Day 19: Calling Something A Substitute Makes It Sound Like A Lesser Product

Today's vegan bites include:

1.) Korean mixed-vegetables dish (half of a 1.2lb package)

2.) So Delicious Butter Pecan "ice-cream" (2 cups)

3.) Fresh baked vegan peanut butter cookie

4.) Fresh baked vegan oatmeal cookie

(I accidentally recycled the post-it I jotted this info down on but I think it was something like 115+lbs & 22+% body fat)

Last night, my brother was telling me about a pizza spot he and his girlfriend went to for dinner. Their pizzas had a sweet potato-filled crust. Yummy. I started to imagine different cheeses that would pair so well with a sweet potato-filled crust and I know what you're thinking...she started daydreaming about a gorgonzola and herbs sweet potato crust pizza, right? Wrong. I don't want pizza. Not even a four cheese pizza or a white pizza or a margherita pizza or a pizza with spinach and proscuitto or even the good, old classic cheese pizza.

At least, not right now. I'm certain there will be a time when I'll really, really want a cheese pizza. Maybe. I don't know. In any case, should there be a time, it's not now.

When we were talking, I did realize that I will never have pizza again as long as I'm committed to not eating animal products. And then I started thinking...this is because what makes a pizza a pizza is the cheese. And then I thought, well, I'm sure there are vegan pizzas or vegan versions of pizza out there. In fact, I'm 100% positive there are vegan pizzas out there.

And then I thought, well, why is it that vegan menus are full of substitutes of non-vegan items? Why do their menus comprise mainly of vegan versions of entrees you can't have/won't have? Okay, I'm certain there is a very expansive selection of vegan meals. There's gotta be. There just isn't as great a demand for it as there is for non-vegan meals, so it's not as readily available.

I just don't really like the idea of "substitutes." It makes me feel like it's not the real thing. Like you can't have what was really intended, for whatever reason, so we've made you a substitute. Not exactly the real deal, but as close as you can get. You know, like a fake designer handbag.

So, I'm really looking forward to the day when vegan menus will be running their own show. When they're freed up to create amazing dishes because they're not limited to giving people vegan substitutes. Right now though, I guess veganism is still reaching a wider audience so, at this point, it's the main goal of restaurants and vegan food companies to facilitate the transition process. At least, that's where the demand is right now. People and their taste buds and cravings are still very attached to things like pizza and hot dogs and hamburgers so the vegan substitutes are absolutely necessary for people to transition into, and maybe even, to commit to a vegan diet.