On veganism

Well, turns out, being vegan didn’t agree with me. About a month ago, I wasn’t feeling quite well and, after some bloodwork, it turns out I am anemic. So, I now take iron supplements and have to eat meat like a lion in the jungle.

Now, I’m not saying that being vegan is unhealthy. I am sure there are vegans out there who are thriving on the regime. It just seems to not work for me. And it’s a shame, because I was sort of into it.

Now, after hearing that we’re back to eating animals, my cooking ideas sort of dried up. I didn’t know how to cook (and still have no idea) meat. I stared at chicken breasts with dread fearing salmonella and other unseen dangers. What I have finally come up with is buying cooked chickens or cooked hams or cooked meat and doing a side dish.

My side dishes don’t have to be vegan but this one is. It’s a macaroni and cheese side dish that goes well with any meat and is to die for. I got it from Oh She Glows, of course, and the cheese sauce alone made my husband give me a glare.

“Why haven’t you made this before!” he asked through a mouthful.

Obviously, it was a hit.

Just for laughs

Where my dogs are confused

I have been pretty honest with my attempt at eating a plant-based diet. I rambled on about what I thought and what I liked and what I struggled with. I thought, if nothing else, it would be a positive influence on me and my eating habits.

I never thought it would affect my dogs.

So, lately, I’ve started to notice changes in our pooches. Like River taking up eating cucumber. He loves tasting what I eat and he is always curious when I’m messing around in the kitchen. It seemed pretty harmless to let him sniff a bit of a cucumber. I thought he’d nose it and leave it. To my surprise, not only did he eat it, he asked for more. Since then, cucumber has sort of become his thing. He loves the stuff. Of course, he still loves peanut butter, apples, chicken, bacon, salmon and other traditional dog treats, but there is no denying cucumber has a special place in his doggie heart.

(credit: RealFoodToronto.com)

Ocean thinks his fascination with the green vegetable is a bit of a joke. She absolutely hates cucumber and simply stares at me when I gave her a slice to try. Instead, her passion are blueberries. Especially if they’re frozen and mixed with her breakfast. She actually jumps onto her back legs and does a little dance when I open their bag. 

(credit:ScienceDaily)

But the most significant change came by only a few days ago. It was early morning (I mean early, these two do not understand the concept of sleeping in), I got up to let them gambol out joyously into the yard and stopped to watch them play. I stared, enjoying the sight of their bounces and runs about when I saw Ocean stopped, sniffed the grass and started to chew it. A moment later, River was following suit.

(credit:Public Domain Picture)

What?

It may be a bit early to predict dire trends but I’m pretty certain that, somehow, my eating habits have influenced my dogs and they’re turning…vegetarian. Since that day, I have been watching my fluffy duo and, sure enough, every day they run out there eager to get their first taste of the succulent green strands.

Maybe it’s time I have a little heart-to-heart with my furry doggies and explain that they are supposed to be carnivores. Before we see other changes.

(credit: pinterest)

Of food, doggie and human

I never leaned how to cook at home. My mom, being a tiny, European woman with a huge personality, thought teaching us kids to cook was making us wash either the potatoes or the pots. As a result, every time she went into the kitchen, we hid. You can’t learn a lot about cooking from inside the inside of a closet.

Now that I’m older, I decided to rectify things….and went to You Tube. There, I could not only hear the recipe, I could see people actually making the dish. It was like having my own private little cooking chef teacher, for free.

The reasons I’m rambling about this is that the style of cooking I chose to learn is vegan. Having the entire world of recipes at my disposal, I wanted to try one with personality…and one that didn’t hurt animals. My husband, who’s got a heart to match his size, decided that was great and we’ve been mostly eating a plant-based diet.

Now, I’m not a good cook. The results I create are edible but they are far from tasty. Being a therapist, my husband is all about positive feed back and the last time I created a salad that was mostly raw garlic, all he said was: “Nothing had to die for us to be able to eat this.”

Nothing indeed.

My doggies, on the other hand, aren’t vegetarian at all. I don’t believe on forcing my beliefs on others and that includes them. After trying different foods, we’ve finally settled on the one we use today. It’s got lamb in it, which makes our fluff balls feel about as soft as satin, it’s approved by our vet. So, for us, it’s a winner. Most importantly, our doggies love to eat it.

Of course, they also eat dirt from our indoor plants.