Jane and I were out and about today, running errands, as we usually do on Saturdays. We talked about lunch and decided to eat at Grassroots in South Pasadena. Grassroots has rapidly become our favorite restaurant. We've eaten there three times in the past three weeks. The food is delicious and they're less than ten minutes from home. You can't beat that.

Grassroots is actually a health food store, with a small prepared-food service counter inside. They serve healthy, organic meals. And although they're not exclusively vegetarian, you can always get a great vegan meal there, not a feat easily accomplished so close to home.

On the way over, Jane was reading the menu out loud and we were discussing the merits of our various choices. Would I have the Cuban Bowl again, or would I try the one of their wraps? Or maybe a Vegan Plate with their entree du jour. Jane was thinking the Taco Salad.

We turned into the empty parking lot and looked at each other with panic in our eyes. Wire fencing barricaded us from the storefronts in the strip mall where Grassroots lives. Apparently there was a fire last week and our beloved restaurant is closed indefinitely. Jane spent the next two hours grieving the loss of this restaurant. I kept reminding her that the owner's losses were greater than our own - and of course, we feel very badly for them. Hopefully they've got sufficient insurance and will be able to re-open and soon.

In the meantime, now where will we eat?

That's 14 pounds, gone without really trying.

Sometime in June Jane, my wife, decided we were going vegan. Since we're not billionaires, we decided that we'd finish off all the animal product in the house first. We also had a trip planned for the end of June, and didn't want to start our new lifestyle on the road. Nor did we want to have struggle with a new way of eating upon first coming home, so we settled on 7-7-7 -- an auspicious date.

I have to admit, I was a little reluctant, although I didn't say much since Jane is the primary food preparer in our household. And she said the literature promised all kinds of health benefits, which sounds great when you're middle aged. (I mean really, who cares when you're 20's, a bag of Doritos and a few beers makes a great dinner then.)

We've been doing OK, there are the occasional moments when one of us will look at the other and say "I could really go for a _____ right about now." But it not too often. Cheese and desserts are the toughest things. But we're doing OK being vegan.

So, this morning when I weighed myself and realized -- I've lost 14 pounds, without doing a thing!!!! -- I proudly proclaimed myself a vegan. I'm still the couch potato I've been for the last few years. I didn't take any magic pills or have any surgery. And half of the weight I wanted to lose just fell off all by itself. The vegan diet is magic!

Woo hoo!

Lane

Jane has a friend who works in Hollywood. This woman, Kay, is so busy she only surfaces every few weeks or so, and then we only just manage to meet for breakfast. It's been a long standing thing with us, and we all seem to really enjoy it.

Yesterday was our first breakfast with Kay since we've been doing the vegan thing. Well, I can only say that I am not looking forward to future breakfasts out. The only items on the menu were oatmeal or cream of wheat. And it's not that I don't enjoy a good bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. But that's just not what I want to eat when i go out.

Kay was outwardly sympathetic to our plight, as she plowed into her steak and eggs, but somehow I don't think our shining example of vegan happiness and healthiness is going to convert her any time soon!

In the past, Jane and I have truly enjoyed Indian cuisine. However, being vegan, we are a little reluctant to even try our favorite restaurants. Chicken Tikka Masala is not a vegan dish! And most of the dishes we most enjoy, even though they could be adapted with tofu, contain ghee and/or cream. Alas.

Jane recently bought The Accidental Vegan by Devra Gartenstein, and made our first vegan Indian dish, Palak Tofu.  Yum! I knew I was in for a treat when I smelled the aromatic spices as I stepped out of my car tonight.

This is another one for our rotation.

Jane and I are newly middle-aged, with no children. So please excuse me if today's title is woefully out of date. I heard this phrase in the recent past and have been waiting for an excuse to use it!

We were at a party Sunday afternoon. It was a gathering where we only knew the hosts, so we were thrilled to meet a group of vegans. Hey, we're new at this, maybe we could learn something, eh?

It always amazes me how judgmental people can be. We were discussing our new vegan "diet." As I've mentioned several times in the past, we've opted to change our diet primarily for health reasons, although Jane is all for reducing our "eating" footprint. (Vegan eating is much less stressful to the environment, uses far fewer resources to feed an individual, and is certainly more compassionate to our companion residents on this earth.) We also practice "catch and release" with all our uninvited guests (spiders).

But, we wear leather shoes, sometimes. And we believe that it's your choice whether you follow a vegan diet or something else. We also believe it's your choice what you wear and whom you associate with.

The people we met at this party, who shall remain nameless, were appalled that we were not members of PETA; that our primary objective in being vegan wasn't the betterment of the planet; that we don't feed our pets a vegetarian diet; and that we generally follow a live and let live philosophy, we don't proselytize . Jane was wearing her new Birkenstocks, leather upper, and was basically told she didn't know how to be a vegan. So, I guess we didn't make any new friends today.

Really folks, lighten up. Every little bit helps the planet. We're all doing the best that we can. And stop harshing my mellow!