Last month I got fed up being Vegan
I missed my old identity. The one where I had access to the entire grocery store —
Bored and fed up Vegan
I wanted coffee with cream, scrambled eggs with butter and cheese, I wanted breakfast like normal people. I wanted to forget that most places don’t cater to Vegans and randomly pick a restaurant and eat and not give a shit. But at the end of the day I still gave a shit. And becoming a Vegan was one of the best moves of my life. Veganism gave me food knowledge and food discipline, and surprisingly food creativity.
But I missed my old life.
I missed my old identity. The one where I had access to the entire grocery store and not just one end. I missed getting all my nutrients from animals and not having to think if I took my supplements or not. I missed food orgasms.
Stop ✋.
All this writing is implying that being a Vegan means having less or boring or a punishment. Being Vegan doesn’t have to mean that.
I was a basic Vegan
When I began my vegan journey I stuck to the foods that were simple, that were abundant, that were affordable, and that were quick. Gradually I increased my food variety but after several months into it I became stagnant. And that was the problem. Even those who consistently eat steak and burgers will eventually find steak and burgers palately boring. But even more so, those who love burgers never just eat the same burger, cooked in the same way.
Spice up my Vegan
So I took a page from the best nutritionists across the US and expanded my variety even more. And not just that, I also varied up how I cooked my food.
Instead of just the staple fruits and veggies that all people know, I incorporated plums, grapefruits, strawberries, blackberries, avocados, cauliflower, artichoke, broccoli, brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, zucchinis and more. Instead of just steaming or pan frying, I went ahead and also pureed and baked and chopped it all up and boiled.
Was every exploration perfect on the first go?
Hell no. But they were edible. And I enjoyed creating. And eventually I expanded my palate. And soon enough I was able to sit down and actually be present with a dish that I handled from start to finish without feeling deprived.
Deprived Vegan
Because that’s what had happened. I watched as others ate whatever they felt like and remembered when I ate whatever I felt like. And in those moments I felt deprived. I felt punished. And I was doing the punishing, willingly. I punished myself into a box. Into a box with food that I claimed were the only ones allowed because they were easy, because they were comfortable.
Because that was the last thing I could hold on to from my former life. Easy. Convenient. Comfortable. Those words never benefited me. And in order to be truly happy I needed to leave the comfort zone. Last month I assumed responsibility for finding my new vegan diet boring and unsatisfying. The easy thing to do would have been to turn around but I didn’t. And I’m glad.
If my experience resembles yours at all…I hope that you continue forward. And if you decide your path isn’t vegan and needs more flexibility then I am all for it. Just don’t choose easy. And never choose comfortable.
I’ll leave ya with a little food memory of my mom. Thanks mom 🥰
Bye friends 👋
When I was younger my mother tried to feed me beets and I instantly said no. She looked cross. She said how do I know I don’t like them if I didn’t try them. So I tried the beets. I hated the beets. But the point I should’ve taken from her was that we can’t know if we will like, seemingly harder or rarer, fruits and veggies if we don’t try them and prepare them in ways that will be palatable to us.
