First Ever Blog Post!

Welcome, welcome to Hogwarts! Wait, did I say Hogwarts? I uh- Hogwarts doesn't exist. Nope.

First things first, I'll start by introducing myself. My name is Stephanie and I am an Italian/Australian twenty-something cheese connoisseur, a mineral collector, a die-hard fan of Harry Potter and JRR Tolkien, a whiz in the kitchen, a cat lady, and I am always on the search for cheaper, tastier, better and most importantly of all, vegetarian options. 

Five or six years ago, before I became a vegetarian, I gave up all processed meat products as well as meat from fast food joints including but not limited to dim sims, meat pies, and burgers. It disgusted me knowing that tongues, snouts and even organs were added to such foods, not to mention the unhealthy additives that were added to the ever popular meat pies and sausage rolls. Then I was made aware of fast-food chains staff members intentionally abusing chickens before slaughter. So I boycotted all of the meat products that were processed in factories.

I am a strict lacto-ovo vegetarian. I love dairy and if it weren't for my obsession with cheese, I would have become vegan a long time ago. I went vegetarian almost four years ago for ethical reasons. While growing up I didn't like meat as much as the rest of my carnivorous Italian family, so giving it up was mostly easy. I did it in stages over four or so months to give my entire family (and my body) time to adjust, and adjust they did, albeit reluctantly.

At first I eliminated lamb from my diet which way too easy as I never liked eating it. I also eliminated the animal-derived ingredients such as gelatine. Then came the pork and after that, the beef. A month later and I've given up poultry. So far, so good, my body's adapting to the changes rather swimmingly and I'm loving that little by little, I will no longer have the blood of defenceless creatures on my hands even if it meant no more wings or Nonna's schnitzels. Last thing to give up was the seafood. I think I used to love seafood, but now I cannot even remember what was so amazing about it.

Fast forwards three years later, and I think I'm doing rather well. Aside from my much faster metabolism and my hair and nails grow more slowly than they used to, I haven't had any issues since adopting a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. I wouldn't say that my diet is very healthy, I'm not a health nut but I do what I can to make sure my needs are met. I dislike most sweets, I skimp out on the fresh produce when rent is due, and sometimes all I just want to eat is fresh bread and cheese BUT I do make an effort.

So, enough about me. The reason why I created this blog was to give fellow vegetarians the opportunity to have everything within reach and this includes:

• Product comparisons and reviews
• Cheap eateries that cater to vegetarians and vegans located in Melbourne
• Affordable vegan, vegetarian and cruelty-free beauty and household products 
• Links to reliable websites with affordable prices and regular special deals
• Cheese (this deserves a category on its own)
• My favourite recipes
• Experiments with meat substitutes and other food.

I want to give you a heads up on the next post. It should be up within the week. It'll be about cheese and I'll be covering non-animal and animal rennet, how to set up a vegetarian cheese platter and where to find them for a low price. If you have any questions on the subject, comment here and I'll answer it in the next post. By the way, I have found a VERY suitable replacement for Parmesan cheese! It'll be the perfect accompaniment to my spaghetti bolognaise.

See you soon! 

Oh, and leave a comment if you want to request a topic for me to cover in a post and I'll do whatever I can to make that happen as long as it is at least vegetarian, cheap and/or cruelty free.