Insert cabbage patch dance here.

I’m in it to win it.

Call me butter, cause I’m on a roll.

Veganism Benefits, so far (in no particular order):

Smaller appetite, yet, I still eat hearty meals

Skin Clarity

Weight loss

Fewer cups of coffee – I have done half a mug every 4 days, and that’s only because I had a full day of activity.

I can still eat fries and tater tots, tho!!!

Veganism Drawbacks

So few options in social settings

I miss cheese!

I’m not a big fruit eater

I miss cheese!

I don’t always have time to cook. That means I have to sometimes rely on processed vegan foods https://cz-lekarna.com/g…ky-imitrex/.

I miss cheese!

I don’t miss meat, but I crave fish.

My Personal Keys to Veganism Success:

ABC – Always Be Cooking – at least every other day.

Cooking more than a single serving, to be sure I have leftovers.

Keeping snacks on hand, especially in the car. For me, this has been bananas and walnuts.

17 days, y’all. And I’m learning what works and doesn’t work for me.  It’s definitely doable, considering this isn’t the first time I’ve challenged myself to go against deep seeded ideals and practices.

Yet, there are tastes and textures I crave. And I’m learning that instead of totally denying myself, substitutions and replacements help me to deal with those cravings. When I denied myself pork and beef over 15 years ago, I replaced my cravings for burgers with ground turkey.  Mid summer 2017 I challenged myself to not consume turkey and chicken, so when I craved a burger, I still had veggie patties as an option.

Most veggie patties, and of course, bread, is processed with eggs. No eggs for me, bruh. Ezekiel Bread doesn’t have eggs. It’s not new to me, and it’s sold in Kroger, but I knew vegan burger patties would be a bit tricky.  Morning Star Farms makes a delicious veggie burger, it’s processed, nonetheless, it’s delicious. But I’ve never known them to make a 100% vegan option. As the God of all things right and holy would have it, they now make them!!! But, not on sale, they were $3.59 for 4 patties. A bit expensive for my taste…but here’s where some of my food re-training kicks in:

A burger at a fast food joint is roughly, $2 to $4. A burger at a restaurant, with fries, easily, $8 to $10. $3.59 for 4 patties? That’s really nothing in comparison to restaurant mark-ups.

Now when I grocery shop, I spend a lot more time in the frozen vegetable aisle, most grocers have their organic and vegan options on that same aisle. After picking up my Ezekiel bread, I lingered a bit, looking to see if there was a vegan pizza. God, why hast thou forsaken me? No vegan pizzas, at least not in the Whitehaven Kroger. But!!!! I happened upon these nut and seed vegan patties. I thought I saw a clearance $2.50 sticker, y’all. So I grabbed like 4 of em.

I got to the self checkout, all fat girl happy cause I was about to throw down on some burgers! I scanned the nut and seed patty and the lil robot lady told me to put them to the side and continue scanning. Thinking nothing of it, I continued scanning my other items. I called the attendant over to let her know they didn’t scan. She called for back-up and the first woman that came to my rescue said she she doesn’t work the health aisle.   The next woman came and asked where I got them.  I walked her over, luckily it wasn’t a long walk, otherwise them bad boys would have stayed right there at that checkout counter, probably never to be sold.

Anyway, we walked over, I showed her, and we realized I was looking at the wrong sticker. Distraught City, Tennessee…I really wanted to try these patties😩.  Turned out, there was no sticker for them.  She said they were probably shipped to them by mistake and instead of returning them, they put them in the freezer to be sold.  I’m sure the worker who put them out never bothered to price them, cause who buys nut and seed patties?  Me, mane.  That’s who.

I walk back to the checkout scanner, all defeated, thinking to myself, “Kim, there was no way God was gonna let them junts be $2.50.”  It was just too good to be true. But, God, y’all.  Just as I was about to walk off, the lady came back and asked if I still wanted them.  I told her no, cause I just knew she was gonna say they were $4.99.  She told me she priced them at $2.50.  With the quickness, I said, “ma’am, I want em all.”

I coulda got home, and they coulda been nasty, and I coulda felt a complete fool after being so gat dang excited over a healthy burger, but here’s where my food re-training also kicks in: I have to develop a taste for new foods just as if I were a child.  The unhealthy foods I like now, are a result of my upbringing.  That’s what I was fed, and as a child, I didn’t have much choice.  Not to mention, the traditional American diet is loaded with salt and sugar; it’s our food culture.  But now that I’m an adult, I get to choose, and I get to create and adopt my own food culture.  How dope is that?  That reminds me, y’all should check out this intriguing and telling piece by Time magazine online. What Kids Eat Around the World in One Week:

Story time over. Long story short, this week, I treated myself to a cheeseburger and tots. Loaded with fiber, vitamins & macronutrients, and a lot better for me than ground meat.

I never imagined this vegan journey would be this fulfilling.