Veganism: The rant...

No, I'm not going vegan, but lately I've been trying to reduce my meat consumption, even if my motives aren't exactly Noble...

By that you're probably thinking:
"Nefty is pretending to be Vegan in order to get into some girl's pants."

You'd be partially correct in your assumption. There is a girl. Yes, I'm trying to ensure that this relationship becomes something serious. And yes, I want to get in her pants, but that is not the point. The point is that I'm not Jason Momoa or Channing Tatum... so, I have a disadvantage in the looks department... Luckily, my dorkiness and social awkwardness are endearing to her.
But the problems lie at times where we have to eat.

I love meat. It's flavor, texture, aroma. Sometimes I don't even use salt and pepper, just meat and flames... as in an actual fire and small meat cubes getting the outside seared and the insides juicy pink. Sometimes I use 3 skewers at the same time while cooking and end my sentences with: bub!

But for the sake of not making her feel awkward, because I know that she's a bit uncomfortable when having her veggie burger, I'm eating a real burger with cheese and bacon... like it happened on our first date... So I'm trying to go for meatless alternatives a bit more often. She says she's OK with me eating meat... I only need to brush my teeth and rinse twice before any kissing. So, not exactly OK. I mean she's NOT preaching me the whole "Go Vegan save the world"dogma. She simply doesn't like the taste of meat and she's not trying to "convert people". But she has friends that are Vegan and as an omnivore with a predilection for meat and dairy, I don't want to put her in an awkward situation with her friends.

Sure, there might be some slight interests in improving my nutrient intake, but it's mostly for a girl... this time.

I have dabbled in attempts to go vegetarian before. The first time was when Mom was following a fad. Everyone at home was forced to become vegetarian cold turkey...

She lasted a week. We all developed a slught aversion to soy AS a ground beed substitute

The second time was in college, but the same two problems that plagued Mom the first time reared theor head once more:
Affordability and Taste.
4 Veggie patties cost almost the same as getting a pack of  6-8 pre-made beef patties.
And let's be real... no veggie burger can co pare to a true burger...
Enter  Impossible burger comments.
I can only get those from Dave & Busters... I just found out we have one of those that serves impossible burgers.

So far  only meatless substitute *I * find passable is facon. It doesn't taste like bacon, but the taste is enjoyable. I orefer it on salads over real bacon... the worst? Milk substitutes. Nut juice isn't milk. I find it horrible to drink on its own and with cereal... blegh!

So, yeah... TASTE is an important factor. If you're going to eat it, you might as well enjoy it... For people who enjoy the flavor of meat, attempting to reduce their meat intake with vegan friendly alternatives is a bit harder.

The second one is cost. IF tasty vegan alternative foods were cheaper than actual meat, I'd buy more of it due to cost effectiveness, but so far, it isn't.
I tried the Watermelon steak and no. It's not an acceptable substitute to steak... but cayenne rubbed watermelon  slabs are to die for!

Lentils, chick peas, and beans are a "no go" for me. I'm Puerto Rican... I practically  eat these nearly every day with rice. And when you're 30 minuted watching netflix and chill then you give her that look... no, not the let's pork look... the I just ripped the nastiest fart in the universe and it didn't make a sound... Now I got a pillow to the face and a look of absolute disgust... beans, beans, the musical fruit and all that. There is still a lot of stuff that I have to try, but the main factors are taste and cost... the third factor is ease of preparation.

I can make a meatless risotto that is decent, but risotto requires a lot of attention and is nit cost effective. A couple of dishes I've seen require risotto levels of attention and being brutally honest, I'm a bit lazy in the kitchen... Sure there are days I can spend 6 hiurs preparing a sauce and making a damn good home cooked meal. But mist of the time it's something like this:
Eggo + toaster... once it's  warm, syrup... the end.

But Veganism's biggest enemy is Vegans themselves... not all vegans mind you, but you know which Vegans I'm talking about. The ones that made the stereotype a thing.
I KNOW that there are certain advantages in eating more vegan dishes. BUT the militant approach creates resistance. The dogmatic approach of become vegan or you're literally Hitler will make more people say "Seen Kyle" than " holy crap, you're right!"

I'M trying to reduce my meat consumption BECAUSE of a person I care about. She didn't try to actively "convert me." *I* am choosing to not eat as much meat, so when I'm with her, I can eat and/or cook meat and dairy free stuff. A little compromise for the sake of the relationship. I may fully quit meat in the future, but the future is not set, so we'll have to wait and see. Had she been all militant, I would've lost all interest in her and not be interested in trying a more vegetarian approach to my life.

Sharing recipes of great teasting vegan meals yields better results than calling people murderers, rapists, etc. Seriously, stop validating the stereotype.