I am really fortunate to have an open minded husband. But, the first time I brought up going vegan, he seemed torn between kind of wanting to try it, but being unwilling to completely give up his tasty animal carcass.

I was surprised by the vehemence of his reaction. I pointed out it was only food, we can always go back to what we did. Still, he thought he couldn't be without his steak or burgers. I didn't respond as well as I could have, and kind of accused him of having a meat religion if he couldn't stand the idea of swearing off it for a short time. And he was getting SO defensive about it. We came to our arrangement:  he could eat whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. But I would only purchase and cook vegan. If he wanted meat he could do his own thing.

In hind sight, he sees my "religion" point. And he is more likely to make a vegetarian or vegan choice when we go out then he used to be. And he looks hot, his face (and the rest of him) are really slimming down. Now that he's in it, he's enjoying the new foods, techniques, tastes, and flavors (we had daikon last night!).

I have been surprised by the response of other people, though, who are still heavy into their meat religion. Or devotion. Or closed mindedness. Their existence has to contain flesh, they absolutely do not believe that they can enjoy a meal without it. They can't imagine building a meal around anything else. The psychological barriers are truly impressive.

 I had a similar experience the first time I tried a cucumber sandwich made with Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese. My brain was making it nearly impossible to put it in my mouth. But I did. And it was delicious.  It sucks, and not because they aren't joining my vegan bandwagon, but because they are missing out on this whole amazing, clean, light, delicious way of eating. They'll never know what it feels like to have no animal products in their system--the light, agile, sustained energy; the steadied moods; the satisfaction.

I think I had an advantage going in. When I'm by myself I rarely buy meat. Working in San Antonio, I bought fruit and cheese and ate rice and veggies. Putting meat into meals was always a battle for me--how to cook, what to make, it always took longer to cook than the rest of the meal.

Some lovely friends of ours babysat Rory over Valentine's Day so we could go out. I made them seitan with asparagus in teryiaki over rice. I consider it to be very nonveg friendly. One friend loved it, the other wouldn't try it. I completely felt for him, I've been there. Weird food is weird food, and our brains are seriously programmed to not allow it in our bodies.

The worst piece of advice I read when we started this vegan thing was "Take a meal you love and try to veganize it". TERRIBLE advice, you just end up disappointed. We've had more fun finding crazy new foods to make and try, and now, entering our second month, we're going back to some old favorites. But, we're used to it. We know how nutritional yeast doesn't really resemble cheese. It's been long enough since I've had dairy, that I can deal with a substitute for what it IS, instead of wishing it was something it isn't. That's been a key element for me.

Sorry for the long veggie post. Just on my mind!