#Veganuary

Have you heard of this?

Awesome idea. The gist of it is to ask people who are not vegan to try going vegan for the month of January. It is sponsored by a who's who of animal rights and vegan groups. This post is going live on the 3rd so if this is the first you've heard of it and you want to try it's not too late.

As I write many times, I became vegan for the animals. I wanted to do as least harm as possible. This was almost 19 years ago. During that time I have learned that my veganism supports the environment and also makes me a physically healthier person (as long as I exercise and eat the right foods!).

Want to know more? Here is the official Veganuary website: http://www.veganuary.com/

This site has a TON of information. Even if you are already vegan I suggest taking a look. Also, you can spread the word to your non-vegan friends.

Veganism rocks. And personally, being vegan is the perfect fit for me and really anyone who cares about animals, the environment or their health.

Welcome to Veganuary!

Thanks for reading!

My 14 faves of '14: #12

Native Foods is a definite for my list of faves for '14!

Two and a half years ago there were no Native Foods in Colorado. Now there are five!

Including one in our hometown of Lakewood!

Plus, the newest just opened in downtown Denver, just a few blocks from where I work!

We LOVE Native Foods. Not only do they have amazing vegan food, they are also quite philanthropic. They have national dining out days for Surfrider Foundation, Mercy for Animals and Farm Sanctuary! Love all three of those groups.

Of course I can't mention Native Foods without letting you know that my all-time favorite dish there is the Soul Bowl!

I also would like to give a big shout out to the Native Foods in Encinitas, CA. LOVE them!

Thanks for reading!

The JeffCo School Board fiasco - Part I

Evergreen High School students protesting the JeffCo School Board.

If you are connected with my blog on social media at all, you might already know about what is happening with our local school district. We live in Lakewood, which is part of Jefferson County, Colorado. Since last week thousands of students from high schools throughout the county have walked out of class to protest, mainly, a school board member's proposed curriculum committee that would start out by making changes to AP History.

There is no way I can give this story justice with just one post. This will be a series. My first! Seriously, this issue is of huge importance to me and as I have closely followed this I have learned  a lot that I want to share with all of you.

To give you a little background, there are five school board members and last November three new "reformist" board members were voted in. They have a majority and have used that to promote their seemingly right-wing agenda. Now there are those who say that the previous board majority did the same with a left-wing agenda, yet somehow our school district became one of the top in the country.

With each side trading barbs, this is one thing I believe everyone can agree with: That JeffCo Public Schools has a reputation throughout the country as being one of the best school districts nationally.

We are also one of the largest, 85,542 students. And unlike some school districts in Colorado that are very wealthy, ours is a for sure mixture of class, ethnicity and race. We have a very high percentage of students, 34%, who qualify for free or reduced lunch yet we also have many students who come from upper middle class and up families. About 10% of K-12 students in Colorado attended a JeffCo school.

99.86% of our teachers are considered "highly qualified" according to federal standards.

We have the third best graduation rate of the nation's 50 largest school districts.

NOTE: A lot of this information comes from last year's annual report, done before this new "reformist" majority won the election.

Jefferson County is a purple county, with one third each of Democrats, Independents and Republicans.

In January our new school board majority took over and it didn't take long to notice changes.

But before I start with all of that, I want to plug voting. And voting in local elections. And paying attention to your local school board.

This is vital. Otherwise, your local school board could look like ours, if it already doesn't. As I write about what is going on in Jefferson County, please take this to heart. Please vote. Please speak out. I totally believe that if more folks voted in the school board election last year that these "reformists" would have had no chance of winning.

Once in power, the "reformist" majority quickly hired a lawyer. The board already has a lawyer yet these three wanted their own at $80,000 a year paid by the school district.

Then they decided to give $300,000 to a charter school and in the same meeting decided that they should not fund full-day kindergarten.

Charter schools are an issue. And $300,000 is a lot of money. I have read that there are some amazing charter schools, yet I first and foremost believe in support our public schools. I do not believe that all charter schools are as supportive of all students as public schools are. AN example would be me getting calls from teachers and students at two JeffCo schools that were having a tough time from those in power when wanting to create a Gay-Straight Alliance.

So I seriously should either leave the charter school debate to those most qualified or at least wait until I learn more before I write about them.

