Meat by Vegetable

So it's been a few weeks, one week to go. By far the most daunting obstacle presented by veganism is the common hangover. Most hangovers require protein to cure. Buttery, cheesy, meaty protein. Oh, how I've pined. Beans and potatoes are a ready enough substitutes, but lack a certain punch. Maybe it's just that this experiment has an expiration date that makes me dwell on such solutions as superior, maybe not.



I have found love for a few vegan specialties; vegan butter is barely distinguishable from its counterpart, and vegan mayo is roughly the same. Admittedly, I don't use mayo often, so if that is your condiment of choice you may notice but I don't. Vegan cream cheese is ok in consistency and texture, but it is less tangy than real cream cheese, a mild minus. I also have grown fond of vegan staples like seitan and tempeh. Seitan is a wheat gluten based protein that walks and talks like the real deal especially in soups, stir-frys, and rice dishes. It's easily seasonable but has soy sauce in it so it's noticeably salty to begin with. Tempeh is a little more difficult to describe. It's a bean based protein that usually comes in a brick. It's very firm and kind of curd-y. I ate this with rice and didn't like it. I put it over a salad and loved it. I also hear that it's good for making faux BLTS (called VLTS) but I have not tried that yet. There is also a lot to be said for the Smart "Meat" or Simply "meat" products. I can't tell you exactly what they're called because I've eaten them all. These guys really know what they're doing. I like their (not) dogs and their "sausage" and "ground beef" products and used them before this experiment to make vegetarian tacos and so on. Texture and taste is great for not being actual meat. I do think the irony of vegetarian products making things that taste like meat for non-meat eaters is ironic and amusing, but you can't beat that it cuts down on cholesterol and other assorted yada yada known for being in most meat.

Some things I've found surprising, however, is that this "diet" has done almost nothing to clear my skin. I've attributed past problems with this to eating lots of cheese and meat which turns up on my skin. Turns out this is not true, sorry Grandma, but it has entirely cured the problems I was having with my guts. I haven't had a stomach ache all month. At this point I would recommend veganism to anyone suffering from food related allergies (except wheat and soy), stomach problems, and people looking to in a sense "clear out their system" after the heavy eating holiday season ect.

Comfort Food at a Premium.

I can tell my caloric intake is suffering when...


Everything I eat is a damn vegetable. This is healthy, this is good, this is just a temporary experiment to see what I would feel like if I were a vegan. Today, however, the heat was out at work and it was shipment day. So all day I was putting away stock to raise my body heat (the store was just over 50 degrees) and now, I would about kill for a hot cheese anything. I even made a preemptive attempt to quell this post-work feeding frenzy by going to the local vegetarian deli and getting a delicious looking tofu stir-fry and a mint chocolate vegan cookie. Then I realized I forgot my wallet at home. I'd walk back, but it's 15 degrees and I have had it with being cold for the day. Now I don't know whether to console myself with peanut butter or wait for the "sausage" to thaw so I can have some with more rice. There is a greater side to this: I'm noticing a habitual trend to eating, especially when it comes to comfort, wherein lies a fruitful dialogue on consumption and habits and stress... but I don't wanna think right now I wanna eat.

Elements of Seasonal Change

Greetings inter-space,

Minor computer failure and some complete updates:

A tip of the hat to Richard P., who saved my computer from the brink of utter destruction. If you have (or had...) AVG anti-virus software, that 2011 update is a doozie. Unless you are a friends with a computer savvy individual or are one yourself, you might as well hit your computer with a car. It's cool though, worlds end all the time. We're still kicking.

Two months have yielded some good tidings, some bad. The holidays are over, that's a relief, now what to do with all this free time? Go back to school! The classes are interesting and the resources are handy. Let freedom ring!

I am now a published journalist! Check out my green living page at Examiner.com All articles are to be posted in a format relevant to living in Milwaukee, so my next challenge is to not sound like I'm advertising all the time.

Here, however, will be the platform for my next experiment: going vegan. Vegans have been assimilated into such groups as idiots, extremists, and PETA, company that I assure everyone I do not keep. Aspects of veganism include not eating any animal products including honey, dairy, meat, and so forth; not wearing any animal by products like leather or fur; and sometimes includes a frowny attitude toward pet ownership. My version, or what I'm paring it down to, does not exclude pets, honey, or leather (I just bought a rad pair of keens for the extensive Wisconsin weather, it's practical, ok?). This is more of a dietary experiment, in honor of my forefathers, and greatly in the key of greater physical harmony. As a disclaimer, I'll mention that I do not begrudge philosophical vegans their distaste for leather, honey, pets, whatever; I know all about the meat and dairy industry. It's sick and wrong and should be regulated by ethical peoples with concern for the well being of all beings. I continue to hope and aspire toward such Utopian times, as is my lot in life, while I enjoy Stilton bleu on rye sesame crackers. Life is too short. But this month, I fast.

So far, I think I'll only really miss cheese, which I put on almost everything; and yogurt, which I use to help regulate intestinal problems; another reason for this move. The vegan butter I had this morning on toast was pretty comparable. Butter to my knowledge isn't one of those things most people can readily discern from one brand to another unless it's margarine, which of course is not butter. We'll see, this is only day one.