New Year's resolution - vegan for one year

sparky00721

I am planning on giving veganism a try for one complete calendar year, beginning January 1st, 2017. I really need the karma points, and am looking forward to the idea of giving the animals a complete break for a year. I have toyed with vegetarianism for a couple of months every couple of years, but have never tried veganism (giving up eggs will be the toughest for me, I suspect).

Anyone else up for trying this for a year as a New Year’s resolution? Don’t worry, bacon will still be around for ya in 2018 (or for me, given my track record in sticking with resolutions, probably by the 1st week in February).

litoria

Hi there, I "tried" veganism for what I thought might be a little while, that was 6 years ago. ..aaaand I'm still vegan. It's good, inconvenient at worst, and can be a very healthy and ethical lifestyle choice. Have fun!

sparky00721

litoria wrote: »

Hi there, I "tried" veganism for what I thought might be a little while, that was 6 years ago. ..aaaand I'm still vegan. It's good, inconvenient at worst, and can be a very healthy and ethical lifestyle choice. Have fun!

Thanks litoria!

By the way, I have already changed my mind. Not about engaging with veganism; I am still solid about that. But about my anticipation that not eating eggs will be the toughest for me. Nope, definitely going to be pizza (I love pizza, which has, in a very real and sad sense, helped to make me the man I am today).

sarko15

I am about 80% vegan (1 year), 100% vegetarian (12 years), because for me cheese is my Achilles Heel . However, since starting to regularly eat vegan I have felt a lot more energy and a lot less gut pain, as well as gained a huge appreciation for nutritious, wholesome, DELICIOUS food, so I think I'm going to continue.

Vegan/vegetarianism/pescatarianism/etc is a spectrum, a journey, and there isn't one ultimate dietary lifestyle that is better than the other (though weirdly enough, I've met quite a few meat eaters who are much more aggressively pushy about their food "agenda" than vegans), so I think it's awesome that you're willing to give it a go even temporarily! Take this as an opportunity to learn more about the meat/dairy industry, nutrition, etc. At the very least you'll return to eating meat/dairy more informed. I never judge anyone based off of if they eat meat or not, but I think it's part of our duty at the top of the food chain to really know about where our food is coming from, whether it's animal- or plant-based.

Check out Isa Chandra Moskowitz, she's got some great recipes including one of my favorite cookbooks, the Veganomicon. They're slightly more involved, but absolutely worth the effort (tofu "eggs" benedict--OMG). Also, look for a vegan potluck group in your area--I go to one about once a month and it's an awesome way to get recipe inspiration, eat a crap ton of food, and still feel good afterwards.

Good luck and enjoy!

janejellyroll

I started veganism as a two week challenge to prove to myself that I would hate it and it wasn't practical for me to do it. The two weeks stretched into ten years and I have no plans to ever go back to non-veganism.

So whether you decide to give it a year or until the 1st of February or even January 15th, welcome!

I personally found that I really stopped missing the things I thought I could never do without after a few weeks, so waiting it out worked really well for me. And you don't have to give up pizza -- although it may be a bit different than what you are used to.

Good luck!

sparky00721

Thanks Sarko15!

sarko15 wrote: »

...
Vegan/vegetarianism/pescatarianism/etc is a spectrum, a journey, and there isn't one ultimate dietary lifestyle that is better than the other (though weirdly enough, I've met quite a few meat eaters who are much more aggressively pushy about their food "agenda" than vegans), so I think it's awesome that you're willing to give it a go even temporarily! Take this as an opportunity to learn more about the meat/dairy industry, nutrition, etc. At the very least you'll return to eating meat/dairy more informed. I never judge anyone based off of if they eat meat or not, but I think it's part of our duty at the top of the food chain to really know about where our food is coming from, whether it's animal- or plant-based.
...

I could not agree more. I was a part of the food production system in a minor way in my youth and teen years: my earliest jobs were in small and medium scale commercialized farming, mostly poultry (broiler and layer farms, and some involvement with turkeys), including chicken catching (yes, a real thing!), swamping (a related real thing), and egg collecting (in non-mechanized barns, pushing a cart for hours and hours past tightly caged birds), and also some equipment installations on hog farms.

While the poultry industry is populated with less of the more dramatic animal harm issues associated with livestock farming, poultry farming (and especially battery-cage egg facilities) are rife with systemic and persistent animal hardship. Hence the reference to needing karma points in my original post!