I think now is a good time to break. While I write my Part II, here is an article from today's Denver Post that will bring you more information on what is happening: student walk outs.

Thank you for reading. I would be delighted if you shared this post with friends.

Coming out: I am vegan

I know, you're not surprised. After all, it's in the title of my blog.

I have been vegan for 18 years and am still surprised by the reaction I get. Most notably, that people have to make a point to tell me how delicious their non-vegan meal is, how much they love meat or how they could never go vegan.

Before I proceed, please remember that I believe that everyone is on their own path. I always try to be there to support folks wanting to become vegan or even give it a try, but I am not standing in judgement to anyone who is not vegan.

I didn't become vegan because I didn't like animal meat or dairy cheese or dairy milk. I didn't become vegan to lose weight or try to be healthier.

I became vegan because I want to do the least harm possible while on this earth and did not want any living being to suffer to become my meal. Since then, I have stayed vegan because I decided that I do not have the right to take the life of another living being, whether I actually kill the animal or pay someone else to do so. I have also been able to enjoy the health benefits, of which there are many, of being vegan.

It's definitely a path for me. I learn new things about veganism, animal rights, animal welfare, health, nutrition and fitness practically every day. I pay more attention to what I eat. My body tells me when I am not eating enough of something or too much of something else.

My struggle is always with sugar. Since coming back from vacation a couple of weeks ago I decided (again) to cut sugar as much as possible. I've only had two desserts since and hope to keep limiting my sugar.

I love so many vegetables that I had never really tried before becoming vegan: kale, Swiss chard, dates, collard greens and well over a dozen types of peppers. My food intake is more diverse than any animal meat eater I know.

It is certainly not difficult to be vegan. One makes a decision that they do not want to be part of the inevitable torture, cruelty and fear that animals go through to become food and the culinary adventure begins.

I have some links on the main page of our blog site that can be helpful to folks new to veganism. Nutrition and fitness are very important in my vegan life.

Thanks for reading.

One small action today

That's all it takes, just one small action.

When all of us who care about animals and care about making the world a better place take one small action, the world changes.

The world becomes a little more compassionate.

Or a little safer for animals.

A little less cruel.

A little more hopeful.

Just one small action.

If you're not vegan or veg, try not eating meat today.

If you're veg but not vegan, try being vegan today.

If you have a few more minutes to be online after reading this post, go to an group you support that has action alerts and do one of them.

If you have a dog in your family, take them on a walk.

A new veg restaurant in town, go support them.

Send a donation to your favorite non-profit.

Bring a vegan dessert to your dinner gathering tonight.

You get the idea.

We can all make the world a better place for all living beings. It begins with one small action.

Thanks for reading.

Do not be afraid - of the kitchen!

"Veganomicon" is a great cookbook to help you get comfortable in the kitchen.

If where if you live is anything like the Denver metro area, restaurants are serving more and more delicious vegan items. Mike and I love going out, and as I have written in several posts, we have our favorites for sure. (Note to reader: you can check out our favorite local places to eat by clicking the tab from the main page.)

Although vegan food options are becoming even more amazing in restaurants, I still believe that the best vegan food can come right from the kitchen.

Your kitchen.

I know, I'm sure some of you are like I used to be and are probably rolling your eyes. Many years ago the normal dinner at my place was a couple of Amy's burritos and tater tots. When a met Mike, that type f meal became known as a Dan meal.

Once in a while we decide on a Dan meal for dinner. Life is busy. We both give it our all at our jobs so when we come home a Dans' meal is an easy choice. But for me, things have certainly changed in the kitchen.

I am no longer afraid.

You don't have to be either.

Here's an example. Back in January of last year during the time I was laid off, I decided to use that time and make delicious dinners for Mike. One day I found this amazing recipe for African Peanut Stew. It looked complicated, but I wanted to give it a go. So I jumped in. I went to the market and got the ingredients, came home and read the recipe a couple of times, and then started to create. With my favorite Latino music playing and the dogs eagerly waiting in the kitchen, I rocked it.

Of course the test is if other people like it, and Mike loved it. Such an amazing dish.

