In light of my husband (meateater) being deployed this summer, I have decided to take a stab at going vegan. This means no meat, no eggs, and no dairy.
Why this seemingly drastic decision? Since graduate school, I've been extremely opposed to contemporary animal farming practices. I even tried to get people to join my boycott of the North Carolina pork industry. That's my platform for going vegan this time.
I say "this time" because I was a lactoovo vegetarian from age 9 to age 21. During "that time", I opposed consuming meat (red meat in particular) due to farming practices of clear-cutting ancient forests to make room for cattle farms. My disgust with the cattle industry was thus furthered on a road trip to Denver, Colorado where we passed several slaughter houses/processing plants. By the way, when I told my mom I wanted to be a vegetarian at age 9, she made me do research and come up with a (valid) reason for the dietary change. "I don't like corned beef" wasn't a good enough answer for her. My high school and college friends always told me I was a vegetarian because I wanted attention. Hah.
So vegan, easier said than done, right? I'm planning to report weekly on my adventures in vegan-land and include recipe successes. I will also include failures, since I'm fairly certain I will cheat and sometimes not have a vegan option. For example, I LOVE YOGURT. Another example, staying with my almost entirely carnivorous in-laws (every now and then a starch and almost never a veggie). Never fear, I'll keep posting my DIY adventures, too. Keep your eyes open for posts on DIY Greek Yogurt and Popsicles: episode 2!
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Hey Kate!
ReplyDeleteOkay, so I saw some of your blog entries on granola and gardens a while back, but completely skipped over your Going Vegan post.
I am extremely excited for you!
It is "easier said than done" at first, but after a while it just becomes a lifestyle, and you completely forget about it. And so do your taste buds. I fudged one time in Europe with a giant cheese pizza and - believe me - my gut was mad at me for an entire day after that.
I'm a huge "fatty and creamy foods" lover - and my refrigerator always has at least four packages of Tofutti brand products in it. Vegenaise is another great product - far above the other veg-mayos out there. For yogurt - check out Wildwood (http://www.pulmuonewildwood.com/) - the best by far, hands-down. If you can't find it locally, visit a natural foods store/co-op and ask about special ordering it. The case size is just 12 mini-packs or 6 large ones. You and the pups would easily go through it before it expires :)
It's an ethics thing for me too - so as long as the ingredients check out, bring on the fatty goodness!
Anyway, I'm really excited to follow your progress! Hitting the "Follow" button on your blog now .... thanks for the recipes and posts- fun!