Part of my baking and cooking journey began when I started trying various diets in college. Mostly I was on the Poor, Starving College Student diet. Occasionally, I did have some currency remaining in my bank account at the end of the month. More often than not, it was allocated towards food. At some point I decided, throughout my life I will make a point to try all the named diets (i.e. Gluten-free, Paleo, Keto, etc.). A friend challenged me to try not eating dairy for a week, and I quickly accepted and decided to see what the vegan diet is all about.
A week is not a very long time. I however am generally a very pro-carnivore person. In order to not set myself up for failure, I promised to dedicate 7 days to vegan eating, in case it was difficult and I caved longer than that.
In preparation, I researched meal ideas, wrote a list of ingredients, and made a meal plan for every meal of the week. Having family and colleagues who eat vegan, I knew some things to look out for. I decided honey (and fish, of course) were out of the running, I focused on protein rich foods, and I tried to keep healthier options in place of sugary ones. I purchased mostly fresh vegetables, trying to avoid frozen vegan meals, and made sure to prepare snacks so I would not have an excuse to cave. I did want to try and find a hummus that I like (spoiler alert, I still do not like it, sorry), and I wanted to try a meat substitute.
Here is my week meal plan.
Breakfast:
+ Rolled Oats with ground flax, Silk protein almond & cashew milk, a banana, and a small amount of light brown sugar.
+ High protein slice of bread with almond butter and sliced banana on top
+ Bowl of fruit with a soy protein chocolate milk
This was plenty each morning and I was never hungry afterwards.
In medieval times, or even before refrigeration was common, almond milk was prepared and consumed as the main source of cream and milk. In the cities, cow’s milk could be a whole day’s drive away and was difficult to transport. I could spoil or spill in the journey. Additionally, merchants would often lie about the fat quantity; watering down the milk to sell more. Homemade almond milk was more readily made and integrated well in recipes.
Lunch:
+ Soup and Salad. For the salad, I made two kinds. [1] spinach spring mix, sliced strawberries, carrots, sweet corn, blueberries, raspberries, cantaloupe, and sliced apples. [2] spinach and hearts of romaine, cherry tomatoes, carrots, and celery. The plan was also to have chickpeas, but I chickened out after trying hummus again.
For the soup I also made two kinds. [1] Lentil French Onion: vegetable stock, leeks, celery, carrots, garlic, 3 onions, lentils, parsley, basil, and white bread. [2]: Lentil Vegetable Soup: cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, leek, garlic, tomatoes, peas, and corn. I also added the white bread to the vegetable soup. I would recommend toasting it first if you are going to store it in the container with the soup.
I planned a 6 or 8 oz container of soup with a side salad each day. I ended up being pretty full around lunch time and did not eat both every day.
Dinner:
+ Spaghetti squash with boca crumble: 1/4 spaghetti squash, oil, onion, celery, tomato sauce, garlic salt, oregano, and fresh basil. That was just as good as regular spaghetti, if not even a bit tastier. This made four hearty servings, could have been six.
+ Roasted potatoes and vegetables: baby red potatoes, rosemary, thyme, garlic, onion, oil. Boiled then pan fried to add the seasonings and onions. For the roasted veggies, I had a Birdseye steamfresh bag already in the freezer with Brussels spouts, carrots, and broccoli. You could roast the potatoes with the vegetables, but I wanted them separate.
+Beyond Burger: pickles, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, on a bun. However you like your burger!
+Roasted Sweet Potato and Carrots: I do two versions of this, a sweet and a savory. For the sweet: sweet potatoes, carrots, green apple with cinnamon and nutmeg. For the savory: sweet potatoes, carrots, celery with rosemary, thyme, and oregano.
+Zucchini with Beyond Burger: sliced zucchini (or spiraled) with seasoning, and a burger patty in a leaf lettuce wrap. I covered both in garlic salt and marinara.
I planned left overs for the rest of the week and still have some spaghetti squash to eat.
Snacks:
+ toast and almond butter (or peanut butter if you can) with either jam, banana, or apple slices on top.
+ Fuji or honey crisp apple
+ nuts, dried fruit
+ celery or carrots in hummus – if you are a normal person who likes this stuff.
+ steamed spinach with garlic
+ homemade granola bars
+ cereal with almond milk and fruit
+ riced cauliflower
+ Laura’s Wholesome Junk Food Oatmeal Chocolate snack bites (so yum)
There are endless snack ideas to keep you full!
Turns out it is possible to survive without meat or cheese for a week. It wasn’t that hard but habit made it irritating at times. My take-away would be planning a day each week at least without meat. I will definitely think twice before adding cheese to everything I eat. But I don’t feel the need to be vegan all the time, maybe some day, but not today. I definitely encourage anyone who is dedicated to this diet and lifestyle, keep going strong. If you have not tried it, it might not be as bad as you think. Keep an open mind and do what is best for your body.
Food of the Month 