Thoughts on Going Vegan: Week 3

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Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 4 | Meal Ideas & Afterthoughts

I've successfully completed the third week in my month long vegan challenge. The hills and valleys of the second week have been ironed out and the third week was nothing but smooth sailing. Vegan eating feels almost natural to me now. I have a few mainstay recipes in rotation, which keeps meal time interesting and varied. Here are a few personal observations about my third week*:

  • I've also noticed when I reach for snacks, I end up munching on sunflower seeds or spoonfuls of peanut butter (both relatively protein rich). My body still craves protein in large amounts, but eating these small snacks staves off hunger and keeps my body in check.
  • Grocery shopping has become a breeze. I can walk in and out of the store in about ten minutes and get a week's worth of groceries at the same time. This is definitely a perk. I'm amazed at how much of the grocery store I can simply ignore.
  • Vegan eating has become quite natural for me. When I'm making food for myself at home, I no longer wonder what vegan food I should eat, but rather what food I should eat. It's a small distinction, perhaps completely unnoticeable to most people, but it's a huge step for me. It no longer feels like I'm forcing myself to eat a particular diet. I'm just eating.
  • Today I tried northern white beans boiled in salt water (one of my very first bean adventures). The beans tasted exactly like bacon and I proceeded to eat half a cup straight from the pot. My mother says it's my imagination, blaming "vegan brain" for the perceived taste, but I swear I'm not making this flavor up. Maybe I do have a case of vegan brain, but I'd gladly eat these beans for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
  • This weekend will be my first real challenge since I've gone vegan. I'm visiting home for a few days, where my non-vegan family will be making many of my favorite cheesy and meat filled dishes, and I will have to use up my willpower not to sneak a taste. My mother is trying to be accommodating, researching vegan alternatives and picking up a few vegan staples (which I greatly appreciate), but this is the first time I will be constantly surrounded by food I simply cannot eat, both in the pantry and on the kitchen table. I'm curious to see how this will play out.
  • Should I let you in a little secret? I'm afraid for this challenge to end and I'm nervous about going back to regular food. I honestly don't know where this fear is coming from (I'm not morally opposed to eating meat), but it lingers in the back of my mind and I wonder if I'll continue to eat vegan on July 1st or go out for a dairy and egg filled Sunday brunch to celebrate successfully completing the challenge (no meat just yet—I don't want to shock my system and get sick).

After the third week, I feel pretty comfortable with eating vegan. I've figured out most of the "tricks" and I'm becoming more in tune to my body and what my cravings may mean. Eating vegan this week was surprisingly easy and didn't take too much work or thought on my part. Here's to the fourth and final week of the challenge!

*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.

Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa

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Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa

Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa

In the early morning hours, when the sun is low in the sky and my eyes aren't quite ready to open and let the light into my world, a good breakfast wraps itself around me like a blanket and softly whispers that it's time to face the day. Breakfast is a comfort in a tired, caffeine driven world. It's a simple routine that fills an empty stomach and brings warmth and energy into a sleepy frame.

I've found an appreciation for breakfast.

Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa

There was a period in my life when I didn't appreciate breakfast. After entering university for the first time, with the nearest microwave fifty feet down the hall and an alarm clock that went off fifteen minutes before class, breakfast seemed a trivial part of the morning. I was born on the foundation of hot breakfasts. I like my breakfasts steaming from the stove top, with a sprinkling of sugar, and a splash of milk. If I couldn't have a piping hot bowl in front of me, I wanted nothing at all. For four years, I snubbed my nose at breakfast, welcoming lunch as my first meal of the day.

I was a fool.

Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa

Amid the hustle and bustle of stepping into clothes, fixing hair, and rushing to gather belongings before running out the door, breakfast is the calm in the storm of morning. A quiet reminder to take a moment to sit down and introduce myself to the aromas and flavors of a new day. I revel in the feeling of breakfast. It's a fresh start; a chance to replace yesterday with a new today. Some mornings I wake up early just so I can hold a steaming bowl of cereal in my hands and welcome the day in my own way.

I sincerely hope you've discovered the joy hidden in the depths of your cupboards. There is so much to love in that cereal box.

Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa

I've more or less eaten the same breakfast for the last twenty years. However, after trying out a bowl of this Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa, I may have discovered a replacement. Every morning this the past week, I've sat down to this sweet, nutty breakfast and I can't get enough. The quinoa cooks up in milk and absorbs the creamy flavor deep within its seeds. With a splash of milk and a handful of almonds and blueberries, I feel at home. The texture of the quinoa is such an interesting contrast to the warm, bursting juice of the blueberries—it's a texture of which I could never grow tired.

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Cherry Cream Cheese Muffins

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Cherry Cream Cheese Muffins

Cherry Cream Cheese Muffins

For the first time in my life, I'm living alone. I've moved to a city I know well, but it's been long enough since I've dwelled here that I am surrounded by strangers. Moving is about starting over, starting fresh, making new friends, and seeking out new experiences. It's building a new chapter in the book of life. Right now I'm in the "making new friends" stage and it feels harder to do now then when I was younger (of course, it doesn't help that I'm working two jobs and taking 10 graduate credits over the summer). While I have mixed feelings about living alone, I keep reminding myself that living alone isn't the same thing as being alone.

They are, in fact, two very different circumstances.

Cherry Cream Cheese Muffins

Living alone means sticking a spoon directly into the jar of peanut butter and double dipping to my heart's content. Living alone means watching an entire season of Big Love in a single day without having a soul to judge me for it. Living alone means forgoing pants when the temperatures rise without worrying about public indecency. Living alone means letting the dishes pile up in the sink until I decide I can't handle the mess. Living alone means doing impromptu dances to my favorite songs while baking and getting brownie batter all over the kitchen floor.

Living alone means creating a sanctuary for myself where I only need to answer for myself, a sanctuary I can then share with those I care most about.

Cherry Cream Cheese Muffins

Some days I do get plagued by loneliness, an inevitable factor in life whether you live alone or with others. It's hard moving somewhere new without having that network of love and support in the next room or halfway across town. That network still exists, but it's farther away than it was before. To temper the occasional lonely feelings, I treat myself to date nights; I'll buy myself a new red wine, cook myself a three course dinner, and dine by candlelight with a favorite television show sitting across the table. I'll escape into books, making lifelong friends with the characters buried in the pages. I roller blade through the neighborhood, finding a good dose of fresh air to cure most of life's ails.

Yes, being alone and living alone are too very different situations. Living alone means I can bake muffins at an obscenely early hour on a Saturday morning, banging about the pots and pans without apology. Oh, how I do like to bang around those pots and pans.

Cherry Cream Cheese Muffins

Cherry Cream Cheese Muffins are soft, sweet, and tangy. Fresh cherries are pitted, halved, and mixed into a whole wheat oatmeal muffin batter. Before heading into the oven, the muffin tops are swirled with cream cheese and sprinkled with sugar. The muffins are utterly light, with a crumb so small and so moist that they melt in your mouth. The recipe is vegan, but you can easily use non-vegan ingredients if they are already in your pantry. With a cup of tea or a mug of coffee, these muffins will brighten any morning.

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