The Vegan Craze

I gave a salute to my veggies and vegans the other week, telling you guys how much I love you and how much I feel your struggle to eat. But it seems like all of a sudden it has become a fad.

My friends and NewKosher are printing a vegan Jewish cookbook (note: I contributed recipes to their book). Sabrina is going vegan with her boyfriend, Chaim. My friend Jennifer is taking a two-week challenge after being inspired by Oprah. A lot of Jews, in lieu of going kosher, are going vegan. And to top it off, one of the more popular diet movements right now is a 21-day vegan “cleanse.”

I love my vegan friends and their restaurants, but I am concerned about this pendulum swinging when it comes to diets. I remember back in 2004 when the biggest craze was low-carb. It was nothing but meat, and an apple was bad. A lot of people lost weight, but made themselves sick doing it, myself included (so bad that I can no longer have any sugar substitutes excluding stevia). I have seen crazy cleanses over the years and all the crazy things that people do to lose weight.

Going vegan can be very good for you, as you will be getting a ton of vegetables in your diet – something a lot of people in the country lack in their eating habits. However, eliminating anything from a balanced diet, such as meat, is very tricky. Many of my friends are vegan, but know how to do it properly so they won’t have that deficiency of protein in their diets. They eat beans, tofu and other soy products in order to get it. They make it into a healthy lifestyle. Besides, many of my friends have pointed out to me that they have watched quite a few of their vegan friends load up on desserts, thus negating the health benefits of the lifestyle.

I am concerned. My vegan friends made the commitment to go all the way with their veganism, whether it was for moral reasons, religious reasons or whatnot. I don’t want veganism to become a “let’s jump on the bandwagon” thing, only to be shunned months down the line and turned away from. It shouldn’t be a fad. It’s better than that.

I decided to talk to my friend Elana about this. She is more pescetarian than anything, and we decided to talk about veganism as fad. She told me about some of her friends who have been vegan for years, and how there is something “different about them.”

“They look younger,” she said as she told me the story of how she met her friend, an acupuncturist. “I wanted to strangle because she looked about 19. She was 35.”

As we continued to discuss it, she explained that every body was different. There are some bodies that need meat in order to survive; they can’t process vegan properly. There are some who can’t process meat; they need to eat vegan. Every person is different, and that should factor into our diets. The problem is processed foods, which is something that we need to avoid. But anything to get us in the right direction of being healthy is the most important thing to do.

No matter what your choice is, don’t eat because it’s a fad. We should enjoy food, but remember that it is the fuel to our fires. We need to eat to survive. My personal solution is keep the healthy stuff, with everything else in moderation. We shouldn’t deprive ourselves; rather, learn to enjoy. Do that whether your vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian or a carnivore. Find the pleasure in food.

With that, I give you one of my favorite vegan soups. My mom originally made this with milk, but I decided to switch it up to soy creamer. It’s a great soup, and a cup of this soup is a full serving of vegetables.

ZUCCHINI BASIL SOUP

1 tbsp oil (canola or olive)

2 lbs. zucchini

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup fresh basil

4 cups vegan chicken consommé or vegetable stock

½ cup soy creamer

Warm the oil in a soup pot. Add the chopped onions and garlic. Saute until transparent. Slice the zucchini and add. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Add the four cups of consommé or vegetable stock and cup of basil. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Puree with an immersion blender. Turn off the heat and add the soy creamer. This soup can be served hot or chilled for a couple of hours in the chill chest and served cold.