Next week is the national week without meat. And because of that, I have just uploaded a new video on how to make a vegan chocolate mouse on my
YouTube channel and next week, when it actually is the week without meat, I'll be uploading a video on how to make, my take, super easy falafel. All that I am going to show you with just the use of 2 cans of chickpeas. And maybe also why you can make a dark vegan chocolate mouse and can't make a white chocolate mouse, at least I couldn't because maybe one thing didn't go as planned.
But al joking aside you might wonder are a vegetarian or are you a vegan. To both, I still have to say no but that doesn't mean I don't consider what I eat and that I find it important to eat less meat. I have set a goal for myself that in time I would like to be on a completely vegetarian diet and maybe even in the future a completely vegan diet. And a week without meat would be a great way to start if you are considering eating less meat or become a vegetarian or a vegan. It is a great opportunity to try out new recipes, options and/or to add these to your regular diet.
I have considered myself becoming more and more, as they would say, a flexitarian over the past couple of years as were I have started to eat less and less meat and I am trying to build that out and for me, I don't think I can do it overnight. But I do feel it is something I can learn and that I can change in my way of life. And maybe loads wouldn't agree, that's fine, but for me, I must be willing to put the effort into the change I would like to see. And I always think progress is better than perfection. I read somewhere once, think it might have been on Instagram, someone who said what if you could go completely vegan but without giving up on chocolate, just do so. That is such a huge step and that made me think to myself what if I just give myself time to get used to an all-vegetarian and even in the future an all-vegan diet just these tiny little steps would and could make a huge difference in the world.
And still, there are so many more diets between vegetarian and vegan that would still make a great impact on the world. You could consider eating only fish or poultry if going completely vegetarian or vegan would be a too big a leap for you. The impact that a tiny piece of meat has on the environment and let alone on the tiny piece of meat itself or like the impact it would be if you switched to all plant-based milk in your daily cup of coffee.
I know I am not good at change so I set a goal for myself where I slowly find the right changes to my diet and I think that is okay too. I am not here to tell you you should all go vegan but you might want to consider to eat less meat or eating more vegetarian/vegan or even looking at like say sweets you eat and only eat those with non-animal produce or trying out new vegetarian/vegan recipes with friends or even things like using plant-based butter which isn't something "new to the trend" at all. Cause I do see products which have been vegetarian/vegan all along without being labelled vegetarian/vegan now promoting we are vegetarian/vegan. That's what I meant by new to the trend and because it is more common now these days to be a vegan or have vegan options. And of course, I understand brands and businesses want to hop on that wagon I get all that. But that also means you might not have to look for big changes is what I am saying because you might be able to swap a product you use daily easily for a vegetarian/vegan option.
For instance, I like eating yoghurt in the morning with some fruits etcetera but I have long ago switched my regular cowmilk based yoghurt for a plant-based option. And I must say that some options are absolutely delicious and some well they weren't my taste. So my point is you might not like a certain type of flavour or brand but maybe you can try out a different every week or month. This way you won't have to change everything all at once and you can find your type of plant base yoghurt or milk or substitute for meat. This way you can add it bit by bit to your regular diet and maybe before you know it you are a flexitarian.
So to celebrate the week without meat I thought it would be fun to show you two of my favourite vegan options. Because vegan doesn't mean you can only eat veggies and that is it. There are so many great vegetarian/vegan options and recipes. And it also doesn't mean you have to be a vegan to eat vegan, it just means it could make your diet as it is more diverse.
And I know some substitutes for burgers, ground beef, chicken etcetera can be expensive and vegan meals can be expensive but I promise you there are some very good options that are really tasty and not expensive. Also if you do it yourself, make it from scratch it really doesn't have to be expensive at all. And even if you are not a vegan but you do mind waste these two videos will be something for you to watch cause because of this there will be no wast you'll use the chickpeas, the liquid that it is in and you could even use the cans for like say gardening.
My point being a week without meat doesn't have to be boring or plain when you can't have meat and is worth to try out new meatless recipes. And trust me I am still a beginner at this whole thing as well so I'll probably make loads of mistakes in the progress and I won't get everything right straight away. And I still need loads more inspiration myself but as long as I make progress and I am willing to try I think it will be okay.
x Poppy
