Day 7 - TGIF

Friday was just a great day overall. It was my last day before my very anticipated "do nothing week". Everyone was nice to me and I was excited about doing nothing since very condensed courses and work didn't work out the way I planned and it was just a lot of work.
I got my manager a box of chocolates and decided to get a chocolate bar for me. I asked a manager looking lady if there was any dairy in them. She got flustered and went to find some allergy sign. Since I'm not allergic to stuff made with milk I read the ingredient list and it said nothing about dairy in the ingredients but said it "may contain milk, nuts or wheat". Which I just read to mean "we are covering our ass". When I asked her she said "Well, yes chocolate has dairy. It's made with butter". Umm... Cocoa butter is not like butter made from cow's milk, it's vegan since it comes from plant material. I figured screw it, and bought the chocolate bar anyways.

Looking up online no one really had a definitive answer. It's made in a factory where other stuff is probably not vegan. But saying that none of the chocolate is vegan "because it's made with butter" was just dumb. Well since I figured all modern food is made in a giant factory where other stuff is present I bought the chocolate bar with almonds.
Also I found some other stuff that kinda sucks. Bone char I guess is used in processing of sugar. So technically it's not vegan. However, how many other products will I have to track down processes for? I am going to figure out if this is really a concern. Since I really don't each chocolate, this was just a moment of weakness and I am hoping to solve this vegan candy thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_char
Later that night I was sucking down a delicious margarita that I have been waiting for all week. Now that I think of it... it had lots of sugar. In the interest of efficiency and focusing on the big stuff first, I might have to let this sugar thing go. Gathering of vegetables probably kills a bunch of small animals in the field. No one seems to say that vegetables are not vegetarian because animals are killed in the process.

Day 6 - they sure do cook a lot of meat TV.

When I was growing up in the US and still learning English one of my favorite TV shows was on PBS called "Chang can cook". A super energized Chinese man cooked very exotic (to me) ingredients while showing off amazing chopping knife skills. Since I became a vegetarian within a few years of arriving to US, seeing someone cook tofu and so many delicious Chinese ingredients was mesmerizing. One of the few places I could eat as a vegetarian were Chinese restaurants and I always dreamed of re-creating those dishes at home. With a slogan Chang Can Cook So Can You! it seemed promising.
Well I never grew out of watching cooking shows. Food Network came into my life when we got cable and I have been mesmerized again. From gourmet BBQ to molecular gastronomy - I loved it all. Well we got rid of cable but what's this - network channels have a slew of cooking shows now too!
Today I came across one where 4 chefs were transported to the world of ancient China and their challenge was to cook duck. Crap.
No amount of conjuring up images of factory farms could stop me from thinking about the BBQ duck we got in Chinatown a few weeks ago. From the cinnammon-y seasoning that are rubbed on it to the crispy skin - it was amazing. Talk about party in your mouth. Well anyways... The TV show was showing a pretty interesting idea - chefs traveled to different time periods and cook foods from that period. First one was ancient China, hence duck. Second time period is Tudor period. And one guy admitted to playing Dungeons and Dragons. Ok I know who I'm rooting for. Ok short attention span.
Well, even after watching duck prepared with crispy skin and massive amounts of meat prepared for the Tudor period I am still not desperate enough to take off to go to Chinatown to grab some duck. Watching the cooking shows as a vegan now is a funny, weird experience. I guess part of me realizes how versatile meat is. Part of me wants the chefs to really do something different and not use meat for once.
At least I was able to rationalize my way out of getting smoked duck meat.

I wish I could say that the sight of meat disgusts me or something. It's just really not true. It takes a lot to actually disgust me.
 The only way that I have been able to stay a vegan for these 6 days (except that one day when I had a slice of pizza) is thinking critically about choices I was making with food. And eating meat is a social experience in this country. At least at our end of the summer internship lunch I did order a veggie sandwich and asked for no cheese. Ah, getting over the fear of asking people to do stuff. I think I'm finding out that while by myself I can figure out how to eat vegan, when it comes to interaction with the outside world, I'm just not that great at navigating it.

Day 5 - What a fail of a day.

