Final Thoughts

The project ends today.

Wait, don't leave yet. I have decided to remain vegan.

These are my final thoughts because I felt I needed to summarize my thoughts so far, but I am going to continue updating this blog. Mostly because I enjoy trying out vegan recipes, but also to continue tracking my progress.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this project. It had transformed me.

Back to the beginning:
On October 6th, 2010 I read an excerpt from Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. Upon reading it I could not longer eat animals and decided to try a vegan lifestyle. At the time I was eating animals typically twice a day or more.

Over the past 2 months I have struggled to balance the new diet and have been forced to continuously affirm why I care enough to continue. I slipped up and ate animal products for 3 days in November, but other than that I have successfully changed my life.

I feel healthier, happier, and all around have more energy. My heartburn is still gone (it came back when I slipped up and ate meat) and, as I said before, that alone is a reason to continue. I will remain a vegan and hopefully the stories and recipes I have shared so far have helped some of you reduce your consumption a little at a time.

To wrap this up I would like to take this opportunity to see if anyone has any questions about my experience.

Thanks so much.

-Jeffrey

I cheated.

I decided to start this post with a picture I saw on Lamebook.com to lighten the mood. 

But really, I ate meat. It started to wear on me over time. I was tired of having to prepare every meal and not feeling full. 

So, I ate a hot dog. I know what you're thinking. Why a hot dog? Well, it gets worse. 

After that I ate meat for 3 days straight. Yeah I felt bad, but I had detached myself from the fact that it was an animal.

This brings me to my reflection.

Why was I able to eat meat? Why after all of the emotional pain I felt for the animals I read about was I able to overcome that belief and give in for days? I believe it is because of what Carol Adams calls an absent referent in "The Sexual Politics of Meat."

"the absent referent is a process by which one refers to the experience of a subject/person without ever referencing that subject/person directly. Thus, the original reference becomes absent through the abstraction of butchering (making a living subject into a dead object), terminology (meat), and metaphor (treated like an animal). (p51-53)" (This particular wording was taken from a quiz given to me by Professor Adam Weitzenfeld.)

The idea is that by no longer calling the butchered cow "cow" and instead calling it "steak" or "hot dog." We separate the item from the animal. I was not eating the cow or pig that suffered. I was eating a hot dog or a burger. When I say "burger" out load the immediate image that pops into my head is a hamburger patty on a bun. There is no image of an animal. I was able to distance myself from my feeling towards the suffering of animals by removing the animal from the equation. 

I have since returned to a fully vegan lifestyle, but it has become more difficult. I plan to continue posting on this even after this project is over. The next post will be a final statement. 

A Vegan Thanksgiving

So, I will be blatantly honest. I am broke.

At the moment I am between jobs and struggling for money.

Luckily my parents are wonderful and extremely supportive of me.

So... my mother gave me some money for Thanksgiving. I couldn't find a celebration roast anywhere close (we spent the weekend near Galveston) but amazingly the grocery store in small town Texas City, Texas has a HUGE organic/vegan/health food section.

I decided not to cook anything difficult and went straight to the processed instant foods that looked "vegan enough." By this I mean none of the products contained any meat, eggs, dairy, honey, gelatin, or anything I knew used animal products, but some of the products had ingredients that may have been questionable. I didn't look up every single ingredient I simply decided that I would do my best.

Here is what I ended up with:

I looked up the Pork Stove Top stuffing and it lists it as vegetarian. I double checked the box and it looked like it was. If I'm wrong correct me.
The faux chicken rocked! It honestly tasted like chicken nuggets.

Now for the finished product:

The "chicken" looks a little burned but oh my was it juicy and delicious. The meat eater (who had steak) even tried it and loved it. He said he would eat it anytime.

As I reflected on my Thanksgiving I was extremely proud of myself. I had a huge delicious meal with plenty of leftovers and I honestly didn't feel like anything was missing.

