The Poetry, Essays and Personal Journals of Larry L. Dill
This message is for those who think being vegan is hard and those who don't know how to cook or don't have the time to experiment and just want some Damn Good Food!
by Jessica Dill
I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. Since becoming vegetarian 2 years ago and more recently, vegan, I have been trying to figure out how I can use my new found knowledge and unexpected excitement to give something back to the world and spread the word.
My dad started his own newsletter, this one, The New Hope Journal, the year I was born because he felt so passionate about so many political and social issues including environmentalism and, eventually, vegetarianism. Now, 26 years later, I want to do the same thing.
I don't consider myself a writer but I do have a lot to say and I feel that I've finally found my calling in life in showing people how amazing a vegan diet can be and why it is so important.
Let me just start by saying--and please pay attention here-- I LOVE FOOD! I LOVE TO EAT! I AM A FOOD JUNKIE! AN ADDICT!!! No one will ever accuse me of being a pale, withering away vegan. I'm not about to skimp on flavor, calories or my ever present cravings in order to be a vegan. And yes, like you, I never thought it was possible.
People always ask me, "What do you eat?" and as all vegans know, this is one of the silliest things a person could ask when the answer is so simple and so self-evident. "ANYTHING THAT DOESN'T COME FROM AN ANIMAL!"
I love to cook and I've had a few years, now, to test many recipes and alternatives to my former favorite animal product foods. Many people think going vegan means eating cardboard-like substitutes for meat and nothing but raw veggies. Granted, raw veggies are good for you and tasty, too, but I want to show people how you don't have to "Go without." I never feel deprived--EVER! I never miss the foods I had before. And I am being totally honest here because if I can't find a suitable replacement for something like, say, mac and cheese, I find something even better. And I feel less guilty eating it because I know it's good for me, harm-free and environmentally friendly.
If you're looking for something that is going to taste EXACTLY like the meat/dairy/egg product you had before--chances are you are going to be disappointed. But if you're looking for healthy, animal/environmentally friendly DAMN GOOD FOOD, You've found a friend in me. My newsletter will seek to educate, enlighten and embody living life to the fullest while showing you how to make a significant impact on the planet and it's inhabitants, especially in a time when we're all wondering "What can I do and why should I?"
When I became vegan I felt I was “ready for the undertaking” and basically that I had no other choice knowing what I know now. But I was still amazed at how easy it is. I can’t believe how much I’m loving it. I didn’t become vegan out of vanity but I have to say I did believe that I would immediately lose weight because I thought my food choices would become so limited. NOT THE CASE! In fact I’ve found so many new recipes or modifications of old recipes that I find myself cooking and eating more than ever. Food is my life now and I find it hard to believe all the years I’ve wasted eating stuff that was unnecessarily contaminated with animal products; not to mention, chemicals, pesticides, preservatives—all the things that cause cancer and all our most prevalent diseases.
I want to leave a legacy for my children. They’re not born yet, but I’m planning their legacy for them now. It won’t come in dollars or assets. It’ll be the knowledge that there are people out there who care about this world and the suffering of other beings and are willing to live outside the box, against the mainstream sleepwalkers and challenge the greedy, the ignorant to wake up and try to make a difference.
A new book out on the food industry is called “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.” I would have called it “The Fool’s Dilemma,” or “The Glutton’s Dilemma.” In a world where, at least for Americans, “Anything is possible,” where consumerism and capitalism are PRAISED, in a world where “Biggie-size me” and fad diets are major elements in the way we live, where mass marketing tells us what we NEED, there actually are some people who have stopped taking the ‘sleeping pill.” It sounds almost like something out of the Matrix. How often do most people actually THINK about where the things they consume come from or what is in their food? You can get any thing you want anytime. It’s easy. Why think about it? We’re lazy. Commercials can sell us just about anything. No one wants to do the research necessary in order to learn the facts and then make changes in their own lives and the lives of their children. Maybe even help change the world. Why is it that “omnivorous” society ostracizes, or merely ignores, vegans and those who support the rights of animals? Why are environmentalists called “tree huggers?” instead of stewards of a delicate and beleaguered earth?
I don’t believe most people are mean spirited or hateful. I think they are being duped by corporate consumer marketing, an oligarchy of big business, big government, and industrial farming whose only value is the almighty dollar.
Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, future issues of what I am now calling “THE PICKLE: DILL-iscious news about the vegan lifestyle,” will feature well researched and practiced vegan recipes and tips on vegan living. I hope to offer regular features for my dad’s New Hope Journal as I develop my own web and print based newsletter. Till then, here is just one example of how easy it is to transform a meat and dairy based fast food addiction into a meat and dairy free, VEGAN fast food addiction and never have to say you’re sorry.
Mexican food is one of my favorites if not my all time favorite. Paired with a good Margarita, I’m at my most content. All through my college years I worked at Chuy’s, one of the busiest Mexican Restaurants in Austin. I was not a vegan then—not even a vegetarian. I could never get enough of those big fat burritos with a cheesy sauce, salsa, sour cream, lettuce, tomato and guacamole on top. But now, with no animal products when you cook the beans, Tofuti brand vegan sour cream and a vegan cheese sauce made of nutritional yeast, garlic, soy butter, mustard and flour, I can produce a wholesome, animal free burrito with a texture and taste as good or better than any I ever ate at Chuy’s. Eat your heart out, Chuy’s. Better yet, if you ask me, I’ll show your cooks how they, too, can wave the vegan flag and shout, “Viva la revolution.”
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copyright 2007 by Larry L. Dill