Only about five percent of the people who lose weight on a diet manage to keep it off. Most will gain back the unwanted pounds within the first five years. Oh, good god of the almighty vegans, where is Kevorkian when you need him?! I did not go through almost a year of counting points, measuring out exactly one tablespoon of chocolate chips, fighting my way to the top of my Wii Fit Super Hula Hoop challenge, and enduring the most inhumane torture of all, stepping on a scale in front of another living being, for naught. I do not intend to be one of those ninety-five percent who regain that lost weight.
There is a certain pride a middle-aged mother of four takes in being checked out for the first time in years, even if it is in J. C. Penney. Forty pounds off a five-two frame represents enough difference apparently to warrant a second look. I am not giving this up. I am middle-aged, for Pete’s sake, not clawing at the coffin. All those years spent raising my children had me immersed in the whole mothering scene, negligent of my own appearance or needs. I’m ok with that. I can’t change what I’ve already done, but I sure as heck can put the brakes on said behavior in the future.
So in an effort to stay in the top five, keep my backend in my size six boot cuts, and steer clear of the granny panty aisle (thank you, Lord, for those teeny little Victoria’s Secret numbers that say it’s more of an ass not a barge, FINALLY!) I have declared a boycott on the following foods. You should know that there was a time when all of these may have shown up on a single day’s menu. And that still may happen, especially on that day when I open my email to see the tuition bill, this after the dog has thrown up cat crap following his litter box binge, my twelve year old who had no homework decides at ten p.m. that, oh, yes, indeed she did, and all the wrinkle creams in the world are not covering up the fact that no matter what my brain believes, my face, in fact, is just this side of fifty.
Foods I have locked in a little box in my closet marked “In case of emergency”:
• Monster size bowls of trail mix
• Deep dish cheese-less pizza from Chicago’s famous Giordano’s
• Purely Decadent Cherry Nirvana with chocolate chips, bananas, and nuts, nuts of any kind
• One of those huge baking pans of cheese alternative and veggie loaded vegan lasagna
• Gobs of dairy-free cookie dough and the few actual cookies that actually made it to the oven (and I can BAKE!)
• Bags and bags of original Fritos (one of my students said that, chemically speaking, Fritos are possibly the absolute worse food a person could eat………….I think he was on crack)
• My Starbuck’s venti green tea soy latte (but I keep the grande close at hand………..you know, for those little emergencies that are just a part of life)
I’d like to say that I’m breezing through my days now in a wistful sort of way, oblivious to the dietary change that shows itself on my plate. I’d like to say that my choices are more a matter of habit than excruciating planning involving much discussion on the part of the voices in my head, not unlike what might happen at a board meeting only here I am the only one present. But a confession like this, my friends, would be a flat out lie. Work. It is always work. When I was fat I thought about nothing but food. Now that I am thin, I think about nothing but food. Well, you know, a few other things, but mostly food.
And why, you may be itching to know, do I bother? I bother because I have been many times in that ninety-five percent. I have felt the thrill of victory, or of a second glance, only to return to that granny panty drawer. I bother because I am no fun when I am fat. I am tired and crabby and totally obsessed with food and not conversation. I bother because I want to continue to be a mother for a long time and not die at an early age--because, you know, that could still happen, it is still early--from some obesity related disease. I bother because I have decided that I count, darn it, and that I actually like myself, and for more, in fact, than just a friend.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Thank You, Thank You Very Much
With all of the thanks-giving going on this month, I was feeling a bit of pressure to add my own. I have done this somewhat in a previous post (see June: Ten Best Things) so will try very carefully not to repeat myself (something I am known to do…………….quite often, in fact………….ok, like all the time). You should know, though, that I believe in being thankful year round and not just during months that end in –ber in which we spread huge dead birds out on our tables and drag six foot pines into our family rooms. Too often, I think, we approach this veganism stance from a deficit perspective. We say things like “I can’t eat ice cream anymore” or “I miss my cheese” or “Why does every single frickin’ package of chocolate chips I find have to have milk in them?!” Wouldn’t it be much nicer instead to say “Wow, Turtle Mountain has so many great soy ice cream flavors” and “You know, this Follow Your Heart vegan cheese alternative is pretty tasty” and “Hey, these Ghirardelli chocolate chips are dairy free. Lucky for me they have a whole shelf!”
