My reasons for this are simple. Yes, it’s better for the environment because it produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions than meat-based diets. Yes, Regardless of how they were raised, all animals farmed for food have the same fate: slaughter. For me it’s about wanting and NEEDING to feel better.
I have decided to try the 21 day Vegan Kickstart.
Each day during the Kickstart, they send you tips, recipes and suggestions for every meal. There are tons of options that you can make gluten free also. You get to pick and choose how many recipes you make each day or week—They recommend trying to cook a big batch and eating off of it for a few days. This will save you time and keep you eating healthy meals. I recently purchased a great cookbook called Gluten Free Vegan by Susan O’Brien. For those of you cooking for one, you might check out the book Vegan Cooking for One by Leah Leneman.
I have felt much better since adopting both the gluten free and IBS diet. The same goes for vegetarianism but I’m not quite there. I am hoping that the vegan diet (along with the others) will make me feel like a new person!! What are my other options? I’ve tried everything else, why not give this a go? I do love a challenge and boy is this a challenge!! (Oh, how I love yogurt and cheese!) This girl has been through a lot and always comes up swinging!! Bring it on!!
UPDATE as of October 17th....
I did the challenge and knocked it out of the park!! It was easier each day and by the end of it I didn't miss yogurt and cheese. Soy yogurt is like eating your own vomit so I'm going to steer clear of that!! I'm happy to report that I've been vegan for over 2 months and I feel like an entirely NEW person. My bloating, cramps, stomach aches, water retention and headaches have subsided. Why didn't I try this years ago?!
~ Did you have a similar experience? If anyone would like to share their advice or delicious vegan products I’d love the recommendations!!
I went vegan for ethical reasons after my friend bought me The Kind Diet (my friend isn't vegan...she just thought the peanut butter cups in the book looked amazing). I started trying out recipes last January and ended up falling in love with this lifestyle (it was easy because the food was just incredible). The health benefits were a very pleasant and welcome side effect, and the environmental benefits were something I learned about afterwards.
ReplyDeleteIt took about two weeks to decide that this was indeed something I could get on board with permanently and transition from vegan "experiment" to vegan "lifestyle".
9 months in and I crave collard greens, have a love affair with coconut, have to buy new pants every few months as the muffin-top goes down (another pleasant side effect), and cook more than I ever have in my life.
I don't pay attn. to gluten free stuff, but find that a lot of the time vegan and gluten free go hand in hand. It's a good combo!
Groceries: Bellingham Community Food Co-op...amazing selection of specialty products we can't easily find in Canada, and all in one place at really good prices. Also, Karmavore in New West is my local happy place.
Yogurt: So Delicious coconut yogurt...I agree 100% about the nastiness of soy yogurt, and this coconut stuff is amazing. Just bought a bunch of different flavours in the States.
Popcorn: My absolute favourite snack food...air popped and sprinkled with Earth Balance butter, fine sea salt, and nutritional yeast.
Cookbooks: For gluten free/vegan baking, you must get both Babycakes cookbooks...the author is a vegan with Celiac Disease.
My go-to cookbooks (though not specifically gluten-free) are The Kind Diet, Skinny Bitch, Engine 2 Diet, and I got a lot of mileage out of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World this summer. I also recently bought The Consicious Cook by Tal Ronnen...looking forward to breaking out some of those recipes.
All my recommendations are for snacky foods it would appear...not the healthiest recommendations, but I guess for those who don't want to feel deprived and need dessert in their lives (like me), I look for stuff that can be a direct replacement for things I used to enjoy.
Just re-discovering fruits and veggies and grains (hello quinoa!) and realizing how many incredible vegan-by-default options the earth has given me has also been a lot of fun.
Advice: When I started dabbling in the vegan world I set out no labels and no expectations for myself...did it on my own terms and cheated once in a while when I wanted to. It seemed less intimidating this way, as I'm not particularly disciplined when it comes to fitness or nutrition. And oddly enough, motivation stuck around and as time went on I became less inclined to want to cheat. And now a Plant-Strong diet is my new normal. My friends are making dietary changes on their own terms, and it's just nice witnessing the positive results of making kinder and healthier choices at their own pace.
I enjoy following you on fb and wish you the best of luck with blogging!
Hey soul-sista!! I love when great books (cookbooks or otherwise) change your life!!!We sound a little similar in having love affairs with our food. Don't things and flavours taste differently now?! Skinny Bitch definately got the ball rolling for me a few years ago. So I guess I've been sunconsciously in training for a while now. Thanks for all the useful information, a tremendous help! I am a big fan of coconut but have not seen the yogurt yet. In search I shall go....
ReplyDelete