Always Hungry and Other Realizations

Day 2 of 31So yesterday was Day 2 of my little personal experimental adventure. I'm starting to learn the difficulties of this vegan lifestyle. I get nervous leaving the house because:

1.  I'll probably be hungry.
2. There probably won't be any healthy options for me to choose from.
3. I hate explaining to people why I'm doing this after they notice I'm not eating like I usually do.

I spent most of my day yesterday at home, which is fine, but I noticed that when I'm not being active, I'm actively getting hungry every 20 minutes. Honestly, it's rather annoying. This is basically my timeline:

• 9:30 AM - Breakfast: avo toast & cheese
• 11:00 AM - Vegan-ish Pizza (vegan-ish because I found out later that the cauliflower crust has "traces of milk products")
• 11:15 AM - Honey Crisp Apple & almond peanut butter
• 12:30 PM - Meatless Meatballs w/ a side of vegan pasta nasty (this was supposed to be my pre-made dinner meal)
• 1:15 PM - vegan toast w/ fig jam
• 2:00 PM - water, water, water
• 2:30 PM - Starbucks Grande Soy Latte
• 3:00 PM - 7:30 PM - I actually got busy and didn't have time to eat
• 8:00 PM - protein bar
• 9:30 PM - fries
• 11:30 - vegan yogurt

Geez.. that's a lot of eating... seriously, even for me!! I'm use to 3-4 meals and maybe a snack in between. I try to include some sort of protein in every meal to help satiate my stomach, but it doesn't always work out that way. Positive note - BM's are regular and more frequent especially in the AM, and they're not the "OMG I can't believe I ate that last night" kind. Gross I know, but my BM's feel so cleansing these days.I also joined this beginner vegan group on facebook... man, this community really makes me realize this isn't my kind of lifestyle. I was really thrown off when a lady posted that she had Khol's cash and she wanted to use it towards a new purse. She ended up walking out with nothing because there wasn't anything in there that she liked that wasn't made out of leather. *mind blown* Here I am thinking it's all a dietary thing, but people take it to a whole other level that I honestly don't think I'm ready for. Props to them though, I totally get it. It's just weird to me because if you look at it from a religious lens, God does allow humans to eat animals. In the bible there are numerous animal sacrifices and Jesus taught his apostles to fish! It's just a different way of thinking I guess.Follow my vegan adventure on instagram! @SimplyTryingVegan

Day 1 of 31 - Inspired by People & Food

My new personal challenge: try a vegan lifestyle for a month.I'm going to be honest, I love BBQ, bacon, com thit nuong, steak and everything seafood. An omnivore life has been over all good to me. I love food, what can I say?So recently, my brother has been on this new health kick. He's been counting calories, grocery shopping and meal prepping. So of course, living together, you can't help but join in on the "fun." It also helps with motivation to follow the same path when he just keeps getting skinnier right before you're eyes. He's down 20+ pounds and it's only been a month.Then we recently went on a business related trip to California and we were surround by friends who are vegans or prefer vegan diets. I was totally inspired and shocked at the meals we were eating, totally 100% vegan, but they tasted so good! That was my first time to try fake shrimp, pork and chicken! It's a shock to see how much they resembled and tasted like the meat they were impersonating. This encouraged me to try it. I mean, I've done pescatarian before and if vegan food can taste this good, then why not?So to simply implement a healthier diet as well as appease my curiosity, I told myself to try it for a month. I know I can't fully convert to vegan (I mean I'm from Texas, the land of cattle and Blue Bell Ice Cream), but I can try it for a month and see where it can potentially take me.It's August 1st, my first official day of a vegan lifestyle. So far, in preparation for the days to come, I have learned:

• Vegans not only omit milk & eggs from their diet, but honey is also added to that list of omition since bees (considered animals 🙄) essentially create honey.
• Honey is a natural sweetener, so it's in pretty much everything!
• You get hungry more often and must constantly have a snack on hand.
• Whey protein is NOT a wheat product (I'm super embarrassed by this, all these years I thought whey was a derivative of wheat 🤦🏻‍♀️)
• Meal prepping is key & Trader Joe's has a lot of healthy vegan friendly frozen foods that help the process.
• Not all fake meats are created equally, some are amazingly delicious and others are rather disgusting.
• Black bean pasta is never a good idea.

I'm excited to what becomes of this. Simply being vegetarian is already a challenge, but vegan is even harder. Eggs, honey and milk are basically in EVERYTHING!Follow my food adventure on instagram! @SimplyTryingVegan

Fake shrimp y’all!

What a Sad Week...

The recent deaths of 2 iconic industry leaders is really very sad.

The first Kate Spade I've ever seen was the everyday purse of one of my then sorority sisters. I always admired the simplicity and classic look of that purse. Years later, I was able to purchase my very own Kate Spade and it still holds its classic and simple look to this day.

Last year, I heard her podcast and admired the entrepreneurial relationship she had with her husband. She was so happy and in her voice you could never hear the demons she harbored in her heart. That interview brought me hope that loved ones can work well together, and since then I strive to find that kind of support system they had for each other.

Then we get to Anthony Bourdain. I admit, I wasn't glued to his shows as I should have been, but his work was amazing. He brought life into food. He told people's stories through food and united cultures in a way that brought on curiosity instead of the division we see in today's society. His piece on Houston displayed the true essence of our great city. It really is sad to see a human like that go.

Mental illness is no joke. I have my moments of depression and anxiety and I can only imagine how bad it was for them to actually take their own life. This time last year I was in the lowest depths of my life and I fought to get out of it. Can you just imagine how hard it was for them to keep on fighting, until they just eventually gave up? It honestly really saddens me because at the end of the day, there was really nothing anyone could have done. They made their decision and committed to the idea that there was nothing else left for them to do.

You never know what people are going through. We didn't know Robin Williams had demons he was fighting. The only thing left we can do in this world is to just be kind to one another. YOUR smile might be the reason why that random person at the store made it one more day. Peace of mind can really be hard to come by, I truly hope everyone can find it.