1 month goal achieved

I have won the bet - i have made it as vegan for a month. But my adventure into paying close attention to our food wont stop here. Stay tuned.

Carnival

GOING VEGAN AFTER CARNIVAL?

Did you know that Carnival actually means - without meat? Thats the root of the word:

[Italian carnevale, from Old Italian carnelevare, Shrovetide : carne, meat (from Latin car, carn-; see sker-1 in Indo-European roots) + levare, to remove (from Latin levre, to raise; see legwh- in Indo-European roots).]
Etymology:
Italian carnevale, alteration of earlier carnelevare, literally, removal of meat, from carne flesh (from Latin carn-, caro) + levare to remove, from Latin, to raise
Date:
1549

Although the festival has roots in pegan roman holidays it has been turned to a pre-lent "last feast" party before giving something up.

Since I already gave meat up... what am I going to give up now?

Super vegan Chilli for Super Bowl!

Another tough weekend for an ex meat lover turning vegan. After years of loving, making and eating chilly on superbowl weekend I was faced with a prospect of experiencing the day without sampling the seasonal favorite. To make things worse, my brother has been hosting the "Slavek annual Chili cook off" contest.

My luck turned when I got to the party and realized that Kathleen Cimbala, slavek's girlfriend - and also a fellow vegan - prepared a special Vegan Chili!

It was AMAZINGLY good! With six chili's on the stove and crock pots, some meat lovers were not even tasting it. However after encouraging them to taste it they were amazed how good it was. I myself found it to be delicious. It had just enough spice, and the meat substitute was so good, the meat lovers were unable to distinguish the tofu flavor texture from real meat!

Thanks Kathleen! Vegan chili cookers of the world unite (and send me your recipes ).

Vegan Diet and Weight Loss

It looks like after a little over two weeks I have actually gone down in weight, more or less about 4-5 pounds.

(Mon 179 lb)
(Tue 178 lb)
(Wed 179 lb)
(Thu 178 lb)
(Fri 178 lb)
(Sat 177 lb)

Yes, i suppose my wife may have a point about me being obsessive with my weight. On the other hand, i always have liked numbers.

I thought about this a little more today and here is why i think this may be:
- Vegan food is just not that good. Now of course there are LOTS of delicious vegan meals that will beat a carnivorous meal any day. But realistically, how often do you eat those meals (can i say Bacon anyone?). The snacking on nuts, vegetables and fruits just doesn't add up as much. And you don't have the kill instinct to go after your meal till there is nothing left like you may when you see a bloody steak on your plate.
- Vegan food is not as accessible: its not like you can pull into a McDonnalds and order a vegan burger. Most snack crap in the stores have animal products
- Vegan food fills you up with less calories. Ok, this is anecdotal, (someone must have done research on this) but it seems true first hand.

Vegan French Onion Soup

For all the Vegan supporters (and non-supporters) out there who would like to try a slurp of vegan delight!

Vegan French Onion Soup

1 large onion
4 cups Vegg broth
1/4 cup soy sauce


Caramelize the onion in a large soup pot. Once the onions are light brownish in color add 4 cups vegg broth and 1/4 cup soy sauce. Cook until onions are soft then top with a slice of bread and some soy cheese!

Simple, fast, easy, cheap... What more could one ask for?!

The 247 lb Vegan - NFL Tony Gonzales story in Wall Street Journal is confusing and pointless

Not sure what this story by Reed Albergotti is mean to convey. Is it that Tony Gonzales tried to be vegan and failed because he wasn't getting what he needed in his diet? Or is it a half ass glorification of veganizm? The only virtue I can see coming out of this story is that it brings some awareness to the cult. I wonder if my colleagues will have something to say about that.




Here is an excerpt:

The 247 lb. Vegan
NFL star Tony Gonzalez is out to answer a question: Can a football player live entirely on plants?
By REED ALBERGOTTI
January 25, 2008; Page W1

The protein-rich bounty of the football training table is supposed to grow the biggest and strongest athletes in professional sports. Kansas City Chiefs tight-end Tony Gonzalez was afraid it was going to kill him. "It's the Catch-22," says Mr. Gonzalez, 31. "Am I going to be unhealthy and play football? Or be healthy and get out of the league?"
[Tony Gonzalez]
Kansas City Chiefs tight-end Tony Gonzalez

So last year, on the eve of the biggest season of his career, Mr. Gonzalez embarked on a diet resolution that smacked head-on with gridiron gospel as old as the leather helmet. He decided to try going vegan.

One Week of Veganism!

I have completed one week of being a vegan. I am actually a little happy with this accomplishment... going from an all life cheeze and meat lover to a vegan cold turkey is not so bad.

Some experiences and changes I have noticed:
- during a workout in the first three days of my vegan diet I did notice a lack of energy
- enjoying restaurants is starting to be a little difficult, especially as I still crave cheese and meat
- i am snacking a lot more
- i don't seem to ever have the post meal coma or lack of energy i had in the past

The weight is staying steady at 180.

For my diet last couple of days...

Thursday:

BREAKFAST
- Larabar - love this, more on this later

LUNCH
- Wishbone - veggie burger - pretty awful

DINNER
- Leftovers from my vegan cooking

Friday:
BREAKFAST
- Larabar - love this, more on this later

LUNCH
- Pasta with red sauce in the Seras Tower pasta place - pretty bland and boring

DINNER
- Trader Joe's veggie burgers - awesome!

Saturday:
BREAKFAST
- Nuts - boring

LUNCH
- Sola - not a lot of selection, i had the breakfast burrito with half of the ingridients, still not so bad

DINNER
- 611 Bin wine Cafe - French onion soup (not as good as lauras), french fries, tampura green beans and sorbet. All and all totally not satisfying - and what I mean by that is that I wish I wasn't a vegan when dining there last night because my experience would have been much better if i wasnt.