Take Our Quiz to Find Out
| By Lisa McComsey |
When my coauthor Amy and I decided to go vegan, the most common feedback we heard was, “I could never do that! It’s too strict (boring, hard, rigid, unhealthy, ridiculous, unnatural…just fill in the blank).” Or we’d get the whole litany of foods they could never live without, most commonly cheese and bacon.
Once we reintroduced seafood into our otherwise plant-based diets, people changed their tune: “Oh, now that’s totally doable. I could be a seagan!”
Granted, for those who think going whole-hog vegan is too daunting, seagan is a healthy and delicious alternative. Plus, with more foods to choose from—and frankly, greater convenience when going out—it’s an easier diet to follow.
Still, there are a number of restrictions that may not float your boat. Take the quiz below to discover your seagan-ability factor:
Question 1: Can you break up with dairy?
Many people we’ve talked to say they could never give up cheese. Or yogurt. Or milk. Or ice cream.
Cheese was the toughest obstacle for me, so I get that. But the seagan diet excludes all forms of dairy—can you live without it?
If it’s any consolation, I’ve found excellent non-dairy milks, yogurt, and ice creams—with more products entering the market at breakneck speed. I miss nothing.
As for cheese, that is still a work in progress. Creating a plant-based version of my favorite hard, sharp, granular-textured Parmesan is probably eons away. Sigh.
Question 2: Is your favorite seafood McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich?
Oh boy, we need to chat. We love fish because it’s nutritious—swimming with vital nutrients, heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D.
But drown it in batter and plunge it into a deep fryer filled with oil and you negate its benefits. Plus, fish varieties that are typically fried, such as haddock, cod, and catfish, tend to be low in omega-3s.
For that rare occasion when only fast food will do, check out Business Insider’s guide to the best fast-food fish sandwiches and learn which chain deserves to be King of the Sea. But please, keep these visits to a bare minimum.
Of course, even sit-down restaurants serve dishes like deep fried shrimp, fried clams, and fried fish and chips—crispy delights oozing with oil, fat, and few nutrients. Steer clear of these and opt for broiled, baked, or grilled.
Question 3: Do you eat any fish, regardless of its sustainability and healthfulness?
I love Chilean sea bass. It’s one of my favorite fish—rich, buttery, and smooth. But once I found it on the Seafood Watch “Avoid” list due to overfishing, I stopped cold turkey.
Here’s the deal: Our oceans are in trouble. Fisheries are suffering from depleted populations. The environment—and other sea life—is being ravaged by destructive capture methods, like bottom trawling, bycatch, and the use of poisons and explosives. Large fish—including swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish—contain high levels of mercury, which when consumed, can cause serious health issues.
Strive to eat sustainably caught fish that’s low in contaminants. For guidance, consult Seagan Eating’s “Good Catch, Bad Catch” chapter or check out SeafoodWatch.org.
How’d you do on the quiz? If you answered “yes” to all three questions, you may not be ready to make the seagan plunge.
But take it from someone who never ever in a billion years thought she could go seagan: It’s much easier and more delicious than you could ever imagine. Try it for 30 days and see what happens. You may fall in love!
Be sure to let us know how it’s going!
Photographs by TK. © 2020