Your Say – Vegan mama Cynthia

中文版

Cynthia and her daughter Kiki enjoying a meal

Annie@SHVC: Hi Cynthia, where do you come from and how long have you been in Shanghai?
Cynthia: I am from Germany, and we moved to Shanghai last September after having lived in Chengdu for almost 5 years.

Annie@SHVC: So are you a vegetarian or vegan?
Cynthia: I have been vegetarian for 15 years, while gradually becoming a vegan since 6 years. I am trying to make as many decisions as possible that go in line with the vegan lifestyle. When I cook at home, it is always vegan. When eating out, I will always pick the vegan option, if not available I may request changes or take a vegetarian option. The idea behind this is the boycott of the animal exploiting industry while trying to not make my life unnecessarily hard. For example, I occasionally eat “vegetarian” noodles in local noodle places once in a while even though the noodles are often cooked in bone broth, a thought I am trying not to have. If there is no alternative at the time and considering that bones are a byproduct and not the main reason for the animal being slaughtered, I have been accepting this so far.

Annie@SHVC: Yes, I totally understand, as a vegan sometimes I also have to compromise as vegetarian when I eat outside… What exactly turned you into a vegan?
Cynthia: Coming to China actually. In Germany, tofu is quite pricy and you didn’t have as many variations as in China at the time. I was quite impressed with the selection and thought that being a vegan here could be easier.

Annie@SHVC:Wow… I thought many people find China a hard country for vegans… haha! Do you still find it difficult to eat vegan food in Shanghai? What kind of challenge have you met?
Cynthia: It can be difficult to find vegan local options, the same in Western restaurants. On the upside, Chinese food in general doesn’t contain dairy as much as in the West, while on the downside many dishes contain eggs and meat. It is probably helpful to emphazise that the vegetarian dish you are ordering should not contain any meat, and to know that the Chinese chef meant well when he sprinkled minced meat over your fried beans regardless. I guess it is a good idea to focus on what you can influence while other things may be out of your control.

Annie@SHVC: I often heard pregnant women worry about not getting enough nutrition from vegetarian diet, how did you cope with this during your pregnancy?
Cynthia: Yes that’s true, especially since pregnant women tend to be overly worried about anything (it’s the hormones!), myself being a prime example. If you are educated about which foods are rich in nutrition and what you should incorporate into your diet to maximize health benefits, I think you and your baby are probably better off than average. I was not vegan during pregnancy and also took a prenatal vitamin every day “to make sure”, but if you supplement B12 vegan pregnancies turn out fine too. I cooked with a lot of legumes because I did crave more protein-rich foods and tried to eat really healthy of course. My baby turned out beautifully and perfectly healthy, being quite a chub with 7.7 lbs! Also, even though it felt like I was eating all the time I was slim again pretty much right after giving birth.

Annie@SHVC: That’s great! Many moms struggled over that in dismay… is your baby also vegan? What kind of food do you give her usually?
Cynthia: No, she loves meat, just like her Dad. She is begging me for “chick chick” as soon as she gets the whiff of it, and I don’t deny her some meat. I am trying to sneak as much healthy food into her diet as possible, and luckily she loves things like broccoli and beans, too. I either mash up everything I am cooking for us at home, or she eats it straight. Her portion contains less salt, but she loves a dash of chilli!

Annie@SHVC: Wow, what a little Chengdu lady hahaha!I have a question though, last time when I was recording a TV program, a non-vegetarian mom mentioned that she never takes any live animals home as kids are very sensitive around their being killed, so literally mom has to lie a bit about meat and animals… how do you deal with this?
Cynthia: I guess this refers to a local Mommy talking about killing live animals she bought in the market? In the West we have a different reality when it comes to preparing meat. With everybody usually buying packaged meat in the super market we lost touch with the fact that what we are buying was breathing not long ago and on top of this had to endure cruel and shameful treatment from birth to death. It is a tough thing to explain to children. You certainly want to choose your words very carefully, and possibly explain it in more abstract terms. When my daughter is old enough I will try to create awareness about this topic gently. She adores animals and is very empathetic with both humans and animals. Understanding the dynamics behind eating meat may be a bit more difficult for her to understand in our situation since my husband is not a vegetarian and models his behavior to her as a parent. I am trying to not force things but to let them develop naturally.

Annie@SHVC: Last but not last least, what is your fav vegan dish or restaurant in Shanghai?
Cynthia: We go to wagas a lot because it is right around the corner, and they have this yummy falafel wrap and salad combo. Otherwise, I must admit that we keep talking about trying this vegetarian restaurant close by and never have. So I am looking forward to having a reason to try new places when meeting up with the Shanghai Veggie Club!