There are so many vegan cookbooks out there that I have to believe there is one just for you. Check them out. And some of the links on our main page will lead you to some great recipes. Also, many cookbooks have introductions before the recipes to let you know what you will need to have great experiences with their recipes.

You don't have to be afraid of the kitchen anymore! You can create delicious vegan meals right in your own kitchen!

So grab a vegan cookbook, throw an apron on, and rock it! Oh, and then tell me what you made!

Thanks for reading!

Humane slaughter?

NOTE: If you do not want to think about animals being killed for food you might not want to read this post.

Recently I saw a photo of an experiment that was testing how long a gas would take to kill chickens. I wont show the photo but I'm sure you can find it on Google.

It seems outrage against animal cruelty in the food industry has sparked interest in those who profit off of killing animals to see if they can do this without looking bad to consumers.

So have an animal. Let's say a pig. Typical, factory farm pig killing is not pretty. It's not something the pig wants to go through. I'm sure the pig would much rather go take a nap in some straw or go splash around in mud. Nonetheless here she is being hung up and slaughtered.

All so someone can have their bacon.

Again, if you want to see this process you can find it on Google.

I do not believe in humane slaughter. The bottom line for me is that if the animal had the opportunity to walk or run away from being killed, they would.

I became vegan because I wanted to do as little harm to all living beings as possible while going through this thing called life. I do not want to be the cause for the death or suffering of another being. I realized that I did not have to participate in the slaughter.

I see marketing words like "humane slaughter" and "humanely raised" all of the time these days. To me that's all they, marketing terms. There is no legal definition for what that means and in the end your humanely raised pig is going to be terrified as she is trucked off to be killed.

There are so many people who love animals but still eat them. They either don't want to think about what happens to them to get to their plate or they have simply decided that their taste buds are worth it. Or, they just don't know another way and really don't know how to begin a life that truly includes loving animals.

Just because we have always done something doesn't mean we have to continue to do it.

There are resources galore to help people who have decided they want to stop participating in the slaughter. The world is changing and vegetarianism is alive and well. And when I write the word vegetarianism I mean no meat and no meat by-product. There are communities all over the world that are there to support you!

Thanks for reading.

What is "vegan friendly"?

I hear the term "vegan friendly" in regards to a restaurant often and am always curious about it. Some times I think it means that there are several vegan items to choose from. Other times I think that the restaurant is not vegan or veg yet has vegan options, or that the folks who run the restaurant are friendly to vegans.

For me personally, vegan friendly means that the owner/manager and staff are welcoming to vegans and make vegans feel like they are home.

It means that a server knows what vegan means and what on their menu is vegan.

It means that the server smiles when we say we are vegan, rather than frown.

It means that the server doesn't say "we don't really have anything that is vegan".

The food doesn't have to to be the best vegan food we have ever eaten. They have to have tried of course, but for me it is more in the attitude and hospitality of those running the restaurant that matters, because if they rock in those areas that means that good vegan food will happen even if they are not there yet.

An example is this new Pho restaurant in Lakewood. Yes, Lakewood! Mike and I are so excited. The vegan options just keep coming in our own city!

We decided last minute to check this place out while we were out running errands. Being new, we hadn't heard of this place nor did we know if they would have vegan options.

I will definitely be doing a restaurant review on this place later, but what I want to say now is about how well we were treated. The server knew what vegan meant and understood everything from fish oil to broth. When the Pho came out I took a photo of it (being a good blogger!). The owner saw this and asked if I would post it on Facebook and I thought to myself "buddy, you have no idea" as I told him I was a blogger, that I was vegan, and that I was so excited. His face literally lit up! He told us about everything on the menu that was vegan, and was super excited that we were there.

He made us feel right at home.

That, my friends, is vegan friendly.

Thanks for reading!

No gifts; please donate

It's that time of year again.

Don't get me wrong, I love to shop. I love seeing something I know Mike will just love and purchasing it. I do the same for friends.

Then we get to Christmas and the whole world is buying gifts, in some cases just because. Not because the person is going to absolutely love the gift, but just because.

Please don't do that for me. No gifts please. I have everything I could possibly want. The newest vegan cookbook? If I want it I have it. That really cool animal rights shirt? Same thing.

When someone who loves me and cares about me wants to give me a gift, I ask them to make a donation instead.

