Is Purity of Mind Required?

It seems as though the people I've known who are complete, out-of-the-closet (pantry?) vegans are dedicated purists for the cause. Concern for animal welfare, purity of soul and spirit, that "body as a temple" thing...these are vegan mantras with which I am admittedly out of sync. That's the main reason I have a difficult time coming to terms with the label of "vegan"...even if only temporarily. If you are a dedicated vegetarian or vegan and embrace it as a pseudo-religion, I am about to commit your version of heresy.

I am eating vegan (im)purely for reasons generally falling under the banner of vanity.

There, I said it. At this point in my life - what I prefer to call advanced youth - I find fewer and fewer things aspects of my physical self about which I'm truly proud. My efforts to reduce the unattractive texture of my thinning skin have been limited to adding fat to plump up the sags. Yeah, that's the ticket! I got fat to fill in my wrinkles...yeah. One of the positive side affects of vegan eating reportedly is improved skin and hair health and tone. Another is loss of body fat. Are you starting to see my vanity-driven rationale?

My face - the only part of my body for which I haven't found a satisfactory cover-up (and no, neither I nor LG want to me to grow a beard) has at least a couple deficits. Veganistic improvements could positively impact these...he said hopefully. First, my chocolate channels are morphing into crevasses. You know what I mean...those creases that run down from each side of one's mouth and tend to allow chocolate mixed with saliva to seep out and remain unnoticed until the slurry suddenly makes an appearance somewhere near the jaw line...yeah those. I'm hoping this whole skin-improvement process will somehow improve that embarrassing deal.

The second point of facial improvement I'm interested in improving is my eye lashes. Yeah, that's right, my eyelashes. I want very much for them to remain or even improve their current level of strength and rigidity. You see, if my eyelashes were ever to fall out, weaken or become flaccid, my eyelids would droop down and likely come to rest of my cheeks. That's not a good look for anyone without a predominance of char pei genes.

So much for my motives, here's a quick rundown of our recent culinary adventures:

  Lunch yesterday was left-over "lasagna". We were becoming suspicious that the casserole was reproducing asexually in the fridge. We finally managed to get ahead of it and finish it off.

For dinner, more left-overs. We had a second round of burritos. Now THOSE left-overs were great...even better than the first time. We found some vegan, no oil or sugar guacamole and that was a really nice addition. With some "meat" still left, we intend to freeze what's left before it, too, begins to divide and grow.

Our breakfast continues to be mixes of various organic cooked cereals, flax meal, oat bran, bananas, blueberries, walnuts and the like. The delicious almond/cashew cream LG uses in her coffee is a decadent, sinless topping.

Today we were out-and-about the first part of the day and had lunch in Lacey at at a place not so creatively named the Tofu Hut. Our server, Anna, was intricately familiar with the kitchen's ingredients, the variations they could easily accommodate and we ordered 2 of her 3 suggestions and spring rolls. It was spot-on with our diet restrictions, very satisfying (e.g. filling) and plain old delicious.

My fears about accepting [even temporary] the strange and unworldly mantle of veganism are dissolving. With the exception of one tiny, momentary urge to get some part of my face pierced, I'm feeling normal...well...for me, I mean. I still rarely feel hungry and find that food is becoming less and less a point of focus for what's left of my brain. My only concern at this point is that - eating so much food anytime I want - my weigh-in Sunday will reveal that I'm still filling in those wrinkles...I'm just doing it in a healthier way. I guess that's not the worst fear a 61 year old guy could have.