The lentil chili looks 100

mmm, yeah. Maybe I'll cook it on christmas

Probably not the thread for it, but we always cook a prime (oops, I mean "choice" sorry CH2) rib for Christmas Eve with horseradish whip and haricot vert.

Merry Christmas, Reid

Chag Urim Sameach, Asher

Happy Thanksgiving, Turkey Haters

my wife made this for me today.

https://beamingbaker.com/easy-gluten-fr ... ugar-free/

I’ll allow it

your approval is appreciated.

Needed something to soak up the alcohol. Pretty sure it’s the fucking vegetarian stuffing I heated up.

bump.

how many plant-based RMers do we have on the board?

What has your journey been like? Did you have any lapses?

I'm choosing to say plant-based and not vegan because the latter comes with too much baggage, and I didn't choose to go plant-based for altruistic reasons. I also will eat fish/seafood once every few months, so not entirely PB, though that is my goal.

I've been doing this for about a year and a half now. I'm still terrible with proper meal plans and filling in nutritional gaps. I'm also a pretty disorganized person, and I eat a lot of the same foods. I recently met with a dietician to help me sort through filling in those gaps, and well... organizing.

again, I am not vegan.

thanks

If not altruistic, then why are you doing it?

I had two back surgeries, one in 2019, and the other in 2021. both were to replace disks that had been squished, so much that the lower lumbar pain radiated down my right leg. There were many mornings I could barely get dressed let alone drive myself to work. The spinal issues were congenital. I've never been in a wreck or been physically injured elsewhere.

Part of eliminating meat and dairy from my diet was to avoid further inflammation. I also stopped eating processed sugars...aka the silent killer. Since I've done all that inflammation is almost non-existent, and I've got more energy throughout the day.

I still own a pair of leather boots and do not push my lifestyle onto other people.

And I don't pretend that what I'm doing is having any real impact, environmental or otherwise.

healthiest i ever was was when i only ate meat like once a week and no larger than my fist, and almost everything else was veg or from the vegan deli/grocer nearby

skin was tightest and less puffy ever

shits were air tight

but i never fucked with the weird vegan processed foods. the ones that try to taste like conventional foods and are loaded with weird fats and oils and stuff. i don't get into that

but actual good quality veg from organic farms, oats, fiber, clean living

good vegetables are satisfying enough to live off of

we just have shit vegetables in the U.S.

Hello. I started doing vegan things at the beginning of 2015. I set up all kinds of rules about when I would eat meat, like only when eating meals with other people, or only when eating with other people if there isn't a good vegan option, or only cheese is OK but not blah blah blah. Quickly I realized that wasn't working and committed more fully.

I'd have months-long periods of being fully vegan followed by months-long periods of being vegan but then eating a donut when someone would bring it into work, or eating fish because that was what was served or whatever. In my head, if I wanted a label I'd use "vegan, but not religious about it". At other points I was probably straight-up pescatarian.

I've been fully vegan since 2020 sometime, I want to say. Well, I did eat fish once in 2022 but it was unpleasant and I think that was the only time.

My motivation started out as environmental and has progressed to being basically just for the animals. Never for my health, honestly. I've never tried to cut junk food out of my diet nor do I ever intend to. I can make lists of the best store-brand accidentially-vegan cookies at four different grocery chains and have very definite opinions about different brands and milk-bases for non-dairy ice creams.

The most sustainable, compelling, and persistent motivation for me has been for the animals. Though I do still think switching to a diet with minimal animal products is probably the most effective environmental action an individual can make. (Happy to follow up with another post about this later on).

So that also means I'm not buying animal products in other parts of my life. My belt is made from cork (company is Corkor, tremendous). My shoes are different canvases and microfibers and whatever. I didn't throw out my wool suit or my leather chair, but when I need to replace them it will be with cotton/synthetic alternatives.

It's not even something I think about too much anymore, it's just kind of my standard. I don't find it holding me back. The only truly horrid part is when you're sharing a meal with someone who has obviously never spent even one second thinking about where their food comes from and they get obsessed with ridiculous questions like "is parmesan cheese vegan?" "where do eggs come from?" "is lettuce technically considered meat?" "is spaghetti vegan?". So that's the worst part.

This is a long post. Please don't read it

Need to eat so much meat just to process that novel

I read all of it, and I appreciate you taking the time to share.

Dad, what are some plant-based dinners that are part of your regular rotation that the kids enjoy?

That opens a whole other can of worms. I think I've made one dish - a stew of quinoa, beans, and sweet potatoes - back in the fall, and one kid of out four liked it, but never asked for it again.

I would love to be in a place where I was making meals and we all sit down together regularly...it's been a while. I know it's good for the family. And I realize it's an excuse, but it gets tough to nail down a dinner time, especially now that school is back. Certain kids have practices. We've got picky eaters. Sometimes it's easier to stick to the same and easy foods menu, which isn't always the healthiest option. My wife handles the menu and I will either make it or sous chef.

tl;dr - I need to be better about meal planning and prepping family dinners.