ANASTASIA AGEEVA
How long have you been vegetarian and why?
I have been vegetarian for 17 years. As a student, when living on my own, I felt like no meat and fish and enjoyed vegetables and fruit. Eventually, I realised I felt best being vegetarian and continued with it.
You are a serious triathlete, how have you found this diet/way of life affects your training and performance and what sort of foods do you eat prior to training or for a big event?
Since I started triathlon only five years ago, it was my natural nutrition to be vegetarian. I felt well growing miles and endurance. However, the increased half-distance triathlon training highlighted that I was lacking in nutrients and protein. I was feeling fatigue and tiredness. First of all I started resting more; I also started eating eggs and cheeses for more protein; so now I am lacto-ovo vegetarian. I enjoy additional sources of protein in my diet.
Before the morning training I usually have some oats with honey and coconut oil, raisins, simple yogurt and some coffee with milk.
I enjoy recovering from training with extra hydration and an omelette with spinach and cheese. It can also be buckwheat full of protein or even cherries if I want a small snack only.
Before big events it’s always recommended to stick to your normal diet to not ‘surprise’ yourself on a race day. So I fuel on rich salads full of goodness with seeds, nuts, fruits and veggies. Hummus is great for fuelling in the Middle East and dates are perfect for eating during long-endurance training.
You can find everything you need in vegetables and fruit. Broccoli is a happy veg full of protein for me which I love slightly cooked, still crispy, topped with toasted almond flakes. Enjoy your veggies!
ATHARIE AL SALEM
How long have you been vegan and why?
I’ve been vegan for one year and three months now. I switched from being a meat lover to complete vegan on April 3, 2017, for ethical reasons. I am vegan for all-around health and sustainability but I have stuck to it because I cannot and will not support the unnecessary exploitation in animal industries.
As a student, how have you found adapting the lifestyle to school, and is your family supportive?
I’ve found labelling myself as a ‘vegan’ did stir up much controversy in my private life. Suddenly everyone became so involved in my lifestyle. My friends did not take it so well; they judged me and did not take me seriously and I cut them out in the process. My family, however, did support me because, as I learnt to cook for myself in this process, they saw that this new lifestyle helped me gain confidence and independence.
Nevertheless, every time I sit with a group of people to eat, it seems that people like to demean me and my choices with their opinions and jokes. Extended family and school friends are usually the culprits. I take it all with a light heart, though, because I know it’s a non-traditional lifestyle that people may find amusing, and it gives me a chance to raise awareness.
WAFA AL MOHANNA
How long vegan and why?
I became vegan on February 14, 2016. I have always never really liked meat, especially in local dishes where you can actually see full parts of the animal. However, I’d never heard of veganism before. I accidentally saw an Instagram account for Freelee the Banana Girl, and everything clicked after that. I decided to go vegan immediately, thinking I would try this for a few days and see how it works. A week passed by and I thought “this is easy let me do it for a month.” During this month I started researching more into it. The more I knew, the more determined I became to continue.
You have lots of people following you on Instagram at veggie_cafe_bahrain. What do you think makes your page so popular and how do you come up with your recipes?
Being in Bahrain, I knew that it would not be easy, as, at that time, not many people were vegan. Very few vegan products were available, so I mainly ate raw fruits and vegetables. However, with my research I discovered many vegan recipes that I could actually do myself. So I started with cheese and a few popular dishes like moussaka and biryani. I realised that any dish you can think of can be turned vegan, whether it’s meat, seafood or chicken.
All this time I was posting what I was doing on Instagram. People started following me and asking for recipes and to sell these dishes. The more dishes I veganised, the more people followed. They also started asking me to give cooking lessons and to cook for them at private events.
I also started contacting major supermarkets to actually provide vegan alternatives in Bahrain, and spoke to a few companies in the GCC to see if they can sell some of their products here as well. Fikra, a vegan cheese alternative created by a pharmaceutical company in Kuwait, has decided to test the market through my account.
At the moment, I’m working on writing a recipe book so that all my dishes can be created easily and by anyone.
FERNANDA LANGHAMMER
How long veggie/vegan and why?
I have been vegetarian for about 12 years and became vegan one year and eight months ago.
I became vegetarian at first because I honestly never liked the taste and texture of red meat; giving up the other types happened naturally. Since I was very young, my mum says I had to be forced to eat it. When I was old enough, I decided it was better to just not eat meat any more.
When I decided to go vegan, it was a more planned step. After watching documentaries, talking to some people that had embraced this lifestyle and my family going vegetarian, it showed me that I was ready to go a bit further. Thinking of how much other animals suffer to please our palates and getting information on how I could get a balanced diet helped a lot. I definitely eat much better now than ever in terms of nutritional intake. It’s one of the best decisions of my life! I feel great and now I am really adapted to the challenges of looking for replacements in my daily food intake.
You’re a mum of two. Are you bringing your kids up in this lifestyle and, if yes, how easy is it with school and kids’ events?
I’m the only vegan in the house. My daughter and husband became vegetarian two years ago. Our son, who is two-and-a-half now, has always been vegetarian. I cook vegan food for them, but we do have dairy and eggs at home and they add cheese to some of the food that I cook or eat a grilled cheese here and there. Some people see it only as a diet, but as you said, it is a whole lifestyle, which makes it way easier to cope with. If you don’t see yourself as the most important thing in the world and believe that all animals have the same rights, it is not that difficult. It is all about mindset in my opinion.
