Veganuary - a month later

Vegan: 

/ˈvi:ɡ(ə)n

noun

1. a person who does not eat or use animal products.

adjective: vegan

1. using or containing no animal products.

Everyone wanted to know how I was getting on and would say things either like "Bacon, don't you miss bacon?" or in a sympathetic tone "Oh yeah, I forgot you can't have meat." 

It was really hard explaining to people that I didn't miss bacon or any meat to be fair. It was literally only a week ago that I had meat again for the first time since December. 

Saying that it's clear I did not continue being vegan, not because I didn't enjoy it because I did and I found it fairly easy. It's just that restricting your diet so much is hard. 

There are things in life that if you feel really strongly about it if it is hard you still do it because it's something you want or believe in. I don't feel strongly enough about being vegan to continue to do so. But that doesn't mean I didn't learn something and that I haven't changed my ways even if it isn't as strict as a full on vegan diet.

Vegan shakes from Miami Burger located in the Oracle Reading Berkshire

Things that have changed for me;

• I use milk alternatives in my coffee
• started buying vegan cheese, butter, and mayo
• less meat, once a week if that
• cooking at home more, experimenting in the kitchen
• I am still checking labels of food products and choosing vegan or vegetarian options when available 

Because I haven't cut meat out completely I don't nor will I ever try to label myself as a vegan. I can label myself as more aware and conscious of the choices I make around where my food comes from.

Even though I didn't stay vegan it did remind me how much I love exploring food and experimenting in the kitchen; as I mentioned in my list above. Recently cooking and meal planning had become a real chore and my weekly meals had started to become repetitive and boring. A few of the recipes I tried have become family favourites.

*I used the Bosh! cookbook most, if you want to learn a bit more about that then check out my blog post on the cookbooks I picked up and used!

Overall Veganuary was a success, I was proud of myself that I made it through the month without ever being tempted by meat or milk products. And learning enough to defend my choices against everyone who wanted to question me and give me crap about it. If you want more information I would recommend visiting the veganuary official website as they were my go to any time I had questions!