Okay, enough with the vegan junk food! Ugh. Seriously, travelling becomes somewhat of a hassle (so I’ve realised) when you’re super conscious about what you eat. Sure, you can go to the nearest supermarket and fill your basket with bananas and grapes, but when organic fruit and veges are far between in your country of travel choice, what’s a vegan girl to do? Eat take away, of course!
I’ve found when you’re on the road and find a good thing, be sure to stick to it (thighs, be warned). As I type this, I’m on the verge of getting ready for a seven day juice cleanse. As such, my outright confession about scoffing back meals of vegan junk food becomes null and void (at least in my head). But what happens when the junk food of choice actually tastes GREAT and, when you break it down, isn’t that junky at all? Enter New Zealand’s Burger Fuel — an eco-fabulous burger chain that was green at inception back in the mid-90s when “green” was simply a shade of colour to the rest of the world.
The order of choice at this hip chain is the V8 Vegan for $NZD8.90 packed with flavour thanks to its pumpkin, cashew nut and ginger pattie, mushroom, olive and sage pate, salad and relish, sandwiched between the freshest burger bun you’re ever likely to encounter. Then there’s the lashings of red onion and avocado that you can add or take away, depending on what floats your vegan boat.
Kudos, Burger Fuel. Thanks for the memories.
Tastes better than it looks: the V8 Vegan burger from Burger Fuel.
With articles out there like this one from Donna Fish at the Huffington Post, it’s really important vegans help to educate others about what it actually means to live meat, dairy and animal-product free.
With a headline of “Help! My Daughter’s a Vegan” only perpetuating the false belief that veganism is unhealthy and nutritionally lacking, the media is doing little-to-nothing to dig up the real health facts. What results is an empty, uninformative article that flippantly suggests a meat based diet is superior to a vegan one. This, in fact, as many vegans know, is untrue.
Rather than me bang on about how a healthy vegan diet can transform lives in so many positive, healthful ways, I think it’s best I turn to Olympic athlete Carl Lewis on the transformation he experienced when he became vegan.
“Can a world-class athlete get enough protein from a vegetarian diet to compete? I’ve found that a person does not need protein from meat to be a successful athlete. In fact, my best year of track competition was the first year I ate a vegan diet. Moreover, by continuing to eat a vegan diet, my weight is under control, I like the way I look. (I know that sounds vain, but all of us want to like the way we look.) I enjoy eating more, and I feel great. Here’s my story.”
“We’d like people to realise that eating vegan is not difficult if you do it well and if you’re around people that support you. It can be very enjoyable, tasty, fun and extremely healthy.” Compassionate Action for Animals’ Nicholas Orth, who is supporting more than 800 students as they go vegan and vegetarian for seven days at the University of Minnesota, during the college’s sixth annual Veg Week (beginning Tuesday).
Nicholas Orth with volunteers Rebecca McDougle and Alexa Nelson.
