I haven't really written again in a while since it seems what to eat for breakfast or lunch or dinner is not an exciting depressing adventure. I know where to get meat-free dishes and what to get to avoid dairy. Not exciting. I guess I am still not willing to throw a fit over dishes that appear to be all animal-product free but totally probably contain some sort of animal ingredient. Like a veggie burger on a kaiser roll or a roll that has the top that's shiny. Pretty sure that's egg wash.
One thing I figure out is that I am better off without dairy. I love cheese. Whole Foods' cheese department was my candy store. So many cheese, from so many sources and countries. All different shapes, consistancies and deliciousness. However after no longer stopping to get pizza about 2x a week when neither me nor boyfriend want to cook dinner noticebly made me feel better the next morning at work. My stomach doesn't make weird growly noises. It took a while to notice but I don't feel bloated anymore. I didn't eat too much cheese anyways, but not having it definately helped. I knew I was lactose intolerent but could always eat cheese with minimal issues. So I do have to admit, no cheese has been pretty nice on my body.
Which kind of brings me to another issue. We went out to a restaurant for dinner. There were actually a lot of nice choices for dinner tapas-style including a vegetarian palleya - amazingly delicious with that crunchy bottom. However, I decided to eat a bit of shrimp as it was part of one of the dishes. And then it kind of dawned on me... I really don't feel that much remorse eating things pretty low on the food chain like shrimp. I decided to think about that a bit - vegan vs. vegetarian vs. ... pescaterian (?) - hey there is a term for everyone!
I don't think anymore being a vegetarian is that much more morally sound that eating meat for me. The conditions that milk cows and chickens live in is just as bad as the conditions that the animals raised for meat live in. Eating a product coming out of a tortured animal doesn't seem to be any different than eating that animal, at least ethically in my mind. If one goes by suffering as their standard for their dietary choices, then eating meat and consuming dairy has similar level of suffering. And if my lack of farm knowledge serves me correctly, milk cows and egg chickens eventually end up meat anyways. So after my 3 months of veganism is over, I don't think that I can be vegetarian and argue that this choice reduces animal suffering. Since animals still have to be fed and bred it doesn't reduce impact on the environment. And using a rational argument for better health - at least for me, I would be less healthy if I started eating dairy, even at small amounts that I was eating it before.
So the fish... That left me conflicted. I think our ceviche had shrimp and crab with amazing vinegrette. Is eating shrimp better or worse then eating cheese? Actually, both of those things make me slightly ... well... gassy... But rationally/morally - how would they compare? Few people would argue that shrimp mental capacities are on par of those with sheep or cows or even chickens. But in a busy urban existence where homemade food would be preferable but practically sometimes is impossible... is eating shrimp/crab/fish/oysters for a nutrition boost such a bad idea?
One vegan claims oysters are vegan and environment friendly.
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2010/04/consider_the_oyster.html
If we look at farming today and if one doesn't have constant access to small farm raised crops, all our vegan staples come from giant farms usually from far away. How many animals, considered pests, were killed off to bring us that harvest? Someone had to gather all those soybeans. Someone had to gather all that corn and wheat. Someone had to make it into a product vegans integrate into their diets - tofu, fake meat, seitan, wheat gluten. Does animal death in harvesting of such product get into the equation?
And of course I'm asking not to be an ass but really to measure animal suffering vs. nutritional benefits of different foods.
Measuring suffering of something that has a really foreign nervous system is quite hard. Many people seem to say that any response to stimuli indicates consciousness - but that's faulty reasoning as sunflowers and most plants respond to sunlight by growing towards it - plants respond to certain stimuli as well.
Well that brought me to the website mentioned below... So what label would I have to carry? I like all aspects of vegan and I want to eat fish once in a while. I agree with the argument in a pro-oyster vegan - getting all the B-12 vitamins from an oyster rather than a process vitamin capsule made in a factory that probably produces waste and uses fossil fuels is not that much morally superior option than sucking down an oyster with some lemon. That plastic bottle the vitamins come in will take a while to recycle.
And then I figured out what I was dreading - the explanations. Since less people heard about the trendy pescaterians I would have to go into details about not eating dairy or eggs but eating fish, since pescaterian implies the fish but doesn't exclude dairy. I would have to explain that I don't gorge on fish every chance I get and eat it sometimes to get vitamins and some enjoyment. Sometimes it's the only "vegetarian" dish on the menu. Sometimes you are too f*cking tired to make anything and frozen fish/shrimp is the most filling and quickest option. Sometimes you don't feel like fish at all just eat veggie salads. It doesn't mean that I eat fish every single time I see fish. That kind of thing...
The ungodly amount of labels one can call oneself ranging from sexual life to fashion sense to food choices is truly amazing. On one hand I am sure it can build a sense of community and on the other it's just a pain in the ass and an excuse for self-absorbed people to feel good. "You are special, just like everyone else" totally comes to mind.
All the possible dietary nicknames to call yourself
http://veganism-l.blogspot.com/2012/03/like-lacto-versus-ovo-versus.html
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Day 14 - 2 weeks of vegan and excercise.
