Still Ve.gan, af.ter all these months – 8 and counting

With a sprinkle of salt and pepper flakes

Still a vegan after 8 months, correction, still following a vegan diet. Why do I make the distinction? Well, I still think of this meatless, dairy-free, plant-focused diet as an experiment. Now, if I make it to the New Year, without giving in to temptations – I think I will have earned the right to call myself a vegan.

Full disclosure: I might not be the best spokesperson for causes that attract some to the vegan way. I do love animals but am not an animal rights activist. If I’m being honest, I don’t have a particular affinity for cows and pigs except for the ones in Animal Farm, and of course, Arnold the pig on Green Acres. What’s more, I have a fishing license and enjoy catching (and releasing) large mouth bass. Fishing is in my DNA. Though, in the main, I’m not a fan of animal cruelty on farms, and the thought of slaughterhouses is appalling. For the record, I don’t have a problem with scientists experimenting on lab mice in pursuit of medical knowledge. Nor do I have a particular problem with people who choose to eat meat. I also have to acknowledge that up until recently I had been a life-long meat eater and felt no shame or guilt whatsoever. It would be highly hypocritical for me to shame others for doing what I had been doing my whole life.

What I do have a problem with is the meat packing industry, especially now during the pandemic, as workers have been forced back to plants, at great risk of catching COVID-19 all because their jobs have been declared essential by an unfeeling and unhinged president who ignores science (unless it benefits him personally.) To my credit, I’ve been down on the meat packing industry ever since I read Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle back in college years ago. Similarly, I don’t support Big Agri with their profit over people AND the environment model. I find their tampering with genetics, use of pesticides and herbicides, and low standards for cleanliness, not to mention their giant carbon footprint, to be inexcusable. Read Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring for some historical context on the dangers of toxic chemicals widely used today in homes and on farms and lawns. She was one of the first environmentalists and were she alive today, she’d be appalled by the growing anti-science movement.

And while I do want to reduce my carbon footprint and do my part to mitigate the affects of climate change, and while I enjoy being a part of a community of like-minded people, the main reason I am becoming a vegan is for my own health. It’s not that I was unhealthy before, but I did carry a few extra pounds that I could not shed in the normal course of being, and my cholesterol levels could have been better – they weren’t off the chart bad but still. As of this week, I can report with pride that after 8 months, I’ve dropped 12 pounds, my total cholesterol is down 14 points, my LDL number has dropped precipitously, and my HDL is up by nearly 20 points. And while my white blood cell count is down, apparently this is a thing peculiar to vegans, it’s still within the normal range. However, to maintain a normal count, I am going to begin taking a vegan friendly B-12 lozenge several times a week.

I’ve been tracking my food intake to ensure I get enough protein, and to monitor my intake of calories. I’m not disciplined enough to make or buy a constant supply of protein shakes and frequently run out of protein bars, so at times, I fall short of my daily target of 60 grams of protein. Getting enough protein has been one of the main challenges of the diet. But I usually can get close even without a shake, by eating bread, peanut butter, quinoa or rice, lentils, and other beans, fortified cereal, hemp hearts, tofu, yogurt and nuts. And I’m fortunate to have another vegan in the family who enjoys cooking vegan meals. I pitch in when I can be useful even if only to clean the pots and pans. Recent dishes have included soups, beet falafel, chili, pizza made with nan dough, vegetable stir fry, biscuits and white gravy with fake sausage, and veganized omelettes made from mung beans with onions and tomatoes.

To be honest, I continue to indulge my sweet tooth with vegan ice-cream (Ben and Jerry’s offerings always satisfy), Oreos (on rare occasions), vegan jelly beans (Jolly Ranchers are said to be vegan – no confectioners glaze), and Twizzlers – the Orange Cream Pop, oh my. And I’ve found a vegan bakery that makes pies to die for.

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Pesti Pies

On the balance, I feel great. I have plenty of energy. I’m not constantly craving junk, despite my sweet tooth and love of chips. Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili are vegan, by the way. I don’t even crave beer or reach for the occasional glass of wine anymore. I’ve not had a drink in a month, unless you count Kombucha. About wine, I’ve had some trouble finding vegan friendly wines I like. Wait, you might ask, aren’t all wines vegan? It’s just grapes, sugar and some yeast, right? Well, not always. Some winemakers, most in fact, use animal products like fish bladders and egg whites as fining agents in the filtering process so that the wine doesn’t come out lumpy and crunchy. You want to drink, not eat wine. Fortunately, there are winemakers who produce unfiltered wine or use alternative fining agents that are considered vegan friendly. Natura, pictured below, is one such brand.

I’m just a few months away from calling myself a vegan. And when that moment comes, I’ll raise a vegan friendly glass. Cheers!

Vegan friendly unoaked Chardonnay from Chile

3 Months a Vegan

A vegan offering from an Argentine winemaker. Highly recommended.

