07/07/2008 15:20
Veganism: A month into the life
Vegan-(most commonly pronounced “vee-gun”) - a person who does not eat animal products, including meat, fish, seafood, eggs and dairy products.
Yesterday, July 6th marked my first month of veganism. I didn’t even realize it had been a month already until today. I’m sure many of you may not even know what vegan is, which is why I provided the definition above. This is not the only definition out there, but it’s the most general and easily understood, in my opinion. There are some vegans we also do not buy or use any product produced from animals, such as leather and wool, including honey. I am not this type of vegan, I maintain a vegan diet. I’m currently reading the above book, “Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating” by Erik Marcus and it’s quite an eye-opening read. Did you know that many cattle ranchers feed their cattle protein concentrates which are really the internal organs, blood, and condemned flesh from cattle and other livestock? Feed factories grind up everything at high temps, when it’s all done; the protein concentrates have the look and feel of brown sugar according to a former cattle rancher referenced in the book by Marcus. This has a great deal to do with Mad Cow disease. I find this quite alarming. In other words, feeding dead cows to live cows. YUCK!!!
“Mounting scientific evidence shows that a low-fat diet of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes can ward off many kinds of cancer. Experts are now saying that Americans may cut their cancer risk in half by adopting vegetarian, and especially vegan, diets.”- Erik Marcus
Also in this book (am I plugging this book or what?
) there are a number of citations of research conducted that proves that a vegan diet promotes optimal health for a number of reasons. There is just so much information available in books, on-line, on blogs about the vegan diet. If you’ve ever been curious or are even remotely interested in the vegetarian or vegan diet, please search it out. There is so much fantastic cuisine available. Most people think they could never not consume diary, but once you replace cow’s milk, with soy, almond or rice milk, which to me are equally as good if not better , and cheese with soy cheese; which there are a couple of good brands, but most find it’s a hit-or-miss, and butter with Smart Balance, you’re there. I love Soy Cream, one of my favorite kinds is Soy Creamy Mango and Vanilla by Trader Joe’s, it’s delish, but like all good things, should be consumed in moderation. What I enjoy most about the vegan diet is that almost everything that I eat can be utilized in some positive fuel, nutrient, phytonutrient, vitamin and mineral way. It’s a beautiful thing. I’ll probably plug my new lifestyle at every monthversary. I hope to win my Mom and Brother over by example. I’m going to go home soon and cook them some great vegan meals b/c they are some big skeptics. My Mom thinks all I eat is salad. I’ve told her otherwise, but she’s kinda stuck on that. I’ll just win her by being the proof in the diary-free pudding. Ha!
) there are a number of citations of research conducted that proves that a vegan diet promotes optimal health for a number of reasons. There is just so much information available in books, on-line, on blogs about the vegan diet. If you’ve ever been curious or are even remotely interested in the vegetarian or vegan diet, please search it out. There is so much fantastic cuisine available. Most people think they could never not consume diary, but once you replace cow’s milk, with soy, almond or rice milk, which to me are equally as good if not better , and cheese with soy cheese; which there are a couple of good brands, but most find it’s a hit-or-miss, and butter with Smart Balance, you’re there. I love Soy Cream, one of my favorite kinds is Soy Creamy Mango and Vanilla by Trader Joe’s, it’s delish, but like all good things, should be consumed in moderation. What I enjoy most about the vegan diet is that almost everything that I eat can be utilized in some positive fuel, nutrient, phytonutrient, vitamin and mineral way. It’s a beautiful thing. I’ll probably plug my new lifestyle at every monthversary. I hope to win my Mom and Brother over by example. I’m going to go home soon and cook them some great vegan meals b/c they are some big skeptics. My Mom thinks all I eat is salad. I’ve told her otherwise, but she’s kinda stuck on that. I’ll just win her by being the proof in the diary-free pudding. Ha!I’ll share one last thing and I’m out of here. So yesterday, Sunday, I’m at my guy’s house and we’re sitting and watching some new movies he purchased. He’s just gotten home from Wal-Marting and grocery shopping at Whole Foods (I completely turned him out on Whole Foods). So he washed off his “organic” grapes and grabbed a bottle of water and asked me if I wanted anything. I asked what he was eating for dinner and he said, “Well, I had some watermelon earlier and I’m going to eat some grapes and drink this water.” I said, “Ok, so you’ve gotten the fruit in where exactly is the food babe?” He goes on to say, “Well, I didn’t want to cook any animal flesh around you.” I thought that was just so cute
. I told him that I was not that sensitive to the cooking of animal flesh and that he should go ahead and prepare his dinner, and he did. I think he’s considering the idea of going vegan but had not committed to anything nor have I made that request of him. If he does decide to veganize his diet, I know it will have tremendous benefits. He’s such a great guy!!
. I told him that I was not that sensitive to the cooking of animal flesh and that he should go ahead and prepare his dinner, and he did. I think he’s considering the idea of going vegan but had not committed to anything nor have I made that request of him. If he does decide to veganize his diet, I know it will have tremendous benefits. He’s such a great guy!!Be and do well....
Felecia
