Vegan is as Vegan does

     Yes, you have read correctly, it says "vegan".  Not by accident, not as a joke, serious as a heart attack.  This decision comes after much thought, research, and soul-searching by both my husband and myself.  The events and contemplation leading up to the decision masked it in difficulty, but in the end, it was an easy and obvious choice.  Most my of groupies (yes, that's you!) have already heard this news, but it feels good to put it out there in a public place.  The more people that know, or have the ability to know, the more accountability there is on our part.  It's one thing to let yourself down when no one knew there was something to be down about, it's another to do so when you have to answer to others (even if the comments would be about how great it is we gave it up!).

     Prior to the new year, we had been rolling around the idea of being vegetarian.  Sounded good; health benefits, ethical benefits, financial benefits...and we still got our cheese!  We slowly started weaning ourselves off of meat, but continued our love affair with quesadillas and frozen yogurt.  The problem I found was that in doing research on vegetarianism, the research on veganism was just a click underneath it.  Being the Curious George that I am, I clicked!  After that we started clicking everywhere, including many documentaries on NetFlix (how did we live without it?).  The messages were strong and stuck.  I started dreaming about arguing with people about cage free eggs, and how they are hardly a good alternative to normal eggs.  I became upset when I learned that going vegan had more environmental benefits than switching to a hybrid car (but I still love my Prius!).  I was ready; we were ready.

     We finished our milk, shared one last heart felt moment with our quesadillas, and purged our pantry of anything with dairy.  Then we went shopping.  Sort of.  (This is where my husband just about caved and had his way with the butcher's counter.)  There is very little out there with no dairy!  Meat was already out, but so were most dressings, baking ingredients, chocolate, and even some bread crumbs.  Everything that sounded good for dinner was off limits.  As the tiniest bit of depression worked its way into our minds, we made our way through the store, spending nearly twice as long as normal in sections we didn't know existed.  In the end, we left with soup, tofu (!), black bean burgers, heaps of veggies, BBQ sauce, and some peanut butter cookies. Sounds healthy, right? It will be!

     Needless to say, this new adventure has proven difficult.  So far we have had vegan chili, vegan taco salad, and tons of vegan veggie pasta.  Breakfast is easy, and salads are good for any meal.  We are still working out the animal product bugs, and are finding tons of online guidance and recipes.  In person, however, people are less accepting.  Most act like I've told them we have some kind of communicable disease, and look completely disgusted.  One person told me vegans smelled funny. A coworker thought it sounded like a fun experiment.  My brother told me I'd better not (in that kind of threatening tone, as if implying he would administer some sort of punishment if I did.  In your dreams Jeremy!  I could take you any day!).  But we have also found a ton of support from our family, and a little from friends, and that has been so helpful.  Thanks guys!

     Big life changes can be hard to swallow (like I imagine tofu).  Old memories can come back to haunt you.  Shortcomings test your self confidence.  People's opinions can cloud judgement.  But things worth having rarely come easy, and the past is a bridge to your future.

     Challenge accepted!