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Experiment Log No. 10 — Eating vegan for 30 days

In this experiment I attempt to eat a vegan diet for thirty straight days. That means no meat, dairy or other animal products.

  • The experiment begins Monday, February 21 and ends Thursday, March 24.
  • I am limiting the lifestyle changes to my diet for now. Veganism is about more than just what you eat but also what you wear and who you buy from.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Well it’s the end of my first 100% vegan day. I’ve been about 80% vegan the last five days or so, and I’m already noticing that I feel unmistakably more alert and I have more energy. I like this feeling and hope it isn’t some temporary high. I feel light as an Aero bar.

I’ve restocked my kitchen with all vegan foods, including a lot of stuff I’ve never tried but which are probably familiar to established vegans: tamari, kale, nutritional yeast, flaxseed, soy milk, fake cheese. The veganized analogues are much better than they used to be.

Too early to say much, but the lightness I feel is pronounced and if it keeps up I think I may get used to this.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

End of Day 2 now and it’s still going quite well. Today was my first day at work and it was pretty uneventful. The only “moment of choice” I encountered was when one of the contractors pulled up beside me finishing a jambuster and said “Hey want a donut?” and pointed to a box of assorted Tim Horton’s. That’s a question I normally say yes to with zero thought, but I froze for a second and declined. Honestly I don’t know what’s in their donuts, but I learned when I got home. Turns out they don’t have meat in them, but they do have milk and/or eggs.

So no go on the donuts, and that’s fine. That would have been a guaranteed 300 empty calories any other day. I’m glad my reflex was “no thanks”, that’s what I’m looking for, so that I can always know what it is I’m eating.

Lots of people have been asking what I have been eating. I won’t do this every day but here’s what I ate today:

Breakfast: Kasha with a trail mix (including currants, seeds and legumes) and a banana.

Mid-morning: An avocado and veggie wrap (with greens, shredded carrots, cucumbers and soy cheese.)

Lunch: Another wrap like that (I need some more brown-bag lunch ideas) and four-bean salad, and a banana.

Dinner: Outdid myself here. I made Sweet Chili Lime Tofu with Steamed Collards and Quinoa. Outstanding recipe from Lolo at veganyumyum.com. I substituted kale for collards.

Anyway this is actually really fun. I’ve been working mostly from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook, which is made form recipes on the site I linked above.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Day 4.

It’s been really easy so far. The only thing I have missed is my homemade lattes. I have been making them with soy milk and almond milk but it really becomes something quite different. The non-dairy milks overpower the espresso and they don’t froth as well as cow’s milk. But they are still worth drinking, and I’ve been making long blacks (Americanos) more and more instead.

Cooking continues to be a fun adventure every day (not that I needed to go vegan to get into cooking like this) and I spend more time preparing food. As I settle into a few favorite dishes I expect not to spend as much time.

My breakfasts and lunches have been the same for the past two days: kasha in the morning, and two veggie/avocado wraps for lunch. I switch up what I put in the wraps, and I’m definitely not getting sick of them, but I’d like to experiment with some new lunch options. I almost always eat “in the field” at work so I can’t really bring anything that requires a microwave.  Kasha is my staple breakfast and has been for years now.

Today’s dinner is Apple Cider Brussels Sprouts with Glazed Green bean salad and tofu with sweet chili. So good.

Tomorrow I might have my first minor social challenge. We have a breakfast meeting at work, which usually means bacon-egg-sausage breakfast. There will be close to zero vegan sensitivity in this crowd. I’m not sure what the alternatives there will be for me, because I always used to get the bacon-egg type, but it’ll probably be a few sides: hash browns, unbuttered toast and maybe a fruit bowl. I’ll report on what happens.

Friday, February 25, 2011

My dining-out breakfast experience was okay, but I was surprised quite how little there was that I could eat. I did end up with a fruit bowl and roasted potatoes.

I really expected there to be at least one proper breakfast dish that was offered with vegans in mind, but there was nothing. People are expected to all eat animal products freely, and I guess I knew that. I decided not to ask for any substitutions or omissions from non-vegan dishes, which would have given me more options.