When I read my friends and family's facebook status updates I started to think about the hundreds of thousands of Turkeys that are killed each year and I felt ashamed that I accepted that as the reality of the holiday. It began to upset me that everyone else still does accept it. I am still dealing with the emotions I am having toward the people I love who continue to eat meat, but that is something to be discussed in another post.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Love,
Jeffrey

I'm soooooooo sorry.

It has been TWO WEEKS since my last post.
I will make it up to you.

I have a ton of updates to post, but I simply haven't gotten around to it, so the next post will be about my Thanksgiving since it is the post I am most excited about. Then we will go backwards a little bit and I will post the rest.

Life is good.
I'm still vegan.
I've missed you.
I'm glad you're all still here and I'll never leave you again.

-Jeffrey :)

Hungry Hungry Hippo

I have this problem where I rush out of the house and don't eat breakfast.

Since I can't typically eat anything from a convenience store and don't want to spend 1.50 for one apple I don't eat until I get home.

Once I get home I take out leftovers and scarf them and ride my bike straight back to school.

When I do eat breakfast , which is typically oatmeal, I feel like I am am even hungrier by the time lunch rolls around. 

No matter what I do I am hungry ALL THE TIME!

I feel like because it takes almost no time to digest my food it doesn't keep me full for very long. I'm not gaining weight. In fact, I'm staying at a pretty healthy weight, but I think about food all the time and I eat way more than I used to.

I feel very healthy, but it is frustrating to always be hungry and thinking about food. Even my partner "the meat eater" has found this to be true and has expressed his frustration.

I want to eat something that will keep me full and satisfied for a while.

Most awesomely graphic and terrifying hungry hungry hippo illustration:

I feel like the pink one.

-Jeffrey

PS.
Upon rereading this update, maybe I need to stop complaining. :)

Baba Ganoush Recipe - Thanks to Gigi

My Environmental Philosophy class is doing an "Ethical Potluck" next class and one of the students had to do hers today because she won't be there.

It was delicious so I asked her for the recipe. I've had baba ganoush plenty of times but I've never made it myself. I am going to make this recipe ASAP!

Baba Ganoush Recipe
Eggplants - 3 Medium Size
Tahini Sauce
Lemon
Garlic - About 5 cloves
Olive Oil

Dip:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees
Drizzle eggplants with olive oil, bake in oven until soft (I usually guesstimate after 10 minutes.)
Take out insides and discard skin
Mix a few table spoons of tahini sauce (however much you want... just to taste)
Squeeze in about a half of a lemon
Soften 3 to 4 cloves of garlic in the microwave for about 10 seconds, press through a garlic press and add to mixture
Drizzle Olive oil on top

Chips:
Cut tortilla into chip sizes
Place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil
Add alt and pepper to taste
Bake until golden brown

This recipe is courtesy of Gigi Kraynick

Oh, and here was her reasoning on the food being ethical:
She used the eggplants from her parents garden and bought the homemade tortillas from a stand. Sounds pretty good to me.

-Jeffrey

Feeling Better

I am feeling much better.

My stomach doesn't constantly hurt anymore and my headaches have gone away.

The biggest change I have seen is that my heartburn has gone away.
I have had terrible acid reflux since as long as I can remember. It caused ulcers and was very painful. I've taken vitamins, Aciphex, Prilosec, Tums, and chugged more than my share of Pepto. Nothing ever worked.
I have not noticed any acid reflux it a week or two.
This alone is a large enough benefit to me to remain vegan.

A list of the benefits I have found thus far:
After I eat meals I no longer want to immediately sleep
My acid reflux is GONE
I feel better knowing I am making at least one step toward reducing suffering
I feel healthier
I'm getting better at cooking vegan
I help my friends eat healthier when they eat with me
I save money because I can not eat out

I do think that I will remain vegan. I just do not see how I can return to my old style of meat with every meal. The period of discomfort while my body adjusted made me think that whatever it was my body was getting rid of was not good.
If I returned to eating meat I would have to consciously ignore what I now know about the conditions of the animals I am eating.

