The Reluctant Vegan, moving along

Today was the easiest yet, simplicity-wise. 

• For breakfast, I tried chestnut butter on toast.  It didn't move me.  This is partly because a) I used rye bread.  Not sure what I was thinking, but it was leftover and I thought it would be ok.  It wasn't.  b) I prefer savory breakfasts to sweet.  How can I make for a savory breakfast that I can take with me to work?
• I had another of my husband's great meals, which was a mystery until I opened the container. It was rice, tuna (I know, not strictly vegan), olives, roasted peppers, herbs and dressing.  It was awesome.  Again, so fulfilling, and reminding me that with a little effort, this is no problem.
• I had to get a few groceries and stopped at a more upscale store than my usual.  They have lots of vegan treats, so I scored myself a very good brownie.  It was delicious, but tasted like...a vegan brownie.  It really did taste like something was missing.  But honestly, after a few bites, I didn't really notice.  And it was very filling, and I didn't even finish it.  I gave the rest to my son and he didn't seem to notice any difference, either. Anyway this brings up an interesting point, that I'm sure most people already know:  going vegan doesn't at ALL equate to losing weight.  The reason Bittman did it half-way was for overall healthy eating, and that's my reasoning too.  Paying more attention to what's in my food is the goal here.  Losing weight will be nice, and probably will come along for the ride.  But hey, giant bowls of spaghetti with olive oil or sauce is vegan.  Vegan brownies are vegan.  Peanut butter is vegan.  You could gain a lot of weight on this diet.  Variety is the key here.
• For dinner we had pancakes and sausage.  The pancakes themselves were vegan, and the sausages were fresh and tasted better than ever.  I rushed out to a meeting, and here's the bad part: when I came home around 9, I stuffed down another sausage, cold from the fridge.  I knew I wouldn't be able to eat the leftovers tomorrow like I used to, and I just wanted to savor the taste of sausage a little more.  Who knew I was that attached to meat?

The Reluctant Vegan, day 4

This day was a tricky one: I'm having a friend over for lunch.  I am fine with making exceptions for going out to lunch, but this friend comes weekly, and we eat leftovers from the night before for lunch.  I love planning meals for the night before her visit that will create yummy leftovers - it's a fun challenge.  And I don't want to be a poor hostess and eat something different than my guest.  So I wanted to plan a meal for last night's dinner that would make for vegan leftovers today.  Thus, the pumpkin pancakes.  Instead of the sausage I bought vegan sausages at the fancy grocery store yesterday.

Lunch was good except that the soy sausages were...in a word...gross.  So gross that my friend and I dumped them into the compost bin with relish.  We agreed that if we truly couldn't eat any meat, and hadn't for a while, maybe they'd be good, but since we're still basically meat-eaters, there was no comparison.  Maybe there isn't supposed to be.  Either way, pass.

I also make cookies most of the time when my friend is here, so I attempted vegan cookies.  They were actually very good except that the carob tasted more unlike chocolate than ever before.  Maybe the eggs and butter mask its tepid flavor when I use it elsewhere.  Note to self: hunt for dairy-free chocolate.  Like shangri-la, I believe it exists but eludes me.

This brings up all kinds of issues of being a good host or friend by day, while sticking to a new regime.  Food is such a social, central part of our lives.  How do you walk this line?

The Reluctant Vegan, Day 2

New day, same vegan.  Today I don't work.  This is easier in that I have my whole kitchen at my disposal, but harder in that I have kids to cook for.  They are not sharing my vegan experiment, and their leftovers constantly call my name.  I successfully navigate away from the frozen buttered waffles and mac and cheese, and search for other fare.

What I learned today:

• Oatmeal for breakfast was tasty, but still didn't sustain me long.  Neither did my chunky salad at 10 a.m.  The only thing that held me over today was - surprise! - my husband's white beans.  He prepared them with garlic, tarragon, and a warm vinaigrette with a sweet vinegar, and they were awesome.  THIS is the right kind of eating.  It doesn't feel deprived in the least, and was completely satisfying.
• It is still unwise to exercise on a full stomach, even if that stomach is full of vegan food.
• I find myself successfully resisting cheese and cold cuts as snacks.  I turn instead to nuts and toast with peanut butter.
• Always the student, I want to get more creative.  I order a few vegan cookbooks from the library.  I want to see what we can do without using soy-based meat mimics.  I think I can feel satisfied without the taste or texture of meat.  The possibilities are already almost endless.
• For dinner we have pizza.  My homemade sauce is meat-based only in that the meatballs that cook in it give it flavor.  I find myself wondering whether I can make a good sauce without the meat.  Mushrooms are probably my best bet.  I'll look into it.

Today was better than yesterday.  Looking forward to the challenge ahead, which isn't that much of a challenge, because I am an equal opportunity eater.

The Reluctant Vegan, Day 1

The night before my Vegan-until-6 experiment... I feel unsettled.  I can't figure out what to pack for lunch the next day.  Usually I take leftovers, which are decidedly not vegan (and won't be, either, if I continue to stop the vegan by 6).  My husband steps in, and starts whipping up concoctions.  In no time at all he has white beans in the slow cooker, and tupperware containers lined up.
I'm nervous about the 'rules.'  Do vegans eat fish, and can I eat fish even if vegans don't?  Am I allowed to lick the cheese off my fingers when I serve burritos to my kids for lunch?  I pack up a littany of random foods (because the beans aren't done yet) and sleep on it.

For day 1, my answers become clear. Yes, I am going to allow myself some fish, at least this week (even though I've learned that strictly speaking, vegans don't).  And no, I am not going to lick the cheese off my fingers.  Here is what I learned my first day of vegan-until-six:

• Soy milk is a fine replacement for cow milk, except that it does break down in my coffee.  This tastes the same but is unpleasant to look at.  If I wanted tofu in my coffee I would have chunked it in there myself.  Solution: change coffees, shake the milk really hard, or use a covered travel mug so I don't have to look at it.  Still tastes great.
• Avocados are so awesome as to be their own reward.  Score one for the vegans.
• Most of what I ate today was snacks, and not full meals.  I never really felt satisfied.  I need to come up with meals that are sustaining, and not piecemeal fruits and veg.  There is more out there.  For breakfast, I will consider oatmeal and toast with peanut butter.
• Bananas and walnuts go great together as a snack.
• No matter how many cucumber and carrot sticks I pack, I will eat none of them. I might as well be on the "starve until dinner" diet if I do that. I do enjoy a good celery stick with pb. Is this going to become the pb diet?
• It so happens that we were going for burgers tonight, so the change in daily diet didn't seem so big when I knew I could eat something meaty and special later.  Mind you, we don't eat a huge amount of meat to begin with; beef is a treat.  This is a metaphor, I think, for the whole idea.  It's a paradigm shift: if I think of meat as a sometimes-thing, it opens up new ideas for other meals.  But, by the time I got to that burger, I was ravenous.  This isn't how it should be.  It's going to take a while to strike this balance. 
• I'm really looking forward to those beans.  What's in store for tomorrow?

The Relcuctant Vegan

For a long time, I've been fascinated by Mark Bittman's idea of being Vegan until 6 pm.  It was a matter of health, but as a food writer and meat-enjoyer, Bittman didn't want to cut out meat altogether.  This guideline seems to work well for him, and I think it would work for me too.  I don't have Bittman's health profile; but I'm interested in lowering my blood pressure, dropping some pounds, and eating a healthy and sustainable diet.  I also like being creative with food. So it's time.

Here's what hasn't worked for me:

• Saying, "I'm trying to cut back on meat."  For me, the guideline has to be specific and rigid, like the 6 pm cut-off.  It's easy to do every day, instead of trying to define daily what 'less meat' actually means.
• Dieting by deprivation.  I, like many of  my generation, have tried more soup diets than I can name.  I've tried the milk-and-bananas, the cabbage, the slim-fast.  They work, for a time, but they're not fun.  I already do a lot of things that aren't fun.  So food deprivation is out.
• Giving up any food completely (unless I don't like it).  If I want to eat something, I'm going to eat it.  The question here, is when.  Can I wait until 6 pm to eat meat/dairy/eggs?  Let's find out!