Thoughts on Going Vegan: Week 4—The End?

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Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Meal Ideas & Afterthoughts

I've successfully completed the fourth and final week in my month long vegan challenge. As for eating, this week was smooth sailing, with plenty of delicious vegan food. There was, however, a very huge, life-altering realization. Here are a few personal observations about my fourth week*:

  • I've had very few cravings for non-vegan food this past month (and even they were quite fleeting). The first week of the challenge I was worried about missing my favorite foods so much that I sought out vegan alternatives—which weren't very good. I worried for naught. Occasionally I'd get a pang of nostalgia for some of my favorite foods, like Fettuccine Alfredo, but the feeling passed as quickly as it came. Without non-vegan cravings, going vegan was really quite easy and I didn't feel like I was missing out.
  • I accidentally ate half a chip that had milk listed on the ingredient label. I never expected potato chips to contain milk; in between popping a broken one in my mouth and turning over the bag to look at the nutritional information, the damage had been done. It was half a potato chip and whey was the last ingredient on the label, but I felt guilty about it for days. In fact, I still kind of do, which is why I'm confessing it to you.
  • The day after my vegan challenge ended, I went out for a celebratory brunch with my sister and re-introduced myself to dairy and eggs. I had scrambled eggs (without cheese), cream cheese on a bagel, french toast, and half a slice of bacon. After a month of avoiding animal products, I was not expecting that I wouldn't actually like non-vegan food again. They tasted differently than I remember, with a texture that was strange and completely undesirable (especially eggs/meat). I didn't get sick afterwards, but it was an unexpected experience for me.
  • Since the vegan challenge ended, the vast majority of the food I've eaten has been vegan. Here or there I'll eat an old favorite, such as my favorite turkey sandwich or ramen noodles (a guilty pleasure), but they don't taste right and I find that I have to force myself to get it down. While eating turkey sandwiches, I dream of eating humus and vegetable ones instead—a sandwich I didn't even like all that much when I was vegan. Maybe my taste buds have changed? Is that even possible? I wonder.
  • After growing to love vegan food, I think it will definitely have a new role in my diet. It's generally healthy, tastes delicious, and my body feels good when I eat it. Just as there was an adjustment period when I went vegan, there is an adjustment period going back. It may be a few weeks before I can eat and enjoy meat again, but the recipes and lessons I've learned from going vegan will stick with me for a very, very long time.
  • Lastly, it's time for the big realization. I've been plagued with uncomfortable and sometimes painful digestive issues my entire life. While I won't go into detail, it's a condition I've seen several different doctors about, been prescribed different treatments for, and gone through a colonoscopy to try to resolve. No method has fixed the problem and the doctors couldn't sort out what was wrong—for all intents and purposes I was "normal," even though I clearly wasn't. I assumed this was just a problem I would have to live with for the rest of my life.
  • Two weeks into my vegan diet, the problem I had faced continuously for twenty-four years disappeared. Disappeared. I could have cried. For the first time in my life, I had a normally functioning digestive system and it was glorious. While there aren't many allergies associated with eating meat, there are quite a few associated with consuming dairy. After a little research, the symptoms I had been plagued with seemed to match up fairly well with a milk protein intolerance. It is a hypersensitivity to the proteins, casein and whey, which are found in milk; this is not the same thing as lactose intolerance, but the treatment, avoidance of all dairy products, is the same. I've always been a big milk drinker, typically consuming 1 1/2 cups every single day with breakfast. If I really did had an intolerance to milk proteins, I never would have gone long enough without milk to notice a difference until now.
  • Over the next few weeks, I'm going to continue to cut dairy out of my diet while re-introducing meat to see how my digestive system reacts. If it's true that I do have a milk protein intolerance, the diagnosis is really a double edged sword. On one hand, it will shape the way I eat and the way I approach baking for the rest of my life. On the other hand, it may solve my digestive issues, making me feel healthy for the first time in a very long time.

After the fourth and final week, I am sincerely glad, in a hundred different ways, that I took on this challenge. It introduced me to a new lifestyle, new recipes, new flavors, and a new outlook on healthy eating. If I hadn't gone vegan for a month on a whim, I never would have discovered a potential solution to a lifelong health problem. I feel greatly indebted to my time spent as a vegan and urge you to give vegan dishes a chance. You might just like it.

*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.

Banana Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie

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Banana Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie

Banana Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie

When I lived in a tiny, but undeniably lovely apartment in Montreal, I spent most of my time around the kitchen table baking, eating, or working. I spent my mornings and evenings in the kitchen, discovering a passion for food in the sugar jar and the heat of the oven. The kitchen was minuscule, incapable of even holding a refrigerator, but the dark, wooden table and the large open windows made the space feel like a home. I wasn't the only one who had the same feelings.

A small mouse moved in, making a nest in a hole behind the stove.

Banana Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie

My roommate was the first to spot the visitor, as he scampered into hiding once his secret had been found out. As we wondered what to do with our little friend (mousetraps were certainly out of the question unless they were humane), my roommate went away for a weekend and my mother came to visit. My roommate and I thought it best that my mother didn't know of our little friend. Firstly, so she wouldn't believe we were living in squalor and, secondly, so that she wouldn't fear sleeping on the futon which rested only a few feet from the mouse's house. Since it had been nearly a week since the mouse's discovery and he hadn't appeared for me, it seemed best to keep mum on the subject.