The fruit bowl was totally good though, and they happened to be featuring a fruit smoothie too, which several other people ordered which made me feel less conspicuously fruity. Everyone else had the heavy animal breakfasts though, but nobody gave me a hard time when I explained that I’m off meat and dairy right now. I didn’t use the word vegan though.

I also felt kind of bad physically for the first time today, because I drank too much black coffee. I’ve had that too-much-caffeine feeling many times and often it makes me cranky for the rest of the day. But I recovered quickly today.

I am desperately in need of some take-to-work lunch ideas though. I didn’t have any ripe avocados today so my wrap was based on red peppers and other veggies, and it got all soggy and gross in my bag. I need a switch. Any ideas? Remember, I have no microwave available to me.

***

Today’s dinner:

  • Golden chickpea and artichoke salad
  • Leftover glazed green bean salad
  • Leftover sweet chili tofu
  • A few falafels

I’ve also fallen in love with chili garlic sauce. I used to put sweet chili sauce on everything, but it’s almost pure sugar, so I don’t buy it any more. But this chili garlic stuff has virtually no sugar and is pretty low in sodium too.

Monday, February 28, 2011
Day 8. It’s almost becoming like autopilot now. All the food in my house is vegan, so when I make something to eat there’s no “Oops I can’t have that” reaction. I’ve learned about ten great new recipes and I’m making another one almost every day.

This week I discovered smoothies. I have always been a non-smoothie person, even a little anti-smoothie. But I’ve been experimenting and it’s an awesome way to consume fruit. I’ve been making smaller portions for dinner, and eating earlier, and if I get hungry later I toss some fruit in a blender with almond milk and I have a filling and healthy 200-calorie snack.

Also, for you vegans who like espresso coffees. My biggest peeve with veganism is that I haven’t been able to make a decent latte with non-dairy milk. It just doesn’t froth well and has a burnt taste. I learned a trick from a vegan barista: put a drop of canola oil (or another mild oil) in the milk pitcher. It will froth so much better and taste better. My lattes were almost undrinkable before I learned that, and now they’re pretty good.

I have lost some bodyfat, and I’ve began working out daily again yesterday.

Today’s dinner:

Jamaican sweet potato curry soup, with puri (a fried Indian Bread.) A fruit smoothie will follow.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Not much new to report. It’s all quite normal now and sometimes it doesn’t seem like I’m doing anything unusual. Animal foods aren’t very appealing to me most of the time. Occasionally I’ll feel a pang of attraction to ice cream or something with cheese, but it passes quickly as I remember how short-lived that particular pleasure is — of buying and eating the exact thing you want right now. There’s no real joy behind indulging that desire. Sooo many times I’ve bought an out-of-character chocolate bar or pint of ice cream, just to let myself be a bit reckless, and it’s been disappointing. I end up thinking, “wow that wasn’t even close to worth it.” The kind of joy I get when I cook or when I’m walking around feeling light and healthy is so much deeper and long-lasting than the pleasure from any kind of junk food. I’m getting wise to the bad ROI of indulging those kinds of passing food impulses.

I have been feeling a bit tired this last two days. There are a lot of factors here: my new role at work is getting to me; I’ve got a writing project that’s been hanging over my head forever and I really want it to be gone so I can get on with my life; I have let a few important things lapse in my life and I need to straighten them all out; I haven’t been getting as good a sleep as I was two weeks ago and meditation has kind of worked its way out of my routine. Mainly it’s my job. I no longer like it and it takes up such huge swaths of my days and weeks.

Since I’m not too crazy about soy lattes (even though I’ve been drinking them every day) I’m going to go off caffeine for the remainder of the experiment to see what effect it has on my sleep. I’ve been getting about seven hours, and though that may not be quite enough, I know that cutting out caffeine will probably make me better in the morning. We’ll see.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Life continues on and this is feeling like a pretty permanent lifestyle change. Like I’ve said a few times now, I don’t think I’m going back.

The main reason I wanted to do this was to put some clear boundaries in what I ate, and this has worked extremely well.

