Lynette Botha
How did you become vegan or move towards this way of life?
I used to be that girl who, when asked: is there anything that you don’t eat?, replied proudly ‘I eat everything, except Marmite!’.
But on the 30th of June 2015 I went cold-turkey vegan. That’s a confusing sentence, I know. I went vegan. But without ever having been vegetarian or pescatarian – or even flexitarian. I literally went from eating a medium-rare steak one day to legume upon legume upon lettuce the following day. And I’m okay with that. I was living in the Seychelles at the time, and I’d long grappled with my lifestyle choices and decided veganism was the way I’d like to go. I didn’t need to watch Cowspiracy or Earthlings on Netflix to be convinced. I was spurred on by the influence of fellow vegans on social media too. I anticipated that it’d be a hard change (no more cheese, like, ever?!) and that it would bring me my fair share of ridicule, but I soldiered on, and I have never really looked back!
What year did you become vegan?
2015
Are there any foods you enjoy now that you wouldn’t eat or hadn’t tried before?
I wouldn’t say foods I’ve never tried, but I’ve definitely discovered more inventive ways to prepare vegetables, legumes, sauces and the like. I have also become a pro at preparing tofu (which can be tricky) and the non-vegan people in my life always ask for my secret!
What is your favourite meal or snack?
My tofu ‘halloumi’. Also, butter ‘chickpea’ curry with rotis (does not actually contain butter, but has all the flavour of an authentic curry – another crowd pleaser). I also love the vegan chocolate-coated almonds and the seed crackers from Checkers’ Simple Truth range.
