Day 29- Being Vegan in a Carnivore family

First, I really shouldn't call myself vegan.  I realized this week that I eat honey and have no plans of eliminating that. *** I wear leather.  I have a boar's hair brush.  And I'm not even sure what vegans say about yeast... I like animals, but I also think they're yummy.  (I also think they should be treated humanely).  At almost a month into the challenge, I'm beginning to think about what I want to do after the challenge.  What things will I bring back and what's going to stay away?  I think most definitely butter will be back, and probably eggs.  I'm not sure about dairy though.  I love it and all, and I'm sure I'll really want pizza again, so maybe that can be a very occasional thing.  Then there's meat.  I haven't missed meat nearly as much as I thought I would, and I suppose that's not a really big surprise.  I've had a few bouts as a vegetarian before, but the longest was only for 3 months.  I don't know if I would really miss it long-term.  I'm thinking that maybe I could just eat meat only if it was from a local farm, grass-fed, all that good stuff.  We get the "good meat" occasionally, but it's really expensive so it's always been more of a treat rather than the standard, but maybe that's how meat should fit into my diet...as a treat.  So I'm reading this book called Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.  I already LOVE this author so I figured this might be a good book for me to read to help me decide what kind of eater I want to be.

Regardless of what I decide, I'm living in a house full of carnivores, and I don't think any of them are interested in changing that.  Figuring out what to cook for dinner that will satisfy me and them has been a big challenge, but usually a pretty fun one.  I like figuring out meals that complement each other, satisfy me and the carnivores, and maybe, just maybe gets them to try some of my stuff too.  The easiest meals are meals we can assemble at the table (like tacos, wraps, etc) so that I can have a meat ingredient for them, but plenty of other options for me (and them too).  Often I'll do a two-pasta night, one with meat and one without.  It's a lot of food, but with five people living here, leftovers go fast.  Sometimes I'm able to make a meal out of side dishes, but that's usually tougher or at least less satisfying.  A couple of days ago, I made two pots of chili...mine had tempeh (love love love tempeh!), black beans and kidney beans, onions, mushrooms, red peppers, and carrots.  I was fortunate to have Cori here as an extra set of hands while I was cooking them both (especially when it comes to prep work.  So much chopping!).  The chili was great, and the carnivores liked it, but they stuck to their meaty chili for the most part, and left me with mine (not that I mind...the leftovers have been better than when I first made it).  I'm happy with the direction my diet is going now though.  It took a few weeks to get into a groove and actually find a variety of meals that keep me happy, but it's working and I'm pretty excited to see what's in store next!

***Edited to add that I just found out that the Pop Rocks that I got at the candy store last night have milk in them. Damn you, Pop Rocks!!