Just Eat It

You'll be happy to know that I've made it all the way to day two of my minimal-animal-foods diet.  I'm shying away from calling it a vegan diet, because veganism is really more of a philosophy and I imagine true vegans would resent my using the term for a temporary project born largely out of curiosity.  Also I don't intend to stop eating honey, so, there's that.  I will refer to foods as vegan, since that's a more fact-based designation.

What I've learned so far:

- It's hard to eat out as a vegan, even in very hipster-friendly venues.  I had dinner with a vegetarian friend last night and had basically two menu options, one of which (the black bean soup) was basically just a can of beans put into a bowl with some seasoned salt in it.  Not that I'm complaining, black beans and seasoned salt are delicious - but it wasn't exactly worth the $5 hipster-bar-on-H-street premium I paid.  Fortunately my vegetarian friend was able to provide some guidance and sympathy, having had a decade and a half's worth of experience navigating not-so-veggie-friendly menus.  

- Apparently not all beer is vegan, owing to the use of animal byproducts like isinglass and gelatin during the brewing process, as well as lactose (e.g. milk stouts) and honey for flavor.  The beer I had last night, Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema by Anderson Valley Brewing Company, might even have had some lactose in it - which, to be fair, I probably should have figured out from its name.  Either way it was delicious, but dangerously like drinking alcoholic cream soda.  Will have to revisit later in the year.

- Most faux meats are not vegan, as they rely heavily on eggs as the first or second ingredient.  Some have cheese as well, as I learned on my Safeway visit today.  As a carnivore I actually enjoy Morningstar Farm's facon (faux bacon) but Smart Bacon is my only vegan "bacon-style strip" option this month.  I found some vegan faux chick nuggets, as well faux mayo and soy cheese, with a little bit of searching.  The rest of my purchases were produce.

When I got home from Safeway I made myself a modified vegan FLT with my spoils. 

The verdict(s):

- Nayonnaise is quite tasty and nearly identical to light mayonnaise nutrition-wise.

- Smart Bacon looks gross, smells gross, and doesn't bring much to the table flavor-wise

Doesn't exactly scream "EAT ME"

- The soy cheese I got actually isn't vegan, apparently: its second ingredient is casein, which is a milk protein used as a binder. It does taste suspiciously like "real" American cheese, which is to say not at all like cheese but still occasionally delicious.  I didn't realize this until I'd unwrapped one slice so we'll call that slip #2 of likely many.

- The best part of the sandwich, by far, was the avocado.  

Lesson learned: mother nature makes better vegan food than people do.  Shocking, I know.