A Bit of a Rant:

Hi sorry to start with a rant....

I have had a number of friends, colleagues and acquaintances over the years refer to vegan eating, especially gluten free vegan eating as very restrictive. I'm afraid the last person to say this to me caught me at high stress levels & my response was less than gracious.

I find the restrictive idea hard to fight when I have examples like this - I went to a 'Christmas Banquet'  & it was so disappointing - turkey, potatoes, peas & carrots & dressing made with chunks of white bread with a few cranberries & onion thrown in & greasy gravy....so I got to eat a few spoons of mashed potato, peas & carrots - no wonder it seems restrictive to people!  Also the potatoes may have had milk or butter in so really I should have bypassed them too but $25 for some peas & carrots is really ridiculous.  I made two Christmas meals for some friends, each had - quinoa & cranberry stuffed mushrooms, sage & onion stuffing balls,  roast potatoes, roast sweet potatoes, roast carrots, baked acorn squash,  asparagus, peas, Brussels sprouts, and chickpea & red wine gravy. A delicious vegan salad, wine and bread was also provided by guests. Nothing restrictive about these meals and my meat eating friends loved it!  Also at each meal meat was brought by a friend for those who couldn't do without but much of it taken home again whereas the veg selection was taken up for 2nds and 3rd helpings and many compliments.

However I have been considering this idea that it is restrictive or somehow not as healthy as the standard western diet because of the myth that it is short on protein; or that we who decide to eat the most healthy way possible are somehow just fanatics or must have a stronger will-power. As I have cooked, created & considered this & as I have read health books I have discovered a few things:

• my diet is far more varied than those of my friends who eat flesh. I use every vegetable I can find, I try new things, new ways of cooking & experiment with tastes, herbs, spices and ideas. Sure I still love a plate of roast potatoes and gravy, but I don't miss the meat and I  have more variety of veg and surprise items on the plate - such as a lentil loaf or quinoa patties. I have created some soups that are delicious, varied & make a meal in a bowl and satisfy longer than a burger & fries or meat chilli & white rice.
• most people who eat flesh & gluten have health issues that would improve or may be resolved by becoming vegan. (please read the research done by doctors such as Neal Barnard, Dean Ornish and T. Colin Campbell)
• There is growing evidence that meat, dairy and processed grains create addictions in us, so we crave them, feel we could not give them up or need them to be healthy. This myth is promoted by advertising paid for by the meat & dairy industry as well as the companies who make foods to satisfy our addictions and crate more addictions by the additions of sugar, salt and oils. 
• Even medical advice about healthy living is often given by doctors and health practitioners who do not have time to do research, have been trained in a medical model that ignores much dietary research and by doctors who are bombarded with "cures" & symptom suppression medication from the drug companies who spend millions on making sure our doctors use their products. When I had the heart attack I was appalled to have a dietician tell me I needed to drink milk & should eat at least one egg a day and was completely ignorant of all the evidence that shows that both these are full of "bad cholesterol" and increase the likely hood of blocked arteries. Also milk actually promotes calcium drainage from your body. She was also unaware that while salmon has omega 3 it is also so full of saturated fat it is just as bad for your heart and arteries as a bit of fatty steak. The gluten free alternative to bread was a puffed rice cracker which is about as healthy & filling as a ball of cotton wool! Recently I saw 2 alternative health practitioners, who I assumed would have good information but they too promoted eating meat as the best source of protein & were unwilling to have a conversation about why this is not true unless I could be persuaded to agree. Needless to say I will not be seeing them again. 
• I guess if people are willing to smoke cigarettes, consume excessive amounts of alcohol or shoot up, smoke or otherwise partake in taking addictive, life threatening drugs I should not be surprised there are so many who are willing to eat stuff that masquerades as food even if it will kill them or at best make them feel less than well.
• Finally on a more positive note, my vegan lifestyle is having very positive results and as long as I remember that it's not so much about cutting something out as it is about making room for something better then there is no sense of restriction or loss only delight in the deliciousness of life.

May your life be filled with good things and blessings. D