15 weeks of veganism and counting!

Christine

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  1. Vegan newbie
Well... to tell a lie I'm increasingly losing the need to keep note of how long I've been vegan as I feel the diet - and lifestyle - is really beginning to synchronise with my daily routines. :)

I'm just so glad I finally made this change. Felt awful for the first month on vegan food... I also recall feeling a little bit lost, as despite the excess of info out there for those looking for vegan-friendly foods, I found it almost intimidating looking in the fridge I share with others (there's quite a lot of dairy/eggs and even meat stored there - :mask:)... and seeing just how much 'I couldn't have'...

This thought/feeling in particular has altered quite miraculously over the next couple months, however. I experienced something familiar when I first went vegetarian at 13: I expected to 'miss' meat, but never did. Similarly I expected to miss eggs/dairy, but again have had no cravings for anything in those categories at all. As a young veggie, over time I eventually stopped even seeing meat as 'food', if this makes sense, and I expect the same will now occur for animal by-products.

The vegan switch will be permanent for me, I know, and I couldn't be happier. I feel healthier for it, and have noticed a slight increase in my performance as a recreational runner - always a bonus! On a deeper level, as Christmas approaches and the inevitable gift rush ensues, I've found myself looking quite closely at the various companies/products I patronise, and make quite a few switches, and adjustments.

Funnily enough, I recall mentioning here in another thread how I couldn't see the harm in secondhand usage of animal by product non-food items, for cost's sake... To tell another lie, I'm beginning to find this (ethically) harder and harder to do myself, as my research into vegan products leads me to new information on the animal cruelty abounding in our societies. Hypocrisy!

Anyway, sorry for the massive ramble. :innocent:
 
You're doing great! I haven't kept big track of 'how long' and now, 2 months has flown by. Where did it go?
Read up on Fruitarian and maybe try it for a day or two; then go back to Vegan and you won't feel so deprived. You'll
think, wow, I have so many things to eat, being a Vegan!
 
You're doing great! I haven't kept big track of 'how long' and now, 2 months has flown by. Where did it go?
Read up on Fruitarian and maybe try it for a day or two; then go back to Vegan and you won't feel so deprived. You'll
think, wow, I have so many things to eat, being a Vegan!
Thanks for your input. :) The Fruitarian diet sounds intriguing, though I guess one would have to watch their sources and buy mostly organic. Recently was chatting with a nutritionist friend of mine who warned about the amount of pesticides contaminating supermarket chain fruits like apples.
 
It's great to get another update from you Christine. Fantastic to hear how well it is going for you and your change of mindset too. Pretty rewarding huh?
Very true about pesticides and such. I have had an almost exclusively organic diet since I was about 19 (same time I went vegetarian too funny enough) . A lot of people talk about it being expensive, and that is true but for me it is worth it. A real help to keep those prices down and have fun with it is to connect to farmers markets and CSA's. There is also transitional produce which is less expensive, and while lots of local growers don't advertise as organic because of certification costs many of them are.
 
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Don't know what I would do without my local markets.
Also here in Australia a lot of areas have community gardens where people grow produce, give advice , exchange recipes etc. It's really like a social group built around the shared garden.
 
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It's great to get another update from you Christine. Fantastic to hear how well it is going for you and your change of mindset too. Pretty rewarding huh?
Very true about pesticides and such. I have had an almost exclusively organic diet since I was about 19 (same time I went vegetarian too funny enough) . A lot of people talk about it being expensive, and that is true but for me it is worth it. A real help to keep those prices down and have fun with it is to connect to farmers markets and CSA's. There is also transitional produce which is less expensive, and while lots of local growers don't advertise as organic because of certification costs many of them are.
It's certainly been rewarding! I feel I'm eating so much better now, and have more energy to show for it.
I definitely need to start looking into farmer's markets - as you say it is an excellent way to get organic fruit/vegetables inexpensively and also supportive of local businesses. :)
 
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congrats to you Christine and to you Alex

It has been one year and 2 months for us and we are still thrilled and it definitely gets easier.

Right now about to eat one of our favourite meals, burrito bowl, so simple and so tasty and tonights will have rice, home cooked beans, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, sliced black olives, avocado and a tasty hemp seed dill garlic sauce, oh and some hot sauce.

Emma JC
 
congrats to you Christine and to you Alex

It has been one year and 2 months for us and we are still thrilled and it definitely gets easier.

Right now about to eat one of our favourite meals, burrito bowl, so simple and so tasty and tonights will have rice, home cooked beans, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, sliced black olives, avocado and a tasty hemp seed dill garlic sauce, oh and some hot sauce.

Emma JC
Ooh that sauce sounds nice - will have to try! :)
 
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congrats to you Christine and to you Alex

It has been one year and 2 months for us and we are still thrilled and it definitely gets easier.

Right now about to eat one of our favourite meals, burrito bowl, so simple and so tasty and tonights will have rice, home cooked beans, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, sliced black olives, avocado and a tasty hemp seed dill garlic sauce, oh and some hot sauce.

Emma JC
Wow, fantastic! ...and inspiring.
 
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