Day 20 of the Vegan Challenge
Yesterday I ate:
– A few handfuls of grapes
– Bowl of homemade granola mixed with puffed wheat, lots of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze, and some cantaloupe/strawberries/frozen blueberries
– 1 small piece homemade bread with almond butter
– 1 1/2 apples, 1/2 small bag kettle corn, and 1/3 raw granola bar at the Farmer’s Market. I was disappointed by the lack of vegan options for actual meals at the Farmer’s Market and was definitely eyeing up the pulled pork, grass-fed beef, smokies, and perogies at the various vendors.
– 4 beanballs, 1 fig with nearly 1 tbsp of peanut butter, lots of mushrooms with hummus, and a small handful raw chickpeas (I was trying to console myself for the lack of meat at the Farmer’s Market. It didn’t work so well, heh).
– 1 apple with PB2 and 2 carrots
– Small glass of red wine
– 2 slices multigrain bread from the Farmer’s Market (so nice to have real-sized bread!) with (lots of) peanut butter and jam, and 2 pieces Yves deli “turkey” smeared with mustard and wrapped around asparagus, plus a few grapes and frozen strawberries
I didn’t do so well with my plan for replacing some of the nuts/nut butters with beans/legumes. Today’s a new day; we’ll try that one again! I’m a firm believer that there is a reason for all of our cravings, so in that sense I’m probably getting some nutrients from these nut butters that perhaps I am lacking, but even so it would be better to tone down the portion sizes.
It’s occurred to me that nearly everything I’ve eaten in the past twenty days has been homemade. I’m pleased that apart from the Tofurky and Yves, nearly all of my food has been non-processed or very minimally processed. It might take a bit of work, but it is, I believe, possible to eat a healthy vegan diet without needing to eat very much processed food. And that’s a big part of what I was hoping to find out with this challenge.
It’s good to see you doing so well as a vegan. Do you feel any different? Focus, energy, anything like that? I definitely lived off of nut butters as a vegan, but more Almond butter than peanut butter.
I can imagine that being a lot of work, but definitely worth it in the end.
As for your nut butter cravings, I would say you may be craving it for the fat. Your diet seems to be lacking some essential fats. I know it’s probably hard to keep track of everything when you are such a restrictive diet, but just a heads up!
Lia- oh I’ve got plenty of almond butter in there, yesterday was just more of a PB type of day 😉 My focus and energy seem to be the exact same as a couple weeks ago. I’m surprised that I haven’t noticed any differences at all in that sense. Perhaps there would be changes if I were doing this long-term?
Gina- thanks for your suggestion! I am looking into essential fats as I read your comment and one of my readings says that 1 tbsp of polyunsaturated plant oil per day should meet my essential fatty acid needs… I would have thought that between the almonds, flaxseed and wheat germ (and, hell, the oil from my popcorn, hehe), that the oils from those foods would be amounting to at least 1 tbsp each day. Hmmm. I am meeting with a nutritionist on Thursday so I will definitely bring up that issue.
Never mind the nut butters… I am amazed by your discipline to limit your food. Good for you. I wish I can be as disciplined as you are?
You’re eating some great vegan foods! I find I eat mostly homemade food, too. LOVE IT!
If I were a cow in your neighborhood, in about 10 days, I would be afraid, very afraid 🙂
I love to continue to read what you are eating. It sounds great. I really like that you are able to keep your processed foods to a minimum. Great job!
Damn your life sounds tasty right now.
I actually updated my blog for once! Not that Emily hasn’t been doing a great job holding down the fort in my intellectual absence. I read your blogging tips but didn’t see how I get people to actually read what I write, when I see you SOON you shall have to tell me all about how to do it! Although because of Emily bashing Mark Steyn we did get a ton of attention for about three days…
You don’t suppose it’s the sugar in the PB2 that’s causing the cravings, do you? I’ve never imagined it had that much sugar in it, considering that it doesn’t set off my sugar jangling alarm. Just a thought in the absence of any real idea. 🙂