I feel like I need to explain myself.
For the past month, I’ve been posting on Instagram photos that have been, well, questionable.
And I’m sure the hashtag #vegan wasn’t helping. (Did she mean #Vegas?)
Yes, the food editor who probably eats more fried chicken cutlets drenched in gravy than recommended by health experts was now vegan. Honestly, I wouldn’t have believed it myself — if it weren’t me I was talking about!
Here’s the story: My husband and I watched the 2017 Netflix documentary What The Health, which promotes a plant-based diet and discusses concerns about the health impact of consuming meat and dairy products. It was so convincing, my husband, who can easily polish off a pot of chili and six hot dogs for dinner, decided to go vegan for a month and see how it would affect his health.
To be honest, I didn’t think I’d ever hear my husband say the word, “vegan,” in a sentence where the subject was him and the verb was “eat.” This is a guy whose chest freezer in the garage is almost exclusively filled with various cuts of pork and beef.
And I have never, ever considered eating only plants. For anyone who knows my eating habits — really, you just need to follow my IG to know — my diet consists primarily of Spam musubis, cheesy burgers, ice cream and Slurpees. And only that last one is vegan.
I was slightly terrified of this new diet. I couldn’t eat any animal products. That meant no steaks, no chicken salad, no French toast, no buttery croissants, no mayonnaise, no lasagna, no roast beef sandwiches, no fro-yo, no chocolate chip cookies. I felt my heart sink. Everything I loved — primarily cheese, butter and bacon — was now banned. I wasn’t sure if prolonging my life would be worth it.
But a quick Google search eased my fears.
I had to give up butter, but there were vegan alternatives. (Remember margarine?) I couldn’t eat beef and chicken, but rice, olive oil, garlic and most breads don’t contain animal products. I had to give up ice cream and yogurt but blended fruits — bananas, strawberries — were acceptable swaps. And have you heard of Gardein? This company makes a meatless faux chicken tender that’s outrageously delicious.
And then there was the revelation that a lot of the foods I already eat are vegan. Oreos, Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, unfrosted Pop Tarts, Ritz crackers, Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Thomas New York Style Bagels, Nutter Butters. I could live off these things!
Being vegan, at least for a month, started to seem doable.
(By the way, we didn’t change Landon’s or the dogs’ diets, in case you were wondering.)
And, as sadistic as this sounds, I was looking forward to the challenge of cooking with just plants. I didn’t grow up eating a lot of veggies and fruits — it’s the plight of being the Third Born and parents just giving up — so I can’t say that I’m well versed in cooking with these ingredients. I know how to roast cauliflower and steam broccoli but that’s about it. So trying vegan recipes was just going to force me to cook and bake outside my comfort zone — and I was actually looking forward to it.
The first week was tough. I hadn’t discovered vegan butter yet and I’ve never been a fan of beans. So I figured I was just going to survive off of Fruit Loops (vegan), musubis, bananas and Diet Coke. I had done that before.
Turns out, though, there’s a plethora of vegan recipes out there, all tested and tweaked and modified to fit the tastes of someone like me, someone who actually enjoys animal products.
I was making vegan chili (same as making beef-based chili and, surprisingly, no one missed the meat), spicy rice and beans (that tasted a lot like vegan chili), mushroom risotto, meatless meatballs (with beans and not beef), tofu fried rice, homemade hummus, cauliflower florets that were battered and fried and tasted a lot like sweet-sour chicken. People started sending me links to vegan food blogs or vegan recipes they loved. I couldn’t believe how many people I knew were secretly vegan — or at least part-time vegan — and never said anything. (I’m not going to lie, there is a weird stigma about being vegan. I can’t really explain it, but it’s there.)
I can’t stay that I’m entirely vegan. Honestly, I would probably be out of a job if I were. (It would be really hard being a vegan food editor.) But my husband has been devoutly loyal to the diet, and I’ve been cooking exclusively vegan for him at home.
I don’t know if I feel any better, if my body prefers a plant-based diet. I do eat a lot more vegetables than I ever did before, which is only a good thing. But I’ve also never eaten so many Oreos, either.
There’s got to be a balance, and I’m still figuring that part out.
6 Comments
It’s a good thing that Oreos are no longer made with lard!
I’ve been trying to get my family to eat healthier, or at least increase the veggie/fruit intake and it’s been great! I’ve discovered that we love sweet potato and kabocha, and the instant pot has been really handy in cooking veggies quickly. I like seeing the dishes you’ve been making!
Hi Cat- my hubby & I also watched “What the Health” and did the 14day challenge! After two weeks we lost weight and felt great! We decided to stay on it longer. I’m on my 6th month and my blood work numbers are normal!! Still working on my cholesterol. Downtown is full of vegan options!! Try Umeke’s Deluxe nachos!! Or Downbeat Diners spareribs!! They even have vegan milkshakes! Keep up the good work!????
Thank you for sharing your story! Was curious!
Hello Cat,
When my wife found out that she had CKD she went on a vegan diet for a long time and we both lost weight and felt better. But when she finally had to go on dialysis she had to stop the vegan diet and eat proteins.
Omg Cat, my husband who would be more than happy to eat Wendy’s and McDonald’s everyday showed me this documentary last night and wants to try going vegan for a month ???? <— the actual face I made. I went through the stages of grief because, like you, I love food too lol. But your article totally eases my fears! Like so many times before, I'm so grateful for your writing and sharing! Not sure how the next month without butter and eggs will be but good to hear Oreos are allowed.