It’s day five of the What We Ate In A Day series in celebration of Veganuary! Click here to read posts one, two, three and four.
It’s the weeeeekend! Matt and I usually spend our days off hanging out with each other. We really value each others’ company and we enjoy doing a lot of the same things.
We often spend some time talking about things we hear throughout our week regarding our lifestyle. People have so many opinions and they are rarely afraid to tell us what they think about veganism. We never boast or act entitled about anything, we never argue and we actually never even start the conversation, but sometimes people are just say the silliest things and it can get disheartening.
One conversation we had recently was about when people say to us, “I can never give up meat.” I asked Matt, “What do I possibly say to that?” and he said something that struck a chord in me. All he said was to ask them “Why?” – just ask about it, be curious. There are four main reasons why people eat meat: habit, tradition, convenience, and taste. That’s not new to us, Matt and I had those same reasons for over 25 years of our lives.
But there are plenty of reasons NOT to eat meat too. Don’t be alarmed when people start asking you questions and bringing up their opinions all the time. It’s going to happen no matter what. People talk about food constantly, you can’t hide from it. Learning how to respond to questions with compassion, curiosity, and respect is an important lesson for everyone.
One of my favorite resources is Vegan Sidekick. This website has the most perfect responses to anything and everything that could be thrown your way. On Vegan Sidekick, there is a complete Guide to Animal Rights Discussions that is well-thought-out and amazing to read.
Here’s what we ate today:
BREAKFAST
We make this bangin’ sun-dried tomato cashew cream cheese that is so creamy, cheesy, garlicky, and flavorful. We love smearing it on fresh bagels. We’re working on getting a recipe up for you guys soon!
LUNCH
I went out to lunch with my coworkers today. We ate at Rio Grande, a Mexican restaurant in downtown Denver. I ordered the fajita veggies and it was delish! It came with roasted yellow squash, tomato, portobello mushroom, onions, and peppers. It also included rice, beans, and guacamole.
Matt’s office was treated to lunch by Patrón Tequila, a client of theirs. He had a salad but said he felt awkward taking a photo of it in front of his coworkers (LOL).
DINNER
For dinner, we made Pasta Fagioli, known as Pasta Fazool in our household. It’s a really simple soup recipe that includes cannellini beans, veggie broth, and a little bit of marinara sauce with ditalini pasta. Some recipes online you’ll find they add celery and carrots, but my mom’s recipe has never included those so I obviously left it out (because most of my recipes are pretty much stolen from my mom – hehehe ?). We topped the soup with our absolute favorite – Go Veggie Parmesan – which we sprinkle on everrrrrything.
That’s it for today, we’re going to do a couple more days of these types of posts. I hope you are learning something from them. Does your family have any traditional recipes that you love to make? Let us know in the comments!