My typical request is to ask friends and family to donate to their local HIV/AIDS group or their local animal shelter. My parents have been doing this for years. It works well on so many levels. For me it's much better than receiving a gift. The donation changes the world for a living being.

Many of our readers have donated to the groups we have listed on the main page of the blog. I love that, mainly because these are groups that Mike and I donate to and we firmly believe in the work they are doing.

I recently made a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project in honor of a relative. This group rocks it in caring for wounded veterans, something important to my relative. Would they have preferred cash? Perhaps. But like any other donation I have made in honor of someone, the donation changes not only the group I donated to but it also changes the person I made the donation for.

Thanks for reading!

Doing my small part

Talking to someone while protesting the dog vivisection labs at CU. They were shut down in 2003.

I was once at a fur protest and a passerby asked me why we (the protesters) didn't help children or the poor. I simply told him that he didn't know us at all and he had no idea who we were or what we did when we were not protesting fur. He agreed.

I had quite a busy week. At my day job I am a fundraiser for an agency that serves homeless youth. On Wednesday we served 120+ youth a Thanksgiving dinner. I walked around chatting with many youth that I know, and the room was quiet. I thought of the phrase "Peace on Earth. Good will to everyone" as a large group of people seemed so quiet, so peaceful.

Thanksgiving morning I was at the same place, our drop-in center, and was able to be a loving presence as youth who live on the streets came in for a hot breakfast.

Sometimes I feel I have had a victory at work when I leave a meeting with a donor carrying a nice sized check. Other times it's the smile I see in a youth who has lived a life filled with trauma. Then I get an email from a blog reader who is in their third week of being vegan, reading the wonderful news while one of our rescue dogs is laying stretched out on my lap.

Thanksgiving day we had a house full of friends who we love so much and who are such important parts of our lives. Every one of them makes the world a better place for all living beings, in their own way. Mike and I have a life filled with people who take action against animal torture, human rights abuses and hate.

Some days I feel like I do not do enough. No matter how much each of us does, there is something right behind it. It can and does get overwhelming at times.

This blog has made a huge difference in how I feel I can be effective in making the world a better place. Today is the last day of our dog and cat food drive for Animal Haus and I have been blown away by the amount of food we have had donated. I'll have official numbers later. Over a hundred blog readers and supporters donated food or made an online donation. Incredible.

We all have the power to make the world a better place for all living beings. In our own way. No action is too small. Our compassion and passion can rock it.

To all of our amazing readers, thank you. Thank you for what you do every day to make this world a better place!

And thanks for reading!

Another Meatless Monday post

Recently I read about another restaurant in Denver that has started offering something special for Meatless Monday. I loved reading about it, a three course meal offered at Ace. Ace is not a vegan or veg restaurant, but they do have one of the areas top vegan chefs, Jesse Moore. I'm just excited that the whole Meatless Monday idea is going strong.

I think Meatless Monday is an amazing way to build relationships and to spread the value of offering vegan dishes. I dream of a day when our city of Lakewood embraces the idea and restaurants throughout the city offer vegan and vegetarian specials every Monday. It would be a win for everyone as Monday is typically not a busy night at restaurants and people interested in healthier food choices would have plenty of places to choose from.

Imagine going to your favorite restaurant and asking them to do something for Meatless Monday. You and your friends would promote it and before you know it Monday night could become one of their busier nights.

There are other ways to support Meatless Monday and to engage people into thinking about not consuming meat for a day: 

Bring a breakfast treat into the office.

Invite a group of co-workers out to lunch or plan a vegan potluck for lunch.

Plan a group dinner in your home. We've heard from our blog readers around the world who have hosted Meatless Monday dinners, one even having 25 friends over!

Create a community Meetup for the first Monday of every month. Choose a different restaurant each month and create an online community of people who are interested in joining you. You might be surprised to see a gathering go from five people the first time to 15 a couple of months later.

Meatless Mondays are awesome opportunities to not only show off how delicious and healthy vegan food can be but also a great way to be a voice for the animals.

Thanks for reading and please keep your Meatless Monday stories coming!

VeganMofo Day 30!: My body is a temple.

