At this point I rarely think about being vegan, it is what I am.  Label checking happens on it’s own, but not as often because I have a better sense of what I’m buying.  I’m getting the hang of ordering at restaurants, I can figure out how to cook anything in the microwave at work.   When I get hungry I know what snacks to get at the 7-11, I have an abundance of vegan cookies and chocolate in the house.  I drink my espresso with raw sugar when I run out of soy milk.  On a cold rainy tired night I have a secret stash of frozen ravioli for dinner.

I’m spending a lot less time wandering around looking lost at the super market, and know which stores will have which items.  Whole Foods shopping has been limited to a bare minimum.  Nearly everything I make for dinner is tasty.  This feels natural, it feels good, most importantly it feels right.  Which also leaves this blog in a lurch, as I am not constantly thinking of new vegan related topics, or if I do I now lack the energy to write about them.  I’m going to see how things play out the next couple of weeks, and post when I have the willpower.

Like everyone else, I hate Whole Foods, I had a mixed experience with them this week.  They were completely out of things like black beans, and in house soy (the only kind that comes in recyclable containers).  I went to the kiosk and told the woman behind the counter, she was very apologetic and told me there were major changes going on in the grocery department, but was otherwise ineffective.  I made it clear that I was thinking about no longer doing the bulk of my shopping there, and I was told to try again later.

Instead, I am probably going to place a bunch of bulk orders with my small really cool natural food store.  I think I am going to give up on recyclable soy milk containers, and kill the environment with my waste until I learn how to make my own soy.

Anyways, I want to order canned goods, that often contain refined sugar, the ones I order obviously wouldn’t.  I’d get a case of canned corn, and petite diced tomatoes.  Along with a couple pounds of raw sugar, bulgar wheat, quinoa, rice noodles, barley, a case of pure lemon juice, and pure lime juice.  I might also consider getting a new freezer for the basement and bulk ordering some Amy’s vegan meals.   Oh and several cases of Vitasoy.

I have another local resource for a lot of vegan cosmetics and body products, and everything else I should be able to get at my local grocer, except lemon grass, damn lemon grass!

However, my bathroom is supposed to get ripped to hell starting this coming Tuesday, to become beautiful within the next several weeks, so this may need to be a piecemeal thing.  I also have no idea how much of this she would be willing to order for me at once.  However I think it’s a grand idea.  Avoid Whole Foods, and patronize some local businesses.

I work in the healthcare field, one of the fringe benefits is drug luncheons where I get a nice free meal, and get to spend some quality time with coworkers.  I always of course ignore the lecture.  Most of these luncheons are small buffets that are brought to the workplace, usually these are not inclusive of my veganess.  However, the one I went to this week was at a restaurant and we could order whatever we wanted.  It was still risky that I would find something to eat, but I was in the mood for adventure and went anyways.

It was a quaint little Inn, and I was in luck a grilled vegetable sandwich, on bread that was likely to NOT contain honey was on the menu.  I ordered it with no cheese, and I made sure the waitress repeated it after me.  BUT when the meal came out, alas, there was melted cheese in it.  The waitress did what she should have done and took it back without a fuss, and was very apologetic.

My coworkers were also awesome about it.  I could have been treated like a complete freak, and instead they treated it like a standard affair.  Eating out still makes me paranoid though, and I spent most of the afternoon questioning the possible ingredients in my food.   When I eat food out it is rarely satisfying, and always has the potential to not actually be vegan.  I know that this is an aspect of my “newness” eventually I will be braver when placing orders, and have more confidence in picking out the elements that are not vegan.

I love my doctor, the shame of it is, that everyone else loves him too, so it takes forever to see him.  I had to schedule my appointment a month in advance, and when I got to his office there was an hour and a half wait.  He notoriously runs behind because he likes to spend time with patients and provide good care.

He came into the office and asked what was new?  I told him a lot was new.  I was upfront about going vegan, and he was actually a little confused about a vegan was.  Though he didn’t mind when I told him I don’t eat any animal products.  He agreed with me that we should check my absorption of my major vitamins to make sure I’m getting what I need.

He also said he thought whatever I was doing was working for me, and was amazed that I hadn’t really lost any weight since my last visit, in reality I did I gained 7lbs and lost 7lbs, but that I looked healthier and slimmer than my last visit.  The only complaint I had was night time allergies.

This was a happy appointment because in the past I have struggled with migraines, and flareups of some other medical conditions I have.  This was the first time in a year or so that things were going well.

