So, you may have noticed that Tasty Tuesday has been a little quiet of late. I knew I would share with you when I was ready, and today is apparently that day! I’ve been trying something new in the food department. I’ve been vegan for a month. Almost two actually. Late August was the last time I ate anything with animal product in it. It was butter.

I had been thinking about transitioning to veganism for some time. How can I be so pro being a voice for the voiceless and want harm to not come to any living creature, but still eat cheese? And butter? And eggs? And drink milk, whether it’s skim or not? It’s still dairy. The decision had been coming, and on that day my decision was made.

It has been almost 8 weeks. I’ve had a couple of days where I’ve felt like having butter. Or maybe a milk chocolate. But I didn’t eat them. When I stopped for a few seconds to think about why I made this choice, it was really easy not to reach for them. I have, however, made a mental note to never go to the movies at the last minute again, sans vegan snacks!

So here I am. I am vegan.

I have been a vegetarian for five years. Wednesday 26 August 2015 is the day I began the transition from vegetarian to vegan. Food is the easy part.

Anyone vaguely thinking about transitioning might do as I did, might be encouraged to watch Earthlings. I can’t imagine that anyone who has watched it could possibly be anything other than vegan after the viewing. I cried for about 60 minutes of the 90 of the film. I hid behind my hands, I gasped out loud at the utter horror. I swore a lot. And I cried some more.

Human beings should love animals as the knowing love the innocent, and the strong love the vulnerable. {Earthlings, as narrated by Joaquin Phoenix}

Yes, it’s true I don’t eat meat. But I did consume dairy. And I do wear shoes and belts that are leather. That day, those practices stopped. I am in the process of going through every cupboard in my home and rid it of products made by companies who test on animals, or contain any animal product. You’d be amazed! So far I’m almost done in the bathroom. It’s a bigger job than I imagined.

When we wince at the suffering of animals, that feeling speaks well of us, even if we ignore it. And those who dismiss love for our fellow creatures as mere sentimentality overlook a good and important part of our humanity. But it takes nothing away from a human to be kind to an animal, and it is actually within us to grant them a happy life and a long one. {Earthlings, as narrated by Joaquin Phoenix}

How did I come to watch Earthlings? I’ll back track a little. I shared with you guys my listening to Philip Wollen debate, and he mentioned it in his oration. That’s how I watched it. The very evening he mentioned it. To say it ripped me apart inside would be a major understatement. I had been thinking about the idea of becoming vegan for a while now. Except for my love of cheese. And butter. And chocolate. Did I mention chocolate?

I used those as my crutch and convinced myself that I couldn’t possibly give them up. You know what? I could. And I did. Immediately. I went for a coffee over the weekend and the cafe didn’t have almond milk {my preferred non-dairy milk}. Usually I would have just had skim milk instead. But I just couldn’t bring myself to. Images of those dairy cows and their babies being ripped from them flashed before me. So I had a soy latte instead. And you know what? It was okay.

I am finding this one thing hard though. As a woman of a certain age – who was a teenager in the world of the supermodel and thin is everything and calorie counting {and spent a certain period of my schooling getting by on one Mars bar each day as a result} – it is really tricky to retrain your brain that it is okay to eat in abundance, because you’re eating good stuff.

As I dipped an apple in yet more nut paste during my second week as a vegan, I found myself thinking that’s probably at least 5 nuts all mushed up there – which is too many calories. I think that’s going to be the hardest part.

Well, that and attempting to ignore the naysayers and people who want to tell me that I must eat this or that! My being a vegan is not a challenge for you to get me to eat animal product again. It’s a personal choice. And so far, it’s a choice I haven’t found it difficult at all.

When you share what you have learned with your friends and family members, who you deeply respect and love, they show indifference at best. You feel like you have come upon genocide everyone is trying to hide and ignore. And you can no longer participate and no longer keep quiet. And then you are painted as militant, extreme, judgmental. {Gary Smith has shared this common experience among vegans on The Thinking Vegan.}

Just as bumpyroadtobubba is my journey to and experience of motherhood, snippets I may share with you about being vegan are my journey and my experiences.