My dad called me today and was asking about being vegan and if I knew how to make asparagus. I informed him that no, unfortunately I don’t know how to make asparagus and the only time I tried I failed miserably.

He was also asking me if it was hard or took any longer to make vegan food. I told him, “Nope, in fact most of the stuff I make takes less than 20 minutes.” Then he asked about what kinds of foods I eat and such. And I explained the differences between lacto-ovo vegetarian, vegetarian, and vegan.

It wasn’t a long conversation, but it made me feel good because he was the one who called me and he genuinely seemed interested

On a completely unrelated note, I made some yummy Golden Vanilla Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World this weekend. They were really good and even my omni friend liked them!

This might sound odd, but whenever I think about being vegan I just feel really happy. I’m not sure why, I guess because I am doing something that I know is right and it just makes me feel really good about myself. Granted, it has only been slightly over a month so it might be a little early to be saying this, but I think becoming vegan was probably one of the best things I have ever done. It’s also no where near as hard as I thought it would be.

If anyone is reading this who isn’t already vegan, you might be interested in reading a post I did on one of my other blogs about the health benefits of being vegan. The health benefits weren’t the main reason why I decided to become vegan, but they did help in making my decision easier.

I went to a Chinese restaurant with one of my friends tonight and they had a vegetarian section of their menu which made me unbelievably happy! I think everything on it might have been vegan also which made me even happier. I’m not 100% sure because I’m still a little apprehensive about asking about all of the ingredients and possibly having to explain what vegan means.

I got tofu and broccoli with carrots and bamboo shoots, it was really good. I’m excited to go back and try some of the other things on the menu

Over the weekend I read Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World by Bob Torres and Jenna Torres. It was a really good book and a quick read. I would definitely suggest it to anyone thinking about becoming vegan or new to veganism because it’s full of lots of useful information and references.

If you go to their website, they also have a podcast which I really enjoy listening to. They are two very encouraging and down to earth vegans who talk about every day issues that vegans face and just generally seem like really cool people.

After slightly more than two weeks after becoming veg*n, I went out to dinner for the first time. I was kind of disappointed when I looked up the menu’s for all of our normal places we go out to eat only to find out none of them really had any vegetarian options, let alone vegan ones. So I ended up getting chips and salsa, which was ok for tonight but definitely isn’t a long term solution. The only other option I saw on any of the menus was a plain salad which seemed to consist of lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes.

I will have to do some research, but as far as I know, there aren’t any vegetarian restaurants anywhere near where I live (college town in Iowa). Which is disappointing but I think that I should probably be able to find some restaurants that are at least more veg*n friendly. Unfortunately I think it is going to be much more difficult to find vegan options at restaurants than it will be to find lacto-ovo vegetarian (which seems to be what all restaurants around here refer to as simply ‘vegetarian’) options.

While it is kind of frustrating having a very limited selection to choose from at restaurants, I am still optimistic that I will find a veg*n friendly restaurant that I can go to with my friends.

As a final note, I would really like to thank everyone on here for all of your support and great ideas, I truly do appreciate them all!

I tried tofu for the first time yesterday, and as promised it didn’t really taste like anything. I added it to some stir-fry, which was ok. It just had a weird mushy texture, but no real taste. I got the firm kind, but I think the extra firm kind would have worked better (it’s also what the stir-fry package recommended). So I’m going to wait to pass my judgment on tofu until I try the extra firm kind and try it in some different recipes.

Other than that, there’s nothing really to ‘report’. I’ve really been enjoying the whole veg*n thing. As far as I know the only thing that I have consumed at all is honey and that’s very rarely and only because I am finishing off this loaf of bread. I am still working on the food timing thing so that I don’t get really hungry about an hour before lunch. I thought I was doing well towards the end of last week, but I found myself starving earlier today. I also still have a long list of other foods that I still want to try. But I guess I have the rest of my life to do that, so I’m not in a huge hurry.

Random side note: oatmeal + frozen blueberries + ground flax seed + pinch of cinnamon = best breakfast ever.

I had my first Boca Burger today and it was pretty good. The texture is different which I think is more of what I noticed instead of the taste. I’ll have to try some of the other boca-ish products to see how they compare.

On a completely unrelated note, I have a kitty purring and pushing on my tummy right now

So I was talking to my mom today, and I mentioned that I decided to become a vegetarian. Her response was “Why, don’t you like the taste of meat?” Which made me laugh for some reason. I explained to her that “yes I do (did) enjoy the taste of meat but that I believe there is enough food on this planet without something having to die for me to eat.” And went on to tell her some of the stuff I have been learning about how animals are treated, etc. I also told her about some of the awesome meals I’ve been making and how cheap and healthy they were. She was supportive although I think she thought I was being silly and that it’s probably just a phase.

I wonder what the rest of my family will think when they find out. I imagine the rest of my immediate family will have a similar reaction. My extended family will be much more interesting.

I feel like all I do is eat all day but I’m still always hungry. I’m assuming this means that I’m not getting enough protein, which is entirely possible. So today I need to do more research on protein sources and pick up some soy milk and see if I can find some soy protein powder.

Other than the whole being hungry all the time thing, I am quite enjoying my new way of life. I really like the fact that I can look at a giant plate of food and know that nothing had to die for me to have it.

Someone actually told me that the other day, I was shocked. I believe the conversation went something like this:

Me: What does “Leather Upper Balance Man Made Materials” mean? It says it on my shoes and I want to know if they’re real leather.
Friend 1: I think it means that the top is made of leather and the bottom is man made materials.
Me: Damn, I was hoping it meant that they were fake.
Friend 1: Why?
Me: Ethics?
Friend 2: Cows deserve to die.

I just sat there because I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to get into the whole ethics thing, so I just didn’t say anything. I don’t know why people feel the need to say things like that, it was completely unwarranted.

I should have told him to watch “Meet Your Meat” (warning: it’s graphic) and asked him if they deserved to have that happen to them.