It all started with an incident on Sunday involving a burrito and sour cream, and continues into this morning with stinging hands.  I was tired and lazy, and thus not careful when cutting up my hot peppers.   Also yesterday I had to run to the grocery store on my way to work because I didn’t have any food prepared for lunch and dinner (I work 12 hours on Mondays).  My kitchen is a mess, I am incredibly behind on dishes, and nearly out of food, and don’t know when I’m going to get a chance to go shopping.

I’ve read experiences of people going vegan where it all sounds like that, and there is no joy.  I’ve had a lousy couple of days when it comes to food, however, it has not gotten me down.  Probably because I made awesome vegan stroganoff over the weekend, and had a kick ass week full of recipes last week.

I’ve learned throughout this whole experience that so much of it requires good perspective and planning.  I’m beginning to think that the ten years I spent working towards being successfully vegan were worthwhile.  Because in those ten years I learned the basics of cooking, about nutrition, about alternative food stuffs.  It got to the point where I knew so much about being vegan that it would have been ridiculous for me to continue to not be one.

It’s hard then, for me to advise people who are having trouble, because I went vegan from a different place in life than most.  I picked a natural stopping place for dairy, so I don’t crave that much, I knew many of rights and wrongs of preparing food.  I know what to tell these new vegans, in terms of how to make shopping easier, how to make cooking easier, but the emotion level of it?  I simply don’t understand, and I wish I did.  All I’ve got to say to them is, hang in there, and learn as much as you can in the meantime.

Today we decided to head over to my parents’ house. Along the way I knew I would be hungry so we stopped by David’s Natural Market to pick up some bulgar and some lunch. It was kind of a sad homecoming, I used to work there, and when I did the cafe was nearly completely vegan. I had a rough time finding something I could eat there and had to order my food without bread because the only options were whole wheat, which usually contain honey. However, their soups were vegan, and were very delicious. David’s continues to have a very large selection of foodstuffs, though the staff these days don’t seem to be as knowledgeable, though the management is largely the same.

I got a new winter coat today, picture to come, it isn’t anything special, and comes from JC Penney’s. So the labor practices are somewhat questionable. The coat is mostly synthetic (though I prefer cotton), and is very nice looking but practical. It also has a removable lining, and is of course, vegan. It was on sale for $80, which is pretty good for a new versatile, completely machine washable winter coat. Since I lack photos, here is one. I know I could do better, but this was what was feasible this time around. I’ve been searching the union and fair trade companies on the internet and haven’t found anything comparable to this.

Then we went and got new glasses, that actually match our plates, and also I got some bar mops for the kitchen, several different kinds. I am hoping to phase out paper towels completely, but I know that will take awhile. I will soon also be making my own laundry detergent using Dr Bronner’s, Borax, and washing soda (equal parts). I’ve already switched to using citrus cleaner in the kitchen, and it has been working really well. Not only are these products vegan, and not tested on animals, they are also better for the environment which I think is important as well. I say it in nearly every post so I will stop the spiel there.

When we got home I hit the kitchen and started making Seitan and Portabello Stroganoff, from a recipe I got from Vegan with a Vengeance. It came out 110% delicious. Today was also the day we decided to do Thanksgiving at my parent’s house and I will be making a ton of vegan dishes to contribute to the meal. Over the past few weeks I have become so confident in my cooking abilities. I am now tackling more complex recipes, and feeling comfortable making some adjustments. Considering that I started this process barely able to cook at all, I think I am living proof that cooking is a learned skill just like everything else. I don’t think I will ever be a cooking genius, but in a short period of time I feel like I’ve become confident.

Today I consumed at least three servings of fruit, in about three minutes, without chewing a single bite.  After work I want a tasty snack, and all that was available to me was the 7-11.  Tropicana, which I’m not terribly fond of ended up providing me with a fruit smoothie and pure orange juice (most likely from concentrate).  Though something to keep an eye out on with the smoothies, see carmine is all natural, unlike red 40.  AND carmine comes from beetles, unlike red 40.  This is one of those instances where the all natural route becomes a cruel route.

Not to mention I don’t like to eat things with high fructose corn syrup or dye anyways, I find it disturbing.  Such ingredients also wreck my skin and make me feel gross.  Being vegan is not an excuse to eat processed crap just because it’s vegan, no matter what PETA says.  I use veganism as a means to know what is going into my body, and eating purer foods.

