I tried eating vegan 17 years ago, in response to reading John Robbins' Diet For a New America. That first attempt didn't go so well, for reasons I'll explain in my diary below.
I tend to run very lean and underweight, and my longstanding fear of cutting out meat & dairy was that I'd become even skinnier and weaker. Indeed, that was what happened the time before, so I wrote it off. But in researching treatments and cures for various digestive and sinus issues, the recommendation to cut down on animal products (or cut them out altogether) kept popping up in front of me.
At the same time, I finally read Fast Food Nation* recently and it prompted me to want to give this another try, fortified with all kinds of new and good information. (*For those who might say our food choices have nothing to do with politics, I say read that book!) And I have to say, so far -- WOW. I feel great.
If you are eating a vegetarian or vegan diet for health or other reasons, and if it is working well for you, I'd welcome your tips and advice in the comments. Thanks!
The mistakes I made in 1992, my first veggie/vegan attempt, were mostly mistakes of ignorance. It turned out I have celiac disease, and at the time it wasn't yet diagnosed -- so in cutting out animal products I loaded up more on pasta, bread, etc. and my health slowly worsened.
I also didn't know much about home cooking then, so my experiments in the kitchen usually came out not-so-good... and the scope of vegan prepared foods back then was nothing like the abundant deliciousness available today.
So far it's going great after a few weeks. I don't know yet if I will want to become a total vegan, or a sort of "omnivore leaning vegan" who eats lean meat or fish once or twice a week.
But so far I've been eating a plant based diet since mid-March and feeling increasingly terrific.
Some of my food discoveries:
QUINOA: Cooks quick, has good protein in it, and is an easy base for side salads etc. I love this stuff!
COCONUT MILK: There's some new info that suggests coconut milk/oil is a healthy food even though it is high in saturated fat. I don't know if this is true or not -- I welcome comments from anyone who knows more. But I have noticed I have better skin since adding this to my diet. And of course it tastes delicious.
LEAFY GREENS: I never knew how to cook these in ways that taste good until now. They are powerhouses of nutrition and I love 'em.
VACCUM-PACKED INDIAN ENTREES: These are delicious over a bed of rice, for moments when I'm in a hurry and need to eat a decent meal from scratch in 10 minutes. At $2.50-$3.00 each they are not a wise strategy for every day use, and I like relying mostly on home cooking and fresh foods, but these packets are good as a fallback measure. I keep a stash of them at work and at home now.
PRODUCE & FARMERS MARKETS: I live near an amazing store (Russo's) just outside of Boston that sells top quality produce year round. They supply some of the city's finest hotels and restaurants, it turns out. Also there will be several great farmers markets coming up through late spring, summer, and fall.
My goal is to gain some weight, which is the opposite of most people's goals re: body/health. Working out a couple times a week, I'd like to gain about 10-15 lbs of healthy weight. (I'm very thin at the moment) I want to see if it is possible to get healthier and even stronger, more fit, on a vegan diet. I like the feeling of having clean/good digestion, low allergies, good energy. Do you know of anyone who is a vegan or mostly-vegan and is fit/athletic? How do they do it?
Again, I welcome any tips, experiences you've had with this, any favorite foods/products, etc. Thanks for reading.