After documenting myself all day and watching more videos I decided to embrace fully a vegan life. I wanted to replace my pantry over time but I changed my mind. It's now or never. Like when I quit smoking when I got pregnant: cigarettes went in the trashcan for the health of my baby...and mine! Why do it partially when I can do it 100% and feel better about myself?
So my to-do list for tomorrow:
#1 Empty my freezer of the meat already bought before deciding to go vegan and empty the fridge of dairy/egg product. Bring it all to my mom and dad whom I know will eat them.
#2 Gather almost all leather/silk/wool... products I have in my place, make a big pile, take a picture and put them in a box to be buried in the woods when spring is here, so they can rot in peace in the Earth as they would have if they were living animals who died naturally. Unfortunately it's winter and in Canada the ground is too hard for digging right now.
#3 Start saving for cruelty free vegan shoes and a new coat. My budget is restricted so this will have to be done over time. that why I said almost in #2
#4 Find eco alternatives for my cosmetics/cleaning/laundry, you-name-it products.
And of course go through my first real vegan day and share how it went and how I feel about it. Wow ok this is a lot but I think I can do it!
Just remember to take things slow and don't be too hard on yourself. You have been eating animal products for a long time. Rome wasn't built in a day- neither was Vega.
Some minor things. I don't know if you'd want to bury the leather. I hear they use chemicals on leather materials so I don't know if you want to return such back to the earth =/ Might be better at a good will or clothing bank.
You might save more money if you shopped for vegan shoes and coats at a goodwill, thrift, or consignment store. I have found some cute vegan sandals and shoes there, as well as vegan coats, all for the price of maybe half or a fourth of a coat you would get at a shopping mall store, plus, buying second hand saves resources.
Some minor things. I don't know if you'd want to bury the leather. I hear they use chemicals on leather materials so I don't know if you want to return such back to the earth =/ Might be better at a good will or clothing bank.
You might save more money if you shopped for vegan shoes and coats at a goodwill, thrift, or consignment store. I have found some cute vegan sandals and shoes there, as well as vegan coats, all for the price of maybe half or a fourth of a coat you would get at a shopping mall store, plus, buying second hand saves resources.
I agree on all counts. If you give your leather to a thrift store someone will get it, instead of buying new leather, which sure is a small step, but every new animal product not bought is a small step in the right direction.
I do 90% of my shopping at thrift stores and you can get awesome deals on used goods, which is MUCH better for the planet and cheaper for you.
You sound like you have a really good plan, but I agree with Demosthenes about taking it slow. No need to get overwhelmed. I went vegetarian as a teen, moved into green living a few years later and now, some 20 years later I'm vegan and mostly pretty green. It was a slow road and I'm still learning. Especially with cosmetics and body care which is super tricky to get green and cruelty free.
Go, go, Marjoram! I completed my third vegan day yesterday. I've gotten the non-vegan foods out of my house and cosmetics are next. I'm going to use up the remainder of what I have (as weird as it makes me feel :/) and then buy eco-friendly products (or learn how to make my own!). When I've saved enough money then I'll move onto clothing. I see it as a process rather than an all-in-one-day move, although I definitely understand the desire to do it all in one day! Like Demosthenes said, "Rome wasn't built in a day -- neither was Vega."
Congratulations and I look forward to hearing about your new journey -- let's build our new "Vega" together! Thought about making a blog for your documentations?
I did it! I gathered everything I could find. I agree on taking it slow, I'm on a tight budget and I have to keep a winter coat and winter boots for this year! Thank you for reminding me about the chemicals, I forgot about them. I will donate the items, we have a poor family give-away clothing blue bin right on the corner of my street, how convenient! Sincerely, I will miss my good brush, my kitty purse and my Tredair boots. The rest was just gathering dust in the closet, about time I clean it anyway! Overall an easier step then I though it would be.
In the pic: 2 leather purse (will miss the kitty one), 2 leather coats (too small), 1 belt, 1 baseball mitt (my son's own decision), 7 pairs of shoes and boots (only one from my kid but they are too small for this summer anyway), 2 boar bristle brushes (will miss them), 1 wool coat (too small), 1 down coat ( need to keep this one), 1 wool square (don't worry the kitties already have a new comfortable nap cushion), 1 honey and milk lip balm (really need to replace this asap). Not in the pic: our leather wallets that I will replace when I can and high leather winter boots.
