Life has a funny way of getting the best of us. I didn't realize it had been nearly five months since my last post, but I'm going to put something up later today with some updates. A lot has changed in my life (for the better I think) and I'm going to take some time to write about it properly. In the meantime, check out the awesome tofu truck! It almost makes me want to move to Japan.
Showing posts with label veganism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label veganism. Show all posts
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
February's Project: Gone Vegan
I've been vegetarian for the majority of my life now. I quit eating meat at the age of ten for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, I just never liked it, so it's never been a big temptation. My decision to quit eating meat came in the mid '90s, at the height of the mad cow disease panic, and being a sensitive and thoughtful kid, I was worried about this and other food-borne diseases. On top of all that, I've always had a soft spot for animals, and the thought of something dying for my dinner just ruined my appetite.
Despite 17 years of vegetarianism, however, I've never been able to completely make the transition to vegan. Growing up in the deep south, it was tough enough eschewing meat, let alone dairy as well, and my already thin teenage self probably would have starved in that environment. Ever since then, it's been more an issue of convenience -- college cafeterias and boyfriends expecting "manly" meals are just not conducive to a vegan diet. I've managed to keep it up for several months at a time, but I've always returned to dairy. On top of all that, cheese is too damn tasty.
But years of reading about the consequences of the dairy industry have taken their toll, and I'm finally fed up. I've gone vegan, and this blog is my witness, the change is permanent. If it means going hungry sometimes, particularly when I go back home, so be it. Convincing the fiance to eat what I cook will be a challenge, but if I give him the option of eating this food or going hungry, I think he'll start to see things my way.
Making meals is going to require a bit more planning for the next few weeks while I adjust to this new routine, though not nearly as much as if I had been a meat-eater. Here are some meals I'm planning on making.
For the purposes of motivation, I watched the documentary Vegucated on Netflix. It's really given me some encouragement, even when the going gets tough, to stick with it. I'll try to get the fiance to watch it too -- maybe it'll get him more on board with this lifestyle. As the weeks go by, I'll keep making updates with my progress, and any interesting meal ideas or recipes I stumble across. That's it for now. Go veg!
Despite 17 years of vegetarianism, however, I've never been able to completely make the transition to vegan. Growing up in the deep south, it was tough enough eschewing meat, let alone dairy as well, and my already thin teenage self probably would have starved in that environment. Ever since then, it's been more an issue of convenience -- college cafeterias and boyfriends expecting "manly" meals are just not conducive to a vegan diet. I've managed to keep it up for several months at a time, but I've always returned to dairy. On top of all that, cheese is too damn tasty.
But years of reading about the consequences of the dairy industry have taken their toll, and I'm finally fed up. I've gone vegan, and this blog is my witness, the change is permanent. If it means going hungry sometimes, particularly when I go back home, so be it. Convincing the fiance to eat what I cook will be a challenge, but if I give him the option of eating this food or going hungry, I think he'll start to see things my way.
Making meals is going to require a bit more planning for the next few weeks while I adjust to this new routine, though not nearly as much as if I had been a meat-eater. Here are some meals I'm planning on making.
Breakfast
I've never been a big breakfast person, mostly because I'm not a morning person, and it's just not worth it to get up that much earlier. I know that breakfast is important, though, so I'm going to try and make something. I bought some oatmeal at the store today. I have some overripe bananas to eat with it, along with almond milk. As cold as it's been lately, it'll be nice to leave the house with something warm in my stomach. I'll also start making thermoses of green tea to take with me -- a cheaper and healthier alternative to my usual giant cup o' Dunkin.
Lunch
I had a tasty vegan lunch today that came from, of all places, 7-11. Because it's a store on a college campus, they have a much better selection of quality foods than the average convenience store. This particular one has a variety of vegan wraps and sandwiches, and I chose an "egg salad" sandwich. It never occurred to me before that tofu and boiled egg have almost the same consistency, and it was really convincing -- maybe even better than the real stuff. I'm going to look for a recipe to make my own, because at $4 apiece, these sandwiches would be much cheaper to make at home.Dinner
This is where the big challenge is, because I have to cook something that will entice both of us. I picked up some Boca ground burger at the discount supermarket. I'm going to make a batch of chili that will hopefully satisfy the fiance. I usually make it in pretty big batches, so this should last most of the week.Snacks
I've got several kinds of dried and fresh fruit in the pantry, and I bought a big bag of almonds. I also need to remember that I have about 5 bags of edamame in the freezer -- a vastly healthier alternative to chips when I want something salty and munchy.
For the purposes of motivation, I watched the documentary Vegucated on Netflix. It's really given me some encouragement, even when the going gets tough, to stick with it. I'll try to get the fiance to watch it too -- maybe it'll get him more on board with this lifestyle. As the weeks go by, I'll keep making updates with my progress, and any interesting meal ideas or recipes I stumble across. That's it for now. Go veg!
Monday, January 7, 2013
New Years and New Ideas
I realize that the new year is almost a week old now, but I've been avoiding posting anything because I was trying to coalesce my thoughts about what it means to me. This is going to be a big year - the beginning of law school and my wedding loom large, and I'm open to any other adventures that may lie on the horizon.
