14 Days of Veganism
June 20, 2017
After watching a documentary called What the Health , I have decided to try out the Vegan Diet for 14 days. I originally began the diet on June 19, 2017, but ate an Epic Bison Bacon Cranberry Bar at the end of the day. This basically, cancelled yesterday out. I couldn’t resist the cranberry bison kind, it’s my favorite. Which is why I am starting over TODAY! Please visit here daily for more information on my trials and tribulations. Also, if you are a vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, paleo eater, keto, potato, or any other certain kind of eater that follows a specific eating plan, like GAPS, GOOPS, or any other dietary protocol, I would really love to know if you’ve ever tried to go vegan for any number of days.
Please leave your comments below at the end of this post!
On this day I ate a breakfast of vegan cheesecake and berries. I also ate vegan ice cream. Oh boy, I am vegan after all, but when you hear, someone is vegan, don’t you automatically assume that they are eating many many vegetables? Am I right, or am I right?
I ate a burrito and some nachos too, minus the cheese and meat. I forgot to take photos of those, but imagine a meat and cheese-free burrito. It doesn’t sound very exciting, but what is exciting is the fact that, beans and rice combined together create a complete protein for our body to utilize.
June 21, 2017
Today I began my day with the usual warm lemon water infused with citrus essential oils. I ate raspberries yet again. For lunch I made myself a vegan grilled cheese sandwich. it’s nothing fancy, but oh boy does it taste good. I’m a sucker for sourdough!
Here is the cheese I used. It is made of nuts, or coconuts, whatever — something like that. Please refer to the photo below for ingredients list. 
I don’t recommend cheese made of soy. Make sure it is GMO free, and made of nuts, unless you are allergic to nuts. My sandwich included fried onions and garlic and avocado, because who doesn’t love avocado with grilled cheese? The vegan cheese options are many, however since I avoid soy in general, I found a few different brands that implemented nuts and coconut butter in their cheeses. This American cheese has a few questionable ingredients, so in my opinion, shouldn’t be eaten too often on the vegan diet. Vegan cheese could be a treat for vegans. I just don’t “feel” right eating this very often. Curious? Try it.
For dinner I had a couple slices of homemade vegan cheese pizza, (with a different brand of cheese made of cashews), with a few olives from the bulk section of one of my favorite health food stores.
Rainbow Grocery, in San Francisco, is a great place to shop, because they have so much variety and carry specific to vegan brands.
If you are in a major city, and want to find out how you can get all your groceries delivered for a small annual fee, then you’re in luck, because I am about to tell you all about it.
I am seriously not sure why I didn’t make any salads today. 😂 Oh wait a minute, why? Because I am a busy mama bear, that’s why. Salads take a lot of prep work, and with the kiddos around this week, I am noticing now that I’ve been eating a lot of bread, which is vegan, not necessarily gluten-free, and delicious. OK so … there is Nothing wrong with eating bread people. Bread to some people, is life. Don’t believe me? Look it up.
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“What must you break apart in order to bring a family close together?
Bread, of course.”
–Jodi Picoult, The Storyteller
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Thursday June 22, 2017
Today I continue my vegan journey, and it doesn’t need to be that hard. I don’t notice too much of a difference in my energy or stress levels. I haven’t eaten any animal flesh or dairy or eggs since I started this 2 days ago. I eat a lot of fruit, vegetable salads, nuts, grains and beans. Oops sorry no photos for today because I got caught up living life instead of documenting it today. I had another grilled cheese sandwich with the vegan cheese, again for breakfast It’s pretty tasty. Judalicious , a vegan restaurant in San Francisco hooked me up with the mushroom meal in this photo. Health wise, I am feeling pretty energetic too. I am enjoying my meals, I am feeling light and happy on this vegan meal plan. I am also taking my Lifelong Vitality Pack daily at this point. I have noticed my energy levels go down if I forget to take the supplements. Some of you may know this but I wasn’t really a big fan of vitamins either, until I found dōTERRA.