I have been enjoying reading other people's blogs about being vegan as well as looking at some failures. Naturally the successful vegans whether they are artists or athletes are the independent blogs that I have to search the internet for. The failures however, always show up on the pages of national newspapers. Parents stupidly starving their kids with misinformed diets, raw vegan getting dumped together with vegan, and a normally functioning vegans with famous blogs who decide to eat meat is big news.
No one seems to care about well functioning vegan athletes or just normal people. I really want to blame the meat industry or the news industry but then again... will you read an article forwarded by a friend about a family starving their kids first or the one about a healthy happy vegan athlete who is doing just fine? Be honest....
What I find annoying about the articles, as well as the comments that are usually posted after the articles online, is that usually the diet they follow is ridiculous and completely insane.
Another issue seems to be how vegan is vegan enough and which label exactly one has to use to describe oneself. I guess people spend a lot of time on this. One article claims that bananas are no longer vegan because there is a spray containing shellfish residue that prevents ripening.
http://blisstree.com/eat/bananas-may-not-be-vegan-anymore-707/
Ummm... Ok... But no one eats the skin of the banana and every farm uses some sort of pest control so there is always some animal life lost unless you grew and supervises it yourself.
If the point is to avoid all animal deaths in the production of food - good luck with that. Animals ran over when the food was being delivered, pest control in every stage of food preparation, and probably some accidents along the way. If the focus becomes no animal injured rather than no animal consumed - how far is it going to go?
Another thing that seemed to be either not mentioned too often or not mentioned at all is the environmental impact of the vegan diet. Does it really take less land and resources to feed vegans than to feed carnivores? Or omnivores? My fake cheese has palm oil and it seems there is no sustainable way of getting it. Another type of fake cheese has cashews in it - pretty sure they don't grow in Chicago. Is it really better than getting some cheese from a family farm in Wisconsin?
I am still trying to find a way to quantize the effects.
No one seems to care about well functioning vegan athletes or just normal people. I really want to blame the meat industry or the news industry but then again... will you read an article forwarded by a friend about a family starving their kids first or the one about a healthy happy vegan athlete who is doing just fine? Be honest....
What I find annoying about the articles, as well as the comments that are usually posted after the articles online, is that usually the diet they follow is ridiculous and completely insane.
Another issue seems to be how vegan is vegan enough and which label exactly one has to use to describe oneself. I guess people spend a lot of time on this. One article claims that bananas are no longer vegan because there is a spray containing shellfish residue that prevents ripening.
http://blisstree.com/eat/bananas-may-not-be-vegan-anymore-707/
Ummm... Ok... But no one eats the skin of the banana and every farm uses some sort of pest control so there is always some animal life lost unless you grew and supervises it yourself.
If the point is to avoid all animal deaths in the production of food - good luck with that. Animals ran over when the food was being delivered, pest control in every stage of food preparation, and probably some accidents along the way. If the focus becomes no animal injured rather than no animal consumed - how far is it going to go?
Another thing that seemed to be either not mentioned too often or not mentioned at all is the environmental impact of the vegan diet. Does it really take less land and resources to feed vegans than to feed carnivores? Or omnivores? My fake cheese has palm oil and it seems there is no sustainable way of getting it. Another type of fake cheese has cashews in it - pretty sure they don't grow in Chicago. Is it really better than getting some cheese from a family farm in Wisconsin?
I am still trying to find a way to quantize the effects.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Day 11 - Don't be dumb.
The past week or so I have been able to establish my vegan eating patterns in sort of a slef-supported vacuum. I didn't hang out with any vegans, I didn't really talk to anyone who was for or against my new vegan experiment. Which made everything go pretty smoothly. Boyfriend was at a conference for a week so that gave him some time to "prepare" and for me to assure that I wasn't going to force him to become vegan as well. So it's been nice. I could look up online articles on vegan topics, no one at worked cared one way or the other about my eating habits, and I've been too busy to hang out with anyone who would need me to explain anything in detail.
I got to meet up with my parents earlier today. Since I was a vegetarian before I was used to the constant questions about my health, if I'm getting enough vitamins, etc. My mom has been trying to lose weight but it's usually dependent on quackery medicine and rumors of magical diets where if you don't eat at a certain time you will magically lose weight. So today my delightful vaccumm was broken. I had to explain that I'm fine, I get enough vitamins and that while we will have them over for a BBQ I'm not eating any meat. That's going to be fun...
As I thought more about it, I realized that the concern about health with a vegan diet is a funny question in a country where 30% of population is obese. Of course everyone know the healthy alternative but no one really follows it. My first or second post on this blog did have a non-flattering picture of an overweight group of people harrassing a healthy looking group of vegans. Really? You are worried about my nutrition? Of course there are a ton of unhealthy vegans.
One of my concerns was becoming one of them. After all, I am not particularly organized, or a good cook or manage my time well. And a real balanced vegan diet requires all of those thing - planning, cooking, making sure you have the time to think things through. Though what I have come away is - don't be dumb. If you think you can be vegan on processed ramen and canned soup - rethink that plan. They serve as good alternative when you don't have any time or resources but the amount of salt and chemicals is not really something that your body wants to process. Tofu and soy products are great - however there is estrogen in some processed soy products so variety has been key for me even though it's way easier to just heat up some fake meat made with soy protein.
Today was also a bit tough since I wanted to get a blood screen for anything terrible in my body and analyze any vitamin deficiencies.
