Why I'm Vegan

So I'll get to the food in a bit, but I decided to address the single most question I've been asked in my 10 years as a vegetarian and 2 as a vegan: "Why?" I'll be honest as a small child I don't think I made the connection between animals and meat. It wasn't that I was clueless it just hadn't really crossed my mind that the burger I was eating used to be a cow. I think I probably figured it out somewhere around 1st grade and it was something I couldn't get out of my head. On my 10th birthday a local hospital was having a vegetarian info session and I BEGGED my mom to take me (similar to the way I begged for puppies or ponies :-D ). She happily obliged, however so many years later all I remember about that night was that they had raw tofu tastings. I don't know about you but I still can't stomach a plain old piece of raw tofu!! Anyways that scared me 0ff of being vegetarian for a few years, but my heart still broke every time I'd eat meat. My mom saw this and we started eating more plant based until I finally made the jump a few days before Thanksgiving as sort of a trial run. I remember thinking that it'd be ok if I ate turkey because it was a holiday and a special occasion, and as soon as a piece hit my plate a wave of nausea hit me. What had started as a personal challenge quickly became a part of me and my beliefs.

Becoming vegan was a bit harder of a jump to achieve. It was a goal that I'd had in mind for a while, but it really hit me my sophomore year of college. I had recently been diagnosed with arthritis and was starting to feel the effects when I was watching a telethon that featured "Crazy Sexy Cancer." I was blown away, here was this lifestyle that I'd always been intrigued with proving to help the body protect itself. The next day I had my last non-vegan meal (eggplant parm with tiramisu I should add) and I felt the same way I did after I made the decision to go veg - it was right for me. Of course there were cheese cravings every now and then but those quickly subsided and I realized that my taste buds changed and food tasted better and I liked foods I had hated before. I haven't noticed too much of a health change since going vegan, just how nightshade veggies effect my pain levels (they have a tendency to increase joint pain when eaten in excess).

Long story short for me there is no easy answer to "why are you vegan." People ask wanting to hear that you've lost weight, cured the common cold, saved a slaughterhouse or stopped global warming, but when it comes down to it this is just the right lifestyle for me. It might not be right for everyone but I can't imagine living any other way!

Anyways back to the food! I figured since my recipe today was a pretty large fail I'd start out with a story :-). I'll start by saying I have never cooked dried beans before. Call me lazy but canned beans are just too damn convenient!!! Anyways one of my friends makes them all the time and just "throws some stuff in a pot" (her words) and it ends up delicious. I decided to give it a shot with some squash I had lying around and some black-eyed peas. Needless to say I learned a few lessons:

1) Don't add beans to slightly cooked vegetables that turn to mush when cooked.

2) Beans have a much stronger flavor when you cook them yourself so be sure to have equally as strong spices!

3) I need to pay more attention to the "stuff" my friend throws into her beans!!

Anyways I've added a picture but I'll leave out the recipe this time because well you don't want to make this!

Also I went out to my favorite Mexican place, Tortilla Sams, for dinner and got their fabulous Big Tofu Burrito. It doesn't look like much but let me tell you it is shear heaven on a plate!! I can never get my tofu to come out this successful, but as soon as I do I'll let you know!