Veganism, is the practice of abstaining from animal
products, aka not eating meat, milk, milk products- butter, cheese-, and honey[i].
Being vegan wasn’t hard but it wasn’t as easy as I expected.
Initially, I thought that it would just be omitting eggs
from my diet. As I’m lactose sensitive, avoiding cheese and ice cream wasn’t a
chore. Meat didn’t even rank since my primary diet is vegetarian. But I did
encounter difficulty sourcing from friend’s opinions, restaurants that have a
vegan friendly menu and packaged food.
Support is crucial in every undertaking. At the end of last
year, I had decided to attempt a different diet each month. So naturally I told my friends this, and one
of them looked at me with big bright eyes and asked if I was going to start
eating meat. I naturally had to go
extreme opposite and said vegan. They all looked at me like I was insane. When
it became apparent that I serious, their words were less then encouraging. I
knew they were joking, but no support would be coming from them. Thankfully, I
had other friends that were all for my exploration of veganism and a few that
were indifferent to it. However, those ones just wanted to see me binge at the
nearby Cartlandia when the thirty days were up. As it stood, very few of my
friends wanted to have lunch with me. A
good thing, seeing how very few restaurants’ have vegan options.
Vegan is not the same as vegetarian. For one, vegans don’t eat
anything processed or alongside animal matter. Three weeks into of my vegan experience and I
was craving greasy and fat. This was a day after my waking by the Outback and
feeling like I’d murder someone for a steak. I don’t like steak. So I texted a
friend and after doing a little shopping in Sellwood, we got decided to get
lunch. Or tried to. The café we normally visited was filled to capacity. So with
the prospects of eating there and enjoying truffle fries a distant thought, we
tried the two nearby pizza shops. Both places offered vegan pizza, but not by
the slice.
Disappointed, we began to walk back to her place, but
stopped at a burger place we passed earlier in the day.
Called Killer Burger, I asked what the potatoes were cooked
in. They replied peanut oil and only the
fries were in it. I ordered a batch.
They were saltier then I preferred but, still, I had fries!
As I mentioned earlier, whether its food made by my hand or
others, one thing remains the same, abstain from using animal products. With
such a rule in place, how was I supposed to enjoy a sandwich?
I love peanut butter and jelly. It’s my favorite sandwich.
Jam, jellies, peanut butter, and bread all have sugar added to them. Commercial
sugar is bleached white by charred cow bones[ii].
If I wanted to be vegan, I couldn’t eat that without knowing
if it was white sugar or natural cane sugar. The solution for such a conundrum
was a simple one; buy organic and grind the peanut butter yourself, or use the
grinder at your favorite New Seasons, Whole Foods or Fred
Freshly ground peanut butter has a different taste its mass
produced counterpart. It took me a few days to become accustomed to the
‘freshness’ of it. There was also the matter of purchasing location. Depending
on where you buy your peanut butter, the consistency will vary. Between New Seasons and Fred Meyer, I prefer
to get my ground peanut butter at New Seasons; its smoother and lighter then
Fred Meyer’s and doesn’t possess an odd, not unpleasant, taste at the end. I
have yet to buy Whole Foods peanut butter, but I do procure my organic preserve
there.
I should also mention that vegan bread is less moist then
its counterpart. If you have any interest in becoming vegan and still want to
eat bread, avoid Ezekiel bread. In my opinion, it borders on stale. Dave’s
Killer Bread is delicious and comes in an assortment of flavors.
The final thing I need to mention is the dangers of
prepackaged food, more specifically, the contents. I don’t often buy premade
food, but on occasion, I do enjoy a Boca burger.-I should point out that most
Boca burgers are vegan.- But what isn’t vegan is the cheese I would sometimes
add. There is a vegetarian alternative. It is made with soy, water and casein.
Casein is a milk protein[iii]
found in many cheese alternatives. While at the store buying fruits and vegetables,
I wandered into the dairy section. I saw soy cheese and automatically assumed
vegan. I spent five dollars on the cheese only to return home and look at the
ingredients prior to use. Naturally, I grumbled at the realization of what was
in it and placed it into my fridge, for use at a later date. Reading what is in
something you are about to purchase not only saves you from being disappointed,
but it also keeps money in your pocket so you can buy vegan cookies.
As this is my unpaid experience and impression of being a
vegan, what your outtake could be completely different. It could be better, it
could be worse. One thing is for certain, never stop exploring or trying new
things.
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