A small, secret wince...

Given my focus on food, plus my previous 30-odd years as an omni, it will not surprise you to learn that I am not exactly the most svelte vegan in the world. A chunky vegan is closer. And downright voluptuous (in places) is probably most accurate. However, I am trying to change this both by being conscious of what goes onto my plate and by working out at my local Curves. Although I am extremely proud of my choice to turn away from animals and ther secretions, I always have a small, secret wince when I tell new people that I'm vegan because I know that I don't physically represent a great advert for the health benefits. And I do so want this to change.

So while I was sweating it out around the circuit tonight, I decided to take the 'Nothing to Lose' pledge, the newest scheme Curves has come out with. During the holidays, members pledge to basically maintain the status quo - you don't have to lose weight, but you shouldn't gain either. OK, I thought, that'll be helpful - it'll encourage me to keep to my thrice-weekly schedule and to not go crazy over the next 5 weeks or so eating everything in sight.

But it was with no small amount of sadness and disappointment that I then noticed the 'Closed for Thanksgiving' sign displayed at the reception desk. It sported a clip art image of a roasted turkey, surrounded by all of the fatty trimmings with banners proclaiming 'Happy Turkey Day' arcing above it.

And I couldn't help but think that a real opportunity had been lost here. Wouldn't it have been less fattening and healthier all around to have promoted a meat-free Thanksgiving celebration? Was this not the perfect way of showing members how a vegetable-based dinner stacks up - calorie-wise - against a cruelty-free alternative and perhaps a mean to turning people on to reducing or eliminating animals from their diets. Apparently, for all the healthy eating hype, Tradition trumps Dietary Good Sense every time.

And on a separate but related theme: yesterday marked the first time this year that we were offered the grocery store discount coupon for the Butterball turkey. I gaped at the clerk in amazement, she might as well have offered to roast my dog for me. My Beloved handled it better than I, simply pressing the coupon back into her hand and saying gently 'We don't need that'. But when confronted by this sort of thing, I feel like I always go to pieces. Having seen some of the undercover investigations in Butterball processing plants, words can't describe the anger and sadness that descends on me when a teenager at a checkout glibly offers me a discount on the bodies of those tormented birds.

It's been a difficult day.

Stay vegan friends.

On Being The Vegan in the Room

You may, or may not, know that I am a member of Curves. Well, our club recently changed ownership and the new owner, Bonnie, held a potluck today as a way of getting the members together and celebrating our new start. So, accompanied by My Beloved (yes, spouses were specifically invited), I went armed with some great vegan offerings. The general theme, being so close to Valentine's Day, was Romance - with a capital 'R'!

So, having taken this to heart - ho ho! , we sped up to Northampton with a vegan heart-shaped pizza, topped with heart-shaped peppers of various colours, egglant, tomoatoes ('love apples'!) and no cheese...well, that's heart-healthy! And three trays of quinoa with eggplant, peppers, onions, green and yellow squash, corn and edamame. OK, I'll hold my hand up and admit that I somewhat overdid it on the amount of quinoa, but I hate worrying about there not being enough. Especially when I'm being 'the vegan in the room' if you know what I mean! Oh, the pressure to perform....!

Anyway, to finish it all off, there was also a blueberry and orange bundt cake - the second one I've made this week, as it happens and it met the self-same fate as its predecessor. Of course, this was from The Joy of Vegan Baking and was - without any shadow of a doubt - the very highlight of the potluck. If I was asked once, I was asked a couple of dozen times what was in it and how the heck it could be so good if it was 'vee-gun'.

I just smiled and explained how the silken tofu took the place of the eggs, bypassing all of the cholesterol and battery chicken hell. The sweetly seductive scent of freshly squeezed oranges, 
the still warm pop of the whole blueberries, the lightly moist crumb, the fine dusting of powdered sugar....Suffice to say, not a single slice came home with us! 

Naturally, having spent so much time baking and cooking (I was at it at 08:30 this morning, and as you know I am not a 'morning person' - especially not at the weekend!!!!), no photos exist of this bacchanalia. I left My Beloved in charge of the camera and he was waaaaay more interested in slicing the pizza than in performing his 'documentary' duties. So I guess you'll simply have to take my word that these wonderous things happened.

But they did. Oh yes, indeedy!

Stay Vegan, Friends!