Grateful for Beans

This Sunday morning, I woke up and started in on my breakfast. I didn't want anything fancy, but I was craving some really solid protein, the sort of food with substance that would last me through my planned walk downtown.

What I put together wasn't revolutionary: multigrain toast with peanut butter, a bunch of grapes, and a half cup of pinto beans straight from the can as a side--no sauce, no seasoning, no nada.

The toast was good, as were those sunny, fat green grapes from Chile, but those beans. Those. Beans. They were creamy and salty and rich and profoundly satisfying.

They were more than just what I was in the mood for, more than just what my body happened to be craving. They tasted heavenly. And as I ate them, I was instantly and profoundly grateful for those simple little guys.

My favorite thing about eating vegan is the way my attitude has changed toward food. Yes, my taste buds have definitely changed--even low sodium rice cakes and plain veggies taste pretty damn scrumptious--but it's more than that.

People focus on what you have to give up when you become vegan, on the denial aspect on it, but they forget that you get to eat fabulous, fresh, colorful food every day, food that doesn't just sustain your body but nourishes it.

Veganism introduced a new form of gratitude into my life: gratitude for my ability to afford fresh vegetables year round, for the time I have to prepare them, and for their availability at my local supermarket. Gratitude for beans and lentils, hummus and split peas, avocados and asparagus and kale. And I'm grateful every time I get to eat just exactly what I want, when I want it.

A surplus of gratitude, even over plain old beans--how can extra gratitude ever be a bad thing?