Veganomics

I just saw the movie Julie and Julia. It's about a food lover & office wage slave who makes a name for herself blogging her race to cook all 520 recipes in Julia Child's first book in 365 days. Activity is more important to me right now than originality, so I thought I'd cook & blog my way through , Veganomicon, The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook.

Given the random and lousy food choices I've been making since I became a vegan, the pictures in this cookbook have become like porn to me. While I'm now convinced that vegan's can eat delicious food, I'm not going to be working my way through this (or any other) cookbook anytime soon. The introduction alone includes chapters on stocking your pantry, equipment needed, and cooking and prepping terminology and techniques. Just reading the table of contents made me feel like a loser doomed to a dreary life of either cheap corporate junk food or cereal and soy milk. I was particularly discouraged when skimming the chapter on low-fat cooking that confirmed my suspicion that a vegan diet does not automatically mean weight loss. Be warned, many vegans also struggle with a gut and fat ass.

I am discouraged but I refuse to give up this early in the game. I can have flavor and variety in my diet. I can decrease my waistline while increasing my karma. I can do this with nothing more than a can opener, a few pans, and a short attention span. I will go it alone and create some receipts that are satisfying but don't involve mandolines, crepe pans, blanching, braising or julienne. Next stop, Trader Joe's.

You Are What You Eat

I decided to become a vegan. Off to a good start too! I didn't eat any animal products all day... and it wasn't that hard. I ate oatmeal, nuts, vegetables, crackers, raisins, bananas, popcorn, hummus dip, lots of coffee, a chocolate bar covered in peanut butter and half a bottle of wine. Probably a few other things... a lot of other things. I scarfed down anything I could get my hands on that I didn't think had animal products in it. It's already clear to me that being a vegan may be good for my karma but isn't necessarily good for my waistline.

Running On Empty?

Look at the picture under "ABOUT ME" in the side bar. Now add about 100 lbs, knock out a tooth, and wipe the smile off his face. I'm forty one, been in the same roller coaster relationship for over 20 years, work 50+ hours a week (but live in poverty), have two cats and no kids. Pathetic, yes. Sympathetic, no. Why should anybody want to follow my story? If you are a happy, well adjusted person, I probably have nothing to offer you. If you are a slob like me who yearns to be something better but doesn't know where to begin, then I probably have nothing to offer you either... but I'm going to put in the effort. I want to be your hero.

I am on a quest to transform myself into a beautiful person inside and out: A person who all the world will admire. If all goes as planned, I will be a shining role model who demonstrates that anything is possible. You will learn from me (in clear and easy steps) how to improve your life and become a living saint.

And if all does not go as planned? You'll have a front row seat to the burial of a mans hopes and dreams. A small tragedy that may very well make your own drudgery and broken dreams more tolerable in comparison. At the very least, I can guarantee you will get a pretty good idea of what not to do on your own path to perfection.