A fat kid's thoughts on veganism

I have admittedly, in the past, been a blatant vegan hater. Dietary restrictions in general irk me. Veganism in particular because it represented a certain brand of lifestyle that just sucked. I liken it to how I felt about straight edge kids in high school. "Have a beer, maybe you'll lighten up a little," I used to tell them. I also hated how veganism can often be a thinly veiled form of some kind of eating disorder. Don't tell me you respect the lives of animals if you wear leather -- it's far too transparent. Instead, just say "I have body image issues because our society hates women and fat people. Therefore I'm finding ways to restrict my diet in hopes that it will kill all my desire for food so I can layer lots of expensive clothes on a gaunt skeleton-like body." I mean, I get that.

However, in the past few years I've become fascinated with the connections between the food we eat and our health. I've become more aware of the effects of dairy and gluten on my body (in case you're wondering these include extreme cases of bloating, farting, pooping, and lethargy). Having watched "Forks over Knives," and read (ok, skimmed) The China Study, I have become interested in the correlation between animal-based proteins and disease, namely cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. And a good friend who suffered from severe stomach ailments is now stomach problem-free after moving to a fruit and vegetable-based vegan and gluten-free diet. All of this has made me "get" veganism a little more. So...I guess I no longer hate it.

Having recently visited the holy trinity of food (Taiwan, Italy and Mexico), I know that I don't have what it takes to be fully vegan or gluten-free. No matter how much my stomach hurts, there is always room in there for ice cream. Or noodles. Or enchiladas.

Despite that, I do realize that if I had to live off of only one food group, it would be vegetables, hands down. They are very clearly superior as a group to every other food group -- the Michelle Obama of food groups, if you will.

So with this new, more tolerant attitude, I have decided to experiment with part-time veganism and eat rabbit-like one day a week. I guess Martha Stewart would call it Vegan Viernes or something stupid like that.

Today, I had homemade granola and cashew milk made in my Vitamix for breakfast (yes, I'm aware of how obnoxious that sounds. I don't care.) and vegan lasagna for lunch. Now while vegan lasagna is something that would have previously provoked my uncontrolled rage, I trust chef Sarah Britton and her recipes. She really gets food. She gets the bare, raw essence of what makes things taste good. She also happens to get nutrition. Luckily it's a happy marriage, and all of her recipes come out tasting amazing. I tried out this recipe for butternut squash lasagna. Instead of pasta, she uses thinly sliced celeriac, which works surprisingly well and does not dominate with its celery rooty taste. Her bechamel was made of butter beans instead of butter and cream. And to keep with the season, the sauce is made of butternut squash instead of tomatoes.

I did not miss the eggs and gluten. I did not miss the cheese. And I really didn't miss the factory ground mystery meat. The combination of crunch and creamy textures was delightful, and the flavors mixed so well that I didn't give a damn that it wasn't "real" lasagna. It was so good I offered some to Annette, the sassy Jamaican woman who cleans my apartment. But she declined, saying she "doesn't eat food, only chocolate." I can respect that too.