Turning Vegan
It takes time , research , and experimentation to remove meat and dairy from one ’ s diet , but eating vegan feels cleaner ( there is less germ-clutching mucous in my body ) and better . People often say that they could give up meat , but not cheese . Fair enough , but I ’ m the type that once I put my mind to something , I stick with it . Since making the switch about five years ago , I ’ ve lost my taste for cheese ( and eggs and dairy products in general ), and if I do have a craving for it , there are vegan “ cheese ” choices for me to have .
As a vegan , I have a clean diet , I ’ m rarely ill , and suffer no health problems . I feel good , energetic , and full of life . So a vegan lifestyle is good for me , though it can be difficult to navigate if I go out to eat . Even though I live in the most multi-cultural city in the world , Toronto isn ’ t awash with vegan restaurants , though things are getting better , and most restaurants have vegetarian choices that can easily be made vegan .
I don ’ t get invited out to dinner parties because of my diet . None of my friends are vegan , though there are a couple of vegetarians in there , or others who will eat anything . I love to cook and I love to turn people on to vegan cuisine , so what usually happens is that I have my friends organize dinner parties , and I come over and cook for everyone . It ’ s fun and I get to meet new people , but ultimately , I do most of the work .
Besides me doing all of the cooking , on a very rare occasion , a friend will offer to cook for me . This happened one time when I was still eating an ovo ( eggs ) -lacto ( dairy ) diet . “ Come over , I ’ ll cook for you !” a friend that I ’ d known for years said .
“ So what do you eat ?” he asked .
“ Well , I eat a lot of vegetables , grains , and beans ,” I began .
“ But you eat dairy and eggs , right ?”
The Perfect Lady 41