My vegan journey – Vegetarian gone vegan (Part 2)

Being vegan is a journey, not a destination.

I believe my vegan journey started long before I even realised; it started by going vegetarian. This blog post is a continuation of My vegan journey – Going vegetarian (part 1), so check that out for more context.

I started my conscious transition from vegetarian to vegan some time in 2019. There were three main factors that contributed to this shift:

1. I met some vegan people
It was not just a myth, these people live amongst us 🙂
Vegan people were just like you and me, they didn’t have ‘vegan’ written all over them and didn’t make it their mission to preach about it. This opened my eyes to the idea of veganism, which I hadn’t considered before. I started considering what goes in the cakes I made for bake offs at work and tested a few vegan recipes, to be more inclusive. I started reflecting on my own eating habits and realised that some of the food I would usually eat was vegan already.

2. I realised how traumatic animal farming really is for the animals
As a vegetarian I was pretty happy with myself, thinking I am not causing animals any suffering by simply not eating them. After all no cow died from being milked for me to enjoy cheese and milk chocolate; or so I thought. I had never considered that a cow needs to be constantly impregnated to give milk; that her baby is taken away from her so that I can have that milk and how traumatic it is for a mother and baby to be separated; also if the baby cow happens to be a male, it will most likely be shot because it has no value. The harsh reality is that farm animals are exploited like assets and are not treated like the sentient beings that they are. I am not going to go in more detail, because I personally find the graphical details very upsetting, but the Viva! Charity is a good source of information.

3. Vegan food is more accessible than ever
Being vegan takes considerably less effort than it ever did. It is amazing how every food you can think of has a vegan version. You can still enjoy your favourite take away or comfort food, but it comes with the added bonus of being cruelty free. Pretty much every restaurant has vegan options and there’s also the exclusively vegan eateries (dreamy!).

My concerns
Now that I had all this knowledge about the impact of my food choices, I had all these vegan options readily available and have met actual people who were vegan, I felt compelled to at least give it a go. What was the worst that could happen?
> Is a vegan diet and lifestyle sustainable in a world that is not vegan?
I was concerned that a vegan diet may not be sustainable long term. Can I go without ever having cheese or cake again?
> How will my family and friends deal with it?
I still need to function in a non vegan society, where being vegan is not that popular (to put it mildly).

My approach
I wasn’t sure that I can do this or what to expect, but I had to at least give it a go. I told myself it is not all or nothing; reducing the amount of dairy and egg I consume was still going to make a difference.
I started slowly, by replacing the milk in tea and coffee with plant based options; I reduced my egg intake and started to explore more vegan foods like jackfruit, banana blossom and even gave tofu a chance. I had to relearn how to bake cakes without dairy and egg and how to cook dishes with new ingredients. I also made sure to chose the vegan options when eating out, if such options were available. But it wasn’t all plain sailing, I was still finding it it hard to resist my usual chocolate bar treats and snacks.

Committing to a vegan lifestyle
After about 8 months of conscious effort of trying a vegan diet, I was almost there, but I would still be tempted by the odd non-vegan snack. I made the shift in January 2020 by signing up to Veganuary and never looked back. Turns out I can do it! Who knew it? I certainly didn’t. There is more to a vegan lifestyle than a vegan diet and I am still working on all the other aspects. Being vegan is a journey, not a destination.
 “Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.” Vegan Society definition of veganism.

Lessons learnt
I will end this self-reflection with the main lessons learnt during my vegan journey so far:
> Rethink and relearn
Do you think you need protein from meat and calcium from milk? Think again.
Be ready to learn to cook nutritious and delicious cruelty free food. You will find plenty of inspiration and tips on my blog.
> It’s not all or nothing. 
Start thinking about the food choices you make and try vegan/vegetarian dishes or products. Allow yourself to be curious. If you can’t live without cheese – that’s fine, you can still make a difference by ditching everything else that’s not vegan.
> It’s not about perfection
Being vegan in a non-vegan world comes with its challenges, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up this ideal. Sure, you may end up eating something that has milk powder in it without realising, or you will be shocked to find out that most fabric conditioner contains animal fat in it, or you may have a really bad day and give in to a [insert not-vegan craving]; but that’s not the point. What truly matters is that every day you start again and try to be the best vegan you can be, as far as is possible and practicable.

My vegan journey – Going vegetarian (Part 1)

” my vegan journey started long before I even realised;
it started by going vegetarian “

I’ve been reflecting on my vegan journey for a while and what better time to write about it than Veganuary?
I have split my vegan journey into two major stages: ‘Going vegetarian’ and ‘Vegetarian gone vegan’. This blog post is about about the first stage of my vegan journey: going vegetarian. I hope this blog post will give you the confidence to start or continue your own vegan journey.

I believe my vegan journey started long before I even realised; it started by going vegetarian.
At that time I was about 18 years old and living in Romania with my parents. The decision to stop eating meat seemed odd to everyone around me. Saying that back then the idea of being vegetarian was not popular is an understatement: I knew no other vegetarians, the food in restaurants was not labelled as vegetarian and the concept was completely alien.
Even more, the Romanian culture revolves around slaughtering and consuming animals at every meal and for all major religious celebrations like Christmas, Easter etc. The only saving grace was that for lent Christians in Romania were supposed to stop consuming any animal products, going practically vegan for weeks at at a time as dictated by the religious calendar.

