Going Vegan
As I (think) I mentioned here Chris and I are going 100% vegan during Lent. I’ve been cooking vegan since October/ November, but we have still been eating omni out in the world. It’s just felt too hard to find viable vegan options in our area and I was also worried about alienating friends and family and making communal meals uncomfortable for others and unpalatable for me.
But the more I’ve learned and the more I think about it I just need to stop eating/using all animal products. So we are, at least for Lent. We’re considering it a trial run to see if we can do this successfully in our community. So far so good, I’ve eaten out twice, once at a Chinese buffet where my options were limited but fine. And we ate at Qdoba and it was fabulous. I love Qdoba anyway and always get a veggie burrito, this was the first time I asked them to hold the cheese and sour cream. Chris had veggie gumbo and bean tacos with no cheese. And the verdict? Pure awesomeness!! Yay! We can eat out and still enjoy the food! Cool! Next stop The Java Joint, which usually has a variety of vegan options and Nawab, the local Indian restaurant.
So my other issue, eating at other people’s home without being the “problem child” they have to work around. I went to a birthday/dinner party over the weekend. It was a panini party. Easy, I loaded up on hummus and veggies and it was all no big deal. I didn’t have a piece of the birthday cake, but did have clementines for dessert. No big deal.
The cooking side of things has been normal, better even. On Monday, my dinner was a hideous mess. Before I would have called Chris to grab some fast food on his way home from work. But instead, I poked through my leftovers and whipped up a quick fabulous meal. YAY!
Congratulations and good luck! You can do it!
Eating socially, especially at others’ homes, is what many consider to be the biggest “obstacle” with veganism. But you know what? I never cease to be amazed by the incredibly warm hospitality and generosity of friends, family and even perfect strangers. That’s not to say that I never get nervous, anticipating a bad reaction from someone (which, luckily, I’ve never yet experienced); but it does get easier over time.