My break from caffeine never happened. I just cut it down a lot, but last night I had a coffee at about 6:30pm and it was super weird trying to fall asleep. There were swirls behind my eyes when I closed them, and when I dosed off I had very aggressive, disturbing, hyper-realistic dreams. I was living in a filthy house, on my hands and knees sorting out little plastic toys, and there was a mini rhinoceros in the next room (in my bath tub) and when I looked up there was a tiger lying on my couch in the filth. It was pretty intimidating, even though it felt like it was a regular feature of my house. It growled and snapped at me, and I just about leapt out of my bed and woke myself up.

So I seem to be suddenly more aware of the effects of caffeine and other substances in my body, like there’s less grime in there so it’s easier to notice. I like being completely clearheaded, especially when I’m going to sleep, so I have between zero and two coffees a day now, and never after supper.

I mentioned that I’ve been more alert. This has continued, although I’m pretty used to it now. One interesting effect is that even when I’m tired (from doing a lot of physical work), I can feel the fatigue in my body but I’m completely alert and I have no urge to lay down and I don’t get cranky. When it’s time to go to bed, I’m tired enough to go to sleep, but I’m quite awake until I don’t want to be anymore — I don’t fall asleep accidentally while I’m reading, for example.

Other than that there’s not much to report. Oh, I will tell you about my digestive system situation, if you want to hear about that kind of stuff.

Without getting into too much detail: my, uh, movements happen a lot more often, they are a lot less of a fuss. Everything about the process is more consistent and predictable. The whole system seems like it’s really running like it’s supposed to. Just to experience this feeling alone, I would urge anyone to give this a try, even if it’s for a week. I didn’t know what I was missing.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

I’m currently having my first intestinal difficulties. I’ve felt fantastic this whole experiment until about an hour ago. I think it’s food poisoning, and the culprit is probably a bag of broccoli slaw that I bought weeks ago. I was making falafel wraps for dinner, and I came across the bag in the crisper. I was amazed to find it didn’t look or smell bad, and I figured it was relatively benign so I put some in the wrap. After a while I realized I had bought it before I even went vegan, which means it is at least 18 days old and probably more.

I hope it is one of those short spells of food poisoning that are over in a few hours. One time in Mexico I was incapacitated for days.

This bout came as quite a shock because I’d felt so unshakably good all this time. It feels weird to be under the weather like this. I really felt invincible.

Update: I lived. It only lasted a few hours.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Day 27.

I had a few drinks last night and I’m really feeling it. I’m starting to think I can’t really drink any more. I’m not sure how much of it has to do with my diet, I think I’m just getting really tired of it. It’s so costly in terms of time and money, especially when you factor in cab rides.

That’s the least of it though. The hangover is a very much accepted cultural phenomenon, like it’s an inevitable byproduct of having too much fun. But it’s really just what it feels like to have poisoned yourself, and it’s amazing how as otherwise sensible people many of us subject ourselves to it over and over again.

I notice I have increased sensitivity to my body’s needs. I can tell when I haven’t quite gotten enough sleep, for example, or when I’ve had too much caffeine. My body gives me clearer feedback on the things I do to it.  Before, it was broadcasting so many warning signals that I couldn’t see what was causing what, and it all seemed normal. It is normal. I don’t want to be normal in that regard anymore.

The truth that’s emerging here is that I can no longer get away with myself. I have been pummeling my body all these years with alcohol, bad food and bad sleep habits, and I haven’t been able to see the consequences clearly because they were all interfering with each other, and because I live in a culture where most people are constantly trying to justify these same bad habits.

So I’m not quite sure where alcohol will settle in my life. I’m not planning to cut it out completely, but I have a growing feeling that my days of drinking too much to say, drive, are coming to an end. It’s just too costly now. I think the best role for alcoholic drinks in my life is as another food, which makes it absurd to drink six or seven of them at a time, because obviously it is a different kind of appetite driving it by that point.

It’s 12:30 on the only day I have truly to myself during the week, and I’ve accomplished nothing other than watching a movie I’ve been meaning to watch for a while.

