Day Five As A Vegan

Several months ago my fabulous Fit Fare editor, Sheryl, proposed the idea of an article on going vegan for two weeks.  I've been intriqued with the idea ever since then.  I didn't think it would be a problem going without meat, but I wondered if I could last two weeks without dairy and eggs.  The research that I've done convinces me that eating vegan, if done properly, is good for one's health.  I also often think about the ethics of eating meat, eggs, and dairy in light of the appalling factory farming conditions in this country.   Just read The Omnivore's Delimna if you doubt that. 

So, last Friday I became a vegan, for two weeks (maybe more, who knows?).   I have been surprised by a few things.  Immediately, I was faced with the Coffee Issue.  I have just one cup of coffee a day, in the morning, and it's a big deal. I grind the beans just before I make it and brew it to my specifications, etc. Since it's a latte, I substituted soy milk instead of my regular 1% cow's milk.  Frankly, the soy milk has an odd aftertaste that's more and more annoying to me as each day passes.  It's ruining my coffee experience.   I hear that vanilla flavored soy milk, rather than the plain stuff I bought, works better. I'll give it a try.  But, I may have to switch to expresso.

Second, I thought I would miss cheese, but I haven't at all.  Instead, I really feel the loss of sardines.   I always have lots of sardines on hand and eat them several times a week.  Each day, I think about eating them right out of the can or on crackers with a dab of sweet pickle relish, chopped fresh onions and parsley.  It's rough!

Third, on Saturday I watched Natalie Portman eat a Toad In A Hole in the film V Is For Vendetta . Actually, she didn't eat it, she did that annoying Movie Nibbling thing, where they take one small bite and never finish the food.  I love Toad In a Hole (not the kind with sausage).  Watching Natalie toy with hers set me off into severe egg lust for about four hours.

Despite those moments, I've been satisfied with my meals. I'm eating less fat, so I feel more energetic. I grew up eating a lot of meatless meals and love beans, rice, and most vegetables.  I haven't snacked between meals at all since Friday, because I tend to eat cheese or milk and cereal for a snack.  And I don't like to eat sweet things very often, so I haven't been able to think of anything to snack on. I'm sure that would change if I continued on a vegan diet.   

One odd thing is that I've developed an obsession with a Deborah Madison recipe, Tomato and Chickpea Pilaf. I would eat it everyday, but I think Bob might get a little annoyed at that.  On Monday I made a delicious brown rice salad from Food & Wine magazine. It's full of fresh vegetables, herbs, and a low-fat dressing made with one tablespoon of tabasco sauce.  That may seem like a lot, but it dresses a large amount of rice, so I would urge you to try it.  We enjoyed this salad a great deal.  It was our main course.  Our only course, actually. The original recipe called for fava beans and sweet peas, but the specimens in the store were awful. So I substituted soy beans and baby limas.  I was able to get fresh sweet corn, but, if you can't get it, use frozen corn.

Herbed Brown Rice Salad with Corn, Lima Beans and Edamame   (Adapted from Food & Wine)

ingredients

    3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    1 large onion, chopped
    2 cups short-grain brown rice
    2 cups rice milk
    2 cups water
    2 cups fresh corn kernels (from 4 ears)
    1 cup edamame
    1 cup baby lima beans, fresh or frozen 
    3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
    2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
    1 tablespoon Tabasco
    1/4 cup chopped basil
    1 tablespoon coarsely chopped tarragon
    Salt
    8 medium scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced crosswise
    1 bunch small radishes (4 ounces), thinly sliced crosswise
    1 bunch arugula (6 ounces)

directions
1.    In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderately low heat until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the rice, then add the rice milk and water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender, about 35 minutes. Transfer the rice to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature, stirring a few times.

2.    Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the corn until just tender, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the corn to a shallow bowl. Repeat with the edamame, then the lima beans, cooking them for about 10 minutes.

3.    In a small bowl, combine the orange juice with the vinegar, Tabasco and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the basil and tarragon and season with salt. Fold the corn, peas, favas, scallions and radishes into the cooled rice. Add the dressing to the rice and toss to coat. Season with salt. Spread the arugula on a platter, spoon the rice salad on top and serve.

MAKE AHEAD The recipe can be prepared through Step 2 and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Bring the rice and vegetables to room temperature before proceeding.

Comments

[Jeff]

No way I could do what you are doing...I'm a confirmed omnivour :)

[Glenna]

I might could go vegan for a meal for that one! Looks delicious, Sher!

[s'kat]

You are one brave soul to go for a whole two weeks! It's funny that you post this recipe, as I've been CRAVING a brown-rice-and veggie stir fry for about a week now.

[gattina]

no egg and dairy products sound of tough to me... Hey Sher, did you bug a new camera? Your photos are VERY pretty! (didn't mean your previous ones not good enough, but the flash sort-of washed out the colors...)

