Learning Vegan

In the past, when I tried being vegan, I was setting myself up for failure. I was in college, with very, VERY limited funds (and now that I have a degree and work for a non-profit, that has changed soooo much.... *sarcasm*). My knowledge about vegan options essentially consisted of what the tiny "health food" section at Kroger contained -- veggie burgers, one tofu option (which I wasn't entirely sure how to use), soy cheese (which I didn't realize wasn't even vegan thanks to casein), and tofurkey. Beyond that, all I ate was fruit and vegetables, and since I couldn't afford a lot of fresh produce, that was limited and/or frozen.

I wasn't vegan; I was deprived. As the years have passed and Kroger's health section has expanded, so has my knowledge of vegan options -- there are SO many!! One thing that helped was my palate changing as I got older. Hating beans and rice doesn't make for a happy vegan. So glad that phase is over!

This time around, I educated myself as I made the transition. Originally, I just wanted to incorporate more vegan dishes into my regular diet, for health reasons, mostly. Then I decided I would be a flexitarian (eat mostly vegan and vegetarian but be willing to bend and break the rules with little or no provocation). That lasted about 17 minutes. When I do something, it's all or nothing, which is often a bad thing. In this case, I think it was beneficial. On January 23rd, 2012 I bought groceries and came home to try some new vegan recipes. That night, I decided I would finish up the few non-vegan food items in my apartment as soon as possible (I cannot throw good food out. I did, however, give a lot of it to my meat-and-dairy-loving family). On February 1, 2012 I was officially, completely vegan.

I'm still learning daily. I often find myself saying, "Holy crap, they make a vegan version of that?!" Learning about the options is almost as fun as eating them. I'm moving to Memphis in less than 6 weeks, and I'm so excited to try some of the vegan options I've read about there (including a completely vegan restaurant). I'm also excited to have a place to talk about the new experiences I have as a vegan. I expect there will be lots of interesting experiences ahead!