Let me start by introducing myself: I'm Talisa, a fashion, beauty, wellness & health blogger who cares about health, exercise, and wellness. It's practically part of who I am. With that being said, I'm also a person who indulges in dishes that have meat and carbs sometimes. I'd even go so far as to say meat is always the pièce de rèsistance when I sit down to eat.
Here, I can talk to you all, with no judgment whatsoever, and I also talk with my cousins as well about their food choices in a way that just makes sense. I've gone out to meals with both of them and questioned my alleg
iance to meat every single time. That and the night I spent watching Netflix's Okja (watch it; you'll cry the whole way through and swear off the meat industry by the time the credits roll), I decided to experiment with a plant-based diet… for a week.
Here, I can talk to you all, with no judgment whatsoever, and I also talk with my cousins as well about their food choices in a way that just makes sense. I've gone out to meals with both of them and questioned my alleg
iance to meat every single time. That and the night I spent watching Netflix's Okja (watch it; you'll cry the whole way through and swear off the meat industry by the time the credits roll), I decided to experiment with a plant-based diet… for a week.
Before embarking on this (very out of character) journey, I spoke to Kourtney, one of cousins, about her experience and why she decided it was right for her. "At first, my veganism (I do feel the need to clarify that technically, I identify as 'plant-based' while I use 'vegan' as the more colloquial term, my entire routine is technically not vegan I still own leather, for example) was basically a progression from being a nondairy vegetarian: After giving up dairy, I was so astonished by how great I felt that I decided to go all the way and eliminate all other animal products, too. (I hadn't been eating meat for a few years at this point for personal moral reasons.)"
"But my 'aha' moment came a year later when I took a college class about food, animals, and the environment. While diving into the ethics of our food system and animal cruelty certainly cemented my reasoning for avoiding those products, I was even more struck by the horrific environmental ramifications of factory farming, which is one of the leading causes of climate change. It inspired me to read a ton of literature on the subject, and I feel passionate about my role as a consumer in the fight for our planet.
"But physically speaking, I also know that my body thrives on my plant-based diet. (I also recognise that every body is different, and some people truly can't get the nutrition they need. But it works for me.) I try my best to eat sustainably, and I love the experience of buying my produce from the farmers market. It makes me feel connected to the planet, and I think that's a huge part of my health as well."
Inspired by her words and excited about the new vegan restaurants in the area, I prepared myself for a week without animal products. Below I lay out the play-by-play and explain how it all went down.
MY MEALS
DAY 1: VEGGIE BURGER
I've eaten at By Chloe before (it's like a vegan Shake Shake with locally sourced ingredients) and was excited to have another reason to go. My favorite option, the guac burger, is a black bean, quinoa, sweet potato patty with corn salsa, onion, guacamole, and tortilla strips all piled high on a whole grain bun. It's sweet, savory, and unbelievably delicious especially for something with no meat whatsoever. I paired it with an order of fries and beet ketchup. Day one? A smashing success. I could get used to this.
DAY 2: VEGGIE SUSHI
I pick up cucumber-and-avocado sushi for lunch during the week a lot mostly because Kourtney once told me eating avocado will help with my hair health. So this meal was nothing out of the ordinary and left me feeling satisfied. It's small, but it's the perfect amount of food to get me through a working lunch. I was feeling full and happy. Perhaps my venture into veganism was going to be easier than I thought.
DAY 3: "CHORIZO" TACO
Excited to finally try Jajaja, a particularly Instagram-friendly new restaurant on the Lower East Side, I took a look at the plant-based menu. It referred to a meat substitute called "our chorizo," that topped a taco and its nachos. I was interested in something hearty, so I went for it. I'm still not sure what it was, but it was spicy, delicious, and accompanied by radish, cilantro, red pepper, onion, and wrapped in a turmeric tortilla. Basically, it was heaven on a plate, and I ate every last bite (and may have ordered a second). As I left, though, I realized my choices had been heavier and less traditionally healthy than I imagined. I pictured "going vegan" as plates of dry lettuce and raw vegetables, and what I had been eating was far from that.
DAY 4: TOFU PAD THAI
Kourtney told me that some Thai dishes are vegan , I already knew I'd like the tofu pad Thai at Mother of Pearl, a vegan restaurant in the East Village. I sat down, ordered the mixture of rice noodles, bell peppers, carrots, bean sprouts, and cilantro in a tamarind sauce. I left really full. Again, it was becoming more and more clear that in order to keep bloating at bay, I had to make some different choices, even if I was sticking to a strictly vegan diet.
DAY 5: QUINOA BOWL
Kourtney always talks about how much she loved this quinoa recipe that she makes herself. Perhaps what I should have done was buy the groceries and make it at home. But I'm not exactly a cook. Instead, I ordered a bowl from Roast Kitchen, a vegan lunch spot near Byrdie HQ. It was satiating but light, and it made me feel so much better. I would eat that bowl every day if I could.
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