I never ever ever even thought about becoming a vegan, cheese-lover that I am. I was a vegetarian for a good 5 years with relative ease, with eggs and dairy being my main indulgences anyways. Since then I have become an omnivore who eats quite healthfully but without any strict restrictions. However, one fateful day several weeks ago, two of my colleagues and I made a pact: that we would be vegan for exactly one week. How would I live without my eggs? My cheese? Ice cream?? I was dubious from the beginning, but by the end things may have changed. I kept a diary so you can journey along with me through my fabulously vegan week. And yes, I did feel obnoxious every time I asked if something was vegan.

Day 1 – Monday:

I actually started my vegan week the night before, Sunday evening, when I went out to dinner with some visitors and took them to a German restaurant. I wasn’t craving meat anyways so I decided to get the vegan option which was a baked potato with tons of different vegetables while my guests enjoyed their schnitzel. Monday morning I woke up starving but I realized there were absolutely no vegan options in the house. My typical breakfast of two eggs with veg would not be happening this morning. Therefore, I arrived to the office ravenous and to my delight, my colleague Sina had brought in some homemade vegan banana bread. That and a nice warm cup of green tea tided me over until lunch time. Myself and two other colleagues made our way down to the local biomarkt and picked up a selection of veg, some quinoa and some lentils. It was a satisfying meal but it lacked the flavor kick that I’ve come to crave. I made a mental note to come up with some creative vegan sauces/dressings. Two hours later I found myself a little bit peckish. I snacked on an apple and a handful of peanuts. After that I felt surprisingly very full. I wasn’t hungry again until around 7:30pm and even then I didn’t feel starved. I decided to have a light meal of carrot and pepper sticks with hummus with a generous handful of blueberries for dessert. No cravings so far!

Breakfast: Banana bread and green tea
Lunch: Quinoa bowl with cooked yellow pepper, yellow tomato, zuchinni, and mushrooms. Fresh sliced half mini avocado on top
Snack: handful of peanuts and an apple
Dinner: Red pepper and carrots with hummus. Sizeable amount of blueberries for dessert.

Day 2 – Tuesday:

I prepared last night by purchasing some harvest moon coconut yogurts for my breakfasts. I am completely in love with the creamy texture of these coconut milk-based yogurts—the mango maracuja variety is my favorite. I followed that up later with a banana as I hopped on the train to work. I tried to stay super hydrated by drinking lots of water. About an hour later a friend came to visit me at my office and brought me a guava sorbet—delicious—which kind of made up for the disappointment from lunch. Dinner was home cooked tonight—simple and yummy,

Breakfast: a banana and a small coconut milk yogurt
Lunch: Thai Curry with tofu and vegetables
Snack: Guava sorbet
Dinner: Chickpeas, tomato, rucola salad with homemade dressing

Day 3 – Wednesday

This was my first day of home office in a long while so I decided to enjoy the morning by going to shop for vegan groceries. I moved recently so I wandered my new neighborhood until I found the closest organic grocery store. I brought my spoils back home and decided to make a big yummy salad to keep me well-fed throughout the work day. I whipped together a salad with black beans and other veggies. The combo of the protein from the black beans and then healthy fat from avocado made me feel very satisfied. Still no real cravings to speak of. Of course when I saw people eating pizza I had a momentary wave of desire, but the food I was eating was satisfying me. That evening my friend Anna cooked dinner for me and my colleague Christin. She was making a vegan feast and I was so excited. It was more delicious than I could have imagined.