Day 1, went smoothly for me and my son. He cleaned his plate at breakfast and lunch (same with me). At dinner we decided that Tofurky franks were really not the taste we were expecting. We are not fans but we understand that it's not supposed to taste like meat! A taste to acquire? We finished it so I guess it was not that bad.
At lunch kiddo asked me to be careful when cutting the avocado, he asked to keep the seed to make it grow. Of course I agreed and it's drying right now. I also told him it would be a symbol for our new way of life. We took life by eating it, now we give life a chance to be (I need to read more on avocado, they can grow inside right?).
I had a talk with my mother and she told me she was happy we decided on such a healthy life. She even told me this and that personality was vegetarian (I had to explain what vegan was she though we eat fish). She was positive about it and encouraging us. Either she read or thought a lot about this because a couple of days ago she was saying it was a bit crazy and too hard and would kill my grocery budget. Can't wait for Easter family meal to see if her respect will hold!
I also documented myself some more.
How do I feel right now at 9pm. I'm hungry haha but it's because my dinner was so filling that I forgot about a snack. At this hour I'll just drink water.
Overall it was a good day, I'm proud of myself and even signed the Peta pledge for 30 days vegan.
Woot! You know, I've tried the Tofurkey franks and wasn't a big fan of them either -- I thought they were waaaayyyy too salty. The texture was fine and all, but dang! Lightlife's Smart Dogs are really tasty, so give those a try. Lightlife has sausages and other entrees as well. You can check out the ingredients on their website: lightlife.com, as not all of their products are vegan.
Congratulations and I look forward to hearing about your new journey -- let's build our new "Vega" together! Thought about making a blog for your documentations?
Day 1, went smoothly for me and my son. He cleaned his plate at breakfast and lunch (same with me). At dinner we decided that Tofurky franks were really not the taste we were expecting. We are not fans but we understand that it's not supposed to taste like meat! A taste to acquire? We finished it so I guess it was not that bad.
Overall it was a good day, I'm proud of myself and even signed the Peta pledge for 30 days vegan.
I don't like tofurkey products either. The company who makes the best mock meat is http://www.gardein.com/index.php. I'm not a super fan of any mock meat, but I actually like some of their stuff. I even really like their mandarin "chicken."
I'm glad you had a good day! It sounds like it's new and a bit of a challenge for you, but working out well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetbriar
Woot! You know, I've tried the Tofurkey franks and wasn't a big fan of them either -- I thought they were waaaayyyy too salty. The texture was fine and all, but dang! Lightlife's Smart Dogs are really tasty, so give those a try. Lightlife has sausages and other entrees as well. You can check out the ingredients on their website: lightlife.com, as not all of their products are vegan.
Though I hate hot dog tasting stuff, I agree that Lightlife smart dogs are okay - and prob the best "hot dog" out there. My son and the other kids at my house LOVE them. I don't like pork-type flavors, but they're okay if you turn them into vegan chili dogs.
Anyway if after trying other mock-meats we don't like them, it's no big deal because I'm overwhelmed with all the recipes I found that looks delicious in only a few days. Can't wait to try them, especially the homemade seitan marinated in a good veggy broth or with tomato pasta to make spaghetti meatballs! My is not a meat lover since he started eating purée as a baby. I remember being so concerned about his (lol) protein intake. He was always turning away his head from the spoon and over the years eating only a small part of his steak or chicken (was telling him to at least eat his veggies!).
All of that to say we might simply forget about mock meat or get it rarely on the menu. We love beans and rice and tofu, the challenge is more about making him eat more fruits. I would like him to try something else than kiwis and oranges, he's picky concerning fruits. His big challenge will be with fish and seafood but so far he said nothing about it. The meat challenge should be more for me but even the 3, yes 3 restaurants on my street within 2 min walk and the Greek, Italian and Asian food smell in the air is not giving me any cravings yet.
The last non-vegan meal we ate was vegetarian, a Greek veggy pizza with artichokes and everything and OMG honestly it was an explosion of taste in my mouth compared to traditional all-dressed with bacon. But eh, there is vegan cheese so I don't have to put pizza off the menu!
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