This column covers stories of people living in SH trying to have a pro-veg life( yes, you do NOT have to be a vegan or vegetarian to be featured), proudly presented by host Annie. If you have a story to tell, contact us for an interview.;)

 
纯素妈妈辛西娅

译者： Scarlette
校对： Tang

Annie@SHVC: 辛西娅你好，你是哪里人？来上海多久了？
Cynthia: 我是德国人，去年九月搬来上海，之前在成都住了将近5年。

Annie@SHVC: 那你是素食主义者还是纯素者？
Cynthia: 我吃素已经15年了，近6年来正在向全素食者发展。我正在尝试尽量多作与纯素生活方式一致的决定。当我在家做饭的时候，做的总是素食；要是去外面吃，我也总是选择素食餐馆。要是没有素食餐馆，要么就要求改一下配菜，要么就点素的吃。这是为了在抵制动物利用产业的同时也不让自己的生活变的举步维艰。比如说，我偶尔吃素面的时候，发现汤是骨头汤的话，也会尽量让自己忘记这件事。如果当时没有其他选择，而骨头只是宰杀动物的剩余产品的话，目前对我来说也还是可以接受的。

Annie@SHVC: 是的，我完全同意你的观点。作为一个严格意义上的素食者来说，当我选择外出就餐的时候，有时就不得不妥协一下。那么到底是什么让你变成纯素者的呢？
Cynthia: 其实是来中国之后我才变成素食主义者的。在德国，豆腐都很辣，而且当时也不像在中国这样有各种各样的花样。来中国看到豆腐能有这么多花样的确挺让我吃惊的，而且也觉得在中国做个素食主义者应该会比在德国容易一些。

Annie@SHVC: 我倒是觉得很多人觉得中国对于素食主义者来说是个挺难坚持素食的国家呢，哈哈。那你现在在上海还会觉得很难吃到纯素食吗？你有遇到过哪些挑战呢？
Cynthia: 在本地找到纯素食的饭店挺难的，这一点跟西方一样。但是往好的一面是，中国的食谱中并没有西方食谱里那么多的奶制品。坏的一面则是，很多菜里都有蛋和肉。但是在点菜的时候强调点的是素菜，然后不放肉，并且知道中国的大厨在你的炒豆子上不管不顾的给你撒点肉末其实是好意也能让我理解。我认为我们应关注自己能对之产生影响的，那些不能的是在我们的控制范围之外的。

Annie@SHVC: 我一直会听准妈妈说，担心素食会让自己在孕期的时候营养摄入不足，你是怎么解决这个问题的？
Cynthia: 的确，很多人担心营养摄入不足，尤其是孕妇，她们似乎对所有事都很担心（荷尔蒙作祟！），我就是其中之一。而事实上是，如果你了解哪些食物营养丰富，要吃哪些来让自己的饮食无比健康，我觉得，你和你的宝宝可能已经摄取了高于平均水平的营养。我在孕期并不素食，并每天吃产前维生素B12来“确保”每天的营养摄入，但是其实吃富含B12的素食也是可以的。我吃的豆类非常多，因为我希望吃的健康，同时摄入更多富含蛋白质的食物。我的宝贝非常漂亮，非常健康，就像条7.7磅的白鲑鱼！还有就是，虽然我看起来不停的在吃啊吃，但是在生完宝宝后我其实又变得很苗条了。

Annie@SHVC: 真棒啊。很多妈妈们都在沮丧里挣扎呢……你的宝宝是纯素的吗？你平时给她吃些什么呢？
Cynthia: 哦，她就跟她爸爸一样爱吃肉。她一闻到鸡肉的香味就跟我吵着要吃鸡肉。而我也给她吃肉。我正在试着在她的食谱里加入更多更健康的食物。而且很幸运的是，她喜欢西兰花和豆类的食物。所以要么就是我把家里的东西一锅炖了，要么就是她直接吃了。她的吃的会比较少盐，但她喜欢吃辣的！

Annie@SHVC: 哇，好一个成都姑娘！但我还有个问题，上次我录节目的时候，一个非素食的妈妈提到说，她从来不把活着的动物带回家，因为孩子们对于这些活物被杀是非常敏感的。所以这位妈妈不得不撒点小谎来解释肉和动物……你是怎么应付这个问题的呢？
Cynthia: 我猜这应该是个中国妈妈告诉她的孩子她是在市场里买的被杀的动物？在西方，我们在准备肉食的时候跟中国略微有些不同。大家通常都是在超市买那些包好的肉，于是我们就能回避掉其实我们买的肉是一个生命，而这个生命因为我们才不得不停止呼吸这样一个残酷的事实。跟孩子们解释这个是挺难的，你当然希望自己可以斟词酌句，用最抽象的言语带过，但当我女儿足够大了，我会试着让她慢慢意识到这一点。她喜欢动物，对人对动物都非常有同情心。但要她理解作为我们素食主义者对于吃肉的理解可能有点难，因为我丈夫不是素食主义者，而作为她的家长，他的行为也会影响到我女儿。我正试着不要强迫他们，顺其自然的让他们发展。

Annie@SHVC:最后问一个问题，能告诉我们在上海你最喜欢的素食餐点或餐厅吗？
Cynthia: 我们常去Wagas，因为它很近。店里也有非常美味的三明治和沙拉。另外，我得承认还有一家我们一直说要去但是还没去过的素食餐厅。我希望跟上海素食俱乐部一起能给我找寻新餐厅的理由！