YOU writer’s month as a vegan

For four weeks YOU’s Kirstin Buick ditched bacon and cheese for lentils and chickpeas. Here’s her verdict on the vegan way of life

VEGANISM. If you’d said the word a little while ago, images of tree-hugging hippies would have come to mind – yet slowly but surely this no-animal-product way of life has become more mainstream.

The number of readymade vegan meals in supermarkets is on the rise, most restaurants have vegan options and blogs by die-hard vegans abound on the internet – along with accounts of how those bloggers have more energy, clearer skin and trimmer tums.

So when my editor called for a volunteer to try it for a month to tie in with a feature on vegan-based recipes in our food section, I was up for the challenge.

How hard could it be, I asked? I’m pretty healthy as it is. I eat green things, I meal prep, I lift heavy stuff at the gym. Should be easy, right?

WEEK 1

After spending my weekend trawling vegan blogs (plan ahead, they all said) and preparing my meals, I’m feeling smug about embarking on my plantbased journey.

I arrive at work after my usual morning gym session toting my enormous lunch bag. In it I have oats for breakfast, two enormous apples and veggies and crunchy roasted chickpeas for lunch. I forego my usual coffee with milk at snack time and opt for green tea instead.

Dinner is a huge bowl of veg topped with a tasty shop-bought vegan sweet potato and bean burger patty and smashed avo.

I go to bed feeling satisfied and I sleep like a baby.

By day 4, the wheels have come off a bit. The cravings have kicked in with a vengeance. My head swims with dreams of frothy cappuccinos and melted cheese.

But, I reason, I’m not without options here. Almond milk and vegan cheese are surprisingly easy to find at my local grocery store.

I buy both (even though the prices make me cringe – almond milk is R46 and vegan cheese R70, almost double the price of the regular kind).

Almond milk isn’t half bad in coffee but the cheese is less satisfying. It has a strange nutty taste but I slap a few slices on my vegan burger and grill it in the oven. It comes out looking like melted rubber.

By Saturday, the cravings are still lurking but the bone-deep weariness that’s set in is far, far worse. I nap for a solid three hours – something I never do.

On a Sunday visit to my parents, their well-stocked treats cupboard sings to me and before I know what I’m doing I’m halfway through a non-vegan chocolate. On the plus side, even with my Sunday cheat I’m 1kg lighter. While losing weight wasn’t really the goal behind my vegan experiment, I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t motivating.

WEEK 2

Encouraged by my slimmer bod and fuelled by compliments that my complexion is looking great, I’m ready to tackle the second week. But I’m battling, to be honest. My Monday gym session is way tougher than usual. I can’t seem to shake that weariness and now I’m struggling to concentrate at work.

I chat to several vegans on Instagram. “Check you’re getting enough calories,” one advises. “I used to think I was until I started tracking. Turned out I was undereating by 500 calories!”

I turn to the MyFitnessPal app and meticulously track my meals (which are more or less the same as week one). I’m not doing too badly, but I could probably do with a few more kilojoules.

Someone else recommends I work more protein into my meals. “Lentils and beans are great,” she tells me.

Mercifully, these are cheap so I stock up and by the end of the week, I’m feeling nearly back to my old self. I haven’t missed meat at all, and even the plant cheese is growing on me.

Socialising isn’t that hard – many South African wines, including my favourite, are vegan-friendly.

And I’ve made another great discovery: it turns out Oreos are vegan – sort of. Strict vegans don’t eat them because they may have “cross contact” with milk. But technically the yummy cookies don’t contain any animal products. At least, according to animal rights organisation Peta. Good enough for me!

It’s probably thanks to the two boxes I munch my way through that the number on the scale stays the same.

WEEK 3

Things are getting easier. Most retailers are meticulous about whether their products are vegan-friendly so grocery shopping isn’t that hard.

Still, I’ve been checking labels for non-vegan ingredients such as gelatin (made from animal body parts) and honey (a contentious topic in the vegan community).

And while browsing vegan blogs, I make a horrifying discovery: many brands of chewing gum – my favourite one included – are made with animal products.

Most brands list “gum base” as one of their ingredients, which can be made out of all sorts of stuff, including lanolin – which is basically lamb sweat.

Energy-wise, I’m back to normal. It seems my body has adjusted to my new fuel source.

WEEK 4

Between my readymade meals and a batch of vegan brownies (look at me, baking with chickpeas!) I’m feeling pretty on top of things.

My next challenge comes when I go to a local burger bar with friends. I check the menu beforehand and see they have a vegetarian chickpea burger. No cheese or sauce on top and I should be good, I think.

But biting into the burger reveals the patty is more cheese than chickpea. Full disclosure though: it’s delicious and I eat it anyway.

I’m on the receiving end of more than a few compliments. My skin is looking even more radiant apparently and my jeans are looser.

I hop on the scale but sadly I haven’t shed much more than the original kilo. But my clothes are definitely roomier – and is that a hint of an ab there?

THE VERDICT

Once you’re used to the planning and have conquered your cravings, a vegan lifestyle is doable.

Still, even without the meat, it’s not cheap – especially if you go for all the vegan meat and dairy substitutes.

I estimate I spent R800 more than usual on groceries this month – but to be fair, I did buy a lot of readymade meals because I wanted to test as many as I could.

If I’d made more lentil and bean bakes and veggie soups my wallet might not be feeling so light.

Healthwise I can’t say I saw or felt a major change but then my diet was already rather healthy to start out with.

So will I keep at it? There’ll be less meat and more legumes on the menu now, but I don’t think I’ll become a vegan for good.

I realise this when the first meal I order in a restaurant on the first day of week five is, “Bacon pizza, please. Extra cheese.”

Turn to page 32 for our great vegan recipes for every meal.