Making the most of “Turkey Day”

Most of my family is out of town this year. This gives me the opportunity to make a meal that I can enjoy without hearing folks gripe about the lack of having a ‘traditional’ meal. To be fair, it’s mostly traditional, but it will be a meal of side dishes.

I’m going to have sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, pumpkin pie… the works. Just no ham or turkey.

Sides have always been my favorite part of the meal anyway. I don’t think I’m the only one who feels that way. To be honest, I think MOST folks feel the sides make the day special. The sides are what turns it from a meal into a feast.

Dinner is not going to be vegan, just vegetarian. (Remember, this is FALLEN VEGAN talking here.) I’m going to have diary products. The green bean casserole requires milk (I may try using almond milk this year), there WILL be whipped cream on the pie, and I’m also using marshmallows on the sweet potatoes. Are there vegan marshmallows that don’t taste like an eraser on a pencil?

The trick to making everything feel like the ‘real deal’ is the gravy. Without gravy, mashed potatoes might as well be wallpaper paste. In the past, the gravy was supplied by my loving mother. Using turkey drippings, and a little bit of love, she made the gravy we all grew up with. This year, I’m in charge and I’m using Simply Organic Vegetarian Brown Gravy.

I’ve found some vegan mushroom gravy, but after a quick taste, I nopped all the way out of that idea. It wasn’t horrible, but it wouldn’t be my first, or second, or third choice. Ok, if I was stranded on an island, and I had a gravy boat filled with vegan mushroom gravy, or a hand full of sand… I’d be hard pressed deciding on which one I’d try first.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find a good vegan/vegetarian turkey flavored gravy. I’d prefer having a vegetarian turkey flavored gravy, ’cause I’m trying to remember my childhood without regrets, but I just can’t find a good substitute. That’s why I’m going with a cheap, organic, vegetarian, brown gravy mix. To be brutally honest, I’m not offended by the fake meat flavor and let’s face it, it ain’t a holiday without gravy. Facts are facts.

Hit me up in the comments if you find a cheap turkey gravy that’s vegan/vegetarian friendly. I keep seeing Heinz turkey gravy when searching for vegan gravy, but I think I’m getting a false hit. Is Heinz turkey gravy really vegan? I don’t think so.

Finding Heinz in all of my vegetarian gravy search results just confirms my suspicions that some monster has been tweeking the Google search algorithms to make me crave meat. You Bastards!

Anyway, one last quick trip to the store to pick up onions and beer and I think I’ll be ready. With virtually no company, I can dress for the occasion. All I’ll have to do is find my sweatpants, the ones with the stretched out elastic band. I already have my extra loose t-shirts ready to go.

The plan is to dress like I’m playing strip poker. Why? The way I see it, the key to success is to wear lots of layers. I’m going to layer the t-shirts so when I spill food, I can peel off a layer like an onion, or a cheap stripper, and I can keep on eating without interruption. By the time dinner is over, I plan on having on at least ONE clean shirt, a full belly, and a cold craft beer at my side.

This year, I’m going to have the REAL DEAL, which means all the fixings and none of the guilt.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

New Year – Same Old World, New Gadgets

Aaaannnnd…. thanks 2016!

See ya!

Wouldn’t want to be ya.

Whew! I’m exhausted and it’s only January 8th. Naive me , I thought things would get better in 2017. The first week of the year has passed inexplicably fast and the awful news already has my head spinning. Bad news? Yup! Who would have guessed? Disaster in Fort Lauderdale, California is bracing for some monster storm, and politicians are still behaving… like politicians.

I want to go on a news purge. No news in my life. The world seems out of control and I feel helpless to change the world around me. Oh I could protest against unjust politics, but I can’t stop a storm, or a mad man in Florida… so I’m going to take action and control what I can, me.

I’m still on a journey to fitness and general health. Last week, I purchased a Fitbit.

Me, with a Fitbit. LOL, LOL, LOL… (catches breath) LOL, LOL, LOL!

I’m still learning how to use this little gadget, and it’s already nagging me like a second mother. “Keep walking… come on now sweetie… 100 more steps this hour… did you drink enough water?” I can’t get away from my text messages, my phone calls, my notifications, even my heartbeat is constantly being monitored.

