Friday, January 22, 2010

A life in 180

Sorry I went postal postless yesterday.  We had out-of-town guests come in last night.  I didn't think to preset a post, but had one brewing so here it is:

I had a possibly Vegan Thursday yesterday.  I was out and about all day yesterday, so I was at the mercy of what I could find at a restaurant.  It was also a Mexican food day, which can be a bit of a lard challenge, so let's see how I did.  I had an avocado and black bean burrito in a spinach tortilla.  Black beans rather than refried beans kept the high risk of lard at bay.  Spinach tortilla seemed like a pretty good choice.  It included rice, spinach, black beans, avocado slices, onion, and pico de gallo.  I don't feel like I can know for sure what's vegan if I don't fix it, but I figure this had a fairly good possibility of being vegan.



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Growing up, I was raised Catholic, so we had to follow meatless Friday protocol during Lent.  At that time, I found it so difficult and so restrictive.  I hated it and would sometimes eat meat and feign that I forgot.  Of course then I felt guilty because God knew I hadn't forgotten and he would reckon with me later.  Now that I'm trying to eat vegetarian or vegan, I enjoy the challenge.  I'm getting more and more comfortable with the lifestyle, the label, and following it in any setting. As I see the benefits first hand for myself, I'm gaining momentum.  I'm excited about the decision now more than ever.  So now I revel in having a string of days without eating any meat (I'm not counting because I don't want a slip up to make me feel disappointed with myself) and I enjoy the challenge of looking at restaurant menus and figuring out how to get a meatless meal.  I also think that meatless options must have greatly expanded in recent years, which is another big help for me.


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In other quick news for tonight, we can all help Haiti relief through the big Hope for Haiti telethon.  You can offer your donation through them, Red Cross, Oxfam, and many other places.   Also, say goodnight to dear Conan.  He will be missed.  (Fair warning, that link may be dead pretty quick!)


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So what do you think, did my meal sound like it was vegan?  What are your tricks for getting vegan food in a less-than-perfect restaurant?  Do you think there are more vegetarian/vegan options available now than a decade ago?

2 comments:

Averie @ Averie Cooks said...

more options now than 10 yrs ago no doubt and certain parts of the county are more "with it" than others. In So Cal, or Nor Cal, no one bats an eye. In Phoenix, I am constantly asked what does vegan mean. Seriously. It's like the 10th largest city in the country and people dont know what vegan means. Hello people!!

Happy weekend honey!

Trail (Oven Aversion) said...

I would absolutely agree with there being a lot of differences based on where you live. I also think there are more options and more knowledge too.