Saturday, July 9, 2011

My Vegan Confession

This past January I was working as a concierge at a golf tournament.
I was super hungry, crazy hungry.
I didn't have a lot of options so I ordered a chicken sandwich.
I don't know what kind of chicken sandwich it was,
and I didn't even want it,
it didn't look appetizing to me.
I'd lost all desire to ever touch a dead chicken again months prior.
I pretty much had to force myself to eat it.
But when I did eat it, I remember thinking,
"No wonder people have such a hard time giving this up."
It was a good chicken sandwich.

I really admire my in-laws. 
My mother-in-law gave up all meat in August 2009.
She'd always struggled with her cholesterol, 
so when she went to get a check-up in April 2011, 
she was worried since she hadn't had it checked in so long.
But to her surprise, her doctor's office called her up and told her,
"You must be exercising a lot!" 
No. Not even close.
They couldn't believe it. Her bad cholesterol was way down, 
and her good cholesterol "was amazing"!
She and my father-in-law immediately became vegan after that
and these people are serious about being vegan.
They never cheat.
My father-in-law lost weight right away.
No, no exercising involved.
And yes, he was eating.

Vegan is such a dirty word. 
I don't even like to say it, or hum it.
I don't consider myself vegan.
I forget I'm vegan until someone tells me
"There is no vegan food here"
and then I surprise them showing some dish that is vegan.
There is always one dish at a party.
Hiding out. 
But the truth is, I don't think about being vegan.
It doesn't cross my mind that I'm missing out 
on that carne asada or pepperoni pizza 
because that food doesn't appeal to me anymore.
And I don't label myself vegan 
since I flat out forget people eat meat, milk and cheese.
It's so second nature to me now,
I feel like I'm eating the way we were meant to eat. 
Eat plant based meals that have all the nutrition we need.
Pound by pound, dark leafy greens have more nutritional value than meat does.
But when I see people eating meat,
after getting over my shock and remembering that is the way most people eat,
I don't judge people.
I remind myself, that food tastes good, 
and there was a time I COULD NOT live without it.

Occasionally, I'll cheat. 
Sometimes I don't want to, as in with the chicken sandwich,
but for the most part, 
cheating only confirms how much I love my (vegan) diet. 
Plant based foods lift me up, give me energy,
help me sleep harder, keep me moving,
make me excited about life. 
No, I'm not exaggerating.
I remember going to baby-sit in high school,
 sitting with those toddlers,
and thinking, "I had two eggs for breakfast. Why don't I have any energy?"
My energy is abundant now.

I used to have reflux of the esophagitis. 
I don't suffer from it anymore.
When I do cheat, I'll feel that pain all over again.
And I'll just be so happy! 
I'm so thankful I have the resources to be vegan!
So I don't have to deal with that pain three times a day, everyday anymore!

This is the perfect time to be vegan.
So many resources are provided for us.
It took me, about ten years to become vegan.
I leaned into it, without even knowing where I was going.
If someone had told me,
"You are slowly becoming vegan"
I would have denied it big time.
I couldn't live without my beef and cheese.
I'm so happy I reached this point. 

So all this to tell you....
when I started this blog, 
I did not want this to be a vegan blog.
Ironic right? Since this is Mama's Kitchen and Mama is vegan.
I just don't like the word vegan.
Vegan is followed by so many ill spoken words:
hard, impossible, time consuming,
bland, tofu, hunger, expensive.
I wanted to leave all those words out of my blog.
But the truth is just the opposite.
This is a vegan blog.
Vegan food can be bland and boring and full of tofu,
but all my food is family approved
and your grocery bill is not going to rise. 

The reason I started this post, 
was to tell you why I started this blog in the first place.
When people hear I'm vegan, I get one of two reactions. 
They either think, "Ew. Why would she deprive herself?" 
Or they tell me "I want to learn more, where can I find recipes?"
I usually have a panic attack.
"How can I help them in five minutes? 
So much to teach....so much yummy food to share".
I started my blog for those people.
Okay fine, for my sanity. 

My other reason for starting this blog 
was for those of you who want to incorporate some vegan food into your lives, 
because you either want to cut down the cost of your meals 
or maybe help your husband's blood pressure level. 
I want to show people it's easy to feed yourself, 
and your family healthy meals.
It makes me so sad (and frustrated) 
when I see children suffering with illness or obesity. 
I'm sorry, I get mad. 
A healthy lifestyle is one of the most important gifts we can give our children,
we must take it seriously.

Oh wow, uh....never meant to lecture.
I don't want this to be a lecture blog.
I want this to be a blog for you to come to 
whenever you want a delicious healthy meal to enrich your family's life. 
So please stop by for ideas, and let me know if you have any special requests.  

Thank you so much to all of you for reading along, 
it means a lot to me that we now have this passionate movement emerging 
for good health and a better life, and I love sharing it with you, and growing with you.

Happy cooking everyone! 







"So many people tell me, 'I could be a vegan if it weren't for bacon,' 
and I tell them, 'Be a "vegan" who eats bacon.'" - Chef Tal Ronnen.





1 comments:

Nicole Carrillo said...

LOVE this post! Just found your blog through Alicia's The Kind Life site, and I'm so, oh-so, super happy I did. My favorite, thus far, has been about how many Christians steer clear of yoga because of the "mmmss" and "sun salutations aka worship that shiny sunshine" but. so true: it's for the healthy stretch, man!

Have a happy week, I'm looking forward to reading up on your incredible blog! And your daughters are pretty much the cutest I ever did see. Period.

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