Well, it was only a matter of time before I figured out what my body was hooked on.
And that would be sweets.
Oh, I'm craving sweets right now. Chocolate, soft drinks, Pop Tarts... all those processed sugars. I wasn't expecting this. I mean, it's only been two days now, and yet I can sense my urge to down a Coke or cram a bag of chocolate chips down my throat. It hasn't gotten to the point where I'm shaking uncontrollably like a smoker going through withdrawal, but I can feel it missing from my routine. I wonder if they have Sugar Patches for people in my situation.
This morning I tried a different cereal with my liquid soy. It was Organic Hemp Plus Granola, brought to me courtesy of the fine folks at Nature's Path. Talk about tasty stuff, this hemp. I could eat it all day. I'm still wondering what the "Plus" part of this cereal is all about... as if "Hemp" wasn't enough to get you to buy this product. If you look at the back of the box, though, it states in bold letters that "Hemp is not marijuana." Oh, great. Now you tell me. I was expecting to have the happiest breakfast of my life here. Now I'm just stuck reading your boring wordy box, telling me multiple times that I won't get high eating this stuff. It's like reading a medical journal on the back of the box.
Which brings me to this simple observation about health products in general: If it has a lot of unpronounceable words printed on the package, it must be healthy. The more words, the healthier. Check out Dr. Bronner's products if you ever get the chance, and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
After spending some time online today trying to figure out what vegans actually eat, I made several runs to grocery stores to stock up on supplies. For lunch, I made my very own hummus by blending together garbanzo beans, sesame seeds, garlic, olive oil, red pepper, paprika, and lemon juice from a lemon I picked fresh outside my house (doesn't get any more organic than that). We had a taste test today, comparing Trader Joe's brand hummus to my hummus. Studies showed that 3 out of 3 people preferred my hummus for its "zinginess." Not bad for a guy who didn't even know what hummus was prior to today.
For dinner, I had a salad along with an old vegan staple: beans and rice. I couldn't help but remember that PSA called Beans and Rice from the early 80s that I watched on TV every Saturday morning as a kid. Shoot... I probably saw that cartoon over 200 times. The jingle has been brainwashed permanently into my head. And strangely enough, this is the first time outside of New Orleans that I've actually eaten beans and rice. Who knew that Saturday morning television was trying to turn kids vegan?
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
The Vegan Diaries: Day 1
I woke up with a sense of dread today, knowing what I was about to face for the next 31 days.
No milk.
I always have milk in the morning with my cereal. It's a lifetime tradition for me. Always cereal, and always with milk. Well, today was the reality check on whether or not I was serious about really doing this vegan thing. So unwillingly, I got out my box of high fiber Trader Joe's Organic O's, poured it into a bowl, and then doused it with Trader Joe's Organic Vanilla Soy Milk.
Soy milk. I can't believe I'm drinking soy milk. And how do you milk soy anyway? It just doesn't seem right. A few weeks ago, I finally switched over to organic milk, which was a struggle in itself due to the $6 price tag for just a gallon of the stuff. I was pretty proud of myself for finally switching, and I figured I'd never have to worry about the milk dilemma again.
How wrong I was. Now, staring at me from my bowl of cereal was this "faux" milk that I had to drink. On top of that, it came out of one of those Tetrapak cartons. I had to suffer all summer in Europe drinking warm milk out of a box. I didn't like it one bit. Ugh. Not milk in a box AGAIN. So, with reservations, I ate my cereal and soy milk... and to be honest, it really wasn't that bad. I think the vanilla flavor helps disguise the gag taste of regular soy milk. I envisioned soy milk as tasting like sour wash rags, so I was pleasantly surprised with the results this morning. Looks like I may make it through breakfast after all this month.
Since today was New Year's, most of the natural food stores in town were closed, so I was stuck eating whatever I could find around the house. I typically have a sandwich for lunch, but since that involves bread which uses eggs and milk, I was screwed. I couldn't eat my yogurt, either, which I always have for lunch. Dang. No sandwich. No yogurt. This wasn't looking good at all. And I was so hungry.
