The True Diary of a One Week Vegan

Last week, I decided to eat vegan for seven days.  Not because I am interested in a lifestyle change right now or for health reasons, but because I was curious to see what it was like to eat vegan on a college campus.  Throughout my time in college, I always wondered how those with any type of dietary restrictions managed to eat our very limited cafeteria or other on campus dining locations.  I am not a picky eater and I am always down to try new things, so I figured, why not?  Here’s what I ate this week:

Sunday (Oct 1)

Breakfast: Lemon and honey water; Complete Cookie (lemon and poppy seed)

Lunch: Simply balanced Southwestern-style quinoa & brown rice

Dinner: Tortilla with hummus, spinach, cucumber, tomato, and red onion; spinach salad with black beans, sunflower seeds, tomato, olive oil, and vinegar; watermelon and grapes

Day 1 thoughts: I am pretty hungry. I didn’t eat brunch like I normally do because I chose to sleep in… I happened to have the Complete Cookie in my dorm room, so I had access to that for a quick meal.  They are really tasty and filling, so they were able to hold me over for a little bit.  I have never tried that rice before, but I liked it! It was fairly flavorful and seems like something that I would normally eat. It was not as satisfying as it first led on to be, so I ate some almonds for a pre-dinner snack.  So far, my mood is the same as usual.  I am curious to see how I will feel both physically and mentally after a week of no dairy products. 

Monday (Oct 2)

Breakfast: Lemon and honey water

Lunch: Soup with pinto beans, garbanzo beans, black beans, corn, and tomato; spinach salad with cucumber, tomato, red kidney beans, grapes, sunflower seeds, green bell pepper, olive oil, and vinegar

Dinner: Stir fry with rice, olive oil, vegetable broth, spinach, corn, and carrots; cantaloupe; grapes

Day 2 thoughts: I usually do not get food from the stir fry station, but I figured it was a good way to get a custom-made vegan friendly meal, and I was right!  I think this will be a good place to get something to eat when there are not a lot of other options for me.  I was very satisfied with my meals for the day. 

Tuesday (Oct 3)

Breakfast: Lemon and honey water

Lunch: Complete cookie; veggie straws. 

Dinner: Spanish rice, lettuce, salsa, guacamole. 

Day 3 thoughts: I had to skip lunch today because I had an event with my sorority that interfered with my lunch hour.  I only had time to quickly grab something, but I was fine until dinner.  My dining hall has Taco Tuesday every Tuesday and I usually make something like what I made today, except I usually add chicken and cheese to it.  I felt a little dissatisfied today, mostly because I did not have much food available to me. 

Wednesday (Oct 4)

Breakfast: Lemon and honey water

Lunch: Tortilla wrap with hummus, spinach, tomato, red onion, bell peppers, cucumbers; salad with spinach, tomato, sunflower seeds, oil, vinegar, black beans, chick peas, corn, cucumbers; non-dairy caramel ice cream with peanuts. 

Dinner: Stir fry with rice, vegetable broth, olive oil, peas, carrots, and spinach

Day 4 thoughts: This is getting frustrating because while I would like to be more diverse in the cafeteria, these were my only options for the day.  Four days in and I have already run out of food.  I have felt hungry today, but nothing too bad.  I am generally still feeling the same that I felt pre-vegan. 

Thursday (Oct 5)

Breakfast: Lemon and honey water

Lunch: Pinto beans cooked with bell pepper over brown rice; broccoli and cucumber with hummus

Dinner: Wrap with hummus, tomatoes, spinach, onion, and olive spread

Day 5 thoughts: I am getting sick of eating the same salad, so I just opted for some veggies and hummus.  I am beginning to realize that our dining hall is not suited to many special dietary needs.  For dinner, I went to another on campus dining location but the options there were even more limited than the main dining hall.  This was not a good place to go for dinner. 

Friday (Oct 6)

Breakfast: Lemon and honey water

Lunch: Stir fry with rice, vegetable broth, olive oil, snap peas, peas, water chestnuts; spinach salad with garbanzo beans, black beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, red pepper, sunflower seeds, olive oil and vinegar; grapes 

Dinner: Veggie patty with lettuce, tomato, and red onion; wild rice; orange slices

Day 6 thoughts: I am glad to have only one more day of my vegan diet.  Searching every station in the dining hall and finding nothing to eat is getting disappointing.  The disappointment mainly being at my school for not providing these kinds of options for students.  I wonder if most college campus dining has the same problem. 

Saturday (Oct 7)

Breakfast: Lemon and honey water; oatmeal with brown sugar; roasted potatoes; watermelon

Lunch: Quinoa and brown rice with black beans, roasted pepper, and corn

Dinner: Wrap with hummus, tomatoes, spinach, onion, and olive spread

Day 7 thoughts: This week pretty much went as expected.  I “snacked” less than I normally do throughout the week because I couldn’t just grab a yogurt or cheese stick like I normally would.  My mood has not changed this week and I did not notice much physical changes to my body.  I was not as tired this week as I usually am.  I slept the same that I do in a typical week, but I did not find myself wanting coffee as much or wanting a nap.  I think that if this had gone on for a few weeks, I would have noticed more changes.  This week has really showed me that my school does not cater to the needs of vegans.  I was not dissatisfied with any of my meals, but I would not be able to eat like this on a regular basis. 

*Note 1: I drank lemon and honey water every morning for digestive reasons. I read a lot of conflicting arguments online regarding whether honey is vegan- it seems that no one has an exact answer, so I am not sure if it went against the vegan diet or not.

*Note 2: I ate in my school’s dining hall for most the week.  I used their online menu nutritional facts to determine what was vegan.

*Note 3: I drank water with every meal- I almost exclusively drink water in my daily life.

I would call this week an adventure. I have gained more respect for vegetarians, vegans, and anyone else with dietary restrictions living on a college campus.  I applaud your strength and sticking with what you believe in.  I would love to know what it is like at other schools, since mine is considerably a small school, but I imagine that most are not that different from mine.  My school is all about inclusivity, but what about in a case such as this one?  After coming to this horrid realization, I just have one question for college campuses across the country: what are we going to do about this?  

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