"He don't eat meat... that's okay, I make you lamb"

Why is it so hard for people to comprehend that I don't eat meat?  What is so wrong with not eating meat?

In a conversation not more than 10 minutes ago I was told, "Well don't you think we should order one with meat?  Normal people eat meat, you're not normal."

Thanks, I'm not normal because I don't put animal flesh into my body.  Real nice.  If only you all actually took a second to ask me why I don't eat meat and listen to why, you might... just MIGHT understand.  I'm not trying to convince you to not eat meat, but if you want to know why, then act like you care.  Don't shame me for my choices---I don't shame you for yours.

P.S.  Did you get that quote for the blog title??  I love that movie (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and that is the funniest part with that crazy aunt!

The first try at a Vegan meal

 

Here is our before and after pictures.  Kenton & I decided to try tacos for our first meal.  We both would say it was a semi-success.  I'll get into the good stuff soon, but first....

The recipe:  Chorizo Tacos, p. 157 in The Kind Diet, by Alicia Silverstone.  The recipe called for the following ingredients---olive oil, sliced vegan chorizo or vegan taco crumbles, corn tortillas, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, tofu sour cream, vegan cheddar cheese, hot sauce (optional).

We used (as pictured above) olive oil to cook the Gimmie Lean vegan ground beef (adding spices), hard shell tacos & soft shell flour tacos, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, Tofutti tofu sour cream & Galaxy Veggie shredded cheddar cheese.

Okay, so we aren't 100% sure if the Taco Bell hard shell tacos were vegan, but it contained corn, oil, and preservatives... so, maybe it was vegan?  The only other thing that isn't totally vegan is the Galaxy cheddar cheese.  Galaxy actually has traces of milk in it, so technically, not vegan.  Unfortunately, at all the groceries near us this is the only brand of "vegan" cheese we have seen.  We will still be on the search for others, regardless, it's a way better alternative than regular cheese.  Plus since we've find out about Kenton's allergy to milk, this is the brand we have been eating without him getting sick.

For the good news, the Tofutti sour cream was amazing!!!!!  I thought it looked and tasted just like sour cream!  Now for the bad news.  The "meat" wasn't the greatest.  It could have been way worse, but it also might have been the brand/type of "meat" we used.  We already had this Gimmie Lean ground beef and wanted to use it, so we improvised and tried to add spices, like chili powder, garlic, and some salt and pepper.  That may be the reason that the recipe called for the chorizo or taco grounds, because of prior treatments of spices/flavor/taste.

Overall, not the greatest meal, but we still had a few wins.  We move on and tomorrow we are trying a few more new items.  Breakfast:  Tofutti cream cheese with our bagels/muffins, along with the Earth Balance butter that we fell in love with a couple weeks ago; Lunch/Dinner:  Moroccan Couscous with Saffron (p. 148, The Kind Life, by Alicia Silverstone) and we will also be making for dessert, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (p. 183, The Kind Life, by Alicia Silverstone).

We are both excited to try new things and see how things taste and possibly try to improvise on the recipes we already love!

Thinking, Day 1...

Thinking about going vegan is a scary thing.  Especially in my family.  I would like to try and compile recipes, websites, ideas, and anything else that pertains to "Thinking About Going Vegan" in one place.  I have lots of ideas and want to write them down, plus it's a good place to store all this information that I (or anyone else) can access from the same place!!!


Everyone has their own reason, my boyfriend and I have toyed with the idea for awhile, but never fully committed.  Now that we are getting our own house and can start our life together, it seems like an appropriate time to try something new with our eating lifestyle.  Plus, with my boyfriend's allergy to milk products, we have sort of made half the battle on the dairy side of things at least.  It's the meat that is going to kill us, but we are willing to try and from reading Alicia Silverstone's book, "The Kind Diet" it has started us thinking about going vegan.  And I have read a lot of great insights on her related blog and forums, The Kind Life (www.thekindlife.com).  It got me super excited!


More to come soon...