The Pepperbox | Page 14
Experiential
Omnivore to herbivore Ruby Auckland
I
Reporter
attempted to go vegan for five days, not only to challenge myself, but to encourage myself to make positive changes this upcoming spring. Since winter is coming to an end and spring is slowly, but surely, approaching us, I wanted to make an effective change for myself that will benefit me in the long run. I documented and recorded everything I ate and my overall personal experience throughout the whole journey. Day One: My first day trying out veganism started Monday, March 14. The whole idea of veganism was never appealing to me or seemed to be in my interest, so I was rather nervous and stressed about this big change. For breakfast, I had oatmeal topped with an array of fruits and berries, as well as peanut butter. It was extremely satisfying, and it kept me full for hours. Since my breakfast was more on the dense side, by the time lunch rolled around, I wasn’t too hungry. I decided to go light and got a smoothie from Wildberries, which supplied me with loads of energy. The smoothie was delicious but failed to keep me fulfilled for long, so by the time I got home from school, I was starving. For an after school snack, I had cucumbers and carrots with a side of hummus. By this time, I was feeling amazing. I had lots of energy and honestly just felt like the best version of myself. For dinner, I decided to eat something protein packed. I ended up making a tofu and veggie stirfry over brown rice. I have variations of that dinner
very frequently so, as always, it was great. All in all, my first day going vegan was a success. Throughout the whole day, my energy was perfectly balanced and well sustained. I didn’t once feel fatigued or have any sort of craving for animal products. Day Two: The next day, I woke up feeling unusually hungry. I honored my hunger by making two pieces of avocado toast. Usually when I make avocado toast, I put a thin layer of butter before the avocado. I’ve now realized that it is extremely unnecessary. It tasted exactly the same, if not better. Avocado toast is such an amazing and balanced breakfast as the carbohydrates from the bread provides energy to the body and the high levels of healthy, beneficial fats from the avocado can help you feel fuller between meals. By lunch time, I still felt fairly content from my breakfast, yet I picked up a premade salad from Wildberries anyways. It was a Mediterranean salad with romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion and feta cheese, which I had to pick off. I have to say though, I was extremely tempted to keep the feta remaining on the salad because it’s my favorite part. If I'm being honest, the salad was very bland and became unappetizing shortly after I began eating it. After lunch, I felt nauseous and fatigued. As soon as I got home, I had apples with a side of peanut butter. Right away, I felt more refreshed and lively. When dinner approached, I didn’t have much of an appetite so
I decided to go light and prepare spring rolls. They are incredibly easy to make and are very gratifying and nourishing. I just sliced up some cucumber, carrots, red bell pepper, red cabbage, iceberg lettuce and marinated grilled tofu. I also prepared a Thai peanut dipping sauce that compliments the spring rolls perfectly. To sum it up, this day was a roller coaster. I crashed a bit after lunch but
Thursday, April 7th, 2022
revived myself with a snack and ended the day on a good note. Day Three: I woke up the third day craving something refreshing, so I made a smoothie bowl. I make smoothie bowls regularly and they never fail to satisfy me. They’re rich with natural sugars and fiber so it’s a great way to obtain much needed energy. They also promote better digestion, improves satiety and allows better absorption of all nutrients.
Ruby Auckland/PEPPERBOX
The spring rolls I prepared for myself for dinner on day two