So, in light of all the stuffing and cranberries and dairy-free pumpkin pie, I give my veg thanks because that just seems appropriate right now. Keep in mind, though, that I practice my attitude of gratitude from the second I flip to January my Norman Rockwell spiral bound complimentary calendar my State Farm guy sends me to the very day I toss out it out all ink covered and schedule worn. Try it for yourself this year. I think, and I’m pretty certain here, that you will be pleasantly surprised.
I am thankful for:
• Every article or essay on vegetarianism or veganism that I have ever written because they forced me to learn more on a subject that became an unexpected passion in my life.
• Finding that someone left the empty Oreo package in the pantry with half a cookie still in it. Bonus for me!
• People who try vegetarianism even for one day.
• My eleven followers……………..you’re my reason to write. Really, I would write (as I talk) whether anyone listened or not, but it’s so much more fun, and socially appropriate, knowing that someone is listening.
• Comments to my posts. I am, and no big surprise here, a conversation junkie.
• Veg message license plates.
• Omnivores who ask questions.
• Purely Decadent Cherry Nirvana soy ice cream.
• Fritos.
• Great vegan cookbooks like 500 Vegan Recipes by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman.
• Young looking skin and a “clean” feeling body (you strict vegans know what I’m talking about here, you wannabes will just have to find out for yourselves!)
• ENERGY!
• Helpful websites like www.veganyumyum.com, www.justthefood.blogspot.com, www.havecakewilltravel.com, and all the million other veg blogs and sites out there.
• A steaming bowl of steel cuts oats and fresh Michigan blueberries with just a touch of cinnamon and agave nectar.
• Readers who comment but never follow, followers who follow but never talk, and readers who neither talk nor follow.
• The fact that Weight Watchers works for vegans.
• My niece, Molly, for getting me started on this path (love ya, Molly!)
• All of the vegetarians I know personally who never give me grief for ever having said both of the following---“If animals aren’t here to eat, then why do they even exist?” and “I think being vegetarian is good enough. I could NEVER be vegan. I am just SO addicted to cheese.”
So, in light of all the stuffing and cranberries and dairy-free pumpkin pie, I give my veg thanks because that just seems appropriate right now. Keep in mind, though, that I practice my attitude of gratitude from the second I flip to January my Norman Rockwell spiral bound complimentary calendar my State Farm guy sends me to the very day I toss out it out all ink covered and schedule worn. Try it for yourself this year. I think, and I’m pretty certain here, that you will be pleasantly surprised.
I am thankful for:
• Every article or essay on vegetarianism or veganism that I have ever written because they forced me to learn more on a subject that became an unexpected passion in my life.
• Finding that someone left the empty Oreo package in the pantry with half a cookie still in it. Bonus for me!
• People who try vegetarianism even for one day.
• My eleven followers……………..you’re my reason to write. Really, I would write (as I talk) whether anyone listened or not, but it’s so much more fun, and socially appropriate, knowing that someone is listening.
• Comments to my posts. I am, and no big surprise here, a conversation junkie.
• Veg message license plates.
• Omnivores who ask questions.
• Purely Decadent Cherry Nirvana soy ice cream.
• Fritos.
• Great vegan cookbooks like 500 Vegan Recipes by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman.
• Young looking skin and a “clean” feeling body (you strict vegans know what I’m talking about here, you wannabes will just have to find out for yourselves!)
• ENERGY!
• Helpful websites like www.veganyumyum.com, www.justthefood.blogspot.com, www.havecakewilltravel.com, and all the million other veg blogs and sites out there.
• A steaming bowl of steel cuts oats and fresh Michigan blueberries with just a touch of cinnamon and agave nectar.
• Readers who comment but never follow, followers who follow but never talk, and readers who neither talk nor follow.
• The fact that Weight Watchers works for vegans.
• My niece, Molly, for getting me started on this path (love ya, Molly!)
• All of the vegetarians I know personally who never give me grief for ever having said both of the following---“If animals aren’t here to eat, then why do they even exist?” and “I think being vegetarian is good enough. I could NEVER be vegan. I am just SO addicted to cheese.”
