Well, our Vegan Experiment is officially over.  7 weeks vegetarian, 7 weeks vegan {for me, 6 for my fam}.  And we survived.  There is so much to say about the project, the experience and the results, but today I’m just going to discuss the results and conclusions.  Tomorrow I’ll let you in on all of my discoveries, favorites and new habits.

My family’s results:

Vegetarian Thoughts:

During the vegetarian phase my family didn’t feel deprived at all.  They always had an abundance of food choices and could always find a snack or meal.  In short, cutting out meat was easy.  And they didn’t really miss it.  And now that we’re done, they don’t really want it back {except when we went to the Vancouver Sausage Fest…those sausages smelled good!}.  This is a change we’ll stick with because it’s so much better for us AND it’s so much cheaper!  Meat is running $4-$9 per meal.  A can of beans or cup of dried quinoa is about 69 cents.  Seems like a no-brainer to me.

The vegetarian meals we ate, however, were just kind of ho-hum.  Not terrible, but not spectacular.  I didn’t do a great job of planning or cooking well thought out meals during this phase.  I think it was a combination of the end of school and going on our RV trip.  Planning meals wasn’t a priority.  So the quality of our veg food was just kind of average.

Vegan Thoughts:

In general, my family found that being vegetarian was much easier and doable than vegan.  Unless I cooked every meal, made every snack and poured each and every bowl of cereal, they had a hard time figuring out what to eat when they were on their own.  It was not natural for them to know what a vegan snack was or what they could reach for.  No matter how much I reminded them what they could eat, it was hard for them to figure out.  This left them feeling deprived {even though the fridge and drawers were full of vegan snacks}.  I think time and commitment would solve this if they wanted it to.  Anyone can relearn habits.

Meals, however, during this time were much better received.  I planned better – working strictly out of vegan cookbooks – so that I could see what eating vegan really could be like.  And it was good.  Very good.  The kids complained less about food {and dinners in particular} during this time period than they did when I cooked “regular”, before our experiment.  They frequently ate everything on their plate, and that is a rarity.  They also became more adventurous and willing to try new types of foods.  I hope this risk taking sticks around.

Some things they learned:

• Veggie dogs are great on the bbq
• Ellie discovered a new favorite food: miso soup
• Payton loves spice.  The hotter the better.
• Payton discovered the goodness of mushrooms.
• Almond milk and Honey Nut Cheerios are a great combo. {But not for Ellie – she ate dry cereal for the entire 6 vegan weeks.}
• Rice is good. This is a new revelation for my kids.
• They don’t crave meat.  My hubby thought he’d be happy to be free to eat meat, but it’s not appetizing to him at all.  He has yet to try it again.
• Vegans can make some tasty Bacon Cheeseburgers {Thanks Native Foods!}
• Beans, beans, the musical fruit.  The more you eat, the more you………
• And on that note…Veggies and beans help food move through your system.  Meat and cheese sit in your gut like cement.  True story.
• Sometimes people don’t understand your choices.  Make them anyway.

My Results:

Vegetarian Thoughts:

I found that being vegetarian didn’t require much extra effort.  We had vegetarian meals at least once a week before, so removing meat products didn’t bother me at all.  But, for the same reason {and because of a busy schedule}, I didn’t plan veg meals very well.  I tried to wing it.  They were good, but not great.

I did, however, find it easy to eat vegetarian on the road as we traveled in the RV.  Every restaurant has at least one veg meal.  Most have multiples {like Chipotle, Noodles & Co., and any Mexican, Middle Eastern or Asian restaurant}.  And packing, refrigerating and cooking meat is SO MUCH hassle!!  I was very thankful that we didn’t have to deal with that.  Our cooler was happy that it was meat free too.  No salmonella for us!

When it came to feeling…I didn’t feel much different.  But when I saw meat, I felt like it looked more heavy and greasy than I remembered.  Maybe true, maybe a mental trick.

Vegan Thoughts:

My family felt a bit deprived eating vegan.  I, on the other hand, never felt deprived at all.  Maybe it’s because I was the one thinking about meals, snacks, shopping and planning – so I knew everything that was available.  Maybe it’s because I liked the vegan option more than they did.  Maybe it’s because I was slightly more committed to veganism than they were {I think I emotionally believe in the cause more}.  But I always had something on hand to eat – whether fruit or crackers or hummus or peanut butter toast.

