Travelling with Snacks

I'm on my way home from my Christmas break. I'm travelling across the Uk with snacks to hand because I know getting hold of vegan food and drink is going to be tricky on my journey. I'm armed with all of my snack left overs:

- pretzels 

- cashews and raisins

- apples

- fruit bars

- liquorice 

Hopefully these will tide me over for my journey back to London where I can plan and prep properly for my veganuary challenge. I'm going to need to go shopping when I'm home for some food, and hope I'm not starving in addition to throwing out all pre Christmas snacks. 

Day Four

I'm starting to get into the swing of things now. Today I tried nothing new, but rather ate at what snacks and food I had left in the house as I am homeward bound in the morning. It is then that I will be able to gather my body stats. 

I had a mango, kale and orange juice smoothie. However after some bad green smelling gas, I looked up that it's not wise to eat too much kale raw therefore I will keep it to 2-3 green smoothies a week in order to get my super food vitamin fix. This is due to kale, especially raw kale, being very difficult to digest - and on one site likened to the equivalent of rubbing cactus on your skin. 

I've been trying to eat more vegetables and trying to avoid overloading on fruit because although healthy and 100% natural, fruit is high in fructose- a very fast releasing sugar. Therefore I have a lot of fruit to take on the train home with me tomorrow in the form of a fruit salad. 

I have been very much enjoying my cashew nuts although I always do and did. I love those little kernels but am looking forward to my big mix bag of nuts at home in my cupboard. When I get home I will start routing through my vegan cookbooks and meal planning properly as I have had to improvise quite a lot whilst away. One snack I also enjoyed very much was dark chocolate covered rice cakes by Kallo. They're so delicious and a good alternative to biscuits. 

There is also a vegan cafe down my new high street which I am looking forward to trying out. Bring it on, day four and I'm still going strong. I hope to run again tomorrow as well as part of my training once I am home for 5k. I will update on whether this happens or not tomorrow. 

Day Three

I started training again for the races I've signed up for this year. My diet is an important part of my training as I have to make sure I get enough energy and protein from my diet.

I've also started making smoothies again in order to try and come back from having to take supplements for my deficiencies. Therefore after my run I made a smoothie of:

- Orange juice

-  Mango

- Papaya

- Kale

I also had the treat of a soy latte in Costa - which is one of my favourite pasttimes at home. I love to go for coffee, and read or chat. Luckily I can exchange my normal latte for a soy latte and still have a tasty treat.

The Food Diary

Breakfast:

Muesli with banana and soy milk

Snack:

Smoothie (above)

Lunch:

Ratatoullie and pasta

Snack:

Soy latte. Fruit and nut mix.

Dinner:

Baked potatoe and beans

Nakd nibbles

Evening:

Raspberry gin and lemonade :)

Eating on the High Street

Yesterday I faced the challenge of trying to get something to eat whilst out. I knew this would be a challenge, especially out of the big cities away from vegan cafés and restaurants. I was in the METRO centre in Newcastle, which is full of high street shops for square meters upon square meters. It's massive. I went to Marks and Spencer expecting to be able to pick up a superfood salad or something. Unfortunately I was mistaken, by 1 or 2 ingredients. They would've been great options as well, alas they had honey and milk derivatives in them.

The crucial question is, what did I walk away with for my late afternoon snacks?

A bag of pretzels, a fruit salad and a mix bag of cashews and raisins. It wasn't quite the superfood salad I'd been hoping for but having said that, the only unhealthy thing I came away with was pretzels - which were quite tasty in the guilt ridden salty way that pretzels are tasty. Although, having said that I'm not 100% sure why Americans love them SO much. I'm not displeased that I can eat them, but I'm not raving about them either.

As you can see from my food diary below, I was in a very chocolatey mood yesterday. It's a good job there are so many delicious chocolate treats that are vegan - or is it??

 The Food Diary

Breakfast: Muesli, with soy milk and banana. Coffee.

Lunch: Pitta with Houmous and cucumber.

Snacks:

Alpro soya chocolate pudding

Roo Bar - Inca berry flavour (delicious!!!)

Moo chocolate

Moo chocolate with raisins and nuts

Alpro soya chocolate milk

Pretzels

Fruit salad

Cashews and raisins

Dinner: Ratatoullie and pasta

My Protein Replacement Journey

One thing I've been looking into is protein sources for the vegan diet, in addition to milk replacement products. I drink a lot of milk normally in tea, coffee and shakes so for me a quality milk replacement product is important. I also wanted a quality protein, that was a whpole protein to fit into my diet for my sports performance and recovery. Usually for this I use whey powder protein shakes, however whey is a derivative of milk proteins so for the vegan challenge is off limits.

Whilst looking for vegan protein shakes I found many however few provided complete amino acid chains, therefore I would've had to drink a combination of 2-3 different shakes in order to obtain my full amino acid chains for muscle growth and repair. The shake I found that is a complete plant protein powder is SCI-MX Nutrition PRO V-GAIN PROTIEN powder which contains 100% complete proteins by combining a blend of rice, soy and pea proteins. A taste test is yet to come when it arrives.

