12 Week Self-Imposed Vegan Challenge: Week 1 Day 4
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Today started off alright. I still had some hope that being Vegan might not be too bad…but then James wanted Wendy’s for lunch. The key to success is to never arrive at a restaurant hungry, so I wolfed down some veggie enchiladas from yesterday and headed out the door.
I wasn’t surprised to discover the only items on the menu that are whole-food plant based at Wendy’s are a salad and a baked potato… with NOTHING on it. As delicious as all that sounded, I opted for nothing and tried to enjoy the company of my family instead. They don’t make it easy on me, though, as they took forever and savored every bite. I was exhausted by the end of it all. I had no will power left.
BE…STRONG…
Lucky for me there were close to 1,000 hours left in the day and dinner still had to be cooked. I had to find a way to get an elaborate vegan shepherd’s pie together with the little energy I could muster up. The kitchen was annihilated in the process because, ya know, Vegan. Today’s official slogan is, “Vegan – because life isn’t hard enough, let’s make everything harder!”
It’s takes the enjoyment out of eating something when it is so much work and tastes so very different from the food I used to make. The old and glorious shepherd’s pie I once made consisted of JUST meat and onions, a packet of brown gravy mix, and was topped with decadent and properly made mashed potatoes…which would then be topped with BACON and CHEESE. I speak as if insane.
On the contrast, today’s potatoes were prepared…kinda like I was dressing them for their own funeral. I stood weeping over the pot as a drizzled in almond milk, broth, some olive oil, and chives. The entire time I whimpered, “I’m so sorry, dear friends, please forgive me.” It was a dark moment in my life. Desecrating perfectly fine potatoes like that will haunt me…probably the rest of my life. How will I ever shed this memory?
Let’s play a game. I say a word, and you tell me the first song that comes to your mind. Go: Vegan -> “Who Wants to Live Forever?” by Queen. Nailed it!
Here are my thoughts today:
Here is what I ate:
Breakfast: (15 points)
This cuss Fruit and Veggie Everything loaf (15 points) lasts forever. It’s like dining with the Lord while He sits there multiplying that bread. You should try it. It’ll cut your food bill in half because it WILL NOT DISAPPEAR as it nourishes you the rest of your life.
Black coffee and lots of water.
Morning Snack: (0 points)
Yay! A sad, sorry little banana that sparked no joy and should have gone out of the house instead of into my body.
Lunch: (5 points)
Easy Veggie Enchiladas – the leftovers were better than the day it was cooked.
Afternoon Snack: (8 points)
Sprouted Bread from Aldi (2 pts) with 2 tbsp Nuttzo (6 points) and a touch of honey (0 pts)
Dinner: (18 points)
It’s a lot of work, but it’s not too bad: Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie (6 pts). I make the potatoes vegan and reduce the oil to 1 tbsp.
Immediately after dinner I had a binge type moment where I ate two cups of Honey Nut Cheerios (11 points) and used a cup of homemade almond milk (1 pt, but honestly I don’t know how to figure out the points on a recipe like this!) on them. It was the best thing I ate all day. Sorrow.
The problem is that I consider Honey Nut Cheerios processed…and they aren’t vegan because of the honey. But let’s not get too technical. Don’t you see how far I’ve come from hearing about the old shepherd’s pie? I’m killing this challenge!
Things I have learned…
Don’t trust a Vegan when they say something is delicious. They are too far removed from the delicious world of cream and butter. I am writing this to keep you from trusting me in the future. If I tell you something is delicious after a month of this DO NOT TRUST ME. My taste buds will be dead by then.
The key to enjoying Vegan food is to act like you don’t know what the original tastes like. Pretend like you don’t know what a burger is, never heard of it! Sour cream forget about it. Butter is a word that I have preemptively cut out of all of my dictionaries and recipe books….it never existed. Now with this state of mind, you might be able to truly enjoy some vegan food. Good luck.
Related Posts: Whole-Food, Plant Based Weight Watchers
I obviously need to watch a documentary ASAP to recharge my drive. Day 4, you were ROUGH.
P.S. If all this talk about being a whole-food plant based weight watcher sounds like something you’d like to torture yourself with, please click the link below and join me. Misery loves company!
