Hello!

As you may know from my last blog post, I decided to become a vegan on September 1, 2014. This week, I would like to explain how becoming vegan is not as hard as you may think. All you have to do is give up eating meat, eggs, and all dairy, including milk. Sounds easy, right? Definitely not! I know it may sound difficult at first, but trust me, anyone can do it!

The first secret to becoming a vegan, or follow any diet or healthy lifestyle for that matter, is to "get out of your mind." This is something I've had to remind myself to do in the past couple of weeks. What do I mean by this exactly? Well, I too have thoughts while roaming the grocery store isles that are something like, "Mmm, chocolate," or "A big plate of fettuccine Alfredo would be amazing right now!" The secret is to let the thoughts of greasy pepperoni pizza and chocolate peanut butter pie come, just don't act on them. Say to yourself out loud what it is that you want, and the thoughts will pass. By resisting them, you are only going to obsess over them. "Getting out of your mind" is simply saying what it is you want to eat out loud, letting the thoughts pass, and remembering that your new healthy lifestyle is so much more than a ten-minute craving.

Now that you know my trick to successfully starting out my vegan lifestyle, I have even better news. I have already told you I believe you can become vegan too. The good news is that for every non-vegan food, there is a vegan substitute. These substitutes are often times much tastier and always healthier too!

Instead of milk from cows, I drink Simple Truth or Blue Diamond Almond Milk. Instead of dairy ice cream, I eat So Delicious Coconut Milk ice cream, and I eat a different flavored Morning Star veggie patty almost every day, dished up in any way regular meat can be prepared. I make homemade veggie pizzas, and fruit smoothies with soy yogurt. Tofu, when seasoned and prepared, tastes like eggs. This past week I discovered the Sweet Earth Natural Foods Big Sur breakfast burrito and I am obsessed! Vegan chocolate chips, cookies, and brownie mixes are also sold in your local grocery store, like Meijer. And as for my fettuccine Alfredo cravings, I have found a recipe that looks great and is made from cauliflower.

My point is, anyone can become a vegan. The only thing we fear is the unknown. So whether you want to save animals' lives, lead a healthier lifestyle, or drop a few pounds, all it takes is very little will power and a lot of substitutions!
By the way, just by eating the same amount of food I normally eat but following a vegan diet, I have lost 4 pounds in the past 2 weeks without even trying!

CW