It’s a Fitbit Blaze, and it feels slightly uncomfortable around my wrist. Can’t decide if it’s because it’s actually uncomfortable or because I don’t like to literally be nagged by technology. Technology I paid for, with my own hard earned money. Technology I can’t afford but I felt I needed.

So, in 2017 I paid to be nagged. Uncomfortably nagged. Thanks 2017!

I’ve also been looking for some easy to make, low carb, vegetarian meals. I’m looking, but I haven’t gotten the gumption to start cooking something so healthy. I’ve been eating yummy but non-vegan fair.

Vegan substitutes will be used if possible, but yesterday I had a baked Camembert with hot chili flakes and honey, served with a crusty bread. OMG! Nothing can compare. So yes, it was unhealthy, carb heavy, and vegetarian, but not vegan. It was the perfect example of a fallen vegan bacchanal.

Next week, it’s my mission to find at least 5 low carb vegetarian/vegan meals and to make at least 3 of them. I’ll keep you updated on anything that nears success. I’ll probably keep you updated on the fails too… because I can almost guarantee they’ll be at least 2 or three of them.

Well, my Fitbit just displayed a full green charge. Time to put that uncomfortable sucker back on and begin my afternoon. One nagging reminder at a time.

 

 

Are Vegans eating each other on Youtube?

As a fallen vegan, I’m doing my best to learn as much about veganism as possible. In today’s world, that means watching videos made by vegan vloggers on Youtube. At first I mostly watched the fun videos. Things like, how to make a vegan meal for $3 dollars or less, or how to make a vegan bento box meal. So far, most of these videos have been fun, informative and entertaining. I’ve especially loved watching vegan muckbang videos. MommyTang cracks me up! She always seems somewhat angry and sassy and very very hungry. I love it!

Recently, I’ve started noticing a strange trend. I guess there’s a famous vegan couple, one named after a yellow fruit, another named after a stinky fruit. They seem to be in the middle of some uprising. Some have been calling their ‘movement’ or ‘lifestyle diet’ a cult.

Let me say right off the top, I don’t know enough about these people to make an informed decision. I’m certain I’d be told by those that know and love these two folks that my opinion is irrelevant because I’m not even a real vegan. I guess there’s some imaginary scale, one that determines if you’ve got enough street cred to be a “true” or “real” vegan. Just trying your best isn’t enough. I’m not “vegan worthy” I suppose.

I won’t argue that point. I’m a fallen vegan. I try to do my best, but I’m not even close to perfect. Hell, when it comes down to it, I’m a shit vegetarian too. I recently ate chicken. I felt guilty as fuck, and I even felt sick, but I’m not good at dieting, and I’m even worse at wanting to be a part of a ‘movement’ or a ‘lifestyle’ if that’s what you’d call veganism.

Anyway, I guess this yellow fruit gal recently stole some content from a couple of young girls, and the yellow fruit gal justifies it by saying their channel didn’t have a lot of subscribers. She also claims it wasn’t their original content, (even though it was their original editing and Youtube must have agreed because they gave this yellow fruit gal a copyright strike) and if she did steal and monetize their content, which she denies, she claims she did it for the animals. She also claims that now that she’s been hit with this copyright strike, animals will suffer and die.

Mmmmm… ok. Can’t quite understand why she wouldn’t just say, “Oops! My bad! I was being lazy that day. I liked the content, but I should have asked. I’m sorry. I promise it will never ever happen again.” I bet if she had bothered to ask first, they would have been happy to lend her their content.

I’ve also heard her boyfriend, or ex boyfriend, has defended her and stated the two young girls who dared complain about this amazing yellow fruit gal should kill themselves. Wow! That would have frightened the shit out of me when I was a kid. Maybe he’s suffering from roid rage? Who knows.

The point of this  blog isn’t to bash the stinky fruit guy or the yellow fruit gal. The point isn’t to suggest their followers are part of a cult. The point of today’s blog is to express my shock at the infighting of a group of people who, from the outside, seem kind and peaceful. I’m shocked to see so much hate being tossed around by these fruit people and the people that hate on them.

