What are some things that are more important to you than food? To me, family is definitely more important.
Sarah (a reader) asked:
In the eight (I think you said eight) years you’ve been vegan, have you ever KNOWINGLY eaten a meat or dairy product, either by accident or choice? I know you said you sometimes eat things that might have trace animal products, but I was wondering about things that have more than just trace amounts. Just curious!
Actually, the answer to your question is “yes.” When I was in high school, and had only been vegan about a year, my mom once surprised me with homemade chocolate chip cookies, using this recipe.
(The perfect photo above is not mine, it’s Maggie’s. I only wish I had such skills!)
Mom was so proud that the cookies were vegan: made with dark chocolate chips and all! When I looked at the chip bag, though, it turned out that the chips weren’t actually vegan, even though they were dark chocolate. There was still milk in them, as well as butter oil.
But I never told her.
I was so grateful for her thoughtfulness and kindness. And I wanted her to see me enjoy the super-sweet gesture. After all, she deserves compassion from me too. People are animals too! (Now, if it had been a yogurt smoothie or a lasagna in which she’d forgotten not to add cheese, the case would’ve been different. I’m not saying I would’ve eaten anything just because it was made with love. But as I said in my previous post, you have to decide what’s most important; situations—and veganism—aren’t always black and white. And it’s a personal decision that’ll differ for each of us.)
Nowadays I’m the one making Mom eat my cookies…
My raw chocolate chip cookies.
Questions of the Day:
What are some things that are more important to you than food? Or: Has anyone ever made you a meal that really wasn’t your favorite, but that you ate anyway, due to the enormous amount of love put into it? Something that comes to mind for me: My grandma made a vegan salad this summer with arugula. This green isn’t my favorite, and my mother HATES it with a passion, but we quietly served ourselves a small portion to make Grandma happy. There are more important things in life than food. Family is one of those things.
Thanks for another great, thought provoking post Katie. I often wish that people wouldn’t place so much attention on food. For me, the following three things are way more important than food: health, family, and friends. Health is probably the most important; unfortunately, sometimes you have to learn that the hard way. You can’t enjoy spending time with your family, and you can’t be a good friend, unless you look after yourself. When I am out having a meal with family and friends, I am there for the company. If the food also happens to taste good, that’s a bonus!
So many things are more important than food, but food is still very important to me. I chose to be vegan for the health of it as well as for the health of the planet and other animals, so when I find out that something I just ate had animal in it — I not only feel bad that I’m not being cruelty-free but also bad that I just ate something I think is harmful to my body. I understand that small amounts are okay, but I dont think I could knowingly bite into any amount of animal product. If I found out later that I had eaten something by mistake I could get over it, but when my friends try to serve me something they think is vegan I feel so akward.
My friends frequently forget that even the simplest things aren’t vegan and offer me omlettes or cookies that they just added a cup of butter to. I feel bad because I feel like I’m being patronizing, but its too hard for me to sacrifice my health to spare someone’s feelings who can’t remember that eggs are an animal product.
Maybe I’m being too harsh, but thats just how I feel.
I don’t think you’re being harsh at all! It’s one thing to spare people’s feelings, but it’s totally another to completely compromise your morals. That’s why I said it’s a personal choice. I honestly felt ok with my decision to eat the cookies, but I’ve been in similar situations and have reacted differently (i.e. that’s the ONLY time I’ve ever gone against my veganism, knowingly). As much as I love my friends, I’m not going to compromise my values for them… just like they wouldn’t compromise theirs for me. And if someone loves you enough, he/she wouldn’t ASK you to compromise what you believe :).
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. You are amazing, and I love your blog, truely amazing.
Love this post, Katie. I posted something pretty similar today. There is SO much more to life than food!
It was the day of my final exams for my freshman year of college and I had asked my mom to make me a dinner for when I got home. Things happened and we didn’t get home until late, and blah blah, whatever, but I had been talking to her about what it was (it was a surprise) and she said she needed BBQ for it. I don’t remember the exact words but she was willing to go so far as to make homemade BBQ for me. I thought it was so nice of her to even consider doing such a thing, I was extremely proud of her. 😀
Aww Daniel, aren’t moms amazing?!? 🙂
People are more important to me than food. My Dad. My husband. My cat. Oh whoops…he’s not a person! But he is important. Connections are important to me. But food is also so important, that sometimes it gets in the way. This is one thing I’m working on. Using food to connect rather than disconnect is one of my main goals always. I am great at feeding others or feeding myself, but can I do both at once, and still honor what I need while just simply loving my friends and family? YES!
So, when’s the Magic Bullet contest end???? I’ve got an idea and maybe it’ll be the first post on my new blog!
Hey Laura!
I’m excited to see your idea! 🙂 The contest ends next week… like next Sunday? (I never actually set a specific date, but let’s say Sunday hehe.)
Hi Katie!
I need your help. I heard that you know how to have your blog auto post for you?? I’m going on vacation for 7 days and will have zero internet 🙁 I would like to give my readers something to check out while I am gone…do you know how to do this?? Thanks!
~Alyssa
Hi Alyssa 🙂
If you see, above “publish” where it says the time, put in NOT the current time but the time you wish it to post. Then hit publish. Does that makes sense? If not, let me know!
Family is definitely numero uno for me. I often eat things I don’t really want ot at my in-law’s house. They try SO hard to cater to my tastes, and I don’t ever want to seem rude or “healthier than thou” – so I just smile and eat. It’s worth it for me. 🙂
Right when I first started going vegan, a lot of my family didn’t know. We were at Easter and a bunch of my extended family members said how they specifically chose non-meat ingredients so I could eat the food (I was a veg before vegan). For example, one of them had specifically gone out of her way to make the potatoes gratin with veggie broth instead of chicken. Unfortunately the food was covered in cream. I just couldn’t bring myself to eat it. I felt so terrible! I’ve made exceptions where the dairy/eggs were in small amounts, like a pancake breakfast my mom made me early on (I think she forgot about the veganness). Like you said though, something smothered in cheese or eggs I just can’t do.
I totally relate to the people who get frustrated with their loved ones regarding their diet. Frequently my relatives will have the “just take out the meat” attitude. The worst is when relatives try to hide that they put meat in a dish. I don’t know if they forget and they feel bad, so they hope I don’t notice, or what. I’d rather they tell me, mark it down as an oops and I eat more salad, than let me think the veggie pasta is vegan when it has meatballs cooked in it…
Definitely family is much more important than food! What would happen if we are super old and on our deathbed, can’t eat anything and can’t taste anything, and all we have is our loving family and friends….food wouldn’t matter any more!
And I remember when I was like seven years old, and I visited a great-grandma who was like 90-something. She was the sweetest thing who made homemade sweet pickles for us-canned them herself and all! Now this was way before I gave up sugar, but I still hated sweet pickles-they grossed me out! But I ate them, and old her how lovely they were 🙂
Psst-Katie! I finally hugged some fruit!