Just Peachy! – Day 59

People don’t tire of asking questions like, “What do vegans eat?”
Uhm…. Most [expletive] things, [expletive]! What the [expletive] do you think?

Carnivores I know eat about 5 meats: chicken, beef, maybe pork, maybe goat, maybe turkey, maybe duck. They also drink cow milk, eat chicken eggs, and a variety of animal cheeses. So now my question is, why do people think this is all they eat? In the “I got beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes” song, at least 40% of the things she mentions are vegan and she wasn’t even trying.

So, in this post I’m going to singlehandedly dispel any rumours out there that we don’t eat balanced diets.

Let’s start with breakfast:

Carbohydrates: potatoes, wheat bread
Protein: baked beans, Portobello mushrooms
Fruits and vegetables: tomatoes, plantains, grapes, strawberries, kiwi
Fats: avocado

Lunch:

Carbohydrates: rice
Protein: asparagus, button mushrooms
Fruits and vegetables: plantains, tomatoes, sweetcorn, green peas, carrots, celery
Fats: coconut oil and milk

Just look at that plantain one more time.

Dinner:

Carbohydrates: noodles
Protein: bean sprouts, Portobello mushrooms, okro
Fruits and vegetables: spring onions, scotch bonnets

There you go. We don’t have many sandwich options at cafés but we eat lots of things. And you know, I’m not a nutritionist so maybe these meals are even more balanced than I think. Before I was vegan I also wondered what vegans ate and I also concluded that “they don’t get to eat anything!” but that’s ignorant guys, do better.

——

I know 60 days isn’t a long time but I feel like I’m getting used to this. I don’t have to put as much effort into it because it’s just who I am now. Occasionally, I pass a hot dog cart, smell the sizzling sausages and remember the good old days but for the most part I don’t even think about it.

This is weird but I’m worried my parents won’t accept me. They won’t literally force me to eat meat because they’re not psychopaths (and more than that I’m a grown woman in my mid-20s) but I’m convinced they’ll make it about me being westernised. I’d hate that so much. My dad already makes fun of my clothes and my liberalism so I don’t need yet another thing that makes me different from everyone else at the dinner table.

Love,
Aisha

P.S. I’m not posting the recipe for these because they’re all so straightforward.
P.P.S. The jollof rice wasn’t as straightforward because I added coconut oil, coconut milk and sweetcorn. The reason I won’t share the recipe for that is because sweet jollof rice kind of sucks. I say we stick with spicy.