One Week Vegan Challenge: My Experience

Credit: Greendot

As a self-proclaimed meat lover, I was nervous about embarking on this challenge for I always had the misconception that vegan food was bland and boring. However, I was inspired to take up the challenge after watching the documentary, ‘Cowspiracy’. Although I do not eat beef for religious reasons, I was still shocked to learn that the animal agricultural industry is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions!

To kick off my challenge, I subscribed to a few well-known vegan YouTubers, like Liv B (https://livb.ca/). She regularly posts mouth-watering vegan recipes which you can pack for school, making it easier for those who are transiting into veganism. Being a vegan requires extreme self-control because you cannot consume any animal products like eggs (unlike vegetarians). And that one week was torturous for me because I love my eggs!

Credit: Liv B

During the challenge, I packed lunch boxes and brought them to work as the area near my workplace had no vegan options. It was tough the first few days as I craved for meat. But as the days went by, I found it easier to pack my lunch boxes because all I had to do was follow Liv B’s recipes and omit certain ingredients that I disliked. I also noticed that I did not suffer from my usual post-meal bloating which would usually result in me farting all day long! Oops!

Credit: Liv B YouTube

To test how easy it is to obtain vegan options in Singapore, I Googled and was quite surprised at how many vegan restaurants there were! I visited places like Greendot, VeganBurg and Lotus Kitchen. And I was blown away by the quality of the food. Some of their dishes, which contained Lion’s Mane mushroom, even had a meat-like texture. Now, who said vegan food is bad?

Credit: Doreen T.

Credit: Lotus Vegetarian

Although I enjoyed the food I had during the challenge, I was honestly glad when it came to an end. As much as I would love to do my part for the environment and reconcile my cognitive dissonance (the fact that I love animals and yet eat meat), I can’t. Going vegan takes a lot of courage and strength, and I really admire those who are able to accomplish this. However, I lack the discipline to restrict myself.

Despite so, this challenge has shown me that vegan food is actually really delicious, contrary to popular belief. I would never become a full vegan but I would consume lesser meat, have more vegetables and occasionally, visit my favourite vegan restaurants. :)

Credit: Get Healthy Cairo

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