Amber Tries: Veganism
Part I: Useless Preamble
The myriad of reasons to go vegan can loosely be divided into four camps. Among these camps, three are ethically-based: animal welfare, environmentalism and responsible consumption; and the other camp is 'health'-based.
Let me get one thing out of the way: I am very skeptical about claims that say 'a vegan diet is good for your health, full stop'. While it may be true that a vegan diet is comparatively better for you than a typical Western diet full of processed animal products, high in saturated fat and cholesterol, that doesn't mean veganism is by default the healthiest way to live.
Some of the main nutritional problems associated with veganism are iron, calcium, Vitamin B-12 and Vitamin D deficiencies. While it's possible to be healthy while on a vegan diet, it requires a lot of education and planning; and veganism isn't the best option for every person at every stage of their lives.
Personally, the most compelling reason for me to try veganism is environmental. From the very beginning of this experiment I know I'm not going to become vegan for any prolonged period of time, but I am interested to see if I'd be able to do a 'vegan week' every few months: I read somewhere that if everyone reduced their meat intake by one meal per week, that would be the equivalent of taking a quarter of a million cars off the road in terms of carbon emissions reduction.
I realise that this statement can't bear scrutiny because its terms are so vague and undefined (who is everyone? What kind of dish are they talking about - a premium steak or a few strips of wagyu in sushi rolls? What type of cars?), but the message had always stuck with me: you don't have to forgo meat completely, but we can all do our part for the environment by reducing consumption.
Part II Method
The theory behind veganism is simple: you forgo all animal products. The devil's in the detail.
Before this experiment, I barely thought about how much of our food (especially packaged or processed food) contain animal products. Cereal, for example, often contain honey as a sweetener; many sweets are made with gelatin; and most wines are filtered with egg-whites or other animal products.
A strict vegan would have to give up most processed food, which is perhaps why it is considered so healthy: not necessarily that you give up animal products, but that strict veganism forces you to give up the vast majority of nasty processed stuff.
I know vegans who have chosen this lifestyle for ethical reasons but decided not to go to extreme - so they still consume wine, for example. I think that's a more sustainable way to commit to long-term veganism, but since I'm only doing this for a week at a time, I decided to try to go the full hog and shun all animal products.
Part III Amber Tries
Day 1
I thought I'd be more prepared than this.
I went into the supermarket before work to pick up soy milk, tomatoes and fruit. I ate a punnet of raspberries, a large handful of grapes and a banana for breakfast; but by mid-morning my stomach started growling loudly and embarrassingly - which is weird because it didn't happen last week during fasting. I gobble down the punnet of cherry tomatoes which tied me over to lunch.
There was only one vegan item on the work cafe menu (normally the number is zero: while they always cater to vegetarians, they rarely cater to vegans) and it sounded utterly depressing: tomato, cucumber, quinoa, current and almond salad with some leaves. Having already ate a punnet of tomatoes, I didn't particularly feel like more, and cucumber is one of the most boring vegetables in earth.
I ended up eating another banana with some cereal in soy milk, thereby starting my journey to what will be a week of label-reading. I have a stash of two cereals in my work drawer. I would have thought both were vegan-friendly, but no. One of them actually contains milk as a flavour agent - I did not know that was even a done thing. Luckily my other cereal was animal-products-free.
I felt very virtuous, but in reality, I have completely maxed out my sugar allowance for the day because I have been consuming nothing but fruit and cereal, and both cereal and soy milk are actually relatively high in sugar.
Worse still, I spent the majority of the afternoon starving, having had quite a lot of food but somehow feeling very empty. I found a single wheat biscuit for afternoon tea. It tasted like a colon cleanse, but was probably the most substantial thing I had eaten all day by that point.
I thought about getting food (I thought about food a lot all day), but I'm pretty sure the only vegan thing I can get within 10 minutes walk from the office would be a tasteless vegetable rice paper roll (which I can't even dip it into fish sauce).
The realisation that I was utterly, utterly ill-prepared had been sneaking up on me as the day progressed, but it was then - clutching a half-eaten wheat biscuit and wondering what on earth would I have for dinner, or food for the rest of the week for that matter - that I understood how much thinking and planning goes into being vegan.
It is not possible to spontaneously grab a quick bite, or go to one of the thousands of eateries in the city and expect that you will be able to get fed as a matter of course. Grocery shopping is no longer a simple exercise of 'oh yeah, that looks good'.