We'll see. I still have over a month to go. :)

-Jeffrey

A Vegan Halloween

So this was my first vegan Halloween.
Me and the meat eater took our daughter trick or treating in one of the rich neighborhoods.
We scored a ton of name brand candy.
As soon as we were back in the car we covertly took half of the candy out of the bag and placed it in a separate bag for her mothers sanity.
After dropping her back at home I poured the good candy out onto my table and stared at it.
I could have none of it.

I rationalized it all I could.
"Why should I give up chocolate for this?"
"It's one night."
"It was free. Wouldn't it be better to not let it go to waste?"

In the end I did not touch the candy.


The holidays will be tough this year. I still have to make it through Thanksgiving and then Christmas (assuming I'm sticking with this past the end of my project.)

One down, two to go.

This weeks Recipe Post!

Yes, I know I have been slacking. But I'm still here and I'm still vegan. :)

I have tried a bunch of recipes/concoctions since I last posted so here are my pictures and ratings.


Tofu Scramble!
I'm getting better at this. :)

This is another shot at the tofu scramble. This time I sauteed onions, garlic, a potato and a bell pepper and added even less turmeric (I think it's just to make it look yellow anyways) then I sprinkled tomatoes on top.
The upper right is some of the potatoes, onions and bell peppers seperate.
The top middle is a frozen vegan waffle I stuck in the toaster.
The upper left is tofurkey bacon. It tasted nothing like bacon, but I was a bacon addict so I gave it a shot. Honestly I would get it again just because I have a need for greasy bacon.
Rating: 2 stars

Vegan Sausage Biscuits

This was a smashing success.
The biscuits were out of a package, but the Smart Ground sausage was amazing.
My partner (the meat eater) really liked it too.
I think it is by far the best substitution meat I have ever had especially considering that I ate them with nothing else but a biscuit.
The white part is just potatoes and onions sauteed.
Rating: 4 stars

Vegan Nachos!

So, I was hungry and wanted a snack. I always seem to have brown rice around because it has become a staple in most of my meals.
I went to the store and found some tortilla chips that were vegan. I added refried beans and Daiya Vegan Cheese to the chips and melted them in the microwave.
They were amazing. I added some salsa to them as well, but honestly you don't have to because it is delicious without it.
Note: In my opinion you HAVE to melt the cheese because I do not like the flavor when the cheese is not melted.

Vegan Cookies!

I did not make these.
A wonderful girl brought them to a Halloween event and I grabbed all the the leftovers because they were so good. If you would like to find her she sells them.
Her business is called Blue Bakery.
Find them on Facebook here: Blue Bakery


Cabbage Soup

I have been making cabbage soup for a while, but I have always added sausage or ham to it and I used chicken stock.
I was a bit scared it would taste too bland but it was a hit for both me and my partner. He said he couldn't even taste a difference.
Here is my recipe:
I head of cabbage, carrots, celery, onions, sometimes potatoes, canned stewed tomatoes, olive oil, and vegetable stock.
I put some olive oil in the bottom of a stock pot and cook the celery, onions, carrots and potatoes until they get a bit softer, then I add veg. stock and the cored rinsed and dried cabbage (cut into 1 inch pieces) and fill with water until the cabbage is covered. Once it is boiling I turn it down to a simmer and simply simmer until the cabbage is tender.
I know my recipe is nowhere near precise. Sorry.
This meal is amazing, there's always leftovers, and it warms your heart.

Store Bought Quick Meal

This is vegan, but it was waaaaaaaay too spicy for my taste. It hurt.
I wouldn't buy it again. Maybe a different flavor will be better.