This is follow up to my “3 Weeks a Vegan” post. I am happy to report that I am still a vegan, or more accurately, still following a vegan diet. No intentional lapses. No dairy, no meat. I have eaten lots of beans, greens, grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables, as one might expect, and I occasionally consume pickles, sauerkraut, Kombucha, peanut butter, tofu, beer, and wine. I’ve cut out sweets for the most part, although I just finished a four bag marathon of Jolly Rancher jelly beans that happen to be vegan.  Most jelly bean makers use animal ingredients, like beeswax, and confectioners glaze (shallac) which consists of bug secretions to give the bean its sheen.

I feel reasonable healthy, lost and have keep off about 5 pounds, and have at least as much energy as before, maybe more although I’ve become lazy during the pandemic.  Because of the COVID-19 outbreak and the shelter in place order in my city, I have had to cancel my physical examination, so I haven’t yet had any blood tests that would determine whether my diet has conferred any health benefits. If my numbers suck, I’d consider returning to my old diet. What’s the first dish I’d have? Bacon and eggs. I really miss bacon.

What else do I miss? One of the most difficult challenges for me has been the dairy prohibition. I love cheese, Kefir, yogurt, eggs, milk, and butter. Imagine not being able to put sour cream and butter inside a piping hot baked potato. And while I miss these ingredients, I have kept my sanity and found decent plant-based substitutes. At the 3 week mark, I was struggling to find a suitable non-dairy creamer for my morning coffee. Fortunately, I have found two excellent vegan products that I can recommend without hesitation: Nut Pods and Califia. It took a while to get used to having coffee without the 2% milk I had been accustomed to, but now that my taste buds have adjusted to almond and coconut-based creamers, I find morning coffee once again to be an enjoyable experience.

So what do I eat? What’s a typical meal? A salad for starters. I like mine with mixed greens, sweet onions, radishes, green and red peppers, green olives, tomatoes, and Italian dressing. Main dishes have included pasta with red sauce, beans and rice, burritos, tacos, chili, eggplant dishes, Indian, Thai, vegetable stir fry, veggie burgers and tofu hotdogs, vegan frozen pizzas, and a variety of soups. Sides have been too numerous to mention but my favorites include baked potatoes, peas with tomato relish, corn on the cob with cashew-based butter, hush puppies, tater tots, french fries, rice, okra, spinach, grilled brussel sprouts, and onions, basically, most of the sides I used to have with meat.

One challenge remains. Wine. Many winemakers use fining agents from animal proteins found in eggs, milk, and fish to help clarify the wine. There aren’t labeling requirements regarding the use of fining agents, but some winemakers indicate if the wine is unfiltered, in which case it would be vegan friendly.  I have found some organic wines that are labeled vegan but not many, and the quality of the wines vary.  So for now, I am just buying varietals that I like in hopes that the wines are not filtered or that the fining agents used are clay-based.

I’ll post an update in 3 months.

3 Weeks a Vegan

I’ve been a meat eater all my life.  A carnivore’s carnivore.  I once went on an all-meat diet and took desiccated liver supplements to maximize my protein intake.  That was a long time ago.  I’ve been eating more sensibly since and have started following a vegan diet. I did it not so much for health reasons or ethical reasons but because my daughter challenged me.  Once I accepted the challenge, I began to think about the many dietary changes I needed to make and I had to convince myself that it was in my best interests to eat healthy.  I figured I’d add a few years to my lifespan, maybe even become immortal, if not immortal, at least help to keep the planet alive longer by reducing my carbon footprint. I have not been able to convince myself that eating meat is cruel to animals or a savage practice.  It would be quite hypocritical of me to adopt that stance after so many years of eating meat and fishing.

After three weeks of not eating any meat or dairy and getting all my nutrition from plants, I can say that I feel pretty good.  I have the same amount of energy, perhaps even more than before.  I’m snacking way less and consuming fewer calories and losing weight – not that I need to – about 6 pounds so far.  After I eat a vegan meal, I generally feel quite satisfied, but never stuffed.  I also find that I don’t have as much of a lingering aftertaste like I did after eating meat and dairy.  Though there is one issue that has almost been a deal breaker – not being able to put milk in my morning coffee.  I have never liked non-dairy creamers or any kind of cream for that matter. The only thing I like in coffee is 2% organic milk.  Now I’m stuck with coconut/almond creamer that really takes the fun and taste out of coffee.  Soy is better but it irritates my throat.  I’m getting used to almond milk though.  And it does seem to fare reasonably well in lattes as a replacement for milk.

I have also begun taking B12 and D3 supplements and probiotics to fight off deficiencies.   I go for a physical in March and if my blood work is stellar, I’ll stay on the vegan diet for as long as I can.  If there are no changes or negative changes to my health as measured by blood tests, I’ll ditch the vegan diet in favor of a vegetarian one but limit my dairy.  We’ll see.