Its not about what you give up...

These days, most people understand one's decision to give up eating animal flesh.  In fact, most people are quite supportive of my 'little quirk'.  However, the concept of Veganism is a little harder for most to come to grips with.

A friend of mine has asked me to dinner at her place on Easter Sunday and she is really excited about planning a vegetarian meal for me.  She is really going to some trouble to make this a meal to remember and I am so grateful.  "You eat cheese and sour cream don't you".  More of a statement than a question.

"No, I don't.  I am vegan.  No animal products".

"That's ok, I can make it with yoghurt instead".

Now, I have opted to take on the whole Buddhist approach with this one.  I will go with the yoghurt because my dear friend is being so generous, and she is a great cook.  I hope that I can help her to 'get' Veganism one of these days.

Other people have asked, "How can you give up butter, eggs, milk, honey".  And at first I wondered the same thing.  How do I give up some of my favourite foods?  Eggs on toast after a Saturday morning run has been something I have looked forward to for a few years now and real butter on a vegemite sandwich is a treat I have craved whenever I have travelled overseas.  Honey was the last to go from my diet and I hung on for weeks until I remembered a great (and cheap) alternative in golden syrup.  And there lies the secret!  'Remembering'.

Golden syrup was always in the cupboard during my childhood.  So were baked beans, peanut paste, crumpets and tins of tomato soup.  The list doesn't stop there; fabulous comfort foods that are not only vegan but are also very good for you!  

Baked beans on toast now serves as the post-run breakfast and it brings back delicious childhood tastes and aromas.  Peanut paste on a crumpet with a steaming cup of tea, made with soy milk, is every bit as nourishing and fulfilling as a vegemite sandwich.  And there is nothing quite like a bowl of tomato soup to warm you up after playing in the rain.  That is, running in the rain.  I'm grown up now.  I don't 'play'.  Much.

Breakfast this morning was peanut paste on crumpets and as I have had a busy day and guests coming for diner, I am whipping up some vego burritos.  Yummo!

I am not trying to replace animal products; I am changing my diet to improve my health and my life.  I still have wholesome, comfort foods and I still enjoy a beer or a wine.

So, for me, it isn't about what I have given up, its about what I am gaining; a feeling of wellbeing that I haven't enjoyed in a long time, a smaller tummy and a leaner body, a joyful return to the kitchen to cook with love, the beginning of my blog which I am already loving.