“I think you could go down the path [of making food from scratch] if you had plenty of time on your hands or loved spending time in the kitchen or grew your own vegetables, but for me, I find there is a lot of that in the supermarkets now” - Emma Waters
there was also an unexpected side effect she hadn’t anticipated. Weight loss. “I lost 25 kilos last year. I think once you make a big change like this you start to make other changes in your life too so I have started to exercise more but it’s hard with everything going on to always find the time (Emma is business owner of Thanks A Bunch Bouquets and mum to a preschooler). You’re also more aware of what you’re putting in your body and on your body. You become a bit more accountable.” A survey by Bean Supreme predicted that one quarter of Kiwi’s are expected to have stopped eating meat by 2025, while New Zealand producers of vegan products have in the recent past, struggled to keep up with demand. This may be reflected in January results this year from chefspencil.com who ranked New Zealand third in the world in a recent survey. Chef’s Pencil used Google Trends to analyse the search engine interest level for veganism around the world. Only people in Australia and Great Britain search for vegan-related websites in greater numbers.
There is a commonly held belief that being a vegan means preparing meals and is time consuming but Emma says it doesn’t have to be that way. “I think you could go down the path [of making food from scratch] if you had plenty of time on your hands or loved spending time in the kitchen or grew your own vegetables, but for me, I find there is a lot of that in the supermarkets now.” She’s a fan of soy milk, coconut milk and vegan cheese, and finds vegan sausages and patties are easy meat substitutes in many meals. “I really like the vegan cheeses but I introduced that a few weeks after not having cheese, so I wasn’t really comparing the two. You start to get really good with your seasonings and I love spicy food now, so I think my tastes have changed.” The other thing that factors in peoples’ decision making is the cost of ready-made options, but Emma sees the cost as comparable to meat, noting that a tray of good quality mince is about the same price as a packet of vegan sausages. Whatever your reasons, if you want to be successful at changing your diet, she believes you must have a genuine desire to change. “I think you’ve got to have a really good reason and commit to it and see it through. And I started to notice that I was losing weight too and once you see that it keeps you going.” Multi vitamins are recommended for vegans and if you don’t eat B12 fortified foods (marmite, some soy products, almond milks, etc) then a supplement will be the only way to get it. As always, it’s recommended you talk to your GP first, especially if you have pre-existing health conditions. Katrin Millener from the Magic Garden with a selection of her rawsome food which caters for vegans.
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