Here are some of the questions I get asked, and more elaborate answers than I usually give. Lucky you.
You're vegan?
Yep. I eat vegan food.
Um..what is vegan?
I don't eat any animal products.
Why?
For health reasons. I'm really not an animal person, so I can't tell you it's to "save the animals". It's just something I have decided to do. I'm not strict about other parts of the lifestyle, though, like not wearing leather...things like that. It's just about the food right now, but I do think about those other things a lot.
What lead you to this?
Well, for the past few years, I have been "dabbling" in vegan foods. I own a few vegan cookbooks, and I used to look up recipes online all the time. I think vegan food is fun. It's cool to add up a combination of plants in various forms, and say, "Hey, this tastes awesome!"
How long have you been vegan?
This recent evolution of mine is very new. I've been "vegan" sine mid-May, 2010.
Don't you miss meat?
Nope. Not at all. The last red meat I ate was a White Castle burger, and let me say, it was nothing to be excited about. I was barely reminded of Thanksgiving. What am I going to do then?? I don't know. I love Thanksgiving dinner! But, this can be fun, too. Let's get there and see what happens.
What about milk?
I don't miss milk at all. I never liked the taste of milk, but ice cream, I LOVE. But, I am lactose intolerant, so it always gave me a belly ache. There are soy ice creams and treats that are vegan, and I do enjoy those. All things in moderation, though.
And eggs?
I don't like eggs. Eggs were only useful to me for baking things. I have found that you don't even need eggs to make yummy treats and desserts, though, so I am absolutely thrilled!
What about your family?
My husband has absolutely no interest in joining me, and I also have a two year old and a 5 month old, so it can be tricky. But I do it. Since I have to make meat food for the hubbby, I include a little of both worlds into the food I feed our son. And the baby, she still just gets boobies, and some rice cereal. If you're thinking, "How can you support yourself and your baby nutritionally this way?" It's easy. Just be smart and know how to combine proteins, carbs and veggies into a complete meal. It's really simple, I promise. If you include a variety of foods throughout the day, it makes it fun, and you get all the nutrients your body needs. I do get my hubby to try some of my foods, and he usually likes it. Ha!
So what do you eat then?
I eat all sorts of veggies, beans and grains. I really like cooking with tofu, too. Luckily for you, I will be posting recipes and photos of my food so you can see that eating like this isn't about deprivation! It isn't scary, and it can be so delicious!
There are so many places you can go to for more information, and feel free to ask me anything you want to know. I will answer it all, or try my best to!
I posted all the above information in the summer of 2010, so it is a little outdated.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, I am still the only vegan in my household. I cook mostly vegan meals, but I do still cook meat for my husband and children. They are now 2 and 4, so they have their own ideas of what they like to eat. My children LOVE tofu and beans, so it is easy to feed them without them feeling like they are missing something. My husband still eats meat every day, but he doesn't eat it at every meal, and he enjoys eating most of the food I make without it.
I have recently moved to Las Vegas, where I am finding a supportive network of people and a large variety of places I can go to for great meals.