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Saturday, April 26, 2014

Why Vegan?

     O.K. I admit it.  I'm a Vegan. I don't eat anything that ever had a face. No animal products like milk or cheese either.  I'm one of the people at whom I used to snicker.  
      I've also lost 25 pounds in 2 months without exercise and I'm never hungry. I've also never blogged before, but I've decided to document this new version of me.  So far, my back and shoulder have stopped hurting, all my clothes are too big on me and a few dark hairs have started mixing in with my otherwise white ones.  
     I started on this new path January 1, 2014.  I didn't have any sudden onset of a new medical problem.  There was no warning from my Doctor about my "Omnivore" life style.  I am not a Diabetic and I don't have any heart disease that I'm aware of.  I was just too darn fat and this was my New Year's Resolution.  I made an agreement with myself to eat no animal products for one year and see what happens.  So far, so good.
      Rather than thinking of it as giving up meat products, I prefer to think of it as starting out in a new direction. A direction that has dropped my blood pressure from 148/90 to 112/80 in two months with no medication.   I've discovered that I like things like Quinoa, Farro and Kale; foods I didn't know existed last year.  
     My beautiful wife, who started out skeptical has seen the results and is now supportive.  Her biggest complaint is that I've taken over her fridge.  Veggies take up a lot of room.  But, she's stopped calling it:  "That shit you eat" and has started to keep an eye open at the supermarket for things that I would enjoy.  Since college, I have loved to cook.  Now I find myself making up new recipes and adapting old ones to meet my needs.  Its been pretty easy so far.  Even the restaurants that I love turn out to have vegetarian options or are willing to make substitutions to accommodate me.
     
Let's share some stories and recipes and see where we are a year from now.