If you know me, you know how much I LOVE dairy products: mac and cheese, grilled cheese, mozzarella sticks, Chobani Greek yogurt, and ice cream are among my many weaknesses. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. For years now, I’ve expressed an interest in going vegan due to its environmental impact, but I’ve always viewed it as an unattainable goal. My love for dairy products is the main reason why I could never commit to veganism in its entirety. Although I cut dairy milk out of my diet over a year ago, I consume dairy in other forms daily.
Last week, I accidentally went vegan for a day and I was stunned by how easy it was. So how does someone unintentionally become vegan for a day? Well, I typically start my day with overnight oats and Greek yogurt, but when I opened my fridge that fine Saturday morning, no yogurt was to be found, so it was just oats for breakfast.
For lunch I headed over to By Chloe. because I was craving their pesto meatball sub (made out of portobellos and vegetables) with some chipotle aioli. For dinner, I decided to make a veggie stir fry with Trader Joe’s Sriracha Baked Tofu; it was my first time trying the Sriracha Tofu and it was honestly one of the best meals I’ve ever cooked. I was craving ice cream for dessert, so I figured it was finally time to try Oatly ice cream (yes, it lives up to the hype).
It wasn’t until after I had my Oatly that I came to the realization everything I consumed was vegan. It was entirely unintentional and was due to either what I had in my fridge or what I was craving. I was extremely proud of myself and couldn’t wait to tell all my friends about my eating adventure. I kept thinking, “Wow that was easy, maybe I can be a vegan!” However, that was short-lived because the next day I had chicken nuggets for dinner.
Although I resumed my usual eating habits the next day, I can’t expect for my diet to change after one day. Creating new eating habits is difficult, but you have to start somewhere. My accidental “vegan-for-a-day” was an enjoyable, tasty experience. It inspired me to consciously incorporate a vegan day into my diet. While I do believe it will be quite some time before I am able to fully commit to veganism, I am glad to have ventured into its world and have taken a step towards my goal.