My Journey to Becoming Vegan : Two Months In

Roasted zucchini and sweet potato, with tomato, lemon juice, olive oil, seasonings, chia seeds, on spinach and romaine lettuce. It was sooo good. I love eating it warm, when the sweet potato and zucchini come straight out of the oven. 

I've been on this vegan journey for over two months now. Here's a little update.

I have lost seven pounds, but I'm also nearly 5 months postpartum, so I can't attribute the weight loss to the diet change, it's much more likely that it's just the baby weight slowly, but surely, coming off.

I feel more motivated to work out. I enjoy doing yoga. I love thinking about how animals are not fueling my energy. I feel more at peace.

I feel really good when I go grocery shopping. My cart is just so much healthier these days (even though I'm still buying meat for my husband).

I'm still not fully vegan because we have stuff in the house I want to use up, not just throw out. I've already given away sooo much stuff to my sister too.

I am still looking for some alternatives. Like Cheez-its. I see that Earth Balance has one but it's not at any of my local stores. Justin and Cal have been on a Cheez-its kick lately and I wish we had an alternative we could all enjoy.

Finally got some unfrosted Poptarts for Calvin and he eats them just the same! That's a #momwin haha.

Learned about a ton of vegan junk food at Aldi's from THIS video from Caitlin Shoemaker.

Went out to a fully vegan/vegetarian restaurant and it was awesome. It made me kind of wish we lived in the city instead of the middle of freaking nowhere haha. It was awesome looking at a full menu knowing I could have anything I wanted!

I mention all the time that I can't wait to see restaurant menus in 10 or 20 years. I get excited to see vegan/vegetarian options coming to all restaurants! Why is there not a veg section on every menu?!

The vegan selection at my middle of nowhere Walmart is surprising. If you looked at us on a map and saw all the farmland for miles and miles, you probably never would have thought our Walmart would have tofu, Field Roast cheese, or Gardein chicken tenders! I did not have high hopes for my first vegan trip to Walmart, that's for sure. But I was pleasantly surprised.

I like to think I'm setting a good example for my family. Not just my boys and my husband, but my parents, my sisters. 

I like to think I can raise the boys vegan one day. Maybe I have a better shot with Eren since he's still a tiny baby. Calvin's two and he sure has his preferences already, he's even pickier than his father! The things that worry me about the boys are 1. milk, and 2. the grandmas. So #1, Calvin only nursed until he was 15 months old. He still needed to be drinking milk after that, so he drank cow's milk. It's my understanding that kids need the protein at least until the age of two. If he had continued breastfeeding, that wouldn't have been an issue. I just hope Eren continues breastfeeding until he's two, therefore we won't have to worry about that. For #2, my mother and MIL watch the boys while I'm at work four days per week. I am unsure they will be able to accept my lifestyle change as a change for my whole family.

Let's go ahead and mention digestive system improvement, regularity.

I haven't had a zit in awhile. But once again, that could be part of the postpartum journey. I never used to have bad acne til I started making babies... lol.

What do I still need to use up at home?

Beef & chicken bouillon cubes! Why did I buy so many of you?! I have two jars of each!

One jar of four cheese pasta sauce. Why?! I seriously haven't made spaghetti in two months?

Marshmallows and Swiss Miss hot chocolate?! I won't be going through any of that until it's not 100 degrees every damn day.

A bulk size ranch seasoning container in the pantry, right next to the bottle of local honey I bought like the week before I started my journey. 

One lonely can of tuna. Calvin liked tuna at one time. Now he just eats the saltines I serve it with...

When we go out, I order vegan food. I buy vegan stuff at the store. I'm not purchasing anything that's not vegan for myself and I'm not intentionally eating non vegan stuff at the house unless it's these items mentioned, just because I'm trying to get rid of them.

And I'm pretty sure that's about all we have left at home. So we're getting pretty close here! I'm excited to get all of these things used up so I can clamp down on the vegan variety in our house.

Thanks for reading!
Let me know about your journey to veganism and how your family reacted.

Love,
Alaina