Thursday, November 12, 2009
What Next?
I’m a what next kind of gal. Tell me you’ve reached some pinnacle of success. Tell me you’ve achieved a lifetime dream. Tell me you’ve wrestled your demons, locked them behind bars and thrown away any key that even looks like it might have a chance and that at last you are now at one with yourself and with the world in which you live. Tell me any of this and I will enthusiastically applaud your efforts, but only for a second before I ask, “Cool, now what’s next?” It’s not that I don’t appreciate progress or savor the moment. I do. I really do. But I am always somehow moving ahead to that next mountain. It is as if I were born with a giant magnet right inside my gut and that this magnet pulls me toward the very thing that repels other, more sane, adults. What’s next?
So, maybe you’ve made the decision to go vegan. You’ve read the books. You’ve done the research. You’ve surfed the web so much you’re hair has turned blond and you’re calling people dude. Dude. You know that vegans have fewer weight problems, lower cholesterol, and fewer instances of Type II diabetes and certain types of cancers than do their meat eating counterparts. You know also that those who follow a plant based diet have lower rates of heart disease and hypertension than do omnivores. And better yet you’ve learned that vegans rate better on any of these potentially life-threatening issues than lacto-ovo vegetarians. Cool. Now what?
Maybe you’re what some would call a pescatarian. You don’t really eat meat any more except for a little fish. Maybe you’re a flexitarian. Mostly you eat vegetarian, but you still stick your fork into your partner’s dinner for that last chunk of barbecued chicken. You order the grilled salmon only when you’re out with friends. But mostly you’re careful to serve tempeh stir-fry or veggie burgers or tofu fajitas or such as that. Quite possibly you’re an egg- and dairy-eating veghead who made the jump from a meat-three-times-a-day upbringing. Great! I am excited and proud and impressed with the efforts you have made to improve your health, the health of the planet, and the lives of the animals that you have saved. A vegan, by the way, saves the lives of about one hundred animals each year. Great! But what, for the love of cod, is next?
Just because some of us reading this right now are already seasoned vegans does not even come close to letting us off that deceiving but oh so tantalizing life-ending hook. Maybe, even-- and let’s get a little personal here—maybe , you’re a CSA subscribing, backyard gardening, composting, Prius-driving middle-aged vegan chick who frequents consignment shops like they’re going out of business. Maybe you follow your teenagers around the house lecturing on the evils thirty minute showers, rooms lit bright as baseball stadiums, and game systems that blast out pointless music even when no one is actually maneuvering the controllers. Maybe you work from home as much as possible in an effort to avoid excess waste and congestion both in the air and on the streets. Maybe you write and recycle and rescue death row dogs all in the name of activism. Ok, maybe this is me. But you see where I’m going with this. There is always room for “What’s next?”
I would like to think that you would jump from where you are right now to the next big thing. But I know that change is never like that. Change is never like cake-making on those television cooking shows where the host has all of the ingredients laid out before him and after the commercial break the most gorgeous perfectly decorated cake just magically appears. No change is ever like that. Not even in tv land. What we haven’t seen is the mixing and folding and egg cracking (these are never vegan cakes!) and pan oiling that have gone into this creation. We haven’t watched as the chef runs the dish water and wipes the counters and carefully times the whole cooking process. And that’s all before the tubes of wild colored frosting or ganache or rosettes or sheets of icing painted cardboard. No, we haven’t seen any of that. But it was there.
I see it as my life job to follow people around with pointy shoes (thrift shop steals, of course!) giving them a gentle nudge in the backend now and again, advancing them in some positive direction. And why, in the name of veganism, should I give two flips what anyone else does for dinner? I’m not sure, really. But I do.
My pointy shoe for this post: Please take just twelve minutes to watch the following clip—www.VeganVideo.org
So, maybe you’ve made the decision to go vegan. You’ve read the books. You’ve done the research. You’ve surfed the web so much you’re hair has turned blond and you’re calling people dude. Dude. You know that vegans have fewer weight problems, lower cholesterol, and fewer instances of Type II diabetes and certain types of cancers than do their meat eating counterparts. You know also that those who follow a plant based diet have lower rates of heart disease and hypertension than do omnivores. And better yet you’ve learned that vegans rate better on any of these potentially life-threatening issues than lacto-ovo vegetarians. Cool. Now what?
Maybe you’re what some would call a pescatarian. You don’t really eat meat any more except for a little fish. Maybe you’re a flexitarian. Mostly you eat vegetarian, but you still stick your fork into your partner’s dinner for that last chunk of barbecued chicken. You order the grilled salmon only when you’re out with friends. But mostly you’re careful to serve tempeh stir-fry or veggie burgers or tofu fajitas or such as that. Quite possibly you’re an egg- and dairy-eating veghead who made the jump from a meat-three-times-a-day upbringing. Great! I am excited and proud and impressed with the efforts you have made to improve your health, the health of the planet, and the lives of the animals that you have saved. A vegan, by the way, saves the lives of about one hundred animals each year. Great! But what, for the love of cod, is next?
Just because some of us reading this right now are already seasoned vegans does not even come close to letting us off that deceiving but oh so tantalizing life-ending hook. Maybe, even-- and let’s get a little personal here—maybe , you’re a CSA subscribing, backyard gardening, composting, Prius-driving middle-aged vegan chick who frequents consignment shops like they’re going out of business. Maybe you follow your teenagers around the house lecturing on the evils thirty minute showers, rooms lit bright as baseball stadiums, and game systems that blast out pointless music even when no one is actually maneuvering the controllers. Maybe you work from home as much as possible in an effort to avoid excess waste and congestion both in the air and on the streets. Maybe you write and recycle and rescue death row dogs all in the name of activism. Ok, maybe this is me. But you see where I’m going with this. There is always room for “What’s next?”
I would like to think that you would jump from where you are right now to the next big thing. But I know that change is never like that. Change is never like cake-making on those television cooking shows where the host has all of the ingredients laid out before him and after the commercial break the most gorgeous perfectly decorated cake just magically appears. No change is ever like that. Not even in tv land. What we haven’t seen is the mixing and folding and egg cracking (these are never vegan cakes!) and pan oiling that have gone into this creation. We haven’t watched as the chef runs the dish water and wipes the counters and carefully times the whole cooking process. And that’s all before the tubes of wild colored frosting or ganache or rosettes or sheets of icing painted cardboard. No, we haven’t seen any of that. But it was there.
I see it as my life job to follow people around with pointy shoes (thrift shop steals, of course!) giving them a gentle nudge in the backend now and again, advancing them in some positive direction. And why, in the name of veganism, should I give two flips what anyone else does for dinner? I’m not sure, really. But I do.
My pointy shoe for this post: Please take just twelve minutes to watch the following clip—www.VeganVideo.org
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
It's a Soup Kind of Day
On a crisp Michigan day like today, when most of the country is focused on football and bonfires and hayrides and the like, I am back in my kitchen stirring the soup and toasting the bread. I have pulled out the slow cooker and put on a little Mary Chapin Carpenter. I dance and converse with myself and just mentally check out. I am in a place where others are not welcome. This is my place and I won't be long, I will be back, but for now it is my place and only mine.
The welcoming of friends and family back into my world will happen when the light on the cooker says "READY". The time will come when I ladle and plate and garnish and serve. I will say things like, "Wash your hands," and "Not until everyone sits down!" and "For pete's sake, some manners." I will ask about days at school and at work and about life in general. And I will no doubt discover at least one interesting previously unknown to me fact that may not change my life at all, but was fun for the sharer to share. And I will shoo away dogs begging for crumbs, begging actually for the entire dish, but settling for crumbs.
I have found two recipes that I absolutely must share. These actually began in for real recipe books but have morphed into the soups that appear here. I can never seem to follow word for word any recipe, even those that I write. And I always serve my soups with plenty of oyster crackers and Dreena Burton's Jumbo Croutons from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan (basically, giant cubes of bread--I like sourdough--sloshed around in a bit of olive oil and sea salt, then toasted in the oven until crunchy).Whatever is left goes in the fridge for lunch the next day or in the freezer for a special quick treat later in the month. So here's hoping that you find your own crisp autumn day happy place............have fun and enjoy!
