One Month Anniversary - 31 days as a vegetarian

So I've successfully done January as a vegetarian, and for a proportion of this time, vegan as well sort of by accident. So I suppose now is the time to take stock, evaluate the past month and see where this leaves me.

Was it as hard as I thought it would be?

Not, not really. It started off seeming quite limited, but as time went on, I found out which substitutes were best (Linda McCartney sausages a real winner, dehydrated soy chunks *vom*). I also got to try out some vege options at restaurants which were pleasantly surprising, as well as finding a couple of vegetarian restaurants in Birmingham. I was still able to have junk food (chips, chocolate, doughnuts) so didn't feel *too* deprived. I am very excited to go and check out 100%Vegan, a new shop thats just opened in Digbeth under the Warehouse Cafe (see earlier blogpost for a review) so hoping to try out some new items at some point.

Has it made a difference to my health?

I suppose to be able to give accurate results for this, it would have been useful to have had my cholestoral and blood pressure tested beforehand. Vegetarian diets are one of the best for reducing both of these things, but I don't have a comparison, so the jury's still out.

At times I have felt a little dizzy and lightheaded - however I have been pretty bad at taking vitamins regularly, so this is something I would have to do religiously if I choose to continue.

Weight loss? Well this was never about weight. I did start off calorie counting - mainly to check that I was getting enough calories if I wasn't eating meat. I have some of those wifi scales - so here's the graph for Jan-Feb - I started being vege on 1st Jan.

So, a small, yet definate downward line. I generally fluctuate around 55-57kg, but after some indulgence over Nov-Dec, this increased slightly so around 58kg on one day. So as a by product of this diet, it does seem that it has reduced slowly (this was with 5 meals out in 2 weeks as well). 

Do I feel any better/different?

I think I feel less bloated, but again that might just be me thinking that I should (placebo?). However I don't now feel uncomfortably full after meals. I still have to strike a balance between portion sizes though as I do find at times (generally about 6pm when I'm waiting for my second train) that I'm pretty damn hungry. 

My skin doesn't appear to have changed much - but again not sure I would see a difference in just 1 month. My boyfriend seems to have reduced his snoring, since we changed over completely to soy milk, so thats a definate bonus. I've heard other people feel very clear headed after they cut out meat/dairy but I haven't really experienced this (my head is usually a fuzzy muddle of thoughts anyway). 

Do I really miss meat?

Yes. I'd be lying if I said no. I was practically salivating at the sight of my friend's burger the other day. I can look at the meat in a supermarket and not feel an overwhelming sense of rage or disgust. However, it has become easier for sure. I think as I can become more experienced in cooking vegetables to make them tasty and experimenting with combinations I'll really start to appreciate them for their own flavours and taste, rather than seeing them as a poor substitute. There are some really great recipes I want to try out when I eventually move into my new house with oven that actually works. 

Am I going to keep this up?

Now, I can't promise anything. I don't know how sustainable this diet is long term for me, however I am definately convinced by a diet that contains significantly less meat and dairy. I'm sold on soya milk - it's awesome. I think if it did come to it in the future where I had no choice but to eat meat (say for example, on holiday or at someone's house), I might do it. I have read about the rise of the "flexitarian" - people who only eat meat about once a month, and that seems not too bad an option, if I really thought I was struggling. I think if I did move back to meat I'd stop buying supermarket meat and try to source local farm shops etc to avoid factory farming. It's hard to say. I'm going to try and continue as much as possible, but at this point I'm not going to make any promises.

However being a vegetarian so far, hasn't really been that bad. Tonight I am off to my friends house where they will cook me my own special vegetarian sausages toad in the hole (with egg free hole).

Chicken or the Egg?

Well, technically, in this case, neither.

Let me introduce you to one of my recent purchases - chicken free chicken. And egg free chicken too.