When I got home, my very supportive mother gestured towards a plate of blanched bok choy and some rice ('Here. Enjoy being vegan.'), while she and my brother enjoyed some particularly succulent-looking Shanghai-style pork ribs. She has also lovingly promised to cook all my favourite animal-based dishes over the next week.
Maybe I was adopted.
Day 2
Today is another public holiday, so I suspect food will be slightly easier to manage.
My online research tells me that vegans generally have beautiful Instagrammable food - it's not enough to eat one colour of capsicum, one must have a set of traffic lights on one's plate - but I'm human and I manage this grey thing as my breakfast. It may not be much to look at, but it was nutritious, somewhat filling, and pretty tasty too (thank you osthmanthus syrup).
It is impossible not to snack on a vegan diet: I didn't because I was engrossed in catching on writing blog posts, and by lunch time I was starving to the point where I was shaking. Lunch was 1.5 sweet potatoes with a spoonful of peanut butter, washed down with a mug of home-made soy milk.
It's only day two and I'm already exhausted from thinking about what I can and cannot eat, and what I should have for my next meal. Of course once I get into a routine things will be much easier, but I'm just not used to wasting so much energy on thinking about food (except looking into new and exciting restaurants, which is far more enjoyable).
Mum came to the rescue and offered to cook me a tofu mushroom dish and mashed broad beans for dinner. I'm also taking them to lunch tomorrow. Regardez le glamour shot:
In other news, she's also baking a cheesecake in celebration of my week of veganism.
I am going to check under her bed for adoption papers.
Day 3
I worked late but couldn't have any of the work dinners on offer because none of them were vegan, so I turned into one of these people who make weird demands at restaurants.
I went to Bar Luca, ordered their vegie burger and swapped the buns for their dairy and gluten free version. It was absolutely atrocious: the pattie was crumbly and as dry as cardboard, I couldn't even finish it. I was grateful for the side of shoestring fries, or I would have gone hungry. Of course I don't expect this meal to be completely animal product free, but it's as good as it gets.
Then my colleague and until this evening, friend, came in with chocolate mousse and noodles from the work cafe and gloated in an unsympathetic manner when I vocalised my jealousy and regret. The word 'schadenfreude' was used.
I'm surprised I didn't cave. If I were simply trying to be 'healthy', I would have caved - 'a mouthful won't hurt, I did exercise today, oh I haven't had junk in the past few days'. But because there are very defined boundaries as to what is vegan and what isn't, it was easier to keep myself on track.
Day 4
Not wanting to brave Bar Luca 'vegan' option again, I went to the work cafe and ordered the chicken tangine with cous cous, eggplant and string beans, but I didn't eat the chicken. I felt really guilty for leaving all the chicken behind, and I thought, if I were doing veganism for environmental reasons, surely throwing away all the meat products defeats the purpose?
Even if I were doing veganism for animal rights protection, what I did would have been dumb: it's simply form over substance.
Day 5
I had a vegan dining out experience at Yullis in surry hills (review to come soon!) and it was surprisingly delicious as well as filling.
In other news, lunch was once again utterly depressing. I had bread with some peanut butter and jam. That's it. I am utterly, utterly over being vegan.
Day 6
I was guest at a wedding today, and because I didn't put down any dietary requirements when I RSVPed seeral months ago, I knew I couldn't be vegan. I didn't eat any animal-based products up until the wedding ceremony, then all bets were off. As terrible as this may sound to a vegetarian or a vegan, I almost wept with joy when I bit into my duck confit.
Being vegan isn't just difficult for the person being vegan, but for your friends and family as well. Judging by the menu, no guest at the wedding were vegan (as all options had meat or at least animal-based products in them).
Day 7
I didn't even try to make an effort today.
Part IV: Verdict
Although Sydney has become increasingly vegan-friendly in recent years, being a vegan is still extremely limiting and difficult. I have never ever wasted so much energy thinking about food and worrying about what I will eat for my next meal.
Hats off to those who are able to live a vegan lifestyle: you must have iron-clad self-control, strong convictions and more importantly, impressive organisastion skills, because one simply cannot be vegan and not plan meals ahead.
Perhaps if I were truly going to adopt a vegan lifestyle, over time veganism would get easier: I would know which products to buy in supermarkets instead of squinting over every package like a control-freak; and I would learn to have a few vegan recipes under my belt so I can cook for myself.
