Holistic Nutritionist

by

18 Things Only A Vegan Will Understand

 

Today I happened across this article: “17 Things Only GF People Will Understand” by Kirstin Carey, Owner of Nourish, Certified Holistic Nutritionist, & GF Since 2007 http://www.nourish123.com/blog/17-things-only-gf-people-will-understand/#comment-22811

I chuckled as I read this because I could easily swap out *Gluten Free* for *Vegan*.

To that end, I decided to copy Kirstin’s idea, only in this case I am applying it to vegans.

  1. You have a fear of dining out in restaurants with your non-vegan friends
  2. You have a fear of restaurants you have never been to.
  3. You have a fear of BBQs, Buffets, and Banquets (love the Oxford Comma, btw!)
  4. You mistrust nearly all wait staff even when the executive chef himself/herself assures you are safe. You’re still unsure.
  5. You use phrase(s) like: Is this Certified Vegan?
  6. You have to explain “’Natural flavors’ does not necessarily mean vegan”
  7. You’ve given up on the concept of recreating vegan versions of Marshmallow Fluff, Nutella, and Caesar dressing.
  8. You’ve heard the words, “Oh, there was only a little bit of [insert animal products here]. That won’t hurt you, right?”
  9. You’ve had people look at you like you were insane when you’ve tried to explain to them that no, picking out the chicken and shredded cheese from a salad or removing the chicken and/or melted cheese from a sandwich will not erase the taste of dead animal from your food.
  10. You have zero problems bringing your own food to any event, including a wedding.
  11. You go everywhere assuming there will nothing for you to eat.
  12. You’ve been given a “Gluten Free Meal” or a “Kosher Meal” at group events, because the caterer decided that gluten-free/kosher is synonymous with vegan.
  13. People ask you all the time if you eat “fish”.
  14. You’ve explained at least 100 times that “Fish, eggs, butter, marshmallows, fluff, honey, and most commercially sold chocolate” is in fact NOT
  15. You closest friends still get rattled when you come to dinner because they haven’t quite wrapped their heads around how easy it is to make delicious food that does not contain animal bits in it.
  16. You’re tired of people saying, “So what DO you eat?” or “I could never do that?” or “What do you do for protein” or “What if you were stuck on a deserted island and the only thing to eat were bunny rabbits?” And then there is my all time favorite: “Isn’t eating vegetables murder?”
  17. You wonder why people become so concerned about your protein intake once you’ve informed them that you are  a vegan. Meanwhile, you’ll see someone smoking and wonder why no one asks if they are concerned about lung cancer.
  18. Every week I have to travel into Boston with a Whole Foods bag filled with grocery items that are vegan, included are the meals I made for the week that I cooked from scratch in the safety of my kitchen.