I Am The Wandering Foodie

I have never been one to insist on meat with every meal, I am open minded to food and will try almost anything at least once. For as long as I can remember, Foie Gras has been up there with Truffle as one of my favourite foods. I would eat it at any opportunity, at multiple restaurants in London, in pate at Christmas, in France, the home of Foie Gras, in Budapest, the second largest producer in Europe and most recently in Singapore with Wagyu Beef. There is no doubt it tastes incredible, there is nothing else quite like it. It has only been in the last couple of months that I have opened my mind to the origins of my favourite delicacy and my findings have been nothing short of life changing for me.

Although I have always been a meat eater, there have a been a few instances along the way where I have opted for a meat free existence. The first time came at 16 years old, I was working in a pub and the Landlady asked me to chop a chicken into quarters. I asked her to show me how this worked and the sheer sound of bones cracking and the knife sawing through the gristle was enough to make me sick. I didn’t eat meat again for 6 months, until the glorious smell of the summer BBQ broke me down and it was back to meat eating business as usual.

The next instance occurred following a friend’s recommendation of a book called Skinny Bitch. I read the whole book in one day and I was instantly won over by the world of veganism. This was 10 years ago but my new lifestyle was short lived, mainly because little was known about veganism back then and you needed to be fully dedicated to the cause to stick at it. In reality, once the shock of Skinny Bitch’s contents had worn off, I was back to my old ways.

My third dabble with veganism was 2 years ago, when a friend and I decided to go vegan for lent. I went into it for a challenge more than anything and I was completely ill prepared. I gorged on McDonalds chips and hummus for a month with zero vegetables. This is absolutely the wrong approach and within a month, I was fatter, spottier and incredibly unhealthy. Worst of all, it had a huge impact on my menstrual cycle, I went from being as regular as clockwork to erratic, which resulted in me having scans at the hospital to ensure there were no underlying issues. Thankfully, once my diet returned to normal, so did everything else, however it did reaffirm that you cannot take a decision to make such a drastic lifestyle change lightly. It needs to be thought through and for the right reasons.

Fast forward to February 2017, I am on safari in Tanzania and I have been suffering from an upset tummy for 5 days. Although the food on the mountain and safari had been excellent, it was predominantly rice and stew on offer, and the combination was clearly disagreeing with me. By the end of my safari, I had cut out almost all meat for fear of it upsetting my tummy further and I was consuming mainly rice and vegetables. I had naturally detoxed from everything else on the mountain including chocolate and cheese. Only the most important staples were carried by the porters and these luxuries did not make the cut.

Upon my return to London, I felt incredible and 10 years younger. Inevitably a 6 day mountain climb will result in significant weight loss, however I also had more energy, my skin was amazing and I felt compelled to continue with my new eating habits.

My first step was to eradicate meat from my diet in its entirety, this was the easiest part because I had been pretty much meat free for a week already. My next step was to read Skinny Bitch (again), this time with a greater understanding of a plant based / vegan diet and the willingness to embrace it wholeheartedly. Reading this book helped me to gather momentum and within days I was completely dairy / meat & fish free. 

Two months have now passed and I can honestly say I do not miss any animal products. I’ll be honest, I have eaten sushi 3 times, mainly due to eating out with friends and the options being considerably limited. Wherever possible, I will contact the restaurant in advance to ask about their vegan alternatives. London is quite an accommodating city for this kind of thing and it has therefore been relatively easy to swap ingredients on a menu without feeling like I am being difficult. I have also purchased a new range of cookbooks including Deliciously Ella who specialises in plant based and gluten free recipes. I have had a great deal of fun experimenting with new foods and I have found some excellent alternatives that are even tastier to those I used to eat.

I will not profess to be a forever vegan because as you have read above, I have a habit of starting fad diets and dropping them again just as quickly. What I can say for sure, is that I have never felt healthier or more energetic, another added bonus is that I have lost 14lbs in weight without trying.

Furthermore, I have spent time researching as much as I can about the treatment of animals in both meat production and the dairy industry. Everything I watch and read shocks me to the core and these are images that will resonate with me for a long while to come, if not for the rest of my life. 

For anyone intrigued by a plant based diet, the following TV programmes may be of interest:

Cowspiracy – Netflix
Forks Over Knives – Netflix
Earthlings – Internet