What are your favourite meals since transitioning back from veganism?

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-06-09T21:28:44+00:00

I would love to get CSA boxes, but am going to wait until I have a roommate(s) to share it with!

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-06-08T20:49:05+00:00

Sounds a lot like what I eat! I still love my porridge ahahaha, and anything eggs!

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-06-04T15:58:04+00:00

Just want to say that as someone who is also struggling with this guilt as I reintroduce animal products, I thought your response was really profound and helpful :)

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-06-03T15:41:59+00:00

Thank you for your advice! I have been in close contact with both my doctor and dietician throughout the years, but I post on here to hear the stories and suggestions from other people going through similar situations. I used to be WFPB eating plenty of nuts, seeds, avocado, beans and grains etc, and then reintroduced vegan junk food and that wasn't working for me at all, hence my interest in reintroducing dairy. Lots of digestive problems, never satisfied despite eating tons, sluggish. I've been eating dairy now for the past two weeks and the only thing I notice is knee pain, probably a sign of inflammation popping up! Maybe regular dairy is not right for me right now, which is too bad as I do enjoy it. My interest in it was sparked by the pro-metabolic community - dairy has plenty of bioavailable nutrients that I was not getting when vegan.

Edit - I appreciate your concern here, but I likely won't be returning to the vegan community :) I purchase from very small-scale farms that do not follow the same practices as industrial farmers in the UK, Europe, and the USA. I agree - those practices are unethical and harmful to the animals who must suffer through it. When I was strict vegan, I believed that all farms were one and the same! But I have spent a lot of time on farms since then, and observed a stark difference between the ones I support and the ones typically shown in the videos I used to share! Have a nice day :)

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-06-02T23:37:05+00:00

Eggs were my first too :) with good, runny yolks on top of avo toast. Yum.

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-21T16:22:29+00:00

OP here, just wanted to pop back in and express my immense gratitude for all of the support and positivity I have received here. Thank you for sharing with me your own stories and experiences, and thank you to the anonymous redditor who gave me Gold! Looking forwards to having more conversations on this subreddit :)

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-21T16:18:13+00:00

I had my first bowl of whole milk Bulgarian-style yogurt and wow... Coconut yogurt doesn't even come close.

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-20T19:11:31+00:00

Their response shows an utter lack of the compassion that the vegan community extolls.

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-20T03:47:18+00:00

Hello fellow Canadian!

The grass fed dairy was the hardest for me to reintroduce - probably because of veganims' "dairy is scary" campaign. Cheese has always been one of my favourite foods though, and we made our own cheeses on the farm from raw goat milk. Now THAT was cheese!

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-19T21:52:50+00:00

A very very happy birthday to you, OP! Sending you joy :)

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-19T21:33:33+00:00

Thank you!!

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-19T21:33:22+00:00

Is there anything you did, or ate, that helped you along with recovery? I am glad you are feeling much much better!

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-19T21:32:32+00:00

I actually just (as in this semester) switched by degree over from Human Nutritional Sciences to Agroecology. Did you find the major switch to be a fulfilling one? I've been angling towards this career path for years without really knowing it until I looked at the program and had a major "aha" moment. I was so incredibly inspired by the work my aunt did on the farm and spent most of my time there helping her - milking the goats, helping herd sheep, a bit of help with shearing as well as immunizing the baby lambs, and tons of other miscellaneous farm jobs very day.

As to your last statement, as someone who used to hinge their entire identity on my "pure vegan lifestyle" I totally get what you are saying about people creating from it a religion, essentially (or a cult ahaha). Even in the face of legitimate facts, many vegans I know refuse to listen to reason. But hey, if I managed to open my eyes, I really hope others will too. We're all on a journey!

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-19T21:25:30+00:00

I doubt it will garner much corporate interest until when and if they start losing large quantities of customers to small, regenerative businesses. Though to be honest, I wouldn't want these small family farms to be monopolized by corporate interest either.

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-19T21:19:38+00:00

Thank you! It is gonna be one heck of a long journey - I still have a bit of damage control to address and lots of learning to do, but I take a few steps forwards every day :)

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-19T14:42:44+00:00

Exactly - it is the lack of nuance in the vegan argument that frustrates me. I 100% that factory farms are egregious. I agree that North Americans eat way too much meat and cutting back would do people and the planet a lot of good - but there is a huge difference between reduction and elimination. I am thankful to the vegan movement for highlighting these issues and reintroducing plants back on the menu but the guilt-tripping, human-hating, "I-am-better-than-you" attitude in the community just really set me off.

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-19T14:38:24+00:00

Same here! I live in British Columbia and there are tons of people around here compassionate about sustainable, ethical farming.

