What I Eat in a Day... BUT VEGAN
There has been a growing movement towards the plant based diet for a variety of reasons, such as personal health, animal cruelty, and environmental sustainability. I have always enjoyed eating healthy foods, but this time I’m choosing to eat 100 % vegan for a day. I would like to see how my body feels when changing from my SAD (standard American diet) to a vegan one. I hope this post gives you some ideas when it comes to planning nutritious vegan meals- whether you are vegan or not!
What I discovered:
I learned that eating vegan wasn't as daunting of a challenge as I thought. One of the main reasons I never considered a vegan lifestyle was because I assumed it would be difficult to find tasty replacements for my favorite foods and that it would be inconvenient to deviate from my daily lifestyle. However, I found that there are many vegan replacements for cheese, meats, dips, etc.. that were delicious. A vegan diet can be challenging. However, I found with planning it is much easier to feel satisfied and get all your required nutrients.
Breakfast (10:00)
I am always looking forward to breakfast! I honestly didn’t need to change my breakfast much when eating vegan. My usual cereal, oatmeal, and toasts are already vegan, but I did have to skip my vanilla yogurt and granola! Here’s what I had:
- Toasted English Muffin with peanut butter & strawberry jelly
- Side of fresh berries
I also had to adjust my usual ice coffee recipe.. This time I poured my espresso shot over ice, almond milk, and a teaspoon of Hershey’s chocolate syrup (vegan). Then I shake everything together to get a nice refreshing frothy iced coffee.
Lunch (Noon)
For lunch I usually like to do something quick. So today I had:
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Afternoon Snack (4:00)
Before dinner, I usually crave something sweet. My go to is normally fruit!
- Honeydew Melon
- Nuts
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Dinner (7:30)
Since I had trouble deciding what to make for dinner, I went with jasmine rice with lots of veggies.
- Jasmine rice with red peppers, green peppers, onions, black beans, and asparagus! I purchased the red peppers, green peppers, and onions along with the jasmine rice in the frozen section from Trader Joe’s. Buying frozen makes it super easy to steam the rice in the microwave and heat up the veggies quickly on the stove.
Late Night Snack:
Vegan or not I’m always craving a late night snack. Tonight I decided to defer from my usual chocolate dove treats and enjoyed some popcorn instead. I ate Angie’s Boom Chicka Pop Kettle Corn and it was a delicious snack to keep me full till breakfast!
Over the course of my day eating vegan, I tried to have balanced meals that include some protein, carbs, and lots of veggies. Since I was not eating any animal-based protein today, I made sure to have some nuts and whole grains to get a good amount of protein in my vegan diet. As the day came to an end, I realized that going vegan is more doable than it may seem, it just requires trying new foods and planning along the way!
Thanks for following my vegan journey!
With Pure Intentions,
Jessi Gargiulo