Part Way Through My Vegan Week

Day 3, 4 and 5 have been a little more difficult!

We're still going strong, but it was touch and go there for a bit.

I don't think it was having to take twice as long to shop for groceries (having to read every label, looking for a 'vegan' word or sign), not having 'real' desserts, or the fact that I dropped my first homemade vegan lunch on the office floor.

No, the issue was that I can't cook!

I have some great recipes from my online research, and we can tell that they would be very tasty...if only I hadn't done something wrong...whatever that something was.

I did learn that with enough berries, apples, and nuts, oatmeal can (sort of) taste good.

I've also learned that some items which I thought would not be vegan are indeed vegan (Oreos), and items I wouldn't have thought twice about being vegan are not (a lot of wines)!

Did you know there is a vegan debate on whether honey is considered vegan? I didn't. Not until our first day of shopping, when reading a list of ingredients in a loaf of bread. I asked my wife her thoughts on honey being vegan and we couldn't decide. So we turned to Google!

Turns out that both of the arguments that we had discussed were the main arguments for and against honey being considered vegan! So instead of worrying about picking a side (hey, this is only for seven days!), we decided to not eat honey during our challenge.

Note Regarding Shopping:

I definitely know the pain that anyone with a restricted diet, allergies, or who chooses a restricted food habit (vegan, gluten-free) has to go through while shopping!

Half of the items are not marked and those that are marked range widely on where and how they're labeled.

For example, some products are definitely advertising to the vegan eater. They say right on the front of the packaging - "Vegan".

Others, not so obvious...

At Trader Joe's, (some of) the products are marked with a "V", symbolizing vegan. Whereas, at Wholefoods, a "V" means vegetarian - here you want to find the products with "V+" if you're shopping vegan.

Then there is the 'accidental vegan' category of goods. We stumbled upon this group when we nearly had a panic attack on day 3, from the lack of treats and sugar. Turns out Oreos, Sour Patch Kids, and Swedish Fish are all vegan! Yay!

Shopping was definitely an experience - a few more weeks of learning the correct brands and having a better idea of what to look for and it would be much easier. But I think I'll stop at seven days!

Any surprises when you went vegan?

Yours in exploiting life!
Quinn