I think I can, I think I can. I’m a carnivore turned vegan for the month, and that’s my mantra during these middle-miles. If you’ve ever run a marathon, you can understand that miles 16 through 20 are the hardest. Well, I’m there. My feet are pounding the pavement, and I want water, I mean, meat! I’m committed to seeing this through, darn it.
Lessons Learned. I’ve picked up a strategy on how to order at restaurants and grocery shop. It’s important to get your protein in when eliminating meats, eggs, and dairy. I load my diet with protein stuffers just in case I’m at an eatery that doesn’t provide vegan-protein.
Here are my favorite vegan eats:
- Protein sources: soy products, soy milk, Boca Burgers, MorningStar Crumbles, tofu, beans, beans, beans
- Snacks: peanut butter on whole wheat toast, mixed nuts, fruit, humus, soy cream cheese, rice cakes, wheat crackers
- Breakfast: grits, raisin toast, granola, soy yogurt
- Mexican: bean burritos, guacamole, chips and salsa (my all-time favorite snack), Spanish rice, pico de gallo, tortilla soup (sans chicken and cheese), spinach and mushroom quessadillas (with soy cheese)
- Chinese: plain fried rice, tofu curry dishes, wonton broth, mixed vegetables, vegetable dumplings or wontons or spring rolls
- Japanese: asparagus and avocado rolls, noodle dishes, seaweed salad, miso soup, edemame, ginger salad
- Italian: spinach lasagna (not vegan with the cheese), spaghetti with soy meatballs, Portobello mushrooms
More Pleasant Surprises. I’m still pleasantly surprised by the delightful dishes I’ve sampled at restaurants. My all-time favorite veggie burger at Steve’s Uptown. This yummy sandwich has Portobelo mushrooms, caramelized onions, with just a little bit of corn relish, all served on a focaccia bun. De-lish!
Steve’s Uptown Veggie burger. My favorite!
I couldn’t resist another visit to P.F. Chang’s for the vegetarian dumplings. I also had coconut curry vegetables and the eggplant. All wonderful.
P.F. Chang’s Coconut Curry Vegetables with crispy silken tofu and peanuts in a mild curry powder and coconut milk sauce
P.F. Chang’s Vegetarian Dumplings
So, what’s your favorite vegetarian or vegan dish?
In case you are wondering. There are different types of veggie eaters:
- Ovo-vegetarian diet includes eggs but not dairy products
- Lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy products but not eggs
- Ovo-lacto vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products
- Vegan, or strict vegetarian, diet excludes all animal products, including eggs, dairy, and honey
Happy Ve-ing!
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Yay, good for you for doing this challenge! I have considered myself a vegetarian for 10 years now, although others may call me a Pescatarian (occasionally consumes fish). Good luck on the last leg of challenge. 🙂
Thanks so much for your encouragement. The China Study diet says it’s ok to minimally consume fix. I think if I stick with it long-term, I’ll keep fish in my diet as well. Was there a particular reason that motivated you to go vegetarian?
To be honest I never really cared for the taste and textures of most meats. However I made the change because of research I had done showing the positive health benefits of a vegetarian diet.
Wow, those meals look delicious! Love your list of fave eats… looks like there are actually a lot of yummy options… keep it up, only 1 week to go, right!?
Good for you for jumping on the veg train! It may seem challenging at first, but there are many rewards to eating healthy. Just as a heads up, morning star crumbles contain milk and eggs, so vegans will want to avoid that. Also check out quinoa and hemp for other great protein sources:) Keep up the good work hun!
Randy, thanks for the suggestion on quinoa. I love it now. I happened to blog about it after you introduced it to me. Have yet to find hemp, but I will try it if I can find it. Thanks for your encouragement. It’s been fun! I may not stick to being a strict vegan, but I will learn towards vegetarianism. 🙂 Maybe one day I’ll get there.
Sorry, Randi. Spell-check switched your name to Randy. 🙂
Almost at the finish line! Good job so far. As far as favorite dishes I really liked the veggie burger recipe I came across. It included panko (!) and I topped it as I would a regular burger. I really liked it. So much so that I’m sure I’ll make it again soon. That’s at least one non-meat substitute I look forward to integrating into my diet. As far as eating out sadly I haven’t sought out or taken advantage of as many vegan options as I wanted to…but I did enjoy those PF Chang dumplings a lot : )
Thanks Courtney! I’d love a copy of your veggie burger. I love panko. Thanks for joining me.
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