Things I pledged in 2010:
To never eat meat! And it has been remarkably easy. The thought of it makes me sick now. OK, I admit that the smell of bacon frying does make me feel a little nostalgic but I just remember some particularly nasty images and the craving goes away. And the meat department just smells really bad!! I never noticed that before.
To eat less dairy and eggs! And it has not been so easy. At home its been really easy to go vegan but out in the World, not so much. It is standard assumption that eggs and dairy are acceptable vegetarian foods. And for many they are, but the more I learn about the industries surrounding eggs and dairy that less I want to eat these nasty foods. I have noticed a bit of lactose intolerance when I do eat dairy now which will make it easier to want to avoid even if I find that I can’t always do so.
To purchase vegan products to the best of my ability! I haven’t been completely successful as I have purchased a wool coat and cashmere scarf as well as make-up and fragrance from a company that I though was vegan but turns out is one that doesn’t test on animals but does use animal byproducts (only 1/2 way there). But with Gabriele Cosmetics and Urban Decay I should be able to transition to vegan cosmetics. I love the fragrance that I recently purchased from The Body Shop but will have to move away from it now that I know its not vegan. Once I have used up what I have now I will check out fragrances from Pacifica which are 100% vegan. I was successful in purchasing an all-vegan black handbag (pictured) that I love. Its super huge and holds everything from my day planner (though I am transitioning into using digital calendars in the new year), a book, high heels, water bottle and anything else that I need to shove in there. Its actually large enough that I think I could use it as an overnight bag!
I stopped drinking caffeine! The first week was rough but now I am loving never having that jittery, too-much-caffeine feeling. I am also loving the Teeccino that I have each morning and when I do go out for coffee on a rare occasion I have decaf. with soy milk. The few times I have had regular coffee, I have felt so jittery and horrible that I have no desire to drink caffeinated coffee anymore.
In 2011:
I vow to drink more water! I went and purchased a sleek, silver stainless steel reusable cold/hot beverage bottle that I will use as my go-anywhere water bottle. I used to have a glass one that I used at work but it mysteriously went missing one night…hmmm. In the meantime I have been using the tiny plastic cups that come with the office water cooler. Not only is this an irresponsible use of plastic but I also have to walk upstairs for a refill every 30 minutes which I’m too lazy (and sometimes too busy) to which basically means going hours without any water! Not good! It will also solve the problem of arriving, dying of thirst, at whatever destination I have ran to catch a train to as well as walked half a mile to reach!
I vow to drink less alcohol! Over the past few months this has gotten rather out of hand! A glass or two with dinner when I have been home (rarely) and several glasses with meals or at bars or parties with friends. At the same time it seems as though I want it less since going vegetarian. At home, I feel that I am drinking it more out of habit rather than desire so this year I will start listening to my body and only drink wine when I truly feel a craving for the flavor. This does not mean that I will give up wine tastings to sharing a bottle with friends however, but that I will keep it as more of a social beverage or for when I just really want a glass of wine.
Day 1 (almost) Vegan Menu Plan:
Breakfast: Couscous cooked in apple juice with chopped apples, raisins and dried apricots; teeccino with soy creamer
Lunch: Leftover tofu salad (from The Kind Diet)* served on boston lettuce; vegan potato leek soup w/whole wheat bread spread with Earth Balance; water
Dinner: Kale sauteed in veggie broth and sprinkled with cracked pepper; Hoppin John Salad (pictured); water
Dessert: Leftover homemade vegan peanut butter cups (also pictured – from The Kind Diet). This was the last one and I am truly saddened…luckily these are fantastically easy to make!
*The tofu salad was made with egg based mayo. I have a few spoonfuls left and will then replace with Vegannaise.
Vegetarian Chic 
I like your new blog!
A couple good brands for Vegan products are:
(I love their tea tree oil deodorant)
http://www.desertessence.com/
Tarte
http://tartecosmetics.com/tarte-shop-vegan-cosmetics
And ANYTHING by Josie Maran is amazing!
http://www.josiemarancosmetics.com/our-vegan-products
Funny Courtney…I was just looking at an old Domino magazine and reading about Josie Maran this morning. I’ll definitely check her out. Thanks for the other suggestions as well! I am always looking for new vegan sources.
You’ll love Josie’s line. I miss Domino magazine! That was my all time favorite magazine.
May I ask where you got the bag? I love the style!
Kalee, Its from a company called Cherry Berry. Check out the link under veg. shopping called Vegetarian Handbags.
Oh, and just out of curiosity, with the eggs and dairy have you considered looking into local small farmers, such as ones whose chickens have truly free range of the farm and cows that are grass fed and milked on a seasonal schedule (meaning they aren’t hormonally treated to be year round producers)?
Kalee, I am now at the point where I feel that it is illogical and cruel to even drink milk or eat eggs.
A mother’s milk is for her babies. A cow would not drink my milk so why should I drink hers? Human’s are the only animal that drink the milk of another species or even continues to do so after weening. Cows are artificially insiminated once a year to keep them in milk production. Then their baby is taken from them within hours after birth which is traumatizing for both mother and baby. Male calves are typcially turned into veal and females become dairy cows…after about four to six years of breeding and milking a dairy cow is “spent” (her natural lifespan is 20+ years) and is then slaughtered for cheap meat that becomes hamburgers and cat food…so lacto vegetarians are still promoting the slaughter of animals.
Eggs are created by chickens to produce other chickens…would you want a chicken to eat your eggs? Its just gross to me now and I think its a gross misconception that we believe chickens lay eggs so that we can scramble, boil and fry them.
There are many other reasons why I am now choosing to not eat the by-products and offspring of other animals. But it could take posts and posts to say why!