Eating Vegan in Italy -- That Is Just Crazy Talk

Our family spent ten days in Northern Italy with a group of friends.  I realized on day one that my "Vegan Leaning" diet was not going to work.  The Italians eat meat and dairy at all meals.  The breakfast in the hotel was cheese and cold cuts.  Pizza was a staple to this troop of 14 which included 7 kids. 

And one more thing... Gellato!!!

I held out for two days, but on the third afternoon I could not resist getting a small cone at a Gellateria.  That was it, the flood gates were open.  I had gellato everyday.... SOMETIMES TWICE!

I decided to go with the old saying "When in Rome....."  Of course we were in Verona, Venice and Milan,... but you get the idea.

Upon my arrival home I went back to my "Vegan Leaning" choices on Monday - Friday, but in Italy the idea of trying to be vegan was just crazy.

Pescatarian

I am still making vegan choices in my daily diet, but more and more I am finding rationalizations to eat fish.

My busy travel schedule put me in Bermuda where I could not pass up on eating fish at nearly every meal.  I mean, come on... I am on an island and they have some local "rock fish" that was delicious.  I can eat almonds and broccoli anywhere, but whole on an island for two days I felt fish was a legitimate choice.

Then I was at dinner with a friend in Orlando and there was nothing on the menu that could even begin to look vegan.  My choice was lettuce and some tomatoes or Fish Tacos.  I went for the fish tacos.  Besides,  I attended college in San Diego in the 1980s and fish tacos were just finding their way into the culture.  I have always been a fan of this delightful food from the days when you could only get them in Mexico and San Diego.  As an early adopter of the fish in a tortilla,  I feel a kinship with this taco product.

Next stop, Boston.  A friend and I went to dinner and he wanted sushi.  I like sushi, and since my wife does not like to eat raw fish, I figured I would not be having the opportunity any time soon.  WOW, it was good.

While I had been eating small amounts of fish on the weekends, this week of travel put sea creatures in my mouth nearly everyday.  I rationalized it each time, but in the end  I did not regret my fish eating adventures.

I think my vegan diet is making me live better... but you know, I have no problem with eating a little meat.  Plus, there is even a name for those who just eat fish with their veggies.....  "Pescatarian".  I figure if someone has named it, it must be a real thing.

Two Days Of Meat Eating

While with a client recently at a resort in Bermuda I ate more meat in two days than I have had since February.

I was conducting a seminar at the partner retreat for a law firm and I was included in their social activities for the time I was with them.  This included two amazing dinners and a lunch that can only be described as an "event".

While I have remained "vegan leaning" since Lent ended I am not 100% eating plant based food.... and I made the decision to not ask my client for a special menu.  I did make the vegan choices and avoided most of the dairy (the passed snacks looked good, but were all cream and cheese based).

For dinner both nights I ordered fish.  Being in Bermuda I did not want to pass up the local seafood, and I was not disappointed.  I have been eating fish on occasion for a few weeks, especially on the weekends.

But the real breach of my vegan diet was at the lunch.  Not just lunch, but lunch with grilling lessons and rum tasting.  There were four personal chefs who cooked and instructed each group of ten.  It was a four course meal which included an amazing RockFish dish and then a plate of steak and vegetables.  I could have passed, as there was lots of food available for me to eat... but I wanted the steak.

Okay, I will admit it.... it was AMAZING.  Part of it was the quality of the meat and the skill of the chefs.  The other part was I had not had a steak in months.

The good news was I woke up the next day feeling fine.  I have had some reactions to eating meat and dairy since changing my diet, but this time it was no problem.

I will continue to stay "Vegan Leaning".... but my will power might not be as good going forward.

Still Mostly Vegan

Over a month since Lent ended I am still faithfully "Vegan Leaning".

Monday through Friday I am hanging tight to my vegan diet, and on the weekends I stray a bit.  Mainly fish on Sunday, but I have been tempted by lasagna, pancakes, pasta sauces, bacon, pork loin, and cake... mmmm cake.

