2009 has been a delicious year for foodies, and even vegan foodies like me, but I say bring on 2010. And oh, if I can squeeze in a few *special requests* for the coming year, it would be much appreciated. Here is my end-of-the-year rant about what I want to see more (and less of) in 2010. Dear 2010, let the vegan foodie ranting begin...
A Forethought: Why the Rant?
Eating 100% Vegan is Hard! Anyone who tells you being vegan is easy - is lying. Or they don't get out much. Or they own their own vegan restaurant. Or they have time-traveled back from the future where vegan eating will indeed be a lot easier than it is today. It's hard. That's why a lot of people can't commit to a 100% vegan lifestyle - and that's OK, even eating veg a few times a week is a big step up from the mainstream.
"Vegan" is a lifestyle that takes patience, loyalty and passion. It's a physical, mental and emotional challenge. It messes with your social circles, relationships and trips you up in your daily routine. It tests your analytical skills as well as your leadership qualities. It's a label you love at times and loathe at others. Its a "what-I-eat" label that you wish wasn't such a social label. But really, labels and stereotypes are tools for the incurious and ignorant. Eating vegan isn't a diet and it isn't a label, it's a lifestyle. You live it or you don't. And the challenge is obvious since vegan eats sometimes require an against-the-current swim to get to.
So, at the end of each year I think every special diet person out there (vegan, food allergies, kosher, gluten-intolerant, diabetic and more) deserves a little time to rant. Here's mine.
Here it is, my rant of what I'd like to see more and less of in 2010.
My 2010 Vegan Foodie Rant: Dear 2010,...
Here we go 2010, lets make this a foodie year to remember...
First off, more coconut water please. Everywhere. In vending machines, at corner stores, sporting events, concerts, on restaurant menus and at the movies. A hydrated movie patron is a happy movie patron. Four stars for those little tropical fresh young coconuts. Speaking of movies, can we get some vegan snacks at the concession stand please? Soy crisps, air-popped popcorn with real sea salt (maybe a drizzle of macadamia oil) and perhaps a soy-friendly espresso bar in those megaplex theaters, so I don't have to keep sneaking in my Starbucks Soy Latte.
Onto foodie entertainment, I want to see more actual cooking shows on The Food Network and less "sugar glass, BBQ-cookoff, cake-making" competitions. More Chefs cooking on Food Network please. (Gosh, that sounds like the age-old rant of MTV needs to play more music videos.) Food Network needs to play more cooking shows. Dicing, chopping, slicing, braising, roasting - I want to see and hear all those glorious kitchen sights and sounds. Oh and while I'm talking Food Network, how about a few more vegan-friendly shows. Maybe something like Emeril Green on the Planet Green channel. Love that show. Maybe even an all-vegan cooking show. It's about time, the world is ready for a vegetarian FN cooking star. Maybe something that focuses on ECO-friendly green eating and not just (butter and meat, butter and meat, butter and meat and sugar too. Butter and meat and sugar and cheese. Forgot the cheese.)
Its a new decade, why not make 2010 the year of the epiphany: vegan food is delicious (and easy to cook). Oh, and it's cheaper too. A block of tempeh vs. a block of meat - you do the math. Yummy, healthy, wallet-friendly and earth friendly. It doesn't get more 2010 than that. Tempeh, organic fruits and veggies, hemp milk, maple syrup, quinoa pasta, acai smoothies, yum, yum, and more yum.
More of the entertainment world: I predict celebrity chefs and shows will continue to triumph: Hell's Kitchen, Top Chef, Chopped, Chef Academy, FN cooking shows, and even travel/foodie shows like No Reservations continue to see good ratings. And I love the new crop of foodie shows like What Would Brian Boitano Eat, Avec Eric, Melissa's Ten Dollar Dinners, The Best Thing I Ate and more. I adore cooking shows, Chefs and anything on my TV chatting up foodie fare. Now I am just hoping to see more vegan challenges on Top Chef and even a few organic/vegan featured episodes on those FN food shows. Fingers crossed!
In terms of how we eat in 2010, I think Americans are cooking more vegetarian meals at home (due to health/economic/green values). Mainstream America is finally learning more about 'what veg*ns eat'. The big question used to be "What do vegetarians eat?" Now it seems to be "Where do vegetarians eat?" It's super easy to eat veg at home thanks to supermarkets like Whole Foods. Now if only the restaurants would catch up!
A foodie trend this past year has been gourmet, foodie-worthy food trucks. Love those. Mud Truck in NYC is iconic. So is Dessert Truck - wish they had vegan options. Also, vegan-friendly fast food is hot right now. Aka, Chipotle's ground-breaking Garden Blend experiment. Now if only they can get a veggie-only grill. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.
