Summer Challenge: VEGAN

As promised, I have committed to my first day of the first challenge of the summer : Challenge Vegan. Um...me NO likey!

Now before I begin my rundown of the day, I'll provide you all a little background. About once every 5 or 6 years I physically can not eat meat for about 2 or 3 days. It is not some freakish allergic reaction, it is just that once in a while it hits me: I am eating a dead animal. And it freaks me out. I start thinking about the whole "process" of the animal from the farm to my plate and I just can't even choke it down. Now do not misunderstand me - it is not "sympathy" I feel. I don't cry for Old MacDonald's animals' lifespan. It just becomes...well, GROSS. And then I crave a big side of beef and I am way over it for another 5 to 6 years. The more frequent hault of animal protein is normally with chickens. You want to talk about gross - birds, in general, repulse me with how dirty they are and the chicken is their king! But, I digress...

My point to that whole paragraph devoted to my bizarre eating habits was to make the point that I am not a slave to the animal protein and this isn't THAT big of a leap for me. OR SO I THOUGHT...

So this was Oprah's Vegan Blog for today...

"Week One: Wednesday I just cleaned my dinner plate, down to the last grain of brown rice left under my oh-so-deliciously seasoned soy chicken. I can not believe how tasty, spicy and wonderful it all was. I'm ever more surprised at how I don't miss anything and feel so satisfied at every meal. Bravo to Tal! By Day 4, I'm usually climbing the walls or craving sweets—or ready to throw in the towel on any other diet plan. I'm a little nervous about the weekend. Tal cooks our last meal for the week tomorrow, and I've got to go to Las Vegas for Tina and Cher. Vegas and vegan don't seem to mix. — Oprah " (From Oprah.com)

Bravo to Tal!?!?! See, that's the problem...her chef Tal is not at my house. I am the one trying to make black bean cakes for myself, baked penne with bolganese sauce for Kevin and ANYTHING that Ben will eat. No surprise, my black bean cakes took the back burner and I settled on a really delightful, self created black bean salad with olive oil, lime juice and zest, green onions, tomato and seasoned with S & P, cayenne, chili, cumin and garlic. It was tres delightful - FOR A SIDE DISH! The rest of the day was no better. I choked down some oatmeal for breakfast while I stood at the refrigerator door in tears, while promising my Yo Plus yogurt that if it would not go bad in a couple of days I would be back to devour it all in one meal. Lunch was a salad - which is what I have typically been eating the past couple of months, so no big deal.

The biggest problem I see with this whole "Vegan for no reason" Challenge is this: it is going to cause me to gain the 20 lbs that I have lost back because I am too focused on not eating animal products. For example: Ben and I were having our snack today and I caught myself finishing off his gummy bears - TOTALLY vegan. Then I turned to his Twizzlers - Hurray! More vegan items. It's not good for the waistline.

Tomorrow's goal is to take my challenge more seriously. After tomorrow, I can't promise I won't be in the closet with my yogurt.