I never shied away from a challenge. Well, that is not exactly true. I did turn down participating in the Iditarod. Even though I keep better in the cold, frostbitten is not my color. I sited religious reasons for not going out with a man who had a third nipple and I stopped eating a whole pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni at one sitting when I realized that going to work in one’s bathrobe was not acceptable business attire. But neither were trousers that you could not zip up.
About three weeks ago, I foolishly posted on Facebook that I could probably go vegan for a week. When the pressure from others commenting on my declaration became too great, so I convinced a blogging friend to go vegan with me for a week. I doubt I could go into the world of veganism by myself. So veggie burgers and beans, here we come.
Vegans do not eat meat, fish, or poultry nor do they use other animal products and by-products such as eggs, dairy products, honey, leather, fur, silk, wool, cosmetics, and soaps derived from animal products.
Okay, I am already in trouble. I can do all of that (I might be wearing plastic bags as sandals) but the elimination of my cosmetics might scare an organic bunch of carrots to death. I think I am going “lean into veganism” with a little eye shadow and lip gloss. But I will investigate cosmetics and soaps that are not derived from our four legged friends. I think I already use some items that would make a vegan proud.
One thing that did surprise me is that going vegan does not mean you have to fill up on sprouts and seaweed. You could, but you can add peanut butter, pasta, fruit, good old beans, popcorn and a lot more. And the dishes don’t look like all brown and nasty. Spices can go a long way to make it look, smell and taste great – repeat after me.
Tofu takes on the taste of anything you cook it with so I am going to try chocolate tofu with broccoli and cashews. First I got to find some vegan chocolate. And I will be searching high and low for vegan-friendly wine that compliments seitan, quinoa, or tempeh.
On a serious note, I have been reading up on the subject of veganism and although I have heard about the horrors the animals go through just to make it to our dinner tables, reading it again with a slightly different mindset just breaks my heart. I look at my animals (six rescued cats and a yellow lab) and think if anyone ever hurt them they would have deal with me before I would call the authorities. So how can I care so deeply for my little furry family and keep this form of animal torture and killing going?
I don’t think I can.
Now will I change completely in a week? Doubt it, but I am going to try my best to end the slaughter and torture of animals that would have ended up in my grocery cart.
And I just found out that there is vegan Nutella!