I know this little rant isn’t directly related to veganism, but it relates to the bigger picture of what I choose to subject my body to. This kind of drinking has been a losing deal for so long, but I’m only now seeing it in such clear relief because of how healthy I’ve felt recently.

Moving on, I have three more days in my thirty day commitment and I am not sure what’s going to happen afterwards. I leave for Hawaii next weekend, and I will probably try a few animal foods on my trip just to see how I feel about it, and how my body feels.

Monday, March 21, 2011

I didn’t feel well today. Yesterday evening too. My hangover from saturday seemed to leave my body and mind susceptible to a crappy feeling that never really left. I was tired and I had upset stomach.

I did get a good sleep but I felt crummy all day. It was a stressful day at work, and that’s still not something I’m used to. I’ve always been pretty good at dealing with day-to-day job stress but I’m still not adjusting well to my new role. But I think it was more than that. I wonder if it’s still my body’s reaction to the alcohol on Saturday night. Probably a combination. I’m not sure how much  (if any) is diet-related, but I feel really down.

I have been getting lots of dietary iron, and taking supplements, so I don’t imagine it’s that. I will take it easy tonight, get to bed early and see how I feel tomorrow. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just the psychosomatic effects of stress at work. If it continues, we’ll see if it’s any match for a week in Hawaii.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Well today’s day 30 of 30. I just finished an awesome super-healthy vegan supper (apple cider brussels sprouts, sweet chili dry-fry tofu, couscous and lemon kale) and I can’t say I’m raring to jump back into my old diet. Right from the beginning I’ve suspected that this was not going to be just a temporary change.

I still don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow. I think I might break my animal-products fast  in a small way, just for the sake of it, by having a regular latte instead of a soy milk latte.

But I have pretty close to zero interest in having a burger or eating cheese or anything like that. People have been asking me if I’ve craved meat or cheese, and the answer is an honest no. At this point the only thing that attracts me about them is that non-vegan food is more convenient.

And convenience is a two-way street. Yes, there is a momentary benefit of being able to pick up something quick for lunch, but the (much greater) downside is that I would no longer be in total control of what I ate. If I don’t make my lunch myself before I go to work, I open myself up to a lot of unhealthy possibilities. It’s remarkably hard to find something truly healthy in a restaurant. Even the typical salad is loaded with fat from dressings, cheeses and often meats. And I’m not even talking about fast food.

Trying to find something vegan without any planning is difficult. You usually end up eating a fruit cup. This means there is no question as to whether I’m going to prepare good food to eat. I can’t just forego my morning lunch-making routine for ten more minutes of sleep, and pick up something to eat later. I don’t buy unhealthy groceries (never really have) and I don’t cook unhealthy meals, so almost everything I eat is healthy now.

So I like the restrictions I’ve put on my diet, because it’s made me live in such a way that I must take total responsibility for my food.   I am the decider, as George Bush might say. I have become the full-time manager of what goes into my body, and when it comes to something as intimate and far-reaching as what I eat, it would be absurd to let anyone else to have that job, even part-time.  But that’s what I was doing before: leaning on the convenience food infrastructure that so well pads the cradle of civilization.

Not that I was any fast-food junkie, but if the boys at work said “Let’s go for breakfast,” to me that meant “Okay, today’s one of those days where I’m going to eat plateful of heavy, fried substances, and it’s justified.” I always thought I was in control of what I ate, but because everything was an option, I was really easily swayed to make exceptions to my “generally eat healthy” philosophy. When there are no hard edges to one’s diet, it’s really easy to fall into the grooves of convention and convenience. And we’re talking about something ultra-important here — what we put into our mouths, and what our bodies must build themselves out of. Yet it’s so easy to let convention be the main decisionmaker here. It’s easy because it’s normal, and I’m glad to have become abnormal in this regard.

My final report will be out in a few days.

