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It was a no brainer for me to participate in Veganuary 2025 -- that is, eating vegan for the month of January -- something I didn't think was possible even a year ago. Whenever I used to think about trying a vegan diet, I used to immediately think about Parmesan cheese or ice cream and scream inside, No, I can't and won't do without them!
So, why am I so willing to try a vegan diet as part of Veganuary now? What changed? Well, I recently decided to test it out for a month for several reasons, which I'll outline below, and realized there are several benefits to eating vegan. So much so that I'm sticking with it through January.
As a vegetarian for many years, I've always been conscious about factory farming and the impact on animals' lives. But after I watched two Netflix documentaries, What the Health and The Game Changers, it strengthened my desire to remove all animal products from my diet. The documentaries both outlined the health benefits that a vegan diet can have, with the latter revealing that many of the world's best athletes stick to a purely plant-based diet.
I wondered if I would feel any changes, too, and was curious enough to give it a try.
A vegan diet means completely avoiding animal products. This includes not only meat and fish, but all products that come from animals such as dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt) and honey.
While I was initially afraid of switching to a vegan diet, it ended up being quite easy in reality. As a vegetarian, I already avoid meat and fish anyway. I try to eat a healthy diet for the most part, and I typically use plant-based milk over cow's milk.
What I found particularly difficult, however, was saying goodbye to my beloved cheese. I grew up in the country near a lot of dairy farms, and we used to have something with cheese at almost every meal. I couldn't imagine eating a pasta dish without Parmesan.
But after a while, I got the hang of this too. There are now lots of vegan cheese options that taste surprisingly similar, and the ones made from ground pine nuts are full of protein and important fatty acids. Whenever I got a craving for sliced cheese, I was easily able to find several substitute products at the grocery store.
I also found I enjoyed testing my way through numerous recipes and trying several new things throughout my month being Vegan, something I hope continues in Veganuary. Beans in particular were previously a minor part of my diet and are now on my plate almost every day. It's unbelievable how many great dishes you can conjure up from them!
Being vegan is a little more difficult when eating out, though. I live in a small town, and there aren't as many vegan dishes on restaurant menus as there are in major cities. But if you look, you can still find vegan-friendly options in rural areas or ask for customization or swaps to make it work for you. Besides, everything is so expensive at the moment anyway that I found myself opting to dine in most nights of my vegan month. That way I had full control over the ingredients and save money in the process.
It didn't take long to get used to my new vegan lifestyle. Whenever I got a craving for burgers and the like, I would treat myself to vegan substitutes. (I just made sure they didn't contain too many flavor enhancers or other additives.)