Not Quite Vegan

Yes, this is a post about food! And yes, I was a vegan. For a year. About sixteen or seventeen years ago. I got caught up with PETA and animal rights in my late teens, and undertook a major challenge, especially for someone who loved cheese and little ocean bottom feeders. 

It was very fucking hard, as my family loves their meat. Don't get me wrong, they loved veggies as well. They just couldn't wrap their head around me swearing off meat and other animal products altogether. My mom was my biggest obstacle, on that front. She got super upset whenever I asked for simple help with recipes, declaring she didn't want to eat any of my "vegan shit". And I just wanted advice on halving recipes cause there was no point in making food in bulk without proper space to store it...

Anyway, that didn't last long. I think I caved and had chicken nuggets from Mickey D's. Not too proud of that, but there's some good news: I completely swore off beef and pork, and haven't had any since. Course, it helps that I had a lot of texture issues with those two. And then there was the smell of cooking them! Ugh. I hated making anything with ground meat because it got all greasy and what not, but I was second main cook in the family, and had to make meals for my siblings.

And lately, I've been having similar issues with poultry. Not so much with fish and other water dwellers, but I only eat seafood a few times a year. Cutting those from my diet would be easy in theory, but I am tempted to just become a pescetarian instead. That doesn't really mesh well with the animal rights side of me. It'll prove a difficult challenge for sure, if my goal is to become a vegetarian. I just know I don't want to go back to veganism. It's too strict, and veganism isn't a mere diet choice.

I have been tracking my meals for the last three months, and have tried to limit my meat consumption to three days a week. I've mostly been successful, though I've gone over my limit a few times. Part of that ties in to ordering out, which my partner loves, although I'd much prefer to eat at home. Would be easier if we kept our shelves adequately stocked...

I do have food around here, but it requires extra prep to set up. Totally worth it; I've got several dried beans to go through, ideally by the end of the year. Especially lentils! I plan on making some bulk food today, with quinoa, tofu, and celery. I recently got into baked oatmeal, and have a week's worth chilling in the fridge. That serves as my breakfast and snack.

Any meat in the freezer will be consumed by my girlfriend, who still has an appetite for meat, but appreciates the occasional vegetarian or vegan dish. They're the one who turned me on to Lebanese and Indian food, for example. I wanna learn how to make falafel at some point. It's so damn good!

And now I'm hungry...that's my cue to bounce!