Toni’s Corner

Meat. Wonderful, Succulent Meat. Beautiful, Tender Meat. I miss thee.

My church is in a period of fasting and my choice was to give up noshing on all of the cows, chickens, fish, and pigs. Somehow, throughout the first week, vegetarianism turned to veganism. I will not go into my religious awakening but I will give you a run down on the food experience:

One thing about me is that I research things to death. I can easily become obsessed with a subject, which then becomes all I can think about for weeks and months on end. When I began this meatless journey, all I knew was the amazing ingredients and dishes I liked were going to be gone for a while. Therefore, I researched. I tend to find a lot of my life information from Youtube, not Google. I typed in “Vegan Recipes” and slew of informational videos were at my fingertips. As I clicked from one person to the next, I began to finally see just how interesting this lifestyle could be. I started with one YouTuber who had a few thousand followers, to some with over a million. The meals went from your standard bowl of vegetables and grains, to those same ingredients being compacted to make a realistic-looking steak complete with grill marks!

Due to financial constraints, I have eaten more peanut butter and quinoa than I care to admit. The most surprising results, however, has been that I am more full now than in so many past meals. I have dabbled with the thought of going completely vegan even after this fast but perhaps I need to finish it before making such a declarative statement. It IS a challenge but perhaps it is something I should look further into for myself…with the occasional ribeye, maybe?