Helloooo!
Happy Monday all! I have been FAFFING all week/weekend with anything and everything to avoid doing something that actually requires thought haha… Anyone else have these moments? I hope so, as I’m fully aware I’m making myself sound like I hate writing these posts (which I definitely don’t), I’m clearly just in full procrastination mode… Anyway moving swiftly on to non-procrastination mode haha, this week I wanted to tell you about a change I’ve made personally in the last year or so (one perk of lockdown eh!) which is… Turning more ‘Flexitarian’ and my experience of doing so!
Okay first things first, I know this is a term that can get a few ‘tut tut tuts’ and can be hailed as the ‘lazy vegetarian’ term (in all fairness it kind of is but anyway…), but come on people, it’s a good place to start right? Also I don’t want this to sound like a ‘everyone has to turn vegan’ protest here, as it’s your choice at the end of the day, I just want to share my story…
Soooo… I can honestly say that this time 2 years ago I wouldn’t have even questioned eating meat on a daily basis as I was just used to it really (and my excuse was always- chicken and sausages are too good for me to ever change. I know, a proper pants excuse really) BUT to my amazement & all thanks to my sister, the 20 decade has well and truly shifted something in me and now I hardly touch meat. Not only does it make you feel like your handing a helping hand to our national treasure David Attenborough in his attempt to save the planet, it also makes a difference to your health too/makes you feel better in yourself (I think, because it definitely has with mine anyway), which for me was the biggest winner of all!
I feel I should explain why I class myself as ‘Flexitarian’ and not Vegetarian/Vegan shouldn’t I really? Okay, so in all honesty, I’m pretty much Vegan I would say 80% of the time (apart from the odd egg or bar of chocolate), but for me I like the bit of freedom being classed as flexi gives you (I know it sounds utterly ridiculous, but anyway haha) and personally I’d hate to be the one to go to someone’s house for example (Ha! Like that happens at the moment…) and feel like the ‘awkward one’ so to speak. Plus I reallyyy like eggs, chocolate & tuna occasionally and sometimes a little bit of what you fancy doesn’t do you any harm right? So that’s why I’ve placed myself firmly in the ‘flexi’ category for now.
Another thing that has really, really surprised me is the fact that it’s actually not that hard to cut down on a meat/fish/dairy intake in general (even Aldi are doing superbly with their veggie range now, so THAT’s saying something…) and some veggie options are actually just as nice and even sometimes, they seem to be more flavoursome than meat if you ask me! Okay there’s the odd thing that isn’t quite up to scratch and tastes a bit like cardboard, but it makes it interesting right? So like me, you may just surprise yourself!
I have to be honest though, the only slightly disappointing thing for me was that it didn’t miraculously make my odd facial blemish disappear (as I’d hoped… proper first world problems I know, but I can’t surely be the only one that thought upping your veg intake would automatically switch the blemish switch off right?). Although it’s maybe helped a little I guess, it’s just not miraculous like I would’ve thought, but then that’s probably down to the fact that vegan sugary snacks ARE just as nice, so that’s probably the culprit really haha, lets be real… But you know, the odd blemish isn’t life changing so we move and the fact that (I personally) feel it gives my much more energy and the fact that less meat seems to improve digestion an awful lot (sorry a tiny bit ‘too much information’ there…) in my opinion, overrides everything! Can you believe I’m actually writing this haha?
However & as I’ve said above, please don’t let me sound like I’m trying to make you all switch (as a. I can’t completely commit to being full vegan either and b. Everyone is of course entitled to your own choice) but, for a helping hand and if you are wondering what to watch one evening when you find yourself scrolling aimlessly through Netflix; have a watch of ‘The Gamechanger’ or ‘David Attenborough, A life on our planet’, that might just help if you need a bit of persuasion😉 Both of those shows are what did it for me, let me tell ya and trust me, it’s honestly not as hard as what you might initially think (and coming from me that says a lot haha!). So if you are tempted, I’d say give it a go!
Anyway, happy exploring of the veggie isles guys (oh and by the way, vegan Ben and Jerry’s is pricey, but very, very worth it😉)!
Oh and side note… we’re a week closer to the end of lockdown too if you’d forgotten, yay!
Stay safe & take care,
Lots of love, Ella x
Ella May Beauty 