Thank you all so much for your support on my The Day I Quit Being Vegan post. I wasn’t sure of how the response would be, but your comments have been so supportive and helped me keep things in check. I am grateful for you all.
I’ve felt like a kid in a candy store. All the “non-vegan” foods are now open to me to try out. Those restaurants I’ve always wanted to visit (but didn’t have vegan options) and all the foods I’ve missed from pre-vegan…I can have all of it!
There’s also a lot of messy feelings I have to deal with by trying foods that have been “bad” for so long. I think those who have transitioned from a restricted to a less- or non-restricted diet get this the best.
Overall I’m finding I am sticking to my vegan meals for the most part. Just because I dropped the label doesn’t mean I can’t order my meal vegan or leave out the cheese at home! It is fun trying other things- like a slice of pizza at a NY-style pizzeria downtown that I’ve been crushing on for years. (I didn’t love the cheese. I also felt really heavy afterward.)
Today I filled that craving for eggs that started this whole thing. To be honest I texted Richard this morning: I WANT EGGS. TODAY. So my dear husband brought home a half dozen cage-free, organic brown eggs.
As I took a photo of the eggs I somehow dropped one on the carpet. Weird since I was already nervous. Ha!
I sautéed onions and tomatoes and added two big eggs. I added in some aged white cheddar and topped it with half an avocado.
I think it was a pretty good dish for my first day back 
So how did it taste?
Normal. Tasty. Healthy. Like a complete, satisfying, tasty meal. I felt full and satisfied afterward, too. It kept me full for hours!
And the world goes on.
If you avoided all animal products for years, what is the first thing you would eat?
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
I usually avoid red meat, but I refuse to give up the tastiness of prime rib. Congrats on making a food-decision that’s right for YOU!
Yum Yucky recently posted..Greedy Giveaway! Win Josie’s “Favorite Things” Prize Packs
The first animal product I ate after I transitioned from veganism to vegetarianism were eggs. I wanted them SO bad; I always loved them and I still do.
Krystina (Krystina Yogini) recently posted..Yoga Teacher Training: Week 2, Day II
I gave up meat last year for Lent. Only 40 days and not years, I know, but first thing I went for wasa juicy burger with all the fixings and toppings! I felt a little gross after and to this day I don’t eat a whole lot of red meat.
Eggs gross me out all together so I don’t know what I’m missing.
Sabrina recently posted..Sunday’s Ketchup Celebration
Eggs always seem to be the way to go for people transitioning out of veganism – I’ve known several ex-vegans and the first thing everyone has gone for have been eggs. I do wonder sometimes whether there wasn’t a particular nutrient missing (not inherently due to veganism, just in their particular diet) that’s present in eggs – something vegans commonly overlook or miss?
xxx
Jessica recently posted..Pleasure vs. Pain
SUCH a good observation.
I was a vegetarian for about 3 years in my 20′s. The first thing I ate when I stopped was these amazing chicken wings my then-boyfriend brought me. His grandmother had a Thai housekeeper and she made the best food, including these little chicken wings. Probably the second thing was bacon.
I am lucky now to be able to get all my meat from farm stores where I can see the animals and talk to the people who raise them. I buy 1/4 of a cow each year, stock up on pork when the local farm “dispatches” a few pigs, and get lamb at my farmer’s market. I’m also able to find eggs from a few back yard chicken farmers in my town (or my sister’s house). I don’t think I’ve bought grocery store eggs in about 4 years. It takes a little effort to find the resources, but its very possible to find ethically raised animal products. This site is a great resource: http://www.eatwild.com/
I just introduced meat and dairy after 8 months…I feel so much better. Have to blog about it this week!
Nicole recently posted..Today’s Workout: 10 Minute Solution Fitness Ball Workouts
I think it would be eggs too! Or venison.
Hannah Hawley recently posted..Humanity & Poignancy
I’ve had a really messed up relationship with food for a while, so this was easy to relate to. After restricting so many things from my diet for so long, giving myself more dietary freedom is pretty awesome! I do feel strongly about excluding meat and I can’t see myself ever wanting to reincorporate it into my life but when I started eating dairy, eggs and carbs again…it was this awesome source of freedom.
Are you still going to be vegetarian? No judgement either way, I just wondered.
Lee recently posted..Who Wants Greek Frozen Yogurt?
I couldn’t imagine eating meat now, so yes. But I’m leaving the label open in case I ever want to try it one day
I’ve had a really messed up relationship with food for a while, so this was easy to relate to. After restricting so many things from my diet for so long, giving myself more dkietary freedom is pretty awesome! I do feel strongly about excluding meat and I can’t see myself ever wanting to reincorporate it into my life but when I started eating dairy, eggs and carbs again…I felt a huge sense of relief and freedom. I really respect those who adopt a vegan lifestyle but right now its not healthy for me.
You go, girl! I have been vegan a few times, and mostly vegetarian since I was 13. I actually have pretty much dropped all of my labels in the last few months, because my views have changed and I think it was just a way of restricting food. I’m eating lots of eggs from locally grown chickens, butter and cheese from grass fed cows, and have even had some wild Alaskan salmon and some locally raised, free range chicken!
Since I was veg for so long, it’s very weird to eat an animal, and I am still not doing it often at all, maybe one time every week or two. As long as my brain is in, it’s easy to eat and actually tastes delicious! My body has not had any problems and I think I’d rather eat whole, unprocessed foods over tofu at this point.
Good for you, and so glad that you’re getting support on this.
Jen recently posted..You Can’t Control What Other People Think Of You
Welcome back to the land of the egg-eaters! Those Country Hen’s are my favorite store-bought brand. Course now that it is spring and all my amazing neighbors have hens laying up a storm I’m fully stocked with literal farm-fresh eggs and they are AMAZING.
Jess-ThatJessGal recently posted..Lameo Excuses and Broccoli Bowtie Pasta
It would have to be eggs. I think I’m going to try the gluten free thing soon, but I couldn’t give up eggs.
Carolina John recently posted..50 for Fun
Wow–everyone is so good, sticking with eggs! My first post vegan meal had CHEESE, CHEESE and more CHEESE
I am a sucker for a nice, stinky cheese along with olives, baguette and vegetables. Eggs are a close second, though 
I cannot quit being vegan. All I do is to try and balance all the nutrients, but I take red meat in small quantities.
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Good for you Ashley, for doing what is right for you. I was vegetarian for ten years and vegan for two years of those, and I now am an omnivore again. I only eat meat/eggs/dairy that is ethical, happy, hormone free, etc, so I mostly do follow a veggie diet, but I think that having balance is good. I truly believe that choosing to eat animal products from animals that have been treated humanely is more of a vote against animal cruelty than abstaining from animals altogether. Veganism can turn into something like a religion to some people, which leads to a lot of extremism and judgement.
Jessica recently posted..Sunset
What I read is a lot of whitewashing from people. “I only eat meat/eggs/dair that is ethical happy, hormone free, free range, etc.” In the end, these animals still get their throats slit or are killed in ways you don’t want to know about, just so you can have a particular taste in your mouth. It’s selfish and cruel. Go out and slaughter and gut these animals yourself and see how you feel about your meal later. At least you’ll have the full experience of murder, instead of pretending you’re not part of the process.
And that person, Mary Jenna who just wrote, “I cannot quit being a vegan” “but I take in meat in small quantities” is full of shit. She’s not a vegan. She’s an omnivore.