March 9th, 2009
We’ve now been vegans for over a year, and I am happy to report I’ve reached a stage where it feels easy and natural. For a long time I worried about what to eat, how to eat out, what to cook. Now, in order, I don’t think twice about what to eat because the necessary information is locked away in the ol’ brain; I feel less entitled to a grand selection at restaurants and just enjoy being out; and I have lots of easy and nutritious recipes memorized for week night dinners. The most noteworthy of these is the second, feeling less entitled to selection at restaurants.
I used to really chafe at the lack of options for vegans at restaurants (and have generally been disappointed by the food in vegan restaurants). We often cobble together dinner out of a few appetizers, or there is only one choice for an entree on the menu that we can eat (often with this or that removed or substituted), and dessert is pretty much impossible. For a long time I felt this was very unfair, but you know, at some point I realized I was acting spoiled. Yes, it’s nice to have a lot of choices. But it wasn’t nice for me. I am a creature of habit and always ordered the same sort of meal. I have never needed a big suite of choices to be happy since my tastes are quite pedestrian and any restaurant can make you a burger or a plate of tomato based pasta. So why was I so upset? I think it’s because I was used to having options and came to believe I am entitled to them. Even if I never take advantage.
So it was a Little Learning for me to let go of the sulk and embrace the more meaningful parts of eating out: a break from cooking and cleaning, a nice atmosphere, good conversation, maybe a fancy cocktail, the sense of variety and novelty in eating out. Those are good things.