Has the veggie lifestyle gone mainstream?

Published Apr 14, 2014

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Johannesburg - Vegetarians come in many different guises these days. Helen Grange spoke to four to find out why they live that way.

 

THE JOURNALIST

Lerato Mbangeni of Johannesburg

I became a vegetarian for the first time in 2010 but I only lasted three months. I tried again in January 2012 and I haven’t stopped since. I get asked almost daily why I decided to become a vegetarian and my answer is always, “just because I wanted to”. My three-month stint exposed me to how good food tastes when you’re a vegetarian.

I cook almost all my meals separately, unless my family has cooked veggies separately from the meat, in which case I’ll share theirs. But I find it’s better to cook my own meals because, generally, not as much attention is placed on flavouring veggies as on making the meat delicious.

When I go out, I try to specify that I’m a vegetarian, because the host may get stressed out if they have to make a vegetarian meal on the spot. I don’t like to burden anyone, so if I know they can’t cater for me, I bring my own food. Anyway, side salads and garnish never hurt anyone, and they’ll keep me going until I get home.

I’m naturally creative, but I only learnt to apply creativity to food when I became a vegetarian. My family loves the food I cook now, because it tastes so different to how they usually prepare veggies. I discovered new herbs, spices, recipes and sauces when I became a vegetarian.

Vegetarian foods at the supermarket can be a little pricey, but when eating out, the vegetarian option is always cheaper. Buying your veggies at markets can save you a buck.

 

THE BODYBUILDER

Bradley Waltman of Durban

I became a vegetarian, much to my mothers’s horror, on a sunny Sunday afternoon at lunch time. I was six years old. I noticed that my dad’s meal looked different to mine. I had a juicy steak chop and he had what looked like a light grey ball of yukkie rubber. I asked why our meals were different, and mom gave him a hairy eyeball as if to say “don’t go there”, but my dad couldn’t help but tell me the truth, that he was a vegetarian.

I quietly pushed my plate away and declared, “I want to be a vegetarian too”. The family was now split 50-50, with my mom and younger brother for team “real meat”, and dad and I for team “lumpy something”. The grey lumps were vegan chickpea cutlets, a sad but effective meat alternative at the time. Mom used to have to cook two meals, but now that I’m a happy bachelor it’s a non-issue. For two-and-a-half years now I’ve been a vegan, so no dairy products either.

You can build muscle easily on a meat-free diet. I eat a lot of plant-based foods, and it’s easy to prepare delicious meals once you break the old “three-veg-and-a-piece-of meat” mindset. I don’t take supplements but I have a teaspoon of blackstrap molasses every morning. I also sprinkle a tablespoon of lecithin on my raw oats in the mornings, with a handful of raisins and, when I have a bit more time, chopped fresh fruit. And I discovered long ago the delight of Marmite, which provides us veggie folk with vitamin B12, typically found in animal-based protein.

From a physique, fitness and strength perspective, I give twentysomethings a run for their money. At 86kg I could never qualify to be a heavyweight body builder, but I enjoy the satisfaction of body building and crafting my body into a healthy state and shape.

When I’m invited out, I always give the hosts a heads-up because they tend to panic for some reason. But I quickly put them at ease and let them know how simple it is to cater for me, failing which I have a Woolies en route. If there’s no vegetarian food at the function, I just say politely that I’m not that hungry, because it’s more important for me to keep my hosts comfortable, and the intention is to enjoy the company and the occasion rather than just the food. To me, life is about compromising my ego without compromising my principles.

With a world view hat on, a more productive use of land would be to farm vegetables, fruits and legumes, which would feed every human on the planet many times over, rather than waste it on feeding livestock. Also I sleep better knowing that I didn’t pay anyone to kill a lamb.

 

THE VEGGIE VENDOR

Matthew Ballenden, owner of Fresh Earth food store, Joburg

After returning from a one-year trip to South America in 1999, I felt very disillusioned about the state of the planet and the sustainability of my current lifestyle. One of the actions I took was to drop meat from my diet, and so my journey of self discovery began through food.

