I'm trying the 21-day challenge
I was reading Richard Blais' blog where he talks about doing a challenge wherein you follow a diet that is "completely vegan, no gluten, no processed sugar, no alcohol, and no caffeine for 21 days." Since I've been feeling out of sorts in a physical way, and have been thinking of doing a dietary revamp to see if that helps, I am going to try this starting on Saturday.
Because this is a fairly drastic change, I thought doing it on a weekend would be a gentler start. I've reviewed my schedule for the following 21-day period, and have almost no social events where I would be expected to consume pre-made food except two. One is a wine-and-cheese thing, and since I don't drink alcohol anyway and they probably have fruit as well, that should be OK. The other is my monthly cooking club and I can take an item that I would eat, and just work around the rest of the dishes. It's more of a social event than just for cooking anyway.
Has anybody tried this, and do you have suggestions? I do most of my own cooking already (I'm cheap, and I like it), and we're still in the farmer's market season so I should be able to find nice veggies and fruits. Luckily I have a somewhat European view of shopping and tend to do a couple small stops during the week so I don't have a lot of food to eat before Saturday, but I will make sure to get some additional grains and pulses. So much of my default cooking for grains involves stock, though, and I'm going to have to review how to cook them with flavour but without stocks.
Luckily I like and cook a lot of cuisines that seem vegan-friendly and non-gluten-friendly, and I have several friends who lead gluten-free lives so I have people to ask. Has anybody tried this and did you find yourself enjoying the challenge, or marking off days like a con awaiting parole? I've been checking out recipes and working out ones that can work for supper and reheat for lunch. Breakfast will be my big problem - no oatmeal allowed!
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14 Comments:
I admire you for doing this! It seems tough in our culture, but reasonably healthy. I've done cleanses before, but I always end up altering them to suit my needs - no potato chips or anything, but in a juice cleanse for example, I'll add some plain yogurt for protein.
What items are forbidden in a gluten-free diet? And what is okay?
yayfood at 9:34PM on 08/24/09
Sorry, you never said what the point of the challenge was. What was the point of doing this? Thanks!
Pavlov at 7:20AM on 08/25/09
I wrote a super long response yesterday, but my internet connection fizzled out. :-(
Anyway, I usually eat vegan and gluten-free, and I only let myself have caffeine a few times a week. My diet's varied, even enjoyable.
For breakfast: Bob's Mill Gluten-Free oats, grits, polenta, quinoa flakes, kasha, smoothies, scrambled tofu (add a little black salt if you really want it to taste like eggs), breakfast burritos, fruit. There's a new book out, Vegan Brunch, that has some quiches, frittatas, omelets, etc., that might suit your needs.
For lunches and dinners: Soups (potato and leek, three bean chili, miso, lots of options here), salads, dal, risottos, polenta, grilled portabellos, corn-tortilla burritos (filled with guac, salsa and refried beans), vegetable kebobs, aloo gobi, stuffed and baked vegetables, stir frys, avocado and cucumber nori rolls, sweet potatoes, oven-baked french fries (I'm assuming you don't want to fry), lentil salad, gluten-free pasta (I've heard you want the purple package with the bunny on it) potato salads, roasted Christmas lima beans with onions and balsamic vinegar, quinoa tabbouleh, moroccon vegetable tangine over millet instead of couscous ... you get my point, lots of options. I'll be worried for you if you get bored.
As far as cooking grains go, you can cook them in mushroom or vegetable broth. Gluten-free grains include quinoa (also a complete protein), amaranth, corn, rice, buckwheat, Job's tears, teff and millet.
KarynMC at 8:30AM on 08/25/09
@Pavlov, a friend called it a "reset" of the body. I know I have been defaulting too much to easy food, without entirely paying attention to what I am making. Lots of sandwiches (turkey, cheese, PB, hummus mostly), random veggie combos, and so on. Looking back at the spring, I was much better about what I ate. I also have been chewing through way too many peppermints, a bad stress reaction of mine. So by taking a more mindful route with food, I hope to get my body back on a steady track and my habits for cooking back in a good way as well.
@yayfood, I understand the juice cleanse issue. My body really seems to need solid food, I learned a long time ago that no matter how many calories are in a beverage (such as those meal replacement shakes), I remain hungry after having one. This isn't entirely a cleanse, it could be a longterm lifestyle if I wished it, but growing up in a cattle-raising family I am too used to eating meat occasionally.
