I realized recently that I had been kind of half-assing this whole no dairy situation. And at first, I was okay with that. But I won't really make any progress unless I cut out dairy. About a week ago, I started limiting myself to one dairy item per day. That item does not include milk, yogurt, ice cream, etc. I don't eat those. But if I read the ingredients in something and a dairy product or eggs is, like, the last ingredient listed, or close to the last ingredient listed, I can live with that. I'll eat it. And I definitely have no issue with eating things that are merely produced in the same factory as products containing dairy. I'll risk it. I don't know, what do you think? If you're reading this, give me an opinion. Is this a cop out? Eating no dairy at all is REALLY hard. Especially becasue a lot of meat substitutes (usually the tastiest ones) contain a small amount of milk or eggs. I think I'm ok with that becasue of the comparison of how I eat now to how I used to eat before I felt morally obligated to stop eating meat. I've cut back on it by, like, at least 90%. I used to use a gallon of milk in a week. Seriously. I mean , come on. Is being mostly vegan ok?
While I do truly want people's opinions on this, there is one thing you should know. I will never, under any circumstances, stop eating Nutella. Nutella has milk in it. I don't care. I freaking love Nutella and it makes me happy, ok? Don't judge me.
=)
I would say your best bet is not to label yourself. Don't look at it like, "oh I'm a failure as a vegan because I ate a meat substitute that had the last ingredient being dairy."
ReplyDeleteYou should adapt your OWN version of how you want to eat. Let's be honest, being pure vegan is probably alot easier said than done. Not to mention much more expensive! It's hard simply because you HAVE to read every ingredient (or just eat raw veggies). Think about WHY you decided to become a vegan. To be healthy? Because you finally found out how they made the McNuggets at McDonalds? Only you know why you decided to make a change.
Is a meat-substitute with a small bit of dairy the end-all be-all? You are doing SO fab, I'm jealous with a capital J!!
PS - I would die without dairy..so kudos to you! :)
Baby steps Suz baby steps!! If a little bit of dairy sneaks in now and then it's no big deal. And what better sneaker is there other than Nutella? LOL! On bananas...on apples...on a spoon. LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteYou'll find a degree of vegan that's comfortable for you and don't worry if it's not 100% right at first. You'll get there. And if you don't...that's ok too. I applaud your effort! I sure couldn't do it.
Good luck!
Thank you guys! I went through a brief period of ridiculous frustration. I do feel better now. I really appreciate the advice and the support! =)
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