I’m not usually one for “New Years Resolutions”, because I find as soon as you label something as a resolution it seems that temptation is everywhere and it’s much harder to commit! So rather than make any “resolutions” I decided to approach 2016 with the aim to be the best human I can.
One of the ways I thought I could do that was to always buy food/a hot drink for someone sleeping rough on the streets in London if I could see a shop nearby – a few times I’ve given people food I already had in my bag, such as “cereal” bars or nuts. I may not have unlimited spare money, but I do have food in my cupboards and somewhere to live, and they have neither, so I figured it’s the least I can do to help a little.
Another one of my “resolutions” was to take part in Veganuary, which would reduce the amount of damage I contribute to the environment & demonstrate my compassion for all sentient creatures.
My first Vegan food shop for Veganuary
I was first introduced to the idea of Veganuary at Vegfest London last year (and to be honest I’m pretty surprised I hadn’t heard of it before)! I had thought about going Vegan in the past but I didn’t have the determination to do it, and actually commit. But I wanted to challenge myself this time around and dabble in the #NewYearNewMe hype I see posted all over social media towards the end of one year and beginning of the next.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BAACQUjrgRu/
I was brought up Vegetarian (much to the dismay of many omnivores I’ve encountered through life), so for me the whole eating meat thing has always been a big no no for me. I don’t think I’ll ever understand how/why people do it, it makes me feel icky, not once have I looked at a meaty or fishy meal and felt in any way intrigued to try it, anyway, each to their own.
(Cheeky little side note: not to worry, I won’t “preach” to you about Veganism, if you don’t preach to me about “needing meat to survive” if you’re at all tempted to give me lecture, please have a read of my Vegetarian 101 blog I posted on ‘World Vegetarian Day’ last year to check that I haven’t heard your argument before, thank you kindly.)
If you read my first Vegan Pizza blog you’ll know I was a bit of a cheese fiend growing up, so the thought of “giving up” something I consumed almost daily was totally terrifying – so of course my first food shop included a selection of Vegan cheese to try out and all of which were pretty delicious. Don’t get me wrong they don’t taste identical to their comparable dairy counterparts, more like a slightly different variation of the same flavour (if that makes sense?).
It’s not been plain sailing, and I am by no means perfect (and I’m pretty sure I won’t ever be), and ya know, being a human I will slip up from time to time, by accident or because of poor judgement. For example drunkenly eating a couple of milk chocolate digestives thinking they were dark chocolate, only to find out a few days later that dark chocolate digestives aren’t Vegan either, so that’s that out of the window, doh!
I would also like to take this opportunity to say that I understand health/financial issues could cause problems if wanting to live a Veg*n lifestyle and I entirely respect that. Some of my best friends are meat eaters, and that’s okay (relevant: my blogging BFF Lissa, actually wrote about what she learnt from Veganuary from an omnivores point of view – read it here & make sure you have a browse of the other Veganuary posts on her blog too). Although I believe not eating meat is the best choice, I’m not going to force that opinion on anyone, I’ll just subtly show them there’s a better way by making them jealous of all of my delicious homemade ‘Lu-Easy Meals’, or the pictures I upload to on Instagram of dishes I’ve had at restaurants to sway their negative opinion of the boring “rabbit food” Veg*ns eat 😉 (p.s. Veg*n = Vegetarian/Vegan)
People have been asking me if I feel any different after my month of no animal products, and I actually really do. I feel less lethargic, and less bloated. I feel fresh (and look it too, “apparently”), aaand I get really excited about making meals (okay, I’ve always been like that)… But really, I can’t get over how I’ve been able go from a cheese addict, and someone who would always have a biscuit when there was a packet floating round the office, to not having any of it at all, and I feel really good about it. I feel much more in control.
Veganuary have estimated that there were 2.1 MILLION animal-free meals consumed in January – how amazing is that? Imagine all of the animal lives that have been saved because of it! Pretty damn awesome.
My last Vegan food shop at the end of Veganuary (and beyond!)
So, rather than this being a resolution, I’m calling Veganuary and beyond, my ‘New Years Revelation’, and if anything I’m slightly annoyed I’ve not done it sooner. I’m just trying to be the best human I can be, that causes the least damage to the environment & the planet, and loves all of the creatures.
If you’re at all intrigued to give it a go – you should. Even just to challenge yourself for an amount of time, to prove that you can. That was my thinking behind it, just to show myself I could commit to a whole month, and I bloody did it… And you know what? I feel pretty damn proud about it too – I sorta feel invincible now! Check out how Luan of alifeoflovely.com planned for doing Veganuary here!
Anyway, now I’m going to leave you with my favourite Vegan quote from George Bernard Shaw, who once said: “Animals are my friends… And I don’t eat my friends.”
Have you had any ‘New Years Revelations‘? If so, what are they? I wanna hear from you in the comments!
Until next time,
Lx
All pictures my own.
I’m truly impressed. Informed enthusiasm is stronger than preaching. Everyone chooses and you’ve chosen to follow your best.
Awh thanks Simone 🙂 lovely comment xx
Well done, tip of the hat to you my dear. I failed after 2 weeks. I found it too difficult and my physically draining, Im guessing if i stick at it longer I would have figured out the right ballance but the physical and mental demands of my job did not allow for this. I only eat meat once a week now, Sunday Roasts are my only meaty weakness. Considering I used to eat two whole cooked chickens a day whilst at uni in think that’s pretty good 🙂
Great blog x
Hey Anthony!
Thanks so much 🙂 yeah I think I found it easier from the get go as I was never a meat eater and I did a big food shop end of December so I was fully prepared and not tempted 😀 That’s great that you only eat meat once a week now! Every little helps and all that jazz ^_^
Thanks for reading my blog – hope you come back soon 🙂
Lx
This is brilliant! Thank you for sharing
No worries Marta – thank you for reading 🙂