The "Kind" Dinner

The place where you live certainly plays an important role in shaping your lifestyle and values.  In my case, moving to and living in LA changed the way I look at dinner time.  Dinner used to be centered around one main dish, either meat, chicken or fish.  But now, feeding off (pun intended) the movement of eating a "kind diet," I have incorporated vegan dinners into the rotation, serving absolutely no animal products to my family a couple of days a week.

The first few times I attempted to introduce my family to vegan dinner night, they looked around the table and asked "where's the main dish?"  Moving from an animal-based diet to a vegan one is a difficult transition to make, even if it is only for a couple of days a week.  There is something physically and emotionally satisfying about eating a burger, or even chicken and rice, and you cannot reproduce this feeling with vegetation.  It makes one wonder, Why try?  Or, more specifically, why would I, someone who does not believe it is immoral to eat animals, incorporate vegan meals into my family dinners? 

I believe that if you hear of an idea enough times, you will be at least partially convinced.  Living in LA, it is impossible not to feel that a vegan diet is at least worth trying.  I have become "greener" in so many ways, seeing billboards everywhere I go convincing me that it is my job to save mother earth by recycling, reusing and buying green products.  It was only a matter of time before I started wondering about a greener diet.  I have always known the importance of eating healthy, such as whole grains and lean protein and many fruits and vegetables,  but now green was becoming the new healthy in my mind.  While I was swatting away at the notion that a vegan diet is "kinder" to the planet, the idea that a vegan diet is the most healthy was planting itself firmly in my mind.

So I jumped right in with both feet and committed to making a vegan dinner once a week.  But I quickly found that cooking and serving the dinner was the easy part; explaining to the kids this new way of eating was a bit more tricky.  They wanted to know where the meatballs for the pasta went, and if they are really expected to eat the rice and beans.  So I began educating them on the health benefits of increasing plant based products and decreasing animal products in their diets.  We went online and researched the dangers of high animal protein diets, and the benefits of plant based diets.  We even discussed the possible benefits to the planet that a vegan diet offers.  They asked me if I think it's wrong to eat meat, and I told them that to me, it's not about right and wrong.  It's about small lifestyle changes that are healthy and maintainable.  It's about knowing that there are other options for dinner that are not animal based.  It is about becoming more educated to the beliefs of  our ever changing society, and approaching them from a place of curiosity and open-mindedness.  Then they asked for doubles of the vegan pasta and sauce.  And as they ate this heart-healthy dinner, rich in vitamins and minerals and educational at the same time, I reflected that this is exactly what I would call a Kind Diet.