Day Four: Branching Out

What I Miss Today: cheesy, creamy pasta

I was in a meeting today about club activation procedures at school, and I got to thinking about an event we had back in May. A catering company brought tons of food — sausage and peppers, salad, and this delicious creamy pasta with chicken. At that point, all I wanted was Fettuccine Alfredo.

Depressed and missing dairy, I then headed to the grocery store and picked up a few things, including tempeh and a soy ice cream, which I had never tried before. It’s not cream, so is it ice soy? The packaging calls it “non-dairy frozen dessert.” It has caramel swirl and chocolate-covered almonds. I must say…besides the fact that it wasn’t quite frozen enough, it was good!

I marinated the tempeh in a combination of soy sauce, cayenne, turmeric and a clove of garlic grated finely. Then, along side slices of summer squash and zucchini, I grilled them in the GoFo, and served it all over rice. The tempeh was a little too salty for me, and a little dry — if I did it again, I’d adjust the marinade a bit. But all in all, not bad.

I also picked up some Stacy’s Pita Chips in two flavors: pesto & sun-dried tomato, and cinnamon sugar. I’ve been insatiably hungry today [could be "that time of the month"...] so I ate plenty of both.

Which brings me to a thought: you can be vegan, and still be fat. Just eat chips and non-dairy frozen desserts all evening. There are vegan substitutes for the things us meat product-lovers love…but they’re all pretty high-calorie.

I should definitely just stick to the fresh vegetables.

Day Three: Really? It’s only been THREE DAYS?!

What I Miss Today: anything that isn’t vegan

I officially got sick of grilled vegetables today. I ate another hummus & veggie pita for lunch and some grapes, which, don’t get me wrong, was very good. But I have OD’d I believe. When I got home for dinner, I had a peanut butter pita sandwich and a glass of chocolate soy milk.

I can’t believe it’s only been THREE DAYS. I feel like I’ve been doing this forever! Maybe this is just that hump I have to get over, and in a week I’ll be fine.

I’ll be fine, right?

Dammit.

I really thought I was being original, with my whole “Vegan Experiment” thing.

But apparently I’m not.

Sad face.

Oh well. I’m still doing it…though his three months makes my one month look…umm…two months lamer.

Day Two: First Day Of School

What I Miss Today: pizza and Twix

I only miss pizza because I had to buy two for the lab meeting today. One was cheese, the other had delicious roasted vegetables that were calling to me, saying, “Why did you decide to go vegan?? Why not just vegetarian?? If you were vegetarian, then me, you and cheese could have a hot and tasty three-way in your mouth.”

But instead of melt-y, cheesey pizza, I had a salad with some baslamic vinegar and oil. Then later I ate some fruit salad. I know it’s good for me, and it is yummy. And I actually feel pretty good.

I only miss Twix is because I ran into a girl I had class with Fall 2007, and we got to chatting about writing while we were both waiting in the line at the bookstore. After we checked out, we sat in the campus center for a bit and continued our conversation [she advised me on universities with MFA programs in creative writing]. She then proceeded to unwrap those chocolate-y, caramel-y, crunchy temptresses that are Twix bars. I smelled the chocolate, and I almost melted. I informed her of The Vegan Experiment, and, apologizing, she put the Twix away! I felt horrible for interrupting her snack, and told her to please finish. In a month I can have my own tasty Twix.

On the way home, I stopped by the grocery store for more vegetables, hummus and pita bread. I had an idea for dinner.

I broke out the George Foreman again [or as Kristen calls it, The GoFo] to grill some eggplant, peppers, zucchini, summer squash, onions and asparagus. I cooked a huge pile of veggies [saving some for tomorrow], spread some hummus on a slice of pita, then layered the vegetables on top. Umm, hello, can you say amazing? That really was a three-some in my mouth! [Actually more like a seven-some, but who's counting?]

I definitely recommend you try this at home. That is, if you’re into crazy food orgies in your mouth.

Day Two down. Twenty-eight to go…

Olfactory alert!! Kristen is cooking a fucking grilled cheese right now. I can smell it. Dammit.

My new mantra: Vegetables are good, grilled cheese is gross…vegetables are good, grilled cheese is gross…

Day One: Dinner

OK, I already blogged today, but what I ate for dinner was just too good to not write about.

