A New Life

So I finally read/finished reading The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone....yes...the Clueless girl. And the crazy thing is, she makes a really convincing argument for veganism. So. I'm giving it a shot--and I'm being easy on myself. AND, I'm certainly not imposing my new lifestyle on anyone: if you cook me meat for dinner, I will eat it--I promise. I'm not in it to guilt-trip or judge that's for sure.

So, I've been eating vegan for a week and a half now and this is what I've discovered:

1. I feel more balanced throughout the day. Meaning: I don't have hunger or energy spikes and plummets.
2. I don't crave carbs because I get to eat whatever whole grains I want--and they're really, really satisfying. Which means I don't crave sweets and desserts either!
3. I'm less moody. YES I'm less moody-- are you doubting me??!!
4. Not to sound all uppity or anything...but my shit don't stink.
5. I've lost 5 lbs, but you can't tell outwardly...if you catch my drift. I'm just simply carrin' less. It sort of feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders (if my shoulders were in my intestines).

It has been a relatively smooth transition into veganism. I was already a pescatarian (vegetarian that eats fish), so I'm not really doing anything drastically different. And, the farm boxes are playing a huge roll in all this. If it weren't for the crazy amounts of fresh, organic veggies I have around the house, I think this would be a lot more difficult.

Speaking of difficulties, what I've had to give up that I really, really, really, really, reallyreallyreally love is cheese. And, I'm sorry, but vegan cheese is the cussing most disgusting thing ever. These are the things I'm working on cutting out of my diet all together, and so far, have been successful:

1. cheese
2. milk
3. eggs (which makes me sad because I really wanted to get some chickens)
4. white flour
5. white sugar
6. caffeine (not as hard as I thought it would be. decaf is a good decoy.)

I'm not cutting these things out for the usual reason that people become vegan: animal rights and social justice issues. (Though I'm always for that stuff of course.) I actually think it is healthier to live without them and to replace those items with whole grains and fresh produce--which (as many people don't realize) have more protein and nutrients in them than the first three items combined. Did that just blow your mind? Because it should have.

What I'm adding into my diet, and loooooooove:

1. quinoa
2. millet
3. beans
4. almond milk (oh my gosh I love almonds and I love their milk. why did I not do this one sooner?)
5. kale and other dense, dark leafy greens full of iron

So that's about it. I'll be posting some of the things I've made with my CSA box contents soon. I've loved everything so far. This week, try to consume a little less dairy and a little more whole grain and leafy green food and see how you feel.

Peace.