Monday, August 27, 2007

Vegan Consultant Reporting For Duty


I suppose I have been at the right place at the right time lately. I LOVE assisting new vegans with choices on a variety of items. It can be overwhelming to scan the faux food aisle. Between the soy meats, cheeses, non-dairy sour creams and milks, desserts, it can be tough to choose. The other day I clicked on a link to a blog by a man who was ready to give up on veganism because he was training for a sport and finding that he was NOT getting enough of certain nutrients. I commented on his blog, basically directing him to my blog entries about protein and how best to obtain it. He wrote back still a bit discouraged because of his special situation. I remembered the vegan triathlete Brendan Brazier who is a role model to many athletes vegan or not. He came out with a line of products for vegans including bars and drink mixes that do not have soy or any scary ingredients that you wouldn't recognize. My new friend read his website after my direction toward it and was so grateful. I was so happy to help, it really made my day to keep someone on the vegan track.
Yesterday, I sat and had a chat with a neighbor I barely know and happened to mention I am vegan probably because we were discussing pregnancy, etc. Strangely enough she and her husband were just discussing how they wanted to move in that direction with their diet. She suggested I give her some easy recipes to start with and I suggested I cook for she and her family someday because I LOVE to show off some of the best recipes I have. Of course, I went overboard and gave her about 8 GREAT recipes ranging from CANDLE CAFE'S CAESAR SALAD, VEGETARIAN TIMES CHEWY GRANOLA BARS & PICASSO'S PAELLA from the BLOSSOMING LOTUS restaurant cookbook. I also included the VEGAN LUNCHBOX book as my daughter is far from being in school yet and I can get myself another copy easily. I also baked a batch of my favorite vegan cookies adapted from the MOOSEWOOD CLASSICS cookbook. I hope she enjoys all of the things I gave her, I would just love to see another vegan family a couple doors down!
At Whole Foods yesterday I encountered a couple struggling to pick out a cheese, notably a vegan one. I could tell that they were picking up items with "vegan" on the label. I asked them if they needed help picking out vegan cheeses. Being quite the connoisseur I suggested the FOLLOW YOUR HEART brand cheddar and mozzarella. I also let them in on the cheese to die for (SHEESE) but let them down easy when explaining you have to order it online from Portland!
There is nothing better than having meaningful run-in's with strangers. I don't know these people at all, but because we are on a similar path they are friends of mine instantly! I hope to meet more vegans or vegan hopefuls around town, this world will be a better place if so.