Over the past 13 years, I went vegetarian, followed by vegan, followed by raw foodist and now I no longer classify myself as any of these. No more titles, just a dude living optimally and hopefully sustainably.

One of the most important things I learnt on this journey was what my body thrives and doesn’t thrive on. I learnt to listen to what my body was telling me about the food I was putting in it. I sifted through piles of information and opinion out there and took out what was appropriate for me.

I learnt that there is no blanket wrong or right when it comes to eating, but there are some fundamentals to adhere to: keep the food as close to nature as possible; variety is the spice of life – especially if you choose a vegetarian lifestyle; and understand what “your” nutritional requirements are to function at your best.

I did my best not to make my journey everyone else’s. It was easy when I was a bachelor. Nowadays, my wife and family support my monthly nutritional “fads”. They tolerate my rants about nutrition. I do most of the shopping with my wife, so I get to choose what we buy.

If I’m invited out, there is always something a vegetarian can eat, so I’m not fussed about it. There is nothing worse than a neurotic guest. And because I’ve been doing this for so long most of my friends know my dietary requirements.

And I always have a stash of macadamia nuts, organic black figs, dried mangoes and raw chocolate on me, though part of life is being challenged so I generally trust there will always be something to eat wherever I go.

My pet dislike is bad quality food, which usually reflects the attitude of the chef. Who wants that energy in their body?

When meat and protein are removed from a diet, the first thought is “what am I going to eat?”. The reality is there is more non-animal food to eat than animal food, and there are hundreds of recipes and recipe apps out there.

When I’m stressed, I supplement on vitamin C, omega oils, B-vitamins and green foods. Stress is a major immune suppressant and one needs to supplement where we can’t eat enough to protect our bodies. Personally I have not been to a doctor in at least 20 years, and I don’t have a medical aid.

 

THE ANIMAL PSYCHIC

Antjie Towsen of Cape Town

I have been semi-vegetarian since 2008 due to an accident and a liver laceration. I decided to go on the blood group diet for blood type A, which is mainly vegetarian but includes fish and chicken. I strongly believe that my change in diet, combined with naturopathic medicine, contributed to me being a healthy person today.

About a year ago I started losing my taste for chicken, and due to the cruelty experienced by chickens on commercial farms, I decided to stop eating all animal products, including eggs and diary, so I became a vegan. I felt great on the vegan diet but had to supplement with calcium, iodine and vitamin B. I also began taking raw vegan protein powder.

Recently, my hair became dry and was falling out more than usual, so I started to include eggs and diary again and occasionally I ate fish. So I became a pescatarian. But I found that physically I felt much better on the vegan diet, so am back to having no animal products.

I cook separately for myself at home, although my partner mostly shares my vegetarian dishes and then just prepares his own meat. I’ve become very creative in the kitchen, and, yes, you can still enjoy delicious tasty food.

The challenge is when I am invited out to friends and family. I need to arrange with them in advance to cater vegetarian. If they are not catering vegetarian, I will prepare my food at home and take it with me. Being on a vegan diet is not less expensive, I’ve found. I include nuts for protein and those are more expensive than meat.

More importantly, I am happy to not have a part in eating animals being kept in commercialised, confined spaces where they suffer so much abuse. As an animal communicator, I know too much about how animals feel in those circumstances. Also, I believe you should be able to kill what you eat yourself.

 

Know your veggies

Vegan: Person who doesn’t eat meat, fish or any animal products such as dairy and eggs.

Vegetarian: Person who doesn’t eat meat or fish, but does eat dairy and eggs.

Lacto-vegetarian: Vegetarian who doesn’t eat eggs, but does eat dairy.

Ovo-vegetarian: Vegetarian who doesn’t eat dairy, but does eat eggs.

Pescatarian: Person who abstains from all animal flesh except for fish.

Flexitarian: Mostly veggie person who occasionally eats meat.

The Star

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