Eating Vegan: Day 1

I have always been curious about eating vegan, and have attempted it a few times in the past.  But, for one reason or another ("How can I  live without cheese?!") I have never been able to commit.  As, I've mentioned in an earlier post, I just finished reading the book The Kind Diet and it really got me thinking seriously about "going vegan" again.  I've also been reading Harvest for Hope, and I most recently started reading Skinny Bitch (yeah, I'm not a big fan of the title...but what're you gonna do).  The Skinny book--that's why I'm gonna call it from now on--is awesome.  Yeah, it goes a little overboard with the swear words, but it has a lot of really great information and it's pretty hilarious too.

Well, it's a new year now, and there's no time like the present to give eating vegan a whirl again, right?  Plus, this time, I going into it with a much better attitude and mindset.  This time I want to eat vegan not only for my own health and the health of the planet, but also to take my money and support away from the factory farms and mistreatment of animals and put it to better use. 

And so, my awesome/loving/supportive husband and I have decided to "bite the bullet", as they say, and eat vegan for the next 30 days. :)  Yes, it will be challenging, but I'm--and hopefully Dave is too--really excited and looking forward to putting more energy into eating healthier and trying out new foods and recipes. And, by the end of the month, I'm hoping that I will choose to continue eating vegan long-term.  My husband, on the other hand, only wants to try this out for a month, and that's totally fine. I'm hopeful, however, that he will see how much better he feels and will want to eat even less meat and dairy than he was before (which, I must say, wasn't all that much...compared to most Americans, anyway).  I have a feeling, though, that he will probably never be able to live without his beloved bacon. ;) 

Oh, and in case you're interested, here are the stipulations we've agreed upon for the next month:

* No animal products (meat, fish, dairy, eggs) 
* No fast food (duh)
* Local honey is okay, in small amounts (yes, I realize this is not exactly vegan, but it's going to be our one vice for now)
* Less processed foods (especially those that contain uber-long lists of ingredients, and contain things like corn syrup, MSG, artificial flavors & colors, and any other item that we can't pronounce)
* Real maple syrup, agave, brown rice syrup, or honey instead of sugar 
* More fresh fruits and veggies, legumes, nuts & seeds, and whole grains
* Buy local produce, etc. whenever we can