vegan for a week.

NEWS #1: I’m on Twitter! Follow me and I’ll love you forever (which I might anyways, but that’s a different story)

NEWS #2: Vegan Week!

I love a good challenge. So when I saw that Morgan over at Life After Bagels was doing a “7-day-vegan challenge,” I jumped at the opportunity to play around a bit with my food choices.

I was actually vegan for a full year in high school… which is when I started to bake. I felt the need to convert everyone, one by one, via vegan cookies. Or at least make them appreciate that vegan food can be completely delicious!

I don’t anticipate this being particularly difficult. Except for my protein powder and the occasional Fage yogurt, I actually don’t rely on dairy or eggs that much in my day-t0-day eating. And since I go to school in California, land of the hippies, my school food is generally fairly accommodating of different diets, and have a plethora of vegan options.

But regardless, here is my “plan” for the week (rather, some ideas for breakfast lunch & dinner on a daily basis here in college-land!)

Breakfast

Oatmeal.
I’m obsessed, in case you weren’t aware. I’m a big fan of adding coffee into my oats… Like these java oats!

I topped these with an elegant “macchiato-style” bit of Justin’s almond butter… I’m soooo fancy!

Um, this stuff is lethally delicious…

But regular ole peanut butter, and my new friend peanut flour, will also likely be making appearances.

Cereal.
I’m not on much a cereal kick right now, but I know my school has basics like Cheerios, or Peanut Butter Bumpers (which are absolutely delicious, by the way) should I decide I want to change things up! And I’m a huge fan of almond milk.

Toast with peanut butter.
I think I ate that for breakfast every day for a good year or so of my life in middle school… always a good choice.

Or, you know, peanut butter with a spoon is good too…

Lunch
Salad!
I love my school’s salad bar. Love, love, love it.

I start with lettuce and add a ton of bell peppers and cucumbers and a wide variety of other vegetables.

Add in kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, even straight-up tofu for some extra protein… Drizzle with vinegar and/or olive oil and voila! Delicious, easily vegan meal.

Instant soups
I love Dr. McDougall’s Instant Tamale Soup. Perhaps not the most unprocessed, whole food I could eat, but not as bad as some…

I also sometimes eat Amy’s frozen meals, which they offer in the market at my school. I prefer to eat “real” food, but sometimes the options might not be great (they always offer a vegetarian soup, but not necessarily a vegan one) so it’s nice to have some fallbacks.

Dinner
Pasta
Along with the salad bar, you can also build-your-own pasta, by putting a bunch of veggies in a bowl and handing them to the fabulous chef who will cook them up in some vegan marinara and then add your choice of regular, whole wheat, or gluten-free pasta. The portions tend to be way too big, but it’s good for a once-in-awhile food!

Sandwiches
These are equally good at lunch, but we have a whole bunch of different breads to choose from (including Udi’s gluten-free bread) and I love to just put hummus and veggies on a sandwich and call it a day.

Snacks
Fruit.
The oranges here are amazing. I also love bananas and peanut butter (classic combo!)

Bars.
I try not to rely TOO much on them, but in a pinch…

More oatmeal.
I usually have a bowl of oatmeal before bed. Yes, I start and end my day with oatmeal…

Carrots & hummus.

I may or may not have already finished the eggplant hummus and 1.5 pound bag of carrots I bought at Trader Joe’s on Thursday… shhhh!

Low-Sugar Cookies

Because they’re delicious. And I’m working on experimenting with making them totally sugar-free (just adapting the base recipe, though, so if anyone else wants to give it a try I’m sure it’ll work pretty well!)

So there you have it. Some vegan staples for my week as a vegan… I may also try out the nondairy yogurt and Daiya cheese they sell at my school, just for kicks. :)

What non-vegan food would be hardest for you to give up? I’m probably gonna miss my greek yogurt, but…