I'm in the mood for creating something, and since my plan to make dairy and gluten free pancakes came crashing down when my local health food shop had sold out of chia seeds, perhaps writing you a little blog post will satisfy my itch.
This is a little flow of what I've learnt from my experiences and where I'm at so far with Diet.
Having last posted in May 2013, it's almost been a year since I started posting about my experiences eating as a vegan. And a lot has changed since those days. I'd say I've found a way of eating, which although IS vegan, I don't like to label as 'vegan', because in my experience simply being vegan is not enough to be healthy and I feel like it is often a sad misconception. There are many vegan alternatives to high sugar animal product snacks that are still highly processed and void of nutrition. Of course I'd rather take the 'ethical' option if I'm going let my discipline slip for a moment , but the first reason I became vegan was for my health so I'm in constant search of foods that nourish and satisfy leaving me craving free.
If you've read my May post you'll see I started off trying to replicate all the things I ate as an omnivore but without the meat and find substitutes and found it hard work. I did this because I believed that my meals needed to still follow the popular 'food groups' pattern. I don't think it is necessary to eat like that anymore... in fact I'm living proof it's not. I moved to London in September and that sparked the first change that the shop I used to rely on in Brighton for everything like vegan mayo and tofu and was no longer so accessible. I'm now following a much simpler diet, it is simpler in terms of shopping and thinking because all I buy is fresh stuff (mainly veggies) plus dried beans which I soak when I want to use them the next day and the occasional potato, quinoa, pasta (even less often - although I swear by it if you've had flu and haven't eaten for 3 days ;)), cous cous or something that's sorta carby. It is my aim to eventually not have to eat much grains at all, but sometimes with all the other things I have to do (like work and study e.g.) I'm not that organised yet and it's often when I don't have time that I resort to grains to bulk out meals quickly. It's simpler because I've learned I don't need to substitute meat with tofu (which I now never buy) and I'm finding since I've started eating just a lot more fresh veggies I don't need any sauces because things like tomatoes add the juice and herbs and spices the flavours! The only way it's not simple is in the planning; if you've had a lazy day or been knocked out by illness it takes some effort to get back into the flow and lifestyle pattern of buying, cooking and re-stocking. I do find myself having to make a few meals in advance and storing them in the fridge for those days when I'm working a few12 hour shifts in a row. Hopefully I'll write a post in the not too distant future about how I'm no longer working 12 hour shifts then my life will be mine to cook to my hearts content on a daily basis. Another thing is that sometimes it's a bind having to think about food so much; and this comes down to 'the majority of the world doesn't eat the way I choose to', which means nothing is readily available and easy for me out their in the mainstream 'eating out' world. Sometimes I just wish I didn't haven't to think I could walk into a shop without having to read the label and see if it fits my dietary requirements or ask the barista if she serves non-dairy milk. Still I'm sure I'll find a way to solve this little hiccup over time... I probably just need more practice #newbe ;)
The last thing I want to say about diet is my attitude and update on being vegan... In may when I started this I felt very strongly about not eating animals because I'd learned about the health benefits of being vegetarian it was through trying to find alternatives that I then learned about the horrendous ways in which cows and their babies are treated in order to provide us with so many dairy products. This industry has somehow seemed to have escaped the public scathing that is so often cast upon meat producers and eaters, so I felt compelled to give up dairy too as it seemed like double standards not to. However I was only 100% strict for 4 months after which time I began to slip back to thinking about what I could justify eating and I started to occasionally eat fish again. I'm not sure exactly how it came about but probably a combination of not having ever seen cruelty to fishes, my dad being a fisherman and always bringing home very tasty fish when we were growing up, the healthy myth about fish being good for you and us needing B12 or omega 3 from it. So after having a few months lapse and actually packing in my morals altogether at Christmas (none of my family are remotely vegetarian and it was too easy to give in to what was around and not be 'bullied' for being a pain in choosing not to conform). I'm currently thinking about what to do next year, because I really don't want to let that happen again; I've made this choice for a reason and while I'm not asking my family to become vegan for me I don't want to turn my back on my own beliefs just because they don't do the same. I expect I shall get more involved with the cooking and make plenty of tasty vegan options. After all, all we really want is to have a good time together and they don't really care what they eat as long as they don't have to put too much effort into making it. For them it's effort because they haven't learnt what I've learnt about vegan cooking so it's like they'd have to do a years experimenting before they get to where I am with this.
The next blog post will not be about food... I can't take the intensity #emilyneedstogetsomevarietyinherlife
Tuesday, 4 March 2014
20th December 2013
I've come a long long way... Through the hard times and the good. I'm gonna celebrate me, I'm gonna celebrate me with a post.