KarynMC, many thanks for the suggestions! I admit to waking up hungry so tend to reach for a sandwich or cereal, and wondered if I'd have to buy the expensive processed gluten-free cereals or just eat tortillas or cold mush every day. As a southern girl (misplanted in these northern climes, I often think) I am a grits lover and could easily do that for breakfast. I figured that I could put one portion of dinner into a box to reheat for the next day's lunch, with all the ideas you gave me and the ones I've found so far I think I am going to enjoy this experiment! Time during the week is at a minimum so meals that are easy-prep and lend to leftovers will be necessary, or I'll do my usual prep on the weekend and freeze portions to take and heat during the week. And yep, I've never been a fryer.
morgancain at 10:41AM on 08/25/09
I'd go mad. Some might argue that I already am, but this would leave me gurgling and babbling in the fetal position.
Unless, of course, it was medically required. And I was in restraints and heavily sedated.
dbcurrie at 3:33PM on 08/25/09
@dbcurrie - Trust me, it's fine. The diet morgaincane described still leaves you with fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, most grains and everything that can be made with them.
But then again, I'd be blubbering in a dark corner if someone tried to force-feed me Atkins. :-)
KarynMC at 3:48PM on 08/25/09
@Karen, I bake a lot, including all the bread we eat, and it's relaxing and entertaining for me. I do give away a lot of the sweets, but if I couldn't eat it because of the gluten, I'd probably not be baking it, and after a few days, I'd be a raving idiot.
I'm more of a fan of moderation with what I eat, and I could probably give up anything without too much strain, but I wouldn't be happy with a list of forbidden items. But the gluten...that would be the really tough one.
dbcurrie at 1:31AM on 08/26/09
@dbcurrie - Ah! I have to say, I've never been terribly impressed with gluten-free baked goods (though I had some good carrot cake once). I usually go for gluten-ful and hope that I won't end up sick (wheat gives me migraines if I eat too much. I discovered that this winter while bread baking/seitan making. If I eat it every day for a week, for example, I'm going to spend a day in bed with my face throbbing).
KarynMC at 11:00AM on 08/26/09
I agree with dbcurrie: They'd have to pry bread and other glutinous products out of my cold, dead hands. I've been an enthusiastic and competent bread-baker ever since I learned to stop killing the yeast.
That being said, I'm all for a vegan diet. Mark Bittman's "Vegan Before Six" plan works very well for our family. (In the past 6 months since I adopted it, my blood pressure has fallen about 60 points, blood sugar about 30, and I've lost 13 pounds – and our grocery bill has dropped by about 1/3.)
Bittman calls himself a "lessmeatarian" and limits himself to one serving of animal protein a day. He wrote an entire cookbook, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, many of whose lacto-ovo recipes convert to vegan with ease. It's a beautiful vegetable-heavy book. The recipes are nutritious, flavorful, simple, and mostly inexpensive. I cook out of it almost constantly.
Bon appétit and good luck.
gentlyferal at 1:43PM on 08/26/09
My family is Italian American, so when I found out I needed to follow a gluten-free diet, my worst fear was what to tell my mother...how do you live life without bread and pasta, one wonders?
Actually, it's been awesome. Like this clip from Ratatoullie, about 30 seconds in, where he tries good food for the first time and his tastebuds start to dance, that's actually somewhat how it's been. It's not that I ate badly before, by any means, but when life gets hectic, it's easier to grab and chew without a second thought.
I don't know you, but for me, it was a chance to try a whole new approach to cooking and baking, and to experiment with foods and ingredients I didn't even know existed. Not to mention the whole new-lease-on-life physical benefit.
If you don't have a rice cooker, get one. Even a cheap one (mine was $13). There are more types of rice than you can count, and they all taste different and have different potential. Also, I heartily echo quinoa - I was a serious couscous eater before, and this has been the seamless replacement. And, pssst, you don't have to eat "breakfast foods" for breakfast...leftover cold sushi rice with some steamed veggies and/or tofu is awesome for breakfast.
Find yourself a good local organic/healthfood store, or a couple if you can. The staff at my local staple stores have been tremendously helpful. If you live in/near nyc I can make some recs.