{ 34 Comments }

Sylvie CORRUBLE February 22, 2011 at 4:42 am

I found reading what you wrote about feeling more “light” really interesting. I have been a vegetarian for 35 years now but I never tried to turn vegan mainly because I am French and I love cheese. However I went to India last summer and got dengue fever there. As a result I spontaneously felt off cheese for many months. Since I have started reintroducing cheese in my diet I have noticed that it does make you feel more sluggish and slow and heavy . Good luck with your experiment, and by the way, I enjoy reading your articles! Best
Sylvie

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David February 22, 2011 at 6:36 am

Thanks Sylvie. It’s pretty early in the game but I’ll keep you posted on how life without cheese is going.

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Tom February 22, 2011 at 6:17 am

Awesome. Your open mind and reasoning.
As an aside, I’m 59 and went vegan 8 years ago. Not for health reasons. I’m about 30 pounds overweight. The eating addiction has not yet gone away but still working on it. Many of my meals are the frozen, processed vegan ones. I love them, but I guess they do add into more calories than I need. Your 7 reasons are right on point in my opinion. (Although I am a PETA fan since I met it’s founder, and she is a phenomenal person.) Enough about me. Your experiment will get even better. Like you have said though, go easy on yourself re: being a super-stickler. There are no vegan police. 95% is still an A+ on behalf of mass animals’ suffering. Regards and best.

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Sean February 22, 2011 at 7:04 pm

Glad to read that you’ve got off to a good start. I’ve found that I have a massive amount of energy, and can easily run anyone at my squash club, and given that I wouldn’t even regard myself as particularly fit I have to give a lot of credit to veganism.

For me, the hardest thing to replace in a vegan diet is biscuits and chocolate, because although there are vegan options I have found they are often not as good. I’ve found that by keeping the fruit and nut bowls constantly full (grapes, satsumas, pistachios and almonds mostly) I can pretty much get by without them, though, and I don’t get the energy spikes that come with refined sugars. Also, after 2 years of being a (95%) vegan I can tell if I eat something that has dairy or eggs in it because it’s pretty rough on my stomach, which I use as an indicator of which restaurants are best suited to me.

Have fun!

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Bill February 22, 2011 at 10:16 pm

David, I enjoyed your seven reasons post and am interested to see how your experiment goes. It’s interesting that you note feeling lighter as my wife said the same thing when we became vegan; although I didn’t really notice this change myself. We’ve both since seen health benefits as allergies, migraines, and excess weight have gone away. There are a ton of great recipes out there so enjoy!

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gustavo February 23, 2011 at 7:11 pm

Today I am going through my third day of vegan-like.

Surprisingly, it has not being difficult so far. I don’t miss the meat or diary. I have been eating rather normally, substituting the animal protein by beans.

I can’t say I have detected any change in my normal body performance except by an unexpected appearance of not evoked gasses. I hope this secondary effect is temporally.

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David February 25, 2011 at 5:06 pm

Any updates?

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Dhyanna February 25, 2011 at 4:38 pm

Congrats on your new food adventure! For lunches, you might try hummus, tomato and falafel pitas, peanut (almond, soy, cashew) butter and marmalade/jam/jelly sandwich, greens with nuts, seeds, fruits tossed in, soup in a thermos, rice bean and/or pasta salad with various goodies tossed in, bagel with tofutti “cream” cheese and veggies. You can also use your thermos to keep warm beans & rice for burrito or sandwich fillings. All the best to you!

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David February 25, 2011 at 5:10 pm

Hey thanks so much Dhyanna. All those sound good to me. The idea of making my own hummus is getting me excited.

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Bill February 25, 2011 at 4:58 pm

I echo the idea of a thermos. I use a Zojirushi Bento box for work and that lets me take in rice and stirfry or soup, or whatever. Pricey, but if you keep taking your lunch to work, very much worth it:

http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-SL-JAE14-Bento-Stainless-Steel/dp/B000246GSE

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David February 25, 2011 at 5:05 pm

Great idea on the thermos, guys. I have a vintage metal thermos that was my dad’s, and it’s one of the few possessions I’ve never used that I kept, during my recent “possession purge.”

The Bento Box sounds awesome!

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Martin Matěj March 1, 2011 at 4:52 am

Thumbs up for the smoothies and exercising !!
I had banana smoothie for breakfast – 12 bananas (1200cal)
Wish you good luck in upcoming days :-)

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Gustavo March 1, 2011 at 7:52 am

I like this!!!

