Tomorrow is my final day of the 21-Day Vegan Challenge. That has gone very well and I will probably continue to eat vegan about 80% of the time. There were only a few times that I didn't have pure vegan meals and those times were when I was eating at a restaurant. One time I ordered ranch dressing on a salad because the sweet onion dressing didn't seem appropriate as I was in close proximity to others that day. Another time I ordered a vegetable sandwich, knowing it came with mayonnaise, which I felt was a necessary compromise at the time. However, I didn't realize the sandwich came with cheese melted on it as well. Yet another violation of my vegan challenge occurred when the sandwich I ordered had cheese mixed in with the hummus. When I accepted this personal challenge, I knew there would be a few times I would have to compromise and I was pleasantly surprised that these exceptions were few and far between. So, the challenge has been an overwhelming success.
Not so good with the 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels. I started out with good intentions but due to travel, school, and schedule disruptions, the plan rapidly fell apart. Two other factors influenced my decision to abandon this plan - the cold and the DVD itself. I am a summer person; it's just the way I'm wired. So, I have very little motivation during the cold, dark winter months. I also didn't find level 1 of the program as challenging as it could have been, for me anyway. Of course, there was nothing stopping me from progressing to level 2. So, this goal was a fail. However, on the brighter side, I did manage to make it to yoga class several times this month, plus I'm going to move this goal to February so I can still accomplish this as a quarterly goal.
My Bible-in-a-Year program is progressing nicely. I don't always read on a daily basis but when I miss a day or two, I always find time to catch up. It has been very interesting reading as I have been reading it more as a narrative rather than as a religious text. All of the adultery, incest, cheating, lying, and murder in the Old Testament has been quite the eye opener.
In reviewing the past month, I have to call it a successful one. I didn't achieve all that I had hoped but I had several successes. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can accomplish in February. How did your January go?
6 comments:
I think bread is one of the biggest stumbling blocks in eating vegan. We have a local burger shop that lists a vegan burger on the menu, but it use the same sandwich roll as all the other burgers - totally not vegan! It's still one of the best veggie burgers I've ever had - especially if you add bacon. I wish I were just kidding. Well, I never said I was even vegetarian. :)
Congratulations on doing so well with your goals.
Wanda, some breads are vegan (or should be), such as most bagels and French bread. I already have a difficult time eating out as a vegetarian so being completely vegan is, unfortunately, out of the question.
Yummmm, a veggie burger. Evos? Or some place I need to discover?
You joke about bacon but I've actually been served vegetarian dishes with bacon sprinkled on top!
It's the black bean burger at Square One on Henderson across from Fresh Market. They have neat toppings, like avocado, salsa, caramelized onions, etc... It's one of the few places we eat that doesn't make me feel sick so I think they use pretty good ingredients. I've asked about the buns before and they said it would be too difficult to keep vegan buns in stock for the few people who really want them.
Those six months that Abby was vegan were pretty tough. I had to read every label - even the french bread at Publix had an egg wash!
Both of the kids have had trouble with bacon when they eat out - a lot of times the servers just don't understand what vegetarian means, much less vegan.
I think you're really smart to be flexible, or else you'd have to carry home made food everywhere you go.
Yesterday NPR had an article on bacon being the gateway meat for vegetarians.
As for your goals- you had a tall order and really accomplished a lot. You deserve a lot more credit than you appear to be giving yourself, seriously, you had a lot to bite off!
Cheese in hummus?
Wanda, thanks for the tip on the restaurant - I'll have to try it when I'm in town. I remember when Abby was vegan. I felt so bad for her when we went to restaurants and all she could eat was bread and French fries because restaurants put butter in the vegetables. As a vegetarian, I've learned a "don't ask/don't tell" policy is best when eating in restaurants. Otherwise, I'd be a crazy person. :)
Shona, bacon as a gateway meat?! I missed that one. And the sandwich with the hummus and cheese (feta), I think they just got overenthusiastic at the restaurant.
Thanks for your encouragement and support!
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