Career - I'm now a few months into the first year of studying a Post Grad Diploma in Children's nursing. It's continually hard work, sometimes enjoyable and sometimes challenging. I think I've found my niche, which has helped.
German - I've totally given up on attempting to improve my German right now. My course is taking all of my energy and there are not enough German's in my life to practice with, so this one has been put firmly on hold.
Veganism - I'm eating a well balanced and varied vegan diet at home. I strictly followed this for 4 months and enjoyed every bit of it. Inventing new dishes, learning about new ways to prepare and cook food. I have since learned more about raw foods. When I go out to eat I sometimes have the vegetarian or fish option. I prefer to take the fish option, as I really have a dislike for dairy products since learning what they do to our health. Personally I don't believe anyone should be eating dairy and I think about it long enough I'm quite angry about it being considered a food group. Second to the health issues surrounding regularly consuming dairy products, I believe that if we hold any moral obligation to protect the lives of animals by refusing to eat meat, then the moral obligation we hold in protecting dairy cows from suffering the loss of their young, their young suffering the separation from their mothers and the dairy cows being pumped full of hormones and antibiotics in order to produce more milk than is natural, should be at least equally if not more sort after.
So that's my date as of December 2013
Career - I'm now a few months into the first year of studying a Post Grad Diploma in Children's nursing. It's continually hard work, sometimes enjoyable and sometimes challenging. I think I've found my niche, which has helped.
German - I've totally given up on attempting to improve my German right now. My course is taking all of my energy and there are not enough German's in my life to practice with, so this one has been put firmly on hold.
Veganism - I'm eating a well balanced and varied vegan diet at home. I strictly followed this for 4 months and enjoyed every bit of it. Inventing new dishes, learning about new ways to prepare and cook food. I have since learned more about raw foods. When I go out to eat I sometimes have the vegetarian or fish option. I prefer to take the fish option, as I really have a dislike for dairy products since learning what they do to our health. Personally I don't believe anyone should be eating dairy and I think about it long enough I'm quite angry about it being considered a food group. Second to the health issues surrounding regularly consuming dairy products, I believe that if we hold any moral obligation to protect the lives of animals by refusing to eat meat, then the moral obligation we hold in protecting dairy cows from suffering the loss of their young, their young suffering the separation from their mothers and the dairy cows being pumped full of hormones and antibiotics in order to produce more milk than is natural, should be at least equally if not more sort after.
So that's my date as of December 2013
Thursday, 23 May 2013
VeganMe
I realise my initial plan for this blog has not come to pass as I have planned but having read through my goals, they have not changed, just merely shuffled around a bit..... enjoy my current step: It's vegan time!
Following a year or more of thought about the unhealthy food so readily available to us, and quite often pushed in our faces with false claims that it's good for our health, I have finally taken the bold move to become vegan! I am three days in and it is HARD WORK!
The main problem is not finding the nutritional value in the food or coming up with idea's of how to make a delicious and healthy meal, but it is finding ready made marinades and stock which is vegan suitable (even vegetarian for that matter). Vegetable OXO cubes contain beef!!!! What is that about? Acidity regulator is commonly found to contain lactic acid.
I live in a small village and they have a Holland and Barrett, which is good for some things but generally I don't like it because it's a big company. I wish you could go down the village and see 50 good local experts in their field producing quality goods and none of this budget knock off style 'food to fill' rubbish. One of the reasons this is so hard at the moment is because I am changing old patterns and having to learn where to source alternatives. The fact that we are literally flooded with popular food that holds big profit margins for the retailer, is a huge chunk of my battle. Anyway I am fixing these problems so here's what I've done so far.
Day One.
I went to Brighton and shopped at my new favourite supermarket "Infinity Foods", to stock up on some basics, I ordered some 'cupboard fillers' from a vegan website (still waiting for delivery). I prepared some pretty basic meals that day (including a sweet potato with soya butter and vegan mayonnaise, asparagus, and nuts) most of which I will admit were not nutritionally balanced (as I am still learning this too), but they were nonetheless vegan!
Day Two.
A great day, I woke up and had banana and peanut butter (made from only peanuts - no palm oil or other additives) on toast. Lunch was rice cooked with herbs, salt, olive oil and served with olives, mushrooms, tomatoes, avocado and for dinner I had the same but added some green leafy salad, bean spouts, nuts and soya yogurt. It was all drizzled in balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil - Totally yum!
Day Three.