My eating choices in the past represented a compromise: while I generally would eat beef, pork, fish and poultry (and as much cheese as could physically be shoved onto a pizza), I decided to only buy cage-free eggs and refrained from eating certain animals - not from a taste perspective, but an animal welfare issue. So no veal, lamb, goat or wild game. And no rabbits, not even in France where that is available more frequently than in Canada. And I steered a wide berth on vacation in Iceland last summer past both whale and horse which was on the menu in the occasional restaurant.

But I am no longer comfortable with that compromise position for myself, and am interested in seeing whether a vegan diet approach will work for me (particularly from a nutrition perspective - I may have some iron/anemia issues), so I am keen on learning more and seeing where the year takes me.

sparky00721

janejellyroll wrote: »

I started veganism as a two week challenge to prove to myself that I would hate it and it wasn't practical for me to do it. The two weeks stretched into ten years and I have no plans to ever go back to non-veganism.

So whether you decide to give it a year or until the 1st of February or even January 15th, welcome!

I personally found that I really stopped missing the things I thought I could never do without after a few weeks, so waiting it out worked really well for me. And you don't have to give up pizza -- although it may be a bit different than what you are used to.

Good luck!

Thanks janejelly roll, much appreciated!

Interesting to learn that vegan toe-dipping has led to longer-term diet change for a number of you. I tried vegetarianism periodically on a few occasions over the last 10 years, but for some reason reverted back each time to an omnivore diet. I don't recall any particular reason - perhaps I was just not yet ready in my earlier circumstances to align diet with animal concerns.

Your comment about not having to give up pizza particularly was of interest, and led me to The Google, where I found, very much to my surprise, a Panago vegan pizza (link:panago.com/blog/vegans-rejoice). Panago is a popular pizza outfit in my part of Canada and is a not-infrequent visitor to my place.

So a vegan year is looking even more likely for me!

givesometogetsome

Best wishes on your journey. I've gone vegan in the past but stopped because my husband and kids are big meat eaters and I got tired of them teasing me for my choices. I still eat mostly plants, but I need to recommit because my conscious doesn't feel right eating any amount of animal products.

If you're seeking to get more iron in, that is definitely not a problem with a vegan diet. Tofu, beans, lentils, a lot of grains have plenty of iron. Also, if I recall correctly, the type of iron in plant products absorbs better in the body than iron from animal products.

sparky00721

Thanks givesometogetsome! I am just looking into the iron issue, the differences between heme and non-heme iron, how to increase absorption, etc., and may post some links here down the road to any good articles on the issue in case it is of interest to anyone.

I have never been a huge fan of tofu, but I am a complete lentil fiend, so hopefully this is not going to be an issue.

kzooyogi

I went on a 21-day vegan challenge starting on October 1, 2014 and have been vegan ever since! Best of luck on your journey. And feel free to add me as a friend!

Also - you might as well make minimalistbaker.com your homepage because her recipes are the bomb. I've never made one that hasn't been absolutely phenomenal!

Xoxo

sparky00721

thanks kzooyogi!. Wow, what an awesome looking site. minimalistbaker.com had me at the coconut green curry, by chance their current featured recipe. I am keen on doing more cooking in the new year (actually, ANY would be more than I usually do) and this looks like a great resource, thanks!

sparky00721

Independent of the goal of remaining vegan for one year, I am also committing for 2017 to cooking more and eating way, way less tv dinners and fast food. I work downtown - theoretically 5 days a week but practically speaking, often 6 days a week - and almost everyday have something fast and awful from one of the three food courts I am close to or from McDonalds or the three Tim Hortons that are all located quite close to my work. Often two, and on disappointing occasions, 3 OR MORE meals per day.

I am pretty sure I have already paid for a second pool or an third Maserati for that Clown at McDonalds.

Goal for the year is to try to eat mostly what I prepare myself, plus try a new recipe and a different restaurant each week. I am defining "success" as being compliant with this goal more often than not. I am defining "wildly improbable/possibly impossible success" as 52 new recipes and 52 different vegan-accomodating restaurants at a rate of one each per week over the course of the coming bacon-deprived year. Oh, and also buying myself a Maserati or two with all the money I expect I will be saving.

sparky00721

I have started a list of some of the more obvious or prominent vegan or vegetarian restaurants in my area (Vancouver, British Columbia): the first four I have been to in the past and am looking forward to re-visit; the rest I learned about this week through a quick lookie-loo in The Google or from friends. If any Vancouverite or previous visitor to this soggy city has any other suggestions, I would be grateful to receive them.