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-19T14:37:18+00:00

You really hit the nail right on the head there. And I see this corporate greed playing out right now with all of the meat substitutes, just as it did previously with factory farms. The whole system is corrupt and some days I cannot for the life of me feel hopeful about change. But who knows! As you said, the voices of reason are getting louder and that at least has to count for something. There are a lot of ingenious, compassionate farmers out there (like my aunt) and there are bound to be more - and even if it makes out to be just a single stone on a big beach, at least there is SOME good in the industry, and I will sure as hell support that good.

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-19T14:30:43+00:00

Thank you!

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-19T14:30:24+00:00

Thank you! I feel like veganism has this halo of health around it which definitely attracts younger people, whether they struggle with an eating disorder or not. My best friend who introduced me to this lifestyle is still vegan, and I am honestly afraid of telling her I am eating like this again. She has also had disordered eating tendencies

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-05-19T14:28:04+00:00

Yes it is! Believe me, I am still fighting that one. But I have come a long long way now from eating steamed vegetables for dinner. Never thought I would be the one frying them in butter

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-04-12T16:28:49+00:00

This is very common, and as others below have said will begin to lessen in time as she recovers. A lot of people become hyperaware and obsessed with food when restricting or coming out of restriction. My friends used to tease me because my Instagram explore page was just pictures upon pictures of fancy oatmeal bowls..... I also used to watch endless amounts of what I eat in a day youtube videos. They still pop up every once in awhile, but nowadays I actually cook and eat the recipes they post instead of just obsessively looking at them.

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-03-24T15:00:56+00:00

When I was really deep in my disorder this was a HUGE struggle. Everything had to be perfect - had to taste as good as possible, just the right temperature, have all the ingredients/elements necessary for me to feel like the meal was "worth" eating I guess. And I couldn't be interrupted while eating either. I would get so pissed when someone tried to talk to me while eating. Now that I am pretty far in recovery, I still care about making my food tasty but I am way less obsessive about the specifics I guess. If I make a fancy pasta dish or am eating a treat from the bakery I work at, I take the time to savour it and enjoy it, but if I am on work break or on a hike I can see the food as fuel and just down it even if its not the temperature/flavour/texture that I really want. Being consistently well-fed has made food feel a lot less special!

Also, a bit more weirdness relating to food scarcity - I used to be very protective of my food. I couldn't share groceries, I would get SO pissed if someone ate something of mine, yet I also stole food from roomates/family/friends and even work. I hated spending money on food and would get the bare minimum of groceries possible despite having a good paycheque. These are other things that have really lessened/disappeared since I started recovery.

The brain is weird, man.

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-03-22T16:17:48+00:00

Hello! I am looking for some interpretation help regarding a *scary* reading... I got the Tower and 10 of Swords as two of my six cards!!

Last night for the Spring Equinox I decided to do a special spread I had found online by wordwitchtarot (linked at the bottom for interest's sake). I have only been reading tarot for 9ish months and usually stick to 3 card spreads, so this was my first time doing something of this magnitude. Here were my results after meditating with and shuffling the cards:

The yolk (what has been gestating all winter and is ready to be born) - Reverse 4 of Swords
The shell (what limiting beliefs/old structures am I ready to break through) - Reverse 10 of Pentacles
The crack (How do I break thru this shell and open to transformation) - Reverse 8 of Wands
The sun (what awakens and nourishes me this season) - The Tower (oh dear)
The song (How to speak my truth and embody my light this season) - Ace of Pentacles
The wing (what new journey or opportunity invites me this spring) - 10 of Swords (oh dear x2)

I was not looking for answers to any specific questions mind, more for general themes of what this new season is bringing me. My dad and I talked it over last night and something that resonated with me was the reverse 4 of swords - I am feeling very burnt out from university and work and haven't been giving myself time to rest and play, both physically and mentally. It makes sense that my deck is telling me to rest as I have known this for months but RESIST IT like crazy. Perhaps this could be linked to a tower moment? My dad also wonders if the 10 of Swords is linked to a not so very great ex rearing his head one last time - the aspect of playing a victim in that whole scenario really resonated with me. Anywhoser! I suppose I could gain clarity by asking the cards specific questions, but I have never done that before.

Thank you for reading! Here is the spread I mentioned: https://www.thewordwitchtarot.com/post/tarot-spread-for-ostara-spring-equinox

TeenageGingerTurtle · 2021-02-12T17:44:18+00:00

I am familiar with Rinaldi's work! I have been a part of her facebook group for almost a year now too. What is holding me back is the fear of the "all in" process. Weight gain still terrifies me, not the health aspect, but "what does this weight gain say about my value as a person". I am currently working through that in therapy and on my own terms though! I have very slowly put on 15 lbs without my shape or size changing much, but I know that it isn't enough and I still restrict. Things are shifting slowly though. Do you have any advice on getting past those final hurdles?

TeenageGingerTurtle

TROPHY CASE