Meatless Mondays, otherwise known as the one day a week omnivores pat themselves on the back and say, “look how eco-friendly I am,” has always made me jealous. It’s like a special occasion or holiday. Omnivores get to call work and say “I’m sorry I can’t write that report today, it’s Meatless Monday, my parents are coming from out of town to help us make the lentil roast.” I want a weekly holiday too!
Vegetarians I propose once a week we have Vegan Day – we can even call it Vegan Wednesdays, and if you have a German or Russian accent it will sound like Vegan Vednesday which will make it totally perfect.
On Vegan Day (not to be confused with the yearly Vegan Day celebrated on November 11th) or Vegan Wednesday you cannot eat any animal products so no diary, eggs, honey, gelatin, etc.
Why celebrate Vegan Day? “Modern practices of raising animals for food contributes on a ‘massive scale’ to air and water pollution, land degradation, climate change, and loss of biodiversity.” That’s why. So Meatless Mondays are absolutely a good idea, but Vegan Wednesdays - possibly a better idea.
I celebrated my first Vegan Wednesday last week and all day I felt more energetic and a bit lighter. During the day my blood sugar never seemed to spike so I didn’t find myself rushing to the cupboard or fridge to find whatever salty, fatty, sugary snack I desperately craved.
Here are some of the Vegan treats I noshed on:
Flax seed peanut butter and homemade blackberry preserves on vegan toast (P.S. Bread is often vegan – just check the label)
Edamame, Toasted Cinnamon Almond, Dried Apricots
Asian Inspired Salad – Mix ½ cup chopped extra firm tofu, lots of red leaf lettuce, ¼ cup cucumber, ¼ cup shredded carrots, 1 caramelized shallot, 2 tablespoons crushed peanuts, and stir in your favorite peanut salad dressing
In conclusion I declare that Vegan Wednesdays shall not be restricted to vegetarians –all diets are welcome – that includes the omnivores who would get another holiday during the week to celebrate.
Vegans I don’t know what weekly holiday you can celebrate, but possibly something like Local Thursdays where you can only eat food produced within 25 miles of your home. Good luck with that....
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Image sourced from Planet Green.
