Mrs Green eats a vegan diet

This week Small Footprints asked us to eat a vegan diet for a day.

I explained that I would take part but that it was a challenge for me as I can’t eat nuts or seeds.

I am a slim build and get cold easily so have to admit I signed up with some degree of concern about how I would get on.

I realised that I hadn’t really planned much in advance and I think that to continue a vegan diet longer term I would really have to work harder to ensure my diet was balanced. I’d probably spend time browsing websites and recipe books for inspiration first.

Here’s my diet from yesterday:

• Breakfast: Porrage made with soya milk and water with organic fruit purée and an apple
• Snack: A few ryvita spread with mashed avocado
• Lunch - jacket potato with avocado mashed into it instead of butter with vegetables
• Dinner - Rice drizzled with olive oil and mixed herbs and a home made tomato sauce mixed through, sprouted alfalfa, steamed broccoli and carrots and falafel

How did I feel? I missed the rich, creamy taste and satisfying feeling in my stomach of yogurt and butter if I’m honest. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy my food, but it was missing a certain something, a richness that I like.

I did notice, however, how much more I tasted the actual porrage for breakfast which was a bit of a revelation.

The ryvita without butter were pretty dire; even the yummy avocado couldn’t impress me.

The jacket potato with avocado instead of butter was very nice and I’d be happy to eat that again.

The dinner was lovely too; something I’d definitely eat again.

I felt cold, I had pains in my stomach and liver and I think I dreamt about licking the butter knife that night!

Would I do it again? Probably in the summer if I wanted to do a detox, but not as a long term, lifestyle commitment…

What about you? Does a vegan diet appeal to you?