Hi, I am a Vegan [for now]

Hello readers!

I thought I would update you on how our vegan attempt is going!

I will be honest with you, we still fail every now and then…

Nutella? = Not vegan. Shocking, I know.

3 M&Ms = Not vegan. [That is how many it took before I realized how dumb I was].

So far it has been relatively easy. Our breakfasts consist of fruit smoothies or cereal with almond milk [which is amazing and delicious]. Our lunch boxes are full of fruit and veggie slices, peanut butter, and pastas. Our dinners are heaping portions of cooked vegetables and a random grain here and there. It’s been pretty painless, but there have been some sad spots here and there.

Yesterday my boss tried to buy me clam chowder [my fave], I had to decline. Then an adorable child brought me a Boston cream donut [I KNOW, also my favorite], and I had to decline. The cupcakes I baked at the beginning of the week? Nope. The hot pizza down the street? Nope. Cheese all together? Nope.

Needless to say when this week is over I will be running into cheese’s arms so we can be together again at last. I am surprised how involved I was with dairy and the extent of our relationship. I eat cheese on so many things, and yogurt almost daily! I love a cupcake here and there and pizza when I’m feeling like burning my mouth because I don’t know how to wait.

I appreciate all the veggies vegan week has forced into my body, but if there is one thing this week has shown me, it is that I am in no way ready to give up cheese. If anyone out there is thinking of making the switch, or at least trying it out, we have some advice here at We Love Ourselves.

Drink Almond Breeze Almond Milk. Seriously. Milk is kind of gross, but I love cereal and making delightful smoothies. One scary day I decided to try Almond Breeze vanilla, and my life was changed. It is light, delicious, and not gross.

-A

Why xenolith. WHY

Recently (see: everyday at work for the past week or so) Avalon and I have been Sporcling.  Sporcle is a website that supplies us with quizzes upon quizzes, forcing us to use our brain, all while being timed.  Come to think of it, it sounds as if it’d be the activity of spooning and sprinkling (cupcakes?) at the same time…sadly, this is not the case. Sporcle, I believe, is actually Latin for “I have so much to do! But I think I will Sporcle instead…it’s 5 already? Where did my day go?”. Yes.  It means ALL OF THAT.

Regardless, there are a couple of quizzes Avalon and I have been playing RELENTLESSLY. One would think, why do they keep playing only 2 games? Oh my  dear DEAR friends. Play it once and it will drive you insane. So much insane, that you’ll keep playing it over and over because it baffles you that you cannot type xenolith without first doing xenlioth. Ugh, I wish my frustration was more noticeable via text. Because I am very frustrated. If anyone can get more than 50 words, please tell me. I hit that peak yesterday, and am afraid I will a) never hit it again and b) never complete the game (it’s 52 words, seriously I can’t get 2 more words in? UGH xenolith).

http://www.sporcle.com/games/HenryFieldstone/typingchallenge

And if you are feeling ballsy, try the other one.

http://www.sporcle.com/games/HenryFieldstone/typingchallenge2

When we are not Sporcling, we are eating OR thinking about eating. Now I know that Avalon gave y’all the 411 on our new “diet”. I am here now to give y’all my personal update:

I failed within 10 minutes.

In my defense I didn’t mean to. I am a creature of habit when it comes to my morning smoothies and forget that Carnation Instant Breakfast (uhm I know, I am such a child) is a milk product. MY B. So naturally I pouted cause I really don’t like failing (see above Sporcle game rant for validation). However the rest of the day I was the poster child for Veganism (word?). Last night I even made this delicious avocado recipe. The recipe does call for olive oil, but because I am CRAZY I substituted it for applesauce. Please don’t make a face, it was honestly really good! I figured its just there for moisture anyway, so why not try applesauce? I don’t know. There really is no rhyme or reason to anything I do. It also called for lemon juice, but since the applesauce is semi sweet already I skipped that step too. ANYWAYS ’twas delicious. Even if you’re not pulling an Oprah and going Vegan for a week, you should try it!

One down side I found out last night to being a vegan…Nutella is out of the question. I KNOW, I cried a little too! Obviously it has skim milk in it. I am sure there is some sort of vegan Nutella copycat out there, although I will not scout it out because I can have a little bit of self control and not have any for a mere 7 days. I can’t wait until next Tuesday until I can grab a spoon and have a date with my Nutella. I wish I was joking.

-T

BTW thought this was adorable, in reference to my Sporcle/Sprinkle comment. I died. Also, this reminds me. I need to look up a recipe for vegan cupcakes…I am obviously now craving them.

If Oprah Said Jump Off a Cliff, Would You???

In a word? Yes.

Just kidding.

While I do enjoy me some O, I am not the avid follower. Contrary to this blog and the entire entry I wrote on “Oprah’s Favorite Things” I do not love up on this woman like many women around the world do. I catch the occasional show, notice the occasional weight gain, and laugh at the jokes made about her on The Soup every Friday. Every once in awhile I look at the cover of the book I am reading and notice a gigantic circle that screams “OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB SELECTION” and I am immediately ashamed as I simultaneously rip the cover off.

But I digress.

Recently I had a snow day [HALLELUJAH] and I spent every second of it doing nothing. I sat on the couch and tried to channel my Matilda powers to get some food from the kitchen. During one of these non-successful attempts I found the Oprah show, and the special they were doing on being vegan. While I openly scoff at vegans, I have always been interested, because I eat basically nothing. I don’t love meat or milk, and the majority of my diet consists of cereal [because I am 7]. Oprah LOUDLY explained that along with her staff, she decided to go vegan for a week. Well. If Oprah can do it, so can I.

Taryn and I decided we would go vegan for a week, starting today. We aren’t necessarily wrapped up in animal rights and Taryn would slice someone open for a nice piece of steak, but we can’t turn down a challenge. So we will update you on our progress, because I know ya’ll are DYING to know.

A fun item for today? I tried So Delicious coconut milk yogurt, and it was actually DELIGHTFUL. It was basically strawberry coconut yogurt fusions deliciousness. Try it out!

-A

PS

Last night for dinner I had a cheese burger, mac and cheese bites, and potato skins with bacon on it. A last meal of sorts…