Well, this is it.  The final day of this experiment, ending four weeks of absolutely no dairy or bread.  Four weeks of smelling pizza and hearing my stomach growl with longing, four weeks of turning down offers of strawberries, bananas and cookies drenched in milk chocolate, four works of feeling like a hot dog with no bun is only half a hot dog and four weeks of having to go through the ingredient list of every damn thing I wanted to get in the store to see if I can eat it.

And I absolutely loved it.

Because it wasn’t horrible.  It was barely even an inconvenience.  I felt better for being off of these things and my body, noticing how much better it was feeling just said “Okay, we can do this.  Stick with it”.  While my diet for this experiment wasn’t strictly vegan, I found that as a consequence of searching for non-dairy foods, I was encouraged by my vegan/lactose intolerant friends and my interest formed a bit more of a bond between us (and more than a few recipes exchanged!).

So what are the results?  Well, I’m feeling  more active.  In total I’ve lost 13lbs in the four weeks I’ve been on this experiment (Due to both the diet and going on regular long walks).  It’s wonderful to feel so much lighter and more energetic.  Also stomach problems have become minimal and when I sleep I ACTUALLY SLEEP.  I don’t get woken up by a stabbing feeling in my stomach.

One of the big comments I got when talking about this experiment was “I could never get rid of dairy, I love it too much.” and it’s something that I told myself at the start of this.  But really, I found that with the exception of cheese the dairy substitutions taste a hell of a lot better than the dairy products themselves.  Coconut, soy or rice milk ice cream, soy yogurt, vegan chocolate, soy, rice or almond milk…really there are so many substitutions and all of them are sinfully delicious.  A better taste than the dairy product it’s substituting and all without that layer of yuck afterwards.

Now tomorrow the moment I’ve not really been looking forward to will come up.  I’ll be eating pizza.  Normally I would be excited, but after getting rid of dairy for a month I’m predicting that my physical reaction won’t be so great.  I anticipate the day after eating the pizza will be a very horrible day for me.  But still, I feel like I do need to see how I’d react when a bit of dairy enters my system.  I have guesses but…we’ll see.

In the end though, I think I’m going to make the non-dairy diet a permanent thing.  And bread is such a rare thing for me to eat anyways that I might stick with that being removed as well.  I’ll be saying my goodbyes to the two while on my trip next month.

And hey, future stuff!  You folks can look forward to a couple of things.  Firstly I’ll be posting some of the recipes I had learned/were given to me up here.  These include:

- Crispy Spicy Chickpeas
- Scott Pilgrim Vegan Shepard’s Pie
- The Best Damn Vegan Chili In The World

And my friend Cheryl and I will be getting together to hang out and make delicious vegan stuff on as regular a basis as we can manage.  You can bet your ass I’ll be posting what we make on here.

So that’s it.  I wouldn’t want to force anyone in to doing what I did, but I’d recommend giving it a try. And no one has the same stomach or tastebuds, so if you feel like it’s not your thing, don’t worry about it!

Thanks for reading!

I think when I’m in New York City next month I’ll be giving a final goodbye to the taste of some favorite dairy products (primarily of the cupcake and Brooklyn pizza variety) and then I’ll go off of it altogether.  I just feel too good with it not in my system.  I feel more energetic, less groggy and most of the dairy substitutes kick the ass of the originals.

I’ve finally gotten used to what I regarded as an annoying task, having to look through the ingredients of EVERYTHING to make sure it has no dairy.  It’s gotten less time-consuming to read through.  Plus I can eliminate the problem entirely by shopping in Vegan-only stores like Essence Of Life and Panacea, the former of which is just a walk away from my office.

Total weight-loss count from when I started this experiment is 12lbs.  It would have been more, but I kind of stuffed myself on vegan chili at a friend’s housewarming party over the weekend.  And currently my body seems to be acting like a jerk, essentially stating that the exercise and eating right I’m currently doing is just not doing the job anymore and if I want to lose more, I’ll have to try harder. So…I guess I’ll be trying harder.

So last week I realized something that I never thought was possible.  Something that I had assumed was a thing I could rely on especially during this experiment.

All the stores that I assumed carried dairy-free products in abundance actually don’t.

