Food Inc.

I watched 'Food Inc.' on Netflix. Not to sound like Keanu Reeves, but...Whoa. This film really helped me by providing visuals of the concepts I am trying to wrap my mind around. Making a choice to give up eating animals isn't just for me, but for farmers, and the environment and to fight against exploitation of workers, and to keep animals from being horrifically abused and to avoid ingesting weird chemicals and Frankenstein like genetically modified food. It's such a complicated issue. Until I started digging around in it, I had no idea of all the things I should be concerned about.

My problem is now that I know this, I am still struggling with cravings and desires for foods I have eaten for 40+ years. I have a subscription to Vegetarian Times and Clean Eating and a plethora of vegetarian cookbooks. I am being brave and trying recipes I would never have considered trying before.

Like Key Lime Pie made with tofu. This month's VT had a whole meal menu and I made the whole menu, veggie chili, maple cornbread, and for dessert, the aforementioned Key Lime Pie. It looked good in the photo, but I was sure it would be disgusting. After all, it had me throw a lump of tofu in my blender instead of using eggs. But in the interest of actually trying, I made it.

It did not have the texture of classic Key Lime Pie, but the taste was really delightful. No hint of tofu hunks, it blended in smooth and was undetectable. The lime flavor was zesty, and the recipe also called for some Coco Lopez, so a little tropical lilt. The graham cracker crust was homemade with vegan margarine and agave nectar, and also very nice - not that break your teeth kind you get pre-made at the grocery store.

The hardest part for me right now is the time factor. Making everything vegan from scratch takes a lot of time and that's a commodity I am short on. But I'm learning to be creative and hopefully will find some speedy weeknight recipes so I don't cave in and hit the drive-thru in a moment of weakness.