Vegan Fried Rice

So as I said I always seem to have leftover brown rice. This is the day after I made the sausage biscuits listed above so I had a little leftover Smart Ground Sausage. I want a quick easy meal so I put the Smart Ground in a pan and heated it up so I has sausage crumbles, then I added the rice and some soy sauce. It was awesome.
Two Thumbs Up!!!

Fall Style Dinner

So, my mother bought me an acorn squash because it was cheap and fall themed. I needed ot use it so I looked online and apparently you can cut it in half, take out the seeds, stick it in the microwave, cover it, and microwave it for 13 minutes.
I did. The outside came straight off, I sprinkled brown sugar on it and it tasked just like sweet potatoes. It was delicious.
The top right is spinach with potatoes and onions. I sauteed the potatoes and onions, drained a can of spinach and added it to the mix. It was really good.
Then the top left is a tomato cut up and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with basil (my moms old trick.)
The bottom left is some brown rice with vegan margarine (I know it's bad, but I haven't kicked that yet... and it's still vegan.)
Final note: This has been one of my favorite meals.)


And finally, the winning recipe is..................

Vegan Banana Bread

The recipe I used is here: Vegan Banana Bread
It was amazing, took regular ingredients I already had in my house, and 4 non-vegans loved it.
Not much more can be said about it.

Look forward to more recipes and dinner ideas coming soon.
If you know of any recipes, try one of mine, or have any notes please let me know!
I am always looking for advice/criticism wherever I can get it. :)

-Jeffrey

Ouch... still.

Last night I went to bed in terrible pain. I am getting these pains in my lower abdomen and at other times nausea. It's not fun.
This morning I woke up feeling like I had not eaten in days and that I desperately needed something in my stomach.

I am going to stick this thing out. I am. At least until the end of this project/experiment which ends on December 13th, 2010. At this point I have not touched meat, dairy, eggs, honey, or any animal byproduct for 20 days. Hell, after 30 days it becomes a habit I'm right? Or is it 60 days? SO either after a while this will go away or the pain/nausea will will just become something I'm used to dealing with.

My mother jokes that I have a "hamburger deficiency" and worries that I am not getting everything I need. Overall she is supportive, just worried.

Let me clarify, I feel like this blog is looking like being a vegan is terribly painful. I am regularly excited to try new vegan dishes, I am happy that I am no longer contributing to the suffering of animals due to my diet, and I have enjoyed meeting people who are vegan/vegetarian because they seem to be so warm, friendly, and willing to help others. The last thing I want to do is push people away from trying a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle for themselves, but it would be wrong for me to omit the discomfort I am going through to push some sort of agenda. 

Here are some of the possible reasons for my discomfort (as found on google):
Slight allergy or intolerance to soy
My body is detoxing
It's just gas (lol)
It has nothing to do with the fact that I just became vegan (doubtful)

I may drop the fake meats and soy products for a while to see if maybe my body is not dealing with the soy well. We shall see.

-Jeffrey

Thinking it through

Let me start by saying I am writing this post after stumbling across my philosophy professor's blog and reading it for over an hour. 

I do not feel like I have a mind for Philosophy. I believe myself to be a shallow thinker. I have never been the type to sit and think deeply. I would rather make people laugh or fight to change things that I can see and feel.

I do, however, admire those who can think deeply, but it is hard for me to see the application.

This new decision to change my lifestyle has created a world of new dilemmas.

People often ask me what I plan to accomplish by being vegan. They then add that nothing will change just because I don't eat meat or dairy products.

My thoughts:
I became vegan because I read about the intense suffering of the animals we eat and could not bring myself to eat another animal knowing that I am contributing to their suffering. Am I trying to accomplish something? I'm not sure yet, but watching good people decided to willingly ignore the fact that their eating habits cause unnecessary suffering really frustrates me.

I have always had a distaste for vegans and vegetarians because they always tried to ruin my meal by telling me how horrible the conditions were, but now as I interact with my meat eating friends all I want to do is show them what I have seen. But, alas, that would be... rude? My closest friends and relatives say "I don't want to know. I like meat too much." I say I understand, but inside I feel hurt that such a person would wish to inflict suffering for taste.