This is Day 30 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts, and this post is about my body and how I treat it. It is also my final Vegan Mofo post as this is the last day of September! Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

Before I begin, I'd like to celebrate the fact that I wrote 24 posts during Vegan Mofo. They ask that you write at least twenty to participate. I didn't officially sign up as I wasn't sure if I could do twenty. I am so excited to have been a part of Vegan Mofo!

I think about food a lot more than I did when I started writing for Vegan Mofo. Not being a food blogger, my thoughts are usually around activism, changing the world, working towards equality and being a voice for the voiceless.

I can't do any of that if I'm not healthy. Being vegan is not enough. As I often say, Pepsi and potato chips are vegan.

My body is indeed a temple and I have to treat it as such. I love sweets but I can't survive on them. Eating lots of fruits and vegetables is so important.  Every day. And so is drinking water. A lot of it. Veggies I love and try to eat as much as possible are kale, spinach, Swiss chard and broccoli. Blueberries and mangoes are my favorite fruits, and they are part of me being healthy. Less sugar, definitely.

I don't drink, smoke or do drugs. I do drink coffee. A lot of it. I can drink less.

Paying attention to the food I eat and what that food does to my body is key.

For me, exercise is also a huge part of taking care of myself and being good to my temple. I trained for and completed a half-marathon back in may and I try to work out at least twice a week. My new goal is to work at being in the gym at least four times a week, even if it's just a half hour.

My mental health comes into this too. Going to meetings, spending time with my husband and friends, walks with dogs and working on this blog all help with that.

Thank you for supporting me through Vegan Mofo. I hope my food posts were helpful and that you had had as much fun reading my posts as I did writing them!

And thanks for reading!

Dan
vegandude@msn.com

VeganMofo Day 21: Vegan Denver

This is Day 21 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts, and this post is all about Vegan Denver. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

Mike and I live in Lakewood, a suburb of Denver just west and south of downtown Denver. We live in the northeast part of Lakewood, about 15 minutes due west of downtown Denver.

We like our readers to know that we live in Lakewood because we think it's a pretty awesome place to live. But since Denver is more recognized and has more of our favorite places to eat, I'm calling this post Vegan Denver.

If you're a regular visitor to The Gay Vegans you most likely know of some of these places. This is a list of our favorite places to eat, grab a snack or shop. We highly recommend all of them and so far have gotten great feedback from readers who have gone to these places. This list is also a tab on our main page under "Favorite places to eat in Denver".

Linger

Linger is by far our favorite place to eat. Linger is not exclusively vegan but has some of the best vegan food around. They serve tapa style, with dishes from around the world. Mike likes their bar selection. Their vegan dessert is out of this world. The service is beyond incredible and friendly. Reservations are highly recommended.

http://lingerdenver.com/


Tarascos

The best vegan Mexican food in the state! Tarascos already had a full page of veg options and we simply asked if they could do vegan. Amazing. Since everything is done to order practically the entire veg menu can be done vegan. My favorite are the enchiladas espinicas (spinach) but everyhting I have had is delish. Try the grilled cactus if you never have. And be sure to order a jugo natural, a fresh juice!

No web site.

470 South Federal Blvd. in Denver
303.922.2387
Hours (as of this writing) are everyday from 10am - 10pm

Root Down

Owned and created by the same team that is at Linger, we like to go to Root Down for more special occasions (Linger is more like our hang out). The food is delish. Great service. Definitely go all out, including dessert and drinks. Reservations are highly recommended.

http://www.rootdowndenver.com/

Hops & Pie

Vegan pizza! This is our favorite in Denver at the moment. In the Highlands neighborhood so not far for us. The pizza is delish and they offer Daiya and well as vegan meats and tofu. They also have an incredibly flavorful vegan mac n cheese. YES! For you beer lovers, they have something for everyone.

3920 Tennyson St  Denver, CO 80212

303.477.7000

Beet Box

All-vegan cafe in Denver, just east of downtown. New, and we have already been there many times. Great place for a treat, or if you want to turn your office mates onto vegan delicacies you can bring a variety of what they offer into the office!

