I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of the New Year’s Eve vegan apple pie with vegan whipped cream, but I’m having leftovers on January 2, New Year’s day, observed. And now I had a chance to take a picture!
I’m not usually that crazy about apple pie, but this was freaking delicious. Apple pie from the store, heated up in the microwave and topped with the coconut-based whipped topping from Trader Joe’s. That was easy! I like the TJ’s whipped topping because it’s not nearly as expensive as other versions of vegan whipped cream.
Everyone who knows me, knows that I go for all vegan options three meals a day, but they also know that I’m willing to be flexible and that I could even eat meat or cheese or eggs or whatever may be there, if the vegan options don’t work out for whatever reason.
We had a small party for New Year’s Eve at our house, a small apartment with the windows open, and it was just five of us, so it was fairly Covid-friendly. I was the only veganish person there, but our friends specifically brought a vegan dessert: a vegan Apple pie from Williamette Valley Pie Co., found at a boutique grocery store.
I know that there are people out there who are afraid that they can’t be partially vegan or “vegan except when it would make life a pain in the butt.” A lot of vegans / vegetarians are afraid that if they are willing to make an exception, then nobody will understand that they actually want all vegan food or all vegetarian food.
However, my experience has been just the opposite. People are actually more understanding of a vegan diet, that is, if you’re doing it for the animals (and not because of food allergies or medical restrictions, which is my case), if you’re not strict about it.
If you’re able to meet other people half-way, by being willing to go with the flow, then they are more willing to meet you halfway by looking for those vegan options for you.
Of course, one cannot claim to make exceptions if one isn’t actually willing to make exceptions. However, being willing to make exceptions is such an advantage for the animals, for so many reasons. Most people don’t want a voluntary food allergy; I have a hunch, that is why strict veganism or strict vegetarianism, or strict anything like that, has never become very popular worldwide.
People need wiggle room and flexibility. If you show them that you can go for vegan and vegetarian options with wiggle room, then that shows them that they can do it, too.
Finally, I have to point out that I am mentioning this idea about wiggle room in a post about a fully vegan apple pie topped with a fully vegan whipped cream. In my opinion, based on my experience, allowing for wiggle room makes more strictly vegan options possible for everyone.
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