I used to be a vegetarian but I'm not anymore

If you've read my earlier post, you'll know that I became a vegetarian some time back.  Well, I thought I'd check in with an update to share my experience of transitioning from being a vegetarian to a vegan.  

I became a vegetarian for moral reasons first and foremost.  I had been a 'flexitarian' for a few years, having convinced myself that if I ate less meat, and did my best to stick to high welfare, organic meat and animal produce, that it would be ok.  However, one day, after seeing a particularly upsetting video (link at the bottom if you would like to see it), I decided that I could no longer kid myself and that it was time I did something about it.  From that day on, I was a vegetarian, although I still consumed dairy and eggs.  To begin with, I felt like this was enough and kind of managed to replace any nagging doubts over eating dairy and eggs with the marketing images of happy hens and smiling cows in lovely green pastures.  'I'm doing more than most people' I thought, 'that must be good enough surely?’  I felt I didn't need to 'subject' myself to the upset of any more information or videos about the cruelty of animal agriculture because I had already accepted the argument that it's cruel and unnecessary so that was it.  Or so I thought.  

One thing I hadn't prepared myself for - because I hadn't expected it to be honest - was the reaction of some, in fact quite a few, meat eaters towards my decision to give up meat.  I was met with some genuine curiosity and also some real hostility.  Never before in my life had so many people, even vague acquaintances and virtual strangers, been so concerned that I was meeting all of my nutritional needs.  Sometimes the comments were so ridiculous, they didn't really warrant a response.  Other times however, came questions that I felt were probably worth answering, occasionally to shut hostile people up but mostly because if somebody is genuinely curious, it can't hurt for me to be prepared to provide them with a useful and accurate answer.  It was for this reason that I started to educate myself better.  

There were lots of things I learned whilst educating myself - from the fate of male chicks and male dairy calves, to the sadness and upset female cows go through being separated from their young and the suffering they go through to produce milk.  I could go into lots of very upsetting detail here but I think perhaps in the context of sharing my experience of becoming a vegan I'd rather keep it brief and leave you to decide if you'd like to seek out more information for yourself.  And besides, you already know the outcome of my hunger for information on the subject because I've already told you I'm now a vegan!  

I'll be honest; it didn't happen overnight.  I had some fears and concerns.  Even though I had realised that the stuff you hear about vegetarians not getting enough protein was untrue, I was still uncertain as to whether being vegan would really be healthy.  After all, it's drummed into us from childhood that humans need animal proteins and fats to survive.  There's also plenty of information out there from people who want to tell you that being a vegan will make you sick and I'm sure you're aware of the stereotypical image of feeble, sickly-looking people when the word vegan is mentioned!  Still, I kept reading, looking for information, considering the case for becoming a vegan, and then seeking out counter arguments, reasons why veganism may be a nice idea but not possible.  Studying Philosophy, it becomes second nature - picking at arguments, looking at them critically until all reasonable objections or counter arguments have been refuted or dealt with.  Finally, I had to conclude that the only option, from where I was sitting, was to become a vegan.  

I have to admit, it was an uncomfortable truth to start with.  I didn't like the idea of giving up my milky cups of tea, chocolates, baking cakes, and eating eggs.  I think most people have got at least one food they think they couldn't live without.  Even though I knew deep down that for me, veganism was the only right way to live my life, I did feel a bit of dread about the idea of 'giving up' and 'restricting' my diet so much.  However, in the same way my conversion to vegetarianism was easy, I really needn't have worried one bit about becoming a vegan.  For every food item I thought I'd miss, there's a vegan alternative that's just as tasty (and in some cases even nicer - soy lattes and chocolate for example!) and arguably a darn sight more healthy and nutritious.  Even better, rather than my diet being less varied, I eat a much wider range of foods and flavours now.  I've revisited foods that, having had a difficult relationship with food, I previously couldn't face - and I discovered that I like them!  I still have my milky hot drinks although I prefer coffee these days because soy milk lends itself so beautifully to frothy coffees!  I must say, vegan chocolate is actually the best kind of chocolate.  I can't believe I used to settle for chocolates with such low cocoa content, instead packed with fat, sugar, artificial stuff, and not to mention palm oil.  Now I just stick to 70-80% bars and rich homemade chocolate truffles.  What's more, baking is super easy without eggs so I still get my fill of cakes when I want them - still with plenty of flavour and gorgeous texture.