1030 E. 22nd Avenue in Denver
303.861.0017

http://www.beetboxdenver.com/

Nooch Market

We can't talk about food in the Denver area without mentioning our new vegan oasis, Nooch Market. Not a restaurant but for sure a place to stock up on vegan goodies. We totally adore the owners and see great things for them and our community. 

http://noochveganmarket.tumblr.com/

Pho Duy

Delsih vegan pho, just down the street from Tarascos. Yes, we have tested it and asked all of the questions. It's #21 on the menu (double check). Small, medium and large and for me the medium has been more than enough.

No website.

945 South Federal Blvd, Denver
303.937.1609

Sweet Action Ice Cream

One of our favorite places and one of our favorite couples! They always have two vegan flavors of ice cream plus at least two vegan sorbets. Check out the freezer for vegan ice cream sandwiches.

http://sweetactionicecream.com/



Vegan Van

We have had a bunch of meals prepared by Amie in her Vegan Van. We adore Amy, and are thrilled that the Denver area has a Vegan Van. From stew to vegan chicken and waffles, Amie does not disappoint. Check out her website to see where she will be next!

http://veganvan.com/

Enjoy Vegan Denver and thanks for reading!

VeganMofo Day 8! Vegan coffee!

Welcome to Day 8 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

As I'm sure you already know, coffee is vegan.

Thank goodness.

And yes, I do realize that it is not food, yet it is such a big part of my life that I totally think it belongs in at least one post for VeganMofo.

Coffee and I have had almost an entire life-long experience. When I was 16 I was fortunate to be able to spend a year in Santa Marta, Colombia and tried many kinds of coffee. Cafe con leche was served every morning in my home.

Over the years I have thought about giving up coffee for health reasons. I don't drink, smoke, do drugs and I am vegan so I decided to keep the coffee.

These days there are a lot of options for a delish cup of coffee. Mike and I bought a Nespresso machine a few months ago after tasting a bunch of flavors made with a Nespresso machine at a party. The flavors are intense and leave you wanting for more.

The great thing about a Nespresso is that you can make just a quick, delicious cup of coffee. We use it more during the week. At first we didn't really like the waste of all of the little cups used to make the cup of coffee, then we learned we can recycle them by just dropping them off where we bought our machine.

It is expensive. And to us, very worth it.

On weekends I use our metal French Press so I have a bigger supply while I start my morning and write blog posts. The brand I use for the coffee bean is San Francisco Bay which I get at CostCo. I have loved this for a long time. I try others when someone suggests it, but the San Francisco Bay brand is the staple.

I'd love to hear about your favorite cup of coffee!

Thank you for reading!

VeganMofo

Still feeling pretty new in this amazing world of blogging, I didn't feel that I had what it takes to commit to VeganMofo, a month-long celebration of vegan food.

VeganMofo is Vegan Month of Food. 

Bloggers from all over the world will spend the month of September writing as much as they can about recipes, dishes they love, vegan food items they love and places they love to go to get amazing vegan food. Now this is not the official definition of Vegan Mofo but I think this is the general idea.

I didn't sign up for this because with work, home, etc I can barely get two blog posts out a week. But starting September 1st, I am going to give it a shot. I'm going to try to write as often as I can about what to me is the best part of being vegan: vegan food.

If you would like to know more about VeganMofo, check out this link:  http://www.veganmofo.com/about/ On this same page you can connect with all of the bloggers writing for VeganMofo.

I am super excited!

Thanks for reading!

Family

I have recently been writing some pretty personal blog posts and while in this frame of mind figure that now is a good time to write about family.

As a gay man who came out in the 80's, long before any dream of legal marriage, openness in serving in the military and even general, public acceptance, my thought around family became much broader than my blood relatives. I think this is pretty common with other gay folks who came out and had much more support from friends than family. Those same friends end up becoming family.

Homophobia and heterosexism are tough to deal with. Even tougher when negative feelings come from your own blood. Hence, a new family begins.

For the most part, Mike and I are fortunate with our families. There are a couple who we will just never be in relationship, but for the most part we are supported and loved by our blood families. The occasional homophobic comments or non-intended jabs become opportunities for conversation.

Recently one of our dearest friends had to say good bye to her dog, a senior who passed away. We, like many of you, know that pain. It's times like this where we are reminded of how important family is to us, and in this situation, reminded that our friend is indeed family to us.

No blood relative. Yet definitely family. The love we expressed to her and the support we tried to pass along all are examples of what family is and what family does in times of hardship.

