{"id":41731,"date":"2019-08-09T15:38:38","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T13:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/estherjacobs.info\/?p=41731"},"modified":"2022-08-18T21:25:53","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T19:25:53","slug":"30-vegan-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estherjacobs.info\/en\/blog\/30-vegan-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"30 day vegan challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

30 day vegan challenge<\/h1>\n

Be more conscious & sustainable, and eat healthier with a plant-based diet and lifestyle<\/h3>\n<\/div>

When I was younger, I used to be a vegetarian. I did not like the idea that animals were killed for my food. As I got older and especially as I was traveling more, sometimes it was easier to have a more flexible diet, so I became a \u2018flexitarian<\/em>\u2019.<\/p>\n

This requires a certain numbing of the mind; to dissociate eating meat with thinking of where that meat came from. Slowly but surely there was always a \u2018reason\u2019 (excuse!) to consume animal products: I was in a location with limited options, this specific dish was a specialty of the area I was visiting, a friend had prepared a non-vegetarian meal and I did not want to be rude, the meat just smelled soooo good, cheese tastes so great and is an easy source of protein, and sometimes I felt like my body indicated that I NEEDED meat. Without a deliberate decision, I had become an \u2018opportunitarian<\/em>\u2019: eating meat and other animal products whenever the opportunity presented itself.<\/p>\n

I decided to do a 30 day vegan challenge, meaning no meat, fish, eggs, dairy or other animal products for a month, to give myself a complete reset.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Why do a vegan challenge?<\/h2>\n<\/div>

Even though I would never buy meat to cook for myself, since I eat in restaurants most of the time, I had really become an \u2018opportunitarian\u2019 I wanted to be taking a conscious decision again about whether I would eat meat or other animal products. I wanted to take back control over what I eat.
\nI love animals and don\u2019t think it is right to make them suffer for our pleasure. If an animal has a good life on a farm and then gets killed, it\u2019s one thing, but I despise the \u2018factory farming\u2019 that is \u2018producing our meat nowadays. The living animals are already considered meat when they are still alive and treated horribly. It\u2019s not humane, it\u2019s not sustainable, and it\u2019s not healthy for consumption.
\nThe alternative is to eat only organic and local products from small farms.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Vegan humor \ud83d\ude42<\/h2>\n<\/div>
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Is meat good for us?<\/h2>\n

This essential question has many scientific answers.<\/p>\n

When I started watching documentaries on the topic, to my surprise I found that the meat industry contributes more to global warming than all cars and airplanes together!\u00a0The risk of colon cancer is much higher when you eat a lot of meat. Dairy is meant for baby animals, not for adult humans. No wonder so many people are lactose intolerant.<\/p>\n<\/div>

I became more and more convinced that I had to do something.
\nI wanted a \u2018reset\u2019 for my mind, a detox for my body. My goal was not to become a strict vegan, but to be more aware of what I ate and to consciously choose when I would eat meat or other animal products, instead of it being a given, or letting circumstances decide.
\nSo the motivation was there, but the discipline wasn\u2019t. To change a habit it often helps to do a 30 day challenge. So I did!<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Vegan pizza<\/h2>\n<\/div>
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The beyond burger<\/h2>\n<\/div>
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Vegan sushi in chevice restaurant with my dad<\/h2>\n<\/div>
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Eye openers:<\/h2>\n<\/div>