|
The
Comforts of Home
As our 5 year anniversary of embracing
veganism approaches, my husband and I have noticed that
we often take our vegan kitchen for granted. We are
lucky to have pots and pans that have never touched
meat, and many that have never seen animal products
at all. I feel a definite sense of peace when I consider
that our plates have never held dead animals and our
forks have never been used to pull apart flesh. Our
kitchen is a sanctuary where we never have to worry
about hidden ingredients finding their way into our
food: like that bit of chicken broth in the sauce or
a few misplaced sprinkles of cheese in that burrito.
When we are eating food that we have prepared in our
home, we are 100% certain that our food has not been
tainted with cruelty. We've shopped for the ingredients
themselves, read the labels, and know what each and
every thing that passes through our lips contains.
All that changes, however, when we decide
to take a break from our normal lives and head out the
door on a vacation. As we leave our home-sanctuary behind,
we step out into a world where we are no longer certain
of the ingredients in our food, and no longer in control
of it's purity. How are we supposed to relax when we're
worried that our next bite may contain hidden animal
products?
Non-vegetarian travelers have the luxury
of being able to dine virtually anywhere. For us, it's
not so easy. When we arrive in an unfamiliar city, the
first thing we do is open up the phone book and start
calling restaurants, trying to compile a list of suitable
alternatives. Recently, we've been able to do some of
this research ahead of time using the Internet. Either
way, a substantial amount of time of every vacation
is taken up searching for vegan-friendly restaurants
- not exactly what we had in mind when we booked the
trip!
One option that we've enjoyed lately
is staying in a condominium or hotel suite with kitchen
facilities. We are able to prepare simple meals, like
vegan breakfasts of soymilk and cereal or fresh fruit.
Meals like this are easy to prepare even if we only
have access to a small hotel refrigerator, and take
the pressure off of us for securing at least one meal
a day. But exploring the culinary specialties of the
area is supposed to be part of the travelling experience.
Sometimes it's hard for us to feel like we aren't missing
out, even though our dietary choices are precious to
us.
Maybe someday we'll be able to pull
into a vegan fast food restaurant while on the road,
grab a cruelty-free bite at the airport without asking
a million questions about the ingredients, or just pop
into any random restaurant that catches our eye while
sightseeing without having to scan the menu looking
for that one possibly vegan dish. Without meaning to,
we find ourselves focusing on food while we're supposed
to be relaxing and enjoying a new environment. Is it
really a vacation when one of our basic needs becomes
such a challenge to satisfy?
I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief
when we come back home. Once again I can depend on the
'safety' of our food source. While I love to visit new
places, returning home always fills me with appreciation
for our vegan kitchen. Sometimes, there's no place like
home!
P.B.
Missouri
- t
a b l e o f c o
n t e n t s -
Copyright © 1998-2013 by Jo Stepaniak
All rights reserved.
Nothing on this web site may
be reproduced in any way
without express written permission from the copyright
holder.
|