Breakfast and Lunch: Big salad with rocket, black beans, avocado, cherry tomatos, corn
Dinner: Amazing dinner at Anna’s, maple glazed tofu, quinoa, roasted carrots and potatoes amazing tahini sauce (see featured image)

Day 4: – Thursday

I was prepared for breakfast on this day and had a light meal of quinoa flakes with oat milk. That was enough to tide me over until lunch where some of my colleagues were making sweet potato toasts with hummus. I whipped up a salad and some sauteed vegetables to accompany it. I went out to dinner this evening and the food was surprisingly good and fresh. I got a tofu based dish filled with all sorts of vegetables,

Breakfast: oat milk and quinoa corn flakes with blueberries
Lunch: sweet potato toast with hummus and a big salad (leek, tomato, cucumber, fresh spinach) and sauteed mushrooms and homegrown zuchinni
Dinner: Out to dinner at a vietnamese place tofu and veggies (celery, bamboo, mushrooms, peppers, bok choi)

Day 5: – Friday

I was running late this day so I decided to grab breakfast on the go. I was craving a pretzel and luckily the bakery stand at my train stop had a vegan pretzel option for me. Yum. For lunch I decided to get a soup since the weather was pretty chilly. Next is where things went awry…I cheated and didn’t eat vegan for dinner! I know you’re disappointed but let me explain: I owed my darling friend Anya a fancy meal out in return for helping me so much over the past month. I took her to my favorite Austrian wine bar in Neukoelln and, to be perfectly honest, their vegan options were just not appealing. Since I was treating us I wanted to be able to enjoy myself so I made the executive decision to extend my veganism to one more day in return for my cheating on this meal. We shared a bottle of white wine and some frog legs so it’s safe to say I was pretty far away from being vegan.

Breakfast: I treat myself to a vegan pretzel for breakfast
Lunch: broccoli soup!
Dinner: cheated because went out to fancy dinner at Wild Things

Day 6: – Saturday

After the big meal I had the night before, I didn’t have an appetite until lunchtime. I was busy sorting out a bunch of errands at home so I started my day off with a cup of green tea. I decided lunch would be simple. I was craving pasta but I decided to substitute it with quinoa. I made a homemade sauce and added in some of my flatmate’s spicy tomato chutney. Dinner with friends was a vegan pineapple veg curry. I had so many nice friends be accommodating to my dietary restrictions, which I wasn’t expecting. People were surprisingly supportive and willing to make changes to include me. It isn’t that tricky to come up with vegan food options, it turns out.

Breakfast and Lunch: quinoa with spicy homemade tomato sauce
Dinner: Delicious homemade curry full of vegetables and pineapple at Siobhan’s

Day 7: – Sunday

I slept in today so I started the day off with a small bowl of the quinoa leftovers heated up. I had a refreshing salad for lunch and enjoyed the afternoon outside. Dinner was a chickpea aubergine tomato stir fry that I cooked for me and my flatmate. Delicious 🙂

Breakfast: Quinoa leftovers
Lunch: Cucumber spinach avocado salad
Dinner: Chickpea, aubergine tomato stirfry

Day 8: – Monday

I thought this would be my last day being vegan. I started off the day with a little fruit and nut bar—filling and yummy. I prepared lunch for my colleagues and we enjoyed a big salad on a bed on quinoa. Dinner was leftover curry from the night before. Still not feeling crazy cravings for any meat/dairy based foods. One week under my belt and it was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be.

Breakfast: Fruit and nut bar and green tea
Lunch: Quinoa bowl with lots of veggies (corn, cucumber, avocado etc)
Dinner: Leftover curry

The Verdict

I was really impressed with how easy this was for me. Apart from my Friday night slip-up, I didn’t feel intense cravings or really miss the foods I wasn’t allowed to eat. I thought cheese was crucial to my happiness but it turns out when I substituted it with other yummy foods like avocado with salt and lemon I felt completely satisfied. It’s close to the end of the second week and I am still vegan, even though at the beginning of the experiment I joked that I would never ever last longer than I week. I feel great: I’ve never felt fuller, lighter, and less bloated. I used to always struggle with digestion but now my tummy feels flat all day long. Every meal I’ve eaten has kept me fuller for longer and I find myself naturally making healthier choices. I don’t expect myself to stay vegan forever because I love to enjoy the pleasures of life; i.e. a fine cheese, a decadent cake, or a really delicious burger. But I think I will look at those things more as exceptions to the rule. I love the way my body has been feeling and I love the fact that the way I am eating is so much better for the environment. I think everyone should try going vegan for a week!

Have you ever tried this? Would you? Let me know in the comments below.