POP goes the vegan

My 'most visited pages' on Chrome this week have been Peta, Oprah, and Pinterest. Three pages that somehow all have something in common- FOOD.

In the course of deciding to be vegan, I have done so much research on so many pages. Typically, the pages I found were blogs on opinions or pages, if I scrolled too far down, had terrifying images of poor animals being... well, you can figure that one out. The folks at the frontline of animal-rights activists, PETA, kept surfacing no matter what I plugged into my search bar. On their website, I found a few great reference to things like meal planning, shopping lists, and vegan options at common restaurants. As someone who loves the grocery store and browsing the aisles, transitioning to the vegan lifestyle will be difficult because nearly everything has eggs, butter, or milk. So, having the shopping guide from their references will be helpful.

Fad diets are always popular- the second a talk show host mentions them, or a famous movie star goes public with their new eating habits, all the rest of the world jumps on the temporary bandwagon (and seems to fall off as soon as someone puts cookies in the office break room.) One blog that kept surfacing came from none other than Oprah Winfrey. With a caption reading "The Challenge is On!" I found myself actually interested in what she (or her editor) had to say. Although their challenge was only a week, their information was really helpful. One aspect that took me by surprise with their page was the 'Vegan IQ.' It was a quick test asking questions like "the average American consumes how many pounds of meat per year?" and "How many more years do non-meat eaters live compared to the average meat eater?" (200lbs, and 8-10 years, FYI)
But, the question that dropped my heart into my stomach was "How many animals do Americans eat in a year?" 10 billion. Not 1 million, not 100 million. 10 BILLION. Let's put this into a different perspective- there are only 7 billion people of Earth. I... have no words. Seriously, so heart breaking.


On a lighter note, if you're anywhere from 15 to... I don't know how old, you probably go on Pinterest. It's the source for anything and everything. So, I've added a new board to my page dedicated solely to vegan food. It's been a lot of fun to look at delicious foods and get online support from others who support this lifestyle. Check out my board HERE :) 

I can already tell I'm going to miss things like Panera Mac and Cheese, Pizza, and ice cream, but I still am really excited to make the transition- the countdown continues! 

5 days until launch.

With five days until I'm dairy-free, meat-free, and animal-product free, I made some weak (but delicious) decisions today...

After waking up at 0300 to train AFROTC cadets, when 0800 rolled around, I was ravenous. A couple of us went to McDonald's... It's all downhill from here. My hunger spoke louder than my sensibility, and I purchased a McGriddle. I modified it a bit, however. I had them hold the meat, cheese, and asked only for egg whites. I was hardly anticipating how sweet the pancake-bun-biscuit- thing was going to be; I couldn't even eat half of it before I had to get a second refill on my luke-warm, bitter drip coffee. Needless to say, it'll be another 10 years before I go back there.

When evening rolled around, an IKEA trip seemed necessary, so my roommate, her finace, and I ventured down to the warehouse wonderland. After nearly two hours of jumping, sitting, and sprawling on nearly every bed, couch, and chair in that store, our need for a drink was very apparent. Once we got through the various house displays and lengthy lines, the bistro was so conveniently placed at the exit, plastered with signs of Froyo cones and bowls of Swedish meatballs. Already on a bad role from this morning, I figured 'eh, what the heck!' and went for the $1 cone of delicousness. After 10 minutes, I was already regretting it. It's sweet vanilla taste was quickly turned sour once it hit my stomach- I'll spare you the rest of the details. You're welcome.

So, what happens next? We want dinner. Seattle is full of amazing restaurants, and there are always new places to explore. A few times a week, driving back and forth to UW, I pass a restaurant called RoRo BBQ. With no deliberation, dinner was decided. Although I don't eat much meat, I am a sucker for a good pulled pork sandwich, and that's just what I had. Well, kind-of. I had a 'pulled pork sundae.' Bottom layer was the meat, followed by succulent baked beans, topped with a decadent layer of homemade Mac and Cheese. Ho-ly-OMG. It was so good. Since my stomach was already twisting from the froyo, I figured I dive into one of my other weaknesses, which is Mac and Cheese. As of a few hours later, I'm feeling fine. Some dairy digests differently, but it's very unpredictable.

Anywho, as the countdown continues, I will limit days like this where I consume WAY too much of what I shouldn't. I don't want to think of the journey in terms of what I can't have, but in terms of the new things I'm excited to try. 

I'm still convinced it'll be a challenging but very rewarding experience :)  

buh-bye stomach pains, hello vegan goodies!

Two things that I absolutely love that are so NOT vegan- butter and sour cream. Why those two, I don't know. But since my freshman year of college, when I learned I was lactose-intolerant, they were two things I had to mentally prepare to eat because I knew I would be writhing in pain in a few hours because of it. This also confuses me- why do we put ourselves through pain simply for taste? It shouldn't be that way, and a huge part of this journey is finding those delicious things that I can enjoy both the taste and the fact that I won't be in pain after eating them.

I think butter is going to be the devil in this whole process. I mean, think about it. Butter is in everything- cookies, bread, pasta (and pasta sauces), and SO much more that we just don't really think about. I'll have to be on my toes when I'm eating out or at social events. It'll be a bit easier at home because of wonderful inventions like Earth Balance. And, I found a dairy-free sour cream. Oh, what a gem! And the greatest part, it tastes DELICIOUS!

YAY!

The start of something new...

In more ways than one, this is the start of something new. 

For one, I'm trying this 'blogging' thing. I figure I'm on my computer and social media enough that I'll hold all of my Facebook updates and write more detailed posts here.

Second, I'm going vegan. Yep- no meat, no milk, no cheese, ice cream, honey, butter, or yogurt. The struggle bus is waitin' for me...

So, you might be wondering why I'm doing this. Well, there's a simple and a complex answer. Simple, I just want to try it. I want a challenge. The more complex reason comes with a bit of a sad-sap complaint about my single lady  life. 

February, the month of love, is full of chocolate candies, red roses, and significant others. So, what about us folk who are living the single life? This is our month to watch stupid chick flicks, eat pizza, and cry while listening to love songs while driving down the highway... Or, did I just make a fool of myself? So, instead of spending my time and effort on the 'love' I don't have, I've decided to love the animals who are abused every day for our plates, and stop consuming all animal products.

Over the last few years, I've done a lot of research about humans and nutrition- quite simply, our bodies are not meant to digest animal products. I know you're thinking I'm crazy, but I love tofu and veggies. I don't eat much meat anyway, and my body doesn't digest dairy, so I figure I'm off to a good start. I know this is for the best, and after 28 days of clean eating, my body will feel so much better than it does now.

I'm starting my blog a week early to calm fears and frantic phone calls about my decision- I want you all to know I am doing my research so I make the healthiest decisions, and I go about this the proper way. And I also want to talk with people throughout this journey, and if you want to join me, please do! 

The journey begins with a step, not a sprint, and I'm ready to lace up and get the show on the road. Yay! :)