For the Kids! I've been thrilled by the number of companies that have taken a special interest in children's health, lunches and healthy food products this year. Whole Foods Market ran its School Lunch Revolution program which brought in over $710,000 in donations. Veggie lunches in schools are on the rise - lets hope this continues through 2010. More vegan school lunches. It's my personal 'More Tempeh in Schools!' plight. I will not quiet myself until every first grader knows what tempeh is and can have an option of baked tempeh fingers vs chicken fingers. Tempeh sticks beat chicken any day of the week. Plus, I've been noticing more wellness-based kid and baby food brands popping up. Such as Tyler Florence's Sprout baby food brand.
What's a Vay-gen? Awareness. More awareness for special diets is needed. I don't mind if someone asks me what I can or cannot eat as a vegan. But if that 'someone' is the Chef at a restaurant, then I'm worried. Chefs, prep-cooks, sous chefs and anyone working in food service needs to know what vegan, gluten free, low sodium, kosher, organic, low-fat, nut-free and vegetarian really mean. Google is for gosh sakes. I don't want to resort to handing out little definition cue cards every time I eat out at a mainstream establishment.
More special requests: More soy milk options - everywhere! I am always shocked when I go to a brunch spot or breakfast sit down and there is no soy milk available in the restaurant kitchen for my tea or coffee. What is this 1980? No, it's 2010, well almost. Soy milk should be available everywhere dairy milk is served. Period.
Out with Vegetarian Menus! Another special request is that more restaurants replace their 'vegetarian menu' with a 'vegan menu' or vegan menu options. I don't know any vegetarian who wouldn't mind eating a vegan meal for one sitting. "Vegetarian options" are almost always loaded with cheese, milk, cream and butter. Why not just call it what it is: the cheese tasting menu. Just give me a good vegan option, just one per menu even, and I will be a happy diner - well it's a start anyways. If I hear one more restaurant manager say to me "Oh, we have plenty of vegetarian options," then proceeds to hand me a menu list with nothing but cheese-smothered food, I will scream. No more cheese please. Cheese, butter and cream are loaded with saturated fat and if you are a vegetarian who lives on a lot of 'dairy products' I highly suggest you take a close look at those nutrition labels and consider going vegan.
...on that note, I might start doing what Kristen from KristensRaw.com does: writing my special request on the restaurant receipt, like "If you served more vegan options, I'd eat here more often." or "If you served more organic foods I'd eat here more often." Nice idea Kristen.
And lastly, I hope we can all chill out in 2010 and remember the simple things in foodie life: a crisp organic apple, eaten whole. A bowl of raw cashews. A perfect pat of almond butter spread on some sprouted grain toast. Steel cut oats boiled into a creamy homemade oatmeal breakfast. A sweet caramel-essence tropical papaya for breakfast. Crisp clean pure drinking water. Chilled pure coconut water. A chunk of dark chocolate. A handful of blueberries. A bunch of black grapes. Fresh squeezed OJ. Fluffy brown rice. Warm simmering soup. Steamed sweet green broccoli. Tea with lemon. A frosty banana smoothie. A big green salad filled with garden fresh ingredients. Simplicity is bliss, foodies agree.
Happy 2010 everyone.
What would you rant about??? Feel free to rant me in the comments, I'd love to hear what you dream of in your foodie 2010 dreamworld.
Sarah says
I think you have every right and desire to want more vegan and special diet restaurants, but I have to disagree with you on one point. It is the restaurant- their creations, pride, joy, etc., etc.. If they don't care to make those things (thereby appealing to more people), I don't think they should have to or feel guilty for not doing so. It would be like telling an artist or author that they need to cover a topic or use a medium which doesn't appeal to them. I just wanted to add that tid bit. Though I totally agree with and respect you on many points 🙂
Happy new year!
Anonymous says
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it.
Kathy says
Michael,
For me it's the little things that make being vegan hard. Really, the emotional things. It's easy to find the foods I love, but my interactions with the world can be frustrating.
Short story: I was at Starbucks ordering my usual bagel with almond butter. The cashier put dairy butter in my bagel bag and I tried to explain to him that I wanted "almond" butter instead. He looked at me like I was nuts and started shouting to all his employees (loudly and rudely), "Do we have ALMOND butter??" meanwhile the ten ppl standing in line were annoyed that this was taking so long to figure out, and perhaps they didn't understand what almond butter was either, or why I didn't want 'regular' butter. Frustrating. Emotional. Perhaps you are not as sensitive as me, I tend to take the little things to heart-almost take them personally, so sometimes I do find navigating the non-vegan world to be 'hard'. And sometimes it is easy. But one thing I know...it continues to get easier rather than harder and that is a great thing...
