To Vegan or not To Vegan.
What a topic. It's certainly one that brings up a lot of controversy. But really why should it affect other people what others eat? My partner and I made a decision to try a plant based diet for quarantine as we both wanted to improve our health and thought plant based was a good way to start. Now after a month in, I wanted to share with you all our experiences and things we've come up against.
It was cold turkey. The shopping bills rose by quite a bit. All those substitutes often cost double the amount of what they would usually cost with alternative milks and soya products. It made me think- if I'm going to be completely conscious of what I put in my stomach- then I should get the best ingredients. Naturally I gravitated to all organic products, and took all the smoothie mixes, a lot of nuts and seeds, and a wide, colourful range of fruits and veggies in Estonia are fairly expensive. But we were new, and we hadn't figured out all the tricks yet. Do any Vegans out there have any tips for keeping the shopping bill down?
We wanted to consciously monitor everything. I was taking a selfie in front of a window everyday, being careful to capture every detail and also of my tongue. The aim was to feel better and it would be interesting to see visually if the health of our gut could change our physical appearance. We weigh ourselves regularly and take in to account a lot of other factors like: water intake, sleep, stress, amount of exercise that can effect our physical wellbeing. I believe that many of us have gotten used to, or accepted functioning not in our optimal health. I don't feel confident with at least some make-up covering dark circles and I can't start ballet class every morning without my strong coffee. Would taking up the vegan diet actually change my confidence and my energy levels? How many things do you have in your life that mask an optimal physical health? By pursuing the vegan diet also gave us more motivation to be careful with other factors that affected our wellbeing. Like I said, if you buy all the best veggies, spend longer than usual checking recipes, preparing your food and making sure to get the right intake of vitamins and minerals, what was the point then to just sit on the couch all day with your fully loaded perfect-plant-protein belly?
The cooking was the fun part. We experimented a lot and we always try to incorporate something we had grown on our windowsill. Pinterest has been hugely inspiring. You can just type the contents of your fridge and watch amazingly as all the delectable aesthetically pleasing recipes unfold endlessly before your eyes. However, really check the sources, because as great as they look some have not tasted half as good. Something I can always rely on is the Deliciously Ella app. Also being aware that half of our ingredients have come across the world to get to our plate I check "Fairlyland Cottage" youtube videos for soothing ideas for sustainable living.
The things which have given us the most motivation have been the documentaries: "What the Health" and "The Game Changers". I don't want to be an advocate via this post for Veganism. I simply want to tell our experiences as we've lived them. Hearing the stories and case studies about the athletes on The Game Changers was hugely relatable to me, as a ballerinas body is their greatest tool. I've had a few key characters in my life who I respect and look up to a lot support plant based diet including my :yoga teacher, my ballet teacher and mentor, and several inspirational colleagues and ballerinas.
However, we've been in an anti-social month and we've still come up against two awkward situations. I have always known that Vegans get faced with some stick in social eating but I have never been on the receiving end. In one BBQ we got invited to I got asked to eat meat in front of the whole group quite adamantly. With still a curiosity and being a previous meat lover, I tried that meat and had to spit it out. Chewing through pig carcass felt pretty gross. We've been adoring and empathising over David Attenborough's "Our Planet", it was hard not to disassociate myself with animal suffering now. It wasn't until I got home from the BBQ when I realised I didn't like to be put in the situation to stand my ground and say no. Please don't ask a vegan to eat meat :) Another question I got faced with was; "We don't know the effects on Vegans in 30-40 years." That was a good point, especially as it came from my neighbour - a heart surgeon. It made me think of a lot of things which has had knock on effects whether it be drugs making their way in to our water systems or more to our knowledge the devastating effects of global warming and mass production, which at the time was only introduced with industrial progress. The world is forever evolving and changing and we are barely keeping up to try and maintain that precise equilibrium. Progressive ideas with an intention to help and add to our planet should be always welcome, should they not.
I can't deny that we've had some cheats. Our neighbours have delivered us incredible lavender cookies and also cinnamon rolls with butter. We've tried wild garlic pesto and salad with parmesan by our other neighbours. I never want to feel like I'm missing out on trying and experiencing pleasure by food but it's not something I have the interest in cooking myself anymore.
