By Lizzie Norwood ’18, Contributor
Most people, when they find out that I am a vegan, react in one of two ways: they either become confused and ask more questions than I’m comfortable with or they ROAST me. I’ve realized that people will continue to have these reactions and I will keep getting annoyed by them until I demystify what it’s really like being a vegan. So with this article, I’m attempting to educate the masses and prevent myself from getting heated in the future. I’ve detailed my daily routine and what I generally eat in a day to prove that vegans aren’t a different species and that it’s possible for a vegan to exist alongside their fellow meat-eaters.
Most school days, I wake up at 6:20 a.m. but I don’t actually get out of bed until about 6:30. I generally take these ten minutes to stretch and meditate on my core values. I remind myself that I am living a lifestyle that I chose and that I should adhere to my own code and be respectful of other people’s lifestyles while also remembering my values surrounding meat are different than others and I need to uphold my beliefs while also respecting others. These few minutes of meditation help keep me focused and clear-headed throughout the day and I can feel a difference when I don’t take this “me” time in the morning. For breakfast, I usually enjoy raw baby spinach with hummus or sunlight with water. Eating a small breakfast helps me feel light during the morning and I find that it helps me focus on my morning classes. Throughout the morning I like to drink either water, coffee, or green tea. I usually tend towards green tea over coffee because of the incredible health benefits.
Lunchtime is when things can get scary for a vegan. My only food options are usually only available in the salad bar–I still need to be careful there because some of the pre-prepared salads and mixes contain animal products. Sometimes when the salad bar has nothing for me I like to go out to the back lawn in front of the North Gym and graze by the amphitheater, super vegan. On sunny days, I have the added bonus of being able to create my own glucose using the sun’s energy and water, but most of you non-vegans already assume that.
After school, I sometimes go to cross country practice where I get a good workout in. When I do run cross country, I remind myself to eat more leaves than I usually do in order to refuel my body and replenish my energy. As an after-practice snack, I usually eat a Larabar, which are completely vegan snack bars sweetened with dates. For my actual dinner, I like to eat more raw baby spinach with hummus. Most of my own meals actually consist of raw baby spinach and hummus. I miss variety, but the desire for more diverse foods is thwarted by reasoning and my personal values.
