Thursday, November 12, 2009

The Big Question

We have a new lady at work and she found out today that I'm a vegan. So came the question vegetarians and vegans always get: "What do you eat?"

She imagined that I spent my days eating salads. Oh, if only that were true, maybe I wouldn't be overweight. Quite honestly, there are days when I don't get enough vegetables. Like when I am not feeling well and really lazy and just have a sandwich for supper.

This lady was very nice about it and was just curious about the kinds of things I eat, and how my family eats. She said, "So you're pretty limited on what you can eat then."

I don't see my diet as very limited, unless I am at certain restaurants or looking through my children's Trick-or-Treat bags. I don't need all that candy, and I don't need fast food. So, in certain circumstances it is limited, but it's worth it to me.

Sometimes it's annoying to be asked questions, partly because I don't like to have attention focused on me like that. But it's also a good thing, because I had a chance to educate someone about an animal-friendly diet. Where this person lives, she may never meet another vegan/vegetarian again in her lifetime. It also depends on how the question is asked. There's a difference between real curiosity and the beef farmer who is personally offended by how I eat and not afraid to give me a lecture about how we need meat to survive.

The main reason I started this blog is because I get asked that question so often. It's nice to show people that there are different ways to eat, and that I have oodles and oodles of delicious choices every day. Food and nutrition for me is fun now; an experiment, an exciting adventure. I mean, how often do people really think about what they are eating? How often do people enjoy every single bite they eat, experience all the flavors together and really appreciate it? People need to do that more often.

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