My absolute favorite sites are these: g-f Girl and g-f Goddess, for positively excellent recipes and tips. At first I found them a little product driven, but now I understand that when you have any kind of diet restriction, you hold on tight to a good replacement product when you find one. The multigrain sandwich bread recipe on the second site is so incredibly delicious, and it means that you don't have to cut sandwiches out of the diet if only for convenience purposes.
Restaurants are still the real challenge for me. My brother-in-law, who is brutally celiac, recently had a terrible experience at the "International House of Wheat Cross-Contamination" as he calls it. The best plan of attack is, if you must go to a restaurant, know the menu beforehand and make your choices before even stepping inside. Especially considering this is only a limited-time thing for you, it shouldn't be too serious. I sometimes eat at home, then order a salad or some vegan app.
I could ramble forever, but those are my main points. Approach it as a fun experiment to try some new recipes, and you'll be all set. You may shock yourself, as did I, and find you don't miss the other foods at all.
savecara at 2:16PM on 08/26/09
Best of luck to you. Just read Richard Blais' blog. Please share your recipes as it may help the rest of us should we choose to join in on this venture.
I'm wondering, how does it help once you've reacquainted yourself with meats, gluten, etc? Is the ultimate point not to remain vegan?
Chew on That at 4:55PM on 08/27/09
Thanks, everybody, for the comments, information, and support. And even the disbelief. @ChewonThat, I got the idea from Blais' blog as I was wondering what steps to take to adjust my diet, and the 21-day he suggested seems like the kickstart I need. I really need to be more mindful of what I eat, and not have a week of cheese sandwiches and a week of PB sandwiches just because they are fast and handy.
All: I've done food-avoidance in the past (usually for 40 days around Lent or 8 days at Pesach - I have to be careful about what I give up for Lent in the years they overlap!) including once when it was an allergy-challenge diet. I figure that for 21 days, I am going to look on this as a culinary adventure. Yes, giving up bread will be hard, as I personally go through the equivalent of 2-3 loaves a week. To make it worse, I was just gifted with new sourdough starter by a friend who moved away this week and I don't think I can leave it growing for a month without using some. Some of my gluten-tolerant friends or colleagues will be getting a treat for sure!
@savecara, thanks for the website tips. My plan at first is to indulge myself in favourite food combos I haven't taken the time to cook in a while, from Indian pudding to tangine, but I'll be branching out after the first week.
For those following along at home, my plan is that tomorrow morning I make the Indian pudding for breakfast. I have a class on Saturdays and we generally get food there, but I want to make sure I am not hungry before I go! I also need to take a couple of apples with me as I usually do errands after class and I won't be able to rely on my stash of Clif Bars. That's the other reason for Indian pudding, it is very filling. Supper will be a pilaf with red rice, veggies, lentils, and toasted pecans. That is something I can easily make in quantity and package up for lunches during the week. Sunday is still up for grabs, other than tangine. Shopping on Saturday will determine parts of it. Stay tuned!
morgancain at 3:29PM on 08/28/09
Well I certainly COULD NEVER give up meat, but I have given up sugar, gluten, alcohol, etc... I have been living without those things for 9 years!
Giasbash6260 at 11:49PM on 09/07/09
This gives you the opportunity to explore the awesome world of Indian food. Some Indian food requires the use of ghee (clarified butter), but unless it's a major flavor component of the dish, you can get away with using oil instead.
I've just gotten over my obsession with Indian food. For over a month, almost everything I made was vegetarian Indian. I'm not a huge fan of Indian breads so I tended towards basmati rice as my starch.
If you don't want to buy lots and lots of spices that you probably won't use outside of Indian food (dried ground mango, black salt, etc.) There is a company called MDH that makes some really, really good spice mixes. I have a couple of Indian friends and that's what they use. Not a lot of subtlety in them, they're pretty much "kick your ass, I'm here" flavors, which, as someone who likes that kind of thing, I have no problem with. You can find them in your local Indian food market.
I don't know if I could go pure vegan, personally, since that means no dairy, and gluten free would kill me since that means no pasta (of the wonderful, wonderful wheat variety), but I do think that cutting the crap out of one's diet for a while can be a wonderful thing. If only because it resets the tastebuds.
I wish you luck on your venture. Keep us updated.
chisai at 1:23AM on 09/08/09