Just as I am hurt and "taking the moral high road" I secretly fantasize about steak. I literally sit and daydream about cutting into a medium rare steak. But as soon as I take that bite (in my daydream) I see the calf's face from one of the many videos I have now seen and I know that I couldn't actually take that bite.

I know that many of my friends (almost all omnivores) read this. Please realize this is not an attack. I am simply trying to think through this decision, and since I am physically in pain due to my decision to become vegan (apparently because my body is detoxing) I must figure out why this means so much to me that I should sacrifice (temporary?) comfort, convenience, and taste.

Thanks for reading my rambling.

-Jeffrey

Vegan Meals

Here is a list of the recipes I have attempted and the vegan items I have tried at restaurants.

Breakfast

Tofu Scramble
This is the breakfast I cooked for me and my partner. The one on the left is made with real eggs, but they are both made with Smart Ground Veggie Crumbles and onions.
This recipe is all over the vegan recipe sites.
It does look like eggs and it's not terrible, but it tastes nothing like eggs. I have cooked it several times because it is not terribly and I get tired of oatmeal and cereal. But to be honest, it tastes nothing like eggs.

My partner really liked his though so if you're looking to just cut out the meat and not the eggs it is apparently a decent substitute.

Dessert!

Hot Chocolate!

This is a vegan hot chocolate.
I simply made it with Hershey's cocoa, rice milk, vanilla extract, and beet sugar.
It was absolutely delicious. You could taste a little difference, but it was minor and I have been craving chocolate like a mad man.


Dinners

Spaghetti!
This was absolutely delicious for both vegans and meat eaters. I simply used Ragu and Smart Ground (the one in the tube.)
The meat tasted like meatballs. It was absolutely delicious and would impress anyone.

Vegan Pizza! (Z Pizza)
This is a vegan pizza from Z Pizza in Flower Mound. It cost me an arm and a leg, but it fed me and 2 friends and I had some left over for later. It was absolutely delicious.

My first vegan dinner!
This is the first vegan dinner I ever made myself on October 7th, 2010. It was simply red beans with brown rice, steamed mixed veggies and potato bread.
It was delicious.

Well that's all for now.

As always, let me know if you have any good recipes or comments.

- Jeffrey

Sick

I am 20 days vegan and I must be detoxing all the shit I've eaten over the years because I am constantly nauseous and headaches come and go.

I am still taking my vitamin, I am eating fruits, veggies, grains, lentils, rice milk, and I am exercising.

At about 10:30 last night I drank a cup of coffee and couldn't go to bed until 3AM. I typically drink one cup of coffee of tea a day so it shouldn't have been a problem. I am so confused.

I honestly hope these feelings go away soon because I am used to feeling pretty good all the time. Someone tell me there is light at the end of this tunnel.

-Jeffrey

Daily Menu

I am still getting headaches so I have decided to post what my meals are like on a typical day.

When I started I was tracking what I was eating for each meal, but that soon became too much of a hassle. So here are the basic meals I cycle through.

Everyday I take a multivitamin.

Everything listed is vegan (I got tired of typing the word vegan next to everything questionable.)

Breakfast: 
One of these:
Oatmeal with some brown sugar
Flax seed cereal
Dry granola mixed with trail mix
Tofu scrambled with veggie crumbles
Along with one of these:
An apple, a pear, or carrots

Lunch:
One of these:
Tofurkey sandwich meat on bread with hummus
Beans and instant brown rice with veggies
A vegan ramen noodle soup
Peanut butter and jam sandwich

Dinner:
One of these:
Veggies mixed with brown rice
Salad with raw nuts on top
Tofurkey pizza
Spaghetti with Smart Ground
Veggie burger
Stir fry
Veggie and hummus sandwich 

Snacks:
Carrots
Granola
Apples
Cereal
Peanut butter toast
Handful of cashews, walnuts, or trail mix

Desserts:
Rice dream chocolate bar
Tofuti vegan chocolate popsicle
Vegan hot chocolate
Raisin toast

Ok, so that's it for now. The next post will be about the many items I have tried from restaurants, recipes I have attempted, and vegan products I have tried.

