Disagreeing with My Mother-In-Law

I'm writing this post because of something my mother-in-law said.  Now, first I must tell you that I LOVE my MIL.  Most people roll their eyes after saying, "my mother-in-law" but I don't.  I can honestly tell you that there are only a few people in this world that I'd rather spend my time with.  If you know her, you get it.  But the other day, as we were celebrating by brother-in-laws birthday she said something that I've been thinking about all week.
I can't remember why we were talking about vegans, but she said, "To be vegan you must really not like to eat.  You must just eat because you have to."  At the time, I agreed.  I feel that way.  I don't really like to eat, I just feel like it's something I need to do and I feel guilty about not eating "perfect" all the time.  But the more I think about it.  That's not true.  I can think of a lot of vegan dishes that are pretty bland and would definitely fit the bill of "eating because you have to", but then I started thinking about some of the REALLY good vegan stuff I've had.  I'm not including the "vegan" stuff that's cheating--like the stuff that uses immitation meats, cheeses, egg substitutes and all that.  I mean stuff that's real FOOD that does not contain any animal ingredients.  All the herbs and spices you use are vegan.  That's your real flavor.  Have you ever had a plain, baked chicken breast?  Gross, right?  (Sorry, Dad, I know you like them, but I really don't think most people do).  All the good stuff is really vegan- your fruits and vegetables and grains and legumes--what most people think of as "sides".
Ok, now before I go on too much,  you're probably thinking, "she's not vegan, right?"  Right.  I'm not.  Why?  Not because I'd "just miss cheese too much!"  but mostly because I'm lazy.  It's hard enough to keep my vegetarian lifestyle in a house with so many omnivores and I just don't want to take the time to make vegan meal for just me. I recognize it as laziness though.  I think a lot of people brush eating healthier aside saying they don't have time, but you do.  I guarantee you do, you just choose to use that time for something other than food prep. That's fine, it's obviously you're choice, but if you really WANTED to eat a certain way (healthier, vegetarian, vegan) you could.
Back to my MIL's thought- the more I thought about it all week the more I think it's probably the opposite.  It's hard to live a vegan lifestyle on a Standard American Diet.  To be vegan you must really "cook".  There's going to be chopping involved here, people.  When you take that kind of time on preparing you're food, you're going to make sure it's worth your effort.  I think a lot of us eat because we're hungry and grab whatever's close, but when you're conscious of each item you put in your body, like a vegan is, you're going to but a lot more thought into every meal.  I think.  I of course, don't really know because I still eat dairy and eggs (and occasionally chicken and bacon when it's mixed in with something I thought was a vegetarian dish!).  So, thanks, Corrin, for giving me something to think about all week.  I enjoyed mulling it over and planning this post.