Still Vegan

I purchased a large quantity of chicken, a day before George announced that WE (he didn’t say…he) would be vegan. Now, I have to clean out my freezer.

Here is one boneless and skinless chicken out of the package. I usually remove all of the fat. I don’t do as good a job as George’s mother, but look at the amount of fat I removed. Yes, it takes time to clean each piece of chicken. Almost a quarter of the chicken is fat. I wonder how many restaurants take this much time to remove the fat. Instead, they cover the chicken in some sort of breading and fry it in grease that is oxidized. I know that’s why it tastes so yummy.

I used to cook beef that had only 7% fat. The fat would cling to the dishes and I had to use twice the amount of soap and scrubbing power to clean the dishes. Now, without any beef, I can cook with a small amount of vegetable oil. Very little soap and scrubbing are required to get the dishes clean. Imagine the amount of animal fat that goes through our digestive system and into our organs after years and years of eating meat. Yuk! We can’t scrub our intestines with soap. No wonder I gained 20 pounds after moving to the U.S.

This is the positive side of being vegan. I just hope I can continue. The more I speak out, the more I feel I have to be responsible for my words. It is tough. The chicken I cooked…went to my doggies. They were very happy. I boiled the chicken to remove most of the fat.

The news from Japan continues to be heart-wrenching. Half of the cows in Fukushima have died from starving and the other half are crying out loud for food and water. I usually don’t have the guts to read this kind of news or see the pictures, but I had to read the news when I saw a cow with tears in his big eyes. The suffering of the people and animals is beyond heartbreaking. One of the tsunami victims living in a shelter hoped that the people who are suffering from the disasters in Japan are not forgotten. Please don’t forget them.

Vegan-lite

 I don’t enjoy vegetarian food, but George said that food is generally overrated, so I suffer. It’s been two weeks since I became a vegan. George likes to call it,”Vegan-lite” since we still eat some dairy products. I drink less beer now. Beer doesn’t go well with veggies. That is okay…I can live without beer. It’s amazing though, I don’t crave dessert after eating tofu and vegetables. I just quickly brush my teeth to change the taste in my mouth. A few days ago, my friends invited me for lunch at an all-you-can-eat restaurant. When I saw meat, my pupils grew large and I was so happy. I grabbed a lot of meat, but somehow the smell bothered me. I have never wasted meat after I have cooked it or chosen to place it on my plate. This is out of respect for animal life. In this particular instance, I couldn’t finish the meat. I felt so guilty, but I guess my body is gradually changing.

George used to joke, “Don’t worry, ketchup will fix everything on your dish.” Our food storage shelves and the inside of the fridge have many different kinds of sauces and spices. We used to pour them on just about everything. We gradually craved a stronger taste as our tongues became numb to the subtle flavors of food. I miss those rich tastes, but I already feel a little healthier. We’re more sensitive to taste and smell and we don’t need to use those pre-made spices as much. I still cry as I try to be vegan.

When we were just married, George showed me how to prepare his lunchbox…junk, junk and junk and I laughed at him. Now, if he eats potato chips, he gets a sore throat and junk food makes him dizzy. I thought it was just a coincidence or that he worried too much. I found that eating healthier food over the course of the past year; I could really see a positive change. We started eating less meat a year ago after watching “Food, Inc.” and now we’ve “kicked it up a notch” by becoming vegans.

When I was working in the corporate world, they provided me with so much junk food. They said, “Come on, Erika, just a little bit won’t hurt you and once in a while it’s okay.” The fact is that there were too many “once in a while,” my senses grew numb. I didn’t have a guilty conscious gobbling down junk food.  When I first went shopping in the U.S., I was upset at many of the young mothers whose carts were full of boxed foods. I couldn’t understand how a mother could be so irresponsible to their child and to the environment. It didn’t take long for me to become one of them. My cart was often filled with boxed foods because I loved the convenience. I sometimes hid those boxed foods from George. It was easy to fall prey to those beautifully colored boxes and tasty ads promising that in less than two minutes you can have a healthy meal…full of chemicals and preservatives…yum. I am one of those victims, foolish enough to threaten my own health and put my money into the rich corporate executive pockets. I’m sure those executives don’t eat their own junk.

I am becoming enlightened and starting to take care of myself thanks to George. I don’t have the willpower he does, but I’m trying to be vegan.

Vegan

George is trying to be vegan. Since we watched the movie, “Food Inc,” I have tried to buy natural and organic food. It’s a little more expensive, but in the long run, we’ll save on medical bills as we get older. We hardly ever eat at restaurants, but when we do, we support Chipotle. I’m not a big fan of Mexican food, but this restaurant is trying to do the right thing and we believe in that.

George recently read the book, “Veganist” by Kathy Freston. He was strongly influenced and disturbed by what the author wrote. Soya milk??? I would have never imagined in my wildest dreams that he would drink soy milk. One of our Japanese friends invited us to her country home and she prepared most of the food with vegetables that she grew. It was amazing that she could create a huge variety of dishes with only vegetables to fill an entire table. George said, “I’m not a rabbit. Where’s the beef?” Now, he wants to have a similar kind of life. He says he wants to be a vegan, not only to benefit his health, but to prevent cruelty to animals and preserve the environment.

It is interesting that there are many people who are sensitive about importing food from Japan. Some people are taking iodine for even a small amount of radiation. If you take a moment to think about it, processed foods along with many foods that are found in restaurants are unhealthier than the produce coming from Japan. Meat that has been charred can cause cancer. Food that has been cooked in aluminum or microwaved in plastic can also create health risks. We usually never question those foods because we enjoy the taste and convenience. I am guilty for being one of those people.   

We rarely watch TV, but we did notice how many commercials are about pharmaceutical drugs, weight loss, diabetes, or junk food. In the short period time our TV was on, we heard about the various side effects of prescribed drugs. The advertisers of these medications talked so fast that I had a hard time following what they were saying. I found it to be a good way to practice English. Every once in a while I would hear, “death” as one of the side effects. Why would anyone want to take a medication that could cause a more serious side effect than the original symptom? George says that those fast food companies help the pharmaceutical companies make big $$$...Junk food →weight loss → diabetes → drugs.Umm…shouldn’t we be a little smarter?

To help George become a vegan, a lot of effort is required from me. It’s not easy to create a dish that tastes good without fish, meat, or animal byproducts such as cheese. I, however, totally agree to respect animal rights. I’ll follow the principle of my favorite English phrase, “What goes around, comes around.” Investing more time with the health, life and the lives of others, and caring more about the Earth will eventually come back to help us with our future.  

Erika