On the second night of my mother's visit, we sat around the kitchen table enjoying spaghetti squash and fresh figs. In the quiet of the apartment, there was suddenly a tiny scratching sound coming from the inside of one of the cupboard doors. The mouse, it seemed, wanted to say hello. As my mother stared at the cupboard in horror, imagining a range of creatures hiding behind the door, I spilled the secret, backed into a corner by none other than the mouse himself. Though my mother raised her eyebrows at my explanation why the mouse had become my third roommate, she kept her thoughts on the subject to herself.

My mother, to her credit, still slept on the futon.

Banana Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie

It was a few days more until I spotted the mouse for myself. As I quietly worked in the living room, he finally peeked out to look me over. He was so tiny I could have easily held him in one hand, sporting ears as large as elephant's. I couldn't help but fall hopelessly in love. I began to have childish fantasies of transforming the movie Ratatouille into a reality, turning the mouse into a pet with an appreciation for good food.

Then the reality of having a mouse in the house hit me.

The mouse, though tiny as he was, had an uncanny ability to peep about in the baking cupboard. He ignored the baking staples as he looked for his prize—a large bag of almonds. Overnight two pounds of almonds disappeared. Though I was upset about that (almonds certainly aren't cheap), it was the thousands of little crumbs he left behind for me to clean up that drove me to frustration. I cleaned out the cupboard, moving sealed baking supplies and tossing out the rest. When we discovered the corner he treated as a litter box, my desire to have a mouse friend began fading. The mouse, to his credit, was a very quiet house guest, leaving a long enough time between his little surprises that we'd forget we even had a third roommate.

I moved away before the saga of the mouse had come to a head. Sometimes I wonder about that little mouse and his whereabouts, curious how long it took him to eat his almonds. Sometimes I worry that my own kitchen will capture the attention of a little mouse, especially when the dishes begin to pile on the counter top. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if it did—he could help me pick up the crumbs from off the floor.

Banana Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie

This Banana Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie is sweet (without added sugar) and absolutely filling. Bananas, peanut butter, tofu, and oats come together to create a robust, flavorful beverage. One serving of the smoothie has roughly twenty grams of protein, making it a good choice when you need to power up. If you are nervous at seeing the word "tofu," don't be worried; like yogurt, it thickens the smoothie but lends no flavor to the final product (just protein!).

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Vegan Brownies

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Vegan Brownies

Vegan Brownies

I am perpetually in the pursuit of a good brownie. There is something about the rich, dense chocolate fudge texture that I dream about after a good meal. It's a craving that follows me around as I mix up a batch of waffles for breakfast or it tucks me into bed with a bowl of ice cream at night. Every few months the brownie bug bites and I find myself in the kitchen with batter up to my elbows trying to create the next great brownie.

Sometimes I succeed and the results are beautiful.

Vegan Brownies

Sometimes I don't succeed. I often keep those moments to myself, a private moment to mourn as I take a fork after the brownies that didn't live up to my expectations. Earlier this month, I had lofty goals of making a delicious vegan brownie to share with you. Brownies often use a substantial amount of butter for flavor and eggs to set the brownies into the classic texture we know and love. There would be a challenge, but after a little research into vegan substitutions and comparing vegan recipes side-by-side, I was certain I would succeed.

After an hour of interrogating the internet for information, I set off to make what I was certain to be the next great vegan brownie.

Vegan Brownies

Hot from the oven, the smell filled the house with a fantastic aroma. I dug in with a fork before allowing the brownies to cool to a palatable temperature. The first bite made me crinkle my nose in disgust. After all of my hard work, it seems I had managed to create the world's worst brownie. It was thick, cake-like, and stuck to the roof of my mouth like paste. I gave up on vegan brownies, believing them impossible to create.

Even so, my craving for a good brownie didn't falter. A few weeks later I found myself back at the kitchen counter with a wild idea. Remembering these chocolate avocado cupcakes, I channeled the idea, using ripe avocados with a few other healthy ingredients (and tossing in a few chocolate chunks for good measure). When I pulled these out of the oven, my avocado-hating, box-mix-brownie-loving sister and I managed to finish off half a pan of the brownies before they could even cool off.

Perhaps the moral of the story is that sometimes you need to throw research out the window and trust your own baker's intuition instead. Or, maybe it's that vegan brownies can actually be delicious and you should give them a try to taste them for yourself. I think I like the second one better.

Vegan Brownies

These vegan brownies are rich and dense like chocolate fudge. A surprising mix of good-for-you ingredients, including whole wheat flour, olive oil, and avocados, come together to create a relatively healthy brownie that makes you believe dreams can and do come true. Don't be wary of the avocado; it may be an unusual addition, but the flavor is completely masked by the cocoa and chocolate chunks.

Please do not over-bake these brownies or they will end with a texture similar to cake. In fact, I urge you to under-bake the brownies just so the middle sets and the batter is no longer runny. There is nothing in these brownies you couldn't eat raw (in fact, much of the batter disappeared before the pan made it to the oven) so don't be frightened to take the brownies out of the oven before a toothpick inserted into the center comes out completely clean.

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