VEGAN CHALLENGE DAY 7!!!!

I made it! A solid WEEK of consuming NO Dairy, Eggs or Animal products.

Maybe because my house fell ill with a chest cold, or maybe because I'm a busy Mom with tons of things constantly moving around me, but this week went pretty quickly for myself.

I enjoyed the new recipes I tried and did not find preparing for Vegan meals any less stressful or daunting than preparing a traditional meat filled meals. In fact I would hazard to say it was basically the same amount of shopping, preparation and cooking times for the most part.

What slowed me down is the fact that I was simultaneously making "regular" meals for my family who wished not to participate in this challenge AND taking photos AND writing these blogs along the way, so of course the process was a bit more involved and time consuming for me.

What I found really surprising is the COST of Vegan eating.

I bought one made to order Vegan product and it was the YVES Veggie Burger, which cost $5.99 for four patties. I found this steep, and I found most of the ready-made vegan products are out of my budget range at the moment. Conversely, I discovered that if you are willing to put in the effort of making your own Vegan dishes at home, without ready-made products, eating Vegan could be a HUGE decrease to your monthly grocery bill.

The big 'Find of the Week" for me was the Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) which I bought at the Bulk Barn. Two cups of dried TVP cost me $0.74, and I STILL have a little left over. Compared to the price of meat per serving, there really is no comparison. When re-hydrated, it really takes on the appearance and texture of ground beef and unlike ready-made Vegan "ground beef" substitutes, is completely flavorless, so you can add whatever spices or flavors tickler your fancy. I am curious about how this product would hold up to a burger application, so that is on the agenda in the future.

Here are a few of the surprising results of eating a clean Vegan for a week:

~ No More Bloat!

If you have been following my Blog this week, you will know that at the beginning of the week, I felt pretty uncomfortable. At the time I equated that to the dietary changes, but looking back, I think it was more likely my body trying to cope with the abuse it had been through this winter; heavy meals, which were meat and dairy filled and tons of sugar.

~ Lost Weight!

So like I said in a previous post, yesterday I was down 7 lbs! At the end of the challenge, I weighed myself for a total of 10 lbs lost in one week! I cannot say these results are typical, but I did expect to lose some weight, and this is pretty common for me when I go on a "diet" I drop the first 10 lbs quickly, only for it to slow WAAAAAYYYYYY down. But I was happy with this result, as losing weight was not my primary focus, but a perk!

~More Energy

I had been feeling really sluggish and noticed my sleeping patterns were starting to get all wonky. This week has definitely made me feel more energetic. My sugar addiction and snacking has been curbed, which is an added bonus going forward.

~Learned Something

I enjoyed the new recipes this week, and learned more about the struggles facing vegans today, regarding selection, and available products, as well as affordability. I also learned that a vegan diet does not have to be filled with hard-to-pronounce or mysterious ingredients that are unrecognizable to the average person. Many traditional "comfort foods" can easily be veganized, with a little creativity.

~Less Time in the Loo

Vegans eat a lot of fibrous foods. You get the picture.

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To Vegan or Not to Vegan...THAT is the question (today).

Has this week inspired a lifelong switch to a plant-based diet? Not entirely.

I am in no rush to eat the way I did before this challenge and have enjoyed the results so much that I am committed to cutting way back on animal products in general. I would like to aim for a diet that is 85-90% Vegan, and will continue to educate myself on alternatives to meat and dairy. It's difficult to argue when the sustainability of the planet may rest on more people adhering to a predominantly plant based diet. In conclusion, this week has removed some of the mystique surrounding the vegan community. I have a lot of respect for vegans everywhere, especially converted vegans, the average grocery store, at least in my area do not carry tons of options for vegans, but if you are willing to cook for yourself, the sky is the limit! I look forward to tons more experimenting!

Have you recently tried switching to a vegan diet? Are you a vegan who thinks I should give it another go? Sound off below!