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Articles and Information
Vegan at Work: Being vegan among co-workers
Sheree Walters
It seems to be a common misconception by meat-eaters that vegetarians are somehow depriving themselves - that "vegetarian food" is bland and leaves something to be desired. I've made it my mission in life to set the record straight by cooking for as many omnivores as I possibly can. I often cook for my friends and tend to have them over more now that I am Vegan and have something to prove - that you can be a "health nut" and still enjoy incredibly delicious and satisfying food.
When I started my present job in June of 2003 (medical receptionist), I had just made the transition to Veganism. I made it my goal to silently make a healthful difference around this very typical office environment with the doughnut-laden countertops. My undercover job here - "Health Missionary" - and it's working! About every couple of weeks, I bring in my mostly organic, Vegan goodies for everyone to sample. I used to get a lot of questions like "how do you make that without milk or eggs?" or I'd hear people walking down the hall telling others "Sheree brought some yummy Vegan treats in for us". Everyone at work is very respectful of my diet and some have even brought in Vegan dishes so that I could enjoy them too. Every day, and I'm not exaggerating, my coworkers take a peek at my lunch, commenting on how delicious and healthy it looks and how good it smells. And they seem to feel the need to explain to me when they are eating or have eaten junk food. Others tell me that I'm "setting a good example around here". It makes me feel good - seems the old adage "lead by example" is prevalent here.
I was recently told by a coworker that if she'd not witnessed the food on my plate at lunch time and smelled the "wonderful aromas", that she'd have never believed that Vegan food would be anything she'd be interested in trying. In fact, she said that she'd always thought of it as somewhat "scary". Now she shares all of the conversations we have regarding food and health with her husband. She recently came into work and said "you'd be really proud of my husband, he's been buying everything organic he can get his hands on" and "we've been talking a lot lately about the need to start taking better care of ourselves so that we don't end up obese and ill like most of our family members".
Although most of my coworkers seem quite impressed by my eating habits and receptive to the treats I bring, I've had the occasional comment like "oh, you're so good about eating healthy - but I think some of us just really enjoy tasty food too much". I just have to shrug it off and realize that I'm not going to reach everyone - at least not all at once .
It's amazing how we can change others lives by the way we live ours, sometimes without saying anything at all. I believe each of us has a job to do in this world - mine is to help people, the environment, and the precious creatures that wind up on our plates. I cook - that's my job. I really believe, from my experience so far, that I am sort of a "silent activist" so to speak. Don't get me wrong, if someone starts spoutin' off to me the importance of meat & dairy, I'll give 'em the best I got! Fortunately, I have yet to get into a nasty debate over this topic.
Following is a recipe for my special banana bread that happens to be a favorite at work.
Sheree's Vegan Banana Bread
- 1/2 C Earth Balance or Spectrum Buttery Spread (softened)
- 2 Egg Replacer Eggs
- 1 C Organic Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 C Almond Meal (or grind your own raw almonds into a flour-like texture)
- 1 C Turbinado Sugar (or other unrefined sugar)
- 3 Extra Ripe Bananas
- 1 tsp aluminum-free baking soda
- 1/2 C Chopped Walnuts (optional)
Cream buttery spread and sugar together. Add mashed bananas and prepared
egg replacer and mix well. Sift flour into separate bowl and add in baking
soda, mix. Add almond meal to flour and mix. Add dry mixture to creamy mixture.
Add chopped walnuts if desired.
Bake in lightly oiled loaf pan @ 300 - 325 degrees for 1 - 1 ½ hours on
middle rack. The longer it bakes at the lower temperature, the better the
banana flavor.
Remove from oven and let cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Remove bread
from pan and cool on rack.
Sheree Walters lives with her vegetarian husband, Tony, and their 3 y/o vegan daughter, Summer in Renton, WA (near Seattle).
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