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!