I am going to give a shout out to those who have influenced me over the past 16 years of vegetarian cooking.....and the first person to mention is certainly my MOM....
When I was 15 my brother became a vegetarian for Animal Rights reasons. I felt inclined at the time to agree with him and forced myself to give up meat. One thing my mother did incredibly well was to show me how to get the proper nutrition out of a vegetarian diet. She told me that she would support my decision only if I was healthy about it. Later on in my teenage years she began a Nursing degree at George Mason and part of her degree was nutrition. At that time I had started to become Vegan; more cause for nutritional concern. However, I feel I was taught very well on how to get the most out of what I ate. Also, she was (and IS) very supportive about trying out old favorite recipes , but making them Vegan. When I went to College I was always impressed by her efforts when I would return; Vegan desserts, tons of experimental dishes for me to consume. To this day she impresses me with her Vegan Cooking.
Throughout the years she has also influenced me philosophically. Touting the tenets of "true" Chrisitanity; love for your neighbor, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and helping the poor and needy, she made a huge impression on me. Even as I delved further into the depths of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, we would always have wonderful intellectual conversations. She never pretended to completely agree with my vegetarianism, but she would ALWAYS try; and along the way, I think I have shown her some great attributes of myself.
I will forever remember the times when she and I would walk the dogs down to the reservoir and talk. They are some of my fondest memories of growing up. These walks helped solidify hers and my relationship beyond that of son/mom. She always knows when to add humor to the discussion as well as when to be serious. The walks were my first indication that I needed to be outdoors and commune with Nature; hence the current situation of going to the Mountains every weekend. Her visits to us in Colorado definitely count as some of the best days of our lives; and will continue to do so until we move.
When I was 15 my brother became a vegetarian for Animal Rights reasons. I felt inclined at the time to agree with him and forced myself to give up meat. One thing my mother did incredibly well was to show me how to get the proper nutrition out of a vegetarian diet. She told me that she would support my decision only if I was healthy about it. Later on in my teenage years she began a Nursing degree at George Mason and part of her degree was nutrition. At that time I had started to become Vegan; more cause for nutritional concern. However, I feel I was taught very well on how to get the most out of what I ate. Also, she was (and IS) very supportive about trying out old favorite recipes , but making them Vegan. When I went to College I was always impressed by her efforts when I would return; Vegan desserts, tons of experimental dishes for me to consume. To this day she impresses me with her Vegan Cooking.
Throughout the years she has also influenced me philosophically. Touting the tenets of "true" Chrisitanity; love for your neighbor, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and helping the poor and needy, she made a huge impression on me. Even as I delved further into the depths of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, we would always have wonderful intellectual conversations. She never pretended to completely agree with my vegetarianism, but she would ALWAYS try; and along the way, I think I have shown her some great attributes of myself.
I will forever remember the times when she and I would walk the dogs down to the reservoir and talk. They are some of my fondest memories of growing up. These walks helped solidify hers and my relationship beyond that of son/mom. She always knows when to add humor to the discussion as well as when to be serious. The walks were my first indication that I needed to be outdoors and commune with Nature; hence the current situation of going to the Mountains every weekend. Her visits to us in Colorado definitely count as some of the best days of our lives; and will continue to do so until we move.
No comments:
Post a Comment