Another concern I had, and I know this is one that a lot of people share, was whether shopping for food was going to be a right pain in the bum.  As a meat-eater you don't always realise just how many food (not to mention cleaning, and health & beauty) products are packed with animal products.  Admittedly, this does mean that a lot of products in the supermarket are off-limits.  However, I came to realise that it's not that I'm not allowed them, it's that I made the positive choice that I don't want them.  What's more, once a very brief period of adjustment took place - working out which products I could still buy, which products to buy instead of my usual purchases, shopping is easy and my shopping bill is definitely cheaper for it.  

It's probably worth me touching on health and well-being as I know this is a concern for a lot of people about veganism.  Contrary to a popular misconception, I get plenty of protein and calcium, more than enough vitamin B12 and vitamin D, and maintain a good balance between carbs, protein and fats.  My mind is generally healthier - I feel calmer and better able to deal with stress than ever.  My asthma and eczema are definitely better and what's more, my energy levels are up, I feel healthier and my body shape is continuously changing for the better.  I certainly don't fit in with the skinny vegan stereotype but nor would I wish to.  In fact another interesting outcome of all of this is that for the first time since I can remember, I've actually made peace with my body and I'm sure that's at least partly down to me making peace with and healing my relationship with food.  Instead of worrying about making myself smaller so that society will approve of me, I've actually increased my enjoyment of lifting weights in addition to running and am really getting a kick out of seeing and feeling myself get stronger each day.  No feeble vegan here and definitely no regrets!

Anyway, I fear I'm getting a little evangelical about it all now so I'd better wrap it up before my beaming self-satisfaction makes you sick!  However, hopefully you've found my experience of becoming a vegan interesting, particularly if it's something you've been considering it yourself but have concerns or fears about it.  

One last thing before I go - as promised, here's a link to the video I mentioned.  It's not particularly graphic, there's no blood or anything.  But I will warn you to say that for me, it was very upsetting.  You don't have to watch it but it's here if you'd like to see it.  

Spicy Root Vegetable Soup

Quite a few friends have been asking me to share some of my recipes with them, so I thought I'd do so on my blog and then there they are for everyone to see & have a go at if they fancy.  I'm a bit of a 'add a bit of this, bit of that until it tastes' good cook so quantities are pretty rough & open to change depending on how many you're cooking for and also you personal tastes.  This recipe should make enough for 4-6 bowls depending on how big a bowl of soup you like!

What you'll need:

1. A decent-sized pan
2. Blender (any will do, although I prefer to pour it into a jug blender as I'm a liability with stick blenders and boiling liquid)
3. Bowl
4. Spoon
5. A hungry tummy

Ingredients:

• 5 carrots peeled 
• 5 parsnips peeled 
• Any other root veg you want to include, squash or pumpkin can be a nice addition too.  On the whole I'd say it works best when you've got at least half carrots with whatever else you want to add
• 1 med onion/ or 1-2 small onions or shallots
• Dash of olive or sunflower oil
• Tsp of each of : cinnamon, cumin, ground ginger, chilli powder (adjust according to your personal taste for heat - remember it's always worth starting small then adding more at the end but you can't take it out once it's in!)
• NOTE about spices: if you have got all these in your cupboard, fear not, so long as you have chilli and some seasoning it should still make a nice soup, however if you have all of them, even better! 
• Handful of chopped fresh coriander (or a tsp of dried coriander if that's all you have)
• Tbsp of powdered veg stock (or you can use whichever veg stock pods or cubes you like)
• Salt to taste (although some veg stock brands are salty enough so you may be able to skip this)
• A squeeze of agave nectar or honey 
• Water (a pint or so, we'll get to the reason for lack of number here later)

Instructions:

