A conversation last week between two very exhausted, frazzled women. One of whom is me.
"Well, but when you can't even eat bread it's hard to live on a low budget."
"I know but - wait what? Bread?"
"Vegans can't eat bread."
"Huh?"
"Vegans can't eat bread. It all has milk and eggs in it."
"I don't know what you mean by bread, but I promise you, that substance made from flour and yeast that they bake in the oven and then use to make sandwiches with? I can eat that. It doesn't all have animal products in it."
"No you can't. Vegans can't eat bread."
"Dude, I ate bread this morning. I am vegan."
"Whatever."
Is it any wonder people think it's a) ridiculously hard and b) extremely expensive to go vegan?
To set the record straight, vegans can indeed eat bread. In fact, I'm eating bread right now and getting peanut butter all over my keyboard. Alex is not amused.
Yep, people always say "it's expensive." I think that's another excuse. I eat lots of different good vegan food, and I never spend much.
Also, Jen and Alex, they should do this all the time at the meat store:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kWaRk8Duxvw
I actually am working on going vegetarian (it seems I'm not one of those that can just quit 'cold turkey', so to speak). Anyway, I wanted to find some quick things to throw in the microwave for lunch at work.
While microwavable dinners are expensive in general, the Morningstar faux meats I bought were significantly cheaper than their meat-filled counterparts.
Thanks for stopping by Carrie.
I've never eaten microwaveable dinners - even when I wasn't vegan - so thank you for the information. I do, however, know that faux meat substitutes are plentiful and getting less expensive by the day. It is exceedingly easy to not consume meat today; indeed, many conservative dieticians argue that it is, in fact, healthier.
Visit PETA and order a vegetarian starter-kit, and consider "Vegan with a Vengeance" (a cookbook) and the Post-Punk Kitchen. Those sources offer excellent advice about meals and simple ways to replace meat "comfort foods" with animal-friendly varieties. Finally, if you enjoy that kind of thing, Gary Francione's "Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog?” is an excellent intro and it's helped many people transition into veganism.
Good luck and keep reading, perhaps we can help you along the way.