Vegan Day 1 · 11:28am Mar 14th, 2016
Okay, so a while back I told a friend I'd become vegan for 17 days as a 17th birthday present for her.
I lied.
I'd planned on secretly doing 17 weeks.
Sadly, we're not friends any more. But, I decided to do it anyway, just cos, so today is day one.
Here are my rules, and I know they're not as strict as many vegans would follow.
1. No meat, no dairy, no eggs, no honey.
2. I will still drink beer and wine without obsessively checking whether they're vegan-friendly. Yes, I understand animal products are often used in the refining process, and that's sad for the cuddly creatures. But meh.
3. Similarly I won't be obsessively checking the ingredients of things I would reasonably expect to be vegan. A croissant is obviously going to contain butter, so that's a no. But normal bread is probably okay, so I'm not going to keep checking everything like that.
4. This is a dietary thing rather than an entire life change. I'm not going to stop wearing leather. (Not that I go around dressed like a Hell's Angel anyway. I have a couple of leather belts and a pair of leather shoes.) Nor will I stop wearing wool.
5. I have seven days off. Although I'm going to be vegan for 17 weeks, I've actually given myself an 18 week window to do it. This gives me seven days I can use as days off and eat meat and cheese, and have milk in my coffee, and all those joyous things.
Don't worry. I won't be blogging about this stuff extensively and boring you all with it.
And I won't be making a massive moral stance about eating meat. I have no moral objection to eating meat, provided the animals live a good life and have a quick and low-stress death — animals in well-run farms typically have a happier life than those in the wild. They're protected from predators, fed regularly, provided with shelter, and given veterinary care. If anything, the egg and dairy industries are a lot crueller to animals than the meat industry.
What outcomes do I hope from this? Well, I hope it improves my general fitness and health. And I hope I develop a bit more of a taste for fruit and vegetables. (I'm a terribly fussy eater.) Once the 17 weeks are up, I expect to go back to eating animal products again, though probably slightly less than before.
Anyway, what difference has it made to my life so far? It's not even lunch time yet, so not much. I had soya milk in my morning coffee. That's it.
Bye for now!
seems like a good way to challenge yourself
I wish the best of luck in this
3807273
Thanks muchly.
I've had lunch now. Pickled baby beetroot, tortilla chips, and more coffee with soya milk.
No meat?! You're psychotic...!
3807276 sound good me thinks, though i like tea more than coffee
Nice. Good luck. Hope it works out.
(Note: When drinking coffee, watch out for half-and-half; very sneaky traps.
)
3807300
Half and half?
*looks it up*
Seems to be an American thing. I don't think there's much chance of me accidentally (or deliberately) consuming it. It'll be soya milk or black coffee for me for a while.
3807294
Yep. Avoiding killing animals is the true mark of a psychopath.
Especially when combined with killing as many humans as I plan to!
3807305
I'm ashamed of you. I expected the response to be that or...
"That is a three syllable word for any thought too big for little minds...!"
3807303 Just making sure.
I can help you out if you need some tips. I'm vegetarian not vegan. If that helps
3816581
Thanks for the offer. It's day 7 now, and I'm doing okay.
I do cook quite a lot of vegetarian and vegan food anyway, so I know what I'm doing.
It's mostly a problem of controlling cravings right now. Peanut butter helps for that!
3817214
Alright. If you need any advice for vegan/vegetarian dishes or anything you know where to find me