I ended up getting pretty pissed off at The Big Carrot, a store that I always assumed catered to vegetarian, vegan and omnivore alike in equal measures.  But as I went in to get some vegan cookies and other products I assumed would be there, they just didn’t carry them.  I had a similar experience over the weekend at another store that only carried a small amount of non-dairy items.  I’m still having nightmares about how god damn awful those Quinoa cookies I settled for tasted. Very bitter and dry.

So today after my time in the office I’ll be heading over to Essence Of Life Organics and a couple of other places in Kensington Market to fulfill my non-dairy needs.  In particular some amazing chocolate cookies and Torani Pumpkin Pie Syrup (because it’s AUTUMN, damn it and I want coffees and warm soy drinks that taste like pumpkin pie).

As far as how I’m handling this whole experiment…I think I’m doing pretty well.  I’ve slipped twice, once where it was out of my hands and the other where I knowingly put milk in my coffee (in order to irritate a *ahem* clogging problem), but otherwise I’m feeling great.  What’s more is that I can actually imagine myself staying Dairy-Free after this experiment.  I just feel less like there’s something inside me that’s making me feel disgusting.

I should also mention that since starting this experiment two weeks ago I have lost 10lbs and have KEPT IT OFF.  A feat that was impossible to do over the summer.  In the general weight-loss scheme of things, this means that I have lost 50lbs in a year, which is making me through the roof happy.

I also really have to publicly thank my friend Cheryl Weatherill for her amazing help with this.  Without her fountain of knowledge, handy tips on where to shop and how to prepare things  and her enthusiasm (which helps my morale) I really wouldn’t be as far along with this as I am now.  So thank, Cheryl!

Right.  I’m off to drink ten litres of coffee now.

]]> http://thehungrybitch.wordpress.com/2010/09/07/goodbye-bread-dairy-week-3-day-16/feed/ 1 robinleblanc http://thehungrybitch.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/goodbye-bread-dairy-week-2-day-9/ http://thehungrybitch.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/goodbye-bread-dairy-week-2-day-9/#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:34:34 +0000 Robin http://thehungrybitch.wordpress.com/?p=47 ]]> Not much has changed since the last update.  I was out Friday and Saturday so my diet mainly consisted of french fries, since the other options were expensive pizza or a hot dog.

On Sunday however, I made up for that and decided to buy a couple of things at the store.  Some more Grapefruits, some Kale (for delicious Kale Chips), some Sweet Chili Triscuits…just some little things to hold me over in those times where I crave snacks.

I also found…THESE

Cocnut Milk Banana Split Ice Cream Sandwiches!  Dairy-free and and 100 calories each!  I knew these existed, but I was stoked to find them in the grocery store (most of the time I find the tubs of soy ice cream and that’s it).

I’m currently due for a restocking, as there is only one left.

As for the temptations…it’s recently been getting a bit hard.  Mainly because I think I caught something from the convention over the weekend and am really toast, since that’s all I feel like I can stomach right now.  Plus I’m kind of missing pizza.  Missing the HELL out of it.

Only slipped once so far, accidentally ordering something without knowing it was breaded.  Couldn’t take it back so, yeah.  Oh well!  I knew I’d slip at some point!

But hey, I’m keeping at it.

You’ll excuse me if I’m a bit scattered on here.  I kind of overdid it with the booze on UKE NiTE and am in the process of consuming a giant coffee with at least a shot of espresso in it.  All the while the Ukulele chords for By the Light of the Silvery Moon are going through my head. And I thought I’d do this today, as tomorrow and the weekend I’ll be busy with Fan Expo crap.

So things seem to be going well so far.  I’ve successfully managed to stick to the rules (no bread and no dairy) with temptation hitting only a couple of times.  So far, with this combined with my weird metabolism and my long walks, I have lost 6lbs from Monday morning to this morning.  And for the record, no, I am not starving myself.  I’m actually eating pretty well and the stomach is almost in a constant state of “filled”.

Breakfast is usually a whole or half  grapefruit with a dab of honey on for flavour.  I’m still sorting out how to eat it without getting frustrated and smashing it with my god damned spoon.  Lunch is protein time and normally involves a salad with some meet and nuts ground in to it. Snacks of nuts and seeds throughout the day.  Dinner is the big thing and…that changes constantly, like dinners should.

