Thursday, June 01, 2006

One of these things is just like the others

PopQuiz!

What do these COOL celebrities (amongst others) have in common?

Alicia Silverstone
Alyssa Milano
Andre 3000
Avril Lavigne
Chris Martin
Damon Albarn
Daniel Johns
David Duchovny
Erykah Badu
Fiona Apple
Ian McKellen
India.Arie
Joanna Lumley
Joaquin Phoenix
John Cleese
Joss Stone
Joy Bryant
Moby
Morrissey
Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Portman
Noah Wyle
P!nk
Sadie Frost
Stella McCartney
Thom Yorke
Tobey Maguire
"Weird Al" Yankovic

?????

Give up? Here's a hint...

That's right!

Veggo!

Well - grab a texta, and add Enny to the list.

Since Sunday 21/05/06, I've been proudly meat free (lacto-ovo vegetarian).

It's not been too hard - it's pretty much coincided with the start of the latest bet so I've been paying more attention to what's been "going in".

We're not typically big meat eaters in the Conder house (too lazy to cook it etc) except for lunches - The Hun gets his two sammiches made for him every morning (who's a good girl? Enny is!!!) and it's typically meat wit tomato, lettuce n some mayo type thang. I'd recently been taking salads in my Go-Flex anyways, plus the cold weather is good for those Velish soups (not spruiking them!) or egg sandwhices if I'm out and about.

ANYWAYS, dinners have been managed - frozen meals, thai takeaway, Ali Baba kebabs, raosted vegetables, pasta, bread n dip, tofu stifry etc; and brekky has been cereal and milk (at my desk before anyone else gets in - if I eat it at home I'm too late to get a carpark).

Just being aware of it all was making me feel a whole lot better about me - AND I haven't intentionally killed any bugs for years and years and years - I scoop them into a glass and put a piece of paper underneath and take them to the outsides. I don't swat or spray spiders or flies, I don't squoosh ants, I don't usually see mosquitoes until they've flown away etc - SO why would I then feel all good about the not killing of the living things and then ho into a steak? Or prawns? Or bacon?

It's jus hypocritical - so I decided to do something about it.

And I've been pretty happy with how it was going. Suprisingly, a lot of people are very combative about it - "How do you think you can make a difference?" "Vegetables are living, so you shouldn't be eating them" "Well just chuck out your shoes and your handbags and your wool clothing then - you won't get any of that!" "My niece did it and got really sick and went a bit mad" "You'd be the worst vegetarian in the world" etc. Only one person so far (Dadsy) has said "Don't worry about what they say - do what you think is right".

I'd still been eating the dairy - after all, laying eggs and giving milk can't hurt the cows n chickens right?

Apparantly -wrong!

I read thru this brochure, and was confronted with more of a moral dillemma -once you know that sort of stuff and it has an impact on you, how can you ignore it?

That then starts to cut out cheese, milk, CHOCOLATE, butter, icecream, anything with lard/animal fat etc... and the thing is - I'm not really that keen on veggies. I'm getting better, but I'm not really into peas, corn, green veggies and ESPECIALLY NOT BEANS OF ANY KIND. I also don't each that much fruit - I have the feeling I'll tend to turn to carbs.

So, today I've also been egg and milk free - I popped out and picked myself up some womens multivitamins and some spirulina tablets to start from tomorrow. If I could find some local milk and eggs, then I wouldn't have an issue with that - but that's gonna require some time to locate.

Hopefully, this will make me feel even better - it seems that people can go either way - looking totally vital, fresh and fool of energy from a vegan diet, or looking withdrawn, anaemic and like a sack of crap... here's hoping the former - I've always wanted that lean wiery look (like a whippet!).

So, if anyone out there has any advice, tips, hints, stories or anything they'd like to say, I'd love to hear it!

12 comments:

Martie said...

Does this mean you're going to go eating mushrooms? Ewww. I would never give up meat for them.

Enny said...

*Luuuuuuurves Mushrooms!*

However - the vegetable curry sauce for our vegetable stirfry had some yoghurt in it... methinks I'm going to have to ease into the vegan thing - it's a LOT harder than I imagined...

Erica said...

Enny - when I stopped eating meat I went full vegan (eating wise anyway - I still use wool. I can't get away from that in my profession) I have only recently started eating eggs again (two a day - I am addicted), and occasionally dairy. Mostly at friends houses or at restaurants where it's too much hassle to question every single ingredient put into a dish.