Now, I am a complete dōTERRA convert. And so the journey continues…
Friday June 23, 2017
I am thrilled to announce that we have a newly created tradition in our family. After years of attempting to make homemade challah, and buying challah from the markets, I have finally found an amazing replacement. This is a product that is located in the refrigerated section of your health food store. You may want to try this service, which allows you to spend your time wisely, while a personal shopper shops for you! You guessed it, these are vegan, meaning no animal products at all. These also don’t have the greatest ingredients, but I figure once a week, for SHABBAT, is a very special treat. So why not? It’s definitely freshly baked and tastier than your store bought versions of cinnamon rolls or challah bread. Usually we celebrate at sundown on Friday night , but sometimes we have our challah cinnamon rolls for breakfast.
I couldn’t eat my usual amazingly delicious probiotic parfait since it has yogurt in it, so…… I also had one of the cinnamon challah buns 😲, and some raspberries. Later that day I had this incredibly delicious salad made by my local market. Of course I used Instacart to order it .
It arrived in under one hour.
Saturday June 24, 2017
Jerf Bars to the rescue. I recently won these on an Instagram Giveaway. These are Sweet! More on that later. in the meantime, I am working on contacting Sean Croxton, for a special discount code, JUST FOR YOU GUYS!
VeganBurg is a vegan burger joint on Haight Street. I popped in there after a chiropractor appointment, and paid $2 extra just not to get the soy patty. the one I got was made of rice, mushrooms, and cashews. I was yummy! This inspired me to make even better vegan burgers at home.
Urban Remedy was the choice for dinner, after a fun family outing to Chrissy Field Beach. My dear husband, he is a dear really, and he knew I was trying to be vegan, so he brought us here. I’ve ordered food here via Instacart (Rainbow Grocery carries Urban Remedy), as well as through Good Eggs. I really enjoy it! Sorry no pictures, as I only have movies from updating my Instagram Stories. If you watched my InstaStories on this day, you saw!
Sunday June 25, 2017
I ate all of this, and I was STILL hungry. So I had a variety of different Kettle chips with some of the best homemade guacamole I have EVER made. Potatoes and avocados are healthy right? And they are VEGAN!
Monday June 26, 2017
This morning I rose, happy and grateful for yet another beautiful day, and after my morning water, meditation and aromatherapy rituals, I got the worst stomach ache I have had in many years. At first I thought that maybe it was all those different flavors of chips and guacamole I had for dinner the night before. Then another thought occurred to me. What if this is my body getting rid of all that pent up meat that hasn’t made it’s way out yet? Ewwwwww. To say the least, I was disturbed by this thought. The vegan literature I’ve been reading lately isn’t reassuring that eating the dead, burnt carcass of another animals flesh is something healthy to do. But I digress . . . I am aware of the hard line vegans sell to potential converts with this logic. I just depends on how you look at it. If you believe that any food you eat is going to nourish your body, them it probably will.
As mentioned, I had a major pain in my abdomen. I am sure now that my belly is telling me, I overdid it on the food intake yesterday.. Hey, we are all human and indulge once in a while. I probably should have gone to bed instead up staying up late to watch Netflix with the hubs, and giving in to those munchies.
I ran for the DigestZen, I found the bottle that I keep in my kitchen spice shelf. DigestZen is an extraordinaire at breaking down pressure, inflammation, and soothing turmoil in the gut. I put one drop in a glass of water, then I put one drop in the palm of my hand, rubbed my hands together, and deeply inhaled, several times, through my mouth and nose because this is how to have an aromatherapeutic experience. Then I drank the water. I went to lie down for a few minutes in the sunroom.
After some time, my aches and pains went away (that DigestZen is AMAZEBALLS!), and so I was finally able to eat my Thistle.
Yep, I am getting it again this week. I decided that after eating all those vegan grilled cheese sandwiches and indulging in that, what I really need is a way to eat clean, without spending a million hours in my kitchen. So Thistle is back, and to the rescue. Simply put, I can create simple meals and salads here and there, but could never match the extraordinaire that Thistle brings out in presentation and culinary delights. And besides, you saw how much bread I was eating right? Salad prep takes time, a precious commodity that we are trying to change our views on.
