5/30 – NaBloPoMo09 – On being Vegan

Hi. I have noticed that a few of my readers have gotten to my page by searching for vegan information. I don’t remember how much I have talked about being vegan, but it’s been a long road to get here.

Both my husband and I are practicing vegans. I say practicing, because we are not perfect at it. He’s better at it than I am. I don’t try to cheat on being vegan, but sometimes it happens. In September we will have been vegan for two years. We were lacto-ovo vegetarians for about 5 years before that. During the first few months of being vegetarian, we were vegan for a couple of months, but it was too hard at the time – we didn’t know anything about vegetarian cooking, muchless vegan cooking, and so often we felt like we just didn’t know what to eat, and that led us to eating whatever we could find and feeling guilty, so we gave it up until we were called to it again.

Usually when people ask us about being vegan, the first question we get is why. I don’t really like to answer this question if I’m talking to someone who still eats meat. Most of my reasons involve words like ‘gross’ and ‘disgusting,’ ‘unsanitary’ and ‘murder,’ and I don’t think people like to hear that about things they eating…

What pushed me over the edge into complete veganism was reading about what happens to the little male ‘layer’ chicks that are born with no usefulness – they are destroyed. Some places destroy them by tossing them into a wood chipper. Alive.

I also don’t like the thought that cheese is coagulated by an enzyme that is only found in the 4th stomach of a calf. I mean really. I don’t even want to know how they know it’s only in the 4th stomach.

I could go on and on, yet I do sometimes crave cheese or meat. I also have a hard time saying ‘no thank you’ if someone has been nice enough to make me food.

Well, I am running out of time, so I guess that’s all I’ll be talking about veganism today. If you want to get a discussion going or have questions, please feel free to leave a comment!
Sheila

Vegan Shopping in Minneapolis

I went out holiday shopping today.  I usually do most of my shopping with my partner/husband Jay, but today he had to work, and it’s nearing Christmas, so I thought I should take care of some of the work, at least.  It’s not my typical day – going out to ‘shop’ for some vague ‘stuff’ that I’m giving away.  We try to be very conscious about what we purchase… but something about the holidays practically demands ‘shopping’ at some point.

First I went to get a haircut; this is a big deal because I got a haircut only  weeks ago, and I usually only wait about a year.  But I really wanted a bob.  I don’t know about you, but in the winter I end up wearing a lot of hooded sweatshirts, and my hair gets all bunchy and dirty-looking really fast.  The other ‘big deal’ about this haircut is that I went to the same woman as last time.  I never do that.  I have friends who swear by their hairdresser.  I have never understood their sentiments until now.  Now I have someone who understands me, my face, and my hair.  Thank goodness.  Hopefully she enjoys working at the generic place on the corner in Crystal MN and doesn’t want to go anywhere fancy!

Anyway, this was going to be about being vegan, so I should really tell you about the next leg of my excursion today.  I got hungry after sitting for my cut, so I went to Uptown.  I was going to stop at French Meadow Bakery for some vegan soup, but I got onto Hennepin instead of Lyndale.  Traffic was annoying, so I didn’t want to change my course.  I watched for somewhere that looked like you could get a decent Vegan meal.  Luckily, I found a place!

It’s called Tao Natural Foods, at 2200 Hennepin Avenue South, near Uptown.  They have bulk vitamins, bath products, books, etc.  I was able to find a couple of holiday gifts, a vegan cookbook, and I was able to eat a great vegan meal at their cafe.  I loved it.  I had the rice and avocado plate with black beans, if you must know.

It was a simple meal - literally some diced tomato, sliced red onion, black beans, a pile of brown rice, 1/2 an avocado and some sort of oil drizzled over the whole thing.  And it was delicious.  I’m so happy I went there.

After my lunch, I went to Kitchen Window in Calhoun Square.  I bought tea towels for my brother and his wife and my sister and her husband.  I think they’re nice – Ecklund.  I also got them some mini potholders, because frankly, I was being a little cheap… but the big potholders are like 12 or 15 bucks each!

After that, I knew I needed to hit Whole Foods for some vegan cheeze and a couple of other things for tonight’s dinner.  I was walking in Uptown, thinking about getting in the car, only to drive 4 measley miles and get out again, when I remembered that there is a Lunds in Uptown.  So, like a fool, I went there.

Dude, they don’t have vegan shredded cheeze or soy icecream.  I was really surprised.  I shouldn’t have been, because those aren’t really standard items, but Uptown probably has enough vegans to justify having a few items that we might want.  I didn’t end up buying anything at Lunds, walked to my car and moved it to Whole Foods, where I was able to get my stuff.

And I know if you’re from MN and you deal with alternative grocery stores you’re probably saying to yourself ’she should have gone to the Wedge.’  No thank you.  I don’t like the Wedge - even though it’s clearly cool and superior, I’m not nearly cool or superior enough to shop there.  And also the aisles are way too small.  And I’m not a millionaire.

Regardless, I guess what I’m trying to say about being vegan is that it’s annoying to have to make special trips to get the things that I can eat, but then again I’m grateful that there are places that carry those things at all.  I’d be bummin’ if I had to make my own soy cheeze from scratch.  Bummin’ and starvin’.

Ok, I guess that’s all for the moment.  Peace.  Sheila