One Week Down

I've been a pretty strict vegetarian this go around for three years and change.  Cumulatively I have been a vegetarian for almost 10 years of my life although I would say that the first time around I was more of a "carb-etarian"...  But still-- I've steered clear of gelatin and fish and various kinds of meat-based stocks.  Bacon and sausage and other things that some people consider to be processed enough to no longer be meat are no-no's, too.  I remember sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner at an ex's house and, after confirming that a certain pasta dish was vegetarian, got a mouthful of prosciutto.  "It's not meat!" his Aunt yelled after me as I excused myself to the restroom...

So long story short, I'm no stranger to dietary restrictions so when I recently became preoccupied with dabbling is veganism, I didn't think it would be the challenge that my family and friends had made it out to be.  The animal products I regularly consume are few and far between and mainly consist of organic eggs, cheese and milk-based ingredients that are found in things like box-cereal, whey protein powder and bread.

Last weekend I went down to Berlin, MD for my art exhibition at my friends' restaurant, Si'Culi.  Berlin is on the Eastern Shore of Maryland where one of the chief industries is poultry farming.  As my husband and I were driving down there he pointed out windowless chicken coups and we passed a truck full of live chickens in tiny, rusty, filthy cages with legs wedged between bars and feathers flying.  I pretty much felt like I was going to barf when I saw that-  especially after recently seeing the movie Samsara, in which there are several very graphic scenes of factory farming.

I will admit, as a vegetarian I was never super focused on the animal rights aspect of choosing a meat free lifestyle.  I have definitely, at least this time around, been more focused on the health benefits.  My husband chose to "go veg" almost 15 years ago as a preventative measure against diabetes which runs in both sides of his family.  However, after seeing that movie and then those chickens in real life I had a pretty visceral reaction to that.

This was the impetus behind finally going vegan on a trial basis for at least a month. I am hoping for even more added health benefits as well.

It is definitely a chore to read and decipher food labels.  There is a lot of research involved in figuring out what ingredients may be animal derived.  I think I have been doing a pretty good job of being creative in my meal planning so that my husband doesn't complain about eating vegan with me (except for on Mondays when it is 2-for-1 pizza night at Tutti Gusti).  He is a vegetarian, too... but he loves his cheese!

Happily, a lot of the food that we normally eat is already vegan.  This is one of my favorite already-vegan recipes: Vegetarian Pho!  I made this the other night and can't wait to make it again.