If you know me, or have read my blog before, you may know that I suffer from insomnia. Luckily it hasn't been too bad lately, but I did wake up at 3am the other day and spectacularly fail to get back to sleep. After half an hour or so of concerted effort, I gave up trying to get back to sleep and (naughty naughty) picked up my phone. I scrolled through my FaceBook feed and a sponsored post popped up from one of the recipe websites (probably with the word "tasty" in the title). The recipes were all vegan. And looked delicious! Now unfortunately I have a very fussy husband when it comes to food (he will admit to this) and also some fussy kids. The way our days usually pan out is: I cook for the kids around 5:30pm then either Dave or I cook for us later on. Our meals go on a weekly rotation with not a huge amount of variation and a fair amount of beef it turns out!
Whilst I have contemplated my stance on vegetarianism/veganism in the past, a lot of my food decisions have boiled down to the fact that it's far easier not to have to cook 3 different meals. But I've recently started batch cooking and freezing meals in takeaway boxes which has worked out really well for us. I already generally avoid lactose as I'm intolerant, although I do indulge in ice cream etc and suffer the consequences. We have our own chickens, so especially in summer, eggs are actually not a welfare concern for me. I found myself wondering why would anyone with welfare issues choose vegetarianism over veganism, since as far as I can see, the dairy and egg industries are as brutal as the meat industry? Anyway, long story short, although I don't think I can commit to "full time" vegan-living just now, I have decided to alter my diet on the whole towards avoiding animal products - every little helps, right? So what does this look like in real terms? Things I can still consume that I love: ~ coffee ~ wine ~ cider ~ bread ~ peanut butter ~ popcorn ~ chocolate (very dark) ~ fruit ~ soya yoghurt I've now batch cooked 3 bean chilli, vegan curry, butterbean mash and mushroom bourginion as well as adapting a rather delicious cookie recipe (see earlier blog post). I have also made a vegetarian butternut squash with quinoa (this has a small amount of feta cheese, but I guess this could be substituted). I will probably still eat meat/fish 2-3 evening meals per week, but will be looking to buy more welfare-friendly meats where possible (I know, I know). I have also purchased vegan-friendly soap, shower gel and shampoo. Oh and to family members reading this - I promise not to be in any way picky if you're feeding me! I've already adopted a 16:8 eating cycle, which has left me feeling far more energetic and less bloated. And I'm really enjoying the new variety in my diet (which had become stagnant). Watch this space for updates/more recipes etc. Oh and for a certain person who told me I'd be "weak" without animal products - here are the splits from my last 2 runs...let's see you do that, Mr. F!
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