Take The Compassionate Meal Challenge

December 27, 2016 — #compassionatemeal, #healthfood, ahimsa, health, restaurants, vegan

I am excited about this excellent promotion to share compassionate meals. The idea of going vegan has spread like wildfire for many good reasons.  I agree with all the reasons, including the animal cruelty problem, but I still eat some dairy and eggs.  Many folks are trying it for weight loss and finding it to be effective for that purpose.  Once they embark on a meatless diet they feel lighter and usually are cured of a few chronic healthy issues.

I personally know how very unpopular it is to tell other people what to eat.  Nobody wants to hear someone else control their diet unless they have paid a nutritionalist to do so.  It is my opinion that the best way to convert the meat eaters to my way of thinking is to introduce them to foods that are delicious and easy to prepare. If they like the way it tastes they will be motivated to make it and eat it frequently.  If it does not suit their tastebuds it will be difficult to stay on any prescribed eating regime.  I never try to change anyone’s food choices, but do work on expanding them.  I relate because when I became a vegetarian at the age of 19 my own diet was “American teen” minus the meat.  I ate fries, potato chips, Dr Pepper, biscuits, bread, hush puppies, and a few vegetables. I did like spinach, but my palette was very immature and limited. It was a nutritional nightmare, but I learned to prepare a wider variety of dishes, and my horizons expanded.  I think we can all benefit from learning to make healthy foods, and try new ones available on the market. I like ethnic restaurants a lot for this purpose.  If I find something good I knock it off at home.

I like this challenge out of all the bazillion challenges being thrown down at the end of the year because it is about sharing.  The sharing is intended to convert, but it starts as sharing.  When I invite friends out to eat I choose places with good vegetarian food that I really like, for obvious reasons.  This often results in new discoveries for my dining companions whether they order a vegetarian meal or not.  They see what I order and how much bang one gets for a buck compared to a meat based cuisine.

I plan to participate in this challenge often because I will also learn from the other participants.  If you have any resolutions or aspirations to lean into a more vegan style of eating this is an excellent way to find out how to do it.  It is probably easier and tastier than you might imagine.  You can follow the action on twitter at CompassionateMeals  or search using the hashtag #compassionatemeal to find out what others are eating and sharing.  Like #MeatlessMonday, it will have an endless treat of good ideas and recipes, no doubt.  Get behind this delicious campaign, gentle readers.

spring rolls to share