Sometimes I hear about gatherings of my blood family and yearn to be part of that. We are always invited to such gatherings, yet as I look at photos and smile at family members that I love, I have to honestly admit that being there would not be good for me.

And that's not an easy thing to admit.

Mike and I do our best to bring  love, kindness, compassion and support to our relationships, whether that is a dear friend who we consider family or an actual blood family member. We are extremely fortunate (and grateful) to have so much love and kindness returned that we do not want to put ourselves in situations where we might have to deal with the opposite of that. Unfortunately in my family that is always a possibility.

Having been vegan for 17 ears I have also seen families have challenges when one of them becomes vegan. Judgement and jokes can make for difficult gatherings. To all of this I say that the same kindness and compassion can be expressed, and when negative actions continue, knowing when enough is enough. Unacceptable behavior is unacceptable, no matter who it is coming from.

Thank you for reading!

Awesome actions for this week

One thing I love writing about is that we all have the power to take action in making the world a better place.

Every year Mike and I take a two week vacation. Usually it is planned around visiting one of our parents (two if we're lucky). The past couple of summers we have been able to spend awesome time with all of our parents, and this year we decided to prioritize us and our marriage and are headed to southern California for food and beach.

As we count down the days before we leave, I wanted to share some ideas of how we can all be a voice for the voiceless this week. Some of these ideas are repeats and others are fresh from that turning wheel in my head!

Meatless Monday! Celebrate it! Tell friends who are not vegan or veg all about it and offer them ways (or meal invites!) to enjoy the day.

Walk a dog at a shelter. Yep, no matter what their tomorrow looks like, you can brighten their today with a nice walk and maybe some cuddling.

Play time with a cat in a shelter. Same idea as with the dog minus the walk.

Send a note to your favorite charity with a $25 donation. Tell them why you love them and why you are donating. This will have a huge ripple affect with those who work there. I promise it.

Have a quiet date night with your beloved. Or your best friend. As voices for the voiceless, we have to take care of ourselves.

Write an email to a politician who represents you on any level or your local police chief. Tell them what you think about animal cruelty or anything else important to you. I add the police chief because in Colorado several family dogs have been shot by police and I want our chief to know that we would like his employees to have better training and high expectations.

These are just a start and I hope you have time to do at least one.

With all of us doing actions like these we can rock the world!

Thanks for reading!

Ending animal cruelty in our own lives

One of my favorite vegan dishes: Spinach enchiladas at Tarascos.

The main reason I became vegan is because I made a decision that I did not want to be part of the horrible, innate cruelty that happens to animals so they can become a meal. I wanted to do as least harm as possible to other living beings, and it seemed that not eating them was a good start.

Sure, I enjoyed meat and cheese and loved ice cream. The latter became the hardest item to give up. My last non-vegan hold out was Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream.

After deciding to not consume any animal or any animal by product so I wouldn't be part of the animal cruelty that comes with those things, the transition to a plant-based life was rather easy. And uneventful. The most exciting and dramatic events would be around new vegan products coming along or me learning how to cook an incredibly delicious vegan dish.

In 17 years of being vegan, I have never been bored with food. Veganism catapulted me into a world that I had no idea existed. Flavors and textures and colors, all seemingly very exotic and different, now part of my regular eating habits.

If you are thinking this you are correct: I give up eating animals because I do not want to be part of animal cruelty on any level and I am the one who gets a huge benefit in how I live. Not just by all of the amazing food, but also by becoming healthier because of what I don't put into my body!

It all started with wanting to do the least harm and it has become a strong desire to not only think of that but also to be as compassionate as possible.

I have written about folks who think they could never be vegan and I experience folks who think becoming vegan is overwhelming. I can tell you that it is fun and simple, but I get it. It might not seem that way.

Just because veganism or living compassionately or considering a plant-based way of living might seem overwhelming doesn't mean you can't get started.

Start with one meal or one day. Meatless Mondays is a great way to start. There are also some who have been getting into this vegan before 6pm idea. Sure. A good start. There are so many opportunities for every meal. I know I have said there already, but it really is quite simple.

The internet can be a huge resource. We have links to many helpful sites on the main page of our blog. You can also find a local meetup of people who meet regularly to enjoy a vegan meal, whether at a restaurant or a potluck.

