Tag: vegan

Veganuary. Done.

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 3 Comments

Now that the whole Veganuary thing is complete I thought it deserved a little post. If you are an avid follower of the blog, which you’re probably not, in fact you’ve probably stumbled upon it whilst drunkenly trying to follow Kim Kardasian, you will be aware that I’ve been considering going vegan for some time. I also dragged my wife, Helen, along for the ride.

How did we do?

Well, we did it. We ate and drank an entirely plant-based diet for 31 days. Doesn’t sound very impressive when you say it like that. But, we did it.

It was a fantastic ‘journey’. We tried plenty of new food, experienced new tastes and had some great discussions along the way. And importantly, it wasn’t too much hassle.

A few highlights:

  • Arriving at a pub at midday to find a Jack Daniel’s waiting for me because they didn’t know what beer to buy. Drinking Jack Daniel’s in the afternoon is a good thing.
  • Some great finds: the Linda McCartney range of foods, the sausage rolls are fantastic.
  • Being able to continue drinking Guinness.
  • Feeling healthier and generally less hungry. Gone are the days when I return home from work and devour anything and everything available.
  • Oatly barista edition milk – fantastic in coffee.

On top of all that, I feel great knowing that I’m living a more compassionate life.

Probably important to say, February 2nd and still vegan…

Resolutions 2019

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 3 Comments

I’ve got quite a list of resolutions to try and get done in 2019. Although I’m not sure I like the idea of the word ‘resolution’, it sounds like a lot of pressure. But then I looked up its definition.

I like the sound of making a ‘firm decision’ to do something. That sounds like a lot less pressure. Some of my firm decisions for 2019 are a continuation of 2018, maybe they just need a bit more effort and focus. So, here we go, my list of firm decisions for 2019:

  • Going vegan – I blogged about this a couple of weeks ago so not about to bore you any further. Suffice to say, it will be the biggest of all the firm decisions.

  • Running – I’ve always done a lot of running, but was looking for a bit more of a challenge. So the plan for 2019 is twofold. Firstly, I’d like to focus on improving my Parkrun time. Secondly, do a proper ultra event, I’m thinking a 100K might be quite interesting.

  • RED January – I’ve always done Janathon (running every day in January) – but RED January is about empowering people to support their mental health by doing something active every single day.

  • Volunteering – I’ve been a volunteer for the Samaritans for about 5 years, and I’d like to try to do a bit more. I already produce the branch newsletter but I’d like to develop this to include the branch website and improve the online presence of the branch. Also, I’m definitely going to volunteer more at my local Parkrun.

  • Project365 – post one photo every day. This year I took part in 1SE – one second every day – which has been great, it’s interesting seeing the seconds ‘mashed’ together into the highlights of the month and year. I’ve done Project365 in the past so know exactly what to expect.

  • Blogging – do it more. I quite like process of writing blogs – they’re never anything amazing – I just like the process on reflecting on what has happened. Posting a picture every day should also encourage me to blog a little bit more.

  • Keep the allotment going – I’ve had an allotment for a couple of years and in that time I have learnt quite a lot. This third year I’m hoping to plan it all a bit better, try and spend a bit more time there and generally produce more stuff.

That’s about it. I have got a few more things I’d like to try and do in 2019, but I think that’s for another day. That is probably quite enough, and probably too much already.

Wish me luck.

Going vegan…?

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

The fast approaching new year brings the usual new year resolution thoughts. This year I have just one, in fact it’s a new life resolution.

I’ve been considering the whole vegan/vegetarian conundrum over the past six months. I’ve read books, watched films and documentaries, trawled the internet and done pretty much everything in an attempt to put it off. But, I now feel, it’s probably time to just do it!

So, on Tuesday 1st January, I begin. I am going to ditch the meat, ditch the dairy, and attempt to survive on a plant-based diet.

I’m going vegan.

I’ve read plenty of advice about becoming vegan, and a lot of it says ‘take it slow’ and ‘take baby steps’. They suggest to try just having one or two vegan meals a week, add new vegan food to your diet, and slowly remove animal-based foods. But where’s the fun in that, I’m just going for it!

I know it’s not going to be easy, I can see the obstacles very clearly:

  • No more bacon
  • No more cheese

Bacon and cheese are just two products that have held up making the final decision, there are 1000s more that I’m imagining won’t be that easy to give up. I’m also well aware that I’ll be sacrificing the whole convenience thing, a bit more thought and preparation will need to happen, but I suppose that’s the whole idea.

It’s about living a healthier, more compassionate life, and as long as I keep that in the forefront of my mind, I’ll be fine.