I read an article by David Mitchell yesterday about veganism, and it really got me thinking. He made the argument, in a very wishy-washy but not unclear way, that vegans are obviously in the right.
Well, obviously. Vegetarians are in the right too. Meat-eaters obviously in the wrong. But, we do like to eat meat. We like sausages. We’re used to it. It’s what we grew up with.
So, well, what then?
Then the obvious step is to try and be better. For a while Su went vegetarian and her health suffered. I tried soy milk for breakfast but it didn’t take. Now
I’m thinking to have a new go at it, built around my lunch.
As described earlier, I have a superfood combo-lunch every day of meat, fish, beans, nuts, fruits, seeds, grains, etc.. I like it, it tastes good, it covers pretty much every base imaginable – so is the chicken component essential?
That’s 1kg of chicken a week, maybe 8 chicken breasts. 4 chickens!! I could easily cut the chicken and swap in some tofu. Now, I dislike tofu for its bland taste and smooshy texture, but apparently smoked tofu is firmer and tastier, so maybe I’ll try that.
I guess, done, as of next week – at least to try it. As for the fish, I could move off that too, maybe. Fish oil is a powerful good, but there are other ways to get it. I will keep tabs on this.
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Good on you, Mike. The key is making incremental (and thus easier to maintain) changes in your diet and habits. Once you’ve got one down, you add or swap another little thing.
Smoked tofu is certainly better in sandwiches than plain — I also like chickpeas (in salads and bowls) and tempeh (sandwiches and everything else) as other nice alternatives to tofu. (That said I eat a fair bit of tofu, I happen to be lucky that the Korean grocery near me makes it fresh which is delicious as is if it’s just come out or if not, pan fried. I can’t eat packaged tofu anymore I’ve been spoiled). lightly
You can also look at are your protein needs and see if you need the tofu at all. Most first world diets are higher in protein than necessary so sometimes you can cut something out without replacing it with exactly the same in terms of macro nutrients (i.e. could be okay to drop some protein in favour of more fibre and vitamins).
When you’re ready to tackle breakfast it might require a little imagination. That might mean eating something completely different. Instead of replacing milk, could you eat something that doesn’t require it? It might take some experimentation at first, but there are lots of foods out there and almost certainly something that could suit your tastes.
Best of luck and happy holidays!
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Cheers Bruno, and good to hear from you! I haven’t tried yet as this week still coasting on last week’s bulk production, so looks like I’ll try first work week of 2019.
Are you a vegetarian now? Chickpeas is a good idea.
As for breakfast, I used to have my muesli with soy milk. I’m not a fan, though, but maybe it’s better. What’s your breakfast? Happy holidays to you too!
Yeah, vegan for 5 years now, vegetarian for another 7 or so years before that.
My breakfast during the week is oatmeal: instant oatmeal, dates, ground flax, hemp protein powder or ground hemp hearts, pinch of salt and a little maple syrup. I prep in a glass jar, pour boiling water over top, stir, screw on the lid and throw in my pannier. By the time I’m at my desk at work, it’s ready to eat. If I run out of flax or don’t feel like grinding, I throw in half the amount of chia seeds. On the weekends most often I make pancakes or steel cut oats. For the oats, I make it on the stove, put the dates in early so they have time to dissolve/break apart, skip the flax and protein, and add a bit of coconut milk and vegan butter/margarine at the end for a richer, creamier treat.