my year of living veganously

My bread of choice

Ezekiel bread uses freshly sprouted, certified organically grown live grains. Full of fiber, nutty tasting, fabulousness.

The ingredients: Organic Sprouted Wheat, Organic Sprouted Barley, Organic Sprouted Millet, Malted Barley, Organic Sprouted Lentils, Organic Sprouted Soybeans, Organic Spelt, Filtered Water, Fresh Yeast, Sea Salt.

You can find it in the frozen foods section of your local supermarket or health food store. I made some fresh hummus (Note: I am addicted to chick peas) last night and am enjoying it on toasted Ezekiel bread today. Perfect for your, um, Super Bowl Party? Isn't that today?

Butter is so....90's

The modern dilemma: What to spread on my sprouted toast in the mornings? Earth Balance. A great substitute for butter not only on toast, but in baking. Go forth and balance.

• No Hydrogenated Oil
• Non-GMO Ingredients
• No Trans-Fatty Acids
• All Natural (NO PRESERVATIVES)
• No Artificial Flavor
• Lactose Free
• Gluten Free
• 100% Vegan

Two weeks vegan...

Today marks two weeks of veganhood. Vegandom? What have I learned, gained, lost?

I've learned:

1. That I have more energy on a dairy-free diet and feel lighter because food moves through me more quickly and fully
2. That being vegan means more intentional eating, which is a good thing
3. While I'm experienced at going to dinner parties as a vegetarian, going to dinner parties as a vegan is tricky. I need to work on that
4. That making vegan soup on Sundays is a good thing--it provides me with lunch through the week
5. That I never really learned to cut a mango
6. That I love my new cookbook, Veganomicon

I've gained:

1. The real taste of foods--the overwhelming sweetness of fruit, for example
2. A realization that I like eating more simply
3. A knowledge that food is fuel, not comfort or solace or replacement
4. A better place for food in my life
5. That this feels like a meditative practice

I've lost:

1. Though I didn't do this as a way to lose weight, I've lost 5 pounds in two weeks without thinking about dieting

The vegan food pyramid

I guess my vegan Peanut Chews would be in the "use sparingly" category. [click pyramid to enlarge]

Joi Ito did a six-week vegan detox last year, using Joel Furhman's "Eat to Live" diet as a guideline:

Eat to Live 6-Week Plan

UNLIMITED (eat as much as you want): 

• all raw vegetables, including raw carrots (goal: 1 lb. daily)
• cooked green vegetables (goal 1 lb. daily)
• beans, legumes, bean sprouts, or *tofu (minimum 1 cup daily in total of these)
• fresh fruit (at least 4 daily).
• eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomato and other non-starchy vegetables, cooked and raw (unlimited)

*Beans should be eaten daily; tofu should be eaten less frequently.

LIMITED (not more than one serving): 

• cooked starchy vegetables OR whole grains--Maximum 1 cup per day (butternut or acorn squash,   corn, sweet potato, brown rice, cooked carrots, whole grain breads*, whole grain cereals*)
• raw nuts and seeds (1 oz. or 28.5 grams a day) or 2 ounces avocado
• ground flaxseed (1 tablespoon a day)
• soymilk, low-sugar preferred--Maximum 1 cup a day
• *avoid breads and cereals as much as possible
  

• OFF LIMITS
• dairy products
• animal products
• between meal snacks     
• fruit juice, dried fruits 
• salt, sugar

NUTS and RAW SEEDS, but not ground flax, are optional for obese or overweight persons while they follow this weight loss plan. People who have difficulty losing weight may also eliminate the starchy vegetable/grain.

Many people who go vegan experience a detox period, as I must be now--flu-like symptoms, cold, runny nose, sore throat. It would be easy to surmise that the vegan diet is making me sick, but my understanding of the process is that this is my body ridding itself of toxins. It will pass.