Two and a half weeks into my vegan experiment and I have to tell you, I am loving it. It is not too much of a switch since I cut out most dairy already and was only a little cheese, eggs, and whey protein that I had to stop eating. I really enjoy the way I feel, lighter, and cleaner. Once I realized that soy did not react well with me....I felt fantastic. When I started this I thought it would only be for the month and then I would go back but now I am not sure....I really like this so far. This is totally doable for anyone.
I think the fact that I love to cook has helped a lot. I have found that if I plan and make sure that I have meals cooked and ready, things are so much easier. It is not as easy to find a quick easy meal on the go. Last weekend I was running around and all I wanted was some lunch before I hopped on the train. I went to three different places and there was nothing other than hummus for me to eat. I ended up waiting til I got to Ridgewood and stopped at the Wholefoods to get some chickpea salad. I was beyond starving at that point and it was hard to get my energy back up for a while. I have learned to carried at least some nuts, fruit or energy bars with me. I also learned that if you are going out to eat...you can call ahead and ask for a vegan meal. I went out to eat with my family to Union Sq Cafe a few weeks back. I called in the morning and asked for a vegan meal. So when I got there, I had it specially prepared and it was pretty good.
I have not noticed any difference with my energy with working out. I have had some long days the last two weeks and I have not been sleeping too well, so it has been hard to tell. When things settle down, I am hoping that I will notice more.
Here are some good recipes or new foods that I have tried:
1. Rice milk. I used to be scared of rice milk but Bloomberg only carries rice or soy. Since I stopped the soy milk, rice was left. Suprisingly it is actually pretty good. Probably because it has sugar! I have to ask to see if they will carry almond milk.
2. Rice Protein Shake: This concoction is something I stumbled on last week and I cannot stop drinking it. I mix chocolate rice protein with this super green stuff and chocolate almond milk (yes, I actually bring some food in to work). Takes a while for all of it to dissolve but it tastes so good. Only bad thing, it looks like sludge. Every time I bring it to a meeting, I get cracks from my co-workers about what I am drinking.
3. Curried lentils with tomatoes, carrots, onions and kale: It actually should be curried kale with lentils, tomatoes, carrots and onions since it is about a head of kale in every serving. It is soooo good and lentils are an awesome source of protein. I just have to be careful on how much since they also have a bunch of carbs
4. Almond Cheese: You can get this at Fairway or Wholefoods. The cheddar is crap but the jalepeno is pretty good.
5. Beet and Carrot Salad: Ok I HATED beets. The earthy taste grossed me out. We have been getting them each week in our CSA and I would give them away. Monday, one of my co workers brought in a simple shredded beets/shredded carrot salad with a lemon juice and olive oil. I tried it and I could not believe how good it was. No earthy place. I went home that night and got some beets and made it. Been eating every day since.
6. Homemade veggie burgers: I have made a batch of black bean and corn burgers and a batch of lentil burgers. I keep the burgers in the freezer and they are my go to item when I come home. I throw them on top of a salad. I love the fact that I can control what goes in to them.
This weekend I want to try some stuffed cabbage (have one from my csa) and some more protein bars.
On other news:
I am finally a New York City resident. One thing that I really never wrote about before in my blogs (in case of jinxing the process) was that along with training, commuting into the city, and working, I was looking for an apartment to buy. It was probably the biggest cause of my stress this summer. After 8 months of looking and going through the coop process I finally closed two weeks ago.
Gone are the 4:50 am and 9:30 pm bus rides and in their place has been bike treks through central park. I actually can make dinner now and go to bed at a normal (well my normal time). I still get up early but 5:15 is much nicer than 4:20. I am now getting about 2-3 hours more sleep a night.
Better than sleep is that I live between Central Park and Riverside Park. I feel like I am a kid in a candy shop when I am trying to decide where to work out. You cannot go wrong with either direction. I am slowly learning the beauty of running along the river with the breeze and getting to watch the sunset over Jersey City.
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