Going Vegan: Week 1.

I've been eating vegan for 7 days now and this is my first little weekly update.

I've never been a milk drinker or an egg fanatic, 

but I do love ice cream and I was used to eating it every single night before bed

(which probably didn't help with the 9 cavities I had at my last dentist appointment).

I expected to be experiencing serious ice cream withdrawal pains.

Surprisingly, I'm not. I splurged on a bit of coconut milk ice cream twice this week,

and that stuff was DELICIOUS. Maybe even better than dairy ice cream. 

But it's pretty expensive for one itty bitty carton, 

so it will definitely be relegated to the "once in awhile" 

category during my 30 day vegan challenge.

The biggest challenge this week:

Making sure I get enough protein each day.

I keep track of every little morsel that goes into my mouth 

and I count both calories and grams of protein. 

For my height (5 foot 1 inch), weight (psh, like I'm sharing that) 

and activity level (I work out at a moderate/hard rate 1 hour per day), 

I need about 46 grams of protein daily. 

To hit that, I have to make sure I have protein with every single meal, snacks included. 

Thinking outside the box for my protein sources and trying to keep them varied has been

both fun and challenging, and it has really made me focus on using food as fuel,

not as a source of pleasure. 

The biggest pro this week:

I feel more satiated and less hungry throughout the day.

I think this has a lot to do with being more conscious of what I'm putting into my body.

Protein keeps your appetite down, and to get enough protein I have to make sure

I'm noshing on foods that are high in all sorts of good nutrients and healthy fats. 

What I'm missing most:

The little things.  

I miss Ranch dressing. I miss Cool Whip. I miss Miracle Whip. 

I miss my normal coffee flavoring (it had milk chocolate in it). 

Oh, yeah, and I miss chocolate. Ahhh, chocolate. 

My Menu: 

(from last Wednesday)

Breakfast: 1/2 grapefruit, 1 bowl of Vegan oatmeal (recipe here), 

2 cups coffee with nondairy creamer

Lunch: Morningstar BBQ "Rib". 1 cup watermelon. 1 cup baby carrots. 

Afternoon snack: 1 ounce pumpkin seeds 

Dinner: Large lettuce/spinach salad with green peppers, onions, carrots & 1/2 cup black beans

with FF Italian dressing. 1/2 cup spicy seasoned couscous. 1 cup broccoli.

Evening snacks: 1 Tbsp peanut butter

1 nectarine, 5 strawberries, 1/4 cup blueberries