List so far:

The Naam - a rite of passage for vegetarians in Vancouver

The Eatery - funkadelicious sushi. If you find yourself in a dark cave-like place with glo-in-the-dark crazy papermache divers and sea monsters hanging from the ceiling, and you hear others nervously repeating the mantra, "Miso Horny" out loud, chances are good (no, chances are CERTAIN) you are in The Eatery.

The Acorn - saving a re-vist to this extraordinary restaurant for my birthday

Heirloom Vegetarian Restaurant - super interesting menu items, great staff, interesting set-up

New to me:

CHOMP Vegan Eatery
Indigo Age Cafe
Eternal Abundance
Meet on Main
Sejuiced Vegetarian Restaurant
Loving Hut Express
3G Vegetarian Restaurant
Cafe by Tao
Virtuous Pie

sparky00721

Kicking myself for forgetting Nuba, a Lebanese restaurant many of whose dishes are vegan.

sparky00721

Iknewyouweretrouble

how is it going for you? i am trying this too. bought groceries lots of $$ spent and i did blow through them already -but i know that since i have tried this before. lots of bloating which i also remember + migraine. good luck!

sparky00721

thanks Iknewyouweretrouble, it's been easy-peasy for me so far (but then, the 200 or 300 diet starts I have made in the past have generally been super easy for the first week or two before disaster hits and I find out I have zombie-dialed Pizza Hut for yet another delivery).

Too early to tell, but I believe I will be saving money instead of blowing through more money on this diet approach, simply because formerly I used to buy so much fast food and take out.

Good luck yourself!

sparky00721

Week 1:

My first week consciously not eating animal products went easy-sneezy. Averaging 1809 calories per day, which were weighted more heavily toward carbohydrates (average of 82 g over the MFP default macro target for me), but close to my macro targets for fat and protein. Totally crushing my daily targets for fibre and iron.

Although a vegan approach is not technically a weight loss strategy (especially since sitting down with a pail of sugar and a bucket of soft drinks would be entirely vegan-compliant), I am anticipating that a vegan approach based on healthy choices will be a super-helpful partner in my goal of finally dumping a lot of excess weight. Down this week 5.6 pounds (237.2 to 231.6).

New restaurant this week:

CHOMP Vegan Eatery. chompveganeatery.com/ Tried the CHOMP Sliders (white bean based patty and potato bun with nice dressing) and the Sweet Potato Pesto Wrap (awesome). Super tasty and very pleasant owner/operator.

New recipe this week:

Curried Potato and Lentil Soup (Minimalist Baker: minimalistbaker.com/curried-potato-lentil-soup-1-pot/).

Goal for coming week:

Work at increasing diversity of food: relatively narrow range of food eaten this past week (weighted heavily to chick peas, pasta, tomato spaghetti sauce, raisins and blueberries). Looking forward to diversifying more widely.

jessypug

Good luck, feel free to add me, I've been vegan around 2 years

CandaceWells223

Good luck on your one year vegan challenge. How's it going so far?

CandaceWells223

sparky00721 wrote: »

litoria wrote: »

Hi there, I "tried" veganism for what I thought might be a little while, that was 6 years ago. ..aaaand I'm still vegan. It's good, inconvenient at worst, and can be a very healthy and ethical lifestyle choice. Have fun!

Thanks litoria!

By the way, I have already changed my mind. Not about engaging with veganism; I am still solid about that. But about my anticipation that not eating eggs will be the toughest for me. Nope, definitely going to be pizza (I love pizza, which has, in a very real and sad sense, helped to make me the man I am today).

Lucky for you, they do have "vegan eggs" they can be found at whole foods, or most health stores. And peta is a great source when dictating what you can have at select fast foods and pizzerias. For instance, at Dominos, you can order a thin crust with sauce and veggies, and let me tell you, it is SO amazing. Been vegan for a couple years and really my only fault is cheese yet I have not been tempted. I just can't find a good replacement cheese.