a peek inside the fishbowl

I was out of town yesterday and as soon as I set out I realized I was setting myself up for a potential failure. You see, although I had packed a lunch I was unprepared to face one of my big road trip habits: a stop at Tim Horton’s for coffee and a big meaty breakfast sandwich. I always get it to go, and then eat and drink in peace while happily listening to radio. It’s blissful.

As I sailed past the Timmy’s, wiping away the drool and dreaming of bacon, I realized that habits and food-related traditions are probably among the top challenges for vegans and vegetarians. After all, there’s a lot of comfort to be found in these traditions, whether it’s a drive-thru on a long trip or a big breakfast of fried sausages shared with the family on Christmas morning.

The pull was strong, but I managed. Interestingly, I felt a bit depressed about it, like I was missing out on something. Is it this feeling that causes people to cave and eat meat again?

It’s one thing to be a vegetarian or vegan in your own home, it’s another issue when you’re out and about, looking for a restaurant or visiting friends. I can toss together some leftover chickpeas with items from the veggie drawer…

… and have it turn out ok for the most part, but going out to eat is a whole other kettle of fish.

Vegans have the extra challenge of needing to know the exact ingredients that are in their food. For example, if they’re at a party, they’ve learned to avoid the dip because there’s probably eggs or dairy in it. Or they ask. Vegans always need to be prepared otherwise their choices are limited and they’re stuck with unhappy meals. I can’t imagine how exhausting this must be.

I asked Twitter vegetarians or vegans to finish this sentence: “The hardest thing about being a vegetarian/vegan is…” I thought it’d be interesting to share a few replies here:

@missfish …worrying about getting enough protein.

— Paula Roy (@paulajroy) June 16, 2015

@missfish everyone asking you how you survive without bacon. We do, don’t worry.

— Fiona Mitchell (@ottawawestfash) June 16, 2015

@missfish the people who want to convince me im wrong for not eating like them

— Wanda Manning (@Wanda_C_Manning) June 16, 2015

@missfish The judgment/stereotyping/annoying unfunny jokes!

— DanaDeMille (@DanaDeMille) June 16, 2015

@missfish finding good food in restaurants

— sivaparvati (@sivaparvati) June 16, 2015

@paulajroy @missfish convincing non-veggies that there are interesting things for me to eat at most restaurants

— j d (@maybelle83) June 16, 2015

@missfish Ur family/friends just don't get that u don't want to eat meat & keep asking u questions like 'Don't you miss it?'. #GetOverIt

— Bez Gluten-Free (@bezgfbakery) June 16, 2015

Do you have anything to add about your personal experience? Good or bad? If so I’d love to hear about it, whether you define yourself as a vegetarian, vegan, or not!

I was looking over my food list for this past week. I feel like a bit of a failure in that I didn’t plan my meals very well and I hope to do a better job next week. Sunday was my weakest day. I didn’t eat any meat but snacked a lot. Sigh.

I did have a couple of great meals worth sharing. This simple salad reminded me of something important (other than the fact that buying six avocados means that there are a lot of avocados that need to be eaten):

It’s chickpea, black bean, avocado, feta cheese, cilantro, and lime juice with S&P and chilli flakes. Easy peasy.

It’s not exactly rocket science but when you put great ingredients together, you get something great. Salads don’t need to be covered in dressing to taste amazing. In fact, when you remove the dressings, the individual components that make up that salad really shine. This was also the case with yesterday’s lunch:

It’s this delicious recipe from Oh She Glows, which makes me even more determined to pick up my own copy. Here’s the Amazon link if you want to have a peek. I made it with gluten-free pasta and it turned out surprisingly well: creamy and flavourful. It’s a keeper!

Also on the horizon:

• soaking chickpeas instead of canned
• vegan “cheeze”
• #veg21 goes on a road trip
• better recipe planning (got a favourite? Please share!)

The hipster is dead, and you might not like who comes next. http://t.co/BzRpfKvF9X #yuccie pic.twitter.com/6JtiApseQV

— Mashable (@mashable) June 10, 2015

• 5 things to avoid as an introverted parent, huffingtonpost.com
• Evan Solomon, eh?, medium.com
• Can wearable technology combat sexual assault?, fastcompany.com
• In TV’s new golden age, consumers are already online. Industry must follow, theglobeandmail.com
• The Strange Rise of the Writers’ Space, newyorker.com

On the nightstand: Eden West