1. Dice the onions, & peel and chop the veg into chunks.  They don't need to be too finely chopped as we'll be blending later on!
2. Pop the diced onion/shallot in a pan with the oil on a low heat until they start to brown (it's better to do this slowly so a) they cook through and b) you bring out their natural sweetness)
3. Add the veg in and mix with the onions
4. If you find the pan is already looking a bit dry you can either add a drop more oil or if you're conscious of using too much oil, just add splashes of water to keep the pan lubricated.  The important thing is just to make sure nothing burns but that we're not boiling anything in the water yet as we want to try and bring out the natural sweetness of everything) 
5. Add your spices (apart from the fresh coriander) and mix so everything is coated
6. Keep adding splashes of water until all the ingredients are in a little shallow pool rather than drowing - we only want to keep things lubricated at the moment rather than boiling all the niceness out of them
7. Once the veg has started to soften, transfer to the blender and blend it (you may need to add a little more water to help it on its way
8. Return to pan
9. Now you'll be able to see the thickness & texture of the soup and from here, can add enough water to get it to your preferred texture.  I love thick soup but I know some people don't as it reminds them of baby food - hence leaving it up to you to decide how much water you want to use.  The only thing to be wary of is adding too much water because if the soup is too thin, it'll also probably be really bland!
10. Once you've gotten it to the consistency you want, give it a taste and figure out how much of the extra ingredients to add as follows:
1. If it tastes a bit bland, add the veg stock 
2. If the veg stock isn't that salty, add a little salt to taste
3. If it feels like it still needs some additional sweetness (it can depend on how sweet the veg is you've used) add the agave nectar or honey  
4. If it feels like it needs a bit more spice, add a sprinkle more chilli powder 

The trick is once you've returned it to the pan to keep tasting it and adding to it until you've got it to the right taste & consistency for your personal preference.

Finally, pour some in a bowl and serve up with a nice slice of crusty bread!    

An attempt to lead a horse to water

I felt compelled to write in response to this week's news about horse meat and the undercover slaughterhouse videos that have left some meat-eaters I know rather shocked and revolted.  Before I get going I'd like to make it clear that this isn't a moral lecture. My intention here is not to write an essay on the philosophical and ethical arguments for and against eating meat.  Nor am I going to try to scare or guilt you into giving up meat.  There are plenty of well-researched and evidence-backed articles that make a compelling case for giving up meat if you want to find them.  What I'd like to do is share my experience, for those of you who are interested, of giving up meat, in a non-judgemental way.  I'm certainly in no position to get on my high horse - I ate meat for years and I still eat eggs & some items with milk in.  I know there are people who say that veganism is the only correct choice and that it's all or nothing but I'm of the belief that everyone doing something is better than nothing at all.  We're not just going to wake up one morning to find the entire human race is suddenly vegan so we have to start somewhere.  What's more, I'm not sure how effective angry moral lectures are.  I suppose you could say, (I apologise in advance for the tragically unfunny play on words), I'm going to attempt to lead the horse to water.  It's up to you whether or not you drink.

As an animal-lover, eating meat had long been at the back of my mind as a source of guilt.  However, living in a world where eating meat is the norm, and with the sights & sounds of how that meat is produced being well hidden, it's not difficult for one to bury that guilt.  Like many people, I had convinced myself that 'humane slaughter' wasn't an oxymoron & that if eating meat was part of our evolutionary history, who was I to question it?  Right?  Well, wrong.  Unless I was about to start living in a cave then the only logical conclusion was for me to realise that human evolution is all about change and adaptability.  Our success as a species has been largely down to the fact we're omnivores, and that not only can we survive on a wide range of energy sources, we can actually thrive on them.  I'm sure there are proponents of certain nutritional approaches who will argue that their way of eating is the only way.  To those people I'd ask this: If humans really are only capable of thriving on a single nutritional approach, why the heck are there 7 billion of us and counting?  To sum it up, there's more than one way to skin a potato and it's quite possible to thrive on a vegetarian diet.

Worries & fears 

Having decided that morally I could no longer live with myself eating meat, and having realised that there was no danger of me wasting away if I gave up my beloved steak dinners I had another question to answer: What on earth was I going to eat?  This might sound quite simple and in practice it actually was.  However, as somebody who doesn't eat salad at all, who can't bear the smell of cheese let alone the taste of it, and as one of those ridiculous people who can't even eat certain vegetables because they feel funny in my mouth; I was a genuinely worried that I would fail quite quickly and loathe myself even more than I did for having eaten meat all of my life up until that point.  I had a lot of concerns that life wouldn't be the same.  I was worried that life would be pretty boring and restrictive (although I did beat myself up for having such selfish thoughts).  Was I going to be able to eat out with friends still?  My local area isn't exactly a hotbed of vegetarian cafes & bistros.  What about all the restaurants I liked going to?  What about all my favourite recipes that I had perfected over the years?  Was shopping going to become more expensive?  (I admit, I had always puzzled at that one but so many people cited it as a reason for not becoming a vegetarian, I did consider it).  As a fussy eater, going to other people's houses for food was already a source of anxiety for me and I worried this might make it even worse.  What about summer BBQs?

