Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Don't be a bully!

I had some down time in the office this morning and was browsing through blogs and came across this post about vegan bullying. Had never heard of it before, but since I've been trying to eat more of a vegan-ish diet, I was curious to read it. I'm glad I did, because it makes me feel better about not yet being 100% vegan. And I'm not even sure I will be 100% vegan. I would like to be, because I appreciate the idea and what that means, but in practicality, I don't know if it will work for me. And anyway, making such dietary changes takes time...at least for me.

Not eating meat anymore wasn't that difficult since I've been an on-and-off vegetarian throughout life. Getting rid of eggs and dairy, not so easy. I cut out eggs a week ago and that hasn't been too hard because I had been considering it for a while, but even in just a week, there were a couple days where I would have just like to scramble some eggs for breakfast, or dinner. It's not so much about the taste (although I do like the taste of scrambled eggs with cheese and hot sauce!) but about convenience sometimes. Eggs and dairy are easy sources of protein. However, I'm not really sure what I believe about how much protein our bodies really need after all the conflicting information I've read recently. (This is something I'll have to research some more.)

Anyway, although choosing not to eat scrambled eggs or an omelet isn't that difficult, letting go of dairy products is a whole other story. There are just so many things I love to eat that involve dairy in some way. Or even include eggs as an ingredient for that matter. Certain things, like desserts, sauces, pasta made with eggs, ice cream (although I've found good alternatives), and many other things. Ordering pizza would not be the same - what about the cheese?! I LOVE cheese, and that is something I have reduced over the week, but not sure I could cut it out completely...at least not anytime soon.

However, to help make these transitions I've been trying to focus on what I will have more of in my diet, rather than solely focusing on what I will have less of or not have at all. I've been enjoying really yummy salads (you can get pretty creative), lots of fresh fruit and fresh juice (remember our new juicer), snacking on my favorite nuts (cocoa almonds), and making my own creative desserts. What it really comes down to is time and being able to plan out meals and be creative. We live in a busy world, and being able to create a yummy and healthy meal is not always easy, but this is one thing I try to do at least a couple times a week, if not every day. I'm beginning to understand that if we invest in our health now, we will reap the benefits in the future.

Well, I guess this post took a different direction than where it started but I hope you had a chance to read the post I linked at the top and are assured that vegans and vegetarians are not haters! Overall, be compassionate in whatever way you are possible...if that means eating less meat, that's great. If not, that's okay too. There are many ways to be compassionate toward others (humans and animals). Have a great Tuesday!

6 comments:

  1. Hey girl, thanks for your sweet comment.
    this post is very interesting to me! yes, cutting out eggs and dairy is pretty hard because it seems so many yummy things have eggs and dairy in general is just so good!! I have a question, what about baking with eggs? Is that a no no too if you want to be vegan? My husband is allergic to eggs so I'm trying to find alternatives all the time. I recently found that you can substitute eggs with ground flax!! (only when baking of course...)
    And I've recently cut out dairy out of my diet because I'm nursing my son and the dairy was giving a horrible rash all over his face. (I also cut out chocolate but that is another story) So, I feel like if I just cut out meat now I would be a vegan. crazy! anyway, sorry for the super long comment.

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  2. Hey Lauren! Thanks for stopping by. As you can see, I don't get many comments so I don't mind the long comment at all!
    It is totally hard to cut out dairy, and eggs are in so many things! Technically, someone who is vegan would cut out all dairy and eggs, basically any animal product. I have heard of using flax or applesauce when baking, and they also have egg replacers. I think applesauce it probably cheap and easy! And cutting out chocolate - that would be so difficult! I know lots of chocolates have milk in them so being vegan would require a lot of close attention to all that stuff. I think most dark chocolates don't have milk, but I'm not sure. Haven't gotten that far into cutting out dairy yet. ;)

    Anyway, hope this helps!

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  3. Nice post. Interesting. The vegan topic has always intrigued me, yet I find it outside my budget. Although, I could be going about it all wrong. ?
    When I clicked on the link I got an error message... ?

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  4. I have been a vegetarian all my life but I do not think I could be a vegan. Dairy is an important part of my life and even culture for that matter. But I guess 'vegan' also has its benefits and also hardships. I do not eat eggs but I do eat 'hidden egg' in cakes and pastry. Is there a particular reason why you turned vegan? Just asking :)

    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    from © tanvii.com

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  5. Hi Tanvi! Thanks for stopping by.
    I had never considered being vegan before b/c I didn't think I could do it, but recently I've read some things that make me want to try reducing dairy and see how it affects my body. I just read Crazy Sexy Diet which talks about the effects of dairy on our body. I'm just curious to try it, but not sure how successful I will be at it. Also, just reading about how animals are treated whether for food purposes or milk has just made me want to quit using animal products altogether...but again, it's easier said than done. ;)

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  6. Kelly - I know what you mean about it being more expensive - that's what I thought too, but I'm not sure that's necessarily true. I'm trying to monitor that and will let you know what I find.

    As for now, I think it can get expensive the more we try to use "fake foods" like fake meat products, etc.

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