Thoughts on Going Vegan: Week 2

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Week 1 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Meal Ideas & Afterthoughts

I've successfully completed the second week in my month long vegan challenge. The second week went much smoother than the first, but it did have its fair share of hills and valleys. Vegan eating is starting to feel a little more natural (and a lot less like work). Here are a few personal observations about my second week*:

  • On Monday, I awoke to a pounding headache for the third day in a row. I felt weak, tired, and sore, as if I had gotten the flu. I was retaining fluids. When I finally crawled home after a long day at work, I collapsed on the couch. A quick internet search confirmed my suspicions. I had 11 of the 13 symptoms for a protein deficiency. Twelve days into my vegan challenge seemed too soon to be having such real symptoms, but I didn't eat much protein before the challenge either (with all of it coming from milk, eggs, and turkey slices).
  • It was the first time since taking on this challenge that I began to question whether it was the right move for me. In that moment, when I scarcely had the strength to walk around, I seriously debated quitting the challenge and cooking up a frozen chicken breast hidden in the depths of the freezer. My body was craving it, needing it. I didn't give in (the thought of standing that long seemed intimidating) and headed for bed instead, with the resolve to find a way to overdose on protein the next morning.
  • Protein has been, hands down, the biggest challenge for me. So many of you have pointed me in the direction of beans, nuts, and lentils to satisfy this need. However, I am deathly allergic to tree nuts (besides peanuts and almonds) so nuts aren't really the right direction for me. I also have a confession to make—I've never cooked with beans or lentils before. Growing up, they were never a part of my diet so I've never had a positive experience with them. This isn't an excuse, of course, but it doesn't make getting protein any easier when you don't have any tried and true recipes using them.
  • For the most part, I've stopped craving non-vegan foods. Unless you waft a greasy hamburger beneath my nose, I don't feel like I'm missing out. In fact, the thought of eating cheese right now is almost repulsive because it seems like it would be way too rich.
  • There was not a single search in my browsing history this week asking "Is _______ vegan?" I'm getting better at this game.
  • I still struggle with finding a quick lunch during the week that's vegan, but filling enough to hold me over until I get home from work 7 hours later. I've started making hummus sandwiches and, while they taste all right, I find my stomach growling 4 hours later.
  • For the first time since starting this challenge, I can start to imagine what it is like to be vegan while surrounded by non-vegans. It's similar to those (like me) with allergies, where you can't accept "foreign" foods and have to eat on your own before you visit with friends (or pack your own meal). It's certainly not convenient, but it's starting to seem closer to the realm of "doable."

After the second week, I feel a little more comfortable with being vegan and it doesn't seem to take as much willpower as it did the first week. I still struggle with my on again/off again protein deficiency (when I wake up with a headache and no other symptoms, it's my body's way of giving me a warning sign), but I'm trying to open myself up and consciously base every single meal around protein rich foods, like chickpeas and quinoa. Let's hope week three is much healthier (and headache free)!

*I mean no offense to those who have gone vegan for moral beliefs and obligations (in fact, you have my utmost respect). This is just a record of my personal experience with the lifestyle.

(The photo above features a vegan hot dish I threw together with a wine sauce, peppers, mushrooms, and onion with soy meat that looks/tastes quite similar to the real thing).

Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I would be lying if I said vegan baking wasn't a challenge. As both a professional and home baker, butter and cream have become my nearest and dearest of friends. Scarcely a day has passed in the last few years where we haven't created beautiful things together (or, at the very least, greeted one another when I opened the refrigerator door). I like to imagine I've developed a feel for baking—for the elasticity of bread dough beneath my fingertips or the proper weight of a cookie balanced on an outstretched hand. I've grown so much as a baker in the last couple years, from my hesitant beginnings to here and now.

Vegan baking, however, makes me feel like I've started back at square one.

Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I made a promise to you when I took on this challenge—to use familiar, everyday ingredients and keep the recipes approachable. Little did I know it was much easier said than done. There are so many recipes out there that use "faux" versions of butter, eggs, and cream in place of their real counterparts (and the recipes just don't measure up). While I know butter isn't good for me, I can't imagine partially hydrogenated soybean oil is going to be any better. I can't even buy vegan egg replacement in my neck of the woods.

The vegan recipes I want to share with you aren't intended to be lesser versions of originals, but rather unique and delicious on their own accord.

Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

With these lofty goals, I approached the kitchen last weekend feeling confident. After scraping half a dozen inedible delights into the garbage can, it was obvious I had come up short. Somewhere between the banana bread and the brownies, I lost hope in any of my baking abilities, growing frustrated by the deceiving scents wafting throughout the apartment. I gave up. Good riddance, I yelled at the batter splatted spatula and dirty mixing bowls as I threw them in the sink.

I made granola instead.

Late Sunday evening, when the sun hung low in the sky, I crossed my fingers and gave vegan baking one last chance. And it worked.

Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies are soft baked and chewy. The batter may be a little unusual to put together, but the final product, scattered with chocolate chunks, is a treat. While these may not replace your go-to recipe, they are a lovely dairy-free, egg-free cookie for feeding friends and family who may have allergies. I brought them to work and nobody could guess they were made without butter. I call that a success.

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Cherry Almond Granola

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Cherry Almond Granola

Cherry Almond Granola

There was a heatwave this past weekend. Temperatures neared one hundred degrees and the air was as still as the calm before a storm. It was an unexpected appearance in a typically mild June. The sun and I have always had a healthy relationship, but the heat began putting a strain on it. For the better part of three days, the sun shined directly into my apartment with nary a cloud to provide blessed temporary relief. With the blinds closed and the air conditioning unit running on full blast, I managed to cool the apartment down to a balmy 90 degrees F.

This was a small improvement over the temperature of the surface of the sun.

Cherry Almond Granola

At first, I ignored the rising temperature, pretending that is was perfectly normal to sweat while watching television. I held strong through the unbearable heat, pretending I didn't mind the sticky, humid clouds forming in my apartment. I fought the heat as I cursed the leather couch when I laid across it, too exhausted from the temperatures to pry myself off of it. I gave into the heat, running the oven to bake cookies because I couldn't imagine the oven could do more damage than the sun had already afflicted. I managed the heat with the most style and grace that I could muster.

Then, I snapped.

Cherry Almond Granola

Ten minutes later I found myself in the refrigerated section of the local grocery store, carrying around a red basket to give the impression I was there for any reason other than to beat the heat. I reveled in the chill of the dairy aisle, staying far past my welcome as I pretended to compare butter labels to avoid pointed questions. Though I didn't intend to buy anything (I had done my grocery shopping just that morning), with the rows of yogurt directly in my vision I could scarcely think of anything other than how much I wanted to eat it—all of it—sprinkled with granola.

Some recipes are born out of love and tender growth, while others are created out of overheated desperation in the dairy aisle of a supermarket at precisely 9:23 pm on a Saturday evening.

Honestly, I don't think you can't taste the difference.

Cherry Almond Granola

Cherry Almond Granola has varied textures and fabulous flavors that will steal your heart. Oats, almonds, and coconut flakes are sweetened with brown sugar and maple sugar before toasting in the oven. The granola is rounded out with tart dried cherries and a pinch of nutmeg which bring all of the flavors together in a unique, but delicate manner. I've experimented with several granola recipes before, but this recipe has made a little imprint on my heart. I'm in love.

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