Taking Stock: January

Today is the last day of my first month of being vegan and I'm using it as an occasion to reflect on what's come to pass over the last thirty days in my training, my body and my kitchen.

Let's start with training. I have accomplished what I hoped to accomplish in this arena: I've reestablished the habit of training regularly, albeit in small bites, and have moved past the initial discomforts of doing so. During the course of the month, I snowshoed for 9.5 hours, run for 8.5 hours, biked for 4 hours, cross-country skied for 2 hours and swam for 40 minutes (a small but meaningful triumph), for a total training volume of 24.5 hours. It doesn't look too bad when summed like this, but pales in comparison to the training volume of 80+ hours that I will carry five months from now.

It's worth noting that I have avoided doing any exciting or dramatic training this month for two reasons. Firstly, it's never, ever a good idea to introduce, or reintroduce, physical activity levels in a manner that amounts to a shock for the body (for the soft tissues in particular; this is one of the main reasons that joint injuries come to visit later in the season). Secondly, in the interest of monitoring my body's reaction to the major shift in diet, I aimed to modestly control other variables. Embarking on a hard training program always leaves one feeling a little pooped; I have sought to evaluate any indication of tiredness or lethargy, independent of the reintroduction of regular training. In other words, I have tried not to blur the lines of causality.

Which brings me to how my body has responded. I have listened to it during and after workouts, while waiting to fall asleep at night, and on waking in the morning. I have listened to it when climbing stairs, walking the hilly streets of Lausanne and after making a mad dash for the train. Now, while I wouldn't describe my previous self as a crazed steak-eater, I did eat chicken, fish and dairy products on a daily basis. I rarely started my day without yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit. So I was expecting some sort of adjustment period, some sort of withdrawal or - that great euphemism for withdrawal, cleansing - to happen in the wake of 'going cold turkey', as it were. So nobody will be more surprised than me at the report that my energy levels have steadily increased over the month. I am equally surprised that I have not lost a pound of weight (and have not quite made up my mind as to whether this is a good or bad thing).

There is one other physical response to note from this month: I am sleeping in a little later than usual. Typically, I am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 5.30am, but lately I have been sleeping in till the late, late hour of 7.00am. I feel like I've missed half the morning when I look at the clock through bleary eyes. Michael, on the other hand, is taking this as a great silent blessing, rather like a parent who's child has begun to sleep though the night for the first time, I imagine. My body's somewhat unusual wish to sleep-in is not something I am giving much mind to; I think I've experienced this in previous January's (and as some wise person who lives above the 49th parallel once said: if you sleep through January, you haven't missed much) and I'm expecting it to pass as the days lengthen.

Into the kitchen. The kitchen has become a place of unbridled experimentation; a cross between a science lab and a sandbox, the only rule in place being that things have to taste good. Over the course of this month, I learnt how to squeeze milk from almonds, how to grow my own sprouts, how to bake without eggs or butter, and how to prepare dishes that are native to countries I have never visited. My emerging cuisines of choice from January are Moroccan, Indian and Lebanese. I now have spices in my cupboard that I had previously heard of, but never cooked with: cardamom, turmeric and garam masala to name a few. On a fine tuning note, I learnt that the order in which these are added to a dish when cooking actually matters. Who would have thought.

The report from the kitchen brings me to one final item, completing my round-up of the month: the vegan recipe that won my highest regard. I was certain that a particular dried fruit and nut curry, served on a bed of red quinoa, was going to be the winner. Even Michael endorsed it with his vote. But the final judge and jury (me) overturned the majority ruling. This judge has an insatiable sweet tooth, and thus, I have come down on the side of a dessert recipe (and it's worth noting that the final verdict was bolstered by the monumental discovery that coconut cream can be whipped like dairy cream, producing a whipped topping that is much more exotic, and quite frankly, better).

So without further a do, the following is a recipe called BerryBerry Couscous Cake, adapted from www.stevia.com:

Couscous Cake

* 2 1/2 cups water
* 1 cup couscous
* juice of 1/2 lemon
* 3 to 6 drops liquid stevia or a dusting of stevia extract
* pinch of sea salt

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in couscous, lemon, and stevia. Turn heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes. Spread the couscous into a 9" springform pan or shallow non-aluminum baking dish and pat down firmly. Allow to set; about 1 hour.

Berry Topping

* 1 1/2 cups mixed berries, fresh or frozen
* 1 cup water
* 3 to 6 drops liquid stevia or dusting of stevia extract
* pinch of sea salt
* 2 to 3 tablespoons maple syrup (optional)

Bring all ingredients except maple syrup to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Stir in the maple syrup and allow to cool, then spread topping over the cake. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. Once set, the cake will slice much like a baked cake. The reds and blues from the berries will soak down through the couscous layer, giving it a colourful marbled appearance.

Whipped Coconut Cream Topping (this part I made up)

Chill a stainless steel bowl and whisk in the fridge. Skim the cream off the top of a can of organic coconut milk, being careful not to include any of the clear coconut fluid. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence and a touch of stevia, and whisk until stiff peaks form. Serve generously with couscous cake, and think of more tropical places.

And so ends January. I'm glad I didn't sleep through it.