I finally found a banana and an orange and devoured them on the spot. I also scrounged around in the freezer and found two Gardenburger Meatless Breakfast Sausage patties. They're made from that TVP stuff... Texturized Vegetable Protein is what they call it. I envisioned a nice tasty Jimmy Dean sausage patty when I first bit into one of these hockey pucks, but it came out tasting more like chewing on that shredded rubber stuff you find below your feet at children's playgrounds. If you look on the Gardenburger box, it's happily emblazoned with the words "Eat Positive," "Heart Positive," and "Sizzlin' Soy"! But I have to say, I couldn't find anything remotely "sizzlin'" about this product, and my heart's positive that these things suck.
After such a disastrous lunch, I was sweating what I would do for dinner. But luckily, I realized that one of my food staples--spaghetti and tomato sauce--was in the clear vegan-wise. Oh, thank you Lord! I consumed my spaghetti meal with some broccoli covered in a vegan butter substitute. This "Natural Buttery Spread" by Earth Balance is pretty tasty stuff. I can't believe it's not butter! I also can't believe everything else it's not: "Non-Hydrogentated," "Non-GMO," "Trans Fat Free," "Lactose Free," "Gluten Free." With all the text they plaster over the tub, it's quite frankly the ugliest package I've ever seen. The only picture on it is Leonardo da Vinci's naked man doing jumping jacks, and that's the last thing I want to see when I buy food at the store. Where are those happy cow pictures when I need them?
No milk.
I always have milk in the morning with my cereal. It's a lifetime tradition for me. Always cereal, and always with milk. Well, today was the reality check on whether or not I was serious about really doing this vegan thing. So unwillingly, I got out my box of high fiber Trader Joe's Organic O's, poured it into a bowl, and then doused it with Trader Joe's Organic Vanilla Soy Milk.
Soy milk. I can't believe I'm drinking soy milk. And how do you milk soy anyway? It just doesn't seem right. A few weeks ago, I finally switched over to organic milk, which was a struggle in itself due to the $6 price tag for just a gallon of the stuff. I was pretty proud of myself for finally switching, and I figured I'd never have to worry about the milk dilemma again.
How wrong I was. Now, staring at me from my bowl of cereal was this "faux" milk that I had to drink. On top of that, it came out of one of those Tetrapak cartons. I had to suffer all summer in Europe drinking warm milk out of a box. I didn't like it one bit. Ugh. Not milk in a box AGAIN. So, with reservations, I ate my cereal and soy milk... and to be honest, it really wasn't that bad. I think the vanilla flavor helps disguise the gag taste of regular soy milk. I envisioned soy milk as tasting like sour wash rags, so I was pleasantly surprised with the results this morning. Looks like I may make it through breakfast after all this month.
Since today was New Year's, most of the natural food stores in town were closed, so I was stuck eating whatever I could find around the house. I typically have a sandwich for lunch, but since that involves bread which uses eggs and milk, I was screwed. I couldn't eat my yogurt, either, which I always have for lunch. Dang. No sandwich. No yogurt. This wasn't looking good at all. And I was so hungry.
I finally found a banana and an orange and devoured them on the spot. I also scrounged around in the freezer and found two Gardenburger Meatless Breakfast Sausage patties. They're made from that TVP stuff... Texturized Vegetable Protein is what they call it. I envisioned a nice tasty Jimmy Dean sausage patty when I first bit into one of these hockey pucks, but it came out tasting more like chewing on that shredded rubber stuff you find below your feet at children's playgrounds. If you look on the Gardenburger box, it's happily emblazoned with the words "Eat Positive," "Heart Positive," and "Sizzlin' Soy"! But I have to say, I couldn't find anything remotely "sizzlin'" about this product, and my heart's positive that these things suck.
