Me. . .Vegan?
It started a few weeks ago – Melissa and I decided to forego meat (Chicken, Lamb, Red Meat). I was somewhat following the rules until this past week.
We went to a new doctor who is part of an integrative medicine office. It’s interesting that we were only able to find a couple of these types of places in the city, where in California, I’m sure every doctor believes they are an integrative specialist!
After going through my medical history, including my bouts with Asthma, she turned to me and said I should get off dairy products. I was ok with that… I mean I already use Almond Milk for cereal. . .OMG wait. . . CHEESE!
My beloved American, Cheddar, Muenster, Jack . . . POOF
Really? You are kidding. Cheese?!
She said I could still have Goat Cheese as it wasn’t that bad for my Asthma. Cow’s milk is detrimental to me on several levels and she said that I would most likely be able to breathe easier once it is out of my system.
I was still not totally convinced on the meat thing until I started reading a book this weekend that was recently written by Alicia Silverstone called “The Kind Diet.” I read “Fast Food Nation”, but for some reason, the images of how animals are put through the consumption process didn’t resonate until now.
I never thought of myself as ever turning into Vegan. I grew up in the Midwest for chrissakes! However, after realizing that this would probably be the best thing for body, given all of my medical craziness, I decided to push forward.
The first trip to the grocery store was interesting. Melissa and I walked through the Pizza isle, fondly looking at the Palermo’s thin crust pizza we love. We walked briskly through the cheese section, past the eggs, dancing in the carton and calling our names, and headed straight to the checkout aisle.
We made it out alive, and surprisingly enough, I am really happy with the types of food we were able to procure! I told Melissa that if we were trying to do this years ago when I was growing up here, there would be no way in hell I could attempt this. There are so many amazing options now for people who are vegan. Rice cheese, Soy foods including Chicken/Meat and whatever else the powers-that-be decide to create (although Soy isn’t that great for women).
It’s Day oneish and let’s see how I get through the day. I’ll keep you all posted!
Once you have gone a few weeks without certain things, you start to miss them less. I’m vegetarian and my boyfriend is vegan. The only thing I have a hard time with is cheese. I looooove me some cheese, even though it makes me feel sick :{ There isn’t an easy way to get over it except to find a good alternative (Teese is from ChicagoSoyDairy and is the best I’ve found so far) and stop keeping cheese in your house. Find some good vegetarian/vegan restaurants that serve your favorites – like pizza – with dairy alternatives.
DO keep us posted!! I dream about going meat-free, but it’s daunting given that I already exclude gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, and yeast for health reasons. What would be left? Fruit, veggies, nuts, and rice? Best of luck! And trust me — you will feel better once you eliminate the stuff that’s bad for you, like cow’s milk. As soon as I eliminated all the stuff listed above, I felt better than I’d felt ever in my life.
Sorry to hear, good luck Stacy!
I really don’t think this vegan thing will be that hard. Dairy, with the exception of beloved cheese, is really not part of our diet. Hopefully we’ll find some good fake cheese and we’ll be good to go. When we master that, we can move on to a gluten-free diet, which I think will be harder.
I really think this will be the best for us!
FYI if you are looking for good Veggie Burgers the Amys 1/4 lb ones are good, though I have found that the smaller ones seem to lessen the disappointment that it isn’t meat you are getting. Less veggies & Grains to bite through, but I am pleased with the Amy’s brand for fake burgers.
I cook some onions in a pan with garlic salt, (Pam mostly and a smidge of olive oil) and a little brown sugar and top the burger with them. That helps too. I am no Vegan by any means, but I try to get more veggies that way sometimes.
Whit