In my final year of Sixth Form, I had flirted with the idea of becoming vegan. I had been insecure
about my looks (my weight primarily) and knew, from attempting veganism in the past, that it
helped me to lose weight and be happier with my self-image. I found, however, that attempting to
be vegan while still very much in a ‘high school’ routine was extremely difficult; I would have to
prepare the next days lunch the night before, not to mention sourcing vegan snacks. The further
through the year I got, the harder it became especially with the added stress of exam season
approaching. So for a while, I gave up. As I mentioned, my main reason for wanting to become
vegan was weight-loss, when I was 14 I went on holiday with my family to New York, and as some
of you may well know, the food there does not come in small portions. I ate my way around the
city and by the time I came back I had inevitably gained weight. Being a fourteen-year-old girl, I
was in the deep end of that age where you most feel pressure from those around you, trying
desperately to fit in. One of the family friends we were staying with whilst in America had told me
and my mum about the ‘twenty-two-day vegan challenge’, which is self-explanatory, me and my
mum attempted this challenge upon our return to the U.K. and low and behold, I lost weight.
I waited until after my A-Levels to devote myself to veganism but I wanted to write this article to
help people who are currently considering taking the leap into veganism whilst also undergoing a
stressful time and hopefully show them that it can be easier than it seems. The thing I found
hardest when starting out was finding options for lunch that I could take into Sixth Form
day-to-day. I didn’t think that I would be able to find alternatives for the usual lunch items and that
I would have to make complicated and expensive meals the night before. Now that I have been
vegan for a few months I have explored a range of supermarkets and discovered that that previous
assumption was wrong and that there are loads of great lunch options out there. For sandwich
fillings I recommend the ‘Quorn Totally Vegan Smoked Ham Style Slices,’ with Hellman’s vegan
mayonnaise, this is a very simple lunch but if you just want something really quick and easy,
similar to something you would’ve had before going vegan, then this is a good option. If you prefer
a cheese sandwich that can be slightly trickier as I have personally found that finding a good vegan
cheese hard. The one I would recommend is Tesco’s ‘Free-from Mexican Style Cheese’, it has lots
of flavour because of the peppers it contains and is very nice on a sandwich again with vegan
mayo, but of course, finding your favourite vegan cheese can only be achieved through trial and
error.
Tip: Most bread that you would usually buy from the supermarket is vegan anyway so sandwiches
can still be cheap and easy to make (always check the ingredients).
If you’re looking for recipes for dinner then I recommend turning to social media for inspiration,
there are countless vegan Instagrammers who share daily recipes and product recommendations.
Here’s a list some of my favourite vegan Instagram accounts:
@allthingsveganuk
@accidentallyveganuk
@leedsvegandiary
@vegolab
I also have my own Instagram account which I started a few months ago when I became vegan,
which will hopefully inspire other new vegans and make the process less daunting.
If you’d like to follow me:
@almost_vegan_recipes
Veganism is an amazing, growing and inspiring lifestyle of which I am now proud to be a part of.
Looking back on fourteen-year-old Kate, who had no primary concerns for saving the animals or
helping the environment, I don’t feel ashamed as much as I feel that I was miseducated. I had
undertaken this challenge which had felt indescribably difficult at the time, completely on the
basis that I thought it would help me to look like the other girls so that I could ‘fit in’ as I had had
no previous knowledge of veganism or its values.
My current view towards veganism could not be farther from that clouded and naive one, I now
know the statistics of the greenhouse gasses produced by the meat industry and the horrific
conditions of the dairy industry. Now I feel that, even though there is so much more to learn, I am
more educated on the harsh realities of the human world, and feel now more than ever that I
need to play my part to make a difference, no matter how small.
I hope that this article helped any non-vegans who feel they want to take the leap into veganism,
it’s not as hard as it seems when you have the right knowledge!
Words by Kate Mitchelhill