Rather than set a series of vague goals that will go unaccomplished and abandoned by February, I've decided instead to make a list of actions and projects that I intend to undertake, along with dates for implementing each. Without any further delay, then, are my projects for 2013:
January: Before the end of the month, I will detoxify and simplify my cleaning products, similar to what I did with my beauty products. I will sort through everything and dispose of all but the best ones. For now I'll stick with commercial products as necessary, but I will investigate homemade alternatives later in the year. I'll also make a regular schedule for housecleaning so I don't waste another whole Saturday on it.
February: I have been putting it off for far too long, and I'm getting serious about going completely vegan starting February 1. I will experiment with all kinds of recipes, and post pictures and assessments periodically.
March: I should be well into the swing of veganism by now, and it should be the perfect time to tackle a simplified kitchen.
April: My desk and work materials are perpetually in disarray. I need to come up with a new record-keeping and email sorting system. I will investigate various productivity systems and hacks, and implement some kind of system with periodic updates on how it's going.
May: As an update to my beauty products project, I will evaluate where I am, and consider some homemade beauty regimens. I will post my experiments and results.
June: Raw foods! It'll be summer, and I'll be hot, and no longer craving soups and other warm yummy things like I am now. I'll give the raw diet a good month and of course some updates.
July: My last full free month before starting law school, and I plan to spend it being more spiritual. I'll have to devote some more thought as to what exactly this means to me, but it's an undertaking I've been delaying for some time.
August: Sociability! I'm looking forward to being in law school and having an easy way to make friends. I've always been kind of a wallflower, but I will make an active effort to get to know
September: Productivity, part deux. As an addendum to April's productivity project, I'll tackle school work, and staying on top of things, to see how the tools I found apply to students.
October: I should be well into the swing of wedding planning by now, so I'll take some time to explore the true meaning of marriage and the theme of a simple wedding.
November: With the change of the seasons brings a re-sorting of the wardrobe, and the perfect opportunity to pare down mine. I try to do this periodically anyway, but I will make a concerted effort to really pare down things and clear out stuff I don't like or doesn't fit.
December: I know that simple holidays is a kind of trite theme in the blogosphere, but it's one I really need to undertake for myself. Even though I've tried to do things as locally sourced or handmade as much as possible, people are really damn hard to shop for, and they all seem to want expensive stuff from the mall. My Christmas bills are just now coming in, and it's a nightmare. For the 2013 holidays, I will undertake simplifying in earnest.
So that's the monthly breakdown of projects. I also have a few actionable steps I'm going to take in 2013:
Rather than set a series of vague goals that will go unaccomplished and abandoned by February, I've decided instead to make a list of actions and projects that I intend to undertake, along with dates for implementing each. Without any further delay, then, are my projects for 2013:
January: Before the end of the month, I will detoxify and simplify my cleaning products, similar to what I did with my beauty products. I will sort through everything and dispose of all but the best ones. For now I'll stick with commercial products as necessary, but I will investigate homemade alternatives later in the year. I'll also make a regular schedule for housecleaning so I don't waste another whole Saturday on it.
February: I have been putting it off for far too long, and I'm getting serious about going completely vegan starting February 1. I will experiment with all kinds of recipes, and post pictures and assessments periodically.
March: I should be well into the swing of veganism by now, and it should be the perfect time to tackle a simplified kitchen.
April: My desk and work materials are perpetually in disarray. I need to come up with a new record-keeping and email sorting system. I will investigate various productivity systems and hacks, and implement some kind of system with periodic updates on how it's going.
May: As an update to my beauty products project, I will evaluate where I am, and consider some homemade beauty regimens. I will post my experiments and results.
June: Raw foods! It'll be summer, and I'll be hot, and no longer craving soups and other warm yummy things like I am now. I'll give the raw diet a good month and of course some updates.
July: My last full free month before starting law school, and I plan to spend it being more spiritual. I'll have to devote some more thought as to what exactly this means to me, but it's an undertaking I've been delaying for some time.
August: Sociability! I'm looking forward to being in law school and having an easy way to make friends. I've always been kind of a wallflower, but I will make an active effort to get to know
September: Productivity, part deux. As an addendum to April's productivity project, I'll tackle school work, and staying on top of things, to see how the tools I found apply to students.
October: I should be well into the swing of wedding planning by now, so I'll take some time to explore the true meaning of marriage and the theme of a simple wedding.
November: With the change of the seasons brings a re-sorting of the wardrobe, and the perfect opportunity to pare down mine. I try to do this periodically anyway, but I will make a concerted effort to really pare down things and clear out stuff I don't like or doesn't fit.
December: I know that simple holidays is a kind of trite theme in the blogosphere, but it's one I really need to undertake for myself. Even though I've tried to do things as locally sourced or handmade as much as possible, people are really damn hard to shop for, and they all seem to want expensive stuff from the mall. My Christmas bills are just now coming in, and it's a nightmare. For the 2013 holidays, I will undertake simplifying in earnest.
So that's the monthly breakdown of projects. I also have a few actionable steps I'm going to take in 2013:
- I will read a book a week, at least until law school begins. Hopefully this will pare down my shelves from the influx of books I received as Christmas gifts.
- I will meditate every day, even if it's just for a few minutes. I need to center myself and this seems like the best way to do it.
- I will go to the gym every day unless I have a good reason not to. Laziness, bad weather and something good on TV are not good reasons.
So that's the outlook for me. Be on the lookout for my cleaning products detox in the next week or so.
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