30 Days Vegan.

I don't know if you've noticed, but I've packed on a few pounds
during our three month streak of visitors.
(This is the part where you exclaim, "Put on a few pounds?!
Heck no. Giiiiiirl, you look like you've lost a few pounds.") 

And aside from the extra flab on my tummy, I feel more unhealthy than I have in years. 

I feel dehydrated, lethargic, achy and awful. 

I can practically feel my arteries clogging from all the terrible restaurant food. 

I think I'm a single shred of cheese away from a heart attack.
To help get my nutrition back on track,
I decided that this would be the perfect time to do
30 days Vegan,
one of the items on my 20 by 26 list.
And while I'm going vegan, I'll also be abstaining from restaurant food,
because I happened to promise Ryan one month without eating out if we
got to re-do our office. So, I'm killing two birds with one stone here
(which is a totally inappropriate metaphor,
since I'm talking about a diet that doesn't harm animals).
First thing's first...what does vegan mean?
A lot of people aren't 100% sure of the differences between vegetarianism and veganism.
I'm a vegetarian, so I abstain from meat and fish (and some vegetarians abstain from either
dairy or eggs as well, though I normally eat both dairy and eggs).
A vegan abstains from ALL animal products: meat, fish, dairy and eggs
(and non-edible animal products, too, like leather).
So, how's a vegan supposed to stay healthy, you ask?
I didn't want to jump into this venture without being well-educated, so first I did my research.
The nutrients that vegans (and vegetarians) need to be especially conscious of include
protein, iron, vitamin B-12 and calcium.
Most people get their protein, iron and calcium from meat, dairy or eggs,
because these are the easiest sources of those nutrients.
As a vegan, I'll be eating plant-based sources of these nutrients,
like nuts, grains, seeds and beans.
Vitamin B-12 is only found in animal products, so I'll have to get my
B-12 from fortified foods (like cereals) and from my daily multivitamin
(which will be giving me a boost in my calcium and iron, too).

I'm more than ready to start feeling healthy again
and I'm excited to experiment with new vegan foods and recipes.
Every week I'll be sharing details of my foray into veganism, as well as some of my daily menus
(to prove to you that I'm not just noshing on grass and water).
I'll also be whining about how much I miss ice cream.
That's right...no dairy means no ice cream. 
(Though I'll be allowing myself some non-dairy "ice cream" once each week.)

Yesterday was Day 1 and I'm doing well (so far).
Wish me luck!