90% Vegan

Dear Lindsay,

I think we can both agree that this last month has been just a tad bit stressful, which has definitely been the leading cause of the lack of postings. But hey, it’s almost March, and February is almost in the past, which means that the winter blues (at least here in Oregon) are almost gone. So maybe it’s time to start posting again.

I’m not sure if it was the craziness of the last month, or the general malaise that set in, but I started thinking a lot about the food I was putting in my body, and reading blogs about staying healthy and feeling better. A lot of them suggested 80/20 diets, where you pay close attention to eating 80% really healthy and allow yourself 20% crap food, but I wasn’t really sure how to measure that and I’m not really one for food journals. About two weeks ago, I watched Forks Over Knives on Netflix because mum suggested it. And as Mum and Dad have recently gone vegan, I started thinking about maybe trying it out too. The biggest problem for me is that I don’t really like the idea of doing things to extremes, and I don’t want to be “that person” at the restaurant asking what’s in everything because I have a laundry list of foods I prefer not to eat. In keeping with the 80/20 diet I decided I would try going 90% Vegan. I would stick to being vegan at home, and if I could, when I went out to restaurants. But I’m not going to eat a garden salad when I’m out with friends  just because it’s the only thing that doesn’t have meat in it on the menu. And if I want a cookie and it has milk and butter in it, then so be it (I don’t believe in eating crappy tasting junk food just because it’s vegan. If it’s junk food, it better taste delicious).

So I’m 2 weeks in, and it’s working pretty great and I’m feeling pretty good, but more than that, it has me looking up recipes and trying out new things, which actually gets me excited about cooking. The daily monotony of throwing food together was not helping the healthy eating.

Oh! And I found a solution to something ridiculous. Have you ever tried putting soy milk or almond milk in coffee? It just kind of sinks to the bottom and your coffee never turns color no matter how much you add or how much you stir. Psychologically, it is not coffee. It’s some form of thick uncoffeelike hot drink and it stinks. But I was at TJ’s the other day and they had coffee, so I poured myself a cup and tried putting their soy creamer in it- instant coffee color! I almost shrieked. I said to the girl working next to the coffee stand that I was so happy that my coffee had changed color with the soy creamer (which seems like an odd statement in retrospect but I was SO happy), and she replied as if I’d said something completely normal, “I know! It’s one of our best selling products because people are so pleased that it actually lightens their coffee!” I’m totally sold. I bought a lot of it. Being vegan is not so bad specifically because of this one thing.

I’ve been eating shredded wheat  and almond milk for breakfast (super yummy), and some nuts and dried fruit for snacks and then cooking up a ton of veggies and some wild rice or bulgur to go with it for dinner. I’ve been keeping cold salads in my fridge at all times (tabbouleh and  couscous salad are my loves), as usual, and I’m also taking my vitamins! We’ll see how it goes, but for now I’m starting to feel good.

I know you’re busy with your fancy pants lawyer life, but try to write me back; I miss you.

xo Meg