The (Vegan) Rules of Engagement

As Lent (quickly) approaches, I'm finding myself increasingly aware of the contents of my pantry, and I have been analyzing the items I buy for their "veganness". I have learned a few things:

1. Pasta is typically made with something called "egg parts." I'm not really sure what that is, but I'm pretty sure it's not vegan. Also, I hope that I am able to find egg-part-free pasta (aside from those egg-less wide egg noodles), because at this point in my life I'm not entirely convinced I can survive 40 days without pasta.

2. Those cherry flavored heart shaped gummis I love from Trader Joe's? The ones I became completely addicted to for the entire month of February? Yea, they contain animal gelatin. Click on that link. Learn about it. Realize that it comes from animals and is therefore not only not vegan, but pretty much not vegetarian either. And ew. Why do we have to boil bones and connective tissue to make gummi candies? Or to cover pills?

3. Looking for items that are Kosher Pareve (Parve) is a good way to (generally) find items that are vegan. At least then you know that none of the parts came from a pig, and that there is no dairy (or egg).

So given these pieces of information, it hopefully is clearer to you why I feel the need to document the "rules" of what I will and will not eat for Lent. I reserve the right to modify these rules, but here is where I'm laying down the law, so to speak:

1. No meat (done), eggs, (dairy) milk, (dairy) yogurt or butter. This includes prepared items and home-cooked items. I'll be testing out vegan baking recipes. This also removes the possibility of eating chocolate containing milk solids (though cocoa is vegan and ok).

• Alternatives that I've been exploring include tempeh (a soy based protein mixed with whole grains that has a different texture and flavor than straight tofu--I roasted some in vegetables last night), soy milk (Trader Joe's makes a nice organic vanilla variety that is quite satisfying, and I've started ordering hot cocoa, lattes and coffee with soymilk), earth balance "butter spread" (made from plant oils instead of animal fat, I used this in an apple crumble the other day which was devine! It also got Mr. K's seal of approval on toast), and soy yoghurt (took some getting used to, and not as tasty as greek yoghurt or my standard issue plain, fat free organic yoghurt).

2. No products containing animal gelatin, unless they are unavoidable for health reasons (I'll be checking my vitamins when I get home). For the record, cherry flavored heart shaped gummis are not unavoidable for health reasons. >sniff<.

• This may actually be a blessing in disguise as processed foods are generally not good for us. It makes snacking harder which is good for the waistline, tough for the emotions. I'll have to find new snacks and on-the-go food.

3. No products containing eggs, egg bits, milk, cheese or butter. This applies to pastas, crackers, store-bought cookies, prepared foods (like frozen burritos for those nights when I don't feel like cooking).

• I do not intend this to eliminate things that were made in factories or on equipment that processes milk or eggs. For example, my soymilk is made in a factory that also handles egg. This means there may be trace amounts of egg in my soymilk, and perhaps those trace amounts of egg are greater than the total amount of "egg parts" in my pasta, but that's just getting into a crazy analysis game that I'm not willing to play at this point.

4. This experiment does not apply to my leather shoes. While some vegans refuse to use animal parts in any way, I simply cannot afford to throw out or not wear all of my leather shoes. I don't wear a leather jacket, I won't wear fur. But the reality of my situation is that I'm still in graduate school, in a relatively low-paying entry-level job and I can't simply throw out and replace an entire wardrobe on a whim. This reality does not negate my effort to make an impact in my life and in the world, and represents challenges we all face in making life decisions.

(this is something that I thought everyone understood, but I realized I was wrong when entire semesters in MPH school were devoted to teaching people that just because a person *knows* what they should do, doesn't mean they can act on it. You know, like if you know your kids need fresh vegetables, but you live in South Boston and the closest place with food is 7-11 or a mini mart with last week's produce, and you have no car and 2 hungry kids to feed and a minimum wage job...you might just go with fruit juice)

I also recognize the social implications my experiment will have, and the fact that I may not be able to completely control my food intake at, say, a restaurant that doesn't specifically cater to vegans and vegetarians. I will be visiting my SIL and BIL in Seattle in April, and I will certainly not request that they cook me vegan food. I'll also be speaking at a conference in March, and have already caused some ripples and special attention (which is never my goal) by requesting an unoffered option (no meat), when faced with the choice of salmon or london broil.

