Posted by Anthony on May 18, 2015 in Tidbits

So far this month, doing a vegetarian diet for Meat-Free May hasn’t presented too many complications or difficulties, outside of ensuring I don’t accidentally eat something with an often-overlooked ingredient or two that aren’t vegetarian. Well this week, I’m taking my “vegetarian-for-a-month” one step further and going vegan.

I’m already finding that it will (not surprisingly) be more challenging to plan meals that are vegan-friendly. In addition to the normal vegetarian diet restrictions, avoiding foods like milk, eggs, and honey will be difficult, as they are ingredients that I often use in my recipes. And if I eat out at a restaurant or friend’s house at all this week, I’ll need to be especially careful that I don’t accidentally eat something that isn’t vegan-friendly. Of course, I run the risk of being “that guy” for whom meals need to be tailored. But hey, it’s a challenge, and it’s only for a week. Hopefully other people get it and will understand and accommodate.

I have a sneaking suspicion that at the end of this week (and the end of Meat-Free May), I’ll have a desire to incorporate more vegetarian and vegan meals into my diet. And not just that, but I know for a fact that I’ll be much pickier about foods and ingredients that I use and consume. For example, I’ll be much more careful about which tortillas I buy and eat. Why? Well, after reading the ingredient list and doing some Google searches, I found out that one of my favorite brands of tortillas uses the ingredient L-Cysteine, which is a sticking point for vegetarian/vegan diets, as it is apparently often sourced from various human or animal sources (like human hair, poultry feathers, or hog hair). Um…yeah…that just doesn’t sound appealing or appetizing at all. But as gross and disgusting as that and some other hidden and oddly-named ingredients are, I’m very glad that I’m learning about them this month, as it is equipping me to make better, healthier, more natural food choices.

With that, I’m off to start my Vegan Week. Here’s to hoping it’s a success!