{"id":2788,"date":"2016-10-05T19:44:31","date_gmt":"2016-10-05T18:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tetrisandcheesecakes.com\/?p=2788"},"modified":"2016-10-05T19:44:31","modified_gmt":"2016-10-05T18:44:31","slug":"blogtober-day-5-things-i-used-to-say-before-i-went-vegan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/?p=2788","title":{"rendered":"Things I used to say before I “went Vegan”"},"content":{"rendered":"

For somebody who doesn’t *like* the taste of meat, I was an adamant omnivore for most of my life. Now I’d be the first to say we should all be given a choice, and of course there are people who love the taste of bacon, just as there are people who hate kale. There are even people who like celery.\u00a0I\u2019m not sure I trust those<\/em> people.<\/p>\n

I used to nod in agreement when friends said they\u00a0couldn\u2019t start the morning without a bacon roll, or that nothing beats a full cooked breakfast. Even though I didn\u2019t agree. I thought I must be missing something, that maybe if I just somehow attuned my tastebuds to the status quo I would fit in. Maybe I was a freak because to me, pork always had a weird musky, perfume taste that I couldn\u2019t get past. I\u2019d eat things because it was expected of me to like them, and I\u2019d pretend so hard that I did. IT SUCKED.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Last year I went through a period of a few months without a flatmate, when I didn\u2019t have to think what someone else might want to eat when doing a grocery shop. Have you ever noticed that you find out all sorts of things when you are faced with the prospect of cooking just for yourself? Not needing to be accountable for someone else made me realise that I lived on diet of mostly noodles and pasta, tofu and vegetables. I started to try things like faux chicken nuggets, which tasted infinitely better than actual chicken to me. I discovered the joys of cavalo nero and rainbow chard. I realised I loved avocados. I actually started to enjoy cooking again. When left to my own devices, I preferred a vegetarian lifestyle and food tasted GOOD.<\/p>\n

Years ago I was in a horrible, abusive relationship. The person I was with used food (amongst other things) as a means to control me. I wrote about it here<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, but I didn\u2019t realise\u00a0for a long time how this had affected my relationship with food. I was never much of a meat-eater growing up but the things he\u2019d said made me feel like I was \u201cabnormal\u201d for not liking certain things. Like steak, and burgers, and chicken. So I just pretended I liked these things, nodded and smiled along with everyone else, and I kept my mouth shut.<\/p>\n

Last year was a bit of a revelation for me. I started to stick up for myself more, embraced my fabulous feminist self and decided I wasn\u2019t going to let someone else\u2019s opinions dictate how I should act or what I should eat. Friends I\u2019ve known for years were surprised to hear I\u2019d gone meat-free at first, but I realised pretty quickly that no one really gave a toss about what I ate as long as I was happy. No one who mattered, anyways.<\/p>\n

I remember a conversation with an old friend who I used to date in high school; they\u2019d stopped eating animal products years ago for health reasons and we had a bit of a giggle over the fact we were both vegan now. They brought up the point that I was always veggie when we were kids, and did I remember that time at boarding school the head teacher phoned my dad because they were concerned I had an eating disorder? I went to school in Switzerland, the land of meat and cheese, and because I didn\u2019t want to eat the endless dinners of schnitzel and unidentified beef\/lamb\/chicken served up every day, I lived on pasta and rice. My dad\u2019s response was, and still is, hilarious. \u201cI don\u2019t think she has an eating disorder, but I think she might be a vegetarian.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I used to be the first to say that vegans were \u201ctoo extreme\u201d, and how I could never imagine life without meat. Now looking back on it, I can\u2019t imagine eating any of these things at all.<\/p>\n

1. A meal isn\u2019t complete without meat<\/h2>\n

When I first moved to Edinburgh, I invited friends round for dinner once a month. I\u2019d cook elaborate meals, we\u2019d feast until we were about to pop, and then proceed to get drunk on cheap wine and cheap tequila. Ugh. I actually feel queasy thinking about how much we drank on a typical \u201cquiet night in\u201d. I couldn\u2019t imagine having people over for dinner without a huge platter of meat on the table like some ridiculous centrepiece. Et Voila, Le Turkey! There was always too much, and almost every time there were leftovers that I would end up feeding to the cat. We wasted so much food, and I still feel a little guilty about that.<\/p>\n

I had a few vegetarian and vegan friends, so there would always be a meat-free option on the table for them. My veggie lasagne always went down very well with both meat-eaters and meat-free friends alike, and pretty much all the vegetarian \u201csides\u201d were swiftly polished off by everyone. I once caught an adamant carnivore friend sneaking into the kitchen to munch the rest of my lemon and almond crusted green beans, though of course he would never admit he wasn’t just going back for the lamb.<\/p>\n