All in all, I think I should wrap this soon because it's getting in to quite an essay. I feel a natural calling to plants and what they can give me and I would love to share with anyone who was more interested in how I feel updates. Whether you're pro-vegan or not everyone can do their part to educate themselves in the severity of what humans have done to the state of the planet. I leave you with a video from the hero himself, and a mediation in nature for you all to reflect on our beautiful mother earth.
https://www.facebook.com/NetflixUK/videos/422285251862151/
It was cold turkey. The shopping bills rose by quite a bit. All those substitutes often cost double the amount of what they would usually cost with alternative milks and soya products. It made me think- if I'm going to be completely conscious of what I put in my stomach- then I should get the best ingredients. Naturally I gravitated to all organic products, and took all the smoothie mixes, a lot of nuts and seeds, and a wide, colourful range of fruits and veggies in Estonia are fairly expensive. But we were new, and we hadn't figured out all the tricks yet. Do any Vegans out there have any tips for keeping the shopping bill down?
We wanted to consciously monitor everything. I was taking a selfie in front of a window everyday, being careful to capture every detail and also of my tongue. The aim was to feel better and it would be interesting to see visually if the health of our gut could change our physical appearance. We weigh ourselves regularly and take in to account a lot of other factors like: water intake, sleep, stress, amount of exercise that can effect our physical wellbeing. I believe that many of us have gotten used to, or accepted functioning not in our optimal health. I don't feel confident with at least some make-up covering dark circles and I can't start ballet class every morning without my strong coffee. Would taking up the vegan diet actually change my confidence and my energy levels? How many things do you have in your life that mask an optimal physical health? By pursuing the vegan diet also gave us more motivation to be careful with other factors that affected our wellbeing. Like I said, if you buy all the best veggies, spend longer than usual checking recipes, preparing your food and making sure to get the right intake of vitamins and minerals, what was the point then to just sit on the couch all day with your fully loaded perfect-plant-protein belly?
The cooking was the fun part. We experimented a lot and we always try to incorporate something we had grown on our windowsill. Pinterest has been hugely inspiring. You can just type the contents of your fridge and watch amazingly as all the delectable aesthetically pleasing recipes unfold endlessly before your eyes. However, really check the sources, because as great as they look some have not tasted half as good. Something I can always rely on is the Deliciously Ella app. Also being aware that half of our ingredients have come across the world to get to our plate I check "Fairlyland Cottage" youtube videos for soothing ideas for sustainable living.
The things which have given us the most motivation have been the documentaries: "What the Health" and "The Game Changers". I don't want to be an advocate via this post for Veganism. I simply want to tell our experiences as we've lived them. Hearing the stories and case studies about the athletes on The Game Changers was hugely relatable to me, as a ballerinas body is their greatest tool. I've had a few key characters in my life who I respect and look up to a lot support plant based diet including my :yoga teacher, my ballet teacher and mentor, and several inspirational colleagues and ballerinas.
However, we've been in an anti-social month and we've still come up against two awkward situations. I have always known that Vegans get faced with some stick in social eating but I have never been on the receiving end. In one BBQ we got invited to I got asked to eat meat in front of the whole group quite adamantly. With still a curiosity and being a previous meat lover, I tried that meat and had to spit it out. Chewing through pig carcass felt pretty gross. We've been adoring and empathising over David Attenborough's "Our Planet", it was hard not to disassociate myself with animal suffering now. It wasn't until I got home from the BBQ when I realised I didn't like to be put in the situation to stand my ground and say no. Please don't ask a vegan to eat meat :) Another question I got faced with was; "We don't know the effects on Vegans in 30-40 years." That was a good point, especially as it came from my neighbour - a heart surgeon. It made me think of a lot of things which has had knock on effects whether it be drugs making their way in to our water systems or more to our knowledge the devastating effects of global warming and mass production, which at the time was only introduced with industrial progress. The world is forever evolving and changing and we are barely keeping up to try and maintain that precise equilibrium. Progressive ideas with an intention to help and add to our planet should be always welcome, should they not.
I can't deny that we've had some cheats. Our neighbours have delivered us incredible lavender cookies and also cinnamon rolls with butter. We've tried wild garlic pesto and salad with parmesan by our other neighbours. I never want to feel like I'm missing out on trying and experiencing pleasure by food but it's not something I have the interest in cooking myself anymore.
All in all, I think I should wrap this soon because it's getting in to quite an essay. I feel a natural calling to plants and what they can give me and I would love to share with anyone who was more interested in how I feel updates. Whether you're pro-vegan or not everyone can do their part to educate themselves in the severity of what humans have done to the state of the planet. I leave you with a video from the hero himself, and a mediation in nature for you all to reflect on our beautiful mother earth.
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