The Smoothie Vegetarians

Last Sunday was my one year anniversary of being sober. Not long after I chose veganism I also chose to quit alcohol completely. I'd always been a regular drinker, and at times would drink way too much. After being ill and having some other very stressful events in my life, I found I was drinking daily, and not always stopping at the two glasses of wine I would tell myself I'd have. It's a slippery slope, and I was sliding down it quickly. I felt mildly unwell most days; headache, dehydrated etc., and then by five or six o'clock in the evening I'd have a glass of wine and start the whole process all over again. It took me a few stops and starts, but I finally got the momentum going and here I am one year later. The differences were subtle, but I noticed them almost immediately – that little bit of fat around my waist melted away (well mostly anyway!), within a week I was sleeping like I hadn't for many years – all night long, good, solid ...

If you're like me, after a hard day of trying to save the world, you like to settle down with a nice glass of wine. Or a cocktail or just some sort of alcoholic treat. Did you stop and think if your adult-only beverage is vegan? You might be surprised. Avoiding liquor with cream or honey is the first thing that comes to mind when trying to get vegan booze, and it's simple enough to do. Irish Cream is out, unless you can find a non-dairy version (more on that in a minute), and any traditional mead product that is fermented with honey. That still leaves you with a whole wide range of alcoholic delights to choose from. Just avoid the animal products in the ingredients, you're good to go. Or are you? Now you can enjoy creamy cocktails that are vegan and dairy-free! Sorry to say, that's not the whole story. Not by a long shot. Though the ingredient list may be free of animal products, the processing behind many beers and wines is not. The problem i...