Thanksvegan 3.0

Three years ago I decided to adopt a vegan diet. Here is the blog I wrote on Myspace (WAT) when I made the decision:

Jeez. Two blogs in a week. 

So I'm making a big change to my life. It'll be somewhat gradual, but very needed.

I'm turning vegan.

I'm finding that I eat when I'm bored. I eat when I'm watching tv. I think about food almost constantly and I eat way more than I should. Some of it is healthy, some is not. All of it is making me unhappy.

Let's take french fries. If done right, they are food from heaven. Crispy and hot on the outside, soft and flaky on the inside. A little salt, a little ketchup. Yum. The bad thing about this wonder food is that it's really not good for you. At all. And I will eat fries at any time, whether I'm hungry or not. I try to talk myself out of them at Burgerville but they end up sneaking into my bag anyways. Jeff and I will order a plate to split and I'm seriously upset when they're gone.

When I cook dinner, I always take more than I should and then extra bites when I'm putting it away for lunch the next day. Last night I made this squash & pasta dish (vegan, starting in already) and I ate too much. My tummy felt like Thanksgiving had come early. I need to stop.

Why go vegan? I've been veggie for about 4 years now - if I count back Thanksgivings, my first non-turkey day was at Florin's house in 2004. I get sick if I eat too much cheese and ice cream. If I eat too many veggies, it will have a less negative effect than if I eat too much mac 'n' cheese. Veganism will help me avoid places like Burgerville as I'd have to place some special order and nobody likes that. I can still take in the main staple of our household dinners: pasta. And this will encourage me to experiment with seasonings and unknown veggies. 

But what about protein, you ask. Veggies have protein. I like tofu and that has protein. My soy milk that I've been using since I found that I couldn't drink milk has protein. I love peanut butter, luna bars (vegan!) and black beans. 

This doesn't mean I can continue to stuff my face to the gills. I obviously need help with portions and will power. If that takes brushing my teeth after dinner, drinking two glasses of water before I eat and packing up leftovers before I start eating, then I'll do it. I'm just finding that my current way of eating has too many loopholes, too many opportunities to eat badly.

Is this a forever thing? I don't know. I don't miss meat, at all. I tried some of Jeff's chicken and I didn't feel like I was missing out. In fact, I didn't like the taste. I do like sushi, but there are plenty of non-fishy options there. But damn I'll miss my grilled cheese.

Oh, and beer is vegan.

Obviously, I've grown since I wrote that! I've learned not ALL beer is vegan, and I don't actually miss grilled cheese. I still have an issue with overeating, but I think it's more emotional than anything.

I'm celebrating my third year of veganism with my third annual Thanksvegan. I'll share the menu after the event, as I feel this is long enough, but it is fantastic.