I am also hoping that things like "raw vegan" are not lumped together with what I consider vegan. Raw diet is based on a flawed idea that somehow you need enzymes from foods that are destroyed by the cooking process. This ignores the acids in your stomach that break down everything, including enzymes. This causes people like this to be in the news and say how their "vegan" diet made them sick. When in fact, unscientific and rediculous diet made them sick, not the absence of animal products. Raw vegan is not the same as vegan.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/healthy-living/how-our-vegan-diet-made-us-ill-848322.html
I guess while I was expecting the questions and concerns from the meat eating public, I wasn't expecting to see "raw vegan" touted as an improvement or evoulution of vegan. In a way, I consider it a mutation. Granted many people can thrive on it. But it has no scientific bases what so ever. And in that respect belongs with the "milk makes your bones stronger" myth.
I got to meet up with my parents earlier today. Since I was a vegetarian before I was used to the constant questions about my health, if I'm getting enough vitamins, etc. My mom has been trying to lose weight but it's usually dependent on quackery medicine and rumors of magical diets where if you don't eat at a certain time you will magically lose weight. So today my delightful vaccumm was broken. I had to explain that I'm fine, I get enough vitamins and that while we will have them over for a BBQ I'm not eating any meat. That's going to be fun...
As I thought more about it, I realized that the concern about health with a vegan diet is a funny question in a country where 30% of population is obese. Of course everyone know the healthy alternative but no one really follows it. My first or second post on this blog did have a non-flattering picture of an overweight group of people harrassing a healthy looking group of vegans. Really? You are worried about my nutrition? Of course there are a ton of unhealthy vegans.
One of my concerns was becoming one of them. After all, I am not particularly organized, or a good cook or manage my time well. And a real balanced vegan diet requires all of those thing - planning, cooking, making sure you have the time to think things through. Though what I have come away is - don't be dumb. If you think you can be vegan on processed ramen and canned soup - rethink that plan. They serve as good alternative when you don't have any time or resources but the amount of salt and chemicals is not really something that your body wants to process. Tofu and soy products are great - however there is estrogen in some processed soy products so variety has been key for me even though it's way easier to just heat up some fake meat made with soy protein.
Today was also a bit tough since I wanted to get a blood screen for anything terrible in my body and analyze any vitamin deficiencies.
I am also hoping that things like "raw vegan" are not lumped together with what I consider vegan. Raw diet is based on a flawed idea that somehow you need enzymes from foods that are destroyed by the cooking process. This ignores the acids in your stomach that break down everything, including enzymes. This causes people like this to be in the news and say how their "vegan" diet made them sick. When in fact, unscientific and rediculous diet made them sick, not the absence of animal products. Raw vegan is not the same as vegan.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/healthy-living/how-our-vegan-diet-made-us-ill-848322.html
I guess while I was expecting the questions and concerns from the meat eating public, I wasn't expecting to see "raw vegan" touted as an improvement or evoulution of vegan. In a way, I consider it a mutation. Granted many people can thrive on it. But it has no scientific bases what so ever. And in that respect belongs with the "milk makes your bones stronger" myth.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Day 10 - Days off are nice.
Today was the first day of my week long "time off" I decided to take in between continuing my internship and summer school. I also have seem to created a long list of errands to catch up on while I wasn't working. It was a nice day with minimal agrevations and would have been awesome if I didn't pull something in my lower back. According to the internet it's either kidney disease or will go away in about a month, so I am going with the later.
For dinner I made stir fried vegetables with tofu and buckwheat noodles. Some soy sauces, spices and ginger actually made the vegetables pretty tasty. Boyfriend also ate in the name of eating better and healthier. The bar was set pretty low since he was essentially expecting everything to taste bad. Lowered expectations worked well. Kinda burned, kinda gray looking but it ended up tasting ok.
I guess the hardest part of the day was not just being to grab any snack while running around doing errands. Everything had to be thought out and animal product free for me to eat it. Which I guess why I quit being a vegetarian in the first place. And yes, meat is way more filling as a protein. I have to work a bit harder to not want to eat all the time.
One thing did make me remember being excited about finding "skeptical vegans" online. Now it could mean that they are vegans who are atheists or that they are questioning some of the things that get lumped in with veganism. Just because someone is vegan doesn't mean that they are into yoga, crystal healing, raw food or believe that food has mystical energy. I found some great blogs questioning those ideas in a great ways. I had to also laugh myself when buying a bag of pop corn it declared that it was "Natural" and "Gluten Free". Well Natural means nothing - there are no standard for Natural and pop-corn, well it's kind of a no-brainer that it doesn't contain wheat, required for something to have gluten. Hilarious.
For dinner I made stir fried vegetables with tofu and buckwheat noodles. Some soy sauces, spices and ginger actually made the vegetables pretty tasty. Boyfriend also ate in the name of eating better and healthier. The bar was set pretty low since he was essentially expecting everything to taste bad. Lowered expectations worked well. Kinda burned, kinda gray looking but it ended up tasting ok.
I guess the hardest part of the day was not just being to grab any snack while running around doing errands. Everything had to be thought out and animal product free for me to eat it. Which I guess why I quit being a vegetarian in the first place. And yes, meat is way more filling as a protein. I have to work a bit harder to not want to eat all the time.
One thing did make me remember being excited about finding "skeptical vegans" online. Now it could mean that they are vegans who are atheists or that they are questioning some of the things that get lumped in with veganism. Just because someone is vegan doesn't mean that they are into yoga, crystal healing, raw food or believe that food has mystical energy. I found some great blogs questioning those ideas in a great ways. I had to also laugh myself when buying a bag of pop corn it declared that it was "Natural" and "Gluten Free". Well Natural means nothing - there are no standard for Natural and pop-corn, well it's kind of a no-brainer that it doesn't contain wheat, required for something to have gluten. Hilarious.
Day 8 and 9 - The weekend
So Saturday went alright. I guess I am a very functional and motivated person after I drink... Who knew?! When I got home on Friday with a few margaritas in me I went online and signed up for ... Kettle bell class. At 8:30 am on a Saturday. And I actually got up and went to it on Saturday. Best motivational margaritas ever.
It is taught at a yoga school so everyone there was female except for the instructor and one other guy. Wow... I am so out of shape. While my previous tests of cholesterol and blood sugar came back just fine, my endurance and physical fitness was so not fine. After about 3 minutes of warm up I was out of breath. This is a 1 hour class. Damn. I used to participate in Judo, I used to run just for fun, I used to swim and be active. This was just sad. Also I turn very pale and it horrifies people around me, so I had to convince the instructor that it was ok and normal even though I did feel fainty. Being already pretty pasty and then turning even whiter I guess is alarming to people.
So after some more very energetic exercises involving a kettlebell, lots of motion and a hint of yoga we were done. I hobbled home. I have never felt that many muscles in that much pain. But wow, I felt good, I didn't pass out and I rewarded myself with a vegan burger and vegan cheesecake. Both which didn't suck. Especially the cheesecake - it didn't taste like mashed up tofu with sugar - it was ... creamy. I added more fresh blueberries and it was divine.
Boyfriend came back later that evening from a conference and we decided to grab a quick drink. I guess this is how vegan might be difficult - he expressed no interest what so ever in that, which I knew previously. What I was just hoping that we could have our own food eccentricities separately and without conflict. We were able to share fries and nachos, where he suggested we get cheese on the side, so that I won't have to put up with scraping it off. Genius!
Luckily beer and Jack Daniels are vegan as far as I know so it was a good evening!
Sunday presented a different challenge - while the tastiest baguette known to man were semi-confirmed made without dairy, the tasty tamales at Pilsen Farm Market weren't. They do sometimes carry the ones with fake meat but the ones they had left were beans and cheese or eggplant and cheese. Sigh. I had to shovel my baguette into my mouth and sigh. Boyfriend did get chicken and mole ones and I was definitely jealous. Sigh. Might have to get there early to make sure to get the vegan variety.
Our Sunday lunch was basically me getting pad Thai without egg enjoying that. I am basically assuming that it's made in the same pan where all their meat dishes come from... but I really don't want to be THAT person. Even though I am not grossed out by meat really, not eating it intentionally has created a kind of "ick" factor about my meat-free food touching meat-full food, almost unconsciously. But in the ethical sense, I didn't add to the demand for meat dishes at the local Thai place and that's the ethical gain I was personally going for.
Didn't know I would make it this far. Only one screw up with pizza but everything I have been eating has been animal free. Honey is not an issue since I hate it and have no taste for it. Sugar is something I want to actually look into later but I don't have a sweet tooth anyways. I will be focusing on cooking more. But other than that - I am pretty happy with how my week turned out. I feel pretty good, not too tired and don't think I'm lacking in too much nutrition. Getting a blood test next week just to make sure. I mean it wouldn't be an experiment without all kinds of data, now would it ?
It is taught at a yoga school so everyone there was female except for the instructor and one other guy. Wow... I am so out of shape. While my previous tests of cholesterol and blood sugar came back just fine, my endurance and physical fitness was so not fine. After about 3 minutes of warm up I was out of breath. This is a 1 hour class. Damn. I used to participate in Judo, I used to run just for fun, I used to swim and be active. This was just sad. Also I turn very pale and it horrifies people around me, so I had to convince the instructor that it was ok and normal even though I did feel fainty. Being already pretty pasty and then turning even whiter I guess is alarming to people.
So after some more very energetic exercises involving a kettlebell, lots of motion and a hint of yoga we were done. I hobbled home. I have never felt that many muscles in that much pain. But wow, I felt good, I didn't pass out and I rewarded myself with a vegan burger and vegan cheesecake. Both which didn't suck. Especially the cheesecake - it didn't taste like mashed up tofu with sugar - it was ... creamy. I added more fresh blueberries and it was divine.
Boyfriend came back later that evening from a conference and we decided to grab a quick drink. I guess this is how vegan might be difficult - he expressed no interest what so ever in that, which I knew previously. What I was just hoping that we could have our own food eccentricities separately and without conflict. We were able to share fries and nachos, where he suggested we get cheese on the side, so that I won't have to put up with scraping it off. Genius!
Luckily beer and Jack Daniels are vegan as far as I know so it was a good evening!
Sunday presented a different challenge - while the tastiest baguette known to man were semi-confirmed made without dairy, the tasty tamales at Pilsen Farm Market weren't. They do sometimes carry the ones with fake meat but the ones they had left were beans and cheese or eggplant and cheese. Sigh. I had to shovel my baguette into my mouth and sigh. Boyfriend did get chicken and mole ones and I was definitely jealous. Sigh. Might have to get there early to make sure to get the vegan variety.
