brown rice, kale, and vegan love

I love being vegan so much. As an omnivore/pescetarian/vegetarian (I kind of did this in phases by accident), I wasn't terribly experimental with food. Yoghurt, so easy. Salmon steak, super quick for dinner. Cheese, hit me up. Bread, pass it on over...okay, I'm still into bread, but you get my point. My choices weren't terribly new or thrilling.

As a vegan however, I have launched myself into a whole new world of food that I didn't really know about before: vegan cashew cheese, nutritional yeast, walnut "meat," tempeh, maca powder, spirulina, cacao, coconut yoghurt, kale chips, kombucha, chlorophyll...it is so amazing how much cool food is out there, just waiting to be eaten. And it's all made from either plants or fruit, without a single sentient being imprisoned or tortured just to sate my appetite.

The other thing I have discovered is that I feel better about myself because I am finally living in sync with my ethical beliefs. I adore animals and always have; I was the kind of kid who would drag stray dogs home, rescue baby birds, and avoid treading on snails. I still do these things as a twenty-three year-old.

It felt good to be able to look this cow in the eye

I remember back when I worked in a cinema when I was seventeen and my co-workers called me over to the break room, where they were huddled around holding a mysterious box. They told me to look inside, clearly waiting for a reaction when I did. Inside the box was a tiny brown mouse...my reaction must have been so disappointing. They clearly wanted to give me a girly fright, but instead I squealed in delight, took the box, and released the little guy gently into some bushes near the building. I love mice!

I felt so, so hypocritical declaring myself an animal lover and wanting to heal and nurture animals (I even completed a diploma to become a veterinary nurse), yet I was still going out to a fancy restaurant and tucking into a big steak. I was uncomfortably aware of the connection between steak and cow, but not brave enough to make the decision to cull all animal products from my life.

Now that I have, I feel proud and I get to enjoy a delicious array of food that I may never have otherwise discovered. Lesson learned, guys; be brave, and don't be afraid to go against the grain if you really want to do something.

Speaking of grains, here is my delicious (albeit simple) dinner. I was feeling quite lazy tonight.

Kale, brown rice and nutritional yeast

Thanks for reading this entry everyone, I really appreciate your love and support! For some reason I just feel particularly impassioned today. Maybe I ate too much watermelon after dinner. I did go kind of overboard.