This is exactly why I hate group think. When people decide they’re “TEAM THIS” or “TEAM THAT” it seems like it’s a perfect way to piss off about 50% of any large group.

Maybe that’s why I keep stressing I’m a fallen vegan. I don’t want to be labeled and put in a box. I want to be me. An outsider looking in. Someone who wants to learn, but not be a role model. Outsiders are observers. As an outsider, I can sit on a fence and never fall. (I know, the irony is strong) As an outsider, I can judge, or not judge, and not be dammed for my opinion. As an outsider, I can watch vegans eating each other whole, and wonder out loud why this is happening.

I feel like grabbing a large bag of popcorn with a healthy dash of melted Earth Balance so I can watch the show.

I don’t know who’s right or wrong. I have thoughts about the whole situation and I guess it isn’t hard to determine who’s argument I feel is stronger. But who am I to say who’s right or wrong. I’m just an outsider. A fallen vegan. A fake vegan.

Still, I’m kind of enjoying the show.

 

Why quitting meat was the easiest and hardest thing I’ve ever done.

First, let me remind everybody that this blog is called FALLEN vegan.

I fell hard last week. I had a chicken breast. Well, a whole chicken breast, so two tits. Not giant breasts, maybe a B cup. I grilled them on an Ikea grill pan, served it with half an avocado, a crusty piece of French bread, and a side salad with cherry tomatoes. (No dressing because, well, I’m on a diet. LMFAO!)

I don’t know why, but after a month of not eating meat, taking my first bite made me nervous. I took a pinch of chicken that fell off the breast while grilling and CAREFULLY put it to my lips. I’ve eaten meat my entire life, but I was nervous when eating this chicken. That tells me my psychological perception of meat has changed. That’s good, right?

It was delish, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. I imagined it to be this fantastic, amazing, mind blowing food I was denying myself, but it wasn’t. It was good, very tasty, but not what I remembered. How can food perception change so much in a month?

The next morning, and there will be people who will say I’m exaggerating, but I promise I’m not, the next morning I woke up feeling puffy, tired, almost drugged. I honestly felt like I’d been drinking the night before. WTF?!

Oh, and I had my meal with a regular Coke. Not diet Coke, not some pure cane sugar, semi-healthy alternative. Coke. The Real Thing. I know, fuck that diet. Fuck it hard, fuck it all angry and shit. Fuck it like I caught it cheating with my best friend.

It’s been a few days since I ate the chicken. Since that meal, I’ve found myself pinning images of fluffy chickens. (aka guilt pins) I’ve also gone back to an almost exclusively vegan diet.

Almost. I had tzatziki sauce with my falafels last night.

That was fine, because I made a choice to eat some dairy, but then I noticed, after the meal, the pita bread had honey. Why? Why did you feel the need to sneak bee puke into my meal you crazy pita bread company? I bought your bread because the entire pack was 99 cents. Don’t make me buy a more expensive brand just to avoid your honey. Seriously. Please. Why can’t you be vegan AND cheap?

Most importantly, since that meal, I’ve realized I don’t miss meat nearly as much as I imagined. I miss the idea* of eating meat, but not the meat itself. I guess it’s true that if you do something for a month, it becomes a habit.

I’m not a quitter, but I’m working on it!

*An aside note, I just found out A1 sauce is vegan. OMG! I think I should buy stock in Kraft because I’m going to become an uber consumer of their product. Is it wrong to put A1 on a tomato and cucumber salad? How about A1 on toast? How about A1 on EVERYTHING!

Does Amazon deliver A1 by the case? Does Amazon Prime deliver A1 by the case, cause I need that sauce pronto. A1… it’s not just for steak.

You know those folks who carry around Sriracha on a key chain. Do they have itty-bitty A1 key chains? Can you gain weight eating too much A1?

I’ll report back next week and let you know.

