Thinking of going Vegan? The Los Angeles Times earlier this year did a column about going on a vegan diet for a month – with one reporter’s thoughts, experiences and suggestions for those who wish to try it.

Trying Vegan: One Reporter’s Experience, and Further Tips

Earlier this year, Los Angeles Times reporter Mary MacVean wrote an interesting column about going a month on a vegan diet. It was an insightful look at what she experienced, with a focus on tips offered to those who have never tried “going vegan.” While she did not continue the healthy eating experiment, she did conclude by stating “I can see a vegan January in 2016,” hinting at an enjoyable experience learning new things about what we cook and eat. For those of you who engage a healthy diet, whichever one you chose, but have not tried vegan for at least a period of time, it may be worth a whirl. Reading the column could help you get started.

Is Vegan Right For You

Although I don’t believe that a Vegan Diet is necessarily right for everyone, or something that needs to be followed exclusively for an entire lifetime,  I do believe that going vegan for a couple months every so often can be beneficial. I find this especially true for someone who has been eating a traditional American diet that consists mostly of fatty meats and potatoes.

MacVean noted that while she did not weigh herself, she definitely lost weight (which was timely, following the holidays). I also liked how the column noted going for “color” with your diet. As a chef, I love using lots of vibrant colors in my dishes.

Difficulties of sticking to a Vegan Diet

It seems that discussions about the vegan diet often veer toward difficulties in maintaining variety, or consistently getting vegetables into meals. A way to get some veggies in is to add a handful of kale or spinach to a smoothie in addition to your fruit of choice and maybe some spiralina. Or, dip some carrots or cucumbers into your guacamole or salsa in place of tortilla chips (although I LOVE tortilla chips too!).

Supplementation

As noted in the article, when going vegan be sure to invest in a B-12 vitamin as well as some good quality amino acids. Below are some good products I often recommend to my clients which can be found on Amazon. Finally, have fun with it and don’t take it too seriously. Try it, see what happens, and please let me know your thoughts.

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