Wednesday, December 12, 2012

mostly plants

I haven't written much about riding lately, because I haven't done much riding. Many folks around here have been battling some kind of virus?, that seems to hang on forever, and I count myself among them. Therefore, even though we've had some nice days in November and December that would warrant a ride, I've stayed indoors and tried to get to feeling better. I think I'm close, and hope to be back on the bike soon.

As for my transition to a vegan diet, the "sacrifice" of it has been surprisingly easy. The logistics of it are a little more of a challenge. Giving up meat and dairy was easy for me as long as I'm cooking for myself and making my own choices. But, there are so many things I never thought about before that can make it harder. We enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with some friends, and passing on the turkey was easy, but I did eat a little of the cranberry salad which I'm sure had whipped cream in it. And the yams or sweet potatoes, which I love, had marshmallows on them. And I was OK with deviating a little from my normal routine.

Before I headed down this path I never thought of marshmallows as something a vegan wouldn't eat. After learning that the gelatin in them comes from animal byproducts, I get it. And when my wife asked if I still was taking fish oil supplements, I told her that I was, and honestly, it hadn't even occurred to me to stop. Then I realized that the "fish" oil and vitamin D, that have long been part of my morning routine, are gelcaps, my eyes were opened further.

Some people have asked why I would even want to make such a drastic change to my diet. I totally understand, and wouldn't expect everyone to even want to do it. But for me, it started as a way to better health, and a preventative measure against future health issues. As I learned more I liked the idea of having a smaller footprint on the planet. It's just one person, but everyone can do what they can. And finally, I've long been bothered by the little I knew about the way many animals are raised and processed. Not enough to do anything about it before now. But now I've found my way to this place, and I think I can do my small part to help.

I've met people who call themselves strict vegetarians, and mostly vegans. And as far as I'm concerned I don't need to worry about labels. I'm going to keep trying to make healthy choices, forgive myself when I don't, and do what I think is right.

3 comments:

  1. Sound like you are "all in". The only thing that could be a challenge is getting enough protein.
    I think I've mentioned this before but quinoa is a really good source and from what I've read is a complete protein. It's a little like oatmeal in that the flavor has to come from what you add to it.
    The good news is there are both hot and cold quinoa dishes that are tasty and have a totally different flavor.

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  2. Yes Clay. I'm learning about cooking with quinoa and lots of other things I didn't know much about. Also learning about getting plenty of protein from eating a variety of foods. Beans and grains together form a whole protein, such as hummus and whole wheat pita. Also, beans and rice, whole wheat bread and nut butter. And in addition to quinoa, soy, buckwheat and other foods are sources of complete proteins. The next step is to figure out how to keep it up while far from home, say in Colorado on a bike tour?

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  3. I have met people who are vegans, but we have not talked about what they eat. It is interesting to read about it here.

    Thanks for the post,
    RL

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