Frustrated with ignorance of my dietary choices
Friday, December 12, 2008
This weekend, we're going to a Holiday Party at my sweetie's colleague's house. Apparently yesterday, the host asked my sweetie if I prefer Beef or Salmon. He said neither. I think at first the man was confused. It really bothers me that no one ever considers vegetarians (or vegans) for holiday gatherings. Each year I have to negotiate a meal with the kitchen (at a restaurant or hotel) where my sweetie's company usually has their parties. Everyone gets a set meal, and apparently i have to do the work myself to get the kitchen to accommodate me. No one seems to want to bother doing that for me. Many people are not eating meat anymore, and for some reason society is still very ignorant of this fact (unless you live in a cool city like Vancouver, San Francisco or NYC). Meat eaters tend to be oblivious sometimes and don't even think that i might need protein. "Oh, just eat the salad and potatoes". What if I told them that's all they were getting for their meal? Don't I deserve a nice holiday meal too?
The host said he'd grill extra veggies for me..thoughtful but ignorant..sadly. argh. Where will I get my protein? Why do all meat eaters think all I eat are vegetables? So now, I have to bring my own food because the host doesn't want to put any effort into accommodating me. Maybe I'm just bitter and wish someone would be more respectful of my eating choices. :( It makes holiday parties very stressful.
I am also bringing a banana bread and three appetizers (all vegan of course) as I know it's unlikely I'll be able to eat anything there. I don't expect people to prepare entire vegan meals just for me, but even just one dip that I (and everyone) can enjoy. I'm actually surprised that more people aren't eating better and cutting out things their bodies don't need.
My plan is to bring a booklet of veggie recipes, so perhaps the next time they have a party and someone is vegetarian, they can make something easy and make the vegetarian feel welcome.
Funny thing is, every year when I get my vegan meal from the kitchen of wherever we are, everyone else is always envious and says my stuff looks way better then what they have. For dessert everyone was eating dairy filled calorie rich desserts while i was eating a healthy fruitcup...then everyone wanted a fruit cup. hahaa.
just because a meal is vegan, doesn't mean it tastes bad, most of the time it even tastes better and is healthier, and this is what i hear from a few of my meat eating friends whom i've cooked for.
So for your next party, if there are going to be a lot of people, it's easy to make allergen-free (no dairy, wheat, soy or peanuts) appetizers that everyone will enjoy. try serving the following with veggies or chips:
*Hummus, Guacamole, Onion Dip (with vegan sour cream & mayonaise), Salsa...
Making a cake without eggs is easy too, look up "Wacky cake" which is a frugal recipe. A healthy fruit salad is good for everyone too :)
So sorry for the rant, it's just getting a little tough as I've had to deal with this for several years. Good thing my yoga teacher training course only offers veggie meals! YAY!
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