Does that make us crazy?
Perhaps.
So why ditch the cheese and the beef you ask? Being the multi-faceted person that I am, I have multiple reasons for going strictly herbivore:
1. I worked at a ranch and it changed my life. Ok not the kind of ranch that fattens up cows and and then sledge hammers their skulls for the McFulfilment of the American public. No, I worked at the kind of ranch that loves and nurtures animals. So I kinda got attached to those things. Eh, I guess I have a heart... and so do cows!
2. Milk makes my chest hurt. Maybe it's all those growth hormones and it just can't stop expanding after I drink it, or maybe it's my arteries constricting from all that baby cow nourishment. I don't know. All I know is that it's unpleasant and I don't like things that are unpleasant. Mooooove over pain.
3. So I have this great boyfriend who's incredibly supportive and nurturing. The down side is that his love and support often comes in the form of a fattyfattygreasyprocessedhighcalorie meal. I've developed what I lovingly call "the boyfriend panza," (no, that does not mean I'm pregnant!) Round tummys are cute on infants and and Santa Clause, but not Jamie. I don't like it. Nobody likes feeling fat, especially a cow that knows being fat only makes it the better for the slaughter. I also feel drained and icky all the time. For the benefit of my health, I desperately need to change my eating habits.
4. I love a challenge. I was only half serious about my idea until my brother, father, mother, and uncle told me I couldn't do it. Then I was game. I'm stubborn as hell, so I must by all means prove these people wrong.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not taking this vegan thing lightly, it's not some kind of lame gimmick. I know it's not going to be easy. Get this, for Thanksgiving my family has what is called a Matanza (literally meaning "slaughter" in Spanish,) a celebration in which a pig is fattened all year long and then ritually killed, cooked underground, and feasted upon. If that's not enough, my grandfather was a cattle rancher (who by the way died of colon cancer from eating too much red meat.) Meat eating is firmly ingrained in my genetics. That's what we do, we eat meat, and most of the time we cover it in cheese. On that note, I'll be the first to admit I am a cheeseaholic. It is a rare, but serious addiction. I put cheese on everything. I'll eat almost any kind of cheese. One of my best friends is named Cheeze (hmm... do I have to give her up?) I have indeed beheld the power of cheese. Oh, and there is this one other thing. I don't really like most vegetables. Among the veggies I refuse to eat are: squash, zucchini, green beans, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, cauliflower, and onions. Oh boy am I in for it.
On New Years eve my boyfriend and I ate a Papa John's chicken pizza, just to go out with a bang. It was wonderful and cheesy and chickeny, and totally NOT vegan. Then we fell asleep right after eating it, missing the New Year entirely, PIZZA CAN MAKE YOU MISS OUT ON THE NEW YEAR! Yet another reason to give it up. Here I am enjoying my last meal:
So here we go. I'm two days into veganism, and I'm doing alright, I found some stuff I like, like the Simply Asia bowls, and some stuff I'm definitely going to have to get used to... like soy milk, but I've yet to crave a cheeseburger, so I'm doing alright. 88 days to go!
Jamie
P.S. Soy milk tastes a lot like vanilla chalk, here I am trying it for the first time:
1 comment:
Good for you for trying to go vegan. A lot of people I know don't like silk soymilk(though their chocolate flavor is good.) Try 8th continent for something that tastes closer to real milk.
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