White Bean Soup
(adapted from Dreena Burton's White Bean Rosemary Soup with Jumbo Croutons and Fresh Basil in Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan)
1 T. olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
1 1/2 c. celery, diced
4 lg. cloves garlic, minced
1 t. sea salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lb. dried Great Northern beans, soaked, drained, and rinsed
1-32 oz. box Imagine brand No-Chicken Broth
2 c. water
few fresh rosemary sprigs, chopped
2 T. fresh lemon juice
Throw all of this in a slow cooker and cook all day. Just before serving, remove most beans into large mixing bowl. Slightly mash with electric mixer, leaving somewhat chunky. Return beans to soup and stir to mix.
Potato Leek Soup
(adapted from Devra Gartenstein's Potato Leek Soup in The Accidental Vegan)
2-32 oz boxes Imagine brand No-Chicken Broth
4 c. water
6 lg. peeled potatoes, quartered
5 leeks, halved lengthwise, cleaned, and sliced in thin strips
3 lg. cloves garlic, minced
2 t. dried dill
2 t. sea salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Throw everything in a slow cooker and cook all day. Before serving, remove potatoes into large bowl or stock pan. Mash with electric mixer or by hand until slightly lumpy (the goal is to mostly mash, but leave some chunks of potato). Spoon potatoes back into soup and gently stir to mix. Enjoy!
The welcoming of friends and family back into my world will happen when the light on the cooker says "READY". The time will come when I ladle and plate and garnish and serve. I will say things like, "Wash your hands," and "Not until everyone sits down!" and "For pete's sake, some manners." I will ask about days at school and at work and about life in general. And I will no doubt discover at least one interesting previously unknown to me fact that may not change my life at all, but was fun for the sharer to share. And I will shoo away dogs begging for crumbs, begging actually for the entire dish, but settling for crumbs.
I have found two recipes that I absolutely must share. These actually began in for real recipe books but have morphed into the soups that appear here. I can never seem to follow word for word any recipe, even those that I write. And I always serve my soups with plenty of oyster crackers and Dreena Burton's Jumbo Croutons from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan (basically, giant cubes of bread--I like sourdough--sloshed around in a bit of olive oil and sea salt, then toasted in the oven until crunchy).Whatever is left goes in the fridge for lunch the next day or in the freezer for a special quick treat later in the month. So here's hoping that you find your own crisp autumn day happy place............have fun and enjoy!
White Bean Soup
(adapted from Dreena Burton's White Bean Rosemary Soup with Jumbo Croutons and Fresh Basil in Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan)
1 T. olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
1 1/2 c. celery, diced
4 lg. cloves garlic, minced
1 t. sea salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lb. dried Great Northern beans, soaked, drained, and rinsed
1-32 oz. box Imagine brand No-Chicken Broth
2 c. water
few fresh rosemary sprigs, chopped
2 T. fresh lemon juice
Throw all of this in a slow cooker and cook all day. Just before serving, remove most beans into large mixing bowl. Slightly mash with electric mixer, leaving somewhat chunky. Return beans to soup and stir to mix.
Potato Leek Soup
(adapted from Devra Gartenstein's Potato Leek Soup in The Accidental Vegan)
2-32 oz boxes Imagine brand No-Chicken Broth
4 c. water
6 lg. peeled potatoes, quartered
5 leeks, halved lengthwise, cleaned, and sliced in thin strips
3 lg. cloves garlic, minced
2 t. dried dill
2 t. sea salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Throw everything in a slow cooker and cook all day. Before serving, remove potatoes into large bowl or stock pan. Mash with electric mixer or by hand until slightly lumpy (the goal is to mostly mash, but leave some chunks of potato). Spoon potatoes back into soup and gently stir to mix. Enjoy!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Can I Sell You on Veganism Today?
It happened again yesterday, the booger thing (see previous post). What exactly, I wonder, is a vegan supposed to look like. It would be interesting, I think, to get a room full of plant eaters together and snap some photos for comparison. What intrigued me most, however, was the five minute conversation that followed. It was the same five minute conversation that always follows confession of my dietary status. Why have I not noticed this before? It is, in essence, a five minute sales pitch opportunity for veganism.
