02 Aug, 2009
VB6* with a drizzle of olive oil
Posted by andrea tomkins in: Recipes and Food|Yaktivism
* Vegan Before Six
A few months ago I read a book called Food Matters in which author Mark Bittman wrote about his decision to become a part-time vegan, that is, turning two out of three daily meals (i.e. breakfast and lunch) into vegan meals. It made sense to me. I wanted to reduce the amount of meat/dairy/eggs I ate too, not just for health reasons, but for environmental ones as well. I first wrote about it here.
I’m proud to say I’ve been pretty good keeping it up ever since. There have been times when I wasn’t able to do it (like while we were camping) or when I’m in someone’s company outside the home and can’t easily find a vegan option to eat – in which case I do my best to choose vegetarian because I don’t want to be a hassle to other people. This is my own thing and I don’t want to make others feel uncomfortable.
I’m well aware of the eyeball rolling that may be happening out there right now – not long ago I would have been rolling my own – but I’m excited about how easy it’s been so far and how good it makes me feel. Not to mention that I’m back to being my best 139 lbs. Love it! And I’m going to be sticking with it.
The VB6 movement (also called flexitarianism) is gathering more steam. There was an article in the Globe & Mail about it awhile ago which described it fairly well.
A few things have made this a lot easier for me:
- Finding a great fibre-based cereal to eat every day, with a splash of a great soy milk to go with it. Throw in a banana and breakfast is done.
- Savouring that morning cup of coffee (I make mine with milk – can’t do it any other way) but switching to tea with honey and lemon for any other caffeine cravings
- Making a point of buying my favourite fruits and vegetables and cooking up some great lunches
- Reconsidering the place that meat has in our lives and shifting it into its rightful position as side-dish
- Buying some really great olive oil to replace the butter in my life
We upgraded our olive oil a couple of months ago. I found myself at the Ottawa Bagel shop, eyeballing the slender and beautiful bottles of olive oils. There’s a small aisle devoted to olive oils which hail from all over. And THEN I looked at the prices. HOLY WHISTLING PETER. Some of them were expensive.
The one I decided upon was almost entirely due to the design of the bottle.
You will cringe at the price. It cost $23.95.
I know it seems crazy to pay this much for olive oil, but in the food world I have learned that “better” often means paying more. Cheap coffee is crappy coffee. Cheap chocolate is crappy chocolate etc. I shell out for the good stuff, so the same should be true for olive oil, right?
I was right. The difference is amazing. The expensive olive oil is extremely light and fruity. I use a drizzle of the expensive stuff in lieu of butter on my toasted tomato and lettuce sandwiches. I mix it with balsamic vinegar for a quick salad dressing and dip my bread in it too. The other stuff – nine dollars a bottle at the grocery store – I use for cooking and roasting.
(Speaking of which, check out this Bitchin’ Kitchen video about olive oil. A gal from the Bitchin’ Kitchen was part of the crew of food bloggers I met in Toronto awhile back, and I have been totally hooked on the Bitchin’ Kitchen schtick ever since.)
Anyway, there it is. I am happy with my new habits. Is there anyone out there who’s doing this? Or thinking about it? I would love to hear your thoughts.
