Going vegan for a week or how to break up a perfectly lovely friendship!

elizabeth: Some times I hate Facebook because you can write something and then be challenged and I don’t like being challenged in this way because I will stubbornly walk right into it.  I said, without the benefit of drugs or alcohol to blame, that I could go “Vegan for a Week.”  I thought my proclamation would just get lost in a black hole like where most of my thoughts go during the off season. But, no. I heard from some who wanted to try it and then some who couldn’t type fast because their other hand was flipping burgers.

When I do things like this I normally have to suffer alone, but not this time. Charlene Ross, one of our fearless, funny and fabulous skirt! blogging sistas got recruited by me. Now, it seems she wanted nothing more then to apply a BBQ rub to anything that crossed her path, but I sweet talked her into joining me. And the best part of this is that we live on different coasts so my avegening vegan vigilant alert is only white – like in organic hot dogs. Doesn’t that sound disgusting, but I have a friend who serves that to her daughter. I just might be calling social services on her.

Charlene: I am a bit upset that Elizabeth roped me into this, mostly because I’m not quite sure how she managed to do it over Facebook. I think she might be a bit of a Facebook bully. Maybe I had a little too much wine when I agreed –after all- wine is vegan!

Personally I think this whole vegan thing is going to be a breeze. I do love meat (and cheese, and yogurt, and butter, and cheese, and eggs, and cheese) but I’m actually already super healthy. I mean, I drink broccoli water. What is broccoli water? Broccoli water is the water at the bottom of the pot when you steam broccoli. It contains a lot of the vitamins that were cooked out. I also drink green bean water, asparagus water (which is always thicker than the other waters and actually has tiny bit of asparagus in it), and whatever other kind of vegetable I might happen to be cooking water. It actually tastes just like the vegetable you’ve just cooked. What? You think that’s gross? Once I mistook hot dog water for apple cider – you don’t even have to be a vegan to gag on that!

So we went “vegan” for five days. We had to take the weekend off because I suspect that Charlene will be making a dress out of bacon and singing Lady Gaga songs.  I will no doubt be found in the backseat of my car in a chocolate coma.

Day One.

elizabeth: I did peruse the grocery store aisles yesterday looking for organic and vegan products. Came home with lots of vegetables and some fruit. Got the brown rice and beans in the pantry. One thing that is scaring me is that the Atkins Diet removed 26 lbs. from me and my cholesterol went down and stayed that way until a couple of years ago until my body decided to freak out on me.  I think I am sensitive to carbs and I am leery about gaining weight. I am reading “Veganist” by Kathy Freston and she is saying that the weight will melt off. Well, I am looking at myself as if I am a candle just waiting to get lit. Speaking of getting lit, she says animal bone is used in winemaking.  God help me.

Today wasn’t too bad – had a bagel and natural peanut butter for breakfast, lots of veggies including avocado (good fat going right to my abs) for lunch and hummus and an apple as a snack. I had a big salad with olives and nuts and had a piece of organic chocolate and then went to bed early. But I am not missing the meat.  Stay tuned.

Day One:

Charlene: Day One: Shit! My favorite part of my day is when I wake up two hours earlier than everyone else in this house at o’dark thirty and sit in the solitude of my kitchen and take my first sip of coffee. With cream. Lots and lots of delicious cream. And don’t try to sell me on non-dairy creamer. That stuff is a high fructose chemical oil spill. No thank you! I might actually have to make the shift to green tea like I keep threatening to.

I had cereal with strawberries and plant milk. Vanilla almond milk was my plant milk of choice. I also put the vanilla almond milk in my coffee and it was actually quite good (and a lot less calories than the half and half.) For lunch I had taboule, 2 dolmas, some hummus, and a piece of flat bread. Dinner was pasta, marinara sauce, broccoli, and a bit of olive oil (to get over the fact that I’m actually eating marinara sauce which I’m not particularly a fan of), and of course some red wine. I didn’t even miss the parmesan cheese – much. For dessert I had more red wine and dark chocolate after I drank my broccoli water.

I am a little pissed off that I read my cereal box after I ate my cereal only to discover it contains whey. I’m not quite sure what whey is, but I think it’s the curdling part that is leftover when you make cheese. WTF was it doing in my cereal?