Hey, world! I’m still well and truly alive… I haven’t posted in ages. Between the holiday break, summertime, the glorious drought-breaking rains (well, not quite drought-breaking, but getting there!), family illnesses, a car accident, insurance issues, wedding planning, drama, drama, drama… I just haven’t found the time or energy to post! Sorry, guys.
I’ll be starting up again soon, not just with recipes but also with animal rights rants/info. You see, veganism is a lifestyle that advocates and protects the rights of animals to live free of harm and abuse, it’s not just a diet – the diet is called “vegetarian” (yep, that’s a note to all you “dietary vegans” – check your vocab, get accurate, and stop making it hard on the rest of us! No animal products means no animal products, not just in the kitchen but in the bathroom and the wardrobe, too!).
Also, one further note… I’ve been getting the odd comment over my break along the lines of: “thanks for the blog! gluten-free AND vegan = yay! More, please!” and the like. That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Thanks, guys! It’s fantastic… But! (and there’s always a “but”)… I have also been getting the odd whinge about how “limiting” a vegan gluten-free diet is… I have a quick response for that: ABSOLUTE CRAP. To put it bluntly.
Seriously… Gluten-free vegans cut out only a few nasty pseudo-foods: pieces of animal corpses, animal fluids, and a few icky grains… so what’s left? There are 7,000 edible plants in the world, so there’s probably still around 6,900 plants you can eat at least (are their even 100 foods with gluten in them? I doubt it!). Open your eyes! If it really looks grim to you, then you need to get out of the crap local chain supermarkets you’re going to and get your butt down to a health store, an independent grocery store, or out to a farmers market. Eat fresher, it’s better! By sticking to mostly fresh produce you’ll avoid gluten and wheat additives that hide in some processed “foods”. Please. And stop complaining. There really is no need. These foods taste great and they’re all around you!…
Okay, yes, I’ll admit it: I have felt your pain, truly I have. I, too, was blind to the plethora of foods available to we lucky, over-privileged folks in the western world. My first month or two going vegan I was a bit lost. Then I got myself a spare day on the weekend, and went on a grocery shopping adventure and found out that produce is almost limitless. Every time I go to the produce market I always see fresh plant food that I’ve yet to try… mainly because I have no clue what to do with it. Then, later on, my first month or two cooking gluten-free was a sticky nightmare of several different flours… but they came together into glorious bread and cake creations in the end. So c’mon – I’ve done the hard yards, as have other gluten-free and vegan cooks out there, so you don’t have to! Read some recipes, go get the ingredients, follow the recipe, and there you have it: food! Edible, tasty, and everything! Easy peasy. Staring at recipes doesn’t help food appear. Buy some stuff, cook a little… get out there and live your life! Don’t waste it complaining about what you don’t have. If you’ve got an internet connection and the time to use it, you can probably afford the time and money to go out into the big scary world to buy a bowl of rice, a potato, an apple, some lentils, or maybe even some flour to make a loaf of gluten-free bread… at the very, very least. Living compassionately and being healthy is fun and rewarding. Get into the swing of it!
A teeny, weeny, tiny, itty, bitty bit of persistence is all that’s called for… if that. It’s not a lot to ask of yourself. Anything really worth doing in life is worth a thought or two, and a little bit of energy every now and then. Avoiding causing harm to animals makes veganism worth it alone – it’s about animal health, not my health! But, then, the health benefits of veganism combined with going gluten-free (for allergies/digestive health – it’s not an ethical statement to pass on wheat/gluten!) make it doubly worth it. Conveniently: protecting animal health = protecting my health. (Karma, anyone?!) Additionally, animal industries create more pollution than all other industries on the planet combined, so eating vegan is the best thing you can do for the environment, too. Veganism is just awesome, period. But you knew that already, right? (If not, here’s a good, quick overview: “about veganism“).
So… Coming up soon I’ll be posting some recipes, talking about issues of animal rights and welfare, and whatever else takes my fancy. (Remind me to post my wedding reception menu after we sit down with the chef and work it out – exciting!) I’ve been trying out some “raw food” recipes – which are all gluten-free-friendly – so I’ll include a few of those as well, including some fancy dehydrated bread and cracker experiments. I’m also really into fruit smoothies with spirulina at present – they’re a tasty breakfast! Spirulina has virtually no taste, but it packs an energy punch like nothing else.
Happy 2008! Hope you are well & rocking out, vegan-style.
Catch you again soon! Hart! xo
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