From Mrs. Deacon Pat

Oprah Winfrey's Vegan Challenge

Over the last 6 years I have been blessed to watch my husband improve his health through adopting a plant based diet.  This change has been transformative in so many ways. Besides feeling better himself, Pat has been able to use his experiences and knowledge to help so many others.  We truly both believe that God has added one more calling to his already full plate (no pun intended) and asked Him to share these experiences so others can live longer and lead more healthy lives.

Living at home with such a passionate devotee to being plant based is both a blessing and a challenge.  It is such a blessing that Pat loves to cook and he prepares all of our meals.  And they are really outstanding, too!  Of course, he treats each foray into the kitchen as a trip to a lab, insisting on changing or tweaking his recipes to try something different or make it a little better.  Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t, but more than once I have asked, “I really liked the potato soup the way you made it last time, can we have that again?”  And he replies, “I don’t know if I can remember which version that was.”

Our kitchen lab has now extended into the basement where we have shelves of sauces, seasonings and various ingredients that no longer fit into our cupboards.  We have gadgets and gizmos for just about every function that could ever take place in a kitchen.  And by 9:00 every morning, we have our first conversation out of at least 2 or 3 throughout the course of the day that addresses what we will be eating that day.  It can be a bit obsessive at times.

Often people ask me if I am plant based, too.  The answer is no, I am not.  But as Oprah says, “I am Veganish.”  I love Pat’s cooking and eat whatever he prepares for us at home.  He also prepares meals for me to take to work with me.  But there are times when I am at work, at a restaurant or a social event that I will eat meat or dairy.  I must admit every time I do, I feel guilty, but I also have found that I cannot be as faithful to the path that he has chosen because of my schedule and to this point, because of being blessed with good health and not having to change.

So when I ran across this video of one of Oprah Winfrey’s shows called Oprah Winfrey’s Vegan Challenge, it really struck a chord with me.  Oprah brought in a couple of experts to speak about going vegan.  Some of the show centered on animal rights, but the basic theme centered on what was it like to try to be a vegan for a week.  It also addressed what it would be like for someone to try to change their eating habits in a household where everyone was not on board. 

I think this video is well worth the viewing for those who think they would like to change their eating habits and eat better, but think that unless they go completely plant based, they shouldn’t even bother trying.  Oprah uses the terms “veganish” and “leaning toward” being a vegan.  I think there is a lot of merit to this concept of a gradual movement toward being plant based that validates the efforts of those who continually move toward eating well.

This video is informative and entertaining.  And it is encouraging to see how people who never expected to make changes in the food they eat are now so much more aware of where their food comes from.

I am sure at home my “lessons” will continue just as the kitchen experiments do. 

At least I hope they will.

Pat and I celebrated our 39^th anniversary this weekend and I must say, “Thanks, hon, for all you have done for me to make me healthier and a better person.  Keep the information and the great cooking coming. I love you and am so PROUD of you!”

Now tomorrow, how about those veggie wraps with your special sauce?