While the day started ok it quickly degraded.
The laptop I thought was fully charged was 17% charged. My exam was that day which didn't go well and I didn't get to review the material like I planned due to the lap top dying. I almost missed it since due to my online student status they ignored to give me the room number of where the final was going to take place.
FedEx claimed to be open until 11pm but it turned out to be 9:30pm so I couldn't pick up a package I wanted. I was out of cat food. Dog was in the crate more than normal due to my day of insanity. Cats pooped outside the litter box. Our front yard is full of weeds and smells like cat piss since there are a family of cats living under the porch whom I am still hoping to "Trap Neuter Release". Sigh.
And then I failed at vegan. At work they brought it pizza and in all honesty I just didn't feel like explaining why I couldn't eat it.
I felt like crap afterwards. I was kind of surprised about how bad I felt. It did feel like a failure. I didn't feel bad because I was eating something that most likely came from factory farm tortured cows - felt bad because I couldn't stick to a rational, conscious decision. I was mad that I let some sort of self imposed peer pressure affect my decisions. No one would have actually cared.
Tomorrow is another test. Our managers are taking us out for lunch since it's end of the summer programs that I am part of. I checked the restaurant and it looks like there are possible vegan options. I am hoping to do better.
I am still amazed how good I feel for eating vegetarian. I feel actually lighter. It's not completely reflected in my actual weight, but I just don't feel bloated and stuffed. Even after eating fake hotdogs, tater tots and more fake meat, I felt full - but still not bloated. That feeling in itself makes it worth sticking with the vegan plan.

Day 3 of the Vegan Experiment - kinda boring

So I thought I guess something magical would happen. Well everything is just kind of ordinary. I have a pretty stocked pantry and fridge of stuff I like that's totally vegan. I wasn't really over come with craving for meat even though I could smell it while passing by some restaurants on the way home. I guess one thing that was a bit hard was watching the cooking shows - and watching them making tasty meat dishes. I will not lie - I don't find taste or texture of meat appalling. So that was the only worthy moment of temptation. And it was on TV so no big deal.
I did purchase the greatest invention ever - vegan fish. I was so excited! Fake shrimp and fake fish patties? What miracle food is this? Well turns out it's konjak root of some sort and it's been used as a food in other countries - spongy, chewy reasonably satisfying texture.
I have to say I did find the "fish patties" tasting like any other veggie chicken patties. Nothing special. However... the vegan shrimp were spot on. If you like shrimp you know that weird plump texture - it had that! After closer inspection you can tell that they came from a mold - which is hilarious! Loving the vegan fish! Go science!

My lunch was pure awesomeness with veggie potstickers and spicy black bean sauce. Amazing flavor.
Well, it's been 3 days - I am not hungry, extra tired or in anyway impaired. I was kind of cold at the office but it might be due to the air conditioning set to "freeze the sh*t out of the employees".
I have been surprised also how super satisfying lychees can be for dessert! A bag of them for about 3 bucks at the Vietnamese market on Argyle st. Sweet and refreshing - great dessert!
I wish something exciting would have happened today - but it was quite ordinary. I guess I was pretty hungry when I got home and ate my dinner without taking pictures - but that would happen regardless of what I had for lunch - I am assuming I am not used to taking pictures of my food yet :)

Day 2 of being Vegan - not dead and not hungry.

When I was vegan many many years ago (for about 1 year) my biggest problem was hunger and lack of energy. I was hungry, all the time. I swam on a team and I also participated in a physically demanding martial art Judo - both of which required a lot of energy. Since my family wasn't really into vegan or vegetarian thing the stuff that was around the house was never really healthy and the stuff I could get on my own was just as bad. Sure I convinced them to buy fake meat but beyond that it wasn't that much of a choice. So this time I wanted to make sure that I wasn't hungry and I wasn't unhealthy. I mean fries and potato chips are both vegan...

Today was pretty great. I made my first tofu scramble! Also hashbrowns with fake chorizo. It was delicious and I think I figured out how to make tofu not taste like nothing - lots of correct seasoning. This is a phone picture so stuff doesn't look too appetizing. Tofu scramble has fake cheese on it - it does melt but moments later kind of looks like plastic. However this "cheddar cheese" did taste good and salty and was passable as cheese.
 The picture on the right is the close up... It has consistency of Velveeta... Do what you will with that knowledge... Taste was better then the look of it. But it melts! Go science!

I am technically suppose to be studying today... Well since I am such a good procrastinator I decided to get groceries instead. It's not like we don't have food in the house... I decided we needed more correct food for me to make vegan dishes from. I made a trip to both Chinatown and Argyle street (Vietnamese shopping area) and came home with spring rolls, Bah Mi sandwich and some great spicy pickled things I love!
I did pick up some sesame balls - a delicious deep fried rice thing filled with sweet bean paste and covered in sesame seeds. I then found out they are about 150 calories for each 2 inch diameter ball. Sigh. And the bread that the sandwich is made on is an amazing crusty baguette - 300 more calories. Sigh.
Tomorrow is going to be interesting since I will be at work but will be bringing some sort of noodle dish from home so I think I will be ok.
I feel lighter, I feel a bit better. Granted this early on it could be just some sort of shocking your body high going on. But I don't feel bloated or hungry. And I have some amazing spices to make food with as well as 2 types of tofu, veggies, 3 types of noodles, spring roll wrappers (for when I learn how to make those) and veggie dumplings which look promising at 120 calories for 5 of them.
Veganism this time around will be tasty indeed!