I have been vegetarian for over 25 years now. During that time my only indiscretions have been a bit of fish stock, wittingly or otherwise, in noodle soups whilst travelling in Asia and stuck for options. Going vegan is something which I have considered from time to time, but quickly dismissed due to my out of control cheese habit. My rationale (excuse?) was that I was doing enough for my health and the planet by not eating meat and fish.
But recently being vegan has become very trendy, and a lot less hard, due to a wider availability of meat and dairy alternatives. A few other things promoted me to consider it more – the documentary GameChanger, reading about a Singapore-based couple who are vegan and are also performance athletes, and various social media posts on the effect of farming practices on the planet, animal welfare and disease promulgation. Food for thought, (pardon the pun) and so with being locked down and better able to manage my diet than when I’m on the road, I thought I might as well start to experiment with it a bit.
As a disclaimer, I am not setting out to become a vegan, but just to see how much I can reduce my intake of eggs and dairy. This blog will take you through my journey, the highs, the lows, the revelations, tips and failures… and let’s see where we get to!
You may ask, as a starter, how hard it was to become vegetarian. The answer is, it was such a long time ago my memory may be hazy! But I recall some parts were easy, and others not so much. Did I miss steak and other red meats? not really, I’d never been a big fan. Did I miss chicken and fish? Yes but as a newly qualified scuba-diver, I figured I had a responsibility to not contribute to the worlds over-fishing problems that were obvious then, and still have still not been addressed 25+years later.
The hard part was eating out, on a number of fronts. Most restaurants at that time (and still some!) would have one vegetarian option at best, or you would have to ask them to modify some other dish. So the lack of choice was hard to get used to, and often the veggie option was bland and boring to boot. The other hard thing was the feeling you are being anti-social – share dishes? hmm no.., go to a hard core steak restaurant? probably not…, going to someone’s house for dinner? sorry would you mind cooking an extra dish… All somewhat frustrating all those years ago, but much easier these days when almost everyone has some food allergy or preference to cater for.
You may also ask if I ever had health trouble being veggie. I am pleased to report, I did not at all. I have always eaten healthily with plenty of fruit and leafy greens, and minimal sugar, but I have never had any strict rules about diet. Most people need a lot less protein than they actually eat, so with a hearty dose of eggs and dairy, and a random sprinkling of beans, lentils, nuts and tofu through the week, I seemed to get on just fine.
To start my vegan-ish journey, I decided to smash the eggs. Previously I would have had an egg for breakfast maybe once or twice a week. That was relatively easy to cut; cereal or toast and Vegemite suffice just fine for breakfast, and I only feel I’m missing out if we go out for brunch and the eggs florentine (no bacon or salmon, thanks) calls to me. What I haven’t cracked yet are those sneaky eggs that are hidden in other dishes – this will need some more thought. But all in all, I think I have probably cut my egg consumption by 90% with minimal pain over the last few months. Not a bad start, and if I need a motivator to prevent slipping back, I just think of the unhealthy conditions of the poor chickens providing them.
Armed with confidence after the success with the eggs, I decided to tackle milk. I tried soy milk about 6years ago, and found it left me bloated and feeling horrible. My sister suggested almond milk, and fortunately Grand Lucky (our local supermarket), has a wide range of Australian and Japanese brands. I tried the Sanitarium un-sweetened, and it’s great! Slightly nutty flavour, a bit thinner than cows milk, but a very acceptable alternative. So far I have only tried it at home. The big test for after the lockdown will be latte’s – do coffee shops have almond milk, and all over Asia, and what will it taste like, or will I have to start experimenting with black coffee’s or keep my coffee habit as a guilty exception… watch this space.
From this small, but promising start, I’m thinking this will be the pattern to follow – pick one thing to focus on reducing, try alternatives until I find a successful replacement, and then move onto the next thing. I won’t worry about eliminating anything 100%, just try to cut back as much as possible, without making life miserable. Going cold turkey, I suspect would just make me hungry, grumpy and likely to give the whole experiment up.
In the next instalments, I’ll report progress and tackle butter, yoghurt… and the big one – cheese. Stay tuned.
Letter from Jakarta. 