So here’s a rundown of my thoughts on missing each group:

BREAD

I’m finding it really easy to avoid breads.  An added plus to this is that because of the bread restriction, I’m eating a lot less junk food for lunch at the office (since burgers, hot dogs, subs and pizzas all contain breads).  Plus as we all know, a lot of things can be served without breads.  Hell, in some places it’s an option to have a specialty burger (in my case a meatless BBQ burger) removed from the bun and served on a bed of salad.  By doing little stuff like that, it’s interesting to note how sometimes breads can dull the taste of something.

DAIRY

Dairy has been much more difficult to give up just in terms of it being nearly EVERYWHERE and in pretty much any foods that I’ve had a craving for.  I’ve managed to stick to not having any though, and my policy is that when I’m confused whether something has dairy in it I don’t have it at all.  I was at a pub last night (the very one where I now play Ukulele at) and there was a couple having and ice cream sundae and a slice of cheesecake.  I could practically smell it from across the fucking room and very nearly ordered a slice.

But!  I’m thankful that I have Vegan friends and the internet, because I’ve managed to find some dairy-free ice cream shops (I don’t like committing to a tub of soy/rice ice cream. Especially when I just want a cone).  So I’ll be heading out to those (hopefully with some friends) and will be sure to post on that.

—

And finally I’d like to announce that I’m going to be setting up a shrine to the Vegan-friendly restaurant Fresh across the street from my office.  They’ve hooked me up with some delicious bread and dairy-free foods, including the best chocolate chunk cookie of my entire life (dairy-free chocolate, oats, molasses, tofu…YUM).

So long, dairy! So long, bread! I’m taking you off the menu.  It’s been great and really, I think you’re wonderful.  But I’m thinking that we’re at a point in each other’s lives where we have to find new things.

Well, for a month anyways.

So yeah, as part of an experiment, I’ll be going off of bread and dairy products for a month.  In the meantime I’ll be recording the results as well as the progress and failures I’ll have throughout.  There are a few reasons why I want to do this, the primary one being “just to see if I can do it”.  Another reason is that I’ve felt inspired by the increasing amount of vegan friends I have and their creativity with recipes that don’t involve anything from our friend the moo-cow.  The list goes on, one including freeing myself from addictions that got some snickers from my vegan friend Cheryl, but the big thing is just to see if I can do it.

At first it seemed to me that getting rid of dairy would be the easy part and bread would be harder.  After all, I don’t really eat that much bread at home, I’ve been drinking soy milk for two years and have a slight intolerance towards certain cheeses.  But for the two weeks leading up to the launch of this experiment, I realized just how much of the two I consume on a regular basis and it suddenly became much more of a daunting task.  It’s amazing how much of a product you can eat without realizing it.

Right now, Day 1, I’m just getting used to the small changes. Grapefruit for breakfast instead of a bowl of cereal and toast, I’m thinking a chickpea vegan curry from Fresh might be on the menu for lunch AND dinner (Such huge portions they serve) and some Sweet Chili Triscuits and hazelnuts as a snack. A bit of a change since I normally have a burger, hot dog, sub, pizza or any other kind of meal featuring bread and cheese for lunch and bread with honey as a snack.

WHAT I EXPECT TO GET OUT OF THIS
Hahahaha what?

The most I’d expect to get out of this is some health-related results that I can write up, print off and throw on J. Jonah Jameson’s desk with a defiant smirk because HE FUCKING DOUBTED ME.

Or you know, maybe just some results. Good or bad.  That would be nice.

CHALLENGES
I’ve come to terms with the fact that I am going to fall off the wagon on this a couple of times, either accidentally or intentionally.  Going off something cold turkey is something I’ve failed at in the past and I recognize that this is going to be a bit of a transition and I will at some point, give in to the sexy allure of a double-cheese pizza or the seductive wink of a cupcake with cream cheese frosting.  But I’m going to try my best not to succumb to these temptations and will also try not to be discouraged if I do.

WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT FROM ME
Because you just have to fucking expect something of me, don’t you?

At the very least you should expect a weekly update.  Either it will be accounts of going through withdrawal or more likely recording the alternatives to bread & dairy I’ll be having as well as a recipe or two.  Perhaps some update on general well-being as well.  We’ll see where it goes.

So yeah!  Here we go…Wish me luck!

This recipe was inspired by a pretty mediocre samosa I had at the office last week.  It was spinach and tofu, which is normally a good combination with me…but it had no zazz.  So I thought and thought and thought and came up with this recipe.  And you know what? It tasted really damn good. I’d suggest serving it with a side dish, but it also works just as well on its own.  I have to say, this is a PERFECT recipe for the summer.  It’s definitely something I would eat on a nice sunny day on the porch.

