Stumbling Through My First Week | Victorious Vegan

Yup, I’m gonna occasionally blog (and possibly vlog) about transitioning into a vegan lifestyle. Yes, I’ve given it a name and everything. It will be mixed in with occasional gaming content and the revived Comics Over Coffee videos. Onward!


On the morning of Sunday July 16th, a friend and I went out for coffee in Auburn, AL. When we got back home, his wife was setting up for a day of grilling all while watching the documentary What The Health. I was already familiar with the documentary and the controversy around it. I’d even been reading up on veganism and watching content from a handful of vegan YouTubers.

Up until that day, for about two weeks, I’d been substituting meals each day with something vegan and, after finishing the documentary, I decided it was time to give it a real shot. It has been a full week now and…I’m in it for the long haul.

I’m going to try to write a bit about the weekly happenings as a bit of a journal for myself and also as insight for anyone considering making a similar change.

Convenient dishes and comfort foods were something I was concerned about early on. My first experiment was with vegan cheese and butter for a grilled cheese and…wow. I was legitimately impressed with it. Of course, that is something I must eat sparingly, so I also tried making a miso soup with buckwheat soba noodles and a ramen with cheap ramen noodles.

This + the cheddar shreds mixed together made for a great grilled cheese!

The miso soup was disgusting. A friend told me afterward that buckwheat + miso is a bad combination, but my winging it with ingredients probably didn’t help much. The ramen though? Wonderful. That same friend told me to just grab the oriental or chili top ramen because they’re both considered vegan. I decided not to use the included seasoning packages, though. I added some vegetable broth to mushrooms cooked with sesame seed oil, sriracha, soy sauce, and garlic. I even added some sliced red potatoes to the party and the final product was very delicious.

This week’s experiment: Overnight oats. I can’t stand the taste of oatmeal no matter what recipe I try, but they’re a wonderful addition to my routine (I’ve just been eating cereal + almond milk for breakfast daily). Typically you’ll find oatmeal with some combination of fruit, almond milk, maple syrup, and/or brown sugar. I’ve decided to go away from sweet to savory and will be topping some steel-cut oats with sauteed mushrooms and spinach. Fingers crossed.

Last week’s mistake: Transitioning into veganism, one has to learn to read ingredient labels regularly. I purchased a dark chocolate bar from Trader Joe’s and, lo and behold, the label explained that it could potentially have some milk in it. Whoops. I also purchased a MILK chocolate bar and didn’t realize the mistake until I got home. Double whoops lol.

Charles Singletary Jr

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Author | Gaming & Tech News Editor @ Shacknews | @Coins2Continue | #BlackLivesMatter | #BlackWomenAreMagic | ΣΛΒ

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