I split the free juice they gave me with my little. It was an activated charcoal citrus fresh cold press. Oops we drank it up too fast, to photograph.
Then I gobbled up this delicious Matcha smoothie
that was so carefully prepared and packaged for me.
For lunch I had one of the vegan salads.
And another amazing feast for dinner.
For dessert, we baked a cake tonight, but low and behold, I did not even try a bite because vegans don’t eat eggs. But I am happy because, not only did I save time cooking, cleaning, etc, but I ate plants. It was a good day.
Tues. June 27, 2017
I brewed up some nutrient-rich, pastured chicken bone broth, and then I created this quick Instant Pot minestrone soup.
Check back here, in August 2017, to find the recipe posted for the minestrone soup!
For the rest of the day, I ate watermelon.
Wed. June 28, 2017
As you can see, I am trying different nut milks too. While we have really loved and enjoyed the intact enzymes in our raw milk, it’s nice not to have a collection of glass bottles hanging around anymore.
More watermelon was eaten today, because I may be turning into a fruititarian, after turning into breaditarian!
An interesting thing happened though, which I super excited about to share with you. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror today, and it looks like my eyes are changing color. I know — it is quite an interesting observation. Honestly, they seem brighter and lighter. This is an observation I still can’t get over because I’ve actually met some pretty cool vegans during this trial period, one, in particular, told me a story of how all the inflammation in his ankle went completely away, after he cut out animal foods from his diet. Chewey (Jordan) has the sharpest brightest clearest eyes I have ever seen.
Thurs. June 29, 2017
Fri. June 30, 2017
Sat. July 1, 2017
As I continue on my vegan journey, you can see from above that although I am not eating that much, I have actually consumed quite a bit of food there! For women ONLY: Click here if you are a lady (not a guy) to find out some differences I’ve noticed in hormonal health, and moon cycle.
Sun. July 2. 2017
Today we drove to Calistoga, where we go to relax and enjoy peace, quiet and relaxation. I was lucky enough to be able to continue my food/body experiment while here.
Mon. July 3, 2017
Conclusion:
I ate vegan foods for 14 days. I was a tad pre-occupied and didn’t exactly make the greatest homemade vegan meals. I started this on a whim, and stayed afloat by adhering to the “no animal foods” rule. I am sure many of my meals were not completely well- balanced and perfect. Many of my meals ended up being boring or bland, but I made sure to spruce them up using essential oils, because the fact is I didn’t have a meal plan. Since then, I have learned so much about this lifestyle, and the different reasons why people do it. Mainly, I would like to break away the conviction that often times, so many people believe that vegans eat vegan because they are trying to save the animals, and for humane reasons. However, you will be surprised to discover that this reason plays a far smaller role, than the simple fact that plant foods are known to be more alkalizing and beneficial for our gut microbiome and gut flora. When Michael Pollan said, “eat real food, not too much, and mostly plants.” He was on fleek, and I must digress, it does over time become a way of life. However, that to me anyway, doesn’t mean you can’t have the occasional grass-fed burger or pastured chicken bone broth.
Of course, there are die-hard vegans who won’t even buy leather shoes or a purse. I had a neighbor like this when I lived in West Hollywood. She was pretty adamant about scoping out the best shops, to buy the highest quality vegan leather goods, that actually resembled real leather! She was a vegan, but mostly ate bread and vodka. I never did pinpoint why someone so in tune with not eating animals, would pretend to have a real leather purse. One day she was so excited to show me her new vegan leather purse, and she found it very special. But why pretend? Why not simply carry around a canvas bag? Some people are difficult to understand sometimes, and that’s OK. personally if I were in deed a VEGAN, I wouldn’t be pretending to be wearing leather, even vegan leather, but that is just me being AUTHETIC to ME!
I sort of missed the cheese. I didn’t miss the meat at all to my surprise. It was not at all that difficult to cut meat out of my eating plan. As you may have noticed, I did end up increasing my carb/bread intake during this short period, whereas normally I don’t eat bread, or that much in quantity on the average day. Even though I’ve cut off this food journal on the 3rd of July, I actually continued to eat vegan foods, not so much by choice, but more because I had gotten the hang of doing it, and I did not feel like cooking meat. I could post more photos of food that I ate up until the 7th of July (when I cooked myself some eggs finally), but whats the point ?
