One week in and still going strong! I am so glad I'm going through with this challenge, it's opened my eyes to a lot of issues and has increased my respect for veganism immensely.
Day 4 presented me with a huge roadblock as a tried tofu scrambler for the first time. At first it took a little getting used to the texture and flavor but after the addition of a little salsa it became quite tasty...until I suddenly felt intensely nauseous halfway through! That not-so-pleasant feeling stuck with me throughout my entire work day and caused a lot of concern as I hardly ever feel sick to my stomach like that. Not sure if it was because the particular scrambler I ate was heavily doused in nutritional yeast or if it was a bad batch of tofu... either way it turned me off of tofu scrambler for a while. In fact, it turned me off of tofu in general for a while, making things just a little more challenging. Later that night, I was able to nurse my stomach and spirits back to health with a delicious veggie sushi and miso soup dinner from Aloha Sushi! Yum!
Day 5 presented just a minor bump in the road as I searched for somewhere to eat dinner in Federal Hill. Not too familiar with the neighborhood I walked blindly down Light St. focusing my attention on more ethnic-based restaurants. I was turned away from Thai Yum as they had no idea what the word "vegan" meant. Venturing across the street to Thai Arroy, the host escorted my date and I down the street to a new Lebanese restaurant--Byblos. The staff was more than friendly, more than accepting of my dietary choice, and boasted a menu that was about 80% vegan! I ate everything and it was good! So good.... especially the hummus!
Days 6 and 7 were the perfect end to an enlightening week. Day 6 was pretty unremarkable, I managed to avoid tofu by enjoying french fries and a spinach veggie burger for dinner. Day 7 brought me to The Great Sage for the first time ever to enjoy a scrumptous brunch! Still avoiding tofu, I enjoyed a Baltimore Benedict featuring an artichoke-based "crabcake" with vegan hollandaise, a chocolate-almond vegan pancake, vegan sausage, and a bite of Kiko's tofu quiche (which confirmed that yes, I should still be avoiding tofu). Followed by a trip to Root's market, Sunday was a great day to be vegan!
Intending to cook dinner last night (for the first time all week!) my plans got squashed by life and I ended up joining some friends for dinner at Kyro pizza, planning on just getting some falafel or hummus. Much to my delight I discovered that Kyro has a soy cheese option for all of their pizzas! I was able to enjoy a California Delight (squash, onion, and sundried tomatoes) with soy cheese and it actually tasted really really yummy!
Still happy to be a vegan, the optimism that I thought I had lost in the middle of last week has now returned! Let's see if I can maybe eat out less this week and delve into cooking some awesome recipes!
Day 4 presented me with a huge roadblock as a tried tofu scrambler for the first time. At first it took a little getting used to the texture and flavor but after the addition of a little salsa it became quite tasty...until I suddenly felt intensely nauseous halfway through! That not-so-pleasant feeling stuck with me throughout my entire work day and caused a lot of concern as I hardly ever feel sick to my stomach like that. Not sure if it was because the particular scrambler I ate was heavily doused in nutritional yeast or if it was a bad batch of tofu... either way it turned me off of tofu scrambler for a while. In fact, it turned me off of tofu in general for a while, making things just a little more challenging. Later that night, I was able to nurse my stomach and spirits back to health with a delicious veggie sushi and miso soup dinner from Aloha Sushi! Yum!
Day 5 presented just a minor bump in the road as I searched for somewhere to eat dinner in Federal Hill. Not too familiar with the neighborhood I walked blindly down Light St. focusing my attention on more ethnic-based restaurants. I was turned away from Thai Yum as they had no idea what the word "vegan" meant. Venturing across the street to Thai Arroy, the host escorted my date and I down the street to a new Lebanese restaurant--Byblos. The staff was more than friendly, more than accepting of my dietary choice, and boasted a menu that was about 80% vegan! I ate everything and it was good! So good.... especially the hummus!
Days 6 and 7 were the perfect end to an enlightening week. Day 6 was pretty unremarkable, I managed to avoid tofu by enjoying french fries and a spinach veggie burger for dinner. Day 7 brought me to The Great Sage for the first time ever to enjoy a scrumptous brunch! Still avoiding tofu, I enjoyed a Baltimore Benedict featuring an artichoke-based "crabcake" with vegan hollandaise, a chocolate-almond vegan pancake, vegan sausage, and a bite of Kiko's tofu quiche (which confirmed that yes, I should still be avoiding tofu). Followed by a trip to Root's market, Sunday was a great day to be vegan!
Intending to cook dinner last night (for the first time all week!) my plans got squashed by life and I ended up joining some friends for dinner at Kyro pizza, planning on just getting some falafel or hummus. Much to my delight I discovered that Kyro has a soy cheese option for all of their pizzas! I was able to enjoy a California Delight (squash, onion, and sundried tomatoes) with soy cheese and it actually tasted really really yummy!
Still happy to be a vegan, the optimism that I thought I had lost in the middle of last week has now returned! Let's see if I can maybe eat out less this week and delve into cooking some awesome recipes!
Hey Beth!! You are dong such a great job, if nothing else you are starting to really think about what you put into your body and you are trying out restaurants that you may have overlooked otherwise! When it comes down to it, you are re-inspiring me!! It is exciting to talk about food and healthy eating with someone new to the vegan diet because it reminds me why I am vegan as well as keeps my options for cooking fresh!
ReplyDeleteWhile it seems you have encountered some bumps in the road, tofu scramble disaster, being hungry a lot, missing cheese even?- You have really triumphed and found ways to work through those times with a positive attitude and only minor agitation. GO BETH!
Thanks so much for your encouragement, Katie! It makes me so happy to hear that I am re-inspiring you since you are my biggest vegan inspiration by far! Now let's see if I can reintegrate into athleticism...
ReplyDelete