I still eat potato chips, but only the kind where the ingredients read potatoes, *insert veggie oil here*, and salt.  Because I am sick of this confusing, so processed it makes my head hurt to find out where it comes from, crap.  Same with juices and candies, though candy usually disappoints me with mysterious sugar-like ingredients.

However, since going vegan and increasing the amount of fruit I eat has decreased my desire to eat sweets.  I can’t remember the last time I ate something that contains high fructose corn syrup.  I’ve had chocolate a handful of times.  I am eating better, and it’s an indirect consequence of me eating more ethically.  I know it’s not good for the environment, and possibly not even vegan to eat highly processed crap like high fructose corn syrup, so I don’t consume it.  Veganism to me is not just about animals, it’s about the environment and people as well.  Not to mention that people are indeed animals.

Being vegan (to me) means making a conscientious effort to recycle, it means making the effort to buy from companies that don’t use sweat shop labor, it means promoting unions, buying eco-friendly products, it is all a part of one big package.  Because what kind of world will we have if we have liberated animals but everything else is falling a part?

I have several recipes I want to prepare this week that require wholesome grains, like barley and bulgar wheat, and I am going out of my mind trying to find them. Yesterday, I had forgotten to put bulgar wheat on my list, but I knew to look for barley. After a tedius time searching Whole Foods I found the empty rack that was supposed to contain barley, they were out of it.

Today I went armed with my shopping list to the local Giant, figuring that barley and bulgar wheat would not be difficult to find. Was I ever wrong, I left with only the barley which was in small boxes stored somewhere with the rice. I couldn’t find it, my husband found the barley when after we scoured the aisle together for five minutes.

When I inquired about the bulgar wheat I was told it was in a completely different aisle than the barley and I spent at least five minutes searching aisle 11 with the cookies, and there was no bulgar wheat to be found. Finally I gave up on the bulgar wheat and decided to call the local natural food store in the morning.

I didn’t know what this weekend was going to hold for me.  All I knew was that I was going to be camping with 400 of my closest friends, and with 12 of my best friends.  I loaded the cooler before departing with 6 huge vats of food, three things of hummus, and some scones.

Before I go into what happened while I was there, let me describe Playa del Fuego, PDF.  PDF creates it’s own reality, there is no commerce aloud, art is abundant, and anything goes.  I think that most people change in some way when they enter the gates, because the standard laws of society for the most part, cease to apply.  Things usually return to normal upon leaving, but a glimmer of the experience often remains.

I wasn’t too worried about staying vegan, as I don’t really get cravings for non-vegan food, however I realized during my last night of the event that I was no longer thinking about being vegan, I was just vegan.  Boxes of foodstuffs were causally picked up to see whether or not I could eat them, without the vegan chorus singing in my head.

People also loved the food I made, and there will be many e-mails sent with the titles of the cookbooks I used, and links to recipes.  And to my knowledge no one added dairy cheese to any of the dishes, they were consumed and enjoyed for what they were.   People walking on the path outside our camp also came in to see what we were eating, and they were fed too.

I think after four days of being immersed in my food, and me reassuring them that none of it had been hard to make, that my friends started looking at my veganism differently.  I was pretty much just like everyone else when it came to food that weekend.  I wasn’t seen as limiting myself in anyway.

One very cool thing was that there was no meat in our camp, and usually the only dishes present were vegan ones, with the occasional cheese here and there.  We also had tons of coffee and we creamed everyone’s coffee with soy milk, or they had to make due and drink it black.

The trip marked a transitioning point for me, being vegan is a way of life for me now, it isn’t something I’m constantly working to maintain or striving for.   I just know what to do now to stay cruelty free.

I spent the entire day cooking.  I made two different types of wraps (tofu and falafel), three kinds of hummus, black bean salad, slightly screwed up pad thai, tahini green bean salad, mushroom risotto, orange scones, and probably something I’m forgetting.

On top of that I have been gathering up all my vegan cosmetics, and body care items, and clothes, and shoes, and art supplies.   I still have a page long list of things I need to pack, and I need to clean the kitchen before I can get out of here.

This trip is going to be fantastic, and for me at least, it’s going to be entirely vegan.

One interesting thing to note, from breaking in my new shoes I got a little infection on my left big toe, I scrubbed it with some Dr. Bronner’s Tea Tree Oil Soap and let it air out a bit, and the infection looks like it has cleared.