I needn't have worried though.  Becoming vegetarian has been a colourful adventure of tastes and flavours.  I can still eat at lots of the restaurants I used to love going to and there are plenty of new ones that I like as well.  So many restaurants offer vegetarian options these days and for those who don't, well they're losing out on business from a growing section of the population so they'll hopefully catch up.  I've managed to adapt most of my favourite recipes and have come up with lots of new and delicious ones too.  I've cooked vegetarian foods for meat-loving friends and loved ones who've surprised themselves at how much they enjoyed it.  I've even enjoyed going to friends' houses to eat.  If anything, explaining that I'm a vegetarian as opposed to just a weird, fussy eater seems to be easier.   Food shopping is definitely cheaper.  BBQs are just as much fun.  In fact my food is usually cooked before everyone else's so I get to eat first yay!

Foods that helped me get there

Whilst I wouldn't wish to bore you with an entire list of all the foods I eat I thought perhaps it might be helpful to explain the foods I ate to start with and how they helped me on my way.  Like a lot of people starting as a vegetarian, I began by mostly replacing the meat in my meals with substitutes.  I ate a lot of Quorn.  Some of it delicious, some not quite to my taste.  I know there are people who will say that eating Quorn most days probably isn't that good for you, after all relying too much on any single food type isn't the optimum approach to eating.  However, it felt like a good, safe, stepping stone that meant I could hold on to a lot of my comfort meals without feeling too deprived.  Next, I started looking at the menus of all my favourite restaurants and working out which of those had options that meant I could still eat there.  I went out and ate at those restaurants and realised I could still enjoy myself just as much and it actually made a refreshing change to eat something different to what I usually ordered.  I even started discovering restaurants I had previously overlooked and finding lots of delicious options I could eat.  Weeks went by and I gradually reworked most of my old recipes to use vegetables instead of meat.  I also started experimenting with lots of new flavours and recipes. One of the great things about having no meat in a meal is that you do tend to focus more on the flavour.  I've always adored herbs & spices but my diet is definitely more fragrant and flavourful now than it ever was.

I still eat some meat-replacements and some Quorn products.  However I quite happily eat meals made solely of vegetables most days.  Some of my favourite foods of the moment include butternut squash, spinach, and chickpeas.  Oh and tomatoes of course!  Starting with those four ingredients I can make curries, stews, tagines, chillies, burgers, soups and more.  I can easily blend flavours from around corner of the globe with those four ingredients and have a different delicious meal each night of the week.

The downsides?

Now I realise, I'm probably making this all seem rosy and wonderful.  You might be thinking, 'There must have been something that was difficult about it' and you'd be right.  Surprisingly, the most difficult thing I've had to face about becoming a vegetarian is other people's attitudes.  Never before in my life have I had people I know, people who I'm not even particularly close to, so concerned that I'm managing to meet my nutritional needs!  In all the years I ate meat, I don't remember any of my vegetarian friends giving me lectures about what I should eat.  However, since giving up meat I've had no end of meat-eaters giving me lectures about why I'm stupid, why I'm being dangerous with my health.  Some of these are people who didn't bat an eyelid when I was drunkenly filling my face with a greasy kebab.  Some are people who eat lots of cheese, sugar, white bread, and grain-fed, antibiotic-riddled meat.  For some people, my very presence at the table is an affront to their liberty and their right to eat whichever creature they so choose.

Everyone starts with a story 

Looking back on my meat-eating days, I do kind of understand their fear (although I don't ever remember giving people grumpy lectures about it).  Being confronted with the presence of a living, breathing, thriving, vegetarian was evidence that everything I had managed to convince myself in the past about eating meat being necessary might not be quite true.  That guilt which I had so successfully buried started to poke its fingers through the surface of the ground, reminding me that it was still there, still holding on, biding its time until it managed to escape.  One day that guilt became too much.  Most of the vegetarians I've spoken to have a story about the day the guilt became too much.  For me, it was a video of two cows in a slaughterhouse.  Which makes me think, I wonder how many people's story will start with a video of some horses in an abattoir on the news?

The Stench of Hatred

I don't usually let it get me down.  I normally choose to ignore it.  Having been on Twitter nearly four years I realise not everybody is obnoxious and rude.  However, lately I've found the stench of hatred becoming increasingly disheartening.

In the past few weeks I've put up with comments ranging from laughably ridiculous, such as calling me a 'soldier of satan' due to my lack of religion, through to more spiteful outbursts including wishing cancer upon me and telling me to die because I dared to disagree with a certain viewpoint or approach to debate.

