Accidental Vegan

I’m going to tell on myself here. I’m all for the whole frugal cooking thing, bringing your own lunch to work, prepping in advance… All that smack.

I haven’t been doing it lately, and when I took a good look at the family budget, I realized that we’re buying lunch at work too damned often. I’m not even going to give the dollar figure here, because it’s might look trivial to some, but for me it’s high enough to be embarrassing.

Anyway, I decided to make up some easy to grab cold salads for us to bring to work. One of them was just your basic chicken salad, which we like a lot. (Yes, not vegan. I know!)

The other one is a Black Bean and Quinoa salad. I’m passing on the recipe because a lot of people are going to parties and cookouts where we might not know the dietary requirements of people there. This particular recipe is not only gluten-free, it’s vegan. Me? I’m a total carnivore, but this is still a favorite lunch ’cause it tastes good.

accidentalvegan-1

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

  • 2 c quinoa
  • 15 oz can of black beans
  • 11 oz can of corn
  • 1 large red pepper
  • ¼ c. chopped onion
  • 1 large stalk celery, diced
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 1 T olive oil
  • ½ cumin

Cook the quinoa according to directions on package. Allow to cool. Mix with salt and pepper to taste, then add cumin.

Sauté red pepper, onion and celery in olive oil until onion begins to become translucent. Stir into quinoa mixture. Stir in black beans and corn.

Chill.

You Don’t Have to be Beautiful

I’m tired of the “All Bodies are Beautiful” rhetoric.

Why?  There’s still the goddamned pressure to think of yourself as beautiful above anything else.

Am I beautiful?  As in photogenic?

Hell no.

Does that mean I feel badly about my looks?

Not unless I have to deal with some asshole deciding to be mean to me because I’m not beautiful, and therefore need to be punished for it in his eyes.

And that’s exactly the point.  If we do the “all bodies are beautiful” thing, what we’re really saying is that beauty is the most important value to have, and trying to make people who aren’t physically beautiful focus on that as the important value.

I’m not beautiful.  And you know what?  That’s okay.  It’s cool for people who are, and goodness knows they should enjoy it.  I enjoy being smart.  I enjoy being determined.  I enjoy that partners find me attractive.  (Beauty and charisma are two very different things. Charisma is a skill, and yes, I can turn that on if I want to).  I am blessed with a strong, agile body and I love that.

Do I like my body?

Good heavens, YES!  I am an extremely physical person and yes, I like my body.  I love the way it feels when I pull through the water during a swim.  I love the agility of my fingers as I knit.  I love dancing and letting my body and mind merge with music.  I love the way I can use facial expressions to communicate volumes without saying a word.  I love the feel of well-tailored fabric and admire the way good clothes move with my body.

I love these things independent of any aesthetic view of my body, and it takes the pressure off to be goddamned “beautiful” all the time.

‘Cause, come on, I’ve got stuff to do!

springscream