Our Sunday lunch was basically me getting pad Thai without egg enjoying that. I am basically assuming that it's made in the same pan where all their meat dishes come from... but I really don't want to be THAT person. Even though I am not grossed out by meat really, not eating it intentionally has created a kind of "ick" factor about my meat-free food touching meat-full food, almost unconsciously. But in the ethical sense, I didn't add to the demand for meat dishes at the local Thai place and that's the ethical gain I was personally going for.
Didn't know I would make it this far. Only one screw up with pizza but everything I have been eating has been animal free. Honey is not an issue since I hate it and have no taste for it. Sugar is something I want to actually look into later but I don't have a sweet tooth anyways. I will be focusing on cooking more. But other than that - I am pretty happy with how my week turned out. I feel pretty good, not too tired and don't think I'm lacking in too much nutrition. Getting a blood test next week just to make sure. I mean it wouldn't be an experiment without all kinds of data, now would it ?
Friday, August 17, 2012
Day 7 - TGIF
Friday was just a great day overall. It was my last day before my very anticipated "do nothing week". Everyone was nice to me and I was excited about doing nothing since very condensed courses and work didn't work out the way I planned and it was just a lot of work.
I got my manager a box of chocolates and decided to get a chocolate bar for me. I asked a manager looking lady if there was any dairy in them. She got flustered and went to find some allergy sign. Since I'm not allergic to stuff made with milk I read the ingredient list and it said nothing about dairy in the ingredients but said it "may contain milk, nuts or wheat". Which I just read to mean "we are covering our ass". When I asked her she said "Well, yes chocolate has dairy. It's made with butter". Umm... Cocoa butter is not like butter made from cow's milk, it's vegan since it comes from plant material. I figured screw it, and bought the chocolate bar anyways.
Looking up online no one really had a definitive answer. It's made in a factory where other stuff is probably not vegan. But saying that none of the chocolate is vegan "because it's made with butter" was just dumb. Well since I figured all modern food is made in a giant factory where other stuff is present I bought the chocolate bar with almonds.
Also I found some other stuff that kinda sucks. Bone char I guess is used in processing of sugar. So technically it's not vegan. However, how many other products will I have to track down processes for? I am going to figure out if this is really a concern. Since I really don't each chocolate, this was just a moment of weakness and I am hoping to solve this vegan candy thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_char
Later that night I was sucking down a delicious margarita that I have been waiting for all week. Now that I think of it... it had lots of sugar. In the interest of efficiency and focusing on the big stuff first, I might have to let this sugar thing go. Gathering of vegetables probably kills a bunch of small animals in the field. No one seems to say that vegetables are not vegetarian because animals are killed in the process.
I got my manager a box of chocolates and decided to get a chocolate bar for me. I asked a manager looking lady if there was any dairy in them. She got flustered and went to find some allergy sign. Since I'm not allergic to stuff made with milk I read the ingredient list and it said nothing about dairy in the ingredients but said it "may contain milk, nuts or wheat". Which I just read to mean "we are covering our ass". When I asked her she said "Well, yes chocolate has dairy. It's made with butter". Umm... Cocoa butter is not like butter made from cow's milk, it's vegan since it comes from plant material. I figured screw it, and bought the chocolate bar anyways.
Looking up online no one really had a definitive answer. It's made in a factory where other stuff is probably not vegan. But saying that none of the chocolate is vegan "because it's made with butter" was just dumb. Well since I figured all modern food is made in a giant factory where other stuff is present I bought the chocolate bar with almonds.Also I found some other stuff that kinda sucks. Bone char I guess is used in processing of sugar. So technically it's not vegan. However, how many other products will I have to track down processes for? I am going to figure out if this is really a concern. Since I really don't each chocolate, this was just a moment of weakness and I am hoping to solve this vegan candy thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_char
Later that night I was sucking down a delicious margarita that I have been waiting for all week. Now that I think of it... it had lots of sugar. In the interest of efficiency and focusing on the big stuff first, I might have to let this sugar thing go. Gathering of vegetables probably kills a bunch of small animals in the field. No one seems to say that vegetables are not vegetarian because animals are killed in the process.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Day 6 - they sure do cook a lot of meat TV.
When I was growing up in the US and still learning English one of my favorite TV shows was on PBS called "Chang can cook". A super energized Chinese man cooked very exotic (to me) ingredients while showing off amazing chopping knife skills. Since I became a vegetarian within a few years of arriving to US, seeing someone cook tofu and so many delicious Chinese ingredients was mesmerizing. One of the few places I could eat as a vegetarian were Chinese restaurants and I always dreamed of re-creating those dishes at home. With a slogan Chang Can Cook So Can You! it seemed promising.
Well I never grew out of watching cooking shows. Food Network came into my life when we got cable and I have been mesmerized again. From gourmet BBQ to molecular gastronomy - I loved it all. Well we got rid of cable but what's this - network channels have a slew of cooking shows now too!
Today I came across one where 4 chefs were transported to the world of ancient China and their challenge was to cook duck. Crap.