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Julie March 1, 2011 at 5:38 pm

I was so inspired by this that I am taking on this experiment myself! YAY! Thank you for the trailblazing! I’m on Day 2, although I dipped my carnivorous toes in the vegan waters a couple days prior. For easy meals, I loved pre-cooking a sweet potato and eating it cold the next day. Yummm! Also, smashing chick peas and preparing them like tuna fish (veganaise, mustard, relish, celery, etc…), eat with crackers, deelish. And, frozen bananas… put in food processor with a bit of almond milk.. tastes like ice cream!! You can add cacao, almonds, coconut flakes… insanely good. Tonight I am going all out with the vegan pot pie off vegweb.com!

And, total tangent…. David, have you ever considered life-coaching? I feel you would be a natural should that wild notion speak to you. Your deep listening, respect for the human-ness, curiosity, and celebration of our ability to step into our highest good… perfect combo! Perhaps in a parallel universe, eh? : ) Haha!!

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David March 1, 2011 at 6:04 pm

Right on! If you have a few minutes here or there, drop in here and let me know what you’ve been eating in the comments and how it’s all working for you.

As for your other question, it’s something I’ve thought about doing in the future. I don’t like the phrase “life coaching” though. I’d call it some kind of personal consulting. I don’t quite feel like I’ve got living habits down well enough to be telling other people what to do in every area. But I’m getting there. I just got a hold of the orderliness of my home, and I feel like I’m getting my hands around my eating too. Still working on my workflow process and a lot of other areas… But someday I probably will begin private consulting.

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Martin Matěj March 2, 2011 at 6:33 am

Today i tried all kinds of fruity homemade ice-creams :-)
I had frozen bananas mixed with red currants and blackberries
frozen bananas mixed with strawberries
plain mixed frozen bananas
and medjool dates mixed with frozen cherries
Everything was tasty as hell :-)

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gustavo March 2, 2011 at 3:24 pm

I forgot one small detail: I am a shrimp farmer.

Is not that a shrimp farmer can’t be vegan; it’s just that I never gave a thought about how much laughs that could rise.

I will be attending a big seafood party next weekend. I don’t really carve for seafood normally, but these people sure know how to dress up a banquet. Let’s see what happens.

This is Sparta!

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Richard March 5, 2011 at 5:17 pm

Very interesting new experiment, I’ve been ocassionally reading your various posts and this one has been particularly interesting partly because of a ‘food’ interest I’ve developed over the past few years, and I’ve recently experimented with be veggie for a bit.

Thought I could recommend a couple of lunch ideas, I quite like ‘moroccan-style’ lunches of cous-cous with: vegetables (toms/cucumber/spring onions, with cumin/ lemon/ s+p/ corriander, possibly stir through a bit of humous), or a more stew like thing of a tomato base with chickpeas and spices etc. Or roast any vegetable (cougette/ aubergine/ peppers/ anything) the night before and stir though the same cous-cous or chickpea salad.

Good luck with the rest of the 30 days!

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David March 8, 2011 at 7:23 pm

Sounds awesome. I’ve got some Tabouli mix that’s easy to make and which I can add vegetables to. I keep forgetting I have it.

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Martin Matěj March 6, 2011 at 2:36 am

enjoy the rest of experiment without coffein :-) It is a big step forward

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Tobi March 18, 2011 at 6:54 am

Dave, reading all of this and your reasons why some reasons aren’t reasons, I was getting inspired to try this myself. But then I read some of the comments… someone has been doing this for years and STILL struggles? That’s very disheartening to hear… especially after reading your great success, lolz.

Also there is a recipe I simply MUST share with you! It’s the most awesome freaking salad dressing I’ve ever had! Even better than Ranch.

Dan’s Italian Dressing from cook book Health Quest by Debbie Blanchard

1 C safflower oil

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp dried basil

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 C rice vinegar (or possibly lemon juice)

4 T water

Refrigerate. This is a great healthy eating cook book, but I’m not sure you’d be interested in it since it involves meat. But the veggies and stuff like this are grate!