As for my milk substitute for a decent tasting coffee my immediate response was to go for soy products - so I went for a product I know well, Alpro. Soy milk is a substitute using soy beans and when fortified with calcium and vitamin D can be used similarly to cow's milk within the diet, in coffee, cereal and otherwise milk based drinks. I had always assumed soy was healthy as judging by the nutritional information chart on the back of the product it seems like a healthy dairy free alternative, but after doing some reading into the process of making soy and soy products it seems I was mistaken.

This I will write about in further details once I have done some more reading, however I conclude from my reading so far that the most likely outcome is that I will use soy milk products, and soy products in general for the sake of my vegan challenge but once I revert back to dairy I will be avoiding most soy products. Unless my reading provides further evidence in the favour of soy production and products.

Day One: Thoughts

Today is day one of the vegan challenge. It started well with a nice breakfast, a tasty lunch then some uhmm...questionable snacks and ahem...bad wind. I'm sorry but it needs to be mentioned seeing as I'm doing this as a nutritional experiment to see the nutritional effects on my body. I think however, and hope very much, that my body adapts my new diet my digestive system will hopefully improve to cope - otherwise I may just end up with no friends by the time it's over.

I haven't been able to measure my muscle and fat mass on the scales available to me at the moment, but my BMI is a sound 24. Although still healthy, it is a little too close to the overweight BMI of 25 for my liking. I'll re-weigh when I get home to get my fat and muscle masses, then again on the 1st february in order to see if the challenge has had any effects on my weight.

I think, due to the light nature of my meals I've been hungry for a lot of snacks. Although my list seems long, my portions were small-moderate. I think snacking is goign to be important with such bulky meals with low calories, however, this is fine as eating regularly suits me and my life style quite fine.

The Food Diary

Breakfast:

Dorset cereals fruit muesli with alpro soya milk

Banana

Coffee with alpro soya milk

Lunch:

Covent Garden slow roast tomato soup

Food Doctor multi-seed and cereal pittas

Dinner:

Ratatoullie with Baked Potatoe

Snacks:

Dark chocolate rice cakes

Alpro soya chocolate desert

Sesame sticks

Dried fruit bar

Apple

Moo Chocolate

The Days Are Inching Closer

The challenge is becoming more and more real as the day I start my experiment ease closer. I have mixed feelings about it, but mainly one of excitment of all the news foods I'm going to try, the new recipes I'm going to be exploring and the challenges I'll be facing along the way.

I did my first 100% vegan shop in Sainsburys and a specialist shop today. I bought a number of new food items such as:

 - Organica, Golden Coconut Delight
 - Roo'Bar in Inca Berry flavour
 - nakd fruit salad, fruit and nut nibbles
 - Frutina real fruit snack bars for sugar energy when I'm running

The thing is, one thing I'm not worried about is whether I'll like the food or not because everything I bought today I'm excited to eat and am looking forward to eliminating, hopefully, most crap and chemicals from my diet. I know going vegan mainly means cutting out aniumal products, but I'm also aiming to eat unprocessed foods with as few chemicals as I can. I once saw a meme that said:

Too many people are counting calories and not enough are counting chemicals.
I think this is true and in my journey to bettering my own nutritional intake via experimentation I hope to learn more about what is in my food, chemicals and all. In addition to hopefully making others more aware of what is in our food, and how our nutrients affect our bodyt functioning.

On the 6th January (when I'm home) I will take my stats of my body composition and BMI in order to seehow and if it naturally changes over time or not. I am not aiming to lose weight, however, this is more about how I am feeling within myself but it will be interesting to see if I gain or lose fat % whilst eating more natural foods.

Cacao & Quinoa flavoured Raw Bites: Snack Try

I must admit, I have a confession to make. I was dubious and hesitant to try these however, upon trying a small bite I realised that actually, although a slightly acquired taste they were quite nice. You don't get many in the packet however they are quite a dense food and packed full of nutritious ingredients that they are quite satisfying to eat, and impacting on a peckish appetite.

The main ingredient seemed to be sultanas/or raisins (my memory escapes me) so they were quite sweet in a natural way. Definitely good and fibrous for a snack in addition to being quite tasty and lasting. They were something that would be quite difficult to eat properly and scoff because of how densely pressed they are, however this forces you to enjoy all the textures and flavours these raw bites have to offer.

Dorset Cereals

When in the supermarket last they didn't have my usual go-to breakfast cereal Oatibix (probably because no-one else seems to like the stuff but me) so I had a browse for cereals I could eat as an easy breakfast in the New Year when I start my experiment/challenge.

Unfortunately most granolas have honey in them, instead I need to find one with pure sugar molasses or agave nectar, which I think I did if I remember correctly, however instead I was more attracted to their simply fruity muesli with pineapple, papaya and sultanas.

I tried it this morning, with Alpro soya as I'm slowly adjusting to soya milk, and it was delicious. It was only 151 calories per 45g of cereal however, which is quite low therefore when I am having active days unless I have a banana and something else to bulk up my breakfast I would have a double portion to hit around the 300 calorie mark for a decent breakfast. However, if you're trying to lose weight, then this would be a great choice although a 45g serving is rather small, it is satisfying.

