3. BECOMING VEGAN

It might be of interest to know that I didn’t step from a meat-eating diet to a purely plant-food diet in one day. When I became interested in being a vegetarian, I simply omitted meat, but continued to use dairy and eggs for about two years.

I think I harbored a feeling that these foods were necessary. A Basic Seven Food Chart hung on the wall of my elementary classroom. One of the food groups was milk and milk products–referring to cow’s milk. My natural interest in health planted the message in my mind that milk was a vital food.

Because of that teaching, I faithfully drank milk with my meals throughout my childhood. It was raw milk, so the cream rose to the top, but I carefully removed every drop because I couldn’t tolerate cream.

Later the Basic Seven Chart was replaced with the Basic Four Chart. Again, there was a full section devoted to milk and milk products. The need for dairy was firmly entrenched in my mind. I had no idea the dairy industry produced the charts to increase sales; that human beings have no more need of milk after being weaned than a baby cow or a baby dog.

As soon as my three daughters could eat solid food, I set a glass of milk before them at every meal. Tami and Vonda loved milk, but Lori, my oldest, was born a natural vegan. She hated milk, cheese, eggs and meat. I worried about her, but I didn’t push any food except milk. I was determined she should drink milk, because I thought it was an almost perfect food.

The battle raged for years with sometimes a victory on my side and perhaps more often a victory for her. Years later she confessed that she often carried her milk to the bathroom and poured it down the sink.

Lori was in college when I became acquainted with vegetarianism. She immediately proclaimed herself to be a vegetarian. I stopped eating meat, but continued to use dairy and eggs.

Several months later, I went to visit my daughter, who was now a junior in college. She and her friend had moved from the dorm to a mobile home. When I opened the refrigerator, I was amazed to see homemade soy milk.

“Mom, Laura and I have become vegan,” Lori announced. “I became vegetarian two years ago, but I have used dairy and eggs in cooking. Now all animal products are out of this house. We bought vegan cookbooks, and our diet is plant food.”

That weekend was an eye opener to me. I was amazed to watch the two girls search their cookbooks, plan meals and cook tasty food. They were both quite excited about their new lifestyle. I drove home with a new determination: “From now on I will eat only plant food.”

Like my daughter, I bought vegan recipe books. Many of them had a section devoted to the benefits of eating plant food. A message began to fill my mind: When God created man in the Garden of Eden, He gave him only plant food to eat. Cattle, poultry and fish live on plant food. When we eat meat, dairy and eggs, we are eating second-hand plant food.

A whole new world opened up to me. I became intensely interested in health. I bought more recipe books and books on health. As time passed, I noticed my own health improved. The children in my classroom suffered from bad colds, sore throats and the flu, but I was rarely sick. Day by day the health message more fully gripped my mind. In three years time, I went from an animal-products diet to become a zealous promoter of plant food. NO SECOND-HAND FOOD FOR ME!

LENTIL SOUP & LOAF
1 16-oz red lentils
2 c celery chopped
1 onion chopped
2 c carrots chopped
1 T oregano, basil & thyme
1 gallon water
1 t salt
2 T McKays chicken seasoning
3 garlic cloves minced
Boil one hour.
LENTIL LOAF
Take out liquid, and add quick oats to make loaf
consistency. Spray a loaf pan then press the mixture
into the pan and bake one hour at 350.