Upon finding out that I'm vegan, the conversation partner usually falls into classic reporter mode. He or she will inevitably cover the five questions of standard journalistic practice: When, Why, What, Where, How. I recognize this now as the perfect time to pitch a plant-based diet. Following basic sales techniques, I can introduce my product (veganism) providing enough information but not too much, I can cover any questions and overcome objections, and I can move in for the close, suggesting of course that this is a much easier way to eat than most people realize and might actually be great for the listener to try.
A super salesperson is prepared. She knows her product, knows her clients, and has a polished presentation at the ready. In that spirit, I've covered here the basics of that five minute conversation. Feel free to jot it on a post-it, commit it to memory, or just print it out and share as is. And remember, it's all about the numbers. Not every listener will care, but one will.
WHEN:
Q: When did you decide to go vegan?
A: Share with the listener how long you've followed a strict plant-based diet, but also your transition. Were you lacto-ovo for a few years before? Did you hop straight into a vegan diet? Transition slowly?
WHY:
Q: Why did you decide to stop eating meat?
A: There are three basic answers here that most people can relate to: for the animals, for my health, and for the environment. Sometimes it helps to figure out where the listener is coming from and what they might most connect with, focusing on that aspect of veganism. Not every vegan cares, for example, if they are lowering their chances of Type II diabetes or heart disease.
WHAT:
Q: What DO you eat?
A: I've found that most people don't really care what you really eat. They wonder instead, what THEY would eat if THEY were vegan. I try to have on hand some basic everyday dinner ideas that I can share. For example, "Well, I like spaghetti and veggie burgers and a good pancake dinner once in awhile. If I don't have time to cook, I might just pick up some subs or burritos to take home."
WHERE:
Q: Where do you get your protein?
A: I'm sure every vegan has this answer down. If you need help on this one, check out any of the great veg websites, www.vrg.org being my favorite pick on nutrition based questions. I usually start with the fact that everything we eat except for fats and fruits contains some bit of protein. Then I throw in the fact that Americans actually get twice as much protein as what we need. Then I spout off the answer they were originally looking for: "beans and nuts and tofu and seeds and whole grains and soymilk and veggie burgers and ............."
HOW:
Q: I've been thinking about eating less meat. I'm not sure I could be a strict vegetarian, but HOW would I find more information on this?
A: Move in for the close. The listener is interested and wants more information. They will not go vegan cold turkey. But they may try vegetarianism for a week, or a month or whatever they decide. Have some favorite book titles ready. I especially like Christina Pirello's This Crazy Vegan Life. Give some websites that might help. I always start with www.tryveg.com or www.goveg.com. They both cover most of the basics of a plant-based diet and are great for transitioning readers.
Good luck with the sale...............now, GO GET 'EM!!
Upon finding out that I'm vegan, the conversation partner usually falls into classic reporter mode. He or she will inevitably cover the five questions of standard journalistic practice: When, Why, What, Where, How. I recognize this now as the perfect time to pitch a plant-based diet. Following basic sales techniques, I can introduce my product (veganism) providing enough information but not too much, I can cover any questions and overcome objections, and I can move in for the close, suggesting of course that this is a much easier way to eat than most people realize and might actually be great for the listener to try.
A super salesperson is prepared. She knows her product, knows her clients, and has a polished presentation at the ready. In that spirit, I've covered here the basics of that five minute conversation. Feel free to jot it on a post-it, commit it to memory, or just print it out and share as is. And remember, it's all about the numbers. Not every listener will care, but one will.
WHEN:
Q: When did you decide to go vegan?
A: Share with the listener how long you've followed a strict plant-based diet, but also your transition. Were you lacto-ovo for a few years before? Did you hop straight into a vegan diet? Transition slowly?
WHY:
Q: Why did you decide to stop eating meat?
A: There are three basic answers here that most people can relate to: for the animals, for my health, and for the environment. Sometimes it helps to figure out where the listener is coming from and what they might most connect with, focusing on that aspect of veganism. Not every vegan cares, for example, if they are lowering their chances of Type II diabetes or heart disease.
WHAT:
Q: What DO you eat?
A: I've found that most people don't really care what you really eat. They wonder instead, what THEY would eat if THEY were vegan. I try to have on hand some basic everyday dinner ideas that I can share. For example, "Well, I like spaghetti and veggie burgers and a good pancake dinner once in awhile. If I don't have time to cook, I might just pick up some subs or burritos to take home."