Grilled eggplant, red peppers, and onions with jasmine rice. May sound pretty boring, but it was amazing. I don’t even think I can accurately describe the way the eggplant, lightly drizzled with a robust olive oil and sprinkled with garlic, melted in my mouth, or the way the onions carmelized from the George Foreman grill were so soft and sweet, or the tangy flavor of the red peppers. It was so easy to make, too — ten minutes on the grill and you’re done. The whole meal took less than 30 minutes to prepare. I felt a little like Rachel Ray…except with less hand gestures and talking.

Sitting here in my new living room, watching the Sox beat the Orioles, I am completely stuffed and satisfied…even without cheese.

Day One, Half Done.

What I Miss Today: convenient food

It’s a gorgeous mid-afternoon in Boston. Hillside Street is full of moving trucks, college students carrying furniture, bags of trash, and just plain old commotion. September 1 is the moving day here. Unfortunately, it’s the day everyone has to move…which makes it a clusterfuck of insanity. I was lucky enough to have been able to move yesterday, so today I’m just unpacking.

Oh yeah, and I’m starting that whole vegan-for-a-month thing.

I’m going to count the day beginning when I woke up. Last night at 11:20 pm I finally unloaded the last of my things into my new apartment. My new roommate and her boyfriend were ordering Chinese food, and asked if I wanted in. I ordered vegetable fried rice, and it wasn’t delivered until after midnight. Not wanting to waste food, and being ridiculously hungry, I ate it anyway, vowing to start the vegan thing in the morning.

Exhausted and sore, I woke up at 9 am. I lay there on my matress on the floor [the box spring wouldn't fit up the stairwell] thinking about how to best tackle the mess in my apartment. After showers and much contemplation, my friend and I went to the grocery store to get some food. We bought various fruits and vegetables, and some soy milk.

I ate a handful of grapes and drank a glass of a fruit smoothie beverage. Later on, I plan on breaking in my roommate’s new George Foreman grill with some eggplant and peppers. Maybe I’ll throw some rice in there, too.

I am glad to be eating good, real food, but I actually have to prepare it, and take time out of my busy and tired day to do this. And with school starting tomorrow, I may be too busy to do it, and I fear I’m going to be a starving, cranky mess.

Mental Preparation.

I’m sitting here, with freshly painted hot pink nails, a glass of Franzia [yes, I dig the boxed wine], the Sox/Yankees game, some delicious barbeque Kettle chips and half of yesterday’s amazing patty melt from Victoria’s, only probably my favorite diner on the planet. It makes me think about the next month, and what about this scenario will be different.

- Freshly painted nails = no problem. Regardless of whether nail polish is tested on animals or not, I am doing the dietary vegan thing, not the lifestyle vegan thing. I will most certainly still be carrying around my Coach leather bags with no qualms.

- Glass of Franzia = will be absent. In with the Vegan Experiment, I am giving up alcohol. Sigh.

- Sox/Yankees game = baseball is vegan. It has to be. I couldn’t survive without it…literally. My job is at Fenway Park. Baseball pays my bills.

- Barbeque Kettle chips = questionable. The ingredients list contains honey, but I am not completely sold that bees are animals and not merely insects. I know hardcore vegans would protest, but I am still in the decision process about this.

- Patty melt = full of meat, cheese, and tasty mayo spread stuff. Yeah…none of that is vegan.

So what will I substitute for the non-vegan things on my list?

Probably some kind of salad, with beans, or fruit. And I will like it. I will make myself like it…and not dream about the delicious foods I am denying myself for no other reason that the fact that I can.

I really, really hope I can make it a whole month and not give up.

I must mentally prepare for this experiment…

One Week Left.

Well, I’ve got one week left to gorge myself on all the meat, cheese and ice cream I can before my self-imposed vegan experiment. I went to Whole Foods tonight to get some ideas. It’s going to be tough. Instead of just ordering food or going to a restaurant, I’ll have to actually think about what I’m eating. And thinking is just, like…hard.

However, my awesome collection of cookbooks will get dusted off and put to good use. I am not interested in a month of boring stir fry every night. Nor am I interested in tons of bean salads. So I must get creative.

I’m hoping to keep a good record of what I eat and any good recipes I use or create, the foods I miss [ice cream and pastries I'm sure will top the list], the struggles I have, if I cheat, and how I feel. I am hoping to feel healthier, maybe drop a couple pounds [at least shrink this little beer gut I've got going on], save some money from not emptying my wallet at the bar [like I've been doing lately] — but most importantly, I think I will learn something about myself. Even if it’s something as simple as “I can do anything I put my mind to, including give up my favorite food for 30 days,” that works for me.

30 days isn’t that long anyway.

So stay tuned. This should be interesting…