Light and Happy

Veganism makes me feel amazing. Just spectacular. In the last week that I have been off animal products I feel lighter, happier and more energized. It grants me a sort of freedom from the food that I eat. Meals become peaceful, enjoyable. Before, I would obsess over every thing I ate, feeling the guilt of consuming flesh, and calories and fat, worrying over my weight and my health in the future. I would think, 'Wow this cheeseburger tastes awesome, but it's probably like 1200 calories, and some poor cow stood knee deep in manure and then had his throat slit while hanging upside down after being beaten and mistreated.' That type of thing weighed heavy on me.  When I eat vegan, I make better food choices, almost organically. Being vegan eliminates a lot of the more garbage food, because most garbage food has some form of animal in it. If I were to sit around eating Cool Ranch Doritos all day, I would feel awful and disgusting. I can eat blueberries till the cows come home, and have peace of mind. Now, it is totally possible to follow a vegan diet and be unhealthy  if you eat A. a lot of processed food (frozen ready made veganized products) or B. nothing (because you are only a vegan to cover up an eating disorder- hello 'vegan' me at age 20). I try to stay away from mock meat products because they tend to be high in sodium and preservatives, though sometimes a recipe just calls for soy sausage or I need a tofu dog.

Yesterday, while I was waiting for the Rapture, I ate an entire pint of blueberries. I also roasted an eggplant and red peppers, cooked up brown rice, and steamed some broccoli. Then I threw the broccoli in a blender, pureed it, then threw the puree in to the rice with some salt, pepper and herbs.I mixed it all together, made little rice cakes, and then cooked them in olive oil on the stove top till they were crispy. I put one piece of red pepper and one slice of eggplant on top of each of the rice cakes, and splashed them with soy sauce and rice vinegar. It turned out extremely well. I ate two. The Husband was not a fan. "I hate eggplants. I hate peppers. Congrats, you cooked my least favorite things."

Oh well. Win some, lose some.