Natural Blend - Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
I think the universe is trying to make me vegan. Let me count the ways…
I am accidentally reading “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer. How does one accidentally read a book, you ask? Well, I had read Foer’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” was touched by it, and sort of fell in love with his narrative style. When I saw “Eating Animals” at a used book store, I didn’t think twice about picking it up, and knew next to nothing about it. So it wasn’t so much an accident as it was unknowingly subjecting myself to a bombardment of information on the animal agriculture industry - mostly bad stuff. I am only a quarter of the way through it and I know so much more than I even thought there was to know on the topic. This is by no means a bad thing. In fact, I think everyone should be more educated about where their food comes from. While the book doesn’t promote Veganism per se, it makes a pretty good case for eating less animals, or at least being mindful of the animals that you do eat. (And one might argue that just eliminating animal products entirely from the diet is the “easier” solution.)
I saw an episode of Oprah recently where she challenged Harpo employees to assume a vegan lifestyle for one week. A large number of them chose to participate, and the results were staggering. Sure lots of people quit, and several gained weight (possibly due an increased intake of processed foods) but most people lost weight and reported just feeling better in general. The episode also had: Michael Pollan, the expert on the sort of thing Foer discusses in his book, who talked about more of the same; an adventure into a slaughterhouse (“one of the better ones”) with Lisa Ling; skinny, blonde Kathy Freston, author of “Veganist” - a Harpo employee put it best when she said to her “if I can look like you, I’ll eat anything.” The whole thing was very informative, if not completely convincing that Veganism is the way to go. Even O herself said she wasn’t ready to make the full commitment, but she’d be willing to go “vegan-ish.”
BUT.
- I was at work the other day, with lunch on the mind, and one take out menu had strayed from the pack, and was obscurely sitting on a shelf it shouldn’t have been, begging for my attention. It was for Natural Blends. “We speicalize (sic) in nutritious energizing smoothies, juices, and VEGETARIAN patties, soups, salads, organic products.”
So a couple months ago, the word “vegan” to me was interchangeable with “crazy.” I like my meat. And did not see myself being satisfied with a meatless meal. You may as well have tried to feed me a bowl of hay. But lately, with all this information coming my way, it felt like some sort of divine intervention trying to get me to see things more clearly. And just like the Oprah episode depicted, I saw this as perhaps an opportunity to realize just how much meat goes into my diet, NOT to give up meat for all eternity.
So I ordered from Natural Blends. I got the yelp-recommended citrus “spare ribs” and pepper “steak.” It came with rice and cabbage. I’ve had imitation meats before and just as expected, it wasn’t as if it could trick me into thinking it came from an animal. However, it was surprisingly flavorful and, most importantly, filling. I was completely satisfied with a small portion. With the tropical shake I ordered with it, I was in fact TOO full.
I didn’t think this would be possible, so I had also ordered the tofu jerk patty and a dessert of vegan pumpkin bread. I ended up having to save both for later. The tofu patty was strange, but tasty. The pumpkin bread was just exquisite; I am convinced that we as a human race can happily live off of eggless baked goods.
It’s important to note that I have no clue as to the caloric and/or nutritional value to any of these foods, so whether or not it was a healthy meal is debatable. With all the boldness of flavor, I wouldnt be surprised if there was a lot of sugar and/or sodium in the food. No wonder you often hear of people gainig weight when they switch. But it’s at least good to know that it’s possible to have a satisfying, hearty meal without any animal products.
As far as answering the universe’s call to come over to the veg-side, I am going to say “no” to “forever,” but am more than open to trying it for a week: for a learning experience if nothing else.
(And it won’t start until I use up all the meat that’s in my freezer, which is kind of a lot, so…next month-ish maybe.)
Stay tuned for my one week vegan challenge!