When I was growing up, my mum was primarily vegetarian, though she still cooked things like chicken and beef for my dad. Being Chinese, she would turn up her nose at overcooked, boiled veg and so our meals were always full of interesting dishes of vegetables and tofu\u2026alongside dad\u2019s meatstravaganza. When I was a kid, one of my favourite dinners and something my mum still makes for me when I\u2019m visiting, essentially cabbage and vermicelli done \u201ca la Chinoise\u201d<\/em>. Vegetables weren\u2019t a side dish or an accompaniment to a main meal, the were the main attraction. Now if my mum would only share her recipes with me so I can adapt them to be entirely vegan, that would be great. I think it\u2019s her tactic to lure me home for a visit though, so I might be out of luck there. My mother is clever like that.<\/p>\n

2. Vegans are all extremists<\/h2>\n

Everyone has heard of that tired old joke: How can you tell if someone is a vegan? They\u2019ll tell you within 3 seconds of meeting you!<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be honest, this was one of the main reasons I didn\u2019t \u201cadmit\u201d to being a vegan for a few months after I actually made the transition. I have met some seriously militant vegans in my time, both online and IRL. I understand feeling passionately about animal welfare, but I have known vegans who would think nothing of making someone cry just because they are \u201cnot vegan enough\u201d. For dating an omni. For eating \u201cmeat replacements\u201d that look too much like the real thing. For honey. For palm oil. For keeping pets, for going to the zoo, for feeding their dog on anything but a strict vegan diet. The list goes on.<\/p>\n

Conversely, I have also met some of the most incredible, kind-hearted, wonderful<\/em> people since becoming vegan. People who care about the environment, care about the animals, and care about other humans – because these things shouldn\u2019t be mutually exclusive. I have had countless conversations over cups of soy latte, over a few glasses of wine, or over delicious vegan dinners and lunches and everything in between. I have met a group of people who have similar ideals and who are so accepting of others. I remember when I first posted on Facebook that I was \u201ctrying out\u201d veganism, for a week at first, and the responses I got were so encouraging that they played no small part in me sticking with it. When I said I missed cheese, I had friends send me their recommendations for dairy free alternatives. They posted recipes on my wall and links to their favourite vegan instagrammers. They made me simultaneously happy and hungry with all the vegan food porn, and I am utterly grateful for the amount of support I got when I was just a wee plant-based newbie.<\/p>\n

I have friends I met through Twitter over a shared love of vegan pizza, and who have become friends IRL. Every time I see Laila or Jess, we stuff our faces full of lovely food and talk about Very Important Vegan Topics like cake. The first time I met the lovely Hannah, we got so carried away chatting that we entirely missed the panel discussion we had planned to go to. Terry and I got to know each other when I asked her for recommendations of the best places to eat meat-free in Czech Republic, and this year we finally got to meet and hang out IRL when she came to visit me in Edinburgh. Again, the list goes on.<\/p>\n

There will always be people who try to make you feel like you are not \u201cgood enough\u201d in all walks of life, and they will try to make you feel bad about yourself. They\u2019re not a representation of a whole community. For every person who can\u2019t or won\u2019t accept you for the way you choose to go about your life, there are a dozen more who more than make up for it. These are the people I want to be around.<\/p>\n

3. Vegan food is bland<\/h2>\n

Uh, only if you can\u2019t cook! I went to a vegan dinner party years ago with the most dire selection of food on offer I\u2019ve ever had the misfortune to let past my lips. Everything was boiled, nothing was seasoned, and the host was so proud of the fact they had prepared the whole thing without using any salt. Or fat. No sauces, no dressings, just plates of flaccid foliage slopped onto plates, choked down by sheer force of politeness.<\/p>\n

If you do a search on Instagram for the #vegan hashtag, it\u2019s fairly evident that plant-based food is far from boring. It\u2019s colourful, and inventive, and there is so much choice out there and infinite flavour combinations that it\u2019s difficult to go through someone\u2019s feed without getting serious hunger pangs. Maybe a little drooling too.<\/p>\n

Yes, it is possible to have bland vegan meal, just as it is possible to have a bland meat-based meal. I used to be friends with someone who didn\u2019t see anything strange about eating the same meal of grilled chicken and rice, every single night. It\u2019s boring, it\u2019s beige, and just plain uninspiring. I\u2019d rather just go for a nap if that was all I was offered, day in and day out. Food should be exciting, it shouldn\u2019t be a chore to eat!<\/p>\n

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4. It\u2019s hard to find vegan options when I\u2019m out. What if I want to go travelling?<\/h2>\n

I love food. I mean LOVE food. When I visit a different city, the most important thing for me is to locate the best foodie destinations; in fact I\u2019m not embarrassed to admit that there have been times I\u2019ve done this before I\u2019ve even booked my accommodation. If you\u2019re travelling around the UK, there are so many wonderful vegan cafes and restaurants, not to mention vegan-friendly places that cater both to meat-free diners and omnis alike. I even made a Master List<\/span> <\/strong><\/a>(currently just for Edinburgh and London, but I\u2019ll be adding to these as I plan to do a bit more travelling next year). Download the Happy Cow app, which is just an amazing resource for would-be vegan foodies, or do what I do and check out some vegan foodie or travel blogs.<\/p>\n

Last year I visited a couple of cities I\u2019d been to as an omni, and I was a little worried about finding places that would cater to a vegan diet. I\u2019d lived in Luxembourg as a teenager and from what I could remember food was very French in influence, with sauces laden with butter and cream and way more seafood that you’d expect from a landlocked nation. I was surprised to discover how easy it is to eat out as a vegan there, with restaurants catering to locavores, raw food enthusiasts, and quite a few omni restaurants that have a significant vegan section to their menu. Gone are the days a vegan in Central Europe has to resign themselves to filling up on bread. I also travelled to Prague on a business trip, where my Airbnb host actually made me a list of the best places for me to try out whilst I was there. Traditional Czech cuisine is very heavy on red meat and pork, but there was no shortage of vegan and vegetarian restaurants serving everything from health food, meat-free versions of traditional dishes, and fancy plant-based feasts. On my first night the clients I was working with took me out for dinner at a high-end veggie and vegan restaurant, and it was one of the most delicious meals I\u2019ve ever had in my life. Prague is also the first place I ever tried tofu scramble for breakfast!<\/p>\n

5. It\u2019s too expensive<\/h2>\n

The cost issue is one that keeps cropping up, so I thought I would address it here. I have to admit that I spend a large proportion of my weekly budget on edibles, but then again I go out for dinner at least a couple times a week. It is definitely possible to have a plant-based diet on a budget just as it\u2019s possible to be an omni on a budget! Sure if you\u2019re dropping dolla on several different kinds of dairy-free cheese and all the snack foods, gourmet olives, fancy chutneys and artisanal chocolates, you may need to get a second job. Or you could get some vegetables, a massive block of fresh tofu at the asian supermarket for a couple quid, and pad out your meals with beans, pulses, rice and pasta. Tins of tomatoes cost next to nothing, and a bottle of soy sauce will last for ages. It\u2019s possible to do it on any<\/em> budget.<\/p>\n

The average omni won\u2019t spend nearly as much on their weekly shop as someone who buys all their produce from the fancy deli, or who eats fillet steak several times a week. I ate a mostly vegan diet when I first went away to uni because I was so skint, and I ate pretty well.<\/p>\n

6. It\u2019s too difficult\/I\u2019m too busy<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s not beat around the bush here, I\u2019m a lazy shit. I work from home, so most of the time what I eat is something thrown together in ten minutes so I can get back to work. The thing is, it\u2019s easy to whip up a tasty vegan meal with next to no effort in the time it would take to boil pasta or cook rice. Vegan junk food is easily attainable, and you\u2019d be surprised at how many things are \u201caccidentally\u201d animal-free. Like oreos, ritz crackers, Aunt Bessie\u2019s fruit crumbles, flying saucers, love hearts, most brands and flavours of crisps, Biscoff biscuits and \u201ccookie butter\u201d, Co-op\u2019s doughnuts and pies, Marmite, Nakd bars, Betty Crocker cake mixes, Hobnobs, and custard powder.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve heard so many people say they\u2019d never eaten vegan food before and don\u2019t know what to expect. what they actually mean is they didn\u2019t know<\/em> they were eating vegan food. Pasta with tomato sauce is vegan. Vegetable spring rolls are vegan. Bruschetta, toast with jam, baked beans, and hummus are all vegan. Bagels are vegan. Crumpets are too.<\/p>\n

Vegan food is just FOOD, without the added meat, dairy, or eggs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For somebody who doesn’t *like* the taste of meat, I was an adamant omnivore for most of my life. Now I’d be the first to say we should all be given a choice, and of course there are people who love the taste of bacon, just as there are people who hate kale. There are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,11],"tags":[87,257,575],"class_list":["post-2788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","category-vegan","tag-blogtober","tag-foodie","tag-vegan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}