[Lisa]

I have been a vegetarian and, for a short period, a vegan, and though I totally and completely sympathize with the ethics issue (I really struggle with conditions for chickens, cattle, etc., with factory farming practices) -- most people who are vegans bug the hell out of me! They're usually so . . . self-righteous, I guess I'd say. And they can be rude. Once a vegan woman was part of a group event at my house, and I served a poppyseed tea cake. She piped up, Does this have eggs in it? -- and then of course she wouldn't touch it. I felt like saying, Yeah, and it has milk, honey, and butter in it, too!

So, you can stay vegan, as long as you don't become intolerable. :) Oh, and -- your salad looks delicious.

[sher]

Jeff,

Today is starting to be hard! I really want some dairy.

Glenna,

Thanks! It was very good. I will fix it when I go back to my old diet.

s'kat,

Yumm, stir fry sounds very good! I would have liked this salad, even if I wasn't testing being a vegan. It's very good.

Gattina,

No, it's the same camera, but I finally found one small spot that has enough light so that I don't need the flash. The spot is right next to a corner of my greenhouse window--next to the sink! :):) I don't have a SLR digital camera (wish I did). My old camera (not digital) is a big, old, heavy Nikkon SLR. I do miss SLR and hope to someday get a digital version. Right now I have a point and shoot by Canon.

Lisa,

Oh I know what you mean. I've been interrogated like that! It's not fun. I don't think I will stay a vegan. But, I am seeing how my "trigger" foods are cheese and milk. If I don't eat them, I don't snack. If I do eat them, I tend to gorge myself. So, I may limit them when I'm done with this. I am learning some things about my body from this.

[Kalyn]

I am impresed. This is not something I could do. I do have one tip for you though. I was visiting a friend in SF and she had a type of soy creamer made by Silk that was really very good. I bet that would improve the coffee. I'm pretty sure it was just called "creamer". The containers were small, about a pint. After all, coffee is a priority. I made the "mistake" of getting a Cuisinart Grind 'n Brew so now my coffee consumption is up.

[Christine]

Sher this looks positively delicious. And I really applaud you sticking to a vegan diet for 2 weeks. I don't think I could do it.

[Peter]

Looks like you're making great progress. With regards to soy milk - that can be hard to get right, but most of the brands have different tasts, so shop around. Also, you're tastes will change over time too, so what you don't like now, you might like after you've got the dairy "out of your system"

Peter

[coffeepot]

Sher, it is good to go vegan for a while but I could never do it always.

If you do you have a lot more will power than meself.

[aria]

ohgod i love sardines so much too. going w/o cream and seafood would be really hard. it'll be interesting to see what you crave both vegan and nonvegan as time goes on. i've heard that once your body adjusts you dont even want meat or dairy...
once i did a low/no carb diet and a month later found myself prauling the cearial isle in the middle of the night eating as much grain as i could shovel in straight from the box. i dont think thats natural, but vegan seems really helthy :)

[sher]

Kalyn,

I'm using the Silk plain soy milk and am not crazy about ti. But, I have heard that Silk is favored by many when it's flavored with vanilla. So, I'll get some when I go to the grocery store. And I do think there is a Silk creamer.

Christine,

Thank you. It was a delicious dish. This morning I'm craving eggs. Big time! :)

Peter,

Thanks for the advice. I'm sort of picky about milk because when I was a child my mom couldn't afford milk for about 4 years. So, she bought dried milk and reconstituted it with water. Hated it!! So far, soy milk reminds me of that milk.

Coffeepot,

Well, I have will power at times. So far it's working. But tomorrow...could be another story!

Aria,

I suppose a person would stop craving dairy, seafood and eggs....but that's seems like such a bleak future!!!!!! Well, this is interesting though.

[Sheryl]

Hang in there, Sher! It gets easier.

I also wanted to address the concerns brought up by the person who was grilled about ingredients. I can't speak for that particular individual because I wasn't there, but remember that a lot of people go veg or vegan not to be difficult, but for genuine health or religious reasons. How else are they supposed to know what is in a particular dish if they don't ask? If I'm going to someone's house to eat, I usually call ahead and let them know that I can't eat certain things, but I also offer to bring something that I *can* eat so the host/ess is not obligated to cook something specifically for me. But I also ask about ingredients - both at restaurants and at people's homes - I have no choice.

[pet campbell]

Thank you for your kindness about Buddy!..
Pet

[Tanna]

Woooo, a tablespoon of tabasco! I'm always looking for good rice salads - they are hard to find. Yours looks really excellent!

