Week one came and went with not too much difficulty and we have arrived at the end of week two at my brave endeavour to be a vegan for month… I imagined that sounding a lot more dramatic than it did! Week 2 has been completed and I am sure you are wondering how it went? Let’s get into it then…
Still going strong
I really thought I would be fed up of it all by now, but here we are two weeks in and I am doing and feeling grand. Now I won’t admit to feeling better than I was when I was eating meat etc, I feel the same, but I have very little urgings to eat anything non-vegan. I thought I would have had serious urges to munch on something, yet, here we are. I mean I have no urges to eat anything non-vegan, but I do miss not having to say mince in my chilli, or chicken etc. I miss the taste and texture rather than the need and that has to be alright for the last 2 weeks right?
The only urge I had and will probably always have until I rid my mind of watching carbs and sugar is the urge to just destroy a non-vegan apple turnover or chocolate twist. But seeing as I can make vegan versions of those, I should get over that quickly enough… In theory.
Snacking
For the first week and a bit I had been treating myself a little too much to some vegan treats (vegan millionaire bites, rice versions of that, coconut flapjacks. It was all getting a bit too much and I attribute that to me having less sugar in my diet so I was trying to counter it with something else (less sugary but still bad) I have now tried to limit that treat aspect as much as I can and now bring in some nice fruit with me for snacking.
The overall aim after the month was over was for me to not be as reliant on snacks and eating poorly, so for me to keep it going was a little disappointing. But with still over half of the month to go, having that sorted can only be a good thing, so that I can focus on creating some lovely meals and getting my fruit prep going to a decent standard again.
When I was losing weight the first time, I bought so much fruit and veg and had it all cut up into Tupperware boxes ready for cooking or for the next day. That meant I knew I ready and waiting for me and for one day’s annoyance of cutting and preparing it all, I had 3 or more days worth of food ready waiting for me. I have gotten good at prepping dinners again by cooking big batches, so the next step is to do the same with the snacks and veg. I always love grabbing a small box of peppers and sprinkling them into the pot or grabbing a small box of cucumber or cut up carrots for me to bring into work to munch on. It really takes the urge of eating poorly out of your consciousness. So that is a priority for week 3. Hopefully, I can get back on it for when this month ends!
Food shopping
Being accustomed to food shopping for a vegan meant I was a bit more prepared for finding things that I could and could not have. But I did more snooping and browsing than usual (to the annoyance of Victoria as she likes to get in and out of supermarkets as fast as possible!) as I wanted to see if there were items we were missing that I could have. As I have said previously Victoria has a number of dietary requirements that make it harder for her to shop for food. Whereas, I have none and be a greedy little piggy. Victoria actually loves this fact as then she can see if certain vegan food is nice or not.
But yes, we would go around shopping and I would take an absolute age in there looking and looking. I did find some nice wee things that I could have, for example, I seem to like the supermarkets own vegan range products than Quorn or Linda McCartney, I am not sure why this is the case, but I had some “chicken” nuggets from ASDA and they were lovely with my sweet chilli salad! I bought more the next time I got in and I think I may add them to my lists from now on! Point is, always look! You never know what you might find in there!
Week 2 is done and I am off for some Chilli for my dinner! How is Veganuary going for you? Should I look at certain foods? For more posts on my thoughts on veganism and how as a meat eater I have “coped” with it in my life thanks to Victoria have a read below!!
Things I have learned from dating a (lovely) vegan for a year
Vegan and dietary need cooking: When you mess up
Veganism: My first encounter with cooking a vegan meal.
Dating a vegan/only eats plant based foods
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Scott H Gilliland 