Apr 01, 2006
First day. People have asked me what I mean when I say non-vegan - what I will eat. When I decided to do this, I wasn't quite sure myself what I meant either, but it basically comes down to this:
I will not place any rules on my consumption of food, aside from common sense with respect to my health, and an intent to start slowly and ease myself into the more difficult to digest faire slowly.
But this has left me with an interesting question: there is currently very little non-vegan food that I find appealing or appetizing. For the first couple of years I was vegan, I still occasionally craved cheese (which has made me wonder if there isn't some truth to this). But by now, my attitude toward non-vegan foods is similar to that of my attitude to air fresheners and such - they may smell nice, but I don't tend to regard them as food. Thus when I went to eat breakfast this morning at the hotel breakfast bar, I had to make a conscious choice to put some cream cheese on a bagel. I didn't really want it, but I felt like I'd be cheating if I just ate the bagel dry or with jelly the way I normally would. The flavor was interesting, much more "cheesy" than I remember cream cheese ever being.
At lunch, when I ordered a sandwich at a deli, I found myself strongly desiring a vegan sandwich (hummus, avocado, eggplant... mmm...), but I felt that I ought to put something non-vegan on it. I opted for a yogurt-based dressing and a slice of monterey jack. The sandwich was decent, but the dairy just didn't seem right on it, it tasted a little strange and left a funny feeling in my stomach. I imagine that may change in time.
My attitude toward food choices in the past has always been that cravings are very important, they are your body's best way of telling you what you need. But the object of craving as it manifests in your mind is not necessarily important: if you crave cheese, it doesn't mean you need cheese. It means you need some protein or fat or something else that cheese contains. And if you figure out what vegan foods satisfy your craving for cheese, you will soon begin craving those vegan foods instead of the non-vegan variety. With careful attention to your cravings and making sure your diet is well balanced, this can keep you healthy.