I will admit that when I stray too much my body rebels.  I have taken to the mostly plant based diet and feel fantastic.  The thought of going back to my old diet (which was somewhat healthy by regular standards) is not appealing.

Now since the end of Lent I am more prone to sneak a bite of something here and there (even during the week), but I was trying to calculate how much butter, milk, eggs, and other dairy products I have avoided in the past three months.  Thinking of the gallons of milk products avoided.... it makes me nearly puke to just thinking about it.

Same thing goes for the piles of meat that have not been ingested.

Watching Man vs. Food on Travel Channel is now impossible without my being fully grossed out by Adam Richman and his dietary choices.  BAAAAARRRRRRFFFFFFFFFF.

Interestingly my weight loss has been less than expected.  I shed five pounds quickly, but leveled out.  Now this is because my diet is not low calorie.  I eat a lot.  If I am hungry, I eat.  Plus nuts and other foods are not low in fat either.

I am sleeping great, and my dreams are much more vivid.  No idea why.

Finally, vegan diet has eliminated most desserts... as they often have milk and eggs.  However, I have discovered wonderful vegan dark chocolates (hmmmm, maybe another reason the weight loss is not that much).  I have also learned about the cause of "Slave-Free Chocolate" and the mis-treatment of people in many coco producing countries.  If you are not checking on if your chocolate is grown in areas without slavery, you should be.  Turns out this is a serious human rights issue.  Who knew?

Lasagna Leaves Me Feeling Blah

Since Lent ended three weeks ago I have remained "Vegan Leaning".  Monday through Friday I try my best to make mostly vegan choices all day long.  On Saturday and Sunday I am on a free-for-all.... but still find my meat and dairy being very limited.  I have especially stayed away from dairy.

Although not 100% (even during the weekdays) my vegan diet choices have continued for the most part.  I still have been feeling great and am happy with the lifestyle choices I have made along the way the last few months.  I will admit on Easter Sunday I felt awful after five slices of bacon, two waffles, and a whole non-vegan brunch (think eggs and dairy) with friends.  Come evening I felt very sluggish.  Since then I have been careful.

Friday night my daughter's Drama Club at school hosted a "Dinner Theater" production.  The meal served was lasagna, bread, salad and homemade brownies.  Even though it was Friday, I decided to go ahead and eat the meal rather than go hungry. There was a lot of cheese in this lasagna, and I should have limited my intake.... but once I started I saw no reason to stop.  I even ate the brownie!

Big mistake.  The rest of the night and most of Saturday morning I felt like crap.  I was not in pain, but I could tell that my digestive track was in flux over the high level of non-vegan food that had been introduced in one setting.  A few bites here and there had not been a problem.... but this meal was over the top.

I had heard that going back to a regular diet after this long vegan would not be easy.  I think I learned my lesson.  Nothing about the meal was really even that good, certainly not worth the way I felt afterwards.

Saturday I returned to my vegan cuisine and was feeling better by the afternoon.

Hello BACON !!!

Today is Easter Sunday.  Lent is over.


I did it - I kept vegan for well over forty days (56 to be exact, as I started early, and Lent is actually longer than 40 days).  


There were only two slip-ups:

1.  A taste of some dip at a party that I was told was okay for my diet needs, but had a tiny amount of bacon in the mix 

2.  A spoonful of peanut butter that was a special honey infused peanut butter.  

In both cases I did not know, and neither had a measurable amount non-vegan ingredients.  Thus, they were not really slip-ups.... but instead just part of living in the real world.


So how does one break the "Vegan for Lent" adventure?  Duh, ..... BACON!!!


And waffles (there are eggs in my waffle recipe) with real butter! 


It has been a great experience, and I expect to continue as a pseudo-vegan going forward.  I will be making mostly plant-based choices, but will not remain 100% vegan.  I think I will make a fairly good effort Monday-Friday, but then have more options on the weekends.  


