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Pictured Recipe:Vegan Sushi with Tomato “Tuna”
To be clear, I’m very far from being a vegan in my normal day-to-day life. As the Test Kitchen Manager at EatingWell, I develop and taste an average of 40 recipes per week, most of which arenotvegan. At home, I put a hefty splash of half-and-half in my coffee every morning, assemble a small cheese plate instead of dessert almost every night, and my freezer is stocked with a quarter of a cow, half a pig, and venison and rabbits my husband hunted himself.
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During my vegan month, I kept a journal of what I ate and how I felt, all with the intention of sharing my experience with you. Here were my findings.
What I Ate
Without animal products in my diet, I ate more carbs, veggies and fat. All these foods are important but, when cooking, there’s a texture and flavor that only comes from seafood and meat products that I couldn’t fully re-create. I bought nutritional yeast to substitute for Parmesan cheese, vegan Worcestershire to make protein more “meaty” and coconut yogurt to add creaminess without cream. I still found myself missing the foods I used to eat regularly, even with all my kitchen creativity. Here’s how my days of eating looked as a vegan.
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Breakfast:
This meal was fairly consistent and I varied between some options such asEverything Bagel Avocado ToastandPeanut Butter & Jelly English Muffin. When I’m not eating vegan, I often make very similar breakfast choices (but sub tofu for eggs), so I found breakfast didn’t feel drastically different from my normal routine.
The hardest challenge at breakfast was finding a good substitute for half-and-half. I tried 20 plant-based creamers made from all the things you can “milk”-soy, almonds, coconut, hazelnut and oats. My favorite depended on the day and, in particular, if I wanted my coffee to be flavored or not. I found the soy and oat creamers to be most satisfying (my fave picks were Elmhurst Barista oat milk and Silk soy creamer).
Lunch:
Dinner:
Dinner, usually my favorite meal of the day, became both an exciting time and the biggest challenge. For a few days, my husband and stepson at leasttriedthe meals I created-Burmese Noodle Salad with Tofu, Indian Coconut Butter Cauliflower and Lemongrass-Coconut Ramen-but quickly the lack of meat became a point of contention. Despite my best efforts to never become a person who makes two meals, I became a person who makes two meals to placate the omnivores in my family.
Dessert:
Pictured Recipe:Vegan Cauliflower Fettuccine Alfredo with Kale
How I Felt
These 30 days were definitely challenging for me. As with everything, there were pros and cons to my month of vegan eating. Here’s a deeper dive into how I felt, including my energy levels, cholesterol, poops (yes, we’re going there) and how being a vegan impacted my social life.
Energy levels
I’m not going to lie: the first few days I felt lethargic and weak. I’m a pretty active person-I run, spin and CrossFit-and I could feel the drastic shift in performance from the lack of animal protein. I bumped up theplant-based proteinin my diet-beans, lentils, nuts and tofu-and within a week, my body adapted and I could run just as far and lift the same amount of weight with ease.
Meat cravings
One night, the meat cravings were pretty intense. As I made dinner for the boys (chicken and bacon fried rice), I actually salivated over the raw bacon. I knew my body was getting used to not having animal protein, but this was the first time I had experienced a true craving. (Cravings also tend to intensify when you aren’t allowing yourself to eat certain foods-in this case bacon).
Socially isolated
The hardest part of going vegan was having to tell people you’re a vegan. I didn’t realize how much my dietary preference would become a constant topic of conversation. There were people who didn’t know what eating vegan meant and simply wanted to be educated, but then there were also many others who cocked their heads and looked at me with disdain. Why would you deprive yourself of meat and cheese produced sustainably? What can you actually eat? Have you lost any weight? I answered these questionsover and over and over again.
I didn’t want people to have to accommodate my diet so, when going out, I followed friends to their restaurants of choice. I found myself at a Southern-inspired restaurant known for its smoked meat and beer. There was nothing on the menu I could order without having to ask for several substitutions. I picked a smoked portobello sandwich, hold the Cheddar and aioli. Turns out the bun also contained dairy. When my sandwich came out, it was a mushroom topped with onions wedged between iceberg lettuce with a side of balsamic vinaigrette. The rest of the table feasted on wings, fried chicken sandwiches, brisket, mac and cheese, and duck fat fries.I was hungry.Something similar happened in Washington, D.C., on a family vacation-despite our best efforts to call the restaurant ahead of time and ask about vegan options.
The constant limitations on what I could and couldn’t eat, particularly with nonvegan friends and family, and while eating out, became exhausting. Checking every label, constantly asking if there were items that were on my “no go” list … it was like having another job on top of the one I already have.
Increased creativity
On the other hand, my creativity got a big push, as I was motivated to make vegan recipes that everyone would want to eat. In addition to the eight recipes I developed for “Veganize It,” includingVegan Sushi,Vegan CheesecakeandVegan Scallops, I used techniques from my culinary-school days to infuse umami into every bite. Grocery shopping took me to new aisles, and I reveled in going outside of my cooking comfort zone.
More regular?
Another boon to reducing my intake of animal protein was increasing my veggie and fiber consumption. I’m already a big vegetable eater, but incorporating more whole grains, lentils and beans had impressive benefits when it came to number twos. I got this feedback (repeatedly) from my husband too. All that fiber does more than just help you stay regular, though. Fiber helps with weight management and reduces risk of diabetes and heart disease (learn more about theamazing health benefits of fiber).
Improved cholesterol
I had blood work completed before and after the 30 days to see if there would be any change with removing animal protein from my diet. I’m lucky that my cholesterol is pretty good overall and, really, that’s in large part due to genetics.
After just 30 days of not eating meat or dairy products, my LDL dropped from 48 mg/dL to 32 mg/dL. That’s a 16-point drop or, even more impressive,a 33 percent decrease in my bad cholesterol!I was completely wowed. Here was evidence that a plant-based diet can potentially make a huge dent in LDL, whether you start with high or low cholesterol.
What You Need to Know About Your Cholesterol Levels
My Takeaways
While overall I’ve pretty much gone back to eating the same way I did before the vegan challenge, I do find myself creating more meals around plant-based proteins, such as beans, lentils and tofu, instead of around animal protein. I love how satisfying and filling they are in addition to their lower carbon footprint, and um, other health benefits (?).
The vegan diet isn’t for everyone. However, if you are looking to eat more sustainably, have a history of high cholesterol and/or are looking for a diet challenge, eating vegan, even for just a short time, may be a good choice for you. You can also just adopt more plant-based meals without being fully vegan to reap some of the benefits. With a passion and motivation to go vegan, as well as some planning, a vegan diet can be delicious and healthy. Just plan on talking about being a vegan all the time.
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