-Jeffrey

HEADACHES!

So, I have officially been vegan for two weeks (TO THE DAY) and I have a massive headache!

I never get headaches so I googled "vegan headaches" and post after post is people saying that they have been vegan for two weeks and have headaches.

There seems to be no explanation why. 

Someone help me if you have any suggestions. In the next post I am going to provide what I eat throughout the day. Maybe someone will figure out what I'm doing wrong or maybe it's just a necessary withdrawal symptom.

Vegans kept telling me don't worry you will feel like shit at first but it will go away. I have felt fine up until tonight so maybe it is just finally hitting me.


Ouch
-Jeffrey

Background and Body Type

So now that I am finally caught up with all of my school work I am going to post all of the stuff I should have posted at the beginning of this blog.

Here is a little bit of information on myself as of the day I became vegan:

Stats: As of Thursday, October 7, 2010

Name: Jeffrey Barnett

Age: 23

Weight: 119 lbs

Height: 5’4

Gender: Female to Male Transgender

As of today Saturday, October 16^th, 2010 I weigh116 lbs. I have lost roughly 3 pounds, I feel like I have more energy, and I feel like I am in a better mood. However, I crave meat, I am hungry more often, I am spending a lot more money on groceries, and I spend a lot more time thinking about food and checking labels.

Background:

I have always enjoyed eating foods of all kinds including all types of vegetables. I have had a few pets, but I wasn’t extremely close to them. I have played with the idea of being vegetarian for health reasons, but never for any sort of animal rights issues and I had an extreme bias against vegans.

I knew a few vegans who looked terrible, were extremely unhealthy, and pushed PETA at every meal. I have never had any intention of becoming vegan.

The reason behind my transition to veganism:

On Wednesday, October 6^th, 2010 I was assigned to read an excerpt from Jim Mason and Mary Finelli’s “Brave New Farm.” Just after devouring a delicious bowl of Chef Boyardee I sat down to read the passage unaware of the subject matter.

What I read was disgusting.

The images of millions of baby chickens crushed, suffocated, and ground alive simple because of gender, chickens without enough room to stand or stretch their wings whose legs break under the weight of their newly engineered bodies, animals with open sores, cows that can live to 20 years slaughtered at age 4, baby cows slaughtered at 4 months, the list goes on and on. This was finally it. I submerged myself so deep into the excerpt I couldn’t ignore it again as I had worked so hard to do before. I knew I had to change. I could not eat another living animal, only, now that I knew the conditions for dairy cows and egg laying chickens I could not choose to ignore that either.

That night before I could have time to forget how disgusted I was I emailed my professor to inform him that I would like to do my final project over a transition to a vegan diet. He accepted.

I am not quite sure yet what I am trying to accomplish. I just know that I could not eat another piece of meat.

Since that article I have seen “Food Inc.”, “Animals: To Love or to Kill”, and “Earthlings” which have reinforced my distaste.

There we are for stats and background. If you have any questions please feel free to post them if you fell like I left anything out.

Coming next:

Grocery/food costs, vegan substitutions, recipes I have tried, and other food issues.

-Jeffrey

I ate an animal today.

I swallowed a mosquito while riding my bike today.


It's the first living thing I've eaten in 8 days.


It was an accidental killing, but it still makes me a sad panda.

 

- Jeffrey

Reflections - Week 1

Week one was a rough week:

The first three days I screwed up and ate things that were not vegan on accident. (Frosted Mini Wheat’s – gelatin, Burrito from Taco Bell – apparently had milk product in the sauce, dipped some french fries in ranch)

I have been fantasizing about eating steak, sushi, and scrambled eggs.

