Friday, July 22, 2011

To vegan, or not to vegan?

  One of the greatest things about seeing an old friend is that you get to catch up on what's new in each other's lives.  Among other recent and momentous events, my friend Lauren decided to go all the way and start eating a vegan diet.  She has been a vegetarian for as long as I've known her, and we've talked a bit about its meaningfulness to us.   
  When I was 15 or so I got my first job working at a local wings place down the street from my house.  Within about 2 weeks of working there I decided I couldn't eat meat anymore.  I became a lacto-ovo vegetarian, continuing to eat dairy and eggs, and remained so for about 6 years.  Until one day, when I was watching a McDonald's commercial and started salivating and gargling like Homer Simpson at the sight of a donut.  I took that as a sign that I should probably start eating red meat again.  So I ordered a buffalo burger from Upland Brewery, devoured the entire thing and never looked back.  Until now.
  Was all that sumptuous consumption of pork belly, bacon, prosciutto and pancetta going to come back to haunt me?  All the heavy cream, butter and eggs?  Obviously without moderation and exercise that kind of a diet could make one less than slender and in good health, but what about the other implications?  Even while some sources will not explicitly state that meat is bad for you, they most likely recommend keeping red meat and dairy intake low.

So why not just cut them out altogether?             

I'm pondering...and that leads to cooking:
Smoky Corn and Tomato Bruschetta

Green Summer Soup (Pre-puree)

Watermelon Granita
And if the pictures don't hook you, this will: Two of the recipes only have three ingredients!

All recipes are from my favorite food and cooking reference (besides Joy) Epicurious.com.  Got an ingredient you have no idea what to do with?  No problem!  Customize to your heart's content.  You'll thank me later.

I am excited to chronicle this new endeavor in eating and lifestyle.  I welcome and hope for comments, suggestions, skeptics...

Life without cheese.  This should be interesting.

2 comments:

Kate said...

I was vegetarian for many many years but I could NEVER live without cheese. I think I'd waste away into nothing. Good luck! Also, I still don't eat much red meat at all and HATE steak and beef but damn I love some bacon.

Unknown said...

Yes, cheese has been the hardest thing to part with. But it's easier than I thought it would be. Things that I might normally put cheese on top of I am enjoying for the original flavors.
I also love bacon (and pork belly) but the more I read about pigs and their intelligence, and then the process that brings them from farm to table, I just can't do it!