For now, I have to say, I am simply not motivated enough to be vegan. I am happy, however, to be a part-time vegetarian, because I do believe that meat consumption in moderation is better for the environment, for personal health, and for animals. Also, being able to eat eggs, dairy and honey opens up a whole lot of options so it's far more practical.
Part V: Next Week
Amber tries calories counting
The myriad of reasons to go vegan can loosely be divided into four camps. Among these camps, three are ethically-based: animal welfare, environmentalism and responsible consumption; and the other camp is 'health'-based.
Let me get one thing out of the way: I am very skeptical about claims that say 'a vegan diet is good for your health, full stop'. While it may be true that a vegan diet is comparatively better for you than a typical Western diet full of processed animal products, high in saturated fat and cholesterol, that doesn't mean veganism is by default the healthiest way to live.
Some of the main nutritional problems associated with veganism are iron, calcium, Vitamin B-12 and Vitamin D deficiencies. While it's possible to be healthy while on a vegan diet, it requires a lot of education and planning; and veganism isn't the best option for every person at every stage of their lives.
Personally, the most compelling reason for me to try veganism is environmental. From the very beginning of this experiment I know I'm not going to become vegan for any prolonged period of time, but I am interested to see if I'd be able to do a 'vegan week' every few months: I read somewhere that if everyone reduced their meat intake by one meal per week, that would be the equivalent of taking a quarter of a million cars off the road in terms of carbon emissions reduction.
I realise that this statement can't bear scrutiny because its terms are so vague and undefined (who is everyone? What kind of dish are they talking about - a premium steak or a few strips of wagyu in sushi rolls? What type of cars?), but the message had always stuck with me: you don't have to forgo meat completely, but we can all do our part for the environment by reducing consumption.
Part II Method
The theory behind veganism is simple: you forgo all animal products. The devil's in the detail.
Before this experiment, I barely thought about how much of our food (especially packaged or processed food) contain animal products. Cereal, for example, often contain honey as a sweetener; many sweets are made with gelatin; and most wines are filtered with egg-whites or other animal products.
A strict vegan would have to give up most processed food, which is perhaps why it is considered so healthy: not necessarily that you give up animal products, but that strict veganism forces you to give up the vast majority of nasty processed stuff.
I know vegans who have chosen this lifestyle for ethical reasons but decided not to go to extreme - so they still consume wine, for example. I think that's a more sustainable way to commit to long-term veganism, but since I'm only doing this for a week at a time, I decided to try to go the full hog and shun all animal products.
Part III Amber Tries
Day 1
I thought I'd be more prepared than this.
I went into the supermarket before work to pick up soy milk, tomatoes and fruit. I ate a punnet of raspberries, a large handful of grapes and a banana for breakfast; but by mid-morning my stomach started growling loudly and embarrassingly - which is weird because it didn't happen last week during fasting. I gobble down the punnet of cherry tomatoes which tied me over to lunch.
There was only one vegan item on the work cafe menu (normally the number is zero: while they always cater to vegetarians, they rarely cater to vegans) and it sounded utterly depressing: tomato, cucumber, quinoa, current and almond salad with some leaves. Having already ate a punnet of tomatoes, I didn't particularly feel like more, and cucumber is one of the most boring vegetables in earth.
I ended up eating another banana with some cereal in soy milk, thereby starting my journey to what will be a week of label-reading. I have a stash of two cereals in my work drawer. I would have thought both were vegan-friendly, but no. One of them actually contains milk as a flavour agent - I did not know that was even a done thing. Luckily my other cereal was animal-products-free.
 |
| Such joy. |
Worse still, I spent the majority of the afternoon starving, having had quite a lot of food but somehow feeling very empty. I found a single wheat biscuit for afternoon tea. It tasted like a colon cleanse, but was probably the most substantial thing I had eaten all day by that point.
I thought about getting food (I thought about food a lot all day), but I'm pretty sure the only vegan thing I can get within 10 minutes walk from the office would be a tasteless vegetable rice paper roll (which I can't even dip it into fish sauce).
The realisation that I was utterly, utterly ill-prepared had been sneaking up on me as the day progressed, but it was then - clutching a half-eaten wheat biscuit and wondering what on earth would I have for dinner, or food for the rest of the week for that matter - that I understood how much thinking and planning goes into being vegan.
It is not possible to spontaneously grab a quick bite, or go to one of the thousands of eateries in the city and expect that you will be able to get fed as a matter of course. Grocery shopping is no longer a simple exercise of 'oh yeah, that looks good'.