If you want any recipes, let me know. I have tonnes - I'm in the kitchen all the time. I also have an excellent collection of vegan recipe books, so, if you need some inspiration, email!

PS - Mushrooms rule 4eva!

Erica said...

Oh, and as much as you say you don't like vegies or beans or fruit that much, it's very unhealthy to go vego and not eat them. You also should try and have one legume meal a day (lentils/chickpeas/beans/etc). Turning to carbs is not a good thing. Especially if you eat a lot of white refined flours. You'll not get enough nutrients, make yourself sick, and probably start putting on weight. Bread is not a good substitute for other wholsome foods. I have discovered this the hard way.

Anonymous said...

You might like this site.

www.veganlunchbox.blogspot.com


I think the woman's a complete nutjob personally, but she acutally has some good recipes.

spazzy said...

Weird, i had a very bad meat experience recently (wont give details, we've all been there) and have been toying with the idea of going vego once and for all. I don't really eat much meat as it is... but i'm not sure i have the commitment to cut it out all together, and it would be especially hard to give milk and cheese the flick. I guess the only resolution i've made so far and intend to stick to, is that i'm not eating anything minced.

Get this- i tried to go veggie once before as a teenager, but decided i couldn't hack it as i couldn't bear to give up sausage rolls!

And i read the PETA pamphlet.. i found what was said about milk pretty interesting. And now i really think about it, it is completely weird to drink the milk of another species- particularly as humans seem to be the only ones doing it. Disturbing mental picture is rows of women lined up in sheds getting their breasts squeezed in the same way a cow would. Bit sick, really.

Steph said...

Good for you. Myself, i love steak too much, but i respect people that can give it up.

Enny said...

Erica - if you have any real faves, send them on? I went out and bought myself a book of 400 vegan recipes today - if I find any REALLY good ones I'll share too! I think it's the way to go - avoid it as much as much as I possibly can - I'm still learning what ingredients are part of animals! Tho I did find some cookies and some lindt chocolate today which are passable - hooray!

I won't go nuts on carbs - the only way I'm getting my beans in is thru humous n falaffel atm, so there' usually some carb with that, but I do tend to lean towards the wholemeals atm. That's why I bought the spiro-thangs - so I can get the protein and greener nutrients that I may miss out on.

TJ - Ta's! I have actually seen that one before - she does seem to have LOTS of good ideas! (Tho I don't know if I could raise a child as vegan?!)

Angela - I always declared myself meatertarian!!! Tho I could never eat mince - something about the consistency... and yeah - the milk thing IS odd! It was even a lil odd watching Stewie feeding on Family Guy - and that was his mum (and another lady, but that's another story...). Atm I've been having toast for brekkie instead of my dry cereal with a lil milk - it's the only time I was really drinking it.

Steph - Ta's too! I'm trying not to think about the Hogs Breath steaks.. =o|

Louche said...

I was a vege for years and am also mildly lactose intolerant so I can understand your pain at the supermarket.

Do you like soy milk? 'Cause it's a great way to maintain calcium levels and some of it tastes ok. I like Vitasoy Calci Plus High Fibre.

I still feel guilty about animal cruelty so I try to eat only organic/anti-biotic free meat and chicken. I did get tired of the limited food choices in the end.

But basically it's your body and what you eat is none of anyone else's business.

Enny said...

I think I'm also mildly lactose intolerant - judging by previous, ehm, 'reactions'. I was as a child too.

I've got myself some soy icecream in the freezer I might crack open tonight too - in terms of milk tho, I only ever had it with cereal so I'm only missing it a lil... i think the brie and the pizza shapes might be a lil harder.

I'm still only a week or so in, but I think that shoes/clothes shopping may also bring some interesting situations...

And at least you're still aware - so whatever decisions you make, they're still making some difference! And if it's not for you, then it's not for you and it's just that easy - I've noticed there's a LOT of veg*n nazi's out there on the forums with some serious ego/superiority issues...!!!

Erica said...

Soy milk with cereal is great. So much better than I expected the first time I tried it. I buy Vitasoy Calciplus (Light), as that tastes good, but is also fortified with vitamin B12. That's the only nutrient it's hard to get when you're vegan.

Enny said...

I think I might hafta get some as I'm eating toast for brekky - so if I then have bread with lunch and/or dinner - that's jus too much!