ce a descoperit una dupa ce a mancat o luna vegan One thing we all agreed on: We learned a lot.

Now its your turn: I encourage nay, dare you to try the vegan experiment yourself. Its challenging, surprising, and utterly worthwhile. But before you do, here are some of those lessons we learned along the way.

Its hard.

Surprise, surprise: Departing from the eating and cooking habits youve developed over decades particularly if you developed them in contemporary, fast-food-lovin, steak-and-potatoes-havin, pizza-partyin America is challenging. I normally eat meat sparingly and front-load my plate with veggies anyway, and still I found the strict vegan thing to be hard.

Its the little things: I missed butter and cheese (way more than meat). A bunch of my favorite whole-grain products were blacklisted for their honey content. I struggled with suddenly becoming the difficult guest at dinner parties and evenings out. Convenience foods got a whole lot less convenient. And eating well requires research: The real start-up cost to veganism is a massive increase in the amount of time it takes to evaluate, plan, and execute great food, notes my fellow vegan-for-a-month, Matt.

Im sure this gets easier with practice. But insisting that a paradigm shift in dietary habits isnt hard is a real disservice to anyone whos struggling to adjust to it.

But not that hard.

People generally reacted to our experiment in one of two ways. One, Oh YAY! Being vegan is the best! or two, I could never be vegan. As a former member of camp two, I can honestly say: Yes, you totally can. Sure, there are roadblocks. But the food can be sublime. And while I missed some taboo items, I didnt miss them as much as I expected. More importantly, the requisite scrutiny of what you put in your belly is enlightening. Forcing yourself to think harder about what youre eating and where it comes from is

habit-forming. And thats a very good thing.

Dont do it all at once.

For the sake of this experiment, we quit animal products precipitously. (Ha! You thought I was going to say cold Tofurky, didnt you?) If youre serious about veganism sticking, dont do this. You need time to learn new recipes, stake out the best vegan restaurant options, spread the word so your friends wont tempt you with pork burritos, and allow for the occasional indulgence (all the better if its a local, organic, and humane one). Dip a toe, maybe wade in and splash around a bit before you do that cannonball.

Vegan does not necessarily = healthy.

Fries, fake fried chicken, Oreos, straight-up shots of coconut oil: all vegan. If youre looking to eliminate saturated fat or processed foods, veganism isnt foolproof. But I dont point this out as a deterrent. On the contrary, its wonderful. Everyone needs a treat now and then perhaps never more than when the majority of your diet consists of squeaky-clean, nutrient-dense, health-halo components. Rest easy: You can eat vegan and still chow down on fatty junk food. May I suggest coconut non-dairy frozen dessert? Itll keep you sane.

The food can be delicious.

All four of us already appreciated a good crisped chickpea salad or the simple union of black beans and guacamole. But being forced to seek out still more magical combinations was one of our favorite parts of this quest. Without it, Im not sure we would have hunted down this pizza. Or these grits with creamed cashews and mustard greens. Or this mushroom soup

Youd better like cooking.

Going out to eat is fraught with peril: lack of inspiring options at your typical restaurant, saturation with the limited number of places that do have options (Thai is great, but its not every-night great), and the smell of non-vegan foods promiscuously wafting about. Plus, you might have to get demanding: Teds low point of the whole endeavor was masquerading as an actual vegan and bending a restaurant to my iron will. I wanted to bury my face in sunchoke.

Easier and better is to cook at home most of the time, and host those dinner parties yourself.

Dont expect any miracles.

Perhaps you need more than a month to fully reap the purported benefits of the vegan diet amazing skin, hair, energy levels, etc. But none of us experienced noticeable improvements in any of the above. Have you noticed any changes? my friend, Heather, asked over Lebanese food during week four. When I said no, she took another bite of her beef kebab with visible relief.

There is one side effect you should be aware of (reported by two of the four of us). Let me put it this way: Say youre a zookeeper, and youre accustomed to cleaning the antelope cage. Youve just been promoted to elephant duty, my friend.

The perfect is the enemy of the good.

Yeah, yeah, great lessons. What you really want to know is: Are we vegans now or what?

No.

Before you can say, I told you so, dear readers, lets unpack this. Four out of four of us declined to continue the experiment when the 31 days were up. The relevant issues for me are sustainability, nutrition, and the enjoyment of food, Matt mused. Although veganism has useful things to say about all of them, completely eradicating animal products seems an overreaction to a complex problem. Laura agreed: Eggs from your neighbors chicken seem far more animal-conscious and environmentally friendly than tofu made from vast fields of soybeans and processed who knows where.

But: Four out of four of us also realized we wanted to raise the bar for the animal products we did eat. I pay attention to foods in a way I never have before, Ted reported. Matt and Laura dedicated themselves to finding local meats and cheeses. We all understand now that we can survive perfectly well without animal products so why wouldnt we consume less of them, and make sure the ones we do eat come from ethical sources?

So we all went off the vegan wagon. But on night 33, Laura texted me: We totally just ate a vegan dinner anyway. Last night, Ted and I had roasted veggies over lentils. Oh, hey, this is vegan, we said, halfway through preparing it. Id picked the recipe simply because it sounded good and Ive only gotten to a fraction of the vegan meals Ive earmarked to try so far. Were keeping up the vegan dinner parties; hey, theyre fun.

In the end, it turned out just as I expected: Im not going to be a vegan, but I will be more vegan than I was before. The problem with all-or-nothing thinking especially in a country where 98 percent of people are not vegan is that if you demand all vegan all the time, youll probably just get nothing. During the course of this experiment, I heard from and spoke with many more people who are mostly vegan (i.e., cop to eating cheese once in a while, or eat vegan at home but not necessarily with friends) than who are really vegan.

So my challenge to you: Be more vegan than you are. Even if you dont want to take me up on the month-long experiment, maybe you can eat a vegan dinner three times a week. Or do like New York Times food writer Mark Bittman and be vegan until 6 p.m. every day. Or hell, keep eating meat, but make it ethical meat. Whatever youre doing, try doing it a little better. Who knows where itll lead you?

Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan is Grist's "Greenie Pig" -- weathering all manner of inconvenience and insult in the name of forging a more eco-friendly life. She is a freelance writer and special projects editor at Backpacker magazine. Her writing has also appeared in 5280 (Denver's city magazine), Women's Adventure, and Spry. http://www.veganoutreach.org/guide/free_guide2.html ti se rupe sufletul http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/u-georges.asp KFC Some Simple Meal Ideas

Breakfast Cold cereal or granola with nondairy milk Oatmeal or other hot cereal Bagel with vegan cream cheese Toast with jelly Pancakes Fruit smoothie Tofu scramble with veggie sausage Fruit-filled toaster pastry

Above is a Gardein beefless strips stir-fry; and below, Tofurky pizza, Gardein marinara chickn good stuff, and Amys rice macaroni, all featuring Daiyas award-winning vegan cheese. Lunch & Dinner Veggie burger or hot dog with fries Mock lunchmeat sandwich with chips Faux meat with baked or mashed potatoes and gravy

Vegetable stir-fry with tempeh, tofu, or seitan Falafel pita sandwich with hummus or tabouli Peanut butter and jelly sandwich Soup or chili over pasta or rice Baked tempeh or tofu sandwich Pasta and tomato sauce Bean burrito Veggie pizza Seitan casserole Tofu lasagna

Snacks & Dessert Vegan pie, cookies, or cake Nondairy ice cream, yogurt, or pudding Fresh or dried fruit Nuts or seeds Trail mix Pretzels or popcorn Chips and salsa Energy bar (such as vegan Clif Bar) keep in mind that weightlifting can be divided into two types:

Bodybuilding to achieve the most noticeable muscles. Powerlifting to produce the largest amounts of strength. ENERGY - It is important to note that not eating enough calories to meet needs will tend to reduce muscle mass. Eating adequate calories spares muscle protein that would otherwise be used for energy. Paying attention to

hunger signals can be a good guide in knowing whether you are eating enough energy. FAT - Diets that are too low in fat (15 percent or less fat) may compromise immunity, reduce intramuscular fat stores (which could spare muscle protein), and reduce energy intake CARBOHYDRATES - Carbohydrates are the major fuel used during resistance exercise (3). Some researchers recommend 6 g of carbohydrate/kg of body weight (2.7 g/lb) daily, or about 55 to 60 percent of total intake http://www.vegansociety.com/lifestyle/food/?ad=677745 "Veganism is a way of living that seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing and any other purpose. " As you can see, veganism is not defined as a diet, but a way of living. While vegans follow an animal-free diet, they also do not wear animals or use them for entertainment or any other purpose. http://vegankit.com/why Dogs, Cats, and Cows, What's the difference? ...we have so many alternatives that dont involve using animals as our things. Using animal products is unnecessary, it harms animals, and it inevitably makes us responsible for the killing of a sentient beingwhose life is the only life that being hasfor transparently trivial reasons. Eric Prescott ...When we consume animal products, we consume the bodies and products of individuals. We think we consume something but in reality, we consume someone. Gary L. Francione Consuming a plant-based diet also has significant benefits for our environment. For example, the amount of potatoes we can produce from an acre of land is about 40,000 lbs compared to only 250 lbs of cow flesh supported from the same acre. When we feed plants to animals in order to eat the animal, we waste an enormous amount of food. For only one pound of cow flesh, 16 lbs of plant food and 5,000 gallons of water are required. Essentially, we have to feed animals plant foods constantly as they mature. After three to four years of harvesting and cycling this plant food through an animal, the animal is killed and eaten just once.

Imagine instead, each of those four years was used to grow plant food to be directly consumed by humans Go vegan. Its better for your health (animal foods cause physical harm); its better for the environment (animal agriculture is an ecological disaster); and, most importantly, its the morally right thing to do. Gary L Francione Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect Mark Twain Becoming vegan doesn't take from us--to the contrary, it gives to us. It transforms us. It purifies our hearts. It beautifies our souls. Sarah K. Woodcock Everything you need to know about vegan nutrition. Advice for pregnant women, infants, kids, teens, the middle years, seniors, and athletes. Lots of sample meal plans. Elliot Be the change you want to see in the world" Mohandas Gandhi http://vegankit.com/why Family Issues

Even though you're motivated to go vegan, you may have some reservations about the reaction you'll get from those close to you. Not all families are equally supportive of a vegan life. This is often fueled by negative myths about a vegan's diet as well as the importance of traditional foods within a family. Eating vegan doesn't require breaking the bank or moving to a big city. The most nutritious and inexpensive vegan foods which can be found in any supermarket, are fresh produce, grains, legumes and nuts/seeds. Isnt vegan food boring?-Common vegan dishes include stir fry, pasta, rice and beans, chana masala, cucumber-avocado sushi, pad thai, quinoa, pizza, pancakes, french toast, waffles, veggie burgers, chili, soups, tacos, burritos,

casseroles, stew, sandwiches, cookies, non-dairy ice-cream, cakes, pies, etc. Speciesism

Speciesism is the unfair discrimination of two individuals based on species. For example, it's perfectly reasonable to give a driver's license to an human but not a nonhuman. However, species is irrelevant when considering whether or not to exploit a sentient being. Discriminating between a cow and a human to say it is right to kill one for food but not the other is an example of speciesism.