Day 1 - Vegan Kick Start

It's day one of the 21-Day Vegan Kick Start! Here's what I had today:

Breakfast:

• Sprouted Grain English Muffin with Almond Butter
• Strawberry, Blueberry, Banana, and Orange Juice Smoothie
• Banana

Lunch:

• Confetti Couscous
• Spinach Salad with Red Peppers, Carrots, Cabbage, Flax, and Annie's Goddess Dressing

Dinner

• Brown Rice
• Seitan with Stir Fried Broccoli, Carrots, and Cauliflower served in a Whole Wheat Tortilla and topped with Cabbage and Spinach

Snacks:

• Cucumbers with Almonds
• Apple
• Sorbet

What I ate today is pretty typical of my normal day. I would say I eat 80-90% vegan on a regular basis. I have been a vegetarian for years and in the last year have switched to all non-dairy options at home. I now use earth balance butter, soy milk, and egg replacer for all my cooking. My family has been open minded about switching to the non-dairy options and I feel like we haven't sacrificed any taste.

I normally only eat dairy products when we eat out and in bakery products or candy.  We eat out at a Mexican Restaurant once a week and it typically involves a whole lot of cheese. When I took part in the January Vegan Kick Start it was pretty easy to stick to the chips, salsa, and vegetable fajitas. At the time, I felt totally full filled. However, the pull of the cheese is strong and I ended up going back to the weekly cheese fest. I'm hoping to move even more towards an animal free diet with this kick start.

I also want to concentrate on reducing my sugar intake. Even though I successfully completed 21 days of vegan eating in January there was quite a bit of vegan junk food involved. I found myself at a local co-op on quite a few occasions buying vegan cookies. Normally I don't have as many sweets as I did during January so I'm going to try and stick closer to the PCRM suggested meal plan because I'm interested in seeing if I have a difference in energy level with out the dairy and processed sugar.

Here's to a fun and adventurous 21 days of vegan eating!