Vegan For a Day
Hello friends! In honor of the “Vegan 4 A Week,” challenge hosted by bloggers Katy and Michelle, I went vegan with all of my eats today.
To read more about the challenge from these wonderful ladies, check out their posts here and here.
I’ve tried eating vegan for longer periods of time before, namely a stint in college, which lasted about a month. It was hard on a student budget with limited resources (a sorority house kitchen isn’t the best place to be whipping up vegan, macrobiotic meals).
Though I have failed miserably at being a vegan, I have tremendous respect for vegetarians and vegans, namely those who are educated and passionate about their lifestyle and who follow a well-planned, plant-based diet. I do know people not in the blogosphere, however, that are “no veg vegetarians,” meaning pasta and bread, which really bugs me for some reason. I try not to be judgmental, but c’mon: Eat your veggies, whether you eat meat or not!
To start my day I had a green smoothie. This was an easy vegan swap. Where I would normally use whey protein powder, I instead used some of the Amazing Meal that Lacey sent to me a few weeks back.
Into the blender went:
- 1 whole packet of Amazing Meal Original Blend
- ~>1 cup unsweetened soymilk
- 1/2 frozen banana
- 1/3 cup frozen blueberries
- ~4 cups spinach
As this isn’t a formal review, I will say that it was not bad, but not great. I don’t feel passionately enough about it to gush, nor to spend the $2.99 on more packets when I run out. Maybe I would feel differently if I were a full-time vegan?
Lunch was easy: I had one more Goodlife Nut Cutlet to use up in the freezer. These I will gush about. If you are in Britain and have not yet tried these, please do! I do not think you will be disappointed, vegetarian or not.
With it I had peas (gotta empty out that freezer!), and some carrot fries, courtesy of Choosing Raw and also seen on Heather Eats Almond Butter.
I rounded off the meal with a nice bowl of plain popcorn, which entertained me while I was wrapping a certain Birthday Boy’s gifts.
Unfortunately dinner was later than usual tonight so I had to have a snack. Enter: microwaved apple + Dorset high fiber cereal + squirt of agave.
Even Matthew went vegan for dinner!
Vegan fajitas:
- 1/2 block tofu, cut into strips
- 1.5 small zucchini, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
- 1/2 white onion, cut into strips
- ~1/2 cup black beans
- handful spinach
- 1/2 packet fajita seasoning
I had two served with lots of salsa on wholewheat tortillas:
Though eating vegan today did take some conscious thought, it was surprisingly not too difficult. I realize looking back at my posts that there are many days when I at least go vegetarian, and certainly many as a pescatarian. Making a serious commitment to veganism is not something I am considering right now, but this was great as a challenge for the day and made me very aware of what I was eating and the source of my food.
Saying Goodbye
Even though we are shipping a lot of things with us to the US, there are just some things that I have to part with. Tonight I had to throw out a bouquet of roses I have been drying from my wedding night 
Did you follow a vegan diet today or this week? What were your experiences?
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YAY for vegan challenges!!! And so happy you tried the fries
I’m doing it right now and it’s not too bad! Lots of fruits and veggies along with some whole wheat vegan tortillas is doing it for me! I don’t think I could do it everyday though. I have much admiration for those who do!
I got rid of my wedding bouquet after about 2 years of marriage. It was just finished and not pretty anymore!
I love the heart dish
Your dinner looks AMAZING! Yum!!
I am already vegan but I will be blogging about it later today!
Great job for sticking to it girl! I need to eat more veggies…:)
I just enjoyed a delicious and filling vegan lunch and am planning out my dinner in my head. I love this challenge and I think it’s so fun that so many bloggers are doing it and talking about their experiences.
Aren’t carrot fries good? I love them with a little garlic powder and cayenne pepper.
Those fajitas look great! Sorry you can’t take all your belongings with you to the US
Yummy fajitas! I could easily go vegetarian for a day but not sure about the vegan. I am just lost without cheese!
See, it’s not so hard!!! I never frown upon your eats, but I think a lot of people don’t realize how easy and delicious being vegan can be!
I remember tossing my bouquet out. Sniff, sniff.
I love peas
So sad you had to throw those flowers out! When I was in london I had this crazy idea to have a wire sculpture made (I think it was at leicester square) of a kite surfer since my boyfriend is a quasi-professional kiter. Very little forethought, though, and I ended up having to throw it out. It was like 3′ x 3′ and definitely not a carry-on item.
I still wish I had it!!!
Can you press any of the petals or have you already?
Oh you poor thing, throwing out your flowers. It’s good to simplify though, and have a fresh start! I have a lot of vegetarian and vegan days in my diet incidentally after going full vegan for a couple of months this year. It’s fun trying new recipes and not relying on meat in your diet!
I’ve never tried a vegan diet before. I think vegans and vegetarians are awesome and I admire them.. but meat and dairy is just so easy and nutritious for me! I think if I went vegan I would end up eating way too much processed foods. So I just stick with what’s best for me.. but I do applaud vegans!
I had the same problem…when I moved I had to toss my wedding bouquet. Honestly though, it looked terrible. Somehow I just didn’t dry it properly!
