So, after my last post I found out that I have all these crazy food allergies. Dairy I totally knew about already, but wheat and soy blind-sided me along with a couple others (Oysters? Wtf? I have only eaten them twice in my life but good to know). I didn't know how to maintain my quest for vegdom and avoid allergens at first. Truth be told, avoiding my laundry list of foods didn't make me feel any better. And grocery shopping turned from a fun adventure to a chore that pissed me off because I had to read every label. It got easy to slip back into my carnivorous cuisine of a youth spent in Idaho.
I noticed something too as I was avoiding allergens. First of all, the recipes I found at first sucked. Which made me not want to abide by my avoidance. Eventually I gave up and just started fixing whatever was easy. Hanging my head in shame here because I also ended up gaining just under 10 pounds over the summer as a result. I woke up a week and a half ago and decided that I am just going to eat what feels best for me (keeping Benadryl in my purse just in case) and what feels best for me is vegetarian. That being said, I am trying to transition to mostly vegan, because all allergies aside I really do need to avoid dairy. I get hives and feel nauseous and turn into a mucus factory in my sinus cavities and that's just not good. I found some cookbooks that don't suck through much trial and error (thank you, local library, for having such an extensive collection) and they are on the way (thank you, Amazon, for also having such an extensive collection). I figure as long as wheat and soy aren't a staple in what veg products I do consume then I should be okay for the time being until I get even more skilled in my culinarian quests.
My point in sharing this is that someone out there who eventually reads this will relate and understand that we don't have to be perfect all the time. We just need to be proactive. I didn't want to keep up on a vegetarian themed blog if I was not hard-core vegetarian. But it's not about that. It's about being healthy and trying to make the world a better place one little bit at a time. So this is my contribution today. I am embarking on more than a 30 day challenge at this point, I am embarking on a challenge to feel awesome. I may slip up along the way and have a slice of pepperoni pizza (followed by 4 Benadryl), but as long as that is not the norm, I'll be okay and you will too. It's about doing what feels good and what works for you and minimizing our impact on our resources. Plus, I just watched the documentary "Vegucated" (highly recommend) and the thought of eating something that I could potentially have an emotional bond with makes me sad. Of course, I watched the movie after the emotional roller coaster of my cats being lost outside for several hours when the house cleaner accidentally let them out. I was so devastated by the thought of losing my fur babies permanently that when I saw the scenes of sad cows, cannibal chickens, and abused pigs I also lost my appetite for a bacon wrapped filet mignon because the animals that produce that meal have feelings and potential to bond with a human if given the chance.
My other point in sharing this is that I am looking for input from others who have mastered the delicate balance of vegan living and an avoidance diet. Recommendations, recipes, comments, whatever are welcome. That's my soapbox for the day. If you need a reminder as to why we choose to eat a plant-based diet, watch that movie (preferably not while eating lunch at work like I did----just take my word on that one).
To whoever reads this, thank you for connecting with me. Namaste!
