When I was a young child …

By

Meat_2_veg

When I was a young child

An omnivore diet I ate.

I wasn’t very adventurous,

The same few things appeared on my plate.

egg chips and beans

I liked to eat egg, chips and beans,

Or sometimes sausage and mash.

Occasionally I’d have fish fingers and peas,

Or maybe corned beef hash.

***

I didn’t like many vegetables,

Only peas, baked beans and carrots.

No one could make me eat my greens,

I’d never even heard of shallots.

***

My range of fruit went as far as apples,

Bananas, an orange at Christmas.

I preferred to eat biscuits and cakes and bread,

Peanuts and crisps, not citrus.

***

When I went veggie I ate lots more eggs

And cheese instead of the flesh foods.

Fat and more fat, cholesterol and fat,

But rarely increased the plant foods.

***

Now that I’m vegan, when they say to me,

“My goodness, what do you eat?”

I take a deep breath as I smile to myself

And happily repeat:

fresh-fruits-and-vegetables1

“I eat lettuce and spinach and onions and leeks,

Mushrooms and cabbage and beetroot;

Tomatoes and chard and purslane and sprouts,

Alfalfa and clover and bean shoots.”

fruits and vegetables

“I eat mangos and apricots, pineapples and pears,

Almonds, sultanas and cashews;

Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries,

Dates, prunes, avocados.”

My GM Diet Experience - Day 3 - Fruit and Vegetable Diet

My diet today is the most varied it’s been

Ever before in my lifetime.

High nutrition I get from my living food,

Not to mention the taste which is sublime!

nuts-and-seeds

fruits-vegetables-mental-health-550x550

 

Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse Cake

Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse Cake

Raw vegan chocolate cake with ganache frosting

Raw vegan chocolate cake with ganache frosting

 

raw-vegan-pizza-recipe skinnylimitsdotcom

Raw vegan pizza from skinnylimits.com

Raw vegan lasagne

Raw vegan lasagne

45 thoughts on “When I was a young child …”

  2. Inspiring poem and OMG! Such amazing pictures! You are very courageous with the vegan diet.I became vegan too after I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. But alas! I was discharged from treatment in 2014 and I literally fell back into my old eating habits.Now I just can’t give up on non-veg .

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  5. You have inspired me to try a vegan recipe tonight! I’m sure you know this well but your poem reminded me of the brilliant and fun Benjamin Zephaniah’s poems below. Thank you! 🙂

    Eat your words:
    I am a veggie table
    A table made of veg,
    There’s so much fruit upon me
    All living on the edge,
    Life is hard
    But so are plates
    And tea can be quite hot,
    And vegetarian poets
    Make me nervous quite a lot.

    Vegan Steven:
    There was a young vegan
    Called Steven,
    Who just would not kill for no reason,
    This kid would not eat
    No cheese or no meat
    And he hated the foxhunting season.

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  8. Brilliant poem Violet and so, so true – the choice is delicious and endless. I wish everyone would see that. The raw recipes look so yummy!

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  10. Gorgeous post! That’s how I feel when I get out my fruits and greens to make smoothies–look how colorful my food is, then toss in some seeds and nuts, coconut milk, “coconut water,” (it’s too expensive for how much I use it so I brew Zena’s coconut green chai tea; that’s run out, so now it’s hibiscus peppermint tea), coconut flakes, etc. Couldn’t stand veggies as a kid; my single dad grew huge veggie garden (great) but prepared the tons of kale with no seasoning (BITTER). So much kale. Now I eat all kinds of kale and other greens. I love to smell the fruit or basil, for example, before cutting it up. I appreciate my food and relish it now. And no vitamin/mineral deficiencies parents worry about when you tell them you’re vegan. Hello? I’m eating all the veggies and fruit you wanted me to eat as a kid (and more) but you’re worried? 😉

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  12. I love this and completely agree! Since going vegan, I really enjoy eating! There are so many wonderful healthy fruits and veggies out there and so many ways to prepare and eat them! People think that because I don’t eat animal products that I starve! LOL 🙂

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  13. Great post. I had the same journey–my food palette and choices got BIGGER after I became a vegan, not smaller. Most meat eaters don’t get that, but posts like this bring that truth to life. Thank you 🙂

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  14. The Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse Cake looks out of this world! I am going to see if I can find it from the writing on the bottom of the pic.

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  16. I thought I was hungry before I saw your post, but now, I am absolutely ravenous! (Apart from that egg and chips shot that made me gag.) Love your poem – so much fun, and so true!

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    • Thank you, so glad you like it 🙂 and sorry about the egg pic, I needed to make the point. It’s funny to think I did used to love them but now the idea of eating something that was inside someone’s body is absolutely revolting – and preposterous! 🙂

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      • Oh, I agree. In fact, it was not that long ago that I was eating eggs ( they were one of the last things to go from my diet because I always loved them and they were so versatile), but now the thought of eating them turns my stomach!

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  18. I liked your post. i had the same experience when i went Vegan. I think that’s a wonderful side of life or experience that everyone should meet.

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