No amount of conjuring up images of factory farms could stop me from thinking about the BBQ duck we got in Chinatown a few weeks ago. From the cinnammon-y seasoning that are rubbed on it to the crispy skin - it was amazing. Talk about party in your mouth. Well anyways... The TV show was showing a pretty interesting idea - chefs traveled to different time periods and cook foods from that period. First one was ancient China, hence duck. Second time period is Tudor period. And one guy admitted to playing Dungeons and Dragons. Ok I know who I'm rooting for. Ok short attention span.
Well, even after watching duck prepared with crispy skin and massive amounts of meat prepared for the Tudor period I am still not desperate enough to take off to go to Chinatown to grab some duck. Watching the cooking shows as a vegan now is a funny, weird experience. I guess part of me realizes how versatile meat is. Part of me wants the chefs to really do something different and not use meat for once.
At least I was able to rationalize my way out of getting smoked duck meat.
I wish I could say that the sight of meat disgusts me or something. It's just really not true. It takes a lot to actually disgust me.
The only way that I have been able to stay a vegan for these 6 days (except that one day when I had a slice of pizza) is thinking critically about choices I was making with food. And eating meat is a social experience in this country. At least at our end of the summer internship lunch I did order a veggie sandwich and asked for no cheese. Ah, getting over the fear of asking people to do stuff. I think I'm finding out that while by myself I can figure out how to eat vegan, when it comes to interaction with the outside world, I'm just not that great at navigating it.
Well I never grew out of watching cooking shows. Food Network came into my life when we got cable and I have been mesmerized again. From gourmet BBQ to molecular gastronomy - I loved it all. Well we got rid of cable but what's this - network channels have a slew of cooking shows now too!
Today I came across one where 4 chefs were transported to the world of ancient China and their challenge was to cook duck. Crap.
No amount of conjuring up images of factory farms could stop me from thinking about the BBQ duck we got in Chinatown a few weeks ago. From the cinnammon-y seasoning that are rubbed on it to the crispy skin - it was amazing. Talk about party in your mouth. Well anyways... The TV show was showing a pretty interesting idea - chefs traveled to different time periods and cook foods from that period. First one was ancient China, hence duck. Second time period is Tudor period. And one guy admitted to playing Dungeons and Dragons. Ok I know who I'm rooting for. Ok short attention span.
Well, even after watching duck prepared with crispy skin and massive amounts of meat prepared for the Tudor period I am still not desperate enough to take off to go to Chinatown to grab some duck. Watching the cooking shows as a vegan now is a funny, weird experience. I guess part of me realizes how versatile meat is. Part of me wants the chefs to really do something different and not use meat for once.
At least I was able to rationalize my way out of getting smoked duck meat.
I wish I could say that the sight of meat disgusts me or something. It's just really not true. It takes a lot to actually disgust me.
The only way that I have been able to stay a vegan for these 6 days (except that one day when I had a slice of pizza) is thinking critically about choices I was making with food. And eating meat is a social experience in this country. At least at our end of the summer internship lunch I did order a veggie sandwich and asked for no cheese. Ah, getting over the fear of asking people to do stuff. I think I'm finding out that while by myself I can figure out how to eat vegan, when it comes to interaction with the outside world, I'm just not that great at navigating it.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Day 5 - What a fail of a day.
While the day started ok it quickly degraded.
The laptop I thought was fully charged was 17% charged. My exam was that day which didn't go well and I didn't get to review the material like I planned due to the lap top dying. I almost missed it since due to my online student status they ignored to give me the room number of where the final was going to take place.
FedEx claimed to be open until 11pm but it turned out to be 9:30pm so I couldn't pick up a package I wanted. I was out of cat food. Dog was in the crate more than normal due to my day of insanity. Cats pooped outside the litter box. Our front yard is full of weeds and smells like cat piss since there are a family of cats living under the porch whom I am still hoping to "Trap Neuter Release". Sigh.
And then I failed at vegan. At work they brought it pizza and in all honesty I just didn't feel like explaining why I couldn't eat it.
I felt like crap afterwards. I was kind of surprised about how bad I felt. It did feel like a failure. I didn't feel bad because I was eating something that most likely came from factory farm tortured cows - felt bad because I couldn't stick to a rational, conscious decision. I was mad that I let some sort of self imposed peer pressure affect my decisions. No one would have actually cared.
Tomorrow is another test. Our managers are taking us out for lunch since it's end of the summer programs that I am part of. I checked the restaurant and it looks like there are possible vegan options. I am hoping to do better.
I am still amazed how good I feel for eating vegetarian. I feel actually lighter. It's not completely reflected in my actual weight, but I just don't feel bloated and stuffed. Even after eating fake hotdogs, tater tots and more fake meat, I felt full - but still not bloated. That feeling in itself makes it worth sticking with the vegan plan.
The laptop I thought was fully charged was 17% charged. My exam was that day which didn't go well and I didn't get to review the material like I planned due to the lap top dying. I almost missed it since due to my online student status they ignored to give me the room number of where the final was going to take place.
FedEx claimed to be open until 11pm but it turned out to be 9:30pm so I couldn't pick up a package I wanted. I was out of cat food. Dog was in the crate more than normal due to my day of insanity. Cats pooped outside the litter box. Our front yard is full of weeds and smells like cat piss since there are a family of cats living under the porch whom I am still hoping to "Trap Neuter Release". Sigh.
