Vegan food diary review: how was my first week as a veganista?

Last week I told you that I would challenge myself by eating vegan for one week. Veganism is becoming more and more on trend these days and I wanted to try it out. I promised you guys to share my experiences with you, so: how did I survive a 100% plant based diet for seven days straight? What was the most difficult and challenging and what aspects did I really like or dislike? Here is my vegan food diary review!

“This new diet got me vegan excited”

On Monday (first day) I felt pretty excited to get started with my new diet! I had my personal food schedule from the nutritionist to guide me through the week, which assured me that I wouldn’t come short of anything. I did all my grocery shopping before start of the challenge , so nothing stopped me from starting off right. During the week I felt good about consuming just plant based foods, it somehow felt I was more in touch with nature (yep, really :-P). Though I had some moments where I almost ‘cheated’ – I simply forgot my diet for a moment. And I realized that animal products are in more foods than you might think! Things like eggs, quark and chicken were still in my fridge, because my hubby wasn’t joining me in the challenge, which were quite tempting to grab sometimes. On Wednesday I had a lunch event where I had to take a closer look at the menu to see what options I had. Luckily most food places are incorporating more vegan options, so there was enough to choose from 🙂

“Maybe it’s a mental thing, because we’re so used doing the things we do?”

Yet I have to say that some days I felt a little hungry. Though the dietitian carefully set up this menu fitting my personal needs, it was a bit difficult for me to get used to. I had the feeling that I couldn’t eat as much/diverse as I’m used to. Although there are lots of ways to vary, a vegan diet still gives less choices in what to eat. And you have to be creative to come up with other recipes. Maybe it was just a mental thing, because I am so used to eating animal products. I work out a lot so it’s necessary for me to get in enough proteins for muscle recovery.. With a vegan diet it may be a little less easy to consume enough proteins.. The advantage of a vegan diet is that you automatically eat more healthy nutrients on a daily basis. For example, plantbased oils and margarines which contain unsaturated fatty acids. Also my veggie intake was much higher this week 🙂

In my announcement blog I shared a part of my vegan food diary, now let’s do that again because you girls really liked to see that. Take a look into my vegan food diary (this was my personal favorite day from the week!):

Breakfast:

50 g oatmeal
1 tbsp. cacao powder
40 g plant protein powder

Lunch:

2 whole wheat sandwiches (making a grilled sandwich!)
1 tbsp. Becel 100% plant based
40 g vegan cheese
30 g vegan ham

Snack:

1 banana
2 whole wheat crackers with hummus

Dinner:

1 tbsp. Becel liquid light
200 g grilled pumpkin
50 g green peas
100 g tempeh
50 g quinoa

Snack:

1 apple
Handful of mixed nuts

It was an interesting week and quite a challenge, but overall I had a good experience eating 100 % plantbased foods. Has this made me want to go vegan from now on? Well not completely, though I will definitely be incorporating more vegan foods in my diet. For example eating 100 % plant based margarines instead of butter, is a simple way to eat more plantbased foods. I think it’s a good thing to review your diet every once in a while, and being aware of all things you’re consuming (where it comes from, what it does for your body, the environment etc.).

Hope you enjoyed reading my vegan food diary review girlies! I’m curious about your thoughts on veganism. Would you try going vegan for a week? Remember that in the end it’s important to do what works for YOU and a little awareness of what you’re doing won’t hurt 😉

With love,
Carolina.