I’m Lacto-Vegetarian On My Cheat Day

Yesterday I was 100% vegan! Yay! I had chips and a diet A&W Root Beer for breakfast. I know, bad choice but I was really hungry and way too lazy to cut up fruit. For lunch I tried some fake orange chicken… meh. It wasn’t the best fake chicken so I broke out a can of chili beans and some crackers. Shit, are crackers vegan? Now I’m not sure if I was 100% vegan or not. Being vegan is HARD! For dinner I had the BEST vegan burrito, no the BEST burrito full stop, I’ve had in my entire life. I also had some amazing guacamole that I felt needed a wee bit of salt, but I didn’t add it because I knew would have my fair share of salt today.

Today I’ll be lacto-vegetarian, because tonight is pizza!

It’s Father’s day and I’m having pizza at my brother’s place. That means tonight I’ll be facing the hardest challenge I’ve had since trying to go vegan. Bacon.

Now, I’ve almost completely stopped craving meat. Almost. I still sometimes experience those mysterious phantom smells of BBQ or sometimes meatloaf. So I assume that’s my brain trying to get me to eat meat again.

I don’t think I’ll be able to skip the bacon without some type of cheat. I think, I hope, I pray, I can withstand the meat pressure if I have some cheese. If I was faced with eating a cheeseless pizza, I’d just cave and eat the bacon. I know, don’t bother telling me ’cause I already know, I’m weak.

Yes, I realize cheese isn’t vegan. Hence the name, Fallen Vegan. My goal is to try to eat a vegan diet at least 80-90% of the time, and have my cheat day be vegetarian. My belief is… if I make my cheats vegetarian, I won’t go back to being a full blown omnivore/carnivore.

That being said, I know bacon will be a real hurdle tonight. I’ll report back to let you know how the night went and to update you on the Bacon challenge. The struggle is real folks, the struggle is very real.

B- Because I really love you.
A- You’re Always on my mind.
C- I Can’t think of a C word…
O- I can Only make this rhyme.
N- Now it’s time to get back to the blog.

Holy shit, don’t ever let me write a song ever again.

#BaconStruggle2K16 #VeganPizza #LactoTolerante2K16

 

Secret Vegan Poo

I feel like I should have been told, they must have known about this, but apparently nobody bothered to fill me in. I don’t know, maybe it’s a big secret. Maybe if everyone knew, they’d think twice about starting a vegan diet. I’m hear to tell you a ‘dirty’ little vegan secret. Vegan’s make monster poops!

Trigger Warning! I’m about to talk about my poop. If you have a weak stomach, go watch a video about the cutest bunny in the world on youtube.com.

So, this afternoon… right after lunch, I decided to take a quick bathroom break. I know I have to go, but it’s not like it’s an emergency or anything. I hit the stall, take what feels like a normal poop and I flush. I hear a strange clunk sound, but think nothing of it. This is where the story starts to go south.

I’m almost ready to stand up, and I realize I still have to go. I poop again. For what seems like a normal amount of time, for what felt like a normal amount of poop. Then, as I wipe, I think I feel something touching the toilet paper. Again, I think nothing of it.

I flush again and I stand up. Thank GOD I turned around.

OMG! What the fuck! How in the fuck did that come out of me? I have a normal sized asshole. I mean, I have nothing to compare it to, but I have what I believe is a normal sized asshole, but what I saw in that toilet was… well… it was unnatural.

Q: Was it the size of a hotdog?
A: No, think bigger.

Q: Was it the size of a sausage?
A: No, think even bigger.

Q: Was it the size of a potato?
A: No, think bigger still.

Q: WT actual fuck? How big could one turd be?

Now, let me just say this. I had more than a couple of thoughts when I saw this turd I had birthed.

1.) Did I just shit out my liver?
2.) Did I lose track of time and have I been shitting for a couple of days in a row?
3.) Should I take a picture? (To show my doctor should they ask when I’m diagnosed with some giant shit producing disease I’ve apparently been stricken with.)
4.) Is Ashton Kutcher sitting in the stall next to me and have I just been in episode of Punke’d?
5.) Seriously, did I just shit out my liver?
6.) If I can’t flush this fucker, do I have to give it a name and take it home?
7.) If I can’t flush this fucker, do I need to quit and find a new job?
8.) Is that corn? Did I