When I got home, my very supportive mother gestured towards a plate of blanched bok choy and some rice ('Here. Enjoy being vegan.'), while she and my brother enjoyed some particularly succulent-looking Shanghai-style pork ribs. She has also lovingly promised to cook all my favourite animal-based dishes over the next week.
Maybe I was adopted.
Day 2
Today is another public holiday, so I suspect food will be slightly easier to manage.
My online research tells me that vegans generally have beautiful Instagrammable food - it's not enough to eat one colour of capsicum, one must have a set of traffic lights on one's plate - but I'm human and I manage this grey thing as my breakfast. It may not be much to look at, but it was nutritious, somewhat filling, and pretty tasty too (thank you osthmanthus syrup).
 |
| Appetising |
It's only day two and I'm already exhausted from thinking about what I can and cannot eat, and what I should have for my next meal. Of course once I get into a routine things will be much easier, but I'm just not used to wasting so much energy on thinking about food (except looking into new and exciting restaurants, which is far more enjoyable).
Mum came to the rescue and offered to cook me a tofu mushroom dish and mashed broad beans for dinner. I'm also taking them to lunch tomorrow. Regardez le glamour shot:
 |
| Lunch glamour shot |
I am going to check under her bed for adoption papers.
Day 3
I worked late but couldn't have any of the work dinners on offer because none of them were vegan, so I turned into one of these people who make weird demands at restaurants.
I went to Bar Luca, ordered their vegie burger and swapped the buns for their dairy and gluten free version. It was absolutely atrocious: the pattie was crumbly and as dry as cardboard, I couldn't even finish it. I was grateful for the side of shoestring fries, or I would have gone hungry. Of course I don't expect this meal to be completely animal product free, but it's as good as it gets.
 |
| Just in case you were interested, that's what dairy and gluten free buns look like |
I'm surprised I didn't cave. If I were simply trying to be 'healthy', I would have caved - 'a mouthful won't hurt, I did exercise today, oh I haven't had junk in the past few days'. But because there are very defined boundaries as to what is vegan and what isn't, it was easier to keep myself on track.
Day 4
Not wanting to brave Bar Luca 'vegan' option again, I went to the work cafe and ordered the chicken tangine with cous cous, eggplant and string beans, but I didn't eat the chicken. I felt really guilty for leaving all the chicken behind, and I thought, if I were doing veganism for environmental reasons, surely throwing away all the meat products defeats the purpose?
Even if I were doing veganism for animal rights protection, what I did would have been dumb: it's simply form over substance.
Day 5
I had a vegan dining out experience at Yullis in surry hills (review to come soon!) and it was surprisingly delicious as well as filling.
In other news, lunch was once again utterly depressing. I had bread with some peanut butter and jam. That's it. I am utterly, utterly over being vegan.
 |
| Lunch of sadness |
I was guest at a wedding today, and because I didn't put down any dietary requirements when I RSVPed seeral months ago, I knew I couldn't be vegan. I didn't eat any animal-based products up until the wedding ceremony, then all bets were off. As terrible as this may sound to a vegetarian or a vegan, I almost wept with joy when I bit into my duck confit.
Being vegan isn't just difficult for the person being vegan, but for your friends and family as well. Judging by the menu, no guest at the wedding were vegan (as all options had meat or at least animal-based products in them).
Day 7
I didn't even try to make an effort today.
Part IV: Verdict
Although Sydney has become increasingly vegan-friendly in recent years, being a vegan is still extremely limiting and difficult. I have never ever wasted so much energy thinking about food and worrying about what I will eat for my next meal.
Hats off to those who are able to live a vegan lifestyle: you must have iron-clad self-control, strong convictions and more importantly, impressive organisastion skills, because one simply cannot be vegan and not plan meals ahead.
Perhaps if I were truly going to adopt a vegan lifestyle, over time veganism would get easier: I would know which products to buy in supermarkets instead of squinting over every package like a control-freak; and I would learn to have a few vegan recipes under my belt so I can cook for myself.
For now, I have to say, I am simply not motivated enough to be vegan. I am happy, however, to be a part-time vegetarian, because I do believe that meat consumption in moderation is better for the environment, for personal health, and for animals. Also, being able to eat eggs, dairy and honey opens up a whole lot of options so it's far more practical.
Part V: Next Week
Amber tries calories counting
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