Going Vegan, The Good and The Bad

Before I go any further in this article let me add a disclaimer to say that I’m not totally vegan… yet. I also wouldn’t refer to myself as a flexitarian as I don’t actually eat meat at all. In fact I’m a bit fed up of labels, however it’s much easier to go out to dinner and tell someone you’re vegan rather than give them a list of all the things you do and don’t eat.

There are lots of different reasons why people are choosing to go vegan. Some people have never really liked meat anyway, some do it for health reasons, others do it because they can’t justify an animal being killed (and probably mistreated before they are), whilst there are others who are doing it for the planet. It doesn’t matter what your reasons are, there are good and bad things about going vegan.

My (almost) Vegan Diet

I’ve never really eaten a whole lot of meat, for many years as a teenager I was vegetarian. In those days going out to dinner was incredibly hard. One example was at a cafe when I asked what the vegetarian options were and was told it was quiche. “What flavour quiche?” – “Ham and cheese”… I mean… come on. Fortunately both vegetarian and vegan diets are far better understood these days.

Personally for me, even though I rarely ate meat, giving up has been a slow process. But doing it slowly has made it much easier for me. Completely changing your diet from one day to the next might be easy for some people, but for others it can be extremely difficult. You have to suddenly find a whole new selection of recipes. Yes, you can just cook the same meal and use a meat-free substitute instead but you still have to find an acceptable substitute (acceptable taste-wise to you and your family that is).

Changing to a Plant Based Diet

Pork was my favourite meat. I loved eating pork chops, I loved bacon, I enjoyed pork sausages…

Pork was the first meat I completely gave up. I’ve not eaten anything from a pig in at least 6 years (Esther the Wonder Pig and a campaign for free range pork in New Zealand, where I lived at the time, were the deciding factors for me.) I’ve not eaten beef or lamb for around 5 years, mind you I only ate them once or twice a year anyway.) I gave up dairy milk and dairy yoghurt 5 years ago – it took me a while to find a plant milk I liked, just stick with it. I’ve not eaten chicken for around 4 years and I gave up eggs 2 years ago. I stopped eating cheese regularly 10 months ago, I’ve lapsed a few times but actually I don’t really miss it that much at all, now. I also gave up dairy chocolate around the same time.

Giving Up Cheese!

Cheese was difficult for me to give up (as it is for so many people). I was a cheese fiend. I used to eat a lot of cheese and crackers, my sandwiches were mainly cheese based, I had cheese on top of lasagnes, chillis, pasta dishes and one of my favourite snacks was cheese on toast (or beans on cheese on toast, or marmite on cheese on toast) and I loved a funghi pizza. Finding a substitute for cheese was going to be very difficult for me.

I tried so many different vegan cheeses. A few were ok, most were pretty awful. I occasionally lapsed and bought real cheese. Although I was disappointed in myself, I didn’t beat myself up too much, I knew I just had to try again.

For those still struggling with cheese, I don’t miss it at all now and I don’t buy any vegan cheese substitute either; something I didn’t even think was possible for me. So don’t give up! (I now make a vegetable lasagne that still has a ‘cheesy’ topping with no cheese whatsoever. Check out my recipe for vegan lasagne.)

Not totally vegan, yet

The last thing for me to cut out is honey and fish. One of the reasons I find it difficult at the moment is when I’m feeling lazy. I used to order a takeaway once a week, mainly because I couldn’t be bothered to cook. I probably have a takeaway only once a month now, but finding tasty vegan food that can be delivered is surprisingly difficult. This is a lot to do with personal taste.

The number of times I’ve ordered a vegetable curry and got something with hard potatoes and soggy broccoli and cauliflower in it has seriously put me off ordering anything called ‘vegetable curry’ or similar. I’ve always hated eating potatoes unless they’re really well cooked, and although I love broccoli and cauliflower the last place I want them is as a soggy mess in a curry. So I’m afraid I’ll tend to go for the prawn option. (Even tofu dishes will include soggy broccoli sadly).

The thing is that vegan options are becoming much better. The days when a spicy bean burger or a quiche were the only vegetarian options on the menu are long gone. Many menus now have 3 or 4 vegan options available so ordering food is gradually getting easier. I know I’ll give up fish very soon. Normally I eat it once a fortnight or so and I haven’t had any for 3 weeks. I can’t justify eating fish to myself, so it’s happening.

Should you give up fish? 8 reasons to give up fish that are nothing to do with being vegan.

For some people this will probably seem like a long drawn out process, but it’s working for me. By gradually cutting things out it’s made it much easier to keep them out of my diet. I class myself as ‘almost vegan’, I’m still in the transition phase to being vegan.

Justifying yourself

One of the most frustrating things for me as I’m going vegan is the fact that I have to justify myself to meat eaters and to vegans. I joined a few ‘vegan’ facebook groups for support, especially with regard to giving up cheese. Lots of vegans are extremely supportive and give you ideas for what you could eat instead. Other vegans will get extremely angry with you and explain why you shouldn’t eat cheese. Why? Why do these vegans feel the need to do this? I know why I want to give up cheese, why try to make me feel bad rather than help me? It’s so counter productive to treat people who are trying to change their diet that way.

Preaching vs Explaining

If people ask me why I want to be vegan, I’ll explain it. If they ask where I would get my protein, I’ll explain that too. I tell people who’ve invited me for dinner that I’m vegan because why wouldn’t you? But I wouldn’t expect them to cook me my own meal while everyone else eats something else. This is particularly true for family. Some family members are great and will happily find you alternatives, or they’ll make a meal where the meat can just be eliminated. Other family members see you being vegan as an attack on them somehow… Rather than preaching to them, I just let them know that I can make something vegan and bring it along. They might not accept my offer but I think it’s polite to do so.

I’ve heard of some vegans being very angry with their family for serving meat to others when they’ve been invited to dinner. If you invite your family to your house, feed them a vegan meal. But if you’ve accepted an invitation to their house they can serve what they like to their other guests. Take an amazing vegan meal with you. Make the meat eaters jealous of what’s on your plate. Show them that a vegan diet is delicious, healthy and balanced. Don’t preach to them but if they ask you questions answer them truthfully.

The hardest thing about going vegan

… it’s not what you think it is. It wasn’t giving up cheese, it wasn’t finding alternative meat free recipes. It’s the judgement and having to justify myself to seemingly everyone.

• My advice to vegans – be supportive not judgemental.
• My advice to meat eaters – feel free to ask questions but don’t belittle someone who is trying to make life better for themselves, for animals or for the planet.

Going Vegan – The Good

• No animals are harmed.
• Amazon Rainforest deforestation will be reduced (climate change slowed).
• Less land is required to feed the world. – “If everyone stopped eating (meat and dairy), they (Researchers at the University of Oxford) found that global farmland use could be reduced by 75 per cent, an area equivalent to the size of the US, China, Australia and the EU combined.”*
• It’s healthier (with a properly balanced diet).
• You can tell everyone you’re vegan 😉

Going Vegan – The Bad

• People telling you that carrots scream.
• Being told you’ll never get enough protein. Not true.
• Other vegans judging you for not being ‘vegan enough’.
• Meat eaters telling you not to preach to them after they just asked you why you’re going vegan.

No matter what your reason for going vegan is, be prepared to justify yourself to all sorts of people. My advice is to stick with it, go vegan in a way that works for you and find supportive groups of people who will help you rather than judge you. Me giving up animal products slowly angers some vegans who think I should just give it all up now. Other vegans are much more supportive and give advice to help you move to a completely plant based diet. It’s this part of going vegan that I’m not so keen on.

Please note that this article is about the dietary side of being vegan. Being vegan is a lifestyle and not just a diet and affects every aspect of what you do.

*Veganism is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce our environmental impact on planet, study finds

Update October 2020 – Gone Vegan

I think writing this article gave me the final push to finally move to a fully plant based diet! Around a week after I published this I stopped eating fish and honey and apart from a few mistakes (they happen), I’m proud to say I’ve stuck with it.

Like many vegans I wish I’d done it sooner. I also wish I’d given up all meat and dairy products straight away now that I know how easy a plant based diet is to stick to. However, at the same time, I know that I probably would have failed had I completely changed my diet overnight. Go plant based in a way that works for you. Just eating more plant based meals a week and cutting down on meat and dairy is better for your health and the planet (and the animals!). If you need any advice, give me a shout, I’m more than happy to help and let you know some of my favourite plant based recipes.

PIN ME