Why I don't eat meat, wear wool, or will eat a regular pizza: Vegan Adventures in an Omnivore World

By now people are reading these posts about my being a bisexual pagan female geek and are probably wondering, "Is Adrianne normal or mainstream about anything?" The answer to that is probably "No," but at least it makes for more interesting writing. *grin*

And now I will compound that by telling you all that I don't eat what most of you eat, because blogging about unusual topics is FUN! :D Like all of my topics, I present this as a "this is how I am, and I'm a live and let live sort of gal." At no point will I be turning this entry into a "meat-eaters suck" rant because that's no better than telling me that everyone who lives like I do are a bunch of pale, dying anorexics.

I am vegan! This means that I do not eat or consume animal products. I will not eat meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy, or honey. I will avoid animal derived ingredients such as gelatin, lactose, whey, beeswax, and what-have-you. I neither wear wool, leather, or silk.

I am also a foodie. This means that I've learned the fine arts of preparing meals that satisfy all of my food habits and desires. I've made everything from vegan nachos that you can't tell are vegan to chocolate mousse. I'm known on chats for sharing recipes for stir frys, desserts, drink mixes, casseroles--you name it. I can't eat your standard American diet but I do enjoy a lot of ethnic food which doesn't rely on meat and dairy so much such as Indian, Ethiopian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Middle Eastern food.

My dietary sources of protein include tofu and other soy products, whole grains, wheat gluten (seitan), beans and lentils, nuts, hemp, brown rice, and pea protein. Chickpeas are awesome, and I am quite fond of falafel. I mostly drink either soy or almond milk, and the faux cheeses out these days are absolutely amazing. If you're lactose intolerant, vegan, or just curious you must check out Daiya. It makes pizza loving vegans HAPPY!

I don't write about vegetarians or vegans often in my stories but when I do, I write about them accurately. Vegetarians are less strict than vegans, but they don't eat meat, poultry, or seafood. My biggest pet peeve are people who eat vegetarian meals sometimes but call themselves vegetarian when in fact they eat animal flesh. Shrimp doesn't grow on trees. Neither does ham. Why the most often asked question of me is whether or not I eat seafood is utterly, utterly beyond me, and I blame it on the fact that seafood is still considered by Jewish standards to be kosher pareve even though it is technically meat.

My favorite place to eat in my area is the Pulse Cafe in Somerville, MA. Their nachos are to die for! I've taken omnivores there and they loved it. It's just an excellent food place which happens to serve vegan meals. It's pretty sweet:

http://www.thepulsecafe.com

I've had a lot of people ask me why I went vegan. Once upon a time, I was your bacon-wrapped scallop eating, medium rare streak chewing, die hard omnivore voted least likely to go vegetarian let alone vegan. The initial impetus for the switch was my body's increasing inability to digest animal proteins without screaming, agonizing gut issues. The more research I did on the subject, the more I decided that for philosophical and environmental reasons it would be a good idea to do--hence why I am not just a dietary vegan but also shun animal products and animal testing in bath and body products, clothing, and medications if I can help it.




Love & Magic,
Adrianne
www.adriannebrennan.com



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