Iowa?

[devolute]

So I'm thinking of movie to Iowa to do an AmeriCorps program. I will end up in either Cedar Rapids or Cedar Falls. I've looked on Happy Cow, and I know the vegan-friendly restaurant options will be limited. I'm wondering if anybody has been to/lives in one of these towns and can tell me if I'll be able to find veg items at a grocery store (

Comments

[virtualannette]

If you conscience will let you shop at big box stores, you'll be able to find things. See if the store Meijer is in Iowa... it's in most of the midwest, I think. When I lived in middle-of-nowhere Indiana my diet was much more.. veggies/beans/nuts focused... but I was still able to get soymilk, tofu, even soy ice cream at Meijer. I think Wal-Mart has those things too, though I never shopped there. We also had a small health food store that carried some items (just not much selection).

I don't think the midwest will be *quite* as bad as you're expecting it to be coming from Portland. I can't speak for Iowa, but my experience in Indiana required some creativity but I didnt' feel too deprived. I'm in Ohio now but in a city so I have a lot of options.

Remember too that you can order certain dry goods online, like nutritional yeast and vital wheat gluten. Those were the hardest to find in the middle of nowhere... that and soy cheese. But you can learn to make some pretty good soy cheeses yourself from the Uncheese Cookbook or just homemade sauces. If you need agar, it's a dry good easily ordered online.

I think I was a MUCH better and more creative cook when I lived there because it was a bit more challenging. None of this "omgs i'll just get takeout" stuff that I'm doing all the time here in the city. But I didn't feel deprived either. Instead, I kept impressing myself with what I did with what I had :) Good luck!

[devolute]

Thanks for all the tips! I really don't think it will be that bad, but I figure I ought to prepare myself for the worst.

I think it'll actually be good, because like you said, there isn't the lure of take out. In Italy I cooked every meal in and never ate out unless I was in another city and away from my apartment. It was pretty liberating, and the food was so cheap! When I went to Finland, I cracked on expensive pre-made stuff at a local organic store (it was over 6 euro, about $10, for an itty bitty tiny thing of hummus) and ate out more often. I can't even remember what I ate, actually, I just remember it was expensive and I missed Italy.

Anyway didn't mean to bore you with a tangential story, but I think if I remember to buy specialty foods online before I desperately need them for a recipe, it'll be alright.