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yliharma March 21, 2011 at 6:20 pm

Hi David!
I started reading your blog a few days ago and I really like your way of walking through life, you made me think a lot. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I found them quite meaningful and sensible so far.
I decided to post a comment because of your update on drinking too much to enjoy the night out: I also used to do it, until my body too decided it was enough… Last time I did it I was sick for three days… Now I prefer quality over quantity, I choose wisely a drink, I savour it, enjoy it and don’t mind if it costs me a little more, because I know I will only have one, and not very often :D
Please let us know the follow-up of this vegan experiment: it’s very interesting :)
bye!

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Lynda Chmarny-Intaj April 10, 2013 at 10:35 pm

I know that your vegan experiment was a few years ago, but I recently stumbled across your articles which I have found excellent. I am on day 5 of my vegan 2 week challenge, but I think I will bump it up to a month after having read your feedback!

I recently lost some 80lbs through vigourous exercise and a protein only based diet. I am on day 5 of my challenge and this is the first day I have not had a headache and I wasnt feeling hungry. I just went for another run this morning and was really surprised at the amount of energy I had.

Your posts are inspirational. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with the internet community!

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rayana December 3, 2013 at 4:14 pm

i had the idea to try vegan food for a month, my vegan friend’s birthday is tomorrow and i wanted to show her my support, to try a new experience and i think i need a good reason to cut sheese and choclate of my life (let’s say for a month), than i found this articl which was really intresting and encouraging for me. i just want to ask if you lost weight and how much. thank you david

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MJ April 12, 2014 at 8:17 am

I enjoy your writing. You have talent! (And I love the topic, too).

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Ilknur June 17, 2014 at 5:11 am

Being vegan is something which makes my mind busy lately. I grow in a meat lover culture and we mostly eat meat. So I could say that `I love meat`. After moving to Holland, I saw some little cows and lambs were running and playing around. I felt a bit guilty. Since then I am craving for less meat. I am willing to quit it completely, but I don’t feel ready yet. But I feel, I am closer to be a vegan.
Thank you for sharing your experiences.

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Linda September 5, 2014 at 6:09 pm

Inspired by your results on this experiment, together with a few other things I’ve read, I’ve decided to try going vegetarian for a few weeks.

Reasons why I’m attempting this:
1) It’s a healthier option than what I’m doing now. I think super control over my diet will help me to cut out sugar/processed foods which are the worst offenders in the modern diet imo.

2) Morally I’m feeling less comfortable eating animals as I get older. And I don’t usually buy the organic/free range meats because they’re expensive, so the animals’ short lives are probably not wonderful anyway.

3) Meat is getting more and more expensive, I’m interested to see if there’s a cost saving to this as well. My shopping trip this week at the fruit and veg shop was expensive (I bought *all the things*), but that will probably calm down as I get my meals sorted out.

I’m also using a modified version of your soylent recipe for breakfast. I don’t think I’d last long having to make vegetables for breakfast – cereal or eggs is my usual go to meal here. I’m hoping this is slightly healthier.
http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/nz-style-ambrosia

{ Reply }

Lynda April 14, 2015 at 11:38 am

I love your blog!
I eat a vegan diet, and want to teach plant based cooking classes for those that already want it, to avoid controversy.
I was fearful of getting into a debate over eating styles, so I was avoiding teaching Employee Wellness nutrition and cooking Classes.
You have shown me a way to share my classes with anyone that might like to try some plant based meals, without commitment, judgement, or debate.
Thank you!

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Jessie June 4, 2017 at 9:09 am

I’m a tad late to this party but it took me three heart wrenching days to watch #Earthlings , when I accidentally clicked on it’s link. Went Vegan immediately after. I own a coffehouse business in a small mill and cattle town. The locals tease me about the cashew milk lattes and mostly Vegan/plant based choices in the cooler but it’s my preference. They choose to support me because I’m not hostile about it and it’s their health and I truly care about them. The best days are when Vegans stumble upon us. The planet is being ruined by greed and selfishness, I’m making it my business to educate and break even ;)

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