12/9 Leave Out The V Word
We love to entertain, especially during the holidays. We deck out the house and compile a shopping list to feature some of our favorite foods. This year as in many times for previous parties, we asked our guests to bring something to share. You know the concept, we will prepare dishes of course, but want others to be a part of presenting edibles for us all to enjoy.
For a little background, we have maintained a vegetarian household for the past 6 years, so our friends and family are not strangers to having meatless feasts here for all occasions. No one has ever left a party of ours hungry.
Here’s the funny part that I think is directly attributable to one small, five letter word. I put on the Evite, “Feel free to bring a vegan dish to share.” Can you find the word that may have created a small flurry of questions? Uh-huh, it’s in there, five letters long and mingling with other verbs and nouns. It creates a question by its very nature here as it does in other places making some feel ill at ease or at a loss. The V word, vegan.
I have never received puzzled feedback from an invitation until this one. What to bring? What do you suggest? They are polite questions for sure, but this is the first time we’ve been asked pointedly about food with such inquiry. The only new addition to the invite this year is the word vegan, so I believe it to be the culprit of this confusion. The truth is that the response of our friends is not unusual, it is in reality the norm.
What is it about the word vegan that makes otherwise skilled cooks and capable consumers shutter when it is spoken? (or written as in this case) Why does the word vegan carry so much weight to it? Why does it even tend to slant toward a negative connotation? Sandy and I are new vegans really, only 6 months into our journey and we suspect that other seasoned vegans know more about this experience than we do. But, we also believe that some of our omnivorous Exploits friends can help shed light on this too.
Have you been on either end of this experience before? Have you had to bring a vegan dish and didn’t know what to do? Can you provide some insight to why it was a bit puzzling? Or, the other end, have you offered that you are vegan or prefer a vegan dish and seen that deer in the headlights stare? What do you think we can do to help make this less intimidating? Do we leave out the V word and call it something else? What do you suggest?
While you ponder this notion to help in this journey, I better move on to the business of announcing the next (Vegan) Joy Giveaway Winner.
And The Winner Is….
On the seventh day of Vegan Joy, Exploits gave to me a limited edition vegan Tee. Congratulations Noelle, you are the Day Eight winner of the Twelve Days Giveaway. You have won a limited edition PETA tank that was designed by Delia Seaman, owner of L.A. boutiques Delia and Vionnet. Congrats Noelle and thank you for your comments.
I would like to thank our friends at PETA for all they do for animal advocacy and for the cool swag.
Have a delicious day.
Tags: compassionate eating, dairy free, going veg, trying vegan, trying vegetarian, vegan, vegan challenge, vegan entertaining, vegan experience, vegan transition, vegan wannabe
December 9th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
How exciting! Thanks.
December 9th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Before I ever considered a vegan diet a possibility, I will admit that vegans terrified me. It was a mix of awe and horror, actually. I mean, what on earth would I eat if not butter and cheese? Just a few years ago I remember saying to a new friend who was working at a raw vegan restaurant that I didn’t care for fake food and that is why I could never go vegan (!). So yeah, lots of misconceptions out there. What really surprises people is that “vegan food” is not anything crazy. In fact, in my case, I found that I was already eating vegan 90% of the time. I guess that really doesn’t shed any light on your question, just to say that I get why people are confused.
December 12th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
Yes, I have wondered what to bring. I’ve baked up a storm this weekend to find something delicious for a potluck this coming week. I didn’t want to go the veg platter route and asked a long-time vegan what he suggested that would be omni friendly. He suggested sweets.
December 15th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
Sweet are always a great bet and undeserved at most parties in my opinion. Go for the sweets!
December 15th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
You are so right Jennifer, that is why I think that the greatest thing we can do as vegans and wannabes is share insight with anyone that will listen in a warm, inviting and friendly way. I love when people ask questions instead of just assuming things or ignoring the fact that I am vegan. Let me tell you all about how much I love tempeh and the best way to enjoy a Tofurky!
December 17th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
The problem is, in my experience, that a lot of people aren’t really sure what vegan is…. I’m vegetarian but i’ve had people refer to me as vegan because they think it’s all the same. “She doesn’t eat meat, she’s vegan”….my response… “Actually i’m quite fond of cheese (lol)” and then they look at me like o_O….. they don’t get it. Thanksgiving this year my grandparents kept offering me green beans (which had pork in them btw), carrots, and salad….. i’m vegetarian…. not a rabbit….. Also, meat eaters base their meals around the meat…. if there is no meat, then what do they base the meal on? Everything else is a side dish to them, not capable alone of keeping them satisfied. I must say i had to learn to become a more creative cook when i subtracted meat from my diet. I don’t want to lie to the people i’m feeding but as soon as they know it’s not meat all the sudden “this taste funny” when i know it’s clearly mental….
December 22nd, 2010 at 9:02 am
Be Randy, thank you for this thoughtful comment, you are so right. People who are new to the concept of plant based diets (ie, have a new vegan or vegetarian in the family) seem to be intimidated, frustrated, frightened, unclear about what vegan or vegetarian means. They assume that whatever you are willing to eat is not something that they would choose to eat. I have been vegetarian for over 13 years and as soon as I went vegan I had so many of the same people that I have shared meals with for a decade say, “Well I don’t really know what you eat…I don’t know if you can eat that…” It is like I decided to take Polysorbate 80 out of my diet and expected all of my friends and family to know off hand whether or not it is in the food that we are eating. It is pretty evident if what you are about to prepare has any animal products or dairy in it!! I have worked on not taking it personally or feeling like they are not supportive because I realize it is out of fear or a lack of information that they question what I am choosing to do. When you work on making positive changes in your life it can cause those around us to see it as a mirror, reflecting back to them what they are or are not doing to take care of themselves. Lets just continue to share information with those we love and dine with in a kind and open manner.