Speaking of offerings in group settings, let me jump off on a tangent here. Has anyone ever noticed how people behave with a vegetarian in the office when ordering lunch? Think about it for a moment. The vast majority of people who are trying to "diet" or "eat healthy," whether veggie or not, will opt for the vegetarian option. This is (in my opinion) because vegetarian options tend to have fewer creamy condiments, more vegetables, and less fat and cholesterol and processed-ness than meat options. So here you have people who can eat anything in front of them, and then you have people that for health, moral, ethical, religious or political reasons won't or can't eat meat. And often, there is little vegetarian fare left for the actual vegetarians.

I  give you an example from my own work experience. I am currently the only vegetarian in an office of 10. There are certain members of the office who take every opportunity to point this out, and to point out just how weird I am (if they only knew...). I was tasked with ordering pizza for the group and ordered 2 vegetarian pizzas and 1 meat. Everyone tried the veggie pizzas and liked them, and there was more meat pizza left at the end of the day than there was veggie pizza. Everyone also tried the vegetarian pizza first, meaning my options were limited right off the bat (and also indicating their active desire to eat vegetarian, even though they insisted on meat options).

For another lunch meeting, I was not in charge of ordering, and 4 pizzas came. 2 of them were vegetarian and 2 of them were meat. At the end of the meal, there was the equivalent of an entire meat pizza left and only a (small) slice of vegetarian. And yet I'm the aberration? And I eat "weird" food? Seems to me I eat what most people would prefer to eat if they didn't live in a society that equates a "real meal" with a dead animal. Ok, that was maybe a bit harsh. But this is a big pet peeve of mine.

I've already had a few people share that they'd like to go vegan or try meatless for Lent. Let me know if you'd like to join in! As a bit of encouragement, I leave you with the following recipe for amazing vegan breakfast:

Peaceful Apple Crumble (loosely adapted from this recipe by 101 Cookbooks)

Filling:
4-5 tasty apples (I used whatever I get in my veggie box, this week they were yellow), sliced in thin wedges
1/4 c. vanilla (or original/plain) soymilk
handful or two of raisins (to taste)
copious dusting of cinnamon

Topping:
heaping 3/4 c. flour (I used whole wheat)
heaping 2/3 c. oats (I'm a Quaker kinda gal)
1/2 c. of brown sugar (white works too, but I prefer brown with apples)
3-4 T of butter substitute, melted (you don't want the crumble to be too dry)
copious dusting of cinnamon
~1/2c. of crushed or chopped walnuts
pinch of salt, dash of pepper for kick

*Heat oven to 375.
*Mix filling ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and put in the fridge.
*Mix to together dry topping ingredients, be sure to break up clumps of brown sugar. Stir in melted "butter" (make sure it isn't too hot or you'll cook the oatmeal and lose some texture)
*Squeeze topping into patties or big clumps, cover with plastic wrap or foil and plop in the freezer.

NOTE: I made this up the night before and left the filling in the fridge and the topping in the freezer overnight. If you are making this for later in the day or don't enjoy sleeping in the wee hours as much as I do, it could all be done at once. In the latter case, freeze the topping for about 10 minutes so the clumps harden. This keeps them clumpier and more like struesel topping as they bake.

*Pour filling into a dish (I've used a quiche/tart dish as well as an 8x8, ceramic or glass is fine). Top with crumbles of topping. Bake for 30-45 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the top is golden brown and a bit crispy/crunchy. Let cool a smidge before serving, but not too much.