After such a disastrous lunch, I was sweating what I would do for dinner. But luckily, I realized that one of my food staples--spaghetti and tomato sauce--was in the clear vegan-wise. Oh, thank you Lord! I consumed my spaghetti meal with some broccoli covered in a vegan butter substitute. This "Natural Buttery Spread" by Earth Balance is pretty tasty stuff. I can't believe it's not butter! I also can't believe everything else it's not: "Non-Hydrogentated," "Non-GMO," "Trans Fat Free," "Lactose Free," "Gluten Free." With all the text they plaster over the tub, it's quite frankly the ugliest package I've ever seen. The only picture on it is Leonardo da Vinci's naked man doing jumping jacks, and that's the last thing I want to see when I buy food at the store. Where are those happy cow pictures when I need them?
Monday, December 31, 2007
The Experiment Begins
After my long hiatus away from the blog, I'm back again to type in a final entry for the year 2007. Many of my readers out there (all 4 of you) are probably wondering what happened to me recently. Did I get eaten by an escaped San Francisco Zoo tiger? Did I fall off my bike into the mouth of a volcano? Did I run away to a hippie commune and change my name to Moonbeam? All good theories, I must say. However, the real reason for my absence has been that I've been rethinking how I write this blog.
After posting about 25 entries, I've realized that I'm not providing much value to the entire blogosphere. Most of what I've said is not earth-shattering or new... it's been done before. During my month-long absence, I've continued to adopt better, greener practices with my life. But how exciting is it really to hear me talk about switching over to organic milk? Or buying non-toxic deodorant? Or reading another depressing environmental book? Not exactly the kinds of topics that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Blogs should serve one of two purposes: 1) to provide information, or 2) to entertain. Although my blog somewhat honored those two principles, it wasn't enough to grow an audience. There was no incentive for new readers to keep returning to this blog, because it provided no new information, and it only mildly entertained. Even though my blog might have been better than most of the garbage you find out there in the blogosphere, I don't want to add to the growing pile of useless content on the web.
So, after some thought, I've decided to try something different out with this blog. Instead of lightly touching upon random topics in the overwhelming world of environmentalism, I decided to devote the next month to one topic only and see what happens. I've always been curious about veganism, and know absolutely nothing about it, so for January, I'm making it a challenge for myself to go completely vegan. I really don't know what to expect from this. Everyone I've talked to says I'm crazy to even think this, but I beg to differ. Shoot... if Les Stroud from "Survivorman" can last for days without eating anything, I should be fine on fruits, vegetables, grains and beans for the next month. It's not like you're eating absolutely nothing with veganism. You just have to be more creative with what you CAN eat, and really think about WHAT you're eating.
Here's to a new year filled with healthier living. I hope you enjoy reading this blog over the next month. It should be rather interesting. I'm looking forward to February 1st when I can eat a hamburger again.
Brian
After posting about 25 entries, I've realized that I'm not providing much value to the entire blogosphere. Most of what I've said is not earth-shattering or new... it's been done before. During my month-long absence, I've continued to adopt better, greener practices with my life. But how exciting is it really to hear me talk about switching over to organic milk? Or buying non-toxic deodorant? Or reading another depressing environmental book? Not exactly the kinds of topics that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Blogs should serve one of two purposes: 1) to provide information, or 2) to entertain. Although my blog somewhat honored those two principles, it wasn't enough to grow an audience. There was no incentive for new readers to keep returning to this blog, because it provided no new information, and it only mildly entertained. Even though my blog might have been better than most of the garbage you find out there in the blogosphere, I don't want to add to the growing pile of useless content on the web.
So, after some thought, I've decided to try something different out with this blog. Instead of lightly touching upon random topics in the overwhelming world of environmentalism, I decided to devote the next month to one topic only and see what happens. I've always been curious about veganism, and know absolutely nothing about it, so for January, I'm making it a challenge for myself to go completely vegan. I really don't know what to expect from this. Everyone I've talked to says I'm crazy to even think this, but I beg to differ. Shoot... if Les Stroud from "Survivorman" can last for days without eating anything, I should be fine on fruits, vegetables, grains and beans for the next month. It's not like you're eating absolutely nothing with veganism. You just have to be more creative with what you CAN eat, and really think about WHAT you're eating.
Here's to a new year filled with healthier living. I hope you enjoy reading this blog over the next month. It should be rather interesting. I'm looking forward to February 1st when I can eat a hamburger again.
Brian
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