Why did I go vegetarian?
In my mind I just had enough of consuming dead corpses. The idea of eating animal flesh was not appetising, to put it gently. Not to mention that as a child I had witnessed my fair share of animals being slaughtered for food right before my eyes; acts of cruelty that I can’t get over.
I think this had been playing on my mind for a while, until one day when I had the confidence to say ‘no more’ in my head (I didn’t go out shouting about it to anyone). It was not a memorable day, it all happened gradually. I started eating less and less meat, until one day when I didn’t have any and that day turned into a week, that week turned into a month and that month turned into years.
When I went vegetarian I didn’t know how long I would be vegetarian for, I did what felt right at that time. I didn’t make any commitments about being vegetarian and I wasn’t particularly vocal about it. I did it for myself and I didn’t feel that I had to justify it to anyone else.

My family and friends were not particularly supportive; everyone thought that I was just going through a phase, but they respected my decision. For all I know they could have been right, it could have all been just a phase. I didn’t know how my vegetarian journey would pan out, but I was determined to take it one day at a time. At that age I was able to cook for myself, which helped, and my mum who did most of the cooking was very accommodating.

A massive turning point in my vegan journey was moving to UK to study when I was 21 years old. Here I found a world where being vegetarian was fairly common and met other vegetarian people for the first time. There was greater choice of vegetarian food and I didn’t feel like the odd one out anymore. Living in UK made my life as a vegetarian easy, I fitted right in and felt supported to continue with this lifestyle choice.
I never looked back, until the day I considered going vegan, which was about 10 years later. More about this milestone in my vegan journey in a future blog post.

Lessons learnt
I will end this self-reflection with the main lessons learnt during my vegan journey so far:
Don’t be afraid to start. Start thinking about it. Start trying vegan/vegetarian dishes or products. Allow yourself to be curious.
Do what works for you. There is no right or wrong, it’s your journey. You may start with baby steps, or go cold turkey. Go back, go forward, you are in control.
No strings attached. No pressure. This lifestyle change can be daunting. What if you can’t do it? But what if you can? Focus on what you can do, rather on what you can’t. Can you eat more veggies? Can you eat a vegan/vegetarian meal a week? It may take you a year or 10 years to go vegan, or you may never go vegan, but you may incorporate a lot more plant based meals in your diet. Either way, you have nothing to lose, you may just improve your diet and save some animal lives along the way.
Reflect “Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.” Vegan Society definition of veganism.
You are not alone. Connect with others and go through the journey together. There are so many vegan/vegetarian groups and communities which will support you through your vegan journey. Try some of the recipes I share on my blog, you are guaranteed to at least have a tasty meal, no strings attached 🙂

Tofu for beginners

Let’s talk Tofu. Let’s keep it simple.
Do you like it? Do you cook it? Do you avoid it? 
I used to avoid it. I had a few failed attempts cooking it and my experience when eating out was also a bit hit and miss, so I started to think that it’s just not for me.
What changed?  I had some amazing tofu dishes at Wagamama and I met someone with more experience on the matter, who gave me some tips and words of encouragement. 
Turns out tofu is extremely versatile. After a few more attempts I think I have mastered the basics and I very much like tofu.
If you too are struggling with tofu, the information I am about to share may come in handy.

Tofu – check your facts
Tofu is a soy based food that comes in a few varieties in UK. There are a lot of myths about soy based foods; the fact is, soy is associated with health benefits. Check your facts using a reliable source, I recommend NutritionFacts.org  
Soy is also a common allergen, so before you sneak a tofu cheesecake to the next family gathering, check that no one is allergic to it.

Not all tofu is made equal
Using the appropriate variety of tofu is crucial. Tofu varieties are ranging between Silken and Extra Firm. I can’t even begin to tell you the pain of trying to fry Silken tofu…

Pressing tofu
Pressing tofu, is apparently a thing.
In my experience pressing Silken tofu is challenging because it literally falls apart. I go as far as draining the liquid and gently patting it down with paper kitchen towels.
As far as the Extra Firm tofu goes, I buy the ToFoo Tofu and skip the pressing step completely. This particular brand of tofu doesn’t need pressing! A small difference that makes a big difference when you start cooking and realise that you forgot to start pressing the tofu the night before (it surely doesn’t only happen to me). If you insist on pressing your tofu, you can buy a tofu press or simply wrap it in kitchen paper towels and place it between two chopping boards with a heavy book on top.

Cooking with Silken tofu  
Silken tofu is usually found on the shop shelves and is not refrigerated.  
I use Silken tofu to make vegan cheesecakes.
Some of my favourite tried and tested recipes are:
Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
Baked no-cheese cheesecake

Cooking with Extra Firm tofu
Extra Firm tofu is always found in the chilled isle.
I use Extra Firm tofu for savoury dishes. I find that the best and easiest way to cook it is to bake it.
Some of my favourite tried and tested recipes are:
Yasai Samla Curry Wagamama (Vegan)
Tofu bacon (Vegan)
Scrambled tofu with spinach & cherry tomatoes from Vegan 100: Over 100 Incredible Recipes from Avant-Garde Vegan (page 43) by Gaz Oakley

Now you know everything I wish I knew about tofu when I started my vegan journey.  
I’d love to hear about your tofu tips 😊