Regarding the events and school, my daughter is old enough to choose what to eat. It was her choice to become vegetarian, so she deals with it very well. All her closer friends know about her food restrictions and always have something for her at birthday parties. Food technology is a subject at school and most of the times the teacher gives her a veggie choice or, if not, he respects her choice and lets her work with someone else. In my son’s situation, the teacher is aware of our choice and kids are not allowed to share their snacks. There are kids with allergies, so they are very careful. I kind of feel that Oliver is treated as if he is allergic to any type of meat, which doesn’t bother me at all as long as they respect our choice.
KELLY HASSAN
How long veggie/vegan and why?
After giving up meat around four years ago and seeing changes in my digestive system, I was introduced to some documentaries from a very dear vegan friend of mine about factory farming and how animals are really treated. We are led to believe that in most farms all is OK, that the animals live a quality of life before ending up in our bellies, but it’s not true, it’s disgusting. They are not treated well at all and suffer for their entire lives. Once you watch Cowspiracy or Earthlings you cannot un-see what goes on and, for me, I just couldn’t contribute to that any more.
I have met some amazing people in my time being vegan, including my now boss, Khaled Alwaleed, who is an advocate for the animals and spends much of his working life making a difference for them and for our environment. With each new project he works on, more animals are being saved from lives of imprisonment and suffering. It’s so amazing to see the number of followers on his Instagram that are on the same page.
He recently, with partners, opened Plant Café in Hamala Hills where I spend a lot of my time. Not only is the food amazing, but the staff are beautiful souls that make the energy there very inviting.
How has this lifestyle affected your wellbeing?
I’ve been fully plant-based for around two-and-a-half years and I can safely say it’s the best thing I have ever done. I feel better in myself, I have more energy, the hormone issues I had have gone away and I see a huge improvement in my skin.
It didn’t happen overnight. It took time to change all my beauty products, cleaning items and clothing so it was all vegan and cruelty-free, but now it’s easy and I miss nothing from before.
I think people’s perception of vegans is that we eat lettuce all day and try to make others feel bad for their choices. I am not judgemental. We all have our own journeys and ways we choose to live. But I would always urge people to do their research. If you want to consume animal products, just find out where it’s coming from. If it’s a place where animals are being treated badly, you will be consuming their fear and that’s only going to make you and your families sick.
Eating a plant-based diet is a life-changer. I do not eat lettuce all day. My diet is filled with delicious food and I don’t stop eating. Don’t believe me?
Go to Plant café and you will see. Two words, chocolate cake!
LAHAN SPERINCK
How long vegan and why?
I’ve been vegan for over three years now and initially decided to make the change for ethical reasons. It then became clear that there were health and environmental implications of consuming animal products and that gave me even more reason to stick to it for this long.
Do you also go animal free in other areas of life such as clothing and, if yes, how easy have you found it to adapt that to your lifestyle here in the Middle East?
I’m conscious of what I buy and avoid animal-tested products and any leather et cetera. But whatever I already owned from before, I decided to keep since the damage has already been done and getting rid of them won’t undo anything. It’s not too difficult to do this since there are lots of non-animal-tested options, in Bahrain especially, but vegan leather can be a little more difficult and ordering online is probably the best option.
Needless to say, there’s a huge movement and an ever-growing demand for more vegan options in Bahrain, so it is constantly getting easier to be vegan, especially compared to what it was like three years ago.
LOUISE O’LOAN
How long have you been vegan and why?
I went vegetarian from at the age of 17 and transitioned into vegan from there. During the early days of living in Saudi my husband pleaded with me to at least eat seafood as we were simply not able to go out to functions or meals at restaurants.
So everywhere we went I ordered the most expensive seafood dish on the menu. After several lobster dinners, he suddenly became comfortable with me bringing my bananas and a bag of nuts along to eat in fancy restaurants.
I am vegan for a multitude of reasons. I would have to say my main driver is environmental – there is a growing number of research papers which investigate the effects animal farming has on the workers, local communities and the land as a whole. I would encourage people to do their own research. Check the authenticity of the claims and ensure they are backed with science. There is a lot of conjecture on both sides, so be sure to do your homework.
Being vegan is very trendy right now and while it’s great to welcome more people to the table, remember trends come and go. So if you want to make it a change for life, be sure you know your stuff and believe fully in what you may choose to do.
What are your thoughts on the ever-increasing number of synthetic meat products coming onto the market?
Like many things in life, there is the good and the not-so-great that comes from anything new on the vegan market.
Synthetic substitutes may ease the transition of those wishing to become vegan. If you like munching on your big juicy beef burger, a beetroot version may not give you that same rush of joy. Opting for a version of your burger that is closely related to what you’re used to, without having anything animal in it, may just be the magic you are looking for.
At the end of the day it’s great that more choice is on the table. It’s up to the individual to decide what they might like to investigate and ingest.
SAMATHA MULLER
How long have you been veggie/vegan and why?
I’m from South Africa, a big meat-eating country, but have always tried to be healthy and active. I felt I care too much about animals and decided to stop eating meat and chicken about 15 years ago. I used to dive and catch fish, gut, clean and prepare them. But after a year I stopped eating anything with a face or pulse. It’s not only killing them I don’t agree with, it’s the way we mass produce them, abuse, mistreat and harm them while they’re alive.
You become more aware of what you are eating and what products might contain animal parts, and you read labels more thoroughly.
Is this something you carry over into other areas of your life — for example, cosmetics and cleaning products and do you find it easy to find cruelty-free options in Bahrain?
I use natural products, organic, eco-friendly stuff, don’t wear leather. Some products are available here, some are not found for a while, sometimes shops close down, but even if there aren’t you can always make a plan, like using lemon juice to clean, et cetera.
You can always order products online, but it would be nice if there was more awareness of cruelty-free options and more availability here.
