So it has been 30 days of eating vegan… No animal products, no alcohol (alcohol is vegan, but I threw this in), and mostly no processed food.
Here’s a little Q and A.
How did you feel for the past 30 days?
I felt really good. However, I am healthy and I generally feel good. I felt similarly eating meat, eating gluten-free, and eating sugar-free. On the other hand, I really enjoyed a lot of the foods I was eating. I found myself being more creative with meals, and tried a couple of new ingredients. Also, I find that this is the easiest way for me to eat healthy.
Did you cheat?
Not intentionally. I’m sure there were traces of milk and/or butter in some restaurant foods. But as I said previously, there is only so much you can do. I asked wait staff at every restaurant about ingredients, and beyond that it’s definitely outside of my control.
Was it difficult?
In all honesty, this trial was a lot easier than I anticipated. My initial plan was to go vegetarian for a month, and then vegan, so I could slowly ease myself into it. However, I did not have trouble sticking to a vegan diet at all. I do want to mention though that my diet was probably already more varied that most people’s before the beginning of the trial. For example, I always had almond milk in the kitchen in addition to cow’s milk. I also had quinoa, almond butter, kale and other things potentially deemed strange by individuals eating SAD (Standard American Diet).
Could you eat out?
I ate out a number of times. This included both vegan restaurants, regular restaurants, chains, food courts and family dinners. Again, modifying was not that difficult. I found that sometimes there would only be one or two things on the menu that I could have, but there would always be something.
Did you crave meat?
I did go from eating animal protein every day to full on vegan. However, I am not a type of person who actually craves meat. The only times when I really wanted meat in the past month was when I was cooking it while really hungry. If I didn’t have to cook it, I think it would have been even easier.
Did you miss alcohol?
A couple of times I missed my beer (e.g. rock concert, going out with friends, etc.). However, what I did not miss is the foggy feeling in the morning (even though I rarely drink more than one or two drinks).
Are you going to continue avoiding alcohol?
No. I do not drink enough for it to be a concern, and an occasional beer never hurt anybody. 
Now what?
I’m actually going to continue eating vegan for the next little while. For all practical purposes, I am extending the trial by another 30 days. I feel good, I enjoy the food, and I want to give this a good run. Note that at this point I am not considering going vegan permanently or even long-term. For example, I have a couple of trips coming up this summer, and I do not think that eating vegan would be realistic there. I also do not think that avoiding animal products is necessary for a healthy diet. On the other hand, I do think it’s possible to avoid animal products completely AND have a healthy diet. You do need to be smart about what you eat. You do need to think about what you put in your mouth. Some people consider it too much hassle. I say that you should think before eat regardless of whether you are eating vegan or not.
Curiosity was the biggest reason I have decided to do this, and it definitely paid off. Because it is so easy to fill up with meat and starches (rice, pasta, potatoes), I find that we get lazy, and just eat that. So when people would react in horror “do you JUST eat vegetables"?”, I’d smile, because my diet became MORE diverse and interesting, not less, as a result of this trial.
I will be announcing the next 30-day trial I will be doing shortly. Hint – It will be food related.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some vegan food to report on from today:
Just a typical lazy vegan morning:
Hydration after hot yoga – this is my favorite flavour yet!
So I don’t know if you knew, the whole freaking Toronto is out of coconut water. Apparently, it has been featured on Oprah recently, and it FLEW off the shelves. At one of the stores, they told me to check back in July… Check out the video on the coconut craze and Nutrition Diva’s review here.
Of course, as usual, the benefits and magical properties have been blown out of proportion as usual… This is like goji berries, all over again. And acai before that.
Bottom line? If you are exercising for an hour or less, plain water is all you need. But if you exercise intensely for over an hour, then coconut water is a better choice than neon-colored sports drinks.
I decided to incorporate fried tofu I bought into dinner. I have an unexplained fear of cooking tofu, so this lets me ease into it slowly.
Just sauté fried tofu + mushrooms + zucchini with some soy sauce and water:
Whole wheat couscous with basil, black olives and garlic:
Full presentation:
Something crunchy with dinner. This is the proof of the fact that celebrity advertising works. Jillian Michaels would not stop talking about these chips, and of course, when I saw them on the shelf, I was sold. So easily convinced. Like a child. With mango and lime salsa.
I found the actual chips too spicy. I will want to try the plainer varieties next. However, the salsa was out of this world.
And the circle of life… What started with a pint, must end with a pint. Beer? Rickard’s Red, of course.
Vlad toasting my successful 30-day trial!
Late night snack:
