Compassionate Life

When I got home, I started doing some research into the industry, which confirmed my decision and also my worst horrors of what really happens. I also started reading into the dairy and egg industries and slowly went towards the vegan path. I was lucky in that this was the summer before I first went to university, so I made the full switch after I left (avoiding the confrontation etc.). Everything was fine and I was happy to finally "have seen the light". 

However, my parents were never supportive. I still do not understand how parents cannot support their child wanting to live with compassion for others and for wanting to protect those that can't speak for themselves. I do not know how this makes them angry at me, but it did and still does. I wish they would support me and be proud of me for what I am doing. I wish they would maybe rethink some of the things they do. But that's another story. 

When I went vegan, my brother also went vegan (without having been vegetarian before). We are very close and he asked a lot of questions, which I answered truthfully and he realized what he was doing was wrong.

I was vegan for a year and a half. After a night out, I put some pizzas in the oven for my friends and being drunk and starving, I had a slice. The next day I felt like I had failed. I felt like a horrible person. Nobody supported me in my lifestyle and nobody was there to say that it was just a slip up and it would be fine. 

At the time this happened, I was having having a very bad time emotionally. My friends, or rather, those I had thought of as friends, were treating me awfully. Again, this is another story. At the same time, I was having boy troubles. Again, I do not want to delve further into it. And then my mother told me my brother had gone back to being a vegetarian. My only support network had failed me.

All these things added up with me also going back to being a vegetarian. For over a year. Almost another year and a half in fact, as I hate to admit. 

Just before my birthday this spring, I decided I was going to ditch the dairy again, after having spent several sleepless nights thinking about the hypocrisy of being a vegetarian - saying I didn't want animals to die for me, but making them die for me anyway. I couldn't do it. I sent my mom an email explaining that I couldn't do it because I just couldn't live with myself. She was much better about it this time. Maybe because I wasn't being confrontational and just said I myself couldn't live with it.

Two or three weeks later I went fully vegan again.

Now, I regret not being strong enough to do what I thought was right and to instead let others influence me for the worse. I wish I had been stronger then. Strong enough to stand up for what I believe in. 

What I am trying to say with this very long post is that set backs do happen, but you accept them and start over again the next day. Set backs happen on any diet, especially weight loss diets. You slip up and have cake. Does that mean you should start having cake every day? No! You accept your mistake for what it is - a mistake - and continue with your plan the next day. Veganism should be the same. Of course, there are ethical considerations when you slip up, but even if you have slipped up and supported the taking of a life, what good is it to the animals if you give up at that point and never return to your vegan ways? It is much better to slip up and accept your mistake and then stay vegan. 

Conventional Items

1 egg = 1 tsp baking powder + ½  tsp baking soda + 2 Tbsp flour + 3 Tbsp water (whisk until foamy)

1 egg = 2 Tbsp water + 1 Tbsp oil + 2 tsp baking powder

1 egg = 1 heaping Tbsp soy flour or cornstarch + 2 Tbsp water

1 egg = 2 Tbsp cornstarch + 2 Tbsp water + 1 tsp baking powder (whisk)

1 egg = 2 Tbsp flour + 1 Tbsp baking powder + 2 Tbsp oil + 2 Tbsp water (whisk)

2 eggs = can of diet soda (in many cakes)

2 eggs = 250 ml soda water + 2 Tbsp cornstarch

Fruit

1 egg = 1/4 cup puréed prunes or beets (precooked) (these work well in brownies)

1 egg = 1/4 cup applesauce (Great in desserts and pancakes)

1 egg = 1 mashed banana (Also good in desserts, but will make the final product more dense. Add ½ tsp baking powder for a lighter texture. Note: You will taste the banana in the final product!)

1 egg = 1/4 cup mashed potatoes

Other

1 egg = 1-2 Tbsp ground flaxseeds + 3 Tbsp water (mix well until smooth)

1 egg = 2 Tbsp soy flour + 2 Tbsp water

1 egg = 2 Tbsp potato starch

1 egg = 1 Tbsp ground flax seed simmered in 3 Tbsp water (Great for adding healthy omega-3 fatty acids to a dish)

1 egg = ¼ cup of tofu (Whip or beat it before adding it to the recipe)

1 egg = ¼ cup blended silken tofu (Whiz in a blender until completely smooth and creamy, leaving no graininess or chunks. You will want to add other wet ingredients to this mixture to get it to blend properly)

1 egg = Conventional egg replacer whisked with water (see box for details)

The Vegg = very realistic egg yolk replacer for making things like omelette