22 English Lit Graduate at Exeter University - world traveller.

 

 

Is there a food you miss most?

 

Surprisingly there honestly isn't a food that I miss at all, not even chocolate and I used to love it! After a month or two, your taste buds change and now I find myself craving hummus or sweet potato fries more than chocolate, pizza or crisps haha (some of my old faves)

 

Although I don't miss meat or dairy products at all, the only thing I'd like to be able to try would be salmon or crab haha as I've heard good things, but I'll never know haha- and I'm not desperate enough to try it to ever break my veganism haha- id defo rather they were alive than dead for a few minutes of my enjoyment

 

 

Josh isnt vegan right? does that make it hard to eat with him? or eat out together? 

 

Having travelled for a few months with Josh, who has more or less adopted a vegan lifestyle too (it's way easier to just make meals together on our tiny camping stove), he even says tht when he has the odd burger/ piece of meat, he now finds it really sickly and heavy going, and feels a lot healthier when he eats vegan food. We have now joined up with the rest of the group, who eat meat, and I have offered so many times for him to join up with them to make some meaty meals, and he actually keeps turning it down, in favour of the vegan meals haha.

 

I'm not gonna lie, there have been times when it is a bit awkward to eat out- for friends birthdays I've found myself having to order very disappointing salads, or feeling guilty that they have to hunt down a restaurant that has vegan options too- wagamamas was usually the result haha (not complaining, I love wagas!)

 

Me and josh just tend to go to vegan or veggie restaurants as they taste amazing and he really enjoys it now! (When I first met him, I think he thought it was a bit weird that I'm vegan haha)- I always find that people love vegan cafés/ restaurants once they give it a chance- so many of our friends have tried it out in Australia and totally loved it-yesterday jake tried raw vegan cake and loved it haha!

 

Do you find your self eating meat subistutes? like quorn etc

 

I actually don't feel the need to eat meat substitutes anymore but I definitely did at the beginning as I just didn't know what to cook- but once you google the vegan blogs, there are so many amazig recipes that just use veggies and sometimes tofu! I used to hate tofu but now I'm pretty addicted, an I also recently discovered Tempe (another form of tofu made in Asia)- it's really big in Australia an absolutely delicious!

 

You're currently off travelling in austrailia with your BF right? you've travelled india, china and new zealand too, (anywhere else im fogetting?) how difficult is it to be vegan whilst travelling?

 

Those are my main travels yeah, also did America for a couple of weeks last summer- it has been super easy in Australia and New Zealand- josh has actually been a huge help because he is an amazig cook and makes the best vegetable stir fries and curries and salads ever - literally to die for! I don't normally struggle with meal ideas but when all you have is a small camping stove with a pot and a pan, it can be difficult (I usually rely on an oven or a food processor to make good meals haha)

 

Also Australia is a bit Obsessed with health food haha so it's so easy to find vegan options in the supermarket and restaurants!

 

China was hard due to the language barrier but luckily I made friends with a girl doing a degree in mandarin, who asked at all the restaurants for me for the veggie options (unfortunately, it was just too difficult to make sure that the food hadn't been cooked in meat stock- we did ask, but who knows for sure)- India was an organised trip, so we were provided a lot of food- it was usually ok because most curries are vegetarian out there, but I do remember having to eat scrambled eggs on toast one morning as that was what the hostel provided, and I didn't want to pass out in the heat without food haha (we didn't have the freedom to pop to the supermarket and get our own food- it was such a fast paced trip, and I had no idea where the supermarkets even were haha)- it was so weird eating eggs after so long but I felt like it would be foolish to not eat at all.

 

America was totally easy too- it tends to be easy when there is no language barrier.. But I wouldn't let my vegan diet stop me travelling to non-English speaking countries - I will just bring a phrase book and hope for the best! I wouldn't eat meat but if some dairy manages to sneak into my food, it's not the end of the world (although I would always avoid it when possible)

 

Any life experiences or things you've seen/watched that influenced your decision to go V. 

 

Documentaries that have really impacted me and friends -earthlings, blackfish and cowspiracy was especially enligtening! I would really encourage everyone to watch it!!! So eye opening!! Not really had any first hand life experiences , just my love for animals in general an reading articles on the dairy industry and how bad it is.

 

Favourite Vegan snack?

 

Also fave vegan snack is homemade hummus, with sweet potato/ butternut squash fries (with chili) and avocado haha (I know it's random but I'm addicted haha!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helena Gerrelli, 22 year old free spirited traveller, a recent graduate of English lit at Exeter University and one of my oldest best friends!

 

For as long as I can remember Helena has been a vegetarian; with two beautiful rabbits, hamsters and rats (cuter than you might think!) she has always been an animal lover and has definitely spurred on my moral compass!

 

Coming over for tea, Quorn chicken nuggets and chips were always on the menu for us – not that this was all she ate but it was all my mum would ever seem to make us (I was a fussy eater!) I can’t say I’m a vegetarian, but to this day I wouldn’t buy any other chicken nuggets – call me nostalgic!

 

Another nostalgic memory for me is heading off on the train to our nearest shopping, restaurant and cinema complex; Helena and I would spend most weekend’s and summers there – I think our record was three days in a row when the Simpsons movie came out – ‘07 was a good year! Of course all this shopping and movie watching required snacks, so whilst I would raid Tesco’s confectionary isle, Helena would be all over those prawn cocktail crisps forever eyeing up the doughnuts but never quite following through! But that girl is gone! No more thoughts of doughnuts – in fact no thoughts of crisps either, it’s all humus, avocado and sweet potato fries now!

 

Whilst travelling the world down under with her boyfriend, Josh, Helena has been coming and going for the last few years with China, India, America and New Zealand all under her belt. Currently in Australia, I managed to track her down and tear her away from the waves of Bryon Bay for a quick catch up and a quizzing into her veganism.

 

 

“Me and Josh have been absolute bums for the past month, travelling from beach to beach along the east coast of Oz - my hair is actually going quite blonde from all the sun... Might be returning to you guys as a Blondie! Surprisingly haven't fallen in love with Australia at all... New Zealand was way better! Really enjoying the east coast but there's no way I could live here!”

 

 

 

HARDING:

So you've travelled India, china, New Zealand and now Australia, anywhere else I'm forgetting? How difficult is it to be vegan whilst travelling?

 

HELENA:

Those are my main travels yeah, also did America for a couple of weeks last summer. It has been super easy in Australia and New Zealand - Josh has actually been a huge help because he is an amazing cook and makes the best vegetable stir fries and curries and salads ever - literally to die for! I don't normally struggle with meal ideas but when all you have is a small camping stove with a pot and a pan, it can be difficult, I usually rely on an oven or a food processor to make good meals! *Laughs*

 

Also Australia is a bit obsessed with health food so it's so easy to find vegan options in the supermarket and restaurants!

 

China was hard due to the language barrier but luckily I made friends with a girl doing a degree in mandarin, who asked at all the restaurants for me for the veggie options (unfortunately, it was just too difficult to make sure that the food hadn't been cooked in meat stock- we did ask, but who knows for sure)

 

India was an organised trip, so we were provided a lot of food, it was usually ok because most curries are vegetarian out there, but I do remember having to eat scrambled eggs on toast one morning as that was what the hostel provided, and I didn't want to pass out in the heat without food, we didn't have the freedom to pop to the supermarket and get our own food- it was such a fast paced trip, and I had no idea where the supermarkets even were, it was so weird eating eggs after so long but I felt like it would be foolish to not eat at all.

 

America was totally easy too, it tends to be easy when there is no language barrier but I wouldn't let my vegan diet stop me travelling to non-English speaking countries - I will just bring a phrase book and hope for the best! I wouldn't eat meat but if some dairy manages to sneak into my food, it's not the end of the world (although I would always avoid it when possible)

 

 

 

HARDING:

Your BF, Josh, isn’t vegan though right? Does that make it hard to eat with him or eat out together?

 

HELENA:

Having travelled for a few months with Josh, he has more or less adopted a vegan lifestyle, it's way easier to just make meals together on our tiny camping stove, he even says that when he has the odd burger or piece of meat, he now finds it really sickly and heavy going, and feels a lot healthier when he eats vegan food. We have now joined up with our friends from home, who eat meat, and I have offered so many times for him to join up with them to make some meaty meals, and he actually keeps turning it down, in favour of the vegan meal!

 

I'm not going to lie, there have been times when it is a bit awkward to eat out - for friends birthdays I've found myself having to order very disappointing salads, or feeling guilty that they have to hunt down a restaurant that has vegan options too - Wagamamas was usually the result (not complaining, I love wagas!)

