I first went vegan in 2011 and did it for 2 years before giving up and going back to a regular diet. It’s been almost four years since transitioning back to a standard American diet and eating vegan is one of the things I truely miss from the self discovery phase I put myself through.
Over the past few years, I’ve had vegan days where the whole days meals are vegan. and Each time I thought I’d like to go back to that some day. Getting back on Twitter almost two months ago (2/9) put me in contact with vegans. People I never see or talk to in my community. Seeing the recipes, data, statistics, and different places everyone is from encouraged me to switch back. They also helped push me this week through their encouraging words.
I went through five days of vegetarianism due to ingredients I wasn’t aware of until after I ate, like milk in the Subway flatbread. Eating at Panda Express yesterday, I ordered spring rolls to compliment my white rice and steamed veggies because I needed the calories (excuses).
Today was my first vegan day since I planned ahead and bought groceries last night.
2 peanut butter and sliced banana sandwiches.
1 half gallon chocolate almond milk.
1 box of strawberries.
2 avocado and spinach sandwiches.
About $11 to $12 for the whole day. I actually saved money to boot.
I’ve also been reducing my calorie intake since I started running. Being sedentary caused me to eat out of boredom and now that I’m active, I actually require less calories to feel full and satisfied. One of the problems I had the first time around was that I was starving. Gradually reducing the amount of calories consumed under the standard American diet before switching helped eliminate that issue this time.
Tommorrow’s meals will look pretty similar to today and then I need to head back to the grocery store. There aren’t a lot of vegan options where I currently spend most of my time. Definitely looking forward to a change of pace soon.