K
Jess @ Unsearchable Riches says
YES to vegan menu options! UGH. I spent a week at Disney and while the wild mushroom lasagna with fontina was delicious, I am SO TIRED OF CHEESE. I feel gross and bloated and heavy and gross. And vegan options should be obvious as the greatest common denominator - vegetarians will eat vegan but vegan shouldn't be forced to eat vegetarian, so the option should be vegan. And it's usually easy to MAKE vegan, ditch the cheese, use oil instead of butter for sauteing. . . so why all the fuss?
I'd like to see regular groceries stocking more vegan items so we don't HAVE to trek to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's half an hour away when the supermarket is a mile down the street.
Jess @ Unsearchable Riches says
YES! Vegan menu options just make more SENSE as the lowest common denominator. Besides, then you can charge extra for that pesky cheese! 😉
Also I'd like to see more supermarkets carry a wider variety of vegan items. I shouldn't have to trek the half an hour to WF or TJ's when the grocery is a mile down the street!
Michal says
Well said!
Im am surprised to hear you say though that being 100% vegan is not easy. For me the hardest thing has to be avoiding honey in most breads and things but I could always make my own or buy a more expensive kind. Thats about it though.
I would love to build up my cooking skills and go on shows on the Food Network and prove vegan food is good food. I want to spread awareness through delicious foods.
My rant would be seeing way less fake products - less soy cheeses, meats etc. What is wrong with whole foods? Sure every once in a while soy cheeses and meats could be a real treat. But everyday it is still a lot of processed foods. I wish that everyone could realize the benefits of a whole food vegan diet. Alas maybe some day. Happy new year!
Anonymous says
I've been looking all over for this!
Thanks.
Anonymous says
Once you get in the routine, being vegan *is* easy, I really mean it! It's much, much easier if you have access to a community of vegans and live in a vegan-friendly area. But eating vegan by oneself--I've done it easily in the US, South America and Europe. Not lying! Mean it!
Curry St John says
Good rant! Being vegan is kind of hard, at times. I think of it more as a challenge. And you hit on my main rant, why must vegetarian food be soooo cheesy?! I love to eat out, though, and I love to find vegan options on menus. I eat mostly Asian, and that's a lot easier.
Your blog is inspiring - keep it up in 2010!
Happy New Year! 🙂
Anonymous says
This is hardly a rant, more like a ton of great suggestions. I'm not a vegetarian or vegan but I would greatly enjoy a lot of these! Like organic, healthier food choices at restaurants and movie theaters? And I LOVE coconut water! These are some ideas I could really get behind.
Happy New Year!
Sarah says
OK, you've officially made me hungry with your list of foodie pleasures 🙂 Luckily I'm spoilt for choice in terms of vegan-friendly eateries where I live, but I respect that not everyone is so fortunate. I personally don't think it's too much to ask to have at least one vegan-friendly option in restaurants, especially with the rising number of people avoiding dairy because of veganism, lactose intolerance etc. I've found over the past few years that most half-decent chefs will be happy to conjure up a vegan meal on request, and view it as an exciting challenge, rather than an inconvenience, which I love. Diversity should be celebrated, not condemned!
Jessica says
Last week I tweeted to the food network requesting a vegan/veggie show, hopefully they will listen! I take some comfort in the fact that although progress has been slow, what vegan restaurants are out there have their heart and soul in it. You know what you are getting- in most cases it goes hand in hand with local, organic, and sustainable. If veganism caught on very fast (as in high revenue potential), wouldnt big business just take over and kill the spirit of it?
Lisa Adele says
Love the idea of writing a note on receipts. I am a local foodie, not a veg*n, but I do enjoy many vegetarian and vegan dishes and will often order the most vegan thing possible in restaurants simply because it is the safest and tasty if done right. My rant would be that I would like to see less fakey products (i.e. soy replacement of _____) and more things that are simply good whole foods. I have to admit that even when I follow some of your own recipes, they are not vegan in the end b/c I'm don't really buy processed foods, and many of the "substitutes" are more processed than the original product.
Crystal says
I love your point about "more cooking shows" and less sugar glass, giant cake decorating shows. Who is making those cakes at home anyway? Not me. They bore me to pieces!
Janis says
It's always fun to read a good rant. Well done!
Good point about vegetarian options often being little more than a cheese-fest. It's for that very reason that, when eating out, I went from a lacto-ovo vegetarian to a semi-vegetarian (or "flexitarian" or whatever it's called these days). Grilled fish (wisely chosen) seems like a healthier choice than four-cheese lasagna.
Wishing you a happy, healthful and peaceful new year.