I had decided in the first few days that everything vegan tastes like a just slightly expired version of what it is trying to be. I have since started to change my mind, but for some foods it is still true.

I was hungry all the time because I wasn’t working a very good system.

I thought I’d never get to go out to eat ever again or if I did I’d be eating a salad.

Things have started to look up:

I ate the most delicious Tofurky Pizza last night. I have been missing junk food terribly and decided to splurge on an $8.00 Tofurky frozen pizza. It was amazing. My partner, an avid meat eater, even enjoyed it.

I no longer feel bad after meals. I used to eat large quantities of meat or cheesy foods and while they were delicious I always felt like crap afterwards.

I do feel like I have more energy. Obviously I am doing something right because I feel more awake and don’t need to take a nap immediately after eating.

I found a chocolate that I can eat which honestly would have been a deal breaker.

I spent a decent amount of money to replace the things I missed most with vegan alternatives.

 

I found a bunch of vegan and veggie restaurants in the area.

Nutrition

So it’s been one full week since I cut the following ingredients out of my life:

Meat (Chicken, Beef, Pork, Veal, etc)

Seafood (Fish, Shrimp, Clams, Lobster, Crawfish, etc)

Eggs

Dairy (Milk, Cheese, Creams, Yogurts, Butter, and anything with them in it)

Honey

Any food that uses animal by-products (Most store bought bread, White sugar, Anything with gelatin, the list goes on)

Issues

I have concerns with making sure I get all of the nutrients I need because before I was very well rounded and ate plenty of different kinds of meats, cheeses, and vegetables. Now I feel as if I am struggling to eat different kinds of foods at each meal.

The other question I have is what vitamins and supplements I should be taking. The biggest ones are apparently D (which you can get from the sun), Omega 3 Fatty Acids, and Vitamin B12.

I have continued to take the multi vitamin that I was taking before which has 100% of my B12 and 100% of my vitamin D. So, it seems to my like the only thing I am lacking is the Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Upon further research it looks like I can get my daily serving with olive oil mmmmmmmmmm… as well as walnuts, flaxseeds, beans, and winter squash.

Moving on.

One of my biggest problems is that at times I simply don’t eat because I am out and about and I don’t know where to find vegan food or don’t want to pay a lot of money for an expensive smoothie.

The only remedy I have had for this is to make peanut butter and jam sandwiches when I know I will be gone for a long period.

Honestly, things are getting better and I’m starting to enjoy my food adventures. 

On a final note, I like this pyramid:

http://www.veganpeace.com/veganism/eating_vegan.htm

Restaurant Guide!

These first few posts will be a bit out of order.
In an effort to cheer myself up I have been looking up every possible vegan restaurant anywhere within a 40 mile radius.
As of now I haven't tried a single one, but if other beginner or expert vegans are in my area and would like to accompany me or try one of these restaurants for themselves I figured it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and post them.
I will rate these as I try them. Also, if you have already tried one of them I would love some feedback.

Cupboard Natural Foods (Mostly Vegetarian)

http://www.cupboardnaturalfoods.com

200 W. Congress, Denton, TX 76201

(940) 387-5386

8AM – 8PM Mon – Sat; 10AM – 7PM Sun

Tried once before I was vegan and it was delicious.

Mr. Chopsticks (Large Vegetarian Selection)

http://www.mrchopsticks.com

1633 Scripture, Denton, TX 76201

(940) 382-5437

Haven’t tried yet

Sweet Basil (Vegetarian Options)

1800 S Loop 288 #224, Denton, TX 76205

(940) 484-6080

Haven’t Tried yet

Banter (Vegetarian Options)

http://www.dentonbanter.com/

219 W. Oak St, Denton, TX 76201

(940) 565-1638

Open Daily

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop (Vegetarian Options)

http://www.fuzzystacoshop.com/

115 Industrial St, Denton, TX

(940) 380-TACO

7AM – 10PM Sun; 6:30AM – 10PM M-W; 6:30AM – 12 Th; 6:30 AM –2PM F-S

Haven’t triend yet

Green House Restaurant and Bar (Several Vegetarian Options)

http://www.greenhouserestaurantdenton.com

600 N. Locust St, Denton, TX 76201

(940) 484-1349

11AM – 10PM M – Th; 11AM – 11PM F; 12PM – 11PM S; 12PM – 9PM Sun

Want to try the vegetarian stuffed poblano!

