#VeganWeek Day One: So Far, So Delicious!

Knowing that we needed to clean out the fridge of anything that might go bad during Vegan Week, on Sunday, I made Lucas one of the meatiest, most non-vegan dishes he’s had in a while:

Bird’s Nest Egg…with bologna.

He deserves it, for letting me experiment for seven straight days!

Here is what Day One of Vegan Week entailed for me.

Yerba Maté (with no sweetener):

Followed by pumpkin oatmeal, soaked in almond milk on the way to work:

Then heated up in the office microwave. Lunch was a Hugh Jass with a spicy (!!) Tahini-Dill dressing I made from Brendan Brazier’s book, “Thrive” which I (here ya go, FTC) got for free at the Healthy Living Summit earlier this year.

Enjoyed outside (woo hoo for No Nonsense November!) with a ton of water:

P.S. Notice how I don’t have any makeup on? I couldn’t be sure that my products were vegan (I use Smashbox and E.L.F., which are cruelty-free and mostly vegan, but not all of their makeup is) so I stuck with foundation and that’s all. I know Michelle, my Vegan Week partner in crime, is planning a post later this week on vegan beauty products, and I can’t wait to learn more!

Back to the eats. For snack, an organic granny smith apple and a side of Tweetdeck:

And an Orange and Maple Sugar Pinwheel, from the Veganomicon cookbook:

And for dinner, a combo-Brendan Brazier/Veganomicon dish.

Yuca Tortillas:

And Mediterranean Lima Beans:

I have a feeling a glass of wine may be in store for “dessert!”

Takeaways so far?

**Planning (for me) is key. Could I follow a vegan diet without diving into cookbooks? Sure. But the idea of eating tofu and vegetables every day bores me. I love looking ahead, prepping foods, cooking them and trying something new. So far, this has been the best part of the whole adventure!

**This is not too hard. Now, I understand that I’m already more vegetarian than most…but I don’t feel hungry, bored or out of my element. There are so many amazing things to eat that don’t come from animals!

**There are so many great resources and supporters out there! Michelle and I have been OVERWHELMED by the support we’re getting.

++Angela from Oh She Glows posted a link on her site!

++My friends at Nasoya tweeted this: @Nasoya: Celebrate with Dumplings! http://tinyurl.com/yzlucyp @kwidrick – thanks for letting me know it’s #veganweek NICE!

++Another tweet: @LowFatKat: Funny how easy it is to say NO to something b/c of ingredients yet I usually have trouble saying NO based on just calories/fat. #veganweek

The list goes on and on, so whether you’re a regular reader or here for the first time, I want to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Here’s more information about Vegan Week:

• Follow me on Twitter here and Michelle on Twitter here.
• Use the hashtag #VeganWeek in your tweets about this adventure, or your own vegan-minded thoughts!
• Check out my page of Vegan Week stories here and Michelle’s here.
• Healthy Ashley did a great guest post on Michelle’s blog. Check it out – love her!
• On Wednesday, I’ll have a guest post on vegan baking from Angela of Oh She Glows, along with a Glo Bakery giveaway you won’t want to miss! Michelle will have a guest post from Ryan of Greens for Good and Lindsey from Sound Eats.
• On Thursday, I’ll have an interview with vegan triathlete (and super-hottie) Brendan Brazier, who makes the Vega products we all know and love so much. Michelle will have a guest post from Jess at A Fete For Food.

There are many more exciting announcements to come — and be sure to check back Tuesday morning for details on how you can take part, and be entered to win a very cool prize!