One of the things that caused me hesitation, and maybe a little panic in switching from vegetarianism to a plant based diet, was the fear of rejection. I know, I know, it sounds stupid when I say it out loud, but hear me out. I love eating. I LOVE IT. I wake up in the morning thinking about what I want to make for dinner. I also love people. I LOVE LOVE LOVE people. I love to be surrounded by people I love, while eating food that I love. There is nothing better, unless you ask my husband who might argue just about anything is better, but that's another conversation all together.
So when you take away the foods that the masses love, you start to think “how will I connect with these people now”? Thanksgiving with the family just got weird and I’m gonna starve. Girls night just got tricky, birthday parties, dinner parties, dates, etc. Now you feel weird hosting a dinner or party and only offering plant foods to the meat eating masses. You don’t want to be “that” person. The hippie, tree hugging, granola head friend that asks what is in every food item on the menu, and believe you me, I found my self in each and every one of these situations, and I lived to tell about it.
I still have friends. Now, do my non plant based friends invite us to dinner? Its rare! But that probably has more to do with our 4 kids than our food preferences. We are also super lucky and made a great group of friends right in our neighborhood that we hang with all the time. We eat ALL OF THE TIME. Some are vegan, some vegetarians, others are just happy to eat anything! We even have a monthly vegan dinner night in our neighborhood that I initiated. We rotate houses and dinner themes and its super fun.
So here's my point. GO GET EM, so to speak. Host a dinner party. Host Thanksgiving. Host ladies night or your kids play date. Initiate a plant based dinner party night in your own neighborhood. I hosted my first plant based thanksgiving this past year and even my meat eater, southern dad attended and LOVED IT. You will be surprised by the positive reaction and how many people will start asking for recipes. Food is a funny thing, it's cultural glue, it gathers people together and can also divide them, but you can use food’s mysterious powers for good! Show your friends and loved ones you don’t eat twigs and berries all day, and that there will be no mung beans at ladies night (unless you have actually eaten them and like them). Just don’t be afraid to be the host and show everyone how delicious plant based can be!
