The Vegan Project. Reflections on the Omnivorous Husband.

[Sigh.]

This is one of those posts that qualify the title.  It's really a "Diary" entry.  Like a wistful teen reflecting on her time at the mall with "him".  But the good news is that I don't feel "Frenzied" very often because the kitchen seems to be my niche now.

I guess you could say that I feel pretty complete about The Vegan Project.  If you've just started reading my blog, The Vegan Project started when my meat-loving husband found out he had cholesterol problems (they are hereditary in his family) and he decided (on his own) to try a vegan diet for two weeks as a last ditch effort to avoid cholesterol meds.  He ended up eating vegan for 3 or 4 weeks, and then a few more weeks of eating some cheese in moderation and turkey or chicken for lunch, but at home--strictly vegan.  His cholesterol level did go back to normal and the happy ending is...he doesn't need meds.  Vegan Project: Success!

Of course, that's just the synopsis.  There were lots of details involved in the story that I left out.  Because for some of us, being vegan is sort of a journey, rather than a mere decision.

Nowadays, he eats vegan at home for the most part, doesn't like the taste of milk anymore so drinks almond milk with his cookies and cereal, and enjoys having his meals cooked for him every night.  (History lesson about this blog: I started it so that I would be inspired to cook because I never cooked dinner before unless it was cheese quesadillas or pre-made raviolis and a frozen vegetable.  Blogging  inspired me to cook and eat healthy and my whole life has changed because of the help and support I get via the blogosphere!  Thank you, friends!)

"Then why the sad face, mom?"

This morning I read this post at Happy Herbivore and it got me thinking about the vegan mentality.  I don't expect my husband to be a vegan (if you met him, you would understand) but what I don't love is when he tells people that by the end of the vegan diet he was spacey and had lost too much weight.  I don't attribute this to the vegan diet, I attribute it to not eating enough in general.  When you don't have mid-meal snacks or a pound of rotting meat leftovers in your GI tract to keep you full longer, you get hungrier and, yes, spacey.  Vegan food digests easily and quickly, and one must do a little snacking and eat a little more.  

I just wish people would say what's true--"I like cheese and meat".  If the hubbie really wanted to be a vegan (as he does seem to "believe in" the vegan diet), he could succeed and have more mental clarity (I totally do!) and gain weight (my vegan friends out there who struggle with your weight can attest to this, no?).  Anyway, I just don't want him to misrepresent the vegan diet to others, nor mislead himself.  

But the good news is, I would have never guessed we'd be eating vegan dinners every day.  More importantly, we're eating together most days, as a family (even if sometimes it's in front of the TV).  It's incredible.  Not only to eat vegan but to finally feel like I'm pulling my weight in the kitchen (not to sound chauvinistic but that I can keep my husband happy in this way is kind of a surprise).

It's not that I'm feeling nostalgia for the days past when he was 100% vegan.  That was a freakin' lot of work, making breakfast, lunch, and dinner!  I'm okay (rather grateful) with how things are now.  He embraces my crazy vegan ways, and I embrace his flexibility and how he sometimes pretends to love dinner when I know he couldn't possibly.

And for Xmas he got me lots of cooking things.  A new set of All Clad cookware (even a griddle for tortillas! woo hoo!), The Accidental Vegan, and my new Vita-Mix.  Can't complain about that!