[sher]

Sheryl,

Thanks for the encouragement. I've found that most people are like you and great about the way they express their food preferences. And I always try to find out if someone can't eat certain things. I would feel awful if someone felt they had to eat something I made when it was bad for them or against their principles. I've had a couple of memorable exceptions where I was challenged because I served meat, even though there were also vegetarian dishes. One of the people who did that also liked to lecture people on almost any subject--so it wasn't too much of a surprise! :)

Pet,

It was a beautiful tribute. Buddy looked like a wonderful friend--and he was so lucky to have found you.

Tanna,

It really is very good. All the flavors work together very well. And that tabasco gives a nice tang. I love tabasco.

[Kate]

I have wondered myself if I could do something like this, maybe I could but likely would get too much flak from the G-man, as he is a confirmed carnivore. Mike would think it was OK but when you got to the coffee part, I knew I was a lost cause. I can manage chocolate soy milk only in iced coffee, for me, the morning cup HAS to be with hot milk. And cheese.....hoo boy, that would be rough. Glad to hear of your experience though. Can't wait to hear more!

[Isil]

Hey Sher,
that's a nice attempt even if you don't end up being veg at the end. As a vegan I'm with Sheryl, how can we know the ingredients if we don't ask about them. But of course politeness is always important. Loved your post about WHB.
Cheers,

[Mae]

O, i didn't realise that vegans don't eat milk and cheese. Sorry for being ignorant here. You could have opted to be vegetarian cos i believe they eat fish... since you love tuna, salmon and sardines, i thought it would be a better option, don't you think?

Though i love tofu [soya bean curd], i can't stand soya milk too. I can't bring myself to drink it. But i'll have tofu anytime :)

[Rosie]

"me like meat...meat meat meat for me to eat." That was actually a line I had to recite in a play from 5th grade. Unfortunately, I think it may have colored my worldview for rest of my life. While veggies are great - and I do eat vegetarian Indian all the time for lunch (great place next door to work!) - I could never switch to a "no meat" lifestyle voluntarily. So you are a better woman than I Sher!

[Debra Roby]

Don't know which kind of soymilk you're using, but the SILK unsweetened tastes closest to cow's milk of any of them I've tried.

I don't think I could what you're doing.. even for 2 weeks.

[Michael]

The salad looks delicious. Thanks for the idea. :-)

I just wanted to state a couple of things. First I wanted to mention that I have been a "flexitarian" for 6 years now, most of the time swinging between vegetarian and vegan. Growing up a plate just wasn't considered a meal unless there was some form of meat in it. When I got to college I decided I was gonna go veg, and overnight I did it. Immediately I lost signs of my over-active acne problem and regained so much energy I didn't know what to do with it. However, over the years I have also learned that listening to one's body is much more important than following some dogma (of course putting the issues of ethics and humane treatment of animals aside). So I intuitively tap into the signals my body is sending me, physically and emotionally. A book I read that helped me get back into this mindset is The Yoga of Eating by Charles Eisenstein. Having nothing to do with physical yoga asanas at all, it deals more with application of the non-violence principles of yoga to food, eating and dieting. So, if I feel it's ok to have some cheese and butter, I'll go ahead and consume organic grass-fed dairy products (raw if I can find them). Or if I feel like having some fish, I'll find the most affordable yet sustainable type I can find. And for months or years at a time I'll be on a veggie or vegan kick. It all depends on how I feel, like I said, physically and emotionally, and psychologically I suppose (again, putting all spiritual and ethical issues aside).

The other thing I wanted to mention is about the soymilk. When I first became a vegetarian, I was on the whole "soy" kick. Here in America I think we're still stuck on the notion of soy upholding this panacea effect, and that's not the case (read the Whole Soy Story by Kaayla Daniel). Consuming tainted, overly-processed soy or even too much of it can be just as harmful as tainted 'conglomerate' dairy and meat products. Have you tried nut milks (if no allergy is present)? What I find to be my favorite is roasted hazelnut milk. Now I am positive you'll find that delightful in your coffee!

Also, one more thing. People, stop beating yourself up over food issues! We need to enjoy ourselves when food is involved, just like in every other aspect of our lives, if we want to have a joyful experience. Please don't ever feel that someone else is better than you because he or she is doing something that you feel you could "never do". First, no one is ever better than you, and second, you can do it, whatever it is, if you place and hold the intention, and then set out to follow through with it. All we can ever do is give anything we desire the best we have to give it, and that's all that we should ever expect of ourselves.

I wish everyone well in their food journeys!

[Orange County Yoga]

Sher, it is excellent to go vegetarian for a while but I could never do it always.

[Samjhana]

I once spent a long time standing there in the aisle rdeaing the labels of every boxed mix that TJ's had and pleasantly discovered that the coffee cake as well as a few other mixes are vegan. I purchased every mix that was and have tried most of them the coffee cake is actually next on my list! There are brownies as well as pumpkin, apple and cranberry breads. As my egg replacer I use a mashed banana or flax powder and water or applesauce which makes each of the baked goods even more delicious, moist and nutritious!