Thai Papaya Garden (Vegetarian Options)

www.thaipapayagarden.com/

1201 W. Airport Fwy #100, Euless, TX 76040

(817) 684-9378

11AM – 3PM & 5PM – 10PM Mon – Fri; 11AM – 10PM Sat - Sun

Haven’t tried yet

Cosmic Café (Vegetarian)

http://www.cosmiccafedallas.com/

2912 Oak Lawn Avn, Dallas, TX 75219

(214) 521-6157

11AM – 10:30PM M – Th; 11AM – 11PM F – S; 12PM – 10PM Sun

Haven’t tried yet

Kalachandji’s (Vegetarian)

http://www.kalachandjis.com/

5430 Gurley Ave, Dallas, TX 75223

(Buffet style)

Haven’t tried yet

Spiral Diner (ALL VEGAN!!!)

http://www.spiraldiner.com/

2 LOCATIONS

1314 W. Magnolia, Fort Worth, TX 76104

(817) 3-EatVeg

1101 N. Beckly, Dallas, TX 75201

(214) 948-4747

*Bliss Raw Café and Elixer Bar (Vegan ONLY!)

http://www.blissrawcafe.com/

6855 Greenville Ave, Dallas, TX 75231

(214) 987-0204

11AM – 10PM Mon – Sat; 11AM – 4PM Sun

Haven’t tried yet

*New Start Veggie Garden (All Vegan Buffet!)

http://www.newstartveggiegarden.com

2330 Royal Lane Suite 900, Dallas, TX 75229

(972) 243-0507

11AM – 2:30PM & 5PM – 9PM All Days

Buffet Style

Z Pizza (Vegan PIZZA!)

http://stores.zpizza.com/flower-mound/

2911 Cross Timbers Rd., Flower Mound, TX

(972) 355-8585

11AM – 9PM Daily

Haven’t tried yet

The Blog

These first few posts will be a little rushed because there's a lot to cover to get you up to speed.

I will start will some answers to questions you may have.

What is Freshly Vegan?

This is a blog created to track my transition into a vegan lifestyle.

Why did you create a blog?

Honestly, this is for a school project. I've never been a blogger and I've never had a blog, so this will be new to us all.

Who are you?

I am Jeffrey Barnett. I am a 23 year old student at University of North Texas. I will be posting my stats in the next post to begin tracking my weight loss or gain over the next 2 months.

Why did you decide to become vegan?

Long story short, I read a graphic article that hurt me deeply. I will elaborate on this topic more in future posts as well.

What did you eat before?

Before switching to a vegan lifestyle I ate eggs and meat 1 - 3 times a day. I am very healthy and active, I love all kinds of vegetables and tofu. I pride myself in always wanting to try new things. This past year I switched to rice milk because dairy was not working for me very well. I love the taste of meat and eggs.

Do you plan to stay vegan after the project is over?

This is the big question. I will have to see how this goes. On day 1 of my new lifestyle I was extremely excited, but as day 5 rolls around it has become more and more work.

What type of information will you be posting on this blog?

EVERYTHING! I am going to track my weight, mood, research, food reviews, recipes, issues with budgeting, and anything else relevant.

What are you wearing?

My Snuggie. It's cold in here and I need my hands free to type.

I think that's it for now. More posts are coming soon to catch everyone up.

Thank you for all of your support. There will be a lot of ups and downs.