One more sleep?

30 04 12

Today my wisdom teeth started aching. Add this to my suspected gastro and for the first time in about 6 years I found myself having a sick day. The advice? With gastro, if the symptoms are going to fully present, it'll happen within 72 hours.

My 72 hours is up tomorrow. That means the first of May will either be a joyful day of food, or a miserable vegan bonus day.

I haven't eaten much in the past couple of days; but tomorrow has been planned since the beginning. Steak for breakfast; Bacon and egg pie for lunch; Roast chicken for dinner. I'll be disappointed if May starts without all the food I've been dreaming of for a month, but there's no point eating anything if it won't stay in my body.

For tonight I will attempt to eat dinner. Not just any dinner mind you. For the last meal in my vegan experience, we are having tofu stir fry.

I wasn't kidding when I said I hate tofu. But we figure it's the best way to round out this experience; that and we're gonna fry the hell out of it to try to reduce that horrible spongy texture.

Sadly, this didn't prove successful. I managed to eat a couple of pieces, then ate around the rest. That rubbery, chewy consistency gets me every time.

So now it's a waiting game, and I'm not feeling too flash. One more sleep, or two. Either way, the end is nigh. THANK GOD.

Overtime.

29 04 12

No post for yesterday. Rather than spend Saturday watching sports and pulling weeds, I went in to work. I thought this would be a good way to forget about being blue and concentrate on getting a job done.

It was good to give my brain a break but by the time I got home, physically I was feeling a bit off. I tried to unwind but I had a tight feeling in my stomach, which kept me awake for most of the night. When I woke up today a familiar and unwelcome feeling had arrived (And no, I'm not talking about Derek Rose injuring himself again, although that doesn't help!)

 I'm quite proud of the fact that I don't get sick. I've never had the flu and have only had one cold in the past decade. I gloat about it too - to the point where I'm sure karma is going to serve me a big one any day now.

The feeling I have now is akin to the one ailment I have experienced a couple of times in my life (and which almost killed me as a child). Gastroenteritis. There are a few unpleasant side effects to gastro, which I don't think I need to detail here. The worst side effect for me, however, is that when you have gastro - you can't eat ANYTHING.

Two sleeps left and the potential of not eating anything at all on go date is just ridiculous. Even more ridiculous is the idea that gastro is usually associated with poorly prepared meat products.

Oh the irony.

Blue.

27 04 12

With only a few days to go the questions from people have turned from hilarious and confused, to interest at the outcome.

"How are you?" "Do you feel better?" "What are you missing?" "Has it been hard?"

The answers? I'm missing bacon and cheese. It hasn't been hard - because I'm stubborn and it's only for a month. Had it been a year long quest, I don't think I'd have entertained the idea. (Although I am into month four of "a year with NO ANDERSON'S PIES." People from Hawera, you'll understand how hard that is!)

So, how am I? Do I feel better?

I am lethargic and no, I don't feel better. Physically  I feel worse, and mentally I'm becoming quite blue. It's Friday and all I want to do is have a bath and go to bed. My body is achy and I'm not enjoying anything, least of all my own company.

To cheer me up, it's been suggested that I'll have probably earned the right to a pie by the time this month ends, but I've never broken a New Years resolution before and as for veganism, I've only got three more days to get through.

A vegan food I like?

26 04 12

Falafel!

The man of the house, determined to find me something I'll enjoy for dinner, purchased some falafel.

My past experiences with falafel have been a bit hit and miss. Usually the vegeburgers or falafel kebabs I've had have featured patties that a about an inch thick and are kinda goopy. Making them myself, I've taken to flattening them out, letting the edges get crispy and bingo. Tasty, non-goopy meat replacement.

Don't get too excited, I wouldn't willingly choose this stuff over bacon or chicken. But as a filler it totally does the business.

Well done, man of the house. Maybe that chocolate bunny I'm having to wait for will be shared after all.

ANZAC Day.

25 04 12

Despite celebrating the Breakers a little too hard last night, we were up at 0530 to pay our respects at the dawn service. No matter how hard it is to get out of bed on the 25th of April, I always think about the men and women who spent night after night stuck in trenches all those years ago; then I jump out.

It's not that hard to do when you know you'll be able to jump back in in a couple of hours. Millions of people, most younger than me, would sleep where they fell during the wars, and many who came home would never know another nights peace.

 The rest of the day is a national holiday, so we have time to reflect and appreciate the freedom we have. The sense of living life to the full is never far from my thoughts on ANZAC day and it's during a conversation around this topic that the man of the house makes a very rational statement:

"Hollie, you are a meat eater. You love it, so why deny yourself? You've already proved you can do this, plus being a vegan is making you miserable. You should end this now, and get back to making the most of everything."

It makes sense. Meat isn't illegal, cheese isn't the devil, and not eating honey because it's an animal product is as ridiculous as it sounds.

 I have the freedom to eat meat right now, and the only consequence would be the odd "I told you so" - which only serves to further highlight what a sweet existence I'm lucky to be living.

With only five days to go, I'm not about to end this quest now, even though none of us can really figure out why I'm doing it.

What I do know is that this day has given me a lot to think about, and on the first of May when I indulge in maybe more than one steak I'll think of you, Grandad, and all you and your comrades did in the name of Queen and country; whether you chose too, or not.

Breakers. YES.

24 04 12

The usual suspects came over to watch our boys take on Perth in the NBL finals. This meant treats of the animal based variety were to be prepared. I can do this without a second thought now. It's the same as preparing food I don't eat for guests; you just don't think about it and get it done.

Other than that, there's not much to say about today. I just wanted to celebrate the Breakers, and thank them for giving me something to cheer for. I think I'm getting a bit down.....

.....but for now, here's some Dan and Jerome at the game to add to the happiness ;)

RUNgiaRUN

23 04 12

If you're from New Zealand and you're exposed to a lot of Maori culture, you were probably confused by that title for a moment. Just to clarify, it says "run gia run" (not "ru ngia run")

Carrying on from yesterdays effort to find positive vegan-ish stories on the internet, Gia's blog is a good example of positive reinforcement. I don't see much carnivore bashing there, and she doesn't appear to beat the vegan drum too hard either.

This is refreshing. On the surface, a lot of vegan/vegetarian content is kinda sanctimonious and annoying.

Gia appears to be completely in love with what she does (running) and has found the best way for her to go about it.

I get that for some people it's trendy to be a vegan. And for some carnivores veganism is a weakness; almost to the degree that there should be some sort of category in the Special Olympics for them.

But for others, like Gia, it appears that it's all about choices that work (for her) and a want to share the joy those choices have bought.

It's that kind of joy for what you're doing that makes people want to be relatable to your actions, and maybe enact change in themselves. 

Imagine if you liked something you did so much, you didn't have time to focus on the negative of it's opposite.

Pretty nice way to live, huh?

Lechery! I defy lechery!

22 04 12

I've given up on soy milk. After being open for a few days it starts to get these horrible, slimy, lumps in it. The cows milk in the fridge happily sits there for a couple of weeks before this tries to happen (it rarely gets the chance to sit in the fridge for more than a week though)

Eight days to go and I haven't quit my one-can-a-day habit, but lethargy is well and truly settling in. It's probably due to all the carbs I've been eating.

Maybe I should join these guys. Fit, motivated and defying the energy expectations people believe vegans to have.

However, as I'm not going to be running a marathon in the next 8 days, I think I'll give it a miss.

On the upside, it's nice to find positive vegan articles that focus on the positives and aren't hipster celeb-riddled garb, being preachy about hurting animals (I'm looking at you, PETA)



ps If you're wondering why the title of this post is familiar, it's a line from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

A weighty issue.

21 04 12

At the beginning of the month there was a lot of talk surrounding my weight. I'm not by any means a big person, so some people were concerned I'd become a waif.

I laughed and assured everyone that wouldn't happen. To keep track, I decided to weigh myself throughout the process to see if there is any difference.

It's easy to see how people could lose weight when they become vegan.  Suddenly having no dairy in your diet is sure to make a massive difference - right?

I'm also an avid consumer of sugar filled confections. My favourite lollies are chewy ones, most of which have an animal derivative to help make them chewy, so I've had to give them up too.  Add that on top of the meat and dairy and it should - as many would perceive it - have been enough to set my weight on a downward trend.

But since forgoing animal related products I have upped my carbohydrate intake, and I've probably overcompensated. I just figured that without cheese and meat, I'd probably struggle on the energy front.

Results? At three weeks in the difference is a shocking 300grams, or as one person at work said; "That's the difference between a good before and after!"

Before and after what, I'll let you decide.



 

Anti-social.

20 04 12

This working week I've been completely useless, hence one post for five days. There hasn't been any exciting development on the vegan front anyway. Quite the opposite in fact.

As week three comes to a close, the fun of trawling through new and exciting meat-free recipes has well and truly worn off. To start with, finding meals and getting creative when I went out was kinda fun. But all the extra thought that has to go into every food decision is quite frankly, a drag. To make matters worse, veganism isn't just making me anti-social in the real world. I'm subconsciously let it take over at home, too.

The tane of te whare is, as I know all too well, NOT doing the vegan thing. On the nights he's having meat, it's all too easy to work to our own agendas, which has resulted in different meals being eaten at different times. Dinner-time feels like a rush, an inconvenience. I don't look forward to it at all; and I especially don't look forward to making decisions about how I'm going to eat whenever I go out anywhere.

That's about all I've got for this. Although it pays to note I stole that completely crazy picture from here. It's an article about a woman who gave up being a vegetarian after 15 years.

"A month? I give you two weeks, tops!"

15 04 12

Resolve is a funny thing.

After Friday night was such a success, a quiet Saturday was decided upon. The plan was to make a small appearance at a sporting break-up and head home for food and sleep.

This is always how the BEST nights begin.

Despite my efforts at reminding myself I'm not 20 anymore; beer was purchased - then it was ON.

I'm very good at drinking games that require maintaining co-ordination, but the drinking gods always level the field when it comes to games that require luck.

Mexi is not my friend.  In fact, Mexi is the worst kind of friend. The meaner Mexi is to me, the more I want to play.

After having far too good of a time for far longer than intended, I inevitably find myself in front of the fridge, wondering what I can eat that's carb-heavy, tasty, and FAST.

I can't think of any time when we've had no meat in the fridge. Pepperoni and ham are ALWAYS in the fridge. Then there's the usual left-over whatevers from last night; and I don't need to remind you about the cheese.

So I stand there, for the second night in a row, gawking aimlessly at the forbidden foods. I'm told I muttered something about a useless diet, then proceed to get Marmite on my robe. 

The moral of this story?

No. I'm not 20 anymore, but I'm still capable of making the ridiculous decisions a 20 year old can......

......except when it comes to breaking resolutions. I'm over 2 weeks in now and I shunned meat while intoxicated, and while I'm thus far hating this "lifestyle choice". 

Resolve is a funny thing. I'm dedicated to something I hate.

I'm sure this is how Catholics must feel.

Clean out.

14 04 12

Two weeks in and I'm beginning to get over the grumpy.  That might be because despite my best efforts at a quite evening in, Friday night ended up being a bit of a blow-out. I thought last nights cheese ignoring efforts were something to be proud of, but tonight I sat at a table with perfectly cooked steak.

To compensate, I ate a bottle of wine. It was great.

Strangely enough, and much to the annoyance of people around me, often after a big night out I feel amazing the next day. It's like my whole body has been cleaned out and everything is crisp and clear. It's just what I needed. I was making for some pretty bleak company till then.


And speaking of things that are being cleaned out - Here's a refrigerator update:

There's still a lot of cheese (What was I gonna do? Throw it out? Pfft! That stuff keeps for MONTHS!)

As you can see, I'm not fibbing about the soy addition. The tomato juice is an old favourite, so that's nothing new; and yes - that is a bag of mung beans you can see.  I know. Fascinating, right? Those are free-range eggs too.

What a hippie.

Breakers

13 04 12

As a welcome distraction from my unreasonable mood, I spent last night watching the Breakers  win game one of the NBL finals best-of-three series.


As a Kiwi sports fan, there's nothing I (or any Kiwi) like more than seeing a New Zealand team dominate an Australian league (well, with the exception of this). After 40 minutes, a cheeky whiskey, and overtime, our boys had got the business of game one done.

Although the outcome of the Breakers game doesn't really have a bearing on my veganism, I am pleased to say I can now sit next to soft cheese and animal-product-filled crackers without a second though.

If only I was stubborn about something constructive like basketball or applied physics. I'm sure I could have been a Breaker or a rocket scientist.

But no.

All I am is a vegan for a month.

(I really need to reassess a few things!)

Smell you later.

12 04 12

Much to my dismay, in an unhappy coincidence it would appear that my bean and soy upsurge has correlated with an increased sensitivity to my sense of smell.

I've always had a strong sense of smell - and trust me, it's been more of a curse than a blessing over the years.

This is a negative for two (pretty obvious) reasons.

1) With the man of the house not doing the vegan thing, I'm subjected to all manner of mouth watering amazingness; bacon being a regular feature.

 2) As a grateful opposite to my Star Nosed Mole like sense of smell, I've never been a very "windy" person; until now.

Damn you lentils and chick-peas. Your mostly unenjoyable lack of taste* and pasty consistency has not only cursed me with  a bland diet, but I'm now suffering from another terribly unattractive feature. Between that, my grumpy demeanor and my current awful skin break-out I'm feeling like a total Ugly Betty, which is only compounding my vegan misery. (Yeah, yeah. I chose this First World Problem. Poor widdle me)

Good thing I work in a cheese factory.




*If you are a regular consumer of legumes and you disagree with this statement, before you start with me about how lentils and chick-peas are "super tasty!" I need you to remember you're probably adding a sh*t load of flavour to your pea/bean based meal before you eat it. MEAT IS TASTY ON IT'S OWN, DAMN IT!

It's pronounced vEgan.

11 04 12

I remember being corrected on my pronunciation by a vEgan, once. At the time I rolled my eyes and laughed. Then I turned the conversation to how I don't trust people who don't like the smell of bacon. In my defense, she was one of the sanctimonious variety who had berated the meat eaters all night - and we were at a BBQ!


But she does have a point. It's vEgan. Not Vay-gin.

Maybe it's the bad mood, but it's one of many things that is starting to irritate me; not least of which is the morphing of my identity from "Hollie" to "Hollie The Vegan". This probably wears off after people are vegans for a while. I can only hope so. I'm sure some people like the attention being a vegan brings them; but I am finding it tedious.

It's becoming my marker. That thing I'm known for. Everyone I know asks "How's the vegan thing?" and when I meet new people, someone immediately blurts out "she's vegan!" (or more often "vAgan!") and the questions begin.

There's more to be thought on about the whole contrary for attention angle. But for today, I'm just happy knowing there's less than 20 days left.

Bogey-nese?

10 04 12

For tonight's culinary delight, I'm having a go at meat free spaghetti bolognese.

It's the usual affair. Onion, garlic, mixed spices etc. I'm just replacing beef with lentils.

Yes. Apparently you can replace beef with lentils. I'm assured it's "awesome!"

It smells pretty good, but I'm putting that down to the garlic and tomatoes. At go time it turns out I was right. The only thing the lentils manage to do is fill the space where mince would have been, minus the taste and plus an unfamiliar consistency. Next time I think I'll stick with just marinara sauce.

And speaking of things that are "edible"...

As the curiosity grows, so does the absurdity of the questions.

"Do vegans breast feed their babies?" "If you ate a bogey does that count?" "What about scabs? If you ate one of your own scabs does that mean you're not a vegan?"

Some of the questions popping up are kinda disgusting, but contain a certain intrigue as well. I didn't expect my month without meat to provoke so much thought in the people around me. I have no idea how to answer these questions, but I do enjoy that even the seemingly silliest of queries can lead me to hours of thought.

Spot the difference

09 04 12

Right before we get the car for our five hour journey home, my co-pilots mother whips a freshly baked bacon & egg pie out of the oven for him. It's gonna be a long ride home.

5+ hours later, I'm home. I wander into the bathroom and make the awful mistake of checking myself out.

I was one of those blessed teenagers who never suffered a spot in highschool. As an adult, I've had the odd break-out but nothing like what's happening at the moment. My skin has never looked so awful.

Yes, I'm aware this isn't the clearest of photos, but who really wants to look at a crisp clean image of someone's spotty skin? So, I thought it safer to just number them off and spare you the grossness. (Jeez Hollie. Ego much? ;)

This a very new for me. Good thing I don't have to look at myself. I was warned about it, but my skin just feels so unclean. I've been using the same face wash as I usually do, but my skin is insisting of being a greasy mess.

I haven't been a teenager for well over a decade, but I don't remember being this tired, grumpy, and spotty when I was. (Well, Mum might disagree on the grumpy part)


At least the man of the house is coping with me. Mind you he's still consuming all the good stuff.

Zombie Day!

08 04 12

It's Easter Sunday and chocolate is everywhere! My impeccable hosts have got me a big chocolate bunny - which is going to make the end of this month even sweeter, as I KNOW everyone else will be out of Easter chocolate by then!*

At no small expense, my Easter bunny has bought me animal-free treats. Normal treats aren't cheap when you're doing it the vegan way; and sadly, they're also not as tasty. It's good, just not as good. (And right now, I'm just STOKED I've got chocolate to eat!)

Now, I love dark chocolate as much as the next dairy deprived person, but I'm pretty sure the vegans I've talked to have been without real chocolate for so long they actually believe themselves when they say vegan chocolate is "soooooooo yum!"

There's just something a little bit rough about chocolate that doesn't have any dairy in it. It seems to be lacking the creaminess that helps regular chocolate taste so fantastic. But how can I not love these treats! It's the thought that counts right? And the bunny has gone out of his way (and pocket!) this year, just so I wouldn't be missing out. For that alone I adore my Zombie Day chocolate. I just hope all the children in the world who are raised by vegans don't know what they're missing!


*I was warned my bunny might not make it to the end of the month.

All That Jazz

07 04 12

Today we head to the jazz festival in Tauranga. This means I'll be facing my first cafe experience as a vegan.

We arrive knowing it's going to be a case of getting in where we can. It's a pretty popular weekend for Tauranga. There are bouncy castles, street performers, and Jazz & Blues bands everywhere. I'm here entirely by chance as I had no idea this was on, and now I'm a little bit gutted. Keb Mo is playing and I'd have loved to see him. Never mind. It's a great day (my mood has slightly improved - YAY!) and there's enough talent playing the free street stages to keep us entertained.

We find some room in a nice looking Italian place. The menu doesn't show signs of anything even remotely vegan. It doesn't even have a vegetarian option. I attempt to ask for pasta with just sauce. I am looked at oddly. With his wonderful Italian accent the waiter explains that, Yes the pasta is egg free, No you can't have just sauce as everything is pre-made today to cope with the volume of people; and all the sauces feature animals.

I catch myself scowling and feel a moment of outrage that they don't cater to people like me. Then I start laughing. After all, it was to be expected, and I only have to suffer this for a month.

Yes, ONE month. There are no signs yet that I would adopt this as a permanent way to live, and todays mealtime misfortune only serves to re-enforce my love of an omnivores diet.

On the upside, the bottle of sauvignon which accompanies my plate of salad and potatoes is fantastic.

Good Friday

06 04 12

We arrive at the dairy farm late last night and are greeted with the smell of cooked ham. It's sitting on the bench in all its glory. I immediately spill about the intended month of no meat. The head of the house immediately announces that veganism "sounds stupid". Right now I'm tired, achy and grumpy - so I have to agree. The good news is I don't have to sleep outside.

When I wake up the aching has subsided, but I'm ridiculously tired. Being Good Friday, there is no end to hot crossed buns and other great aromas which for me will remain just that.

I've also found out why I was advised to take my Spirulina tablets by swallowing them immediately with a large glass of water. Today I didn't have a glass of water ready, so the tablets sat in my mouth for about 8 seconds.

They taste like poo and fish mixed with dirt.


I don't eat any seafood. Ever. It tastes like poison to me (I know - I'm a bad New Zealander) So of those three tastes, the dirt came as a relief. I can't wait until I can pop my one-a-day Centrum again. Vegans, you can keep this four-a-day Spirulina thing.

Sleepy and sore.

05 04 12

My need to check the back of every food packet I pick up is becoming an annoying compulsion. I've even read the nutritional content of bottled water.

Questions from work mates still abound. "What's in my croissant?" "Do you want my BLT? LOL!" "Are you sick? Is that why you're on a diet?"

I'm a little surprised people are so interested. Up until now I've given no thought to the reasons behind any of my vegan friends dietary decisions. I've just assumed it's because they're hippies. I think it's The Chemical Maze that has people curious. As a novelty, it's fun to find out what all the numbers in your food mean. As a person doing it incessantly for 5 days, it's already becoming tedious.

We're getting ready to head off for our Easter weekend and my stomach starts to ache. I have an inkling it's all the dried apricots I scoffed today. The feeling is akin to how your stomach feels when you eat something just as you're getting gastroenteritis. This is a not normal and I feel awful.

I was prepared for tiredness, aching muscles, and bad skin (while my body "pushes out the toxins from animal products" ha ha ha) But this is miserable. I whinge for the entire 5 hour trip.

Am I becoming grumpier already? Till now I'd put the tiredness down to a late night on Monday (Wrestlemania!) and the end of daylight-savings. Could it be that the first signs of withdrawal are setting in?

Hopefully uninterrupted sleep and no work for four days sees me wake in a better mood. If not, I'm pretty sure I'll be getting my Easter treats a couple of days early ;)

Soy.

04 04 12

My vegan toothpaste tastes like aniseed and leaves pasty muck in my mouth.

Today I tried the dreaded soy milk.

The colour is off-putting (coincidentally, it's the same colour as my toothpaste) and being a product that doesn't technically require refrigeration, it's sold off the shelf at room temperature.



Trust me - it NEEDS refrigeration.

Soy milk tastes like milk that's been poured over Weetbix and left to steep for a while before being poured into a glass. It's also a lot sweeter than I thought & has a slight vanilla flavour. It's not good (it's So Good! ha ha ha) but it'll do.

Tomorrow should be interesting. I'm off to a dairy farm for Easter. I predict I'll be sleeping outside.

319, 220, and a lot of big words.

I'm quite seriously trying not to eat ANY animal products at all. I'm even going so far as to research what all the numbers on ingredient lists mean. Today at work, armed a copy of The Chemical Maze, I decided to read the backs of a couple of my regularity consumed foodstuffs in order to discern what I put into my body.

Woah.

I knew my favourite can of caffeinated, artificially sweetened fizzy drink was bad for me...but I had NO IDEA about my humble potato chips.

Ready salted potato chips are vegan. They contain: potatoes, salt, and vegetable oil protected with antioxidant 319.

Antioxidant 319 is also known as tert-Butylhydroquinone. It contains a petroleum derivative and its potential effects include tinnitus and birth defects. It's also banned in some countries.

I'm kinda disgusted, and intrigued. While munching said bag of vegan crisps, I read up a little on what my other vegan snacks contain...

My nuts and raisins: nuts, raisins, canola oil, and 220 - otherwise known as Sulphur Dioxide. It's made by burning sulpher and can allegedly cause bronchitis, hypertension, and asthma. All while destroying vitamins A and B1.

The dried apricots I'm eating are guaranteed GM free and vegan safe - but they also contain the dreaded 220.

It gets worse from there. It's pretty clear that vegan doesn't necessarily mean healthy.

After work, I make a beeline to the local health food shop. To my relief it doesn't smell weird, the owner is not a hippie, and I'm directed to what I ask for without any sanctimonious lectures. The whole experience is actually very nice. Good service, great range, and along with my excitement at the thought of imminent tooth brushing - I find some vegan approved Easter treats! In my determination to not become flaky, I also pick up some Spirulina tablets.

I arrive at home ready to let the man of the house know where the Easter Bunny can get my chocolate from this year; but all is forgotten when I open the door.



The smell alone has my mouth watering. I sit at dinner with my lentils & beans and find I'm just flat out staring at the meat. To his credit, he did roast me some vegetables in a separate dish - so I wouldn't be missing out!

Classic. Thankfully I'm not missing meat to the point of craving it - yet.

And there's ONLY 27 days to go!

Sigh. At least I have toothpaste now.

WRESTLEMANIA!

02 04 12

Brushing your teeth with only baking soda tastes like the plague.

Meanwhile, work proved interesting today (Did I mention I work in a cheese factory?) A lot of people were curious about my motivations. While squirreling away my nuts and raisins I tell them quite honestly: "I said on Facebook I could do it." (And who wants to let their entire "friend" list know they're a failure? ;)

Usually I get home and all I want to do is eat cheese and drink milk. Thankfully today I have the ultimate distraction.....


The most hallowed of all WWE events, WRESTLEMANIA, is about to grace us with it's presence. We usually accompany this annual spectacle with pizza and beer; but tonight I'm tagging out pizza and tagging in vegan tacos.

Turns out this was not at all difficult. My trusty Vegan Society list had already told me Old El Paso taco shells are vegan (who knew they ate so much normal food!) Lentils instead of beef & whole bunch of flavour (again, some OEP salsa's are vegan) and voilà! Food fit for a sports entertainment fan. Although I will admit, I did notice the missing cheese (but I'm watching pro-wrestling, there's more than enough meat and cheese on show to satisfy any omnivore!)

Good food and good entertainment did have its downfall though. I was so excited about seeing the show, I didn't get to the health food shop. The only thing that could possibly leave a worse taste in my mouth than The Rock (predictably) beating John Cena, is knowing I have to end my day with another round of baking soda. Bleh.

April Fools Day

01 04 12 - Day One.

What the cuss am I meant to brush my teeth with? If ever you NEED to brush your teeth, it's the morning after a night out. I woke up without feeling any effects of last night shenanigans - which is lucky as my usual remedy is to take painkillers that contain animal products. But honestly, I'd rather suffer the dreaded dehydration headache than have furry teeth!

What's more, I've chosen to begin this quest on a Sunday. The health food shop isn't open. I know, I know. First world problems, right? Nevermind. I've got more pressing issues.


This is what our fridge currently looks like.

I LOVE cheese. On average I eat about 40 grams a day.

I wonder what I'll find to be my cheese substitute. Calcium is one of my prime vegan concerns, and as I'm not a fan of soy milk, I'm going to have to put some thought into my options (Like I said, clueless without animal products!)

Also on my list on concerns: Iron. I am determined not to become one of those wimpy vegan waifs who doesn't take their health seriously and becomes malnourished.

A couple of easy to find websites with lists of vegan friendly food are of immediate help. The Vegan Society page is very useful. The relief I feel when I see Marmite on the "safe" list is tempered only by the lack of any toothpaste listings.

After failing to figure out whether or not any of the toothpaste at the supermarket is safe for me to put in my mouth (I also had to pick up some salami for the man of the house), it's off to the first social outing of the meatless month.

Turns out any anxiety I had about food dodging is quickly relieved. I've hit the jackpot. It's day one and I've stumbled into a BBQ featuring vegan pizza bases, my choice of vegetarian toppings, and hosts who are more than willing to impart all sorts of helpful information.

I'm now a vegan armed with a little bit of knowledge. How dangerous can that be?

For now, it's off home to brush my teeth my baking soda. I'm sure that's going to be delightful.

The Last Supper(s)

31 03 12

After making this decision on a whim (which is how all the best decisions are made!) I've spent the last three days of March contemplating how I'm going to survive April, while assessing my food requirements sans animals. Lets face it, I have very little knowledge about how to survive (in a healthy way) without animal products.

What I do know, however, is that today is going be an indulgence of all things meat and dairy.


Breakfast:

My beloved bacon (I think I'll miss you the most). Eggs, and a glass of milk. That's three animals covered right there. And yes, the onions and mushrooms were cooked in the greasy goodness the bacon left behind.
















Lunch:

Ham, & cheese. No bread or crackers in sight. I just scoffed them by the slice; accompanied by chocolate milk.


















Afternoon Tea:

First, I ate a bag of chewy, gelatin based lollies. Then it was time for a couple of eye-fillet steaks. I wine matched this with beer.









For dinner: We're off to a sushi party tonight. It's one more night of thoughtless good times before the concentration begins. Cue the ninjas and the sake.

(Meanwhile, a much loved family member is in town for a few days and has invited anyone who can make it to a BBQ at a friends house. I've only just begun this crazy little quest and I'm not sure how I'll handle a social situation where an abundance of food will be present. This is something I was hoping to avoid until at least week two, but I can't pass up the chance to catch up with a family favourite! I'll take my chances and hope the novelty of "day one" sees me through!)