6. Keep trying to be vegan

A few years ago, I remember buying a big packet of cheap chicken legs – there were 48 in there, and I remember thinking: “what a massacre – 12 chickens had to die for those”. Ever since that moment (and the moment a day or two later when I realised that chickens have two legs, not four, and so it was therefore 24 chickens that made the sacrifice for me!), I have felt a bit strange about eating meat and have only eaten it a couple of times since then, mostly at people’s houses when I can’t bear to make someone cook a separate dish for me after being so kind as to invite me round. I can’t give up fish though, see number 21 on my list for info!). Since the beginning of the challenge, I have been drinking rice milk and trying to buy non dairy cheese and cream. I have found this extraordinarily difficult and much, much harder than giving up meat. Rice milk is fine in dishes, in cooking and in smoothies, but it’s an acquired taste in tea and coffee. The non dairy cream is fine too, although it feels a bit synthetic. However, I can’t give up butter and much happier with normal cheese, although I did enjoy Quark, the non-diary alternative. I am going to knock this attempt at being vegan on the head now – at least I tried it for a couple of months....