Every meal can become an act of compassion towards animals.

Thank you for reading and keep us posted on your adventure!

Run a half marathon - Check!

If you know me personally, you know that I am not a runner. Never really have been. Although I am trying my best to become healthier every day, I never imagined running would be part of that.

So imagine my surprise when I was talking with my new co-workers about using the upcoming Colfax Marathon as an opportunity to raise money for the agency we work for, Urban Peak, and I say that I would be willing to do the half marathon portion! Urban Peak serves youth experiencing homelessness, and there isn't much I wouldn't do to support our mission.

But running? And a half marathon?

I went home after work that day and talked with Mike about it. He immediately said he would do it with me.

Holy cow!

Looking back, the entire experience was amazing.

Most importantly, together we raised $2,500 for Urban Peak in support of youth experiencing homelessness.

And there were so many other awesome parts of doing a half marathon. Mike and I got healthier. We are on a continual path of getting healthier and this really helped. I actually began to enjoy running. Just east of us is a city park called Sloan's Lake, and that is where I trained. Once around the like is about 2.5 miles. I would plug in my Latino hits list on Pandora and just run. It certainly wasn't easy at first, and there were training runs through the three months I trained where I thought I just couldn't do it.

And I kept at it. I checked in with other vegan runners around the country and I reached out to friends here who are runners. I learned not to over do it, and not to give up.

The day of the half marathon Mike and I arrived around 6:00am. We were both nervous, which is something we hadn't really felt until the day before the run. As the time came for the half marathon to begin we gathered with a few thousand others and waited our turn to start. One of the things we both loved were the continual references to "athletes", referring to us! We kept laughing about that.

Mike is a faster runner than I am so we knew before we started that we wouldn't run together. As we began I blew him a kiss, turned up Pandora, said a little prayer (basically asking that I not die during this attempt) and took off.

At first I thought of how far I had come. Then I started to think about how the money we raised would help others, folks who are challenged every day just to find shelter, food, acceptance and many days hope.

The last two miles were tough for me. At mile 12 a bunch of the firefighters from the Colorado Firefighters Calendar were lined up, shirtless, cheering us on. That helped.

I crossed the finished line and had tears in my eyes. Oh yes, I'm that kind of guy.

It was an incredible experience. I am pretty sure we will do it again next time. Sending a HUGE thanks to all of you who donated to our fundraising efforts and who gave us love and support!

Thanks for reading!

Two years of The Gay Vegans

My how time flies.

In June of 2011 Mike and I were headed to Florida to go visit his mom. I had posted a little something about that on my fundraising blog. Then I decided that I didn't want to get personal on that blog so maybe I should create a blog where I could be totally personal. The Gay Vegans blog was born.

In the past two years this blog has become a huge part of my life. I have been able to share the ups and downs of my personal life, my activism, my politics, my goal to be a voice for the voiceless and my struggles.

Since June of 2011 there have been just over 77,000 visits to The Gay Vegans. That number blows me away. I know that there are sites and probably blogs that get that many reads in a day or a week, and for me it's huge to think that that many people take a minute or ten out of their lives to connect and read my latest post.

Here is a brief synopsis of the last two years:

We are a gay, married (not legally, yet) couple in Lakewood, Colorado. That's a west suburb of Denver. And we vote.

Being a voice for the voiceless can include many things: getting to know your state representative; writing to a letter to someone in power over a situation you support or don't support; boycotting an organization; making a donation; practicing a random act of kindness; going to a protest; speaking out.

We love to eat. We have our favorite places to eat and we engage restaurant owners in creating amazing vegan dishes.

We encourage building bridges amongst communities that may disagree on things.

We constantly speak out against hate, against religious extremism and against violence, even amongst those in our gay, vegan and animal rights communities.

We try to promote engagement, civil discourse and just basic conversation under the premise that we all have more in common than not.

Did I say we love to eat! We also love getting to know restaurant owners and supporting them in adding delicious vegan options.

Lastly, we use the blog to promote those rocking it in our world, products we love, people we love and restaurants we love.

It's been an amazing two years. We are grateful to all of you who have supported us and our calls to action!

Thanks for reading!