Vegan Chronicles Part II: My Experience with Living a Plant Base Life
My last vegan post was written a few years after I had made the change to my diet. Although I was still a newbie, I shared my first thoughts about transitioning from a diet that consisted of mostly meat, dairy, and processed foods to this new lifestyle.
I had also touched on how I was really bummed at the thought that I would have to let go of eating all of my favorite foods and how towards the beginning of my journey it seemed difficult to sometimes deal with the temptation of going back to those foods
My experience after having been committed to this lifestyle for 5 years now has allowed me to feel that I have truly made the right decision for my diet and my life in general. This is Part II of Vegan Chronicles: My Experience with Living a Plant Based Lifestyle.
It's So Easy Being Green
In the beginning I felt that it would be challenging for me to adjust to eating new foods that I wasn't accustomed to eating growing up. I didn't know where to start and didn't think anything that I ate would make me full. Boy was I wrong.
I enjoy the creative process of coming up with unique meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. As a vegan, I have eaten many more fruits and vegetables than I ever have before, and some of them serve as excellent meat substitutes.
Breakfast most days will consists of a smoothie, a bowl of oatmeal, and sometimes a yummy piece of avocado toast.
For lunch and dinner, the possibilities are endless. A favorite of mine is making a veggie burger substituting a shiitake mushroom for meat along with a side of sweet potato fries. Or eating a vegetable stir-fry.
If you would like for me to include a breakdown of my favorite vegan recipes as part of my next vegan update, please let me know in the comment section below this post.
The Benefits
I don't want to sound cliche when I say that changing your diet can have all of the benefits that you've most likely heard about when talking about healthier choices. Those benefits are definitely true however, one thing I wasn't aware of when I began was that you still need to make sure that you have all of the necessary vitamins and minerals needed to maintain a balanced diet.
Many fruits and plants already contain a good amount of those things however, it's still always a good idea to know if there are any vitamins you may be lacking and to find more foods that may be rich in those vitamins and/or supplement the rest. I have definitely seen many benefits to my skin as well as to my digestion.
Prior to going vegan, I also had a huge lack of energy during the day and often felt fatigued. I now feel more energetic and my concentration when working has also improved. Those are the things that I was hoping would improve the most.
Lastly...... yes, I can still have dessert. I will admit that I have tried my fair share of non-dairy ice creams. For those of you who may be new to veganism, vegetarianism, lactose intolerant, or are simply curious, there are so many brands and flavors to choose from. Not a fan of coconut milk? Try out an oat or almond milk-based ice cream. Now that's a benefit I didn't think I'd still be able to enjoy. 😛
Conclusion
Starting out I also had some "nay sayers". Some still have the classic insults such as "OMG, I'll definitely pass on an invite to your house for dinner because all you eat is lettuce". Or "You must be hungry all of the time eating food that taste like cardboard".
I've realized now that some people just aren't aware of what veganism entails. My goal is never to criticize anyone's dietary choices or force a lifestyle upon them. We would rather use the opportunity to educate. Nonetheless, vegans however, deserve the same respect and understanding.
We would love to hear from you!!! Check out Part One of Vegan Chronicles: My Experience with Living a Plant Based Lifestyle. by clicking the link above. As always leave us a "like" and comment down below to continue the conversation. 💚