And I quite like the little motto when I opened the box. I thought to myself, "Hell yeah I'm most qualified at being myself" which was a nice morning thought on a morning recovering from the flu still.

Recipe: Apple and Brown Sugar Porridge

Recipe:

Oats

Alpro soya milk

Apple cut up

Sprinkle of brown sugar

I tried making vegan porridge as an alternative to my usual porridge. I am trying to adjust to soya milk as I drink a lot of milk normally, enough for a small family. Mainly I have this in the form of porridge and cups of tea - however I have realised I quite like my tea black, and I've figured out how to make vegan coffee without it curdling.

However, this morning I had a vegan breakfast. I made the porridge like usual, putting the oats in the pan, adding enough milk to swirl the oats around the pan, chopped up the apple to cook into the porridge and kept stirring it whilst it heated until it bubbles and is the right texture. I sprinkled brown sugar on the top for an additional sweetness to blend with my unsweetened soya milk.

It was delicious. The soya milk gave the porridge a nutty taste, which I quite like. The texture was the same as when I normally make porridge which was a bonus as there is not much change. The reason I put the apple in at the start is because by heating it up the flavour intensifies throughout the porridge and softens the apple. I kept the skin on, but it could be peeled.

Then I ate the rest of the apple whilst cooking the porridge, so that is one of my 5 a day already out of the way. Yum!

Smoothie Fun

Early this year my mum bought me a NutriBullet. I think this is going to be a key player in my vegan journey. Today I made a smoothie - although it turned out a bit too sweet and I could have done with my non-ripe avocado not going bad in the fridge in there, but there we go, such is the life of a natural diet. Natural foods have a natural shelf life.

I added mixed berries, banana, soya milk and banana - and I drank it in two goes. The mixed berries were good for Vitamin C which I need extra of at the moment seeing as I have a cough and cold. In addition to vitamin A for my mucus membranes reparation lining my respiratory tract, and folic acid which I am currently having to take supplements for at the moment. It will be good to get off the supplements that I can help through managing my diet better. I think smoothies are a good way of doing that in addition to helping with the digestion of fibre rich and difficult to digest foods as I have digestive difficulties also. Therefore they are an ideal method for me to get my vitamins and nutrients in a digestive system friendly manner.

I also went to Kikki. K - a wonderful stationary shop and bought a meal planner for when I start my journey. It has a handy magnetic strip at the back and so can sit at the top of my oven quite nicely. It's also beautiful looking, which is always a bonus in these things.

Chocolate Free Chocovered Raisins

I've started on my vegan snacks. I decided to start with chocolate free Chocovered raisins.

I bought them from Holland and Barrett. I've lost the price but will edit this when I find out.

They're sweet, naturally with the raisins and sugar. They do have added sugar so aren't necessarily a healthy snack but are a good energy booster for a pre-run or mid run snack for me to use- or if I just fancy a sweet treat like this morning.

Raisins are also good for the important B vitamins, iron and potassium which is good for me as I'm currently anaemic.

Vegan Snack Haul

I got a haul of vegan snacks to try ahead of my experiment. Let’s see what the verdict is. Each snack will be a review of what I think and how I like it so I know what to buy when I’m vegan.

Tips on Starting My Vegan Diet

I’ve been looking up tips and ordering starter packs from the likes of The Vegan Society in order to help me prepare for my journey.

I’ve found some interesting stuff that I think I will take on board:
 - Plan food and meal diary (This gives me the excuse to order more stationary from Kikki K)
 - Always have vegan snacks on you on the road because eating on the go is pretty challenging.
 - Don’t have rules about nutrition other than following a vegan diet, so no calorie counting or carbohydrate counting. (I don’t do this anyway.)
 - Give myself extra time to cook and explore food.
 - Keep a full kitchen stocked with foods to eat and cook.
 - Avoid convenience foods.
 - Go into it with an open mind.

I think these seem like pretty sound piece of advice for going vegan so I will plan to follow these in my journey. For now, I’m feeling pretty excited to start trying new foods so I’m going to go shopping and try out some snacks – in addition to finding out which snacks I can and can’t have. Finally, I need to hunt out a vegan protein shake – the best of them taste like crap so let’s see. This can be the challenge of the day.

What is The Veganism Experiment?

This is my own experiment with food, for 3 months, to see and explore what veganism is like. I’m going to document my journey into exploring what natural and wholesome food is about, including exploring new recipes and new foods.

I’ve set the date for 3 months because I am currently a meat eater so I think there is going to be an adjustment phase and that 3 months is long enough for the experiment to yield results such as knowing what foods are good for which health benefits, experimenting with new recipes and adjusting to new foods in my diet.

I want to be a Dietitian and will be studying nutrition as of September, so this experiment will also let me gain insight into what my vegan clients will be eating, in addition to allowing me to recommend foods from my own research and experience.

Until I start on 1st January 2016, I’m going to start researching things I would like to try and making lists of foods and recipes to try in addition to looking up about how to maintain and keep a balanced and well varied diet whilst being vegan.