Hello everybody, today I thought I'd share how I've been doing eating vegan for nearly two months now.
In the beginning
I started my vegan journey on the 11th of July 2019 with little to no plan about what I was going to eat and when I was going to tell my friends. The day I told my mum was the day before I properly started, however I did pick a bad moment to basically tell her that her cooking would have to change for every meal that she cooks me. Her reaction was not what I wanted, but understandable. I knew that she was worried about what she was going to cook for me, as she didn't enjoy cooking 'normal' food in the first place, so I knew I was going to have to educate her! Before that day, I had never talked to her about wanting to be vegan, or even vegetarian so it did come as a shock to her and the rest of my family.
The first thing I made sure to do, was to make sure that my family could read food labels and understand what I refuse to consume. I think this was an eye opener for the whole family, as we realised that we weren't taking care to check exactly what companies were adding to the products that we were eating every day. At the start there was a lot of 'Oh yeah you can't eat that now, can you?', which did get quite annoying after a while. Personally, I found it better to look at it as what I won't eat and think of what I will eat for dinner.
Friendships can provide awesome support
Feeling a bit disgruntled about the somewhat negative reaction, I told my friend Sophia that I was making a change. The next week, I went round to her house but made sure to message her beforehand to ask if I needed to bring something for me to eat for lunch, to which her response was not to worry. When I arrived at her house, I was greeted with her mum asking me about how I was doing and her letting on that she was actually vegetarian and has seriously reduced her egg and dairy intake. She was telling me about all of the fantastic websites she gets recipes from which she loves and told me that I could try out any of the soy-based dairy alternatives that they have in their house. My smile widened even more when Sophia asked if I wanted to make vegan pancakes for lunch! (I will link the recipe here once I have posted it.) I came home that day feeling so welcomed into the plant-based community and had a new recipe under my belt which I have made many times since then.
The next day, my best friend and I walked down to Greggs to try their vegan sausage roll. Ben isn't vegan himself but was willing to try it out to support me. So we both tried it and absolutely loved it! Sausage rolls had been a regular favourite of mine when I ate meat so finding an alternative that tasted almost identical to the original was fantastic. After that, we bought the vegan Magnums (original, not almond) and enjoyed them on the walk home - Ben even commenting that the ice cream tasted better than the normal ones.
Around this time, I had around 3/4 days of feeling absolutely knackered. I didn't really know what it was, but I did know that I was getting enough sleep and drinking enough water so my tiredness was caused by something else. I found out that it was because my vitamin B12 levels were extremely low. Vitamin B12 supports psychological function, the nervous system and above all for me: vitality. Once I got my hands on some supplements though, I was back to normal alertness which felt amazing.
Vegan in remote France
For my family summer holiday, we went to the French Alps. This presented a new challenge for me, which I did not anticipate - despite knowing about the fine meat and cheese culture of France very well. The place we stayed at had two supermarkets within walking distance, however they did not carry a great variety of foods for a vegetarian, let alone a vegan. I did, however, have some chocolate cereal that was vegan with soy milk every morning and I also ate a lot of pasta with tomato sauce. One day near the end of the holiday, it was raining and unfortunately we had no wi-fi (shocker I know!) and nowhere sheltered that we wanted to visit. This, however, inspired my dad and I to get creative and we made some really nice Mediterranean stuffed peppers and sweet potato wedges (see picture) . We also made the vegan pancakes again that I mentioned earlier and melted some dark chocolate to drizzle on top with mushed banana and crushed peanuts (being resourceful of course!).
Since starting, I have only had a few slip-ups unintentionally, so I'll mention them here just in case you're worried you night get caught out. When we arrived in France, I ordered a veggie burger (I know this wouldn't necessarily've been vegan but with my family choosing where to eat, I was limited) without the side of egg however it came with a cheese slice melted on it that was not mentioned in the description. Also when we ate out in France later in the week, I got a falafel wrap without feta, however the sauce that came with it had dairy in it I think.
Am I missing anything?
This is a question I've been repeatedly asked in these past few months and to be honest with you, I have not missed half as much as I thought I may have. I kept the chocolate cravings met with Cadbury Bournville chocolate buttons and at the many summer BBQs I attended I ate Classic Miami Burgers (shall do a separate review of these) and bean burgers. Other than that, I haven't really missed anything other than the convenience and, I guess, ignorance. It is easy to be vegan but it is easier to just eat the way the rest of society tells you to, unfortunately. The convenience of just being able to pick up any pizza was a bit of a struggle at the start, but since trying a few new options, it's no longer an issue!
Conclusion
So other than my few slip-ups, I'd say I've eaten well and have felt the same as I always have - relatively healthy. At some points in France, I did worry about if there was going to be enough for me to eat for dinner that wasn't tomato pasta, but everything so far has been fine! I have also been eating pretty much the same level of healthiness now as before I went vegan - ie. not super healthy but not super unhealthy either. I haven't felt unusually hungry or anything like that which is awesome too, and I've been trying to eat a variety of things. I do resort to sweet chilli and hoisin rice when I don't have anything else substantial, but I am still enjoying it! Being vegan for these past two months has also made me more conscious of how my lifestyle impacts the environment in other ways too. I have been trying to switch off more lights when I'm not in the room or I can still see well, and unplugging things when they're charged enough.
I'm sure I'll make future updates of new things that I've tried and experienced in the future so stay tuned for more of my journey.
Until next time, thank you for reading.
- the veggie frenchie
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