No, I’m not referring to the movie 28 Days Later (Though it’s definitely worth a watch), I’m referring to us having spent a month as vegans … OK, so 28 days might not be a month for everyone, but both Kjersti and I are born in February and as far as we’re concerned it is the most important month of the year, and it only has 28 days 
So how has it been being vegans?
It’s been awesome. I’ve had a ton of energy. Exercising has not been a problem and I really have been eating more varied food. I have definitely been getting all my vitamins, proteins, amino acids, etc. I’ve also enjoyed cooking vegan food, so my goal has in many ways been met. I also know that vegan food is very healthy for me and being a vegan is a lot better for our planet than being a consumer of the commercial meat industry.
Having said that, being a vegan is really tough, because there’s so much stuff you can’t eat. I hate having things I can’t eat. If I’m not eating something, I want it to be, because I choose not to. Being a vegan was hard, but it was still enjoyable. I enjoyed searching for alternatives and finding new recipes. I like eating ecological alternatives and I like the feeling I get from buying products that are “Fairtrade“, because I know children aren’t put to work and I know the people that deserve it are getting paid for what they produce. It’s good karma.
In terms of meat, fish and plants, well, my take on it as follows and this is how I plan to live from now on. I’m going to live like a vegetarian, but I’ll eat fish, if it’s caught in the wild and I know who fished it (preferably me with my speargun). I’m not going to eat meat I can buy in the supermarket, but I will eat wild meat, if I know the hunter who shot the deer, moose, rabbit or whatever, because I know it’s a wild animal. Then I know that thousands of acres of the Amazon wasn’t burnt down to make my steak, but it’s from a deer that was shot in the wilderness in Norway. I can live with that … That meat is also infinitely more interesting than the steroid injected, antibiotic treated, water infused, artificially colored meat you buy in the super market.
I’m also going to eat cheese and milk products. Right now I don’t have access to ecological farms, but this summer when I move home, I will have access to them and then I plan to buy eggs, ecological milk products and cheese from farmers I can talk to. Then I’ll know the cows aren’t mistreated, I’ll know they get to run around and eat fresh grass in the summer. The same thing for poultry.
So, I’m not really a vegetarian … But I plan to live like one, but will enjoy “hunted” meat and products from farmers I know. If this sounds ridiculous to you … No problem … This is for me.
Being a vegan for a month has helped open my eyes to a larger World of food. It’s helped me become more picky about where I get my food from and what I stuff into my mouth. I think that by doing this I’ll not only treat my body better, I’ll also get to eat much better and more enjoyable food … plus I do a little bit to help our planet … It’s a win – win situation
Actually it was fairly straight forward and didn’t take too long. I tried to make sure it wasn’t too hot, but just in case, I equipped everyone with a few bottles of good beer, before we dug in. From the silence that followed after the first bite I knew they either hated it or loved it. Luckily it was the latter.