This is today I have been bad, I had a massive lay in and didn't have breakfast until lunch time, so I ate a banana and some puffed rice with 'innocent smoothy' on it and nuts and apricots. Also yum. For Lunch I'm about to make tofu, with something, I came online to check out vegan marinades and look up if the one we already had in the house was vegan - it's surprisingly not ;) So I'm going for a simply garlic butter (with my soya butter of course).
If you're a vegan or want to become on and are having or have had the same difficulties as me I'd love to hear from you! Happy fighting the unhealthy food industry.
Following a year or more of thought about the unhealthy food so readily available to us, and quite often pushed in our faces with false claims that it's good for our health, I have finally taken the bold move to become vegan! I am three days in and it is HARD WORK!
The main problem is not finding the nutritional value in the food or coming up with idea's of how to make a delicious and healthy meal, but it is finding ready made marinades and stock which is vegan suitable (even vegetarian for that matter). Vegetable OXO cubes contain beef!!!! What is that about? Acidity regulator is commonly found to contain lactic acid.
I live in a small village and they have a Holland and Barrett, which is good for some things but generally I don't like it because it's a big company. I wish you could go down the village and see 50 good local experts in their field producing quality goods and none of this budget knock off style 'food to fill' rubbish. One of the reasons this is so hard at the moment is because I am changing old patterns and having to learn where to source alternatives. The fact that we are literally flooded with popular food that holds big profit margins for the retailer, is a huge chunk of my battle. Anyway I am fixing these problems so here's what I've done so far.
Day One.
I went to Brighton and shopped at my new favourite supermarket "Infinity Foods", to stock up on some basics, I ordered some 'cupboard fillers' from a vegan website (still waiting for delivery). I prepared some pretty basic meals that day (including a sweet potato with soya butter and vegan mayonnaise, asparagus, and nuts) most of which I will admit were not nutritionally balanced (as I am still learning this too), but they were nonetheless vegan!
Day Two.
A great day, I woke up and had banana and peanut butter (made from only peanuts - no palm oil or other additives) on toast. Lunch was rice cooked with herbs, salt, olive oil and served with olives, mushrooms, tomatoes, avocado and for dinner I had the same but added some green leafy salad, bean spouts, nuts and soya yogurt. It was all drizzled in balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil - Totally yum!
Day Three.
This is today I have been bad, I had a massive lay in and didn't have breakfast until lunch time, so I ate a banana and some puffed rice with 'innocent smoothy' on it and nuts and apricots. Also yum. For Lunch I'm about to make tofu, with something, I came online to check out vegan marinades and look up if the one we already had in the house was vegan - it's surprisingly not ;) So I'm going for a simply garlic butter (with my soya butter of course).
If you're a vegan or want to become on and are having or have had the same difficulties as me I'd love to hear from you! Happy fighting the unhealthy food industry.
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Veganism is probably much healthier than cannibalism
OK so the title airs on the side of extremism and sarcasm. But I do mean that I am probably about to conclude that evidence for health benefits as a result of becoming vegan are far greater than the benefits you'd enjoy if you were to eat a diet highly balanced with meat and dairy products.
I'm not a doctor and I haven't done any first hand experiments (yet) :), but I have read a lot from all over the place; and not just from "hippy animal lovers" trying to get you to give up the food you love or sacrifice your health for the 'greater good'. Veganism for me, is NOT about any of these things. It is about sorting out a diet beneficial to my own health, responsibly and with the facts.
I have not yet changed anything about my diet. I still eat meat, dairy as well as a lot of vegetarian and vegan alternatives (such as Tofu and Soya milk). What I have been doing this week is looking up recipes and health benefits of foods that I will need to eat when and if I do decide to change. I found a book on amazon called "Vegan cooking for one", below is the list of all things I should stock up on if I want to prepare the dishes in the book. I've written these down because I think it's good to keep in mind a list of staples and learn them so preparing food becomes easier and a new habit. All the things on the list strike me as healthy (except peanut butter, I always thought that was bad and it must have to be vegan as butter is dairy :\ ) and things I would happily eat as a meat eater anyway. The only thing I didn't like about the book is that it contained the word 'mircowave' one I don't personally associate with real cooking.
Herbs
Sage, Thyme, Marjoram, Basil, Oregano, Bay leaves, Rosemary, Mint
Spices
Nutmeg Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger, Turmeric, Cumin, Coriander
Miscellaneous
Wholemeal (whole wheat) bread, Sea salt and black pepper, Garlic salt, Backing powder, Raw cane sugar, Wholemeal (whole wheat) flour, Yeast extract, Nutritional yeast flakes or powder, Soya milk, Soya cream, Soya Yogurt, cornflour/starch, Peanut butter, Bulgar wheat, vegan Parmesan, Mustard seeds, Chili powder or Cayenne pepper, Paprika, Garam masala (mixed spices), Vegan Margarine, Vegetable oil (e.g. soya or corn), Extra virgin olive oil, Soya sauce, Wholemeal (whole wheat) spaghetti and macaroni.
