Oh yeah, you read right.  Ross and I had a VEGAN dinner last night.  It was also Paleo…which I tend to get excited about since there is so little that happens to be Vegan AND Paleo AND is substantial enough to make a meal.  Seriously, you can’t give me a salad with no meat and call it a meal.  You just can’t.  So, no, this isn’t a salad.

I do have an strange interest in Vegan cooking despite my taste for flesh.  I honestly have a lot of respect for the Vegan movement–like Paleo, Veganism ultimately seeks to better the health of our population with good, clean food and do away with nasty ass farming practices and pumping our food sources full of hormones and antibiotics and stuff.  The more militant members of the movement get a little weird, sure, but so do the militant members of the Paleosphere.  A healthy diet shouldn’t be intimidating or make us feel like they’re bad people for not buying in.  I can be an asshole sometimes, I know, but I hate it when bloggers and spokespeople get condescending–like I’m not truly Paleo if I make Paleo desserts…or include dairy sometimes…or because I don’t follow so-and-so’s definition of Paleo to a tee.  Um, yeah.  Bite me.

What I do like about Veganism is the focus on the benefits of a plant-based diet.  Not all that soy-based crapola, but the emphasis on quality produce and sources of naturally occurring nutrients.  Lately, I’ve been working on making my own diet more plant-based…I think one thing we can all do to improve our health is to get more veggies.  Animal protein is an essential part of our diet, but a lot of folks, even those who have been Paleo for a long time, believe Paleo is all about eating massive quantities of meat and fat and very little of anything else.  I like my steak and bacon and all that as much as the next gal, but seriously.  Filling my plate with produce and supplementing with animal protein is much more effective.  And colorful.  You need veggies and other plant matter to get a number of vitamins and minerals as well as antioxidants and high-quality carbs that your body can access for quick fuel.  For me, thinking less 50/50 animals to plants and more 35/65, perhaps.

So this cheezey spaghetti.  I was blown away at how good it was–the sauce tastes like Velveeta.  It’ll undoubtedly make an appearance again soon.  Like, on a cheeseburger.  Or with bacon.  Oh, geez, this would make a hell of an eggs Benedict.  My quality of life just got soooo much better.

(Cheeze Sauce recipe from Oh She Glows)