Lentil soup for the vegan soul ( from India)

[Guest guest]

What happens when a meat-and-dairy loving bloke goes vegan for a week...Read on to find out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been an ovo-lacto vegetarian for 26 years and an avid meat eater for almost 11 years, so changing to Veganism was a big deal to both me and my family members. I like to use the word "experiment" so that there is less pressure to commit on vegan diet psychologically.

 

I decided to 'experiment' vegan diet for 7 days . If it went awry, I could always switch back to my original ovo-lacto diet and continue to enjoy my weekly KFC outing. I did this for a few reasons:

 

* I felt the need to be good to my body and thought eating a plant based diet was a good way to start. * I've been interested in a vegan diet since reading The China Study and Omnivore's Dilemma. * I love a challenge, especially one that involves food

 

Being a huge lover of red meat, white meat, the other white meat and fish, it was the single most difficult thing I had ever done. I felt like I was going through some detox phase only after 3 days.

 

Facts about Veganism

 

I have experienced juice fasting before so changing to vegan diet wasn't really that difficult to me personally. My meal mainly consists of rice, vegetable and fruits. It's a little boring when I got started but nothing could beat my determination to have a successful "7 day vegan experiment".

 

I did some research just before the start of going vegan, and was relieved to see that the rules have loosened up a bit. Years ago, I remember reading Diet For A Small Planet, which detailed how one must always pair complimentary incomplete proteins properly for each meal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That meant that you had to match rice with beans, for example, to consume a complete protein. I learned that I didn’t have to be so strict now and that eating an incomplete protein at a meal was fine, as long as I was also eating a good diet with a variety of healthy foods over the day.

 

I also learned that getting enough protein was not a big issue for vegans. But, I was advised to take a multivitamin vitamin supplement that includes B-12 and D, as this is one area where a vegan diet can be lacking.

 

Tips for going Vegan

 

I ate my favorite soups, lentil or split pea, as much for the comfort factor as the nutrition. That left me dinner to be creative, to try out some vegan recipes from my favorite cookbooks. I was raised in a family that ate only vegetarian meals, so I knew that I would enjoy meals featuring beans, grains and vegetables. My main concern was going without dairy.

 

The day before I began my experiment, I decided to get rid of some foods that might tempt me during the two weeks eating vegan. “Get rid of†meant eating them.

 

The Experiment: Getting started was difficult. The first morning I was immediately confronted with the Tea Issue. I always start the day with one large mug of tea (lemongrass, mint or ginger). I used soy milk and immediately disliked the flavour it gave my tea but told myself to give it time to see if soy milk might grow on me. However, each day my dislike intensified until I wanted to dropkick the carton into the yard.

 

I was told that using vanilla flavoured soy milk might solve the problem and I did try it near the end of the week. It was better, but drinking tea wasn’t as much fun anymore. And this put a damper on my mornings.

 

Finally, I thought that I would constantly miss cheese, since I normally eat so much of it. To my surprise, after the first day, I rarely thought of it. The main dairy food I missed was milk in my tea. Instead, my overriding sense of loss each day was focused on seafood. In particular, I missed prawns, which I usually eat three times a week. So, it’s not surprising that I fell off the wagon with some fish.

 

Facts about Veganism

 

Although I enjoyed my vegan meals, I did feel deprived at times. So, it was important to me that I ate the types of foods that are comforting to me. I’ve always loved beans, so I used them in most of my dinners.

 

Going completely vegan was enough of a change without making meals with food I’m not fond of. On my first day eating vegan I had made a large pot of black beans and used them in several dishes during the first week. I used them as a filling in enchiladas topped with salsa instead of my usual cheese. They were delicious. I also used the beans later in the week to make a wonderful meatless patty.

 

Having grown up eating Gujarati food, I had to force myself to resist buttermilk, curds and food cooked in ghee. I learned that a lot of vegetarian meals contain dairy in some form or the other and I would have to stay away from some of my favourite things till the experiment was over.

 

I had Chinese take-out with friends and ordered vegetable-filled dumplings, kung pao tofu, veggie mu shu (no egg), and broccoli with garlic sauce. It was delicious, and I didn't miss the meat at all.

 

So what did I gain?

 

More stamina and energy during routine exercise and stronger resistance toward cold and allergy. Despite the increase in physical vitality, the #1 benefit I experienced was a marked improvement in my mental clarity.

 

It felt like I was coming out of a long-term fog of brain — if you saw the movie Awakenings, it was similar to that, except that my starting point was the state we call “normal.†Imagine the feeling of having totally clear sinuses after eating super-spicy food… but applied to your brain.

 

With the experiment over and me returning to my carnivorous ways, this is how I felt at the end of it…

 

Tips for going Vegan

My favorite part of the diet was that with all of the plant-based meals I “felt†less full. There was no crashing after meals. Typically this is not a problem as I usually don’t binge but sometimes I can feel a little heavy after eating something on a normal diet. I never had this problem, even with eating “heavy†dishes like vegan lasagna (full of tofu, noodles, and sauce). The downside of this is that I was obviously hungrier more often.

 

Whatever the scientific arguments, my attempt to go vegan for eco reasons was ultimately confounded by a lack of the moral imperative real vegans feel. While my vegan friend looks at a juicy steak and sees a cow that's been electrocuted, bashed over the head, stripped of its skin and dismembered (possibly while still alive), I just see a juicy steak: my only dilemma is whether to eat it with pepper sauce or just rare with a nice burgundy.

 

So I'm afraid I am exiting vegan-ville and heading straight for the market to pick up some tasty cheddar. But as climate change continues to make headlines, I may well be back - and you might one day feel persuaded to join me.

 

Text: Aditya Mehta

Peter H

 

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