Foodie Finds: The Vegan Challenge

So, it's no secret that I love food. But one thing you don't know about me is that I enjoy Oprah. Okay, I love her. And when I heard about her recent Vegan Challenge where she and 378 of her staff members went vegan for an entire week, I was immediately intrigued.

I watched the show, and while there were some interesting points made, I was a little disappointed with the way the challenge was accomplished. The cameras followed Vegan author Kathy Freston as she went on a shopping excursion with an Oprah staffer. I watched as Freston piled the staffers' cart high with loads of vegan junk food—processed meat substitutes, replacements and the like. Not a single leafy green vegetable was mentioned.

I remembered doing the exact same thing during my seven year foray into vegetarianism; I gained 15 pounds as a result. I eventually lost the weight (and the vegetarianism—it just wasn't for me) but it made me wonder if I could revisit the lifestyle and do things a bit differently.

I immediately decided that I would embark upon the Vegan Challenge, not for a week, but for an entire month. I may as well go all out, right?

Upon making this decision, a big part of me wanted to jump right in. I was ready to clear out the fridge and hop on the vegan train that day. However, when taking on a challenge like this, I knew it would be important to make all of the necessary preparations. One of the first rules of running is to respect the distance. In other words, it's not wise to go from the couch to the Boston Marathon in a weekend; the end result probably won't be successful. Similarly, with such a drastic diet change (going from meat-eating to vegan) it is also important to respect the challenge. Cutting out meat, eggs and dairy is not going to be easy, nor do I expect for it to be.

Respecting the challenge meant doing my research. There's a wealth of resources in Maplewood and Brentwood designed to educate on the topic of veganism and make the transition a little easier. and both have impressive public libraries; these are great places to start. Both libraries feature a number of books on the subject of veganism. There's The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Living, Student's Go Vegan Cookbook, and You Won't Believe it's Vegan!, to name a few.

So there you have it. I'm going to begin the Vegan Challenge next Tuesday, and I will continue throughout the month of March. I will (hopefully) entertain you with my successes, challenges and pieces of information I pick up along the way. How does one survive on a vegan diet? What exactly are you supposed to eat? Is it expensive to eat vegan? I hope to answer all of these questions and more on this journey while showing that being a vegan doesn't mean you have to eat boring, expensive foods.  Wish me luck; it's going to be an interesting ride.