Going Vegan for Three Days
On Thursday, my world religions teacher announced to our class that if we went vegan for three days and reflected on it, we could get a 100 in the test category. Clearly I was totally sold because I eat a lot of plant-based foods already and three days would be a breeze. For those of you who don’t know, going vegan means you cannot eat anything produced by an animal. I wanted to document my feelings on veganism, how this went for me, what I ate, and if I would do it again.
Before I get into the specifics of each day, I want to share with you all how I feel about being vegan. Disclaimer: this is nothing against vegans these are simply my feelings. To start, I loved being vegan for only a short period of time because it didn’t feel daunting and it didn’t feel like I was restricting my body on foods I wanted to enjoy. I typically eat what some call “vegan before six” anyways so this wasn’t too hard. “Vegan before six” means that my breakfast, lunch, and snacks are vegan but my dinner is not. I prefer this to the full version of veganism because being vegan feels very harsh to me. I know there are many reasons for becoming vegan and some people just don’t enjoy meat, but for me, I am a meat and animal product lover. Taking away animal products takes away some of the fun foods I love to eat and it makes it harder to be in the moment and enjoy what I want. I liked doing this for three days because it feels like my body is cleansed from some of the animal products, but I would never do this long term. This is because I feel like it takes away all of the main protein sources, and yes I know you can have beans and tofu, etc. but sometimes these versions are not as filling to me and I end up eating tons of carbs.
I realized that I already eat vegan some days without even thinking about it. I like this because then I don’t feel inclined to put a label on myself and I can have the flexibility to eat what I want.
Day one: Thursday
The day my teacher announced the project, I realized I was already planning on having a full vegan day. For breakfast I had my usual, healthy cereal with berries and oatmilk, delicious of course. For my cereal I use the brand Nature’s Path and I use Oatly for my milk. This breakfast gives me tons of energy, keeps me full, and I actually get excited to wake up in the morning to eat it. For lunch at school I have been loving bringing overnight oats by the brand MUSH. I get the peanut swirl flavor and I bring a honeycrisp apple to go with it. This is the perfect lunch for me because it is easy on my stomach yet still super yummy. For a snack I had carrots with black bean salsa. I am obsessed with baby carrots right now and if you guys haven’t tried black bean salsa, you need to. Then, for dinner I had leftover vegetables and I bought BBQ jackfruit to try because I have been hearing so much about it. My first bite of jackfruit… ooo it’s good, my second bite… it’s ok, my third bite… ok this is really grossing me out I can’t do it. Luckily, I had vegan takeout in the fridge that I was going to have for lunch the next day so I had half of it for dinner. It was tofu with chili, basil, and tons of veggies. I had eaten this before and knew I loved it.
Overall, the first day was a success, and now I know jackfruit is not for me!
Day two: Friday
I ate the same breakfast and then I had the other half of my tofu with chili, basil, and veggies for lunch. I snacked on pistachios, which if you guys don’t know, there are tons of different flavors of pistachios and they are all amazing. I also had already planned to go out with my friends for tacos. Luckily, my favorite tacos are the vegan ones anyway. I got one falafel taco and one curried sweet potato taco and chips, salsa, and guac. All of this food was super tasty and filling.
Day three: Saturday
On Saturdays, my whole schedule is off when I sleep-in (which trust me I’m not arguing with because I love to sleep-in). So, I wasn’t very hungry when I woke up and I decided to go to Whole Foods for groceries and eat breakfast after. I ended up taking awhile in the store because I love it…lol, so breakfast wasn’t until around noon. I ate my cereal with berries and oatmilk again, I’m telling you guys I seriously am obsessed. Then, I wasn’t hungry until dinner. I got my absolute favorite black bean burger from a restaurant called Shore. That came with a side salad and I had a few pickles to go with it.
Final thoughts: To be able to complete a vegan diet for even a few days, you definitely need to put some thought into it and plan out your meals. The more you plan ahead, the easier it is. I also think it is so important to find what works for you. Don’t try to follow what someone else is eating if it isn’t working for you. We are all different and we all require different food to fuel us. What works for one person may not work for someone else and that doesn’t mean that either person is better. As I have said, I eat a lot of vegan foods throughout the week so this wasn’t too challenging and I would definitely go vegan for a few days again, but I would never fully become vegan, it just is not for me!