Happy Monday! My apologies for the lack of posts lately, but you know my blogging style…
Anyway, I’m taking a break from home / DIY posts today to talk about something on a different topic: veganism.
If you’ve followed my blog for a while, it’s no secret that I am a vegetarian with a passion for healthy + organic living. I became vegetarian when I was 18-years-old after discovering the negative impact that consuming meat has not only on our bodies, but on the environment as well. Fast forward to today, seven years later… The several books I’ve read (i.e. Crazy Sexy Diet, Skinny Bitch, Eat Pretty, etc) along with the documentaries I’ve watched (i.e. Forks Over Knives, Food Matters, Food Inc., Vegecated, etc) have supplied me with substantial evidence for why a plant-based diet is so beneficial for a variety of reasons. (I won’t get into those reasons, but I highly recommend reading or watching any of the titles listed above for a plethora of valuable information).
With all that info that I can’t “un-know” subtly taunting me at every bite of a grilled cheese or omelette, I can’t help but feel a tinge of guilt. While adopting a vegetarian lifestyle (with an emphasis on buying local and organic) has definitely been a step in the right direction for me, I’ve always had a nagging feeling I could be doing more. More for my health, more for the planet, more for the animals — and in that order. (To elaborate — environmental sustainability and compassion for animals is indeed important to me, but the ring leader in all of this is the health factor. Just read a few of these success stories and tell me you don’t feel compelled to eat a more plant-based diet…)
Which brings me to the root of today’s post: I am embarking on a 30-day vegan challenge. I read this book and tried the challenge earlier in the year but only made it just over two weeks. This time around I am aiming for the full 30 days (hence the public blog announcement for accountability…) and possibly even adopting this new way of eating permanently. Key word: possibly. Update to follow, post challenge.
I’m excited that a co-worker of mine has also decided to join me on this challenge and even my husband (a full-fledged meat eater) is giving it a go for one week! —> *impressed wife*
As for what I’ll be eating, I am keeping a daily food journal (let me know if you’re curious/interested and I can give brief week-to-week updates or an overall 30-day review) and I’m sourcing recipes from a variety of my favorite food blogs, i.e.: Minimalist Baker, This Rawsome Vegan Life, The Simple Veganista, My Whole Food Life, etc., as well as my go-to vegan cookbooks, i.e. Chloe’s Kitchen, Crazy Sexy Kitchen, and Oh She Glows.
What do you think — would you ever consider doing a vegan (or even vegetarian) challenge?
Filed under: Health & Nutrition
