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November 2013 is World Vegan Month! |
Check out PETA's infographic for inspiration on animal-free food sources that are high in iron, calcium and protein. Ultra-endurance athlete Rich Roll, named amongst the top 25 of the worlds fittest men, is a good example that counters the myth of vegan fraility! Vegans can eat most dark chocolates, as well as other specialist ones, and it is possible to make many delicous plant-based treats, my favorite for parties and birthdays are rumballs! Whilst living in Melbourne, Australia, in fact a friend and I started a vegan cookie company, and Tinkernicks is still going strong!
Being vegan is an induldgent Western fad is another one I've heard fairly often...in fact veganism existed in ancient India and Greece and is a worldwide phenomenon.
I have been vegan for seven years and vegetarian for twenty-nine, my experience of veganism has been almost wholly positive and I am in good health! I find living in London as a vegan very easy (Mildreds in Soho is an especially good vege/vegan restaurant) but have also been plant-based in the English countryside, as well as in in Australia and on travels across Europe, America and Asia. Mostly this has worked though some countries are more challenging than others and at times I have felt like Elijah Wood in the film Everything Is Illuminated, being presented with nothing more than a plain boiled potato for dinner! Aside from these odd occassions of deprivation the vegan diet is one of abundance.
For some great recipes I love the American website Post Punk Kitchen and by the same chef the cook-book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World! . I have made 99% of the recipes in vege/vegan Australian cook-book Martha Goes Green and would thoroughly recommend it. Rose Elliot's Vegan Feasts is a wonderful British one.
Reasons for going vegan are diverse, for me it was the obvious next step on from being vegetarian and was for compassionate reasons. Some people make the choice due to environmental concerns and others for purported health benefits. Vegan or not hopefully you will enjoy some plant-based feasts next month and beyond!
Emma Silverthorn is a Receptionist and Marketing Manager at the Octagon Clinic