Vegan Interrogated: Laura

Name: Laura
Location: Texas
Website/blog: www.gynxyarns.com

A little about yourself:
I've been a dietary vegan for 3 years, but before that I became a vegetarian when I was 4 years old. I love knitting and working out.

Favorite meal to make:
I really love sushi, and even though it's not hard to make, a lot of times I'm lazy and put all of the ingredients in a bowl instead of a roll. My favorite stuffing for sushi is the spicy tempeh from Veganomicon. So simple, but so incredibly delicious.

Favorite restaurant & why
Spiral Diner and Bakery. There's one in both Fort Worth and Dallas, and their food is incredible. I love them so much I even had them do my wedding desserts! I love Spiral because I can take people who have never eaten vegan food before there and they'll come out talking about how vegan food is actually tasty. I love a lot of the dishes there, but I've been stuck on the Spiral burger with a nut patty and cheese for a while. Oh, and a side of potato salad, of course.

Dumbest question someone asked you about being vegan.
The dumbest question actually came from my husband the very first time I met him. He asked me if I got a cut on my finger and put my finger in my mouth, would that be vegan since I'd technically be consuming blood. He didn't really make a good first impression, haha.

What was the reaction from your friends/family?
I'm sure my friends thought it was weird, but for the most part they didn't bug me about it. There was more of an adjustment period for my family since they'd often cook for me, but everyone's used to it now and no one tries to feed me things with butter in them.

What is the biggest misconception people have about you being vegan?
A lot of people seem to be confused as to what all is restricted in a vegan diet, especially with all the other different allergies and diets out there. People seem confused all the time that I'm eating gluten, something with sugar in it, grains, or really anything that isn't a vegetable. A lot of people see a vegan diet as extremely restrictive, and think we can't eat anything. Most people don't believe me when I tell them I started eating a much greater variety of foods when I became vegan, but it's true!