Thoughts at the End of our Vegan Experiment
44 days is a long time. There were certainly moments that were harder than others. The first week and a half were particularly difficult. It was especially hard on me because I came down with a terrible stomach bug when we were a couple of days into this challenge. For nearly 3 days I couldn't keep any food down. It was terrible. We also went fairly heavy on the tofu, especially for breakfast. By the second week Alison and I were both getting tried of eating tofu. We pivoted to other sources of proteins and settled in. By the middle of the second week we had adjusted to our new normal. It started to feel easy. There were still moments it was very difficult. Like the time we went to a pizza party and chose not to eat pizza. The 44 day period felt especially long these last 5-7 days. We were tired of many of the foods we were eating. We were counting down the days until the challenge ended.
One of the challenges we faced was eating a vegan diet that balanced macro nutrients. The biggest challenge was finding sources of protein we enjoyed eating. We ate a lot of chickpeas, edamame, lentils, beans, and some tofu. We also tried many new dishes. We found some we particularly enjoyed. A few of our favorites were one-pot dahl, baked lentil falafel, and broccoli and black bean tostada. The broccoli and black bean tostada is one of our all-time favorite meals - vegan or non-vegan. It is very tasty. One of the benefits of this challenge is that we learned to cook and eat many new types of food.
We could not have completed this challenge without good resources. Our friend, Amanda, sent us an email of helpful resources. She suggested websites and products that helped us in our journey. One thing she pointed out was that we would need to take a vitamin B12 supplement every day. B12 is one of the only vitamins you cannot get naturally from a plant-based whole food diet. While it was unlikely to cause significant issues during our 44 day vegan experience we dutifully took our B12 supplement daily. Amanda's best recommendation was So Delicious diary free ice cream. We ate a few pints during our 44 days. We loved it. I love the way Amanda phrased it in her recommendation: That Cashewmilk Snickerdoodle ice cream is…probably what heaven is like. I remember trying a bite once and thinking, “Food was not intended to taste this good.” I could not have said it better, and Skylee agrees - she also loved the Cashewmilk Snickerdoodle ice cream. We will totally eat this ice cream even when we aren't eating a vegan diet. It is some of the best ice cream out there.
We also would not have made it through a month, let alone 44 days, without a fantastic cookbook. Fortunately, when we were first contemplating trying a vegan diet Alison found the Simply Vegan Cookbook (Sterling): Easy, Healthy, Fun, and Filling Plant‑Based by Dustin Harder. It is full of easy, fairly quick, and tasty meals. We tried many of the lentil, bean, chickpea, and tofu recipes. We rarely made one that we did not enjoy.
While Covid-19 made many areas of our life more difficult, it actually made eating vegan a bit easier. Alison and I both began working from home a couple of weeks into the 44-day period. Since Alison wasn't on the road, she didn't have to figure out vegan options while traveling as much. It also kept me home during one month-end close. Month-end close can be tricky because during the close I work long hours. Ancestry will usually purchase dinner for me 2-3 days a month during the close process. I don't have a lot of input into where the dinner comes from and most restaurants in Lehi don't have good vegan options. During the first close while I was eating vegan, I packed all my food for the day. During the second close I was working from home so having good vegan food was much easier. This was a little bit of silver lining to an otherwise terrible situation.
The question I asked myself at the end of this process is whether or not I felt different. The honest answer is no. I feel good, but not any better than when I am eating a healthy, balanced diet that also includes animal products. After 44 days of eating a vegan diet we were ready to be done. It was a good experience. It took us outside of our comfort zone. It encourages us to try new recipes and learn to eat new types of food. It may have a lasting impact. We have talked about doing a meatless Monday or something like that. I don't know if we will choose to do another lengthy period eating vegan, but never say never.
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