The one thing I can honestly say I missed the most, were the EGGS. I had never had egg cravings before! I fantasized about those warm seasoned runny yolks for days before I finally ordered them and fried them sunny side up, my fave. The eggs were pure heaven. I will probably not ever be able to be a true vegan because I can’t imagine eating through life without eggs. If you can afford it buy your eggs pasture-raised, without any corn or soy feed. They will run you about $0.75 cents to $1 each in San Francisco. Less if you get them direct from your local farmer at the farmer’s market.
I felt pretty amazing on the vegan eating plan, and it made me feel a lot lighter. The children didn’t mind the switch to almond milk. I still have a lot of really good quality wild salmon, and pastured ground beef in my freezer. I plan to cook meat once week. My kids don’t really want to eat meat, but they will drink chicken broth. Broth is easier to digest than chicken meat. Broth is recommended for super-duper healing of the gut lining, and for strengthening immunity against disease.
I am definitely not going to be eating meat on a daily basis anymore. There really is no need. Plant protein is superior and alkalizing to the body. If you decrease the amount of meat in your diet, you are actually reducing your risk for diabetes. If you eat less meat than average, all the power to you! If you are vegan or vegetarian, that is your choice. Just be sure to eat plenty of leafy green veggies and legumes for powerful plant protein. Chewey, a vegan I spoke to on my journey who has inspirational dreams to become a vegan farmer, suggested this website, and said that this guy taught him how to cook.
There are many reasons why people begin eating vegetarian or vegan. Many of those reasons come down to the moral aspects of eating animals, especially animals that are conventionally raised, and the horror that goes hand in hand with all of that.
I get it, and that’s why I always source meats that are organic and pasture-raised. The fact is, you can either pay the farmer now, or you can pay the doctor later. The GI tract of a cow, was designed to eat grass and insects, not GMO corn. Same with chickens. The factory farmed chicken is soft and tender. The factory raised cows are marbled. People have forgotten what it is like to chew their meat. Meat is tough to chew when it’s wild game or the pastured variety. As a society, we are forgetting what a real chicken tastes like.
I am torn between what I’ve learned from the documentary, and what I’ve learned from other nutritional organizations, and from paleo eaters. The jury is out on this one. There really is no clear verdict. Everyone feels best on their individualized eating plans. If you want to try this, I recommend it. You will get a chance to see for yourself, in how you feel, and how it works for you. I guarantee you will see slight and small changes to your body and how you feel, within a period of 14 days. I may try this in the future for 30 days, but for now I will continue to make those mouth-watering eggs I can’t eat without. I am a fan of cheese too, and eat it in moderation. We still love our raw milk and cream, but will also drink nut milks side by side with the raw milk and cream.
If you want to try the vegan lifestyle. I would suggest starting small and using the elimination technique to slowly and weekly eliminate different food groups from your body, to see how you feel.
It would look like this:
week 1: eliminate dairy
week2: eliminate meat
Or you can do what I did and eliminate them completely, together, if you don’t mind giving these foods up for a short period of time.
What is helping support me in this transition, and transformation, is my daily and consistent use of so many different and wonderful essential oils. One specific one which helps me to get over the ups and downs of increased carb overload is the Slim & Sassy Metabolic Blend, and this gum.
Good Luck to you and your loved ones, on finding out what works best for your body, and your unique energetic balance.
To be continued ………..
Update December 2017. It has come to my attention that a fellow blogger has taken an in depth look on what the movie claims and what truly is. Upon receiving this information, I have decided to link the article here for anyone reading this post to further educate yourself on the vegan take and why I too feel it is unhealthy to eat vegan long term. Now I understand why my INTUITION was telling me it did not FEEL right. You can read the article HERE.
Are you a vegan or a vegetarian? Are you a carnivore, omnivore or pescatarian? Have you transitioned into a different eating style and how is it working for you? How do you deal (kindly) with people who think the only way to get protein is through meat products?
Please comment below!
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