For the next five days, I’m going to be tackling a popular food trend: eating vegan. Veganism isn’t just a buzz dieting word being thrown around by young people; it’s a lifestyle change. Vegan eating means you don’t consume any animal products; that includes meat, of course, but also dairy and eggs.

Full disclosure, I’m already a pescetarian. It isn’t nearly as pretentious as it sounds. I took a food ethics class and decided cut meat out of my diet for ethical and health reasons. I still eat seafood, dairy and eggs.

By going vegan, I want to experience the extent of planning that’s required for a diet change. I also want to see if the quality of vegan meat and dairy substitutes are comparable to the real deal.

In preparation for my five-day vegan journey, I had to be more intentional with the food I purchased. My usual grocery list of food needed to be modified to include vegan substitutes. I’m allergic to nuts, which can be tricky to shop for because a lot of meat and dairy alternatives include almonds.

I was able to purchase all my food for the next few days at Walmart and Schnucks for fairly affordable prices.

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For my first day, I was surprised that I didn’t need to radically alter my diet. I simply substituted any dairy products with vegan alternatives. For breakfast, I had soy milk with my cereal and vegan yogurt with my lunch.

I ate in a dining hall on campus for dinner, which was my biggest struggle. There weren’t many vegan options, so I ended up with a salad and fries. I had to catch myself from putting Italian dressing on my salad, which contains eggs. Whenever I eat at a dining hall, I always order grilled cheese. I definitely missed the warm, cheesy goodness.

Day one is done and I’m looking forward to the meals I’ve planned for the next few days. I’m ready to go on this journey!

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