Monday, January 14, 2008

Tofurky

I was raised an omnivore, no choice in the matter, totally ingrained from birth. Once tried a spot of free thinking in junior high with an attempt at vegetarianism, and was quickly and soundly blocked on that concept. Which really was fine, I mean, heck, my favorite restaurant is Longhorn...green living be damned, I love the flavor of well-prepared cow now and then. And my folks were raised to hate vegetables (eat everything on your plate or gag trying), so we grew up on potatoes and corn and not much else...I wouldn't have known how to be a vegetarian in those days if I tried.

But I've been reading more on healthy living for myself and the planet, and as a result, am trying to wean off certain foods and onto certain others...increase fruit and vegetable intake, decrease red meat consumption...keeping dairy and eggs for now, reminding myself that chocolate's a plant, so I'm not done for...my shopping list has a conscience now, which makes it damn hard when money is tight, but that's a rant for another time. In the spirit of better eating and the recognition that for someone like me—who views chocolate as a food group, Chef Boyardee as a great emergency meal, and Doritos as a PMS staple—it's necessary to go into these changes with plenty of options, yesterday I purchased...Tofurky.

My only experience with the concept of tofu up until now, as been in miso soup, where the squishy little cubes were so vile I thought of spitting them across the room to see if they'd stick to the wall. To your average (red-blooded-American-fresh-off-the-Texas-ranch...it's a culture reference, folks, go with me here) omnivore, eating soybeans is hard enough to understand without curdling the little suckers. But darn it, I know myself, I've only been at this eating-vegetables thing for about a decade, and I need me some options if I'm going to make this work. I mentioned last week how I checked that teenage vegetarian book out of the library...same concept.

So lunch today was Tofurky with cheese and lettuce on whole wheat with some Boars' Head honey mustard to mask it even further...'cuz if they didn't get the consistency right on these deli slices, it was going to be a shudder-worthy meal. I mean, that miso literally gave me the heebie-jeebies. My verdict on the sandwich is neutral...it was perfectly edible, though I'm very glad I put that other stuff on it to disguise it (Rome taking more than a day...my brain was quite glad I wasn't actually tasting much of the actual Tofurky), but by the same token, I think I'd be happier trying something that wasn't quite so...processed. Your die-hard vegan would probably say I'm not giving it a fair shake, but it really is an individual taste thing. I have so much to learn, and part of the learning is shaping your opinions differently...I found nothing wrong with lunch today, coupled it with a rice cake and an orange; and I have trail mix and a granola bar to assuage the grazer in me later, so I'm really pleased with how I'm eating today....but whether or not I partake of the rest of the package of Tofurky in the coming week is unknown.

Really productive weekend!!! I have my dining room back! The place feels roomier, is roomier; the kitchen got cleaned too! Managed quality knitting time and slept late both days too!

No comments: