The 7 Day Vegan

A week ago today I tried eating vegan for 7 days. Being an extremely picky eater, this task was seemingly easier than I thought, however, I still am in limbo as to where to go from here.

I have learned a lot over the past week and have tried foods that I WOULD NEVER and I MEAN NEVER try if it weren't for this vegan thing. I spent way too many hours on the internet researching and planning meals but I think it was all worth it. I feel great, I lost a few pounds but most of all I finished what I set out to do!

I have decided to rid our overloaded pantry of processed foods and get back to the basics. I will buy more fresh items so there is no junk to turn to when I am feeling the snack attack at 3pm along with buying organic products that don't contain hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup. Yes, some of my family members think I am crazy, but I think you have to be crazy to be a little different. Another issue for me was my sweet tooth! Thanks to my endless hours of google searches and a little help from my friends, I found tons of recipes that are a healthy alternatives to satisfy the craving of sweet foods.

And the burning question...will I ever eat meat again? Well, I don't know when I will eat it again. I have always had issues with the treatment towards animals for the sake of making them our food BUT the even BIGGER issue is, even if I continue to eat animal based products (milk, cheese and ICECREAM) I am not helping the treatment towards them. Cows will still spend their entire lives hooked up to hoses that give me milk, chickens will continue to be kept in over crowded warehouses to give me eggs...and well, you get the point. So for me, the only solution there is to take the word of the companies who sell "organic" products and eat as healthy as I can but also drastically reduce my families intake of animal based products.

I know God gave man dominion over animals on the earth (Genesis 1:26) but I also can't help to think  that God probably did not intend for us to use animals as much as we do in our diets or to make products that are solely driven by money. Now-a-days companies are all about getting the product out of the door faster and cheaper so they can make more money....with that said I can only do my part and eat less of them.

It's been a crazy, interesting week but now I am ready to implement the new changes in my life. No, this doesn't mean you wont find a stash of chocolate in my house, but yes it will be DARK CHOCOLATE ;)