From varsity.co.uk/lifestyle
Edie Castell reflects on the highs and lows of the Veganuary experience
The first time I attempted veganism was when I was 12 years old. It was the summer of yellow ochre, mom jeans, and those ‘we should all be feminists’ tees: in other words, the perfect environment for half-hearted teenage activism. I didn’t particularly know why I was suddenly avoiding animal products past a general concern for their welfare, nor did I have the perseverance to sustain my new diet longer than a few weeks. The problem wasn’t a lack of passion, but rather one fatal flaw that I’ve yet to relinquish: I am incredibly lazy in the kitchen. Especially at university, nothing beats the comfort of a bowl of pesto pasta.
This month, however, I decided to work against my nature, and what better way to do so than to commit to a national movement (and an article) to hold myself accountable? Veganuary, for the unacquainted, is exactly what you’d presume it to be: a month-long commitment to a vegan diet. Since its conception in 2014, the movement has only attracted more fanfare – it feels like half of my friends have given it a go at one point or another.
There’s no arguing that the case for a vegan diet is compelling. Not only has it been linked to certain health benefits, like a lower blood pressure and cholesterol, but cutting out meat has a genuine environmental impact. It’s common knowledge that a reduction in our meat intake would lead to a better carbon footprint. These factors considered, I spent the better part of my New Year’s Eve excitedly sharing my new endeavour: to go into 2025 completely plant-based.
As the new year dawned, I was admittedly over-confident about the ease with which I would take to this shift in my diet. As a passionate butter-hater and plant milk connoisseur, I felt like I was already halfway to veganism. What I hadn’t accounted for was waking up on New Year’s Day exhausted (mildly hungover) in the midst of a rain storm. My early morning supermarket plans foiled, I opted to make do with what I could find in my cupboards. A simple tomato and lentil pasta seemed like my easiest bet, and the dish came together smoothly. However, after struggling through half a bowl of tomato pasta sans cheese, I realised it was lacking the umami taste I craved.
Going vegan, I was quick to note, eliminated many of my go-to embellishments for simple meals. Gone were the days where I could just chuck a load of cheddar over a mediocre dish and call it a day. All hope was not lost, however, and to prevent you from succumbing to a similar fate, I have compiled a (tried and true) list of easy food embellishments:
Absolutely anything pickled or fermented: gherkins, olives, onions, jalapenos, kimchi – take your pick.
Seeds and nuts: peanuts and sesame seeds were wins for me, though I can also envision cashews or pistachios complimenting a pasta dish or curry.
Crunchy veg: Finely chopping up some celery, chillies, or bell peppers allows for a more diverse array of textures.
Liberal seasoning: even if you fail to venture past salt and pepper, being slightly more generous with your food-to-seasoning ratio can make all the difference.
It didn’t take too long to adjust more fully to my new lifestyle (achieved by sitting down and writing out a proper meal plan). Among the highlights of my meals were colourful finely chopped salads and even ready-meal vegan curries from the supermarket. My attempt at veganism also gave me a chance to finally settle my long-held grudge against tofu. In the past, I have been victim to it at its least seasoned, and it took accepting a couple hours of marination to truly obtain the flavour I’d been searching for. I let the cubes sit in a mix of sriracha and tahini, before popping them in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for half an hour. My biggest win was my discovery that hummus is, in fact, vegan, which widened the potential for out-of-meal-time snacking.
Eating out whilst vegan can be, in better situations, limiting, and at worst, entirely fruitless. Whilst the pubs, restaurant, and markets of London, and indeed Cambridge, boast a plethora of vegan options, a local pub in Grays lacked the same menu. The sole vegan option, a faux-chicken burger (counterintuitively served with a saucer of mayo), was clearly not a bestseller. “There’s no meat in that. You know that, right?”, the waitress clarified, in a tone that suggested I was making a grave error with my order. She wouldn’t have been all that incorrect – it was by no means fine dining. I can appreciate a pack of Linda McCartney veggie sausages with the best of them, but I’ve found over the course of this experience that meat mock-ups tend to pale in comparison to whole foods that just so happen to be vegan. In my eyes, a portobello mushroom serves as a much better burger filling than a Quorn patty.
So, will I continue my veganism into February? The jury is still out on that one: whilst I’ve enjoyed the challenge of straying from my comfort zone with my cooking, I haven’t been sold on going entirely plant-based just yet. However, whatever I end up deciding, this experience has certainly pushed me to be more mindful about what I consume. Putting extra consideration into the food I choose to buy and cook has shifted eating into a more deliberate practice, rather than just a functional one. I anticipate many trips to Mill Road (the heart of vegan cuisine) this Lent term.
No comments:
Post a Comment