...so why the hell is it still hot? It's not hot today but the forecast is for more HOT!! I can't take it. Also it's March. March goes with Autumn in this hemisphere so that's no surprise but MARCH!! Already!!! How did that happen? Where did January and February go? Also why do people ask if anyone is vegetarian but not vegan? Ok, maybe I need to explain that last one, this is starting to sound like bad stand up.
On Saturday I attended a workshop for one of my Uni courses. The workshop was great, very informative and interesting and best of all they provided lunch. Then the facilitator announced that lunch was pizza....hmmm, ok, imaginative. Then he asked the question...'before I order, how many vegetarians are there?'. There were four....and one VEGAN!!! That'd be me!! Did he ask? Nope. So at lunch I find myself struggling with lukewarm vegetarian pizza trying to remove the cheese while still making intelligent and coherent conversation. Sigh. Note to self...take lunch next time. The other thing I'm finding is that other people find my being vegan more challenging than I do, if they're not trying to tempt me or change my mind they're explaining in condescending detail why I should still eat meat and dairy. Someone even said to me, when inviting me to dinner 'bring something you can eat and we'll take it from there'....huh? Either don't invite me or use your imagination and if that's all too hard look up a recipe. It reminds me of the episode of The Simpsons where they are in a Chinese restaurant and Lisa is ordering vegetarian food and the waiter is trying to tempt her with bee bellies and cat noses and finally says 'is there any way we can enhance your dining experience by hurting an animal'. Love it.
Showing posts with label vegan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegan. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 6
Tuesday, January 23
Life at the Ashram
Ok, so it's nearly a week since I created my blog and decided to become a serious, bona fide blogger. Note the lack of updates since day one? And day one wasn't much to speak of. One thing about me, when I commit to something I commit with total apathy.
I feel I should now fill this page with the daring exploits and adventures of the past week but as there weren't any really I might just stick to the facts. I suppose the highlight, if you could call it that, is my decision to cut out meat and dairy from my diet. It's been a long time dream of mine to live the kind of healthy existence normally reserved for hippy types and yoga teachers. I have a mental picture of myself eating my organic, wholegrain, biodynamic, soy lettuce while maintaining a difficult balancing yoga position before retiring to my private Ashram for a 3 hour meditation. The reality is quite different. The only contortions I’ve managed have been the ones I get into while retrieving veggies from the vegetable crisper in the fridge (yes, I’m spending a lot more time with the vegetables than I used to, not counting the ones I work with). There has been no meditation to date, but it is only day 4, although as I am a meditation teacher that’s probably not a good thing. My excuse is that trying to meditate and commence a vegan type diet is like being tied to the railway tracks, looking at an oncoming train and trying to contemplate what heaven will be like, that train is just too damn distracting. On the food side however I am proud to announce that I have been totally meat and dairy free for the last 4 days. The amazing thing is that it has been surprisingly easy. Years ago I was vegetarian for a while, that was ok, but I still craved chicken and fish, in fact to be honest I craved all face wearing flesh. The idea of being meat free and giving up cheese was beyond my comprehension (and capabilities) for a long time.
What changed? First of all my health changed, a series of tests revealed some boring and potentially life threatening health issues. Then a vegan friend spent a couple of days giving me tips on how to live an easy vegan life (I just couldn’t see myself spending the rest of my days absorbed in the intricacies of soaking lentils – see earlier apathy comment). At the same time I was reading ‘The China Study’ by T Colin Campbell. A fascinating and terrifying look at an enormous study of nutrition and it’s affect on health. I have to say that was the clincher. I won’t do a book review, but trust me, you really want to read this book.
So here I am, 4 days into an almost vegan existence. I say almost because there is one small problem. Chocolate. If I ever had to give up chocolate with all its cocoa dairy goodness I might as well die. Sure I know there are ‘dairy free’ varieties (as if) and one could always just have tofu instead but somehow that doesn’t have the same appeal. So my dedication to Mr Cadbury and all his friends shall remain. It will be my dirty little secret, without it in my life I’d be a lesser person, the world would be a dull and boring place and my husband would have nothing to buy me off with. Anyway, if I stop eating chocolate I’d have to change the banner on my blog and I so don’t want to do that.
I feel I should now fill this page with the daring exploits and adventures of the past week but as there weren't any really I might just stick to the facts. I suppose the highlight, if you could call it that, is my decision to cut out meat and dairy from my diet. It's been a long time dream of mine to live the kind of healthy existence normally reserved for hippy types and yoga teachers. I have a mental picture of myself eating my organic, wholegrain, biodynamic, soy lettuce while maintaining a difficult balancing yoga position before retiring to my private Ashram for a 3 hour meditation. The reality is quite different. The only contortions I’ve managed have been the ones I get into while retrieving veggies from the vegetable crisper in the fridge (yes, I’m spending a lot more time with the vegetables than I used to, not counting the ones I work with). There has been no meditation to date, but it is only day 4, although as I am a meditation teacher that’s probably not a good thing. My excuse is that trying to meditate and commence a vegan type diet is like being tied to the railway tracks, looking at an oncoming train and trying to contemplate what heaven will be like, that train is just too damn distracting. On the food side however I am proud to announce that I have been totally meat and dairy free for the last 4 days. The amazing thing is that it has been surprisingly easy. Years ago I was vegetarian for a while, that was ok, but I still craved chicken and fish, in fact to be honest I craved all face wearing flesh. The idea of being meat free and giving up cheese was beyond my comprehension (and capabilities) for a long time.
What changed? First of all my health changed, a series of tests revealed some boring and potentially life threatening health issues. Then a vegan friend spent a couple of days giving me tips on how to live an easy vegan life (I just couldn’t see myself spending the rest of my days absorbed in the intricacies of soaking lentils – see earlier apathy comment). At the same time I was reading ‘The China Study’ by T Colin Campbell. A fascinating and terrifying look at an enormous study of nutrition and it’s affect on health. I have to say that was the clincher. I won’t do a book review, but trust me, you really want to read this book.
So here I am, 4 days into an almost vegan existence. I say almost because there is one small problem. Chocolate. If I ever had to give up chocolate with all its cocoa dairy goodness I might as well die. Sure I know there are ‘dairy free’ varieties (as if) and one could always just have tofu instead but somehow that doesn’t have the same appeal. So my dedication to Mr Cadbury and all his friends shall remain. It will be my dirty little secret, without it in my life I’d be a lesser person, the world would be a dull and boring place and my husband would have nothing to buy me off with. Anyway, if I stop eating chocolate I’d have to change the banner on my blog and I so don’t want to do that.
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