Your day of vegan eats certainly looks scrumptious! Those nut cutlets and those fajitas in particular caught my eye!! The only thing stopping me from being vegan is Greek yogurt and CC. I don’t plan on giving those up because I like to get protein from them.
congrats on the vegan day. so sad that you will have to say goodbye to the bouquet
arent carrot fries amazing. i was all about them a couple of weeks ago, but then i went and made cornmeal crusted carrot fries, and now im ruined from the OG ones. ok, thats not true, they are still good, but seriously, try the cornmeal kind!!
Your vegan meals look delicious! I’ve got to try carrot fries. I think I will tomorrow
I really wish I could try to follow a vegan diet, but with my stomach and GI issues it would be close to impossible. Tofu, tempeh, nothing is handled well by my GI tract, it stinks (literally, haha). Those fajitas look fantastic! I could try a vegetarian diet, for sure, and in fact my diet is very close to being vegetarian, as I only eat about 2-3 ounces of meat per day. Good for you for being vegan for one day!
Everyone is raving about carrot fries!! Dear me, must try that some time!!
I have utmost respect for vegetarians and vegans. Oh the deep convo’s going on in the blogosphere today my head it spinning. I need to read some In Touch magazine just to disconnect.
I JUST JUST cleaned out my house not once, not twice, but three times in the last 3 months. And I must say Lara, I threw out things I had been saving for decades. Wedding presents (The bouquet went out in the last clearout), handmade gifts. We both became very pragmatic- if it’s small and has sentimental value it can stay, especially if we USE it. If it doesn’t get used and it is big and burly- buh bye. The Happiness Project had a great article on myths of decluttering:
http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2009/11/eleven-myths-of-decluttering.html
Yummy food. Vegan Fajitas..sound fab! What colourful food you’ve eaten.
You did a great job being Vegan For A Day! Yay for Matt joining in, too!
You make going vegan look sooo delicious! Love the fajitas!
Haha, aww, I know it must be hard to part with some things, but sometimes, you just have to buckle down and kiss it goodbye. Make your peace and adios. It will only do you good in the long run.
Have a great night Lara!
You are amazing…as always. Thank you so much for all you’ve done to support #VeganWeek — it’s been a blast, and a real testament to the power of bloggers!
I love Amazing Grass — especially now that a fellow blogger (Jenna) is helping spread the green word!
Vegan diet for the past few yrs, vegetarian before that. I cannot do dairy or eggs nor gluten, nor soy, nor shellfish….so as Ive said before, this diet chose me, i didnt chose it. Because of food sensitivities.
So sorry bout your rose bouquet
Your meals look delicious, especially the fajitas! I’m a pescetarian so I eat seafood on occasion, but most of my diet is vegetarian. I did have yogurt today, so I didn’t eat a vegan diet
congrats on your day as a vegan!!! i heart you. just so you know. i am just so happy that I have had a chance to know you!
I might have found a roomate…. and I just cooked in the first annual Iron Chef Competition at our school!!! I was on the vegetarian side!
The vegan fajitas sound really tasty! Thanks for sharing the recipe
I’m not a big fan of the original flavor of amazing meal either. However, the mango-pom and chocolate ones are pretty tasty with almond milk and a frozen banana!
I tend to eat lots of vegan meals here and there, even when I don’t mean to!
I went vegan, too!
It was weird thinking more than I usually do about what to eat–and I’m not sure I liked that. But I always like a good food challenge!
The fajitas look great! And so does the rest of your food…
I didn’t participate in the vegan challenge today or this week, mainly because things are already crazy as it is. While I don’t think it’d be that difficult to go vegan, I know it would take some extra planning and time. I look forward doing a couple of vegan days over the winter break!
that dinner looks SO GOOD! what kind of veggie burger is that in your lunch?
It’s a nut cutlet, I linked to it in the post
that dinner looks so yummy! and ive seen those nutcutles before so i must get them now after hearing you like them so much
i didnt go vegan because to be honest i dont wanna go down that whole restrictive eating road again even if it is for a different reason.
enjoy the rest of your night
Great job being vegan! I was vegan for a while when I was younger, and it’s not for me. But turns out a lot of my meals are unintentionally vegan anyway
I need to try those nut cutlets- I am so happy that Quorn have brought back their winter range though. Not vegan, but definitely will keep me meat free for a while!
Great idea to go vegan for a day! That way you don’t have a lot of pressure on yourself to do it forever. I’ve gone vegetarian a lot lately when I’ve eaten at home…mainly by accident. It never really ends up being vegan because I tend to eat a Greek yogurt everyday.
I was not aware of vegan day, as I was unaware of all things blog for like 3 days.
Bad bad blogger. BUT, I don’t follow an all vegan diet, but I DO eat tons and tons of veggies (probably more than most vegetarians) and not a ton of dair. I do eat animal protein, because animal protein makes my bod feel food. 
But I would have been eager to participate had I not been ignoring my reader for a few days. baha. Your vegan eats look delish though! And I learned you were in a sorority! C’est interessant. (Basically the only phrase I remember from french in high school.)
I might go vegan for life if they came up with a legit vegan burger. I can’t do oatmeal in my hamburger, I don’t care what kind of texture it gives it… and black beans? How does that resemble a burger– ever?
-Sylvia