And then I failed at vegan. At work they brought it pizza and in all honesty I just didn't feel like explaining why I couldn't eat it.
I felt like crap afterwards. I was kind of surprised about how bad I felt. It did feel like a failure. I didn't feel bad because I was eating something that most likely came from factory farm tortured cows - felt bad because I couldn't stick to a rational, conscious decision. I was mad that I let some sort of self imposed peer pressure affect my decisions. No one would have actually cared.
Tomorrow is another test. Our managers are taking us out for lunch since it's end of the summer programs that I am part of. I checked the restaurant and it looks like there are possible vegan options. I am hoping to do better.
I am still amazed how good I feel for eating vegetarian. I feel actually lighter. It's not completely reflected in my actual weight, but I just don't feel bloated and stuffed. Even after eating fake hotdogs, tater tots and more fake meat, I felt full - but still not bloated. That feeling in itself makes it worth sticking with the vegan plan.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Day 3 of the Vegan Experiment - kinda boring
So I thought I guess something magical would happen. Well everything is just kind of ordinary. I have a pretty stocked pantry and fridge of stuff I like that's totally vegan. I wasn't really over come with craving for meat even though I could smell it while passing by some restaurants on the way home. I guess one thing that was a bit hard was watching the cooking shows - and watching them making tasty meat dishes. I will not lie - I don't find taste or texture of meat appalling. So that was the only worthy moment of temptation. And it was on TV so no big deal.
I did purchase the greatest invention ever - vegan fish. I was so excited! Fake shrimp and fake fish patties? What miracle food is this? Well turns out it's konjak root of some sort and it's been used as a food in other countries - spongy, chewy reasonably satisfying texture.
I have to say I did find the "fish patties" tasting like any other veggie chicken patties. Nothing special. However... the vegan shrimp were spot on. If you like shrimp you know that weird plump texture - it had that! After closer inspection you can tell that they came from a mold - which is hilarious! Loving the vegan fish! Go science!
My lunch was pure awesomeness with veggie potstickers and spicy black bean sauce. Amazing flavor.
Well, it's been 3 days - I am not hungry, extra tired or in anyway impaired. I was kind of cold at the office but it might be due to the air conditioning set to "freeze the sh*t out of the employees".
I have been surprised also how super satisfying lychees can be for dessert! A bag of them for about 3 bucks at the Vietnamese market on Argyle st. Sweet and refreshing - great dessert!
I wish something exciting would have happened today - but it was quite ordinary. I guess I was pretty hungry when I got home and ate my dinner without taking pictures - but that would happen regardless of what I had for lunch - I am assuming I am not used to taking pictures of my food yet :)
I did purchase the greatest invention ever - vegan fish. I was so excited! Fake shrimp and fake fish patties? What miracle food is this? Well turns out it's konjak root of some sort and it's been used as a food in other countries - spongy, chewy reasonably satisfying texture.
I have to say I did find the "fish patties" tasting like any other veggie chicken patties. Nothing special. However... the vegan shrimp were spot on. If you like shrimp you know that weird plump texture - it had that! After closer inspection you can tell that they came from a mold - which is hilarious! Loving the vegan fish! Go science!
My lunch was pure awesomeness with veggie potstickers and spicy black bean sauce. Amazing flavor.
Well, it's been 3 days - I am not hungry, extra tired or in anyway impaired. I was kind of cold at the office but it might be due to the air conditioning set to "freeze the sh*t out of the employees".
I have been surprised also how super satisfying lychees can be for dessert! A bag of them for about 3 bucks at the Vietnamese market on Argyle st. Sweet and refreshing - great dessert!
I wish something exciting would have happened today - but it was quite ordinary. I guess I was pretty hungry when I got home and ate my dinner without taking pictures - but that would happen regardless of what I had for lunch - I am assuming I am not used to taking pictures of my food yet :)
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Day 2 of being Vegan - not dead and not hungry.
When I was vegan many many years ago (for about 1 year) my biggest problem was hunger and lack of energy. I was hungry, all the time. I swam on a team and I also participated in a physically demanding martial art Judo - both of which required a lot of energy. Since my family wasn't really into vegan or vegetarian thing the stuff that was around the house was never really healthy and the stuff I could get on my own was just as bad. Sure I convinced them to buy fake meat but beyond that it wasn't that much of a choice. So this time I wanted to make sure that I wasn't hungry and I wasn't unhealthy. I mean fries and potato chips are both vegan...
Today was pretty great. I made my first tofu scramble! Also hashbrowns with fake chorizo. It was delicious and I think I figured out how to make tofu not taste like nothing - lots of correct seasoning. This is a phone picture so stuff doesn't look too appetizing. Tofu scramble has fake cheese on it - it does melt but moments later kind of looks like plastic. However this "cheddar cheese" did taste good and salty and was passable as cheese.
The picture on the right is the close up... It has consistency of Velveeta... Do what you will with that knowledge... Taste was better then the look of it. But it melts! Go science!
I am technically suppose to be studying today... Well since I am such a good procrastinator I decided to get groceries instead. It's not like we don't have food in the house... I decided we needed more correct food for me to make vegan dishes from. I made a trip to both Chinatown and Argyle street (Vietnamese shopping area) and came home with spring rolls, Bah Mi sandwich and some great spicy pickled things I love!
