Join Me For The Last Half of Lent - Go Vegan for 20 Days!!

While my wife is not holding to a vegan diet during Lent, she is trying to eat along with me much of the time.  We had a wonderful date to the Whole Foods Flagship Store (in downtown Austin) yesterday.  We had lunch, browsed for inspirational vegan menu ideas, and shopped for the ingredients for me to make paella.

We started by eating lunch at the vegan restaurant / food counter inside the store.  The "Seitan Gyros" tasted really good, but the serving size was small, and thus I needed to buy another snack before we left the market.  This is my ongoing issue with vegan food at restaurants.... there is not meat or cheese, and then to top it off the serving size is small. If I am going to be vegan I want full-sized portions.  The double-whammy of small food and no meat and dairy is the part that turns me off.

We discovered ToFurky sausages, which were perfect for my paella.  I did serve meat sausages to the family, but my serving got the ToFurky.  Overall, it was not bad.  I wont lie.... not the best sausage I have ever had, but as a meat substitute it was really good.  The paella was great, and I added white beans to make up for the lack of shrimp.

This whole Forty Days Vegan adventure (which is now Fifty Days Vegan, because I started early) has had wonderful side effects.  I am gaining education about nutrition, learning to cook new things, exploring creativity in regards to food, and it has opened up many interesting conversations with friends and strangers.

I am now over halfway through my 50 days, and I have no complaints.  I feel great, and am finding the food mostly to be delicious.  We went to party the other night and the host made ceviche, but instead of shrimp he used Heart of Palm.  WOW.... it was the best ceviche I have ever had.

I am getting a lot of questions from friends about the effort involved to go vegan.  I am challenging people to join me for the last twenty days.  Easter is 21 days away, so start today!!!  Jump in now and do a "Half-Lent Adventure" (you need not be Catholic to participate in Lent.  It is an exercise in discipline... not a commitment to Rome!).


Come on... who is game for HALF A LENT vegan?