significant vegetarian selection? They do. I got the Veggie Trio, which is just 3 sides and the garden bar. Delicious. However, as soon as I tasted the zucchini, I knew it was cooked in butter. I ate it anyway. I don't regret it. This whole vegan thing is a process after all and I went all day yesterday with no meat, cheese, or chocolate. Score.

One last thing, this adorable new look is thanks to Kim Ramsburg. You should probably follow her blog at KymCole25.blogspot.com. Also, if you ever need blog templates, party invitations, tutus, or pictures taken, you should contact her immediately. That is all.