 

Josh and I just tend to go to vegan or veggie restaurants as they taste amazing and he really enjoys it now! (When I first met him, I think he thought it was a bit weird that I'm vegan) I always find that people love vegan cafés/ restaurants once they give it a chance, so many of our friends have tried it out in Australia and totally loved it. Yesterday my friend, Jake tried raw vegan cake and loved it!

 

 

 

 

HARDING:

Is there a food you miss most?

 

HELENA:

Surprisingly there honestly isn't a food that I miss at all, not even chocolate and I used to love it! After a month or two, your taste buds change and now I find myself craving hummus or sweet potato fries more than chocolate, pizza or crisps (some of my old faves!)

 

Although I don't miss meat or dairy products at all, the only thing I'd like to be able to try would be salmon or crab as I've heard good things, but I'll never know - and I'm not desperate enough to try it to ever break my veganism! I’d definitely rather they were alive than dead for a few minutes of my enjoyment

 

 

 

HARDING:

When asked about meat substitutes, like our infamous Quorn nuggets, Helena tells me those days are over.

 

HELENA:

“I actually don't feel the need to eat meat substitutes anymore but I definitely did at the beginning, as I just didn't know what to cook, but once you Google vegan blogs, there are so many amazing recipes that just use veggies and sometimes tofu! I used to hate tofu but now I'm pretty addicted, and I also recently discovered Tempe (another form of tofu made in Asia) it's really big in Australia an absolutely delicious!”

 

 

 

HARDING:

Any life experiences or things you've seen/watched that influenced your decision to go V. 

 

HELENA:

Documentaries that have really impacted my friends and I are Earthlings, Blackfish and cowspiracy was especially enlightening! I would really encourage everyone to watch it!!! So eye opening!! Not really had any first hand life experiences, just my love for animals in general and reading articles on the dairy industry and how bad it is.

 

 

 

HARDING:

Favourite Vegan snack?

 

HELENA:

Homemade hummus, with sweet potato/ butternut squash fries (with chili) and avocado haha (I know it's random but I'm addicted haha!)

 

 

 

 

 

Once you go Vegan you never go back 

 

Three years ago, I decided to commit to the vegan lifestyle, having been a staunch vegetarian since the age of 14. It all began with the entrance of two adorable pet rabbits into my life when I was 12. Once I realised that I could never eat my beloved companions, I started to question the fairness of eating other animals. My mother, who had eaten meat for forty years of her life, was in the same dilemma, and so we both began to delve into the internet to find out the truth about factory farming, the leather and fur trade, and animal testing. After the horrific discoveries that we made, we both decided to give up meat, leather, and cosmetic products that were tested on animals for good. Slowly but surely, the rest of the family were converted to the vegetarian diet too, albeit for health reasons rather than ethical. Having signed up various animal rights organisations, such as Viva! we discovered that the dairy industry was equally as abominable as the meat industry, and we proceeded to convert to soya milk and other dairy alternatives. 

 

Although I gave up milk, eggs, butter and chocolate from this time on, it wasn’t until I began university that I decided to become a strict vegan, ensuring that all of the products I bought were acceptable for vegans. I took this approach to all of my food, clothing, cosmetic, and cleaning products. As a result of my lifestyle change, I felt much happier, healthier, and charged with energy. Owing to the nutritious value of the diet, my skin completely cleared up of any spots and I found that I rarely caught the colds and flus that the rest of my friends seemed so susceptible to. 

 

I have now reached the end of my three years at university and I know so much more about veganism, the atrocities that take place in the farming industry, and the substantial benefits of a vegan diet regarding health and the environment. Of my seven housemates, four of us are now meat-free, despite their initial resistance and ignorance of vegetarianism. Not only has this come about as a result of the debates we have had over the issue, but the impact of such documentaries as Blackfish and Earthlings has had a huge transformational effect on their opinions regarding animal rights. Furthermore, the ever-increasing number of vegan and vegetarian food blogs on the internet gave us all access to some fantastic recipes that showed that the diet could be equally (if not more!) delicious and exciting than a meaty diet. 

 

Going vegan was one of the best decisions I have ever made, and I am certain that the population of vegans in the UK will rise substantially as people realise the truth (regarding cruelty, health, and the environmental impacts) that lies behind their diet.