I did pick up some sesame balls - a delicious deep fried rice thing filled with sweet bean paste and covered in sesame seeds. I then found out they are about 150 calories for each 2 inch diameter ball. Sigh. And the bread that the sandwich is made on is an amazing crusty baguette - 300 more calories. Sigh.
Tomorrow is going to be interesting since I will be at work but will be bringing some sort of noodle dish from home so I think I will be ok.
I feel lighter, I feel a bit better. Granted this early on it could be just some sort of shocking your body high going on. But I don't feel bloated or hungry. And I have some amazing spices to make food with as well as 2 types of tofu, veggies, 3 types of noodles, spring roll wrappers (for when I learn how to make those) and veggie dumplings which look promising at 120 calories for 5 of them.
Veganism this time around will be tasty indeed!
Today was pretty great. I made my first tofu scramble! Also hashbrowns with fake chorizo. It was delicious and I think I figured out how to make tofu not taste like nothing - lots of correct seasoning. This is a phone picture so stuff doesn't look too appetizing. Tofu scramble has fake cheese on it - it does melt but moments later kind of looks like plastic. However this "cheddar cheese" did taste good and salty and was passable as cheese. The picture on the right is the close up... It has consistency of Velveeta... Do what you will with that knowledge... Taste was better then the look of it. But it melts! Go science!
I am technically suppose to be studying today... Well since I am such a good procrastinator I decided to get groceries instead. It's not like we don't have food in the house... I decided we needed more correct food for me to make vegan dishes from. I made a trip to both Chinatown and Argyle street (Vietnamese shopping area) and came home with spring rolls, Bah Mi sandwich and some great spicy pickled things I love!
I did pick up some sesame balls - a delicious deep fried rice thing filled with sweet bean paste and covered in sesame seeds. I then found out they are about 150 calories for each 2 inch diameter ball. Sigh. And the bread that the sandwich is made on is an amazing crusty baguette - 300 more calories. Sigh.
Tomorrow is going to be interesting since I will be at work but will be bringing some sort of noodle dish from home so I think I will be ok.
I feel lighter, I feel a bit better. Granted this early on it could be just some sort of shocking your body high going on. But I don't feel bloated or hungry. And I have some amazing spices to make food with as well as 2 types of tofu, veggies, 3 types of noodles, spring roll wrappers (for when I learn how to make those) and veggie dumplings which look promising at 120 calories for 5 of them.
Veganism this time around will be tasty indeed!
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Let the experiment begin!
After a long break in this blog I re-discovered it again. It happened mainly because I decided to do an experiment. Basically I decided to become a vegan for 3 months and see if I get any healthier. Also, since my previous concerns about the vegan diet non being totally environmentally sound I was going to try to track my food in terms of energy needed. Like for example, fake cheese has palm oil - is that good or bad compared to real cheese from Wisconsin in terms of energy?
I am mainly inspired by "Omnivore's Dilemma", a great book that traced out influences of failing farm policy as well as other environmental concerns as it relates to the un-wholesomenes of our food.
Am I motivated by suffering of animals? Partially. I do feel bad about tortured chickens and cows. However if the alternative will cause destruction of the rainforest (palm oil) or contribute to global warming (all the shipping) - I don't know how I feel about that.
Obviously I won't be able to trace the environmental impact of foods when I eat out. But I am hoping in 3 months to have at least some understanding about the impact of rising meat eating or rising vegan eating.
I am mainly inspired by "Omnivore's Dilemma", a great book that traced out influences of failing farm policy as well as other environmental concerns as it relates to the un-wholesomenes of our food.
Am I motivated by suffering of animals? Partially. I do feel bad about tortured chickens and cows. However if the alternative will cause destruction of the rainforest (palm oil) or contribute to global warming (all the shipping) - I don't know how I feel about that.
Obviously I won't be able to trace the environmental impact of foods when I eat out. But I am hoping in 3 months to have at least some understanding about the impact of rising meat eating or rising vegan eating.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Local eggs vs. fake cheese
After reading Omnivore's Dilemma and after reading about energy usage and fossil fuels and how that impacts our world, I was left with WAY more questions than answers.
So what is better for me - a trip to a nice family farm down state some place for eggs and cheese or vegan cheese made locally on the South Side in Chicago? I really felt stumped. Eggs from a family farm, chickens living outside, cow milked occasionally, grazing on grass.
Or vegan cheese, with no animal ingredients, made from cashews that resembles a really good cheese spread. Both totally tasty. But cashews? How far did they have to travel to get to the vegan cheese makers? When calculating fossil fuel impact, and its effect on the environment, is eating vegan cheese the answer? Is it really a more morally sound choice?
So what is better for me - a trip to a nice family farm down state some place for eggs and cheese or vegan cheese made locally on the South Side in Chicago? I really felt stumped. Eggs from a family farm, chickens living outside, cow milked occasionally, grazing on grass.
Or vegan cheese, with no animal ingredients, made from cashews that resembles a really good cheese spread. Both totally tasty. But cashews? How far did they have to travel to get to the vegan cheese makers? When calculating fossil fuel impact, and its effect on the environment, is eating vegan cheese the answer? Is it really a more morally sound choice?
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