Happy Earth Day!
This year for lent, instead of giving up chocolate or crisps like I usually do I decided I'd try something new and make a lifestyle change. This year for lent I gave up all animal products and produce and went vegan.
In hindsight I maybe should have tried being vegetarian first and eased myself in but, typical me, I jumped in with both feet and expected to be able to swim right away! The first few days were okay, it was exciting finding vegan options of foods I love and feeling like I was making really good choices. And then Sunday rolled around and I found myself eating a nut cutlet with a mountain of veg and roast potatoes that weren't quite crispy as they'd been done without the fat from the meat while I watched everyone we tuck into extra crispy roast potatoes and roast lamb. Needless to say I was not the most chatty at the table that day!
After my first non-roast roast (and in a seriously sulky mood) I did what anyone would do...I consulted the internet. I researched all the reasons I'd wanted to try out veganism in the first place, like animal treatment in dairy, egg and meat farms, the health benefits of eating fewer animal products and the impact on the environment. I was a little overwhelmed by what I found, I never knew salmon from farms are fed dyes to colour their flesh pink so it looks like wild salmon, or that there is no definition of free range when it comes to eggs, or the way they sort chicks ready to become egg layers (unless you have a strong stomach I wouldn't recommend watching those videos).
I found a lot of my information on YouTube from the amazing
Freelee The Banana Girl. She's recently been all over the press for her diet and come up against all sorts of criticism as well as praise. Reading those articles it could be easy to judge the vegan and raw vegan lifestyle but watching her videos (and her boyfriend
DurianRider) really helped me gain a perspective on veganism and the benefits of a cruelty free diet.
As well as Freelee I also found
Loni Jane (who kept a vegan lifestyle throughout her pregnancy and now has the most gorgeous little boy!) and Mary Mattern who created
Nom Yourself and has inspired Ellie Goulding to take up a vegan lifestyle. Turns out once I took a little time to find people out there they're everywhere and looking to help people move over to the lifestyle.
Going vegan for lent definitely did get better after that first roast and I've really found myself loving veg even more than I did before. I've alps found a new love for fruit over the past couple of weeks and have been making smoothies nonstop! I had a few slip ups too (drunk kebabs were not on the plan!) but I've stuck to it on the whole and I'm really proud of myself for trying something new and so different to what I'm used to.
Only question now is whether to make this a permanent change (think I might eat my Easter eggs first!)
Steph
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