I did it! One week on a vegan diet

I must confess, I postponed this «I did it!» week a few times before actually daring to try it. As it turned out, however, my initial worries were unfounded because I found it much easier than I thought. And even my fear of having to sacrifice certain foods was unnecessary.

I was particularly worried about my daily dose of chocolate, which I didn’t want to miss out on. I quickly came to the realise that all kinds of confectionary are now available in vegan form. But my breakfast also regularly includes animal products. Not to mention spontaneous meals out in non-vegan restaurants. How am I supposed to find something vegan there?

Day 1: cheers to my oat milk

I kick off the first morning of my challenge week with an obligatory coffee (after my daily glass of lemon water). Fortunately, this doesn’t present any issues for my vegan week because I swapped cow’s milk for [oat milk](/search?q=oat milk) some time ago. These days, there’s a gigantic selection of varieties, including barista ones. Alternatively, there’s also [soy milk](/search?filter=t_pt%3D3331&q=soy milk), [almond milk](/search?q=almond milk) or [rice milk](/search?q=rice milk). I like oat milk best. Today, I’m having a fresh loaf of bread with vegan lentil spread instead of a croissant.

Lunch is also easy – there’s a mixed salad that doesn’t contain any animal products. But I do feel a pang of sadness when I discover the mozzarella in the fridge. If I hadn’t resolved to go vegan this week, it would’ve gone straight into my salad. But the dish is also fine without cheese, and I decide on the spot to get a small alternative like chickpeas or tofu for my next salad.

Day 2: a bold start, a brilliant finish

For breakfast I simply have a wholemeal roll with olive oil and salt, dressed up with tomato, cucumber and peppers. As I’m pushed for time, I have to skip lunch. To avoid feeling ravenous before dinner, I eat an apple, a banana and a few nuts on the go. Nuts are the ultimate snack food for me anyway. They can be eaten anywhere, quickly satiate your hunger, keep you full for longer and provide protein and lots of vitamins and minerals.

After this admittedly rather minimalist fare, I give it my all when I cook in the evening. To get a few ideas and suggestions, I chose one of the infinite number of vegan cookbooks that places particular emphasis on sufficient protein in food. To ensure that your vegan diet doesn’t lead to malnutrition, it’s important to get enough protein from the plant-based products you’re eating.

I could happily eat my way through all the great dishes. However, the food also has to appeal to my husband and son, neither of whom are vegan. That’s why I go for vegan burgers with homemade fries.

I make everything myself according to the recipe, even the burger buns, and I’m glad to have set aside enough time for this. Because as always, when you make a recipe for the first time, everything just takes forever. Preparing the dough for the buns and baking the buns, preparing the ingredients for the patties and frying the patties, arranging the lettuce, tomatoes and gherkins for topping and then cutting the potatoes into fries and putting them in the oven – it all adds up. I spend a total of two hours cooking. It’s definitely not a dish for every day. At least next time it’ll be quicker and I won’t always have to go to the trouble of baking the rolls myself.

Day 3: overnight oats as the ultimate super breakfast

After spending so much time cooking yesterday, I don’t have the time or inclination for a similarly elaborate dish today. So I make it easy for myself: for breakfast I have bread with vegan spread again, and in the afternoon I eat the leftovers from last night’s dinner. So that I have something different for breakfast tomorrow, I use the afternoon to prepare overnight oats for the coming days. Again, I find a recipe for this in my new cookbook.

If overnight oats appeal to you as much as they do me, you can read more about this practical and balanced breakfast alternative here:

For dinner we have a stew made from potatoes and various vegetables, refined with curry made from tomato puree and coconut milk. This is a quick, uncomplicated meal that I often cooked before I began my vegan week. I always make a big portion so that we can eat it over several days. It’s also great for freezing to be defrosted quickly on a busy day.

Day 4: vegan dishes can take little cooking effort

On the fourth day, I realise that the vegan diet is actually a lot less effort than I expected. I have a lot of recipes in my head that I want to try this week without having to bend over backwards or give up too much. However, I don’t have the time to try out a new recipe every day. That’s why today we’re serving quick wok vegetables instead of the originally-planned «Teriyaki wok with mie noodles and tempeh» from my new cookbook.

Day 5: salad without egg, pizza without cheese – bearable sacrifices in everyday life

Today is an office day, but that shouldn’t cause any problems for my trial week. I’ve got my prepared overnight oats for breakfast, which I can easily take with me to the office. At the salad bar in a nearby market, I can also eat vegan food, but mozzarella, feta and egg are staying out of my bowl today. And I also have to be careful with the sauce. American or yogurt dressing are out of the equation, so I use vinegar and oil instead.

In the evening, I have a dinner date at a pizzeria. Again, it’s not hard to find something vegan for me because I really like pizza without cheese. It’s the dessert that I’m concerned about. Tiramisu is out the window, and I also have to deny myself strawberries with mascarpone. In the end, I grudgingly do without dessert. This is probably the way to lose weight on a vegan diet.

Day 6: baking is easier than you think

After yesterday’s dessert misery, I simply bake my own today. Vegan brownies are on the menu. I’m amazed and a little sceptical about the main ingredient: black beans. Will this work? An hour later I can confirm: oh yes, it does! The dough is quickly mixed together and the result even won over my non-vegan testers.

In the evening, I’m rushed for time so I serve up some spaghetti Napoli. I do without the parmesan without too much regret. The spaghetti is made from spelt, without egg of course. This doesn’t take much rethinking as I’ve long since switched to egg-free pasta. After all, the regular kind’s almost always made using eggs from poor animal welfare conditions. Besides, the egg-free pasta tastes better to me anyway.

Day 7: the week’s over, but my vegan trial isn’t

The overnight oats have already proved to be very practical during my day at the office. At the weekend, I’m once again happy to have a balanced, delicious breakfast without any effort.

In the evening we have the only type of potato that my seven-year-old eats voluntarily – homemade chips. I also make a salad with lettuce and fried mushrooms. The rest of the family eats fish — something I don’t usually eat anyway.

My vegan trial week is supposed to come to an end now. But as is often the case after a week of self-experimentation, I’m sticking with the new habit for now. It’s now been three weeks since I gave up animal products completely and so far there’s been no temptation to break it.

Verdict: what a week on a vegan diet has brought me

• The vegan week hardly involved any sacrifices for me. Of course, I had to leave out a few of my usual ingredients but there was often a good alternative. Overall, I missed less than I had expected.
• I invested a lot of time in cooking new recipes. That isn’t really feasible in the long term. However, with a little getting used to, it should gradually get faster.
• On the other hand, I ate more consciously and healthily overall.
• When buying processed foods, it’s always worth looking at the ingredients list. Many products are vegan that I didn’t think were. Even some biscuits and chocolate, for example. But others unexpectedly contain animal products, including some crisps.
• I’ve discovered new products and dishes that I no longer want to do without.
• I didn’t notice any physical changes, but that wasn’t to be expected after just one week. The fear that I would feel tired and lacking in energy never materialised. If I stick with it in the long term, in a few months I’ll get my blood values checked to see if I’ve developed any deficiencies.

You can find more of the healthy habits I tried in my «I did it!» series here:

Sources:

• WHO: Plant-based diets and their impact on health, sustainability and the environment
• Popular diets as selected by adults in the United States show wide variation in carbon footprints and diet quality
• Vegane und ketogene Diät beeinflussen Immunsystem und Stoffwechsel unterschiedlich