Note to our readership:  There have been numerous comments on this post indicating illness after consuming this product.   We did not experience this issue, and it seems that the problem does not affect everyone.  However, in good conscience, we cannot recommend these products with so many of you commenting that you are having problems.  The Vega corp has commented below.  If you have gotten ill after trying the Vega product, please contact Victoria[at]sequelnaturals[dot]com.  They are working to identify the problem.

Recently we had the opportunity to try some of the Vega line of products.

Specifically, we tried the Whole Food Health Optimizer, the Whole Food Smoothie Infusion, and the Antioxidant EFA (essential fatty acid) Oil Blend.

The Whole Food Smoothie Infusion is a high quality protein powder that also provides fiber and Omega 3 EFAs.  I added it to my morning shake, in place of the protein powder I usually use.  It had a pleasant taste and the added benefit of the fiber and EFAs which I wasn't getting in the hemp powder I've been using.  So, as soon as I finish my stash, this is my new protein powder.

The Whole Food Smoothie Infusion is a great product to take on the road with you.  All you need to do is add water and you have a vegan meal replacement.  Personally, I thought they were a bit on the sweet side, but Jane loved them.  She especially liked the chai flavor blended with ice to make a nice summer concoction.  You can also add the smoothie infusion to the fruit based smoothie of your choice.  They also provide you with a few recipes.

The Antioxidant EFA Oil blend makes a good salad dressing.  We found it to have a slightly nutty taste which is a nice change from the extra virgin olive oil Jane usually uses.

Overall, we feel these are high quality products that are a welcome addition to our pantry.

Jane and I are struggling a bit. One of our kitties, our favorite, has terminal cancer. The vet has prescribed pain killers, along with some other fun things. And we've been instructed to pay careful attention to her level of comfort and when it appears she is suffering, we should euthanize her.

On a logical basis, I know this is the right thing to do. It is our responsibility to our pets to care for them as best we can. Personally, I would want someone to help me end it when the pain became unbearable. The only difference here is that I expect I would be able to communicate my desires when the time came. The thing that scares us both is that we won't really know when it is the "right time." So we are going to have to make the decision to kill a being. And realistically, it will likely be too early, or too late.

We got the pain killers today. We knew our kitty had been ailing. She has a mass growing on her face, and when she finished her first round of anti-biotics she started smelling really foul, as if she was rotting. (Which btw, is what the vet said is happening with her tumor.) Occasionally she would pass on her food and Jane would spend significant time coaxing her to eat. But our kitty still wanted to hang with us, and she would purr when we petted her. We had no idea she was in pain. After her first dose of pain killer, she was much more playful and her purring was louder. So is she stoned, or had she been suffering and we missed it all?

We love this cat. I mean, really love this cat. She is our child. Our other kitty is great, but he is a pet. This cat has a real personality. Neither of us is happy with the idea of putting her down. She's almost 16. She's had a better life than many people on this earth. But how do you actually make the decision to kill another being? Even if it is the compassionate thing to do?

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has a petition going on Facebook that is worth signing (or at least taking a look at)!  They are trying to get  Congress to include more vegetables, fruits, vegetarian foods, and healthful nondairy beverages in school lunches.  Congress is currently revising the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act, which helps determine what foods are served in school lunches.

You can view more information about the petition and sign here.  Or you can sign on their Facebook page.

As I mentioned, Jane's mom was here for a visit recently. While she was here, she mostly ate vegan.  But she couldn't give up milk for her coffee.  She tried, but she wasn't enamored with the soy milk or almond milk alternatives we had for her.  When she left, we had a bit of milk leftover that she hadn't consumed.  In the interest of "science" I decided to try it and see if it still tasted great to me.  Remember, we really loved cow's milk.  Not only did it taste weird to me.  I would have to say I didn't like it at all.  I know plenty of people who are omnivores who don't like milk, but I used to drink it all the time.

I found it very interesting that after two years I've grown to actually dislike something I used to love.  How quickly our tastes can change.  It makes me wonder how I would react to a meat-based meal?   Would it taste odd to me?  Would it be bad?  Not that I'm planning on experimenting here.

But what is even more exciting to me is that I can now say, in all honesty, that you can easily learn to adapt to a vegan diet.  And after a few short months, eating vegan will be the norm.

Just as the vegan community had good press on the Today Show yesterday (see yesterday's blog post Vegan Firefighters On Today), we had bad press on the Tonight Show last week.

Comedian Tom Papa did a standup routine on the show.  Overall I found it rather humorous, but his wife should train him a bit better.  If she really is vegetarian as he mentions, she should have him praising the diet in public.

Below follows a brief transcript of his routine.  (I love the part about the billionaires.)

Here we are at the beginning of the next Great Depression.  Wow, I'm looking forward to it .  I'm so tired of all the old people, "we're the greatest generation, we survived the great de na na."

We can do it too, come on.  How easy is it to be poor.  It's fun, you don't have to get up early for work, you don't have to get up ever.  It's awesome.

How about these billionaires.  These billionaires are killing themselves. They're losing their money and they're killing themselves.  How insulting is this?  They'd rather die than live like us.  "You want me to eat at Applebee's - I don't think so."

I think it's good for us.  Simplify things.  We're gonna be fine.  We're America, we'll be fine.  It'll be nice.  Get joy out of the little things for a while.

Soup.  I love soup.  A nice chowder, a nice bisque.  Get a big stale piece of bread.  Gum it for weeks at a time.

I eat like that all the time.  My wife's a vegetarian.
We go to vegan restaurants.  Ever try that, you ever go to a vegan restaurant? Yeah, that's a bummer of a night.  Talk about the Great Depression.  You want to celebrate life you go to a steak house.  People are filled with joy.  Beer and wine, people slashing each other with knives.  Blood dripping off your chin.  Everybody's laughing, pounding on the tables.  Ha Ha Ha Ha.

You go to a vegan restaurant nobody's laughing, they're so weak they don't even have the breath.   Aaah.  They can't even lift the fake buffalo wing made of tofu and bark nuggets up to their mouths.

And there you have it, the stereotype of the weak, helpless vegan.

Anyway, if you'd like to check it out yourself, you can find the Tonight Show episode here.  It's chapter 5 if you don't feel like watching the entire episode.  It's episode 3717 and aired Friday, February 21st.