Last night we attended a 50th Birthday Party for two friends.  It was quite an event.  There were vegetarian / vegan food options, but the birthday cake and the surrounding "cake balls" looked amazing.  I almost rationalized at 10 PM that we were only two hours from Easter.... and thus could eat the dessert (it was already Easter in some parts of the world).  But alas, I stayed strong (knowing that bacon was awaiting me this morning!).


Thank you to everyone who shared in my adventure, read this blog, sent me recipes, gave moral support / encouragement, and even those who mocked me for my "Vegan for Lent" decision.  It was a difficult Lent commitment.... but well worth the experience.


And special "THANKS" to my wife, who supported me through the whole process.  She is a great cook, and her vegan meals were among the best food I had during Lent.

Two More Days

I am in the final stretch of my "Forty Days Vegan", which is actually "56 Days Vegan" due my starting early, etc...

It really has been a good experience, AND a lesson in discipline.  It is not easy in our society to live on a special diet.  The response from other people has been interesting:  few are indifferent.... some folk praise the effort and others look at me like I am nuts.

I lost weight.  While the scale shows positive progress, it is not nearly as much as I had anticipated.  I lost five pounds in the first couple of weeks, but then it leveled off.  I lost no more weight over the past month.  I figure it has to do with the reality that my calorie count was not probably reduced very much.  I ate when I felt hungry, and I often was hungry.  I chose healthy foods most of the time, but nuts and other healthy foods are not low in calories.  I will admit that I did eat some vegan dark chocolate as my dessert of choice quite often.

I feel great.  My energy level is clearly improved, although I was not feeling bad or lacking energy before I began, so the difference is minimal.  I just like how I am feeling, so that is a good thing.

My mind is clear.  This one is hard to explain.  Again, I did not feel "un-clear" before I started eating vegan.  My focus is better, and my dreams are much more vivid.  I use the term "clear", which is subjective and hard to understand, but others who have chosen a plant based diet nod in agreement when I try to explain this side effect.

It has been educational.  The attention that one must pay to the ingredients in processed and packaged foods automatically made me learn more about food.  I also took an active role in learning about nutrition, and what vitamins and minerals the human body needs.  I don't think I will ever look at food the same way again.

Being vegan has been a conversation starter.  My favorite experience was at a Computerworld Magazine conference where I was the keynote speaker.  At lunch the waiter was visibly shocked by my request for a vegan meal (not vegetarian).  The look of horror lead to laughs all around the table, and a lively conversation about food with the lunch companions. (I blogged about this experience in a post called "I said vegan, not Al Qaeda" on March 10, 2011).

I learned to cook new things.  My wife and I both had to make adjustments to how we cooked.  While I was the only one in the family who kept a vegan diet, everyone joined in on several meals.  We discovered there were many non-meat and dairy free options that were equally delicious.  Other things were good enough.  A few things were awful.  Overall we experimented with new recipes and had some great meals.

I had fun.  The whole experience was better than I had expected.  I had worried about the level of commitment that it would take to stay true to a vegan diet, but while difficult, it was not impossible.  I was most concerned about eating while traveling, but with some planning (and carrying a stash of snacks in my backpack) I was able to navigate all my business trips without incident.

Will I stay vegan?   This is the big question.  The answer at this point is I am going to attempt keeping a vegan diet Monday through Friday.  On the weekends it will be my choice on what to eat.  I do know that I do not plan the weekends to be meat and dairy shmorgishborg, but instead the opportunity to have some wonderful foods when the opportunity is right.  I do miss really good meat and fish (no desire for fast food or processed meat products...yuck), and I want to eat homemade waffles and some other favorites.  This plan seems like a good way to keep going with the structure of being vegan, with some wiggle room.  Otherwise it can be a slippery slope back to my old habits of eating anything that crosses my path.  My hope is my weekends be mostly vegan, with the exceptions being for some great options, not crap food.