Food Challenges

NACHO:

February’s topic was about food. We all had to choose a way to contribute to this. Mine was no meat for a week, and I have to say it was so much easier than I expected. There’s a lot of meals you can make with only vegetables. I mean, really tasty meals. I did my first zucchini puree, and learned a few new recipes. I also learned that using seasonal vegetables is the healthiest, most eco-friendly way to eat them, and the same happens with fruits. Here you can see my zucchini puree. 

ENRICO:

My challenge was to eat more cauliflowers because I ate it a lot of years ago and I didn't like it but I think that the mission was complete because I didn't eat cauliflower everyday but I discovered a new method to eat and it was so good and I feel happier. And the other challenge was to don't eat cheese for 1 week, it wasn't difficult too because in my life I don't eat a lot of cheese and it was easy 

MATHILDE: 

I decided to go big and challenge myself for the whole month. I have been a vegetarian for about 2 to 3 years and after watching some inspiring documentaries, I decided to try veganism for a month. But because I don’t like to make things easy for myself I also decided to only buy local, seasonal fruits and vegetables (which are not so many in February).

Overall it went pretty good, I did not miss eggs and dairy products so much even if I am French and cheese is very important in my culture. I really enjoyed having to experiment and find new recipes, especially when it comes to baking, even if it didn’t always turn out the way I expected. I think I really liked putting extra effort into thinking about what I was actually eating (for exemple by checking labels for ingredients) because I feel like our whole lives we get used to picking articles from supermarket shelves without questioning what they actually contain.

The hardest part for me was that seasonal vegetables in Hungary are limited in February so it was difficult to eat diverse food. Social situations were also difficult because it is hard to refuse food that is offered to you. And eating out is always a bit of a mission because vegan options are quite rare.

 After this experience, I think that I will continue to push myself to learn new ways to eat plant based foods but will be a bit more flexible than I have been this month. I will definitely keep on buying only local and seasonal fruits and vegetables. I am also curious to see if I feel a change when I start eating dairy and eggs again although I will probably eat it in smaller quantities than before. 

I am excited to see what I’ll learn by putting myself through new challenges related to next month’s topic, water. 

VALENTINA:

Last month we covered the topic food.

My goal wasn’t to eat hazelnut cream, the famous Nutella for a week. But I have prolonged it for the whole month indeed until today I have banned it in my diet. I was fine, I replaced the cream with more natural products such as local jam and agave honey. My snacks are more delicious. Another goal is to eat carrots because when I had braces on my teeth I didn’t eat them for almost three years. They are an indispensable source of vitamins. I will try soon to prepare a carrot cake as well. We also saw an interesting documentary dedicated to the future of our planet “kiss the ground”, science experts and celebrity activists unpack the ways in which the earth’s soil may be the key to combating climate change and preserving the planet.