Musing on Veganism... Reply Number One

From E, who I forgot is also married to D, a vegan, and they had an entirely vegan wedding! How did I forget that! Really thorough reply, I hope you have time to read it.

I'm still trying to take it all in, but to be honest, most of the stuff she mentions it's occurred to me I already do. Which is really encouraging and mega scary all at the same time, that maybe I'm already further down the road to veganism than I thought I was?

(I've also had a reply from the other friend, L, to say she's read it and will get back to me later... So Reply Number two will follow soon!)

(The picture? That's HappyCow, of happycow.net...)

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Here goes:

1) I have been vegan since Feb '07 (that's when I last knowingly consumed non-vegan fayre - a chocolate Frijj milkshake, in case you're wondering). I made the change gradually and then all at once. To explain - having been cutting out meat bit by bit since I was about 12, I eventually took it upon myself to find out where the rest of my food came from. I learned about the connections between the dairy/egg industries and the meat industry, as well as the suffering involved, and thought I was pretty hypocritical to continue supporting animal exploitation when I was so vehemently against meat. It wasn't a conscious change to start with, I just sort of noticed myself feeling guilty every time I consumed something animal-based. I started cutting things out of my diet and educated myself on veganism more. When I got with D, he'd already been vegan for three years and really helped when it came to making that final step. All it really took was cooking and grocery shopping with him a couple of times and I was well away!

2) It does not impact on my daily life at all, the whole thought process became automatic incredibly fast - it was as though someone had flipped a switch in my head. It's just a case of getting into new habits.

3) Eating out is EASY. Most ethnic restaurants will be somewhat or very vegan friendly. Big chain places are getting more and more clued up about veganism too - to name a few off the top of my head, Nando's, Wagamama, Pizza Express and Beefeater! Nando's has become a particular favourite of ours lately. ALL their starters are vegan, the veggie patty (sans mayo, obvs) which makes a lovely burger, some sides and their mango sorbet. Dude, that's a three course vegan meal with sides in what is essentially a chicken restaurant. The only thing to consider is that it's best to do your research before going anywhere - most chain eateries will have a page on their website either listing all their ingredients or what special diets their dishes fit in with.

4) Travel is a bit tricky at times, especially if you don't speak the language of wherever you're going. I really recommend http://www.happycow.net/ as a way to check out places before you go, and I'm always happy to share travel tips (our honeymoon was split over Budapest, Berlin and Amsterdam and they're all GREAT for vegan food, especially Berlin!)

5) Protein is easy peasy. If you do fake meat then that's a really easy way to bump up your levels. Also: wholegrains, beans (I LOVE edamame beans, we always have a couple of bags in the freezer, they're great in stir fries, anywhere you'd use peas, in salads, or just snacked on as is, nom!), pulses (I fucking love lentils, I am such a stereotype), nuts, tofu... A typical (non-training) day's protein for me would include either porridge or muesli with soya yoghurt at breakfast time, snacks like wholegrain toast with peanut butter or oatcakes dipped in hummus (I probably eat hummus 5-6 days out of seven, sometimes more than once per day, I am ridiculously gay for it) or a handful of nuts, main meals like stir fried tofu with edamame and broccoli, lentil dahl or shepherd's pie (either make with brown lentils or veggie mince, quorn is not vegan but there's loads of brands that are)... Quinoa is something I eat fairy often too (instead of rice or couscous usually) and it's a great protein source. If it's a training day I just eat MORE, and supplement with shakes (choc soya protein, banana and peanut butter. Just YES. My blender hates me.) I train for size and strength usually and to be honest I've yet to encounter a problem posed by my diet - usually my endurance and recovery are slower if I'm eating junk or not staying well hydrated, or just not eating enough. There are excellent messageboards out there for vegan fitness enthusiasts, vegan runners and vegan bodybuilders, so information is really easy to find.

...Number what now?) I very rarely shop at specialist stores. My food shop of choice is Tesco (their own brand of soya milk is my favourite and at 63p per litre you can't go far wrong). Sainsburys are great at labelling their food as vegan, so are Co-op, though both of these places also stock vegan items that aren't listed as such so if you spot something you like the look of it's always worth checking the label - you might be surprised (Co-op jam doughnuts are vegan, so are their vanilla custardy ones, yum!). I'm also in the habit of keeping a little cool bag close at hand if I know we're going somewhere with a H&B or other health food shop, so I can bring back frozen fake meats or other goodies I can't normally get. It's also worth checking out Oriental supermarkets for massive bags of frozen tofu, cans of mock meat (it squeaks against your teeth but if you can get through that it's a wicked quick protein fix), giant bags of cashews and various other yummy bits and pieces. That's totally non-essential though, I thrive on my Tesco shopping habit!

AND FINALLY) Ask questions. The internet is your friend here. There are great vegan messageboards that talk about almost everything. And talk to us! I don't know how long L has been playing this game but I'd imagine between herself, me and my husband we can probably answer almost everything. If there's a particular food you miss, we could tell you where to find it. If you're eyeing up a particular cookbook, we'll tell you whether it's any good. Any old recipe you want to convert to make vegan, we'll tell you how (this from someone who successfully made passable vegan scotch eggs - I have way too much time on my hands). You'll learn pretty quickly about what can feasibly be substituted for what, it's a very steep learning curve, but if you ever get stuck just ASK.

Oh, and check out http://www.thevegancakegirl.co.uk/ if you're feeling flush and in need of a treat, I absolutely promise you won't regret it (we buy from her every 1-2 months, always something different, have yet to taste anything of hers that was anything less than divine).

Long-winded message, sorry, hope it helps! Please please feel free to let me know if there's anything else you want to know! -E. xxx

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I wanted to mention while I'm here, in response to Neens comment on yesterdays thread... I doubt, even if I do choose to follow this up in it's entirety and eat vegan, that I'll define myself as vegan. It took me a year to start calling myself a vegetarian, as I do find that when I stick a label on myself it causes me complications and weird cravings.

I think I'll more than likely phase things out one at a time, and take it real slow. But the possibility of being vegan in the future is definitely more real than it was, it doesn't feel so alien to me now. Will see how I feel after getting L's reply too...