Becoming A Vegan (For A Week)

Brianna enjoyed this vegan plate from Zoe’s Kitchen located in Overland Park, KS during her week long experiment.

Brianna Brady, Student Activities Editor
April 2, 2019

It’s 2019 and the number of diets today are endless. At Allen Community College students are trying out different diets and ways of becoming more healthy as they move on to adulthood.

One of the most popular is the vegan diet, which commonly includes refraining from consuming animal products like meat, eggs and dairy .

I decided to give the vegan life a try for five days, to see if it was life changing or if I would be able to notice any difference at all.

Monday was the beginning of my trial week, and I was nervous about how hungry I might be as the week progressed. I was cautious because I had to ensure my body was getting all the necessary nutrients from cutting out my regular protein and dairy intake.

I started each morning with delicious avocado toast, one of my favorites. I tried different restaurants in Overland Park, where I spent my spring break, such as Zoe’s Kitchen, Mr. Gyros and even Pizza Hut. It was surprisingly easy to find vegan options almost everywhere I went because I incorporated a lot of veggies.

Brianna Brady
Cooking vegan meals proved to be easier than Brianna originally guessed, like this vegan stir-fry.

I felt more energized and full after eating vegan meals. I typically feel tired and uncomfortable after eating at restaurants, but changing my eating habits made a noticeable difference after only a few days!

Taking on this challenge forced me to order things I wouldn’t typically order, like drinking raspberry tea instead of coffee or eating mushrooms to take the place of meat. I discovered a wider variety of foods I haven’t tried and I was not disappointed.

Although at the end of the week I was ready for a juicy steak, I was happy I decided to try this out because it allowed me to explore different alternatives.

I plan on using what I learned toward my eating habits in the future. No, this diet is not “life-changing,” but I found that it was beneficial in many ways.