Turning Veganese

When most people think about going vegan they think to themselves “WTF am I going to eat?” No pizza, no burgers, no burritos, no BLT, no cheesy fries, no milkshakes; it’s all off the menu. I had that sensation when I learned that I was allergic to gluten, the protein in wheat. No pasta, no bread, no cake, no cookies, nothing battered and fried. After I moped for a few weeks eating only cheese, cashews and dried cranberries (poor me, right?) I started to branch out. I started to discover foods I’d never tried before. I started cooking for myself. I learned substitutes. I started reading labels. I started thinking about exactly what it was I was putting in my body.

A friend of mine who also has Celiac’s disease said, “It’s impossible to have a food allergy and not be obsessed with food.” I agree with her.

When I realized that my conscience wouldn’t allow me to rationalize eating animals and their reproductive secretions, I was surprised by a pang of glee, knowing I would embark on another adventure and learn more foods I’d never tried. I realize my personality would have caused me to explore anyways, but eliminating a handful of commonplace foods (not unlike when I was forced to skip something as ubiquitous as wheat) meant I could explore the alternatives with gusto.

At my farmer’s market this weekend I got some strange fruits. The little yellow ones are called egg fruit (hopefully a reference to their size and shape) and the big green one is called black sapote or chocolate fruit. I’ve never tried either before. I’ll let you know how this little adventure goes. Let me know what new thing you try because you decided to enact “Meatless Monday” or just to have a vegetarian or vegan meal just for the fun of it.

This is Christie, signing off.