CHENNAI: Adopting a vegan lifestyle has become a fad in the city, with many deciding to exclude dairy, meat and other animal products for healthier dietary options and supporting companies that are cruelty-free. The primary cause for the increase in veganism among the urban youth is animal welfare, and so, ahead of World Vegan Day (November 1), I decided to go vegan for a day. Now you might think it seems easy, it’s only for a day. Spoiler alert: I ate an egg by accident. More on that later.
I decided to follow a vegan diet for 24 hours. The vegan lifestyle encompasses a lot of cruelty-free consumer choices that I haven’t explored, but my diet is something I can control easily. Now, what must be understood is that I love chicken more than I love my family, so the goal was to make sure I was able to exercise some self-control. All dairy products were to be replaced with dairy-free alternatives, such as switching milk for almond milk, which gives me the perfect segue to the first obstacle of the day: coffee.
I am a God-fearing, sabha-hopping, first-day-first-show visiting Chennaiite, so my morning filter coffee is very important. The froth, taste, texture, and colour — all must be perfect, else the rest of my day is ruined. I decided to have my coffee with almond milk, which I must report is an acquired taste. The milk’s consistency is more watery, and also curdled about two days after I bought it. The froth in my almond filter coffee lesser than the regular, but it sufficed, so I went on with my day. For breakfast, since I am social media trash, I decided to make one of those very aesthetic and very extra smoothie bowls. Very little to say except it was delicious and my Instagram story was on point.
The day proceeded with little drama, except for me being a stereotypical Tumblr vegan and announcing my dietary choices to anyone who would listen and making those who didn’t want to listen, sit down and hear my spiel anyway. I mocked the people I saw enjoying meat in the hopes that I would be able to resist it by making fun of them, but this saw me sitting in the dark and whispering to myself, “I don’t need it, I don’t need it. I am better.”
I decided to switch things up and have lunch at a local vegan eatery in Alwarpet. I decided to order a cauliflower fried rice with red and green cabbage, iceberg lettuce and spring onions. The food was delicious, but rather expensive. However, there are many cheap vegan restaurants that have been mushrooming around the city, so you can pick and choose where you’d like to eat, depending on your budget. Through my research, I found that Chennai does not lack vegan restaurants or retailers, which makes it easy for someone who wishes to transition into the lifestyle.
Now, it’s time to address the egg controversy. It was not a plan that my friends hatched against me, nor is it as dramatic as I’m cracking it up to be. However, the incident made me feel like a hollow shell, and no matter how my closest chicks consoled me, I felt that my wings had been clipped.
It was my friend’s birthday, and so we ordered a cake. We sang for him, he cut the cake, he fed us each a small piece, and then we dove into the delicious, creamy pastry until it was done. When I went to the washroom to wash my hands and saw my reflection in the mirror, it hit me. I rushed back to the room and asked the friend who had ordered the cake if it was eggless. She replied it was not. I was crushed.
Although this started out as a fun experiment, I learned that as a consumer, it is important to know what is in the products you utilise, but this is doubled when one is following a vegan diet. I decided to take this in my stride and still keep up with my goal.
At the end of the day I had dinner at home. I made myself dosa with coconut oil, which added a new flavour to the dish. Traditional vegetarian dishes such as sambhar, rasam and idli are inherently vegan, if they are not prepared with ghee. Smrithi Raghunanthan, a Mylapore resident, who has been a vegan for a year, said, “Most of our south Indian dishes are vegan and therefore they come to your rescue. You can always request restaurants to make the dishes you desire, vegan, and most usually oblige.” Smrithi also buys her produce from various online cruelty-free vegan retailers, which are available aplenty and can suit many budgets. So, we reach the end of this rollercoaster of a day. I realised that my diet was extremely healthy, with me consuming more fruits and vegetables than I would have ever eaten usually. Moreover, the vegan lifestyle is not as hard as one would expect, as long as you are careful and aren’t me. For those living a vegan lifestyle, I commend your ability and your dedication, and I apologise for being such a terrible vegan, even if I was one only for a day.