WHERE:
Q: Where do you get your protein?
A: I'm sure every vegan has this answer down. If you need help on this one, check out any of the great veg websites, www.vrg.org being my favorite pick on nutrition based questions. I usually start with the fact that everything we eat except for fats and fruits contains some bit of protein. Then I throw in the fact that Americans actually get twice as much protein as what we need. Then I spout off the answer they were originally looking for: "beans and nuts and tofu and seeds and whole grains and soymilk and veggie burgers and ............."
HOW:
Q: I've been thinking about eating less meat. I'm not sure I could be a strict vegetarian, but HOW would I find more information on this?
A: Move in for the close. The listener is interested and wants more information. They will not go vegan cold turkey. But they may try vegetarianism for a week, or a month or whatever they decide. Have some favorite book titles ready. I especially like Christina Pirello's This Crazy Vegan Life. Give some websites that might help. I always start with www.tryveg.com or www.goveg.com. They both cover most of the basics of a plant-based diet and are great for transitioning readers.
Good luck with the sale...............now, GO GET 'EM!!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Things I've Noticed
• When I tell people I’m vegan they stand staring at me as if I have a booger in my nose.
• By my rough estimates, at least a third of Americans think a fish is not an animal.
• Another third has a brother or sister or cousin or distant relative who at one time tried to go vegetarian and got incredibly ill with some life-threatening nutrition deficiency.
• And none of these people have any idea where to get protein unless from what flies, forages, or farts.
• The longer I’m vegan, and depending on the time of the month, the more honed my skills in tracking down high-calorie, trans fat-laden, bad for me, bad for the earth, and just bad carb dairy-free crap.
• A vegan diet is not necessarily a weight-loss diet.
• There are some people, however, who would like to try a vegan diet to drop twenty pounds, as if this is the new South Beach or Atkins, only opposite. Sort of.
• Most people are curious.
• Great tasting vegan food is prepared by great cooks. If you couldn’t prepare a family famous sausage lasagna or much requested mushroom beef stroganoff before you went veg you are not magically going to develop these skills after the transformation.
• Sometimes I have to double check for the “faux”.
• Packaged, processed egg-, honey-, and dairy-free food is still packaged, processed food.
• A great fun way to pass a boring afternoon is to play “Vegetarian or Meat-eater?” attempting, of course, to guess if the people you run into have sworn off bacon and pork chops or if they regularly dine on once-living creatures. The advanced version of the game has you betting on whether the Prius-driving middle-aged chick in the J.Jill sweater is lacto-ovo or hard-core vegan.
• Eating, as is life, is about learning. The more, the better. The more learning, not the more eating. Well, sometimes.
• By my rough estimates, at least a third of Americans think a fish is not an animal.
• Another third has a brother or sister or cousin or distant relative who at one time tried to go vegetarian and got incredibly ill with some life-threatening nutrition deficiency.
• And none of these people have any idea where to get protein unless from what flies, forages, or farts.
• The longer I’m vegan, and depending on the time of the month, the more honed my skills in tracking down high-calorie, trans fat-laden, bad for me, bad for the earth, and just bad carb dairy-free crap.
• A vegan diet is not necessarily a weight-loss diet.
• There are some people, however, who would like to try a vegan diet to drop twenty pounds, as if this is the new South Beach or Atkins, only opposite. Sort of.
• Most people are curious.
• Great tasting vegan food is prepared by great cooks. If you couldn’t prepare a family famous sausage lasagna or much requested mushroom beef stroganoff before you went veg you are not magically going to develop these skills after the transformation.
• Sometimes I have to double check for the “faux”.
• Packaged, processed egg-, honey-, and dairy-free food is still packaged, processed food.
• A great fun way to pass a boring afternoon is to play “Vegetarian or Meat-eater?” attempting, of course, to guess if the people you run into have sworn off bacon and pork chops or if they regularly dine on once-living creatures. The advanced version of the game has you betting on whether the Prius-driving middle-aged chick in the J.Jill sweater is lacto-ovo or hard-core vegan.
• Eating, as is life, is about learning. The more, the better. The more learning, not the more eating. Well, sometimes.
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