I have also found out which foods contain dairy, obviously there is milk, cream, butter, yogurt and my favourite (possibly the most hard to give up) Cheese! But there is also the ingredient's, which are derivatives of milk found in other products such as sauces, spreads, filled pastas, and cereals. These might be labelled as:
- Whey
- Casein / caseinate
- Lactose / lactate
- Lactalbumin
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
tired of titles with "Shuffle" in
Today I wrote a long list of all the ingredients that I want to find the health benefits of, a recipe for or something else. Here it is:
kiwi
banana
dates
tomatoes
spinach
parsnip
cress
avocado
broccoli
haricot beans
green beans
broad beans
butter beans
black eye beans
kidney beans
root ginger beans
steam ginger beans
basil
oregano
turmeric
almonds
walnuts
pistachios
flax seeds
flax oil
chestnut mushrooms
button mushrooms
shiitake
portabella
oyster mushrooms
tofu
soya milk
soya beans
potato flour
rice flour
potatoes
wholemeal bread
seeds, which go with bread
couscous
whole rice/couscous/pasta
water chestnut
rice noodles
chili
nut roast recipe
garlic
mint
asparagus
kiwi
banana
dates
tomatoes
spinach
parsnip
cress
avocado
broccoli
haricot beans
green beans
broad beans
butter beans
black eye beans
kidney beans
root ginger beans
steam ginger beans
basil
oregano
turmeric
almonds
walnuts
pistachios
flax seeds
flax oil
chestnut mushrooms
button mushrooms
shiitake
portabella
oyster mushrooms
tofu
soya milk
soya beans
potato flour
rice flour
potatoes
wholemeal bread
seeds, which go with bread
couscous
whole rice/couscous/pasta
water chestnut
rice noodles
chili
nut roast recipe
garlic
mint
asparagus
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Shuffled a shift for free
Sure shuffled forwards today
Today I experienced working a nice café with a sea view for a few voluntary hours. I'm weighing up whether to take this job on. It would mean giving up almost all my weekends. It would mean tips as well as a wage. It would mean more work. It might mean I let people down because I can't get there on time. It might mean I don't have time to return to part time swimming teaching. I iced that cake. Damn this wedding caking making is hard work. I seem to be making a habit of hard work. Well I kinda like that.
I ate an almost completely vegan meal for dinner. But then I stuck an egg in it. I don't know why I did that actually. Broccoli, carrot, cous cous, courgette, aubergine and an egg. Mashed avocado, wedged tomato and smashed up cashews for a starter... Mmm. I think my lunch was vegan too actually... tofu and rice noodles with veg?? Well there was some Korean style BBQ sauce on it so I expect it was just vegetarian too. Haven't done the research yet though so I'm happy with this general moving in the right direction.
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Tuesday's Shuffle
Tuesday's shuffle: research study/work options in Germany. Cities, courses, universities, jobs
So I have found out today; that it is possible to study and work as a nurse or 'Kinderkrankenschwester' in Germany. I found a few places near to friends and in a nice part of Germany where I can see myself studying and living comfortably. There is one problem, which I need to address before I even start to consider where I want to be if I am to start nursing in the future; and that is my Language. I can speak some basic German very well, but I am by no means fluent and this is a must if I am to get onto a nursing course and study in a foreign language.This little problem has changed my track a little. So now instead of thinking about where I want to do a course, what the cost would be and when it would start I am instead thinking about how I can become more fluent in German. Living in England makes practising hard so I've set my self the target of watching the German news online or a German film or TV stream everyday. I am also researching how I can start a German class or conversation class in England, so I can meet with Germans or people who are learning.
I have also looked into teaching English as a foreign language in Germany, as I am pretty sure that this is a job I could do already without being expert in German. At the moment I need to save to pay for the teaching certificate, so I have sent an email to my nearest college and am currently eagerly awaiting their reply. When this comes I am ready for my next decision. I'm also playing the waiting game with another company, waiting to hear if I have been invited to an interview for a second job and tomorrow I will also phone a lady who is looking for an Au-Pair 3 days a week here in England. I'm hoping she pays well and that her kids are super cute then I would be happy to get this new job after Christmas too :).
Keeping track with little steps...
Keeping track with little steps...
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