I Went Vegan for One Week Without Eating a Single Vegetable

By Daniel Richter
Web Content Contributor

What started out as a bet with a friend turned into a week of me realizing almost everything I tend to eat is extremely unhealthy for me and the planet.

The bet was if I can stay vegan for one week I get a new fish for my fish tank. Seemed easy enough, but when I went to the grocery store to prepare for my vegan week I realized that cheese and meat are present in everything I consume.

Being vegan usually means you consume a plant-based diet, but being someone who doesn’t like most plants I had to find some alternatives. Pretty much all of the alternatives I found ended up being more unhealthy than my regular diet of meat and cheese.

Oreos are full of chemicals not natural to the human body, but they are vegan. Pringles are studded with sodium and are referred to some as ‘cancer in a can,’ but they are vegan. Whataburger French fries are fat heavy, but guess what, they are vegan! You are probably starting to get the point.

I did try vegan chicken nuggets and vegan meatballs by Gardein and they were actually not bad. I would eat them again. I also tried almond milk and it was amazing–I think I prefer it over regular milk. However, the vegan cheese I tried from Go Veggie was definitely not for me.

For the last meal of my vegan week, I decided to venture outside of just eating prepackaged food and I went to Buzz Mill, a popular vegan restaurant in San Marcos. I ordered a vegan burger and I really enjoyed the first half of it. By the second half, the burger felt like it was extra gooey. If I go again I will try to split a burger with someone.

For the most part, my week of veganism was full of sodium, fat and lots of chips and salsa. I don’t think I will ever willingly go 100%; however, I do want to challenge myself and try to go vegan one day a week. It felt good knowing that what I was consuming did not harm any animals. If everyone tries to make a small sacrifice by eating vegan once a week that would have an extremely positive effect on our planet.

But for now, I am happy to be eating pizza again with my new fish, Wiz.

Features Image by Daniel Richter