I also realized that when you cook vegan – without meat or dairy or foods loaded with salt and fat – food tastes better.  The herbs and veggies and spices flavor the dish and they taste good!  I’m convinced that is the reason my family loved the vegan meals we ate so much.  Because their palates weren’t coated with fat and salt.  They were free to taste everything else.

When we first started eating vegan my skin broke out, I got seriously bloated and I felt slow and tired.  This lasted for about a week.  I felt like my body was trying to get rid of all of the toxins in it {in every way…if you know what I mean}.  But after a week I felt light, clean and much, much better.  My skin is brighter and clearer.  I haven’t worn foundation or concealer in a month.  My body aches less.  And I feel like I have more energy to push my body harder in workouts.  I actually feel younger, if that’s possible.  My head is clearer too, and I am less forgetful.  I don’t know if this all is because of the food or because of the change in my attitude {wanting to do better for myself and make better choices}.  But either way, it’s great.

And yes, being vegan gets stuff moving quickly through your intestines.  Yes, it sometimes gives you gas.  Yes it makes you poo more.  {Yes, I just said poo.}  But, our bodies were made for that.  Things go in and things come out.  And, being vegan, they come out faster than before.  It’s not a bad thing.

Anyway…

Some things I learned:

• Vegan food tastes GOOD.
• There are TONS of sources of protein.
• Cilantro is essential.
• Cooking good meals takes time.
• Soy creamer…yuck!!!
• Natural Food stores are not always more expensive.
• Fresh tastes best.
• You can’t make people like things they don’t like.  Even if it’s your daughter and shiitake mushrooms.
• An essential part of being vegan is being prepared.  Snacks, meal plans, a list of possible restaurants…all important.  Always have a plan and a back up so you have food to eat.  And always bring vegan food with you.  Everywhere.  On vacation, visiting someone’s house, on a long drive.  You never know if there will be options for you.
• Community and resources are super important!  I don’t like to feel like I’m on a journey alone.
• Sometimes I have to say no to things I like {and want} because it’s the best decision for me.  Self control is not about deprivation, it’s about choosing better options and doing what’s best for me.
• The more I learned, researched and sought out advice, the more successful I was.
• Procrastination is not a vegan’s friend.  Grains take time to cook.

So the bottom line is this:

My family will probably remain vegetarian without conviction.  I’ll be cooking vegan at home, but they have regular milk, cheese and yogurt in the fridge.  In theory, they can eat meat when we’re out or at someone’s house.  But they haven’t yet.  They might not want to again.

I’ll remain vegan.  I love the way it makes me feel and the great things it does for my body.  The food is great, inexpensive and fun to cook.  I feel like it’s an adventure, and I really like adventures.  I also don’t want to force cows to remain pregnant and lactating on my account.  I know how much that hurts.  Yikes!  And their boy babies are used for veal.  Not ok with me.

When it comes to numbers, my results from all of my blood test BEFORE the experiment were super healthy {except my weight…does that make sense???}.  My doc actually said that my starting cholesterol was lower than she’d ever seen.  She said she can only ever get people that low by putting them on medication.  My blood pressure, pulse rate, glucose levels and organ functions were excellent.  So what happened while I was eating vegan?  Let’s look and see:

**Note: I don’t have results for my thyroid function or folate level. If they are terribly different from before, I’ll fess up. I think they are fine. Just taking a long time to come.

As you can see, most of my numbers are the same-ish.  My cholesterol is even better, my weight is down a bit {and it’s actually down even more…let’s just say I was carrying water weight during that portion of the month when I saw my doctor…I actually lost 6 lbs.}, protein levels remained steady {go beans!!} and my B12 actually went up.  B12 isn’t usually found in vegan diets, and most vegans supplement {which I didn’t}, so the fact that it is up is a big deal.

Overall, it seems that veganism supports my health and helps maintain the kind of healthy lifestyle I was attempting to live.  It makes me feel better and it helps me make healthy decisions in other parts of my life as well, simply because I am paying attention to making good health decisions.  I love the taste of the food and the adventure of learning a new way to cook.  It’s here to stay for me and for my family’s dinners.

Tomorrow I’ll share the secrets, tips and favorites I’ve found along the way…