Getting My Vegan On

As I've written before, I will probably never be a total vegan, or vegetarian for that matter. I've stated my reasons before, and I'm not going to repeat them today (maybe some other day, but not now).

But, I do see the value of eating a primarily plant-based diet--both for weight loss/maintenance and health.

As you know, I generally strive to eat at least 50% raw/vegan over the course of a week. I found this to be a good strategy to not GAIN weight (losing it is a totally different matter). This means that I generally eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, and salads are an everyday staple.

But, over the years, I've made a very concerted effort to eat less and less meat and dairy. A goal complicated by the fact that I'm basically married to a "meatarian" who thinks copious amounts of meat should be part of every meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

But, aided by the fact that my husband has had health issues, I've been able to eradicate a substantial amount of the meat-based meals we used to have. Vegetarian meals are now on the menu at least two or three nights a week, and we now also eat a lot more fish then we did in the past (fish does not count as meat in my husband's mind). Egg-based dishes have also been added to the dinner rotation, despite my husband's arguments that eggs should just be for breakfast.

Over the last year, I've also started to work vegan meals into the dinner rotation. For years I generally avoided vegan cooking, preferring to get my vegan raw. But, in the last year or so, I began to see the health benefits of eating more vegan based meals, so I've trolled vegan cookbooks, blogs and websites for meals.

For example, baked falafal salad is now on the menu at least once a month. Basically, I add some baked falafals I've made to a salad and whip up a dressing with Tahini, garlic, lemon juice and water.

Another meal is black bean burgers with guacamole, served with a salad on the side. I actually served this up last night.

I haven't written down recipes for either of these meals, because I don't think I've perfected them yet, but will when I think I've gotten the ingredient mix just right.

But perhaps the most amazing thing about my vegan cooking adventures, is that my husband accepts them. Five years ago, we would have arguments over me serving fish. Now, he'll eat black bean burgers without even looking askance (although I know he'd still prefer the real thing).

So, progress has been made. It wasn't easy. It wasn't without some tough battles, but the battles where won.

So, now it's just a matter of creating more vegan meals.