1st week complete, 2nd week begins.

More than one week ago I began the Engine 2 Diet. The basic rules being that I eat only whole foods, no animal products or heavily processed foods like oils.

I have managed to eliminate meat completely for the first week and for the most part I have done pretty well on the rest of the diet. But there were a couple spots were I did not hold 100% true to the plan.

A few weekends ago, prior to starting this diet, my wife and I visited the Farmers Market in Downtown Vancouver. We purchased some homemade frozen soups from a little company called Souper Natural. Their soup is delicious by the way, and I highly recommend you go there this weekend, find those gals, and buy some of their soup. The other day I came home from work, after not having the best of days, and I was in no mood to cook at all. Without thinking I grabbed one of the frozen soups out of the freezer and put it in the microwave. Curry Lentil, oh so yummy. However I quickly realized it was a creme based soup. I forgave myself rather quickly after enjoying my bowl, and promptly finished what Steph could not. She being somewhat lactose intolerant worked out for me, or against me depending on the perspective.

Today we enjoyed a little Chinese food for lunch. I had the Spicy Garlic Broccoli and a bowl of Hot and Sour soup. I had forgotten that a little bit of egg is floated in the soup, but it was very good and I did not feel too much guilt. I should not have had the spring roll though. The no no there was the oil.

All in all though, my week went pretty darn well. Never in my life did I think a major carnivore like me could ever go a full week with out meat. But I did, not even a slice of that bacon which still haunts me every weekday morning. And I am discovering some new things.

Saturday morning I ate Biscuits and Gravy!!! No kidding, and I did not cheat when I did it. I took the family to a little place in Portland called Dovetail Bakery. A vegan bakery. They make a pretty darn good Biscuits and Gravy, and completely vegan. I do not know for sure if any oils were used to make the dish, but certainly no meat, dairy or eggs were used and it was very tasty. We also had one of their sticky buns while we were there and it too was delicious. We brought a few scones home to enjoy later. I don't know how they do it, but I am glad they do.

There were several times throughout the week where I just wanted to say fuck this shit, give me a burger! But I didn't, I hung in there, and I will continue to try and make it to the end of this 28 days. I now know this is not an impossible task for a meatatarian, I know I can do this.

Here is something you may be interested in reading about.

"Meat and Mortality: A Prospective Study of Over Half a Million People."Researchers at the National Institutes of Health review diet history and cause of death from a study population of half a million over the course of 10 years. Study participants who consumed more red and processed meats had an increase in total mortality, cancer mortality, and cardiovascular disease mortality.

Source: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2009