I survived my first funeral as a vegan! My dear sweet great uncle passed away. He was more grandpa than uncle. I took it harder than I even expected I would. Normally, this kind of emotion would send me straight to the comfort foods and the bakery section. I would drown my sorrow in pasta, meats, chocolate cakes, donuts, candy bars, etc, etc. Tuesday, we had to travel about 1.5hrs, one way, for the visitation. This usually means a quick meal from a fast food place and some gas station treats on the way home. Wednesday, we traveled again for the funeral. More fast food would have been typical. After the funeral, there was a meal for the family that included lots of meats, fried stuff, pastas w/meat sauce, cheesy goodness, desserts, etc. There was one, yes I said ONE, thing I would have been able to eat. I chose not to do all of these things. Maybe that contributed to my grief being worse than expected. Maybe, just maybe, I was allowing myself to feel for a change. It hurts, but it is a huge step forward for me to not drown my emotions in food. When we traveled, we ate before leaving on Tuesday. For the trip home, I got a Naked smoothie. (The Berry Blast one will rock your socks off!) We still spent time connecting with family at the meal Wednesday, BUT we stopped at Qdoba first and got our own food to take with us. I am totally in love with their gumbo without rice and with LOTS of fajita veggies and guac. I did indulge in one piece of apple pie which was probably not vegan, but hey, that's why there is a Mostly in the title of my blog. I'm no perfect Patty!
I survived going "vegan public!" Yep, that includes you fine folks. My darling husband decided to go vegan with me about a week and a half ago. We have decided to eat as vegans for the rest of the year and then make a decision as to what our next step is with the new year. This week, we told several friends and family members about our new way of eating. I told the world by starting a blog. We have had some overwhelming and surprising support by some. Obviously, we have answered some curious questions. Some still have been, well, lets just say less than supportive. Like, a lot less. There may have been some laughing and ridiculing involved. I digress... The point is, it's out there and I am confident in our decision. We've done our research. We feel good about it. We aren't forcing it on anyone. "Let them eat cake!" Err...Meat. I'll stick with my plants.
I survived my first holiday weekend as a vegan! Let's face it. Most holidays tend to revolve around food in one way or another. Labor day weekend is all about BBQ, family gatherings, and a last summer hurrah with loved ones. We still had a fun, family gathering on Saturday. There was a great big box of fried chicken, bread, and other yummies. My dear son chomped down some chicken legs. For DH and I, I made two dishes to take. One was a raw zucchini pasta with avocado basil cream and the other was a peach and blackberry compote. My gracious MIL took a salad and left the toppings on the side so we could enjoy that as well. (Thanks L!) Now, it was my first time making the pasta or the compote so, the recipes need tweaked a little. But, DH and I finished our meal feeling full and satisfied with our choices. Typically, after a holiday meal we would both feel bloated and yuck. This time, we felt great! Sunday, we had lunch and one last swim time with some friends. I made a salad, topped with the leftover compote. It was delicious! I also made cauliflower fried rice for the first time. Oh my goodness! It was so good!! We will probably be having that once a week now. My DS and a friend and his son did not even know they were eating cauliflower. Seriously. SO good! Today, we had lunch with some other awesome friends. She made us a delicious lunch of stir fried veggies and soy crumbles. Honestly, holiday weekends typically involve lots of reasons I should have dessert 3 times a day! It feels good to finish out the weekend in a healthy way.
I also survived my first ER trip as a vegan! My DS decided that this morning would be a good time to find out what it would be like to stick a bead up his nose. I think he has found out that he doesn't like it! ;) He is OK. They didn't find the bead, but it is very small so the Dr. is hopeful that he just swallowed it. We just have to wait it out and see if he is still complaining in a few days. If so, we will be off to the ENT. Any who...typically, the stress of worry and the impatience of waiting around in the ER would send me straight to the vending machines. Today, I said no thank you to that little demon in my head (or maybe it was my stomach) and asked the nurse for a glass of ice water.
Maybe these things seem small or inconsequential to some. To me, each of these accomplishments is a giant step towards changing my life for the better. Some day soon I will share a little of my back story and why I'm making such a drastic change.
Now, to convince myself that going to bed earlier is a good thing.....
Song of the Day:
Keep up the good work! Proud of you!!!
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