I wouldn't call myself particularly controversial or any more opinionated than the majority of people I follow.  Like most people however, I do have opinions on issues that matter to me.  From time to time, in amongst my more inane ramblings, I choose to share them with my Twitter friends.  When I do express opinions, I like to think I'm fairly consistent.  I try my best to express those views in a relatively respectful fashion, making sure I'm able to back up what I say with facts rather than simply directing irrational and unhelpful anger at people I've never even met.  I'm also generally happy to discuss my viewpoint if people want me to.  I'm even open to changing my mind should somebody present me with a relevant point I hadn't previously considered.  If there's one thing I've learned in my study of Philosophy it's about changing one's mind in response to a well thought-out argument.  Taking this into account, I appreciate that I may be more conscious than some people of the need to keep calm and stick to the facts in order to facilitate constructive debate.  However, surely a lack of understanding of the basic rules of debate can't be an excuse for some of the hateful vitriol that some people spout?

It would be naive and unrealistic to want for everyone to get along and agree all the time and I'm certainly not asking for that.  What I would really like though, is for people to find a better way to address others who don't entirely agree with them than with insult, anger, or aggression.  I don't recall anyone ever winning someone over to their point of view by being nasty to them.  Granted, I'm sure some of history's dictators may choose to disagree with me but there's a stark difference between getting somebody to see your point of view and making them suppress their voice simply in order to avoid personal attack.  I know it's 'only Twitter' and that it's 'not real life'.  But Twitter is and can be an incredibly useful place to meet and discuss matters with a huge network of people, often who we wouldn't normally come into contact with through the course of our real lives.  One could even argue that if all you want from Twitter is to connect with people who agree with you or who reinforce your world view, you're probably missing the point.

I doubt very much that my writing of this blog post will change anything much.  I know I'm not the first person to write about it and I'm pretty certain I won't be the last.  I know there'll always be people who are angry and who find it hard to contain their anger or to express themselves constructively.  However, if I could achieve one thing by sharing my thoughts on the matter it would be that at least some people think about the potential effect hostile words can have.  If every single one of us were to shut down any opposing views with aggression rather than engaging in discussion there'd be little point in any of us bothering with the conversation at all.  And at the end of the day, if Twitter isn't about conversation any more then really, what is the point?

Take Cover, It's Finally Happened

Nearing 30,000 tweets, it has finally happened.  I have started a blog.  A place where those of you with enough time on your hands can read even more of my mumbles, musings, and rants.  In even more than the 140 characters of information, thoughts, and opinions I blurt out multiple times per day.

The above paragraph may actually be slightly misleading.  It intimates that my starting of a blog is largely selfless, and mostly for the benefit of the few who do not find my frequent Twitter ramblings and occasional outbursts verbose enough. On the contrary, there's a small part of me that quite enjoys writing from time to time.  Except of course when I have a few hours to write a 2000-word essay that I was supposed to have taken a whole month to write.  Or when I have to write a detailed contract for work that nobody told me about until it needed to be submitted 30 minutes ago.  Times like those, well, understandably I tend to dislike it quite intensely.  But apart from times like that.  Other times, ones like this, I quite like it.  I'm not particularly good at it.  I can spell.  I can do grammar correctly for the most part.  I can usually get my point across in a relatively articulate, albeit meandering, fashion when needs be.  However, on the subject of how engaging, or how valuable or useful any of it will be, I wouldn't like to make any promises as I really wouldn't like to disappoint you.

How frequently I'll post, well your guess is as good as mine.  How often does a mad man call out to his imaginary friend without reply?  What I will write about could be any number of things.  My interests include art & crafts, sometimes politics although that may be better filed under opinions over things that irritate me rather than interests as in actual things I like.  I also, like most of the human race, quite like food, and have been known to cook something every once in a while.  I do the odd bit of running although I never win at it or anything like that so there'll be few tales to tell there.  And if you know anything at all about me you probably know by now that I have an avid interest in cats.  Finally, I'm studying a degree in Philosophy & Psychological Studies so every now and then I may even bore you with some Philosophical ramblings that may seem to me like a new way of looking at things but that I'll no doubt realise further on in my studies had already been covered in one of the many 17th Century texts I find myself wading through.

Anyway, I'm already going on a bit, so I shall end it here.  But hopefully you'll get the picture.  It's not really about any one thing in particular.  But it's just a place, similar to the place of numerous other tweeters who now blog, to put my thoughts when it seems appropriate for them to spill over from 140 characters.

See you soon!