Well Ladies and Gents

Here's to my last ten days of veganism! I've been planning my end-meal for so long it seems that I'm almost positive it won't be as delicious as I think it will.

I tried veganizing Mac and Cheese the other day, not so great. Soy cheese scares me. I'd rather never have any semblance of cheese again before I eat soy cheese. Yuck.

List of Slip Ups

• Ate a walnut off of a co-worker's frozen yogurt, forgetting that I would be eating yogurt too (Day One)
• Honey in Ginger Beer (Day Three)
• The delicious burrito incident (Day Nine)

Day 16

I guess I haven't been updating a lot lately or really at all because nothing's really been happening. I thought my energy level would change or I would lose weight or it would be damn near impossible to find anything to eat, but the only real change is that my grocery bills have gone up.

I'm still craving cheese, sour cream, meat, you-name-it, but I don't think that will ever change. It seems that unless you have a moral opposition to animal products or really enjoy controlling everything that goes into your body, it's hard to stay motivated in being vegan. I've only knowingly slipped up once and it was while I was drunk last weekend. Took a bite of a supposedly vegan burrito and was astonished at how creamy and flavorful the guacamole was (yes, it's always flavorful, but when you've been eating avocado and pretty much no other fat, it gets old). Then I took another bite enjoying it and getting a bit suspicious. I walked into the light of the kitchen and there it was... CHEESE! Sweet, wonderful, beautiful, delicious cheese. I knowingly took one more bite, then stopped. It was just too good to put aside. Despite the cries of "We won't tell anyone," I did not finish that super tasty burrito.

Is Aleve Vegan? - UPDATE!

Dear Ms . Tuck :

Thank you for taking the time to contact Bayer HealthCare. We appreciate your
interest in ALEVE®.

We apologize for the delay in our response to your recent email. In response to
your inquiry, our Aleve tablets and caplets do not contain any animal
by-products. Our Aleve Smooth Gels will contain pork and the gelatin in the
Aleve Liquid Gels is derived from both pork and bovine (cow/beef). It is the
main ingredient in the gelatin shell.

If we may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact our Consumer
Relations Department.

Sincerely,

Marie Jett
Consumer Advisor

Aleve is vegan!

Day Eight

I have been having the most amazing cravings the past couple days. My body is in need of fat and NOT from Avocado. It's also craving an intense amount of iron, if I was just doing the vegetarian thing for this month-long stint, some creamed spinach would most definitely do the trick. My boss and her in-laws apparently made an amazing vegan Indian feast this past weekend, topped off (rather inexplicably) by vegan rice pudding. Although, India was part of the British Empire for quite a while and what's more British than a pudding? Rice pudding sounds amazing right now, but my body can't handle any more soy for the day and I'm not in the mood to go traipsing around Chicago to find almond milk.

Rambling post I know. I am grump, grump, GRUMPY.

Just as a side note, Bayer still hasn't emailed me back to let me know if Aleve is vegan or not. I'll post the breakdown of what exactly is in it and what the sticking point is in its vegan-ness.

Day Six

I think I'm definitely going to have to do this experiment again in the fall. I'm not sure if I've gotten all this energy from the new diet or if it's because the weather is changing and it's staying light later. Today was absolutely grueling at work, as was yesterday, I wasn't able to take a break from my desk and get up and walk around until about 2 this afternoon. Sitting at my desk from 7 AM until 2 PM is most definitely the cause for my incredible amount of irritability today and not the diet.

Speaking of the diet, I made the most wonderful black bean burrito for lunch. Recipe to follow.

Days Two Through Five

Oh man, my computer damn near exploded this weekend and wouldn't let me post on Friday and Saturday. To be honest, not posting on Sunday was purely laziness. I think my biggest issues thus far with veganism are:

Issue number one: I grab for food I would normally eat without a second thought and then as soon as I pop it in my mouth I start thinking about whether or not in fits with the plan. Friday's lunch was a lunch full of Boca burger and red onion, so naturally for my co-workers' sakes I grabbed a Tic Tac or two. Biiiiiig mistake. I took them out as soon as I thought of it and began my Googling. Sadly, Tic Tacs are not vegan and I had to toss them and suffer through the onion breath, poor co-workers.

Issue number two: Going out to dinner. I'm not sure this would be as big of an issue if I was going vegan because of feelings about animal rights or because of dietary restrictions, but I essentially don't have a real reason except this experiment to not eat animal products. Saturday night was sushi night before going dancing. Seeing the other people I was with order all those rolls (my favorite meal) and with me sticking to cucumber, avocado and oshinko was a little disheartening. These places need more vegetarian options! Sweet potato. Carrot. Beets. I know it's not traditionally Japanese, but I mean, is cream cheese? A California Roll?

Issue number three: I'm finding entirely too many new foods I love. Spicy "chicken" Boca patties are amazing! I could eat these suckers all day. Add a side of some fresh tomato and avocado with balsamic. So delicious.

Friday was a bit tiring, and I've been sleeping the best I have in a long time. I can't remember the last time I slept through the night before the past week. Saturday, Sunday and today have given me revived energy. Saturday was especially shocking; after helping a friend move, I still had the energy to go out. I may keep this going. Eat vegan when in my house and take advantage of going out fully and eat what I like. Except honey! Gimme honey (especially in the beer).