What do vegans eat anyways?

I often get asked what I eat and it suprises me as there are so many more plants to eat than animals and animal products. The list of what I dont eat is way shorter than the list of what I do eat. First, let me define veganism: “Veganism is a diet and lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose. Vegans endeavor not to use or consume animal products of any kind. The most common reasons for becoming a vegan are ethical commitment or moral conviction concerning animal rights, the environment, human health, and spiritual or religious concerns. Of particular concern to many vegans are the practices involved in factory farming and animal testing, and the intensive use of land and other resources for animal farming .” (from Wikipedia)

What I don’t eat:

eggs

milk

cheese

meat

honey

What I do eat:

veggies

soy

junk food

fast food

fried food

chocolate

sweets

faux meats

starches

carbs

raw foods

sugar

agave nectar

legumes

nuts

oil

faux cheeses

almond milk

The list of what I eat could go on forever as I eat a wide and varied diet. Veganism is not some fad diet. Veganism doesn’t limit one to a raw diet, or no fried food or sugar, etc. Vegan food doesn’t mean health food. Vegans come in all body types both fat and thin and everything in between. The days of the anorexic pale vegans are over. I am most certainly not some anorexic vegan. I am a good cook and it shows. 🙂

I have been vegetarian since my 18th birthday back in 1995 and I have been integrating a vegan diet for the past 2 years. I still slip up once and a while but I don’t beat myself up about it. It’s amazing the stuff that dairy products are hidden in!

I have held strong convictions about animal rights for many years. I learned about vivisection when I was 11 or 12 and protested against it but didn’t put it together with what was on my plate. I come from a very meat and potatoes family and I think my vegetarianism made me a bit of an outcast. But I am okay with that too. 🙂 In high school I had some vegetarian friends. None of them were veggies for animal rights reasons though and on my 18th birthday not too long after I had moved out of my parents house I quit eating meat for good. I wish I had access to the vegetarian and vegan resources then that I have now as it was really really hard for me. I didn’t know how to cook and all the fake meat subs and veggie burgers back then tasted a lot like cardboard. Fast forward to two years ago. I cooked a bunch of yummy cheese and milk laden dinners back to back and ended up in the hospital and had to take almost a week off work. It really sucked. I have had a lifelong cow dairy allergy and it had finally caught up with me. Now I had to deal with the fact that my current lacto-veg diet was not living up to the needs of my body and the fact that I really was not helping to save animals by being vegetarian. It was time to live up to my own ideals. It was time to go vegan.

I have read a few really good books on animal rights and veganism. Here are the books that have made my life better: The Skinny Bitch, The Skinny Bitch in The Kitch, Animal Liberation, and Vegan With A Vengeance. I just received Free the Animals- the story of the Animal Liberation Front in the mail today and I look forward to reading it. I also have another book coming in the mail- Vegan the new ethics of eating. I really look forward to reading it. I may not be the perfect vegan. I have the occasional dietary slipup but being hardcore and unforgiving won’t make anyone a better person. I aim for perfection, but my feet are on the ground. I have no plans on blowing up a lab anytime soon, but I do like to fantasize about freeing all the cows that I see in the pastures here in rural Utah. Well, thats my vegan story. Want to tell me about yours?

Last night for dinner Tota made some delish dal and rice.

The Lovecats.