I was getting a bit sick of soy mince. It's definately a staple, but it lacks "bite". I've been craving something with the texture of meat, something a bit more substantial. So I stumbled across the Realeat Chicken Style pieces in Holland and Barrett - priced at a reasonable £2.59. 

They can just be added to normal recipes so I decided to make a stirfry. Now this is still soy protein based, but the texture is less "spongey" and more "meaty" so on that front I was quite pleased. They come frozen so I just added them to the pan. They took a while to defrost and I wasn't quite sure whether they were done or not, but as theres no risk of salmonella, its not the end of the world.

Now the thing for me that I think vege companies should bear in mind is that meat in general does not come in convenient, even sized, cubes. I felt like I was eating lego. It was far too even! I think it would have a higher degree of authenticity to it if it was cut in uneven pieces rather than cubes. However, it did "brown" in the pan quite well.

I then tested out zero calorie noodles. What is this madness I hear you say? Noodles with no calories? Yep. Well, technically they are 8cals per 100g, but since you expend that amount of energy eating the stuff, it works out at 0 net calories. Sounds too good to be true. Sounds too good to be tasty.

The ones I bought were the Zero Noodles which at £1.99 weren't cheap (I began reminiscing about making 8p chicken noodles in my university dorm room). Basically the bottom line on these is:

"Zero Noodles are made from Konjac Glucomannan which is a natural soluble fibre produced by the Konjac Plant which is then mixed with water to produce the noodles."

I'd heard of other noodles made from yams, but these seem something different. I'd also heard them referred to as "glass noodles" which I suppose is quite accurate as they are semi-translucent and shiny. They smelt a bit "fishy" when I first took them out the packet, but that dissapated once they'd been cooked. I fried them in the pan, as this is supposed to be the better way to cook them, if you boil them they can be too slimey.

Have to say I was quite surprised - they weren't bad. Once they were mixed in with the vegetables, sauce and chicken-free-chicken, it almost passed for a normal stir fry. They are more akin to thin spaghetti rather than noodles which I feel are slightly softer, but they were definately not inedible.

The finished stir fry looked like this:

And half of that came to 410 calories. Not bad for all that protein. I actually felt uncomfortably full afterwards (but not too full not to stuff my face with yoghurt coated cashew nuts for dessert). 

So this meal was chicken free, egg free, dairy free, and partly calorie free. This my friends, is the future of food. 

shopping!

I have just had a small spending spree in Holland and Barratt. Its ace fun, I'm always amazed at the variety of special food items and replacements you can get. I feel like I'm buying special astronaut food!

I've bought some frozen chicken style pieces which I'm really pleased with as I've not seen them before and quorn chicken thingies contain egg so are a no go for me. I'm going to buy some veg and sauce and make a stir fry.

Also bought a bag of the not-so-deliciously named "Textured Vegetable Protein" aka TVP. Hoping to have a go at these babies http://www.tryveg.com/lunch#sloppymoes

I also stocked up on some more smoked tofu whilst the "buy one get one for a penny" sale was on, and some vege burgers that were a steal at 99p for 4 (have yet to be taste tested)

I also pushed the boat out in a quasi-scientific experiment with some zero calorie noodles. At £1.99 for a small packet they are pricey but my boyfriend is noodle-curious so will give them a go with a load of veg as part of a stir fry. Will review them at a later date!

Was tempted by the meat free pepperami sticks and the "mock duck" in a can, but those little gems will have to be for another day!

Topped it all off with some yoghurt coated cashews for a treat :)

Warehouse Cafe, Digbeth

Above: Birthday Meal at The Warehouse Cafe

I feel I am getting pretty good at this eating out vegetarian malarky. In fact, since I feel I needed the practice, I think I have been out for resturant meals about 5 times in the past 2 weeks of being vegetarian.

It was recently my boyfriend's birthday - so I suggested we go to a vegetarian restaurant in roder to avoid temptation and perhaps get our friends to understand that not all vege food is tofu and salad.