Ingredients:

1/2 a bag of spinach (or more if your dream is to be like Popeye)
1/4 block of Medium-Firm Tofu (cut in to strips. Go with preference on how much you use.)
Tortilla Wraps! (I had the small ones on hand, but I’d suggest using the regular sized)
1/2 tsp of vinegar (I use malt vinegar but if you want to be a freaking wimp go ahead and use white vinegar)
Pepper & Creole (no exact amount.  You’re sprinkling this on the tofu)
1tsp Safflower Oil (But I SUPPOSE Olive Oil would work just as well)
Feta Cheese (I LOVE this stuff.  Really, the more the better.)

Instructions:

1. Get the spinach and start steaming that stuff up. Keep the stove top to high until you start seeing steam shooting out of the sides of the pot cover.  Then put it on to about medium.  You have a couple of minutes, so let’s move on.

2. Put the Safflower Oil on to a frying pan, pop the stove top up to high and throw the tofu on.  Sprinkle the Pepper and Creole (or whatever the hell you like with it) and flip a couple of times.  Don’t worry if it starts to crumble.  It’s supposed to do that.  When the smell becomes really good and the tofu has been slightly browned, take it off the pan and put it on a small plate.

3. turn off the stove top with the steamed spinach.  Take the spinach out of the pot on to some paper towel.  Dab until no longer absolutely soaking wet. place the spinach in a bowl, put in the 1/2 tsp of (MALT) vinegar and stir around.

4. Put your oven to broil and take out a baking sheet.

5. put some of the tortilla wraps on the baking sheet (you should be able to fit 2-4 depending on size).  Now.  Here’s where it comes together.  Sprinkle some feta in the center of the tortilla, put a couple of pieces of tofu on top of it, then put the spinach on top of THAT.  Take two sides of the wrap (the left and right, in case you can’t figure that out) and close up until one side is overlapping the other to the point where you can hold it (it should look like a half-assed burrito).  Then, using the speed of a rogue, flip the whole thing over so the overlapped ends are now on the baking sheet.  Then put it in the oven.

6. Wait a couple of minutes until the wraps are slightly hard.  You will need to open up the oven and check with a fork or your fingers.

7.  Take out, put the wraps on a plate, serve with a side dish of your choice and enjoy!

Bonus Feature:

Before you put the wraps in the oven, sprinkle a bit of hot sauce on top of the tortilla.  Depending on the sauce it might be overpowering to the flavour of the whole thing but it has the possibility of adding something beautiful to it.

This is a GREAT dish to serve when you have friends over or are just in one of those single person I-just-want-to-drink-away-the-loneliness nights.  Like I have.  EVERY GOD DAMNED NIGHT.

Beer Sausages Inna Bun
Ingredients:
- Sausages (Big ones or medium ones. Whichever floats your boat. 2-5 is a good number if it fits in your pan)
- Beer (REAL beer. Good tasting beer. If you’re going to use Coors, Bud Light or Molson you might as well just use water. Maybe spit in it. Personally I use Leffe Brune)
- Half an onion (chopped in to rings)
- Buns (to put the sausages in to when you’re done. No ass jokes, please. For best results, go to a bakery for it.)
- Olive oil (just about two tablespoons)

Instructions:

1. put olive oil in frying pan, crank that stove up to high. Then put the sausages in and fry until browned.

2. Once the sausages are browned, decrease the stove to medium heat, remove the sausages and throw in the onions.

3. Cook those onions in the sausage juices until rubbery and transparent (NOT until they are browned)

4. Put the sausages back in pan and pour your beer in. Depending on what beer you use, half the bottle/can might do. As long as the sausages are covered about half way in beer you should be fine. Drink the remainder for the rest of the cooking time.

5. Mix those sausages in your wonderful beer-onion concoction until the beer has decreased in volume and has turned in to a somewhat thick sauce. Your entire kitchen will start to smell amazing.

6. Remove the sausages and place in the buns.

7. spoon in the beer sauce with onions on to the sausages in the buns. If you’ve got loads of it, be very liberal in serving.

8. Eat and enjoy. If you’re feeling in a very beer-ish mood, pour yourself a pint.

Bonus Feature:

Throw a bit of grated cheese in the buns with the sausages.
NOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM