40 days of veganism

This year I went vegan for lent. I've been wanting to try going full vegan for a while now and I finally got round to it. I can't say that I did it perfectly... there were a few slip ups, but generally speaking I managed to stick to the diet for the full 40 days.

For me, veganism isn't such a huge step away from the way I normally eat. I am vegetarian anyway and when I'm living on my own I try to minimise my dairy consumption so I buy dairy-free milks and only buy cheese on occasion. I would normally cook eggs every now and then and I eat products with dairy in them when I'm out. This experiment has definitely forced me to be a lot more diligent about reading labels and knowing exactly what I'm putting into my body.

The changes I made to my diet were small but I noticed them. I had to give up mayonnaise which I'd grown to enjoy but then I found some vegan mayo which tasted just as good. I had to give up yoghurt-coated raisins which had come to be one of my favourite snacks but I know they're not very healthy and I could replace them with plain raisins. I tried vegan cheese but it really wasn't the same at all so I just gave it up all together. I stuck to houmous, Marmite and peanut butter on sandwiches and added extra nuts to cooked meals instead of the cheese. I initially missed chocolate but now I've found plenty of recipes for chocolate bakes that use cocoa powder instead so that's not a problem.

There were a few products that I didn't realise weren't vegan until I read the packets such as tinned carrot soup, noodles, Pringles, Baileys and scones. I also had a couple of problems when ordering food that looked vegan from the menu description but arrived with a topping of grated cheese or a side of sour cream.

Tomorrow Lent will come to an end and there's nothing in particular that I'm really craving but I am looking forward to being able to eat halloumi and feta again. The main reason I will not be converting to full-time veganism is that I am not convinced that a vegan diet is the healthiest diet and I don't like the extent to which it restricts what I eat. As a vegetarian I have very rarely had difficulty in finding things I could eat, be that in restaurants, whilst travelling, at events or on trips. As a vegan however, I could no longer go to some cooking classes, at cultural events there was very little I could eat, I felt like a nuisance going to people's houses and asking them to go out of their way to cater for me and, if I were to travel again in the way I did last year, it would be very inconvenient to be vegan. I still believe that veganism is one of the best ways to help preserve the planet and it is a lifestyle that I admire but at this time I will continue to be only part-time vegan.

#vegan #lent #diet #lifestyle #happyeaster