where did the rainbows and butterflies go?

My perseverance is being tested. Week one was surprisingly easy. Not only did I not have any issues sticking to my diet, but my head pain was the lowest it had been in months. I only had to take a major abortive one day out of the seven. Life was great rolling into week two. Then...my migraines decided to return home from their mini-vacation. Day after day, I was experiencing major head pain, and I had to take a major abortive almost every day. This, of course, made following a strict vegan diet slightly more difficult, but I was still managing surprisingly well.

Life wasn't so great rolling into week three. The daily onslaught of migraines continued day after day. I seemed to finally get a break yesterday (Although, I'm now fighting a cold instead.). I'm not sure what caused the week and a half long continuous migraine. I imagine it's probably my body's response to being taken off of a couple of medications. With that in mind, I do believe the diet is still helping, significantly, actually, even though it may not seem that way.

Although, I'll admit, it has gotten more difficult to stick to since week three began. There have even been a couple of times during this past week where I imagined myself doing a face dive into an extra-large cheese pizza. These cravings have been even more difficult to control because my pain levels have been so high, but so far, I haven't ate any animal products (purposefully) since January 31st. I say, purposefully, because I ordered Chinese the other weekend, and I ate the fortune cookie at the end of my meal without even thinking about it, and as it turns out, fortune cookies are made with eggs...whoops! But I promise you, it was completely innocent.

Even most of my eating-out-experiences have been easily navigated. On Friday night, my boyfriend, Aaron, and I went to a local Mexican chain with some friends for drinks and dinner. I ordered the mushroom fajitas, hold the cheese and sour cream, and substituted black beans for the refried, and everything was absolutely delicious. I didn't feel deprived at all. However, the next day at brunch, I wasn't quite so lucky. For those of you who don't know, brunch with bottomless mimosas or Bloody Mary's is big in DC. My girlfriend had been trying to get me and Aaron to go out to brunch with her and her husband for a few weeks now so I finally agreed. She picked the spot with a three-course brunch that she had been wanting to try for awhile and even called the restaurant to make sure that they could accommodate my dietary needs. After reviewing the shortened brunch menu, it was apparent they didn't offer any vegan dishes so I ordered a salad without cheese for my appetizer and a fruit plate for dessert, and as for my main meal, I told them to just make me something vegan. My salad was delicious, and I was hungry and excited to see what my main course was going to be. That is, until it was brought out and I was given a plate of stemmed vegetables. Really, stemmed vegetables?! That's the best you could do?! Everyone else had chicken and waffles or  eggs and bacon, and here I am with stemmed carrots, broccoli, asparagus  and a couple of cherry tomatoes. Everyone at the table felt terrible for me, and I was immediately embarrassed so I asked our waiter to at least bring me some potatoes too. If I hadn't been slightly drunk from my bottomless mimosa, I probably would have been more upset, but at least I wasn't thirsty. This was the first time I felt like an outcast for being vegan, and unfortunately, I'm sure it won't be my last, but overall, it's mostly been good experiences. Next time, I'll just have to be much more specific when I order, which I certainly will be.

You live and you learn...

what i've been eating

So...what have I been eating? All sorts of deliciousness! This week I made several recipes from the vegan cookbook, Veganomicon, thanks to my amazing baby sister who gave this book to me as a gift over the holidays. I whipped up vegan sloppy joes made with lentils and chili powder, sauteed seitan with mushrooms and spinach, and grilled pineapples and portabellas. The sloppy joes weren't my favorite, but I loved the seitan dish. Although it looks kind of disgusting, seitan is actually a great substitute for meat, not to mention, so much healthier for you. My favorite recipe this week though was by far, the vegan blueberry brownies. These babies were to die for - better than any other brownies I've ever had!

Fudgy Wudgy Blueberry Brownies

Even eating out hasn't been an issue. My boyfriend, Aaron, and I had lunch at a local Ethiopian restaurant last Saturday. I ordered the vegetarian tibs served on Ethiopian bread. This was our first time eating Ethiopian food, and we both enjoyed our dishes. Aaron actually liked my vegetarian tibs over his lamb. I'm still undecided on the Ethiopian bread, but I would certainly try it again. I mean, the place even serves vegan pastries!

Vegetarian tibs served on Ethiopian bread

Let's see, what else...One night Aaron and I ordered Thai from our favorite Thai place. My normal go-to is chicken Pad Thai, and I knew I would have to hold the chicken and eggs, but I didn't realize the entire dish was tossed in fish sauce. However, I was able to have them hold the fish sauce in addition to the eggs (and chicken). It was still really delicious, but I definitely missed the fish sauce. The noodles just get stuck together, and it's much drier without it, but I like my Pad Thai spicy, which I think helped.

Pad Thai

I also had Chipotle, which is always amazing. I ordered a burrito bowl with rice, black beans, corn, tomatoes, and salsa. I  really wanted guacamole, but I'm not allowed to have avocados as I have to keep my fat intake low. However, it was still beyond delicious.

Chipotle burrito bowl with chips and salsa

As you can tell, I've been eating well! I can't wait to continue cooking new meals and experiencing my favorite restaurants and cuisines in a whole new "vegan" light.

one week down

I've officially been a vegan for one week now, and it's going great! I wanted to post sooner, but I've just been so busy. Leading up to this diet change, I was nervous and anxious, yet excited all at the same time.

I was nervous because I didn't know if I would be able to do it. I grew up in a small town in the Midwest - I was raised on meat and potatoes. Can I really give up meat and dairy? I was also nervous because I wasn't sure I'd be able to follow the diet. I've never been much of a dieter because....well, probably because I never thought I'd be able to follow it or I guess I just never wanted to. I've always been the type to just eat what I want when I want it.

I was anxious because going vegan was going to be such a big lifestyle change. I felt that I had so much to do. I had to clean out the pantry and the fridge; I had to go through all the food we already had and label what I could and what I couldn't eat. Then I had to make several trips to the local grocery store, then Whole Foods, then back to the local grocery store. On top of that I had to read each and every label of each and every food I bought...talk about exhausting (and time consuming)! Now, how to store all of this stuff and cook it? That led to several trips to and from Bed, Bath, and Beyond and The Container Store, and back again. Aaaah! In the end though, it was all worth, and once everything was organized my anxiety subsided.

A glimpse into my pantry

Now, the excitement took over. Everything was organized, my fridge and pantry were stocked, and I was ready to go! Day 1 came and went, then Day 2, and I couldn't believe how easy it was. I haven't had any cravings for meat or cheese, I haven't been tempted as people ate restricted items right in front of me, I haven't been hungry or felt deprived in any way. I'm just shocked by how great I'm doing and how easy it's been! I don't think I've ever followed a diet for this long :p As if that weren't enough, I feel great! I'm not "cured" of my migraines by any means, but my pain level has decreased dramatically since Day 1. I still have some head pain everyday, but it's nothing compared to what it has been, and I've been functional almost everyday this week. Of course, I still experience a multitude of side effects from all of the medication that I'm on, but if the side effects are my biggest complaint rather than the pain, I know I'm on to something. On top of that, my doctors are changing a few of my medications around right now. The last time they did that I was practically bedridden for a month. I just can't believe not only how great I feel, but how great I feel while undergoing all of these medication changes. I'm flabbergasted! I haven't felt this great in years. I thought this diet change would help, but I didn't think it would help this much, and I certainly didn't think it would work so quickly. I hope things only continue to improve from here.