I booked a table at The Warehouse Cafe in Digbeth, Birmingham. I had previously visited when I was about 18 with the vegan boyfriend at the time I have previously mentioned. In the past decade, it has undergone a revamp and changed owners, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

It's located on Allison Street, in part of a small corner complex that it shares with Friends of the Earth. Inside, it was simply decorated, but the nice wooden furniture, tealights and fairylights gave it a nice touch of ambiance that still retained its friendliness. There were a few other tables around us inhabited by couples who had clearly been before (one couple even made a repeat booking upon leaving) so it seems it has a loyal following in Birmingham.

Our servers were some of the friendliest I have ever met and attentive and polite without it seeming too annoying or overdone. They were very helpful and knowledgeable about the ingredients in the dishes.

My main gripe was that they aren't licensed to don't serve alcohol, but you are permitted to take your own, but this isn't made clear on their website so we missed out on a celebratory drink or two. Instead we ordered a huge amount of Fentiman's natural sodas between us. The Pink lemonade was a favourite.

I've included the menus below - I had the houmous and local bread with olive tepenade (lovely but far too much for a starter, I was full before the main came out!), the halloumi fish and chips (felt quite unhealthy eating this, it is battered cheese afterall!) but it was nice to have something "substantial". I topped it off with a vegan brownie, which frankly was overkill by this point, but I just couldn't leave without sampling a vegan dessert (I often miss out due to my egg allergy).

My party differed in their tastes - those a little sceptical stuck to vege burgers with various toppings, which seemed to be received quite well. However - I don't feel we have converted the masses just yet!

Amy's Kitchen

Just wanted to let you know about a good piece of customer service I received. One of the good things about eating a "special" diet, which includes allergies/intolerances/vegetarian/vegan etc is that many of the companies that produce these items are much smaller (Quorn excluded) and can often be local, family run or both.

I recently purchased a frozen ready meal (vegetable lasagne) from "Amy's Kitchen" from Holland and Barrett, whilst at work and realising as I'm trawling through Coventry city centre that I now only have about 7 minutes left for lunch and need something quick and easy. "Amy's Kitchen" is a USA brand, but they sell in the UK. They were originally a husband and wife team who wanted to make natural food for their daughter (called Amy, obviously) and now make a large range of vege, vegan and gluten free foods.

However when I cooked it, I felt sadly disappointed that it didn't resemble the picture on the front of the box. Not usually surprising for microwave meals, but these aren't your Tesco Smart Price 99p chicken curries. Saying this though, it was pretty delicious, and the fact the cheese used in it was vegan was even more surprising.

However, being a stickler for getting what you paid for, I posted a pic to their Facebook page. I was quickly contacted and offered a refund - and a few days later I received a coupon for a replacement meal, an apology letter, a pen and a brochure of all their products. Now that's what I call customer service!

I'll be keeping a look out for more of the Amy's Kitchen range.

Two Weeks So Far & Another meal out

So I'm just about to hit the 2 week mark officially. It's weird because although it becomes easier in that you grow more accustomed to what you can eat and what to buy when shopping, it also gets harder at the same time as temptations seems stronger. Apparently you need to do something new for 30 days in order to make it something you're likely to stick at. I suggest watching this Ted Talk video which is about setting goals and achieving change - all through doing something new for 30 days. I think I need to assess things at the end of the month and see how I am doing.

I've also been logging my food, and averaging around 1300 calories per day - all vegetarian. I haven't lost any weight and I don't feel that different, although I have noticed I don't feel as uncomfortable after eating a big meal. I'm hoping that in time it will have a positive effect on my skin as well, as I've been cutting back on sugar and treats (my new treat is an apple with cashew butter) although I know I'm not drinking near enough as much water as I should be - it's usually just tea. I read somewhere that dairy can have an adverse effect on your skin so perhaps I will see a change. I know that when my boyfriend drinks milk before bed, he ends up really congested and snores much worse than usual, here's hoping that soy milk will stop the snoring!

I'm getting bit sick of soy at the moment, so I need to look into more substantial meat substitutes. I want to find better ways to cook with tofu, as this has a better consistency. I read on a vege website that by freezing tofu and then defrosting it changes its texture - from "bouncy" to "chewy" which gives it a bit more "bite. So this is what I have done and tonight I will be attempting Stir Fried Veg with sesame crusted tofu. Hopefully it will come out good!

I requested a load of free leaflets from the vegetarian society - which included recipe cards, food planning and information on benefits of going vege on the environment, health and animals. 

I think when I've moved into my new house with its new kitchen, it will be easier as I'll have a working oven and a big fridge so will hopefully be able to bulk cook and freeze/chill things, as well as attempt things like pies, bakes and pastry based dishes. Things are definately getting a bit dull at the moment!

Last night I went to a restaurant/bar in Birminghams JQ with some friends. There were 2 vege options on the menu - one of which I was likely to be allergic to. I really had to make conscious effort not to fixate on the steak dishes and the other burgers - but I managed to avoid temptation and I had a vege burger which was "grilled portobello mushroom with peppers and boursin, served with salad and fries". It. Was. Amazing. I will definately go back and order this again! My boyfriend ordered a "spinach and nutmeg croquette with pasta and grilled artichoke". That also looked amazing, and even he was pleasantly surprised with it. 

Milk

I like soy milk. It's really tasty - creamy and smooth, and of course doesn't have any of the ethical ramifications that come with dairy milk (You can read about how it's bad for cows here)
I really love a soy latte. I really love coffee shops. I really like soy lattes from coffee shops. 


The high streets are full of various chain and independent coffee shops. Most will stock various kinds of milk depending on your tastes. However, one think I have found is a big difference between Starbucks and Costa with regards to soy milk.

Starbucks say this:

Is Soy Milk available in your stores?

Yes, we stock Soy Milk in all our stores.

Do you charge for Soy Milk?

Customers can enjoy a splash of soy milk at no extra charge, for example in a Tea or a Café Americano. However, due to its fairly low consumption, extra wastage occurs when preparing steamed soy milk for certain drinks, such as a Caffe Latte or Hot Chocolate. Because of this, coupled with the extra cost of purchasing soy milk, we add a 35p charge for soy milk in these beverages

So if, as an ethical consumer, I want to have a soy drink in starbucks, it will cost me an extra 35p on top of my £2.70 ish priced drink.

However, Costa Coffee, will provide Alpro Soy Milk as an alternative at no extra cost.

So with consideration of this, I will now spend my money in Costa wherever possible when I want more than "a splash" of milk. If any of you have not tried soy milk, I highly recommend it. It's quite cheap (Tesco's own brand is about 60p a carton) and widely available. Our milkman even delivers our two cartons a week so we don't even have to think about it. 

What do you do with an epileptic lettuce?....

.....you make a seizure salad!

So with my new found motivation I decided to try to conquer....the salad. The green stuff. Let's face it - its what I hate. They're cold (mostly, definately so without meat involved), full of wet, stalky things that are either crunchy (gross) or limp (double gross). I find that salad appears to be considered a fashionable and female thing to do - magazines seem me to expect to "do lunch" with "the girls" with a caesar salad and a glass of pinot, discussing the latest Karen Millen line. Don't think that's quite me. I decided to try a variation on a BBC Good Food South Western Salad with beans, corn, avocado, tomatoes etc. In theory it looked quite pretty. On Monday, I waited so late to have my lunch I was so hungry I ate most of it, and it wasn't too bad, although it definately felt like a chore. Coming back to the same salad on Tuesday did not go down well - it made me feel physically sick and I couldn't eat it (just picked out the avocado and beans) and then ended up having a packet of crisps to drive away the hunger pangs. I think it was because I tried to go too full on with a food I don't really like. I think I need to try and have salad as a side dish to start off with, before going the whole hog.

Dinner on Monday night was much more successful - I used the dried soy mince I had purchased from Holland and Barratt in place of minced beef in a Burrito Kit. You basically get the tortillas, tomato/bean cooking sauce and salsa in a box and you add the filling and any extras like cheese. I was pleasantly surprised by this - we managed to have a completely vegan meal and get in some extra veggies such as rocket/spinach and slices of red pepper as well. Pushed the boat out with egg free mayo, jalapenos and some vegan cheese (totally not worth the calories, tastes like nothing). I was pleased that the soy mince was so cheap yet when you add it to water it bulks up loads so 150g dry yields about 550g wet meat equivalent. Its also low in calories - all the soy in my 3 pretty generous tortillas was only about 40g and about 140 calories so its very low in fat and high in protein. 

I was really craving meat today again, but a really filling jacket potato with cheese, beans and jalapenos for lunch at work really went some way to satisfying these cravings. For a snack tonight we had apple slices with cashew butter (when I worked at a USA summer camp some of the kids would literally only eat apples with peanut butter every single day, so I felt like I was doing this, but without the anaphylaxis!) It was pretty amazing so I think this will have to be my go to snack when I'm craving sweets and chocolates. It still might be quite high in sugars and fats but at least they're natural and its one more piece of fruit I'm having at the same time. 

The Last Supper....

So it's back to work proper tomorrow. Eurgh. Not looking forward to it. Wanted to have a tasty dinner to commiserate having to wake up at 6.40am each morning again. So tonights dinner looked like this......

Roasted Pepper stuffed with Granose Sunflower Seed, Lentil and Vegetable Mix, Sweet Potato Mash and Peas.

I am stuffed! (But might have room for that bit of fruit crumble that's left....)

The Outcry!

Well, I definately didn't expect so many comments when I linked this new blog to my facebook to tell people about my "Veg Pledge" challenge. It definately prompted debate/discussion/argument! There were people telling me they "gave it a week" (very supportive), those who couldn't believe that I even ate vegetables at all (childhood friends who still remember the awkward mealtimes when I refused to eat what their mother had cooked for me) and those who felt that vegetarianism was an unhealthy way of life, and indeed even those who felt I was "obsessed" by food or had an unhealthy body image. Thankfully, there seemed to be equal numbers of those quoting studies or sharing support for this change in diet. It's odd that there are still so many people who feel meat is intrinsic to a healthy diet, or that I will end up suffering from a severe Vitamin 12 deficiency which will render me unconscious. I am aware that you have to think more when you eat this way, to make sure you get a balanced diet. I may look into taking some Vitamin supplements if this becomes long term just in case. However soya milk has added Vitamin B12 due to this issue.

I can definately say that this time, it's less about weight (although keeping trim is always an added bonus) but more about eating healthily, being more informed and animal welfare. Indeed today I did my food shopping and felt a pang of quiet triumph as I skipped merrily past the shrink-wrapped packets of meat and headed for the pasta and beans aisle. I was also surprised at the cost of my shopping - it seemed a fair bit cheaper than when I usually buy meat, which can only be a good thing when you've recently required a mortgage for a house with an eye watering council tax bill (Band F in case you were wondering).

I'm currently having a break with a cup of soy milk tea and a crumpet with cashew butter (a very odd consistency - is peanut butter the same in that it sticks to the roof of your mouth instantly?). However, it should me a tasty protein snack. It's quite odd because I've always had a severe nut allergy (peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts) but have recently discovered I can eat whole cashews without keeling over in anaphylaxis. Likewise for almonds. As they are still technically nuts, I've tended to avoid them as its easier when dealing with a nut allergy, however they are a good source of protein and since I'm also allergic to eggs (yep, I'm one of *those* people) it seems silly not to eat some from time to time. This cashew butter is really weird though - it kinda makes my throat feel a bit tight, but that might be because it's still clinging to the roof of my mouth and impairing my ability to swallow. What is with this stuff?!

I have decided to make a "south Western Style Salad" for lunch at work for a couple of days, so will see how that pans out. Dinner will be soy mince/bean stuffed Peppers with Dairy free cheese (an odd concept I know) and sweet potato chips. I stocked up on quite a few vege mains as well as frozen veg - tried out Holland and Barratt (egg free mayo!!!!) as well as the normal vegetarian ranges in Tesco. The granose ranges are really good and are currently 2 for £2 in Morrisons (or usually about £1.50 each in most other places). You add water to a soy/herb mix and create things like burgers and sausages and falafels which you then fry and can add sauce to or whatever. I think they're pretty good. It's also nice not having to fuss with defrosting meat or worrying about cross contamination or it going off (salmonella anyone?)

Saturday Night Dinner

So Saturday usually heralds going out for meals or ordering take out. This time we were just going to a friend's for games but didn't want to be tempted so I made dinner beforehand and then finished it off at our friends. I went for soy burgers (Granose brand) with rocket and sweet potato fries. Tasty but not feeling that full so would look at introducing more veg next time if I had more time to plan. However a very tasty pear and rhubarb crumble helped a bit. 

So what's this all about?

New Year's Resolutions. If you're anything like me, you think about all the ways you could be a better person, briefly entertain them whilst stuffing your face with Terry's Chocolate Orange whilst watching re-runs of Futurama, and then mockingly disregard them. There's no point, right?

However, I appear to have made the foray into the world of blogging (like keeping a diary it seems, although safer than having your younger brother find the tiny plastic key to your equally tiny diary where you poured your heart out as a pre-teen over the fact that you were never going to get together with Tommy the green power ranger). I feel I should use the opportunity to blog about something interesting and semi-meaningful.

A few things have happened recently (things I've seen, read or felt) that have led me to a place where I want to start a bit of an experiment, which may possibly lead to a much more permanent lifestyle change. In this instance, I am going to try to move to a vegetarian diet (whilst being vegan when I am able to: vegan being no animal derived products, so no dairy either). There are several reasons for this which I will go into, but I need to give a bit more background on me.

I love meat. Or loved. Not sure of the tense. Until fairly recently, I was probably as opposite to a vegetarian as you could get. I hated vegetables. Is it green? Gross. Leaves? Nu-uh. Stalks? Get lost. It was meat all the way. Double cheeseburgers, steaks, ribs, chicken, lamb, beef, turkey, hot dogs. Minced, fried, grilled, sunday roast, BBQ'd. I even ventured into more exotic meats such as sampling the delights of ostrich and buffalo (I drew the line at crocodile though). I hated salad (still do if I'm honest) and felt a strong sort of confusion and pity for those colleagues who would bring a soggy box of leaves to work for their lunch, whilst I tucked into a happy meal and a can of red bull. I've only started to eat mushrooms, tomatoes and peas in the last 6 years or so. I never really felt any real concern over this diet. I'd try and buy good quality meat when I could afford to and I reasoned that it was part of a "normal" diet.

So. The veges/vegans. We all know one or two. Those awkward people who get in the way of dinner plans because of their awkward preferences - they're looked down on more than people with allergies/intolerances (which includes myself) as its a *lifestyle choice*. Who would CHOOSE not to eat a juicy steak dripping in garlic butter? I know - I dated a vegan for about 2 years. I have vivid memories of soaking "soya chunks" in a bowl of water which smelled like dog food, and also being lectured on how eating honey is "bad for the bees". This was a particularly strict case mind you. For our anniversary, we went to a vegetarian restaurant where I tried to force down something called "jambalaya" when all I wanted was to stuff my face with roasted animal flesh covered in peppercorn sauce.

As I said, a few things have happened recently (things that I've seen, read or felt) that are making me want to move away from this lifestyle.

I've put on a bit of weight recently. Pretty sure quitting the gym after not going for about 4 months may have contributed to this. I also feel pretty sluggish and my middle section seems to feel "wrong" - I even started looking into the benefits of colonics after I read somewhere that the average american (I realise I'm not American) has something like 9lbs of undigested meat in their colon. Yuck.

I've tried lots of diets - slim fast, 5/2 fasting diet, protein only diet (ironically, ONLY eating meat), calorie controlled. They become unsustainable because its more about depriving yourself and having to spend loads of money on specific foods. What I feel will be better for me is not eating less overall, but eating better, and eating more of better things and less of bad things.

I have also started to be able to like vegetables a bit more - I've tried a few more things, got some vegetable cookbooks and being a bit braver when it comes to cooking. I used to try to cook a few vegetarian dishes each week but my boyfriend would look at me with sheer horror on his face when he realised there was no meat in it. It was considered sacrilege.

So when my boyfriend said he wanted to try to go vegan as a sort of "test" - I was really up for it. We tried it for about 2 weeks before Christmas, and it wasn't too painful. We ate a lot of tofu and soya based "fake meat" products, but it allowed me to test out things and see how to make them tasty and filling. This showed me that it could be done. Unfortunately Christmas plans with various families put an end to this (I still can't quite imagine a year without Turkey).

One thing that I have watched that has pushed me to wanting to do this more seriously is a documentary called "Vegucated" - which is available to watch free on netflix. It follows 3 Americans (a 27 year old male, a female college student and a 40 something year old mother of two) who made a pledge to become Vegan for 6 weeks. It goes through the health risks of eating meat and dairy, the impact of the mass and global farming industries on things like animal welfare and global warming, and then looks at the benefits of a vegetarian/vegan diet. I have to say, the animal welfare section reduced me to a blubbering mess. I didn't think I'd feel that affected - I was always able to look at farm animals and still feel comfortable eating a mixed grill afterwards in the restaurant. This was pretty awful though and made me feel a bit sick and pretty guilty. It was very surprising how even wording is misleading "organic" doesn't mean that the animals have high standards of care, it just means they are not exposed to chemicals. It was horrible to see some of the conditions and worrying that there is not alot of legislation governing animal welfare for food. Anyway, at the end of the programme, the 3 participants had significantly reduced their cholesterol levels, blood pressure had dropped and they lost between 2-10lbs each. Not too bad for just 6 weeks. And that was a fully vegan diet.

I've been probably 50% vegan recently - we already switched to Soya milk at home a few months ago. We hardly buy cheese anymore (as we basically end up gorging ourselves into a Brie-induced coma). I've definately been completely vegan for the past 3 days or so. I made chickpea and tomato paella with courgettes, courgette and lemon pasta with feta and rocket (vegetarian not vegan for this dish, but could easily omit the cheese), and today we had fried curried tofu with potato slices and beans (a sort of vegan fry up). Tonight, I wanted to be lazy so we went out for a curry. My usual would have been chicken korma/masala, keema rice and naan, and the boyfriend would have had a tandoori mixed grill. We instead shared sag paneer (cheese and spinach) with lentils, a rice and a roti. Still pretty calorific, but no meat in sight. This was instead of going out for a friends birthday to a restaurant where they service you all you can eat meat carved at your table from giant skewers. It's like an alternate reality.

My boyfriend and I have also just signed up to run the Birmingham Half Marathon in October, so are hoping that a healthier diet will be useful for this. As we start training to run later in the year, I will mix in some running blogs as well if I remember. I'm hoping to share some of the recipes that I use and track myself to see if there is any improvement. I know that I may not be able to always stick to the rules 100% (eg: offered coffee at a meeting where no soy milk is available). However, the general plan is to be 100% vegetarian at least, and be vegan where I can (probably at home). Also, my allergies may prove problematic (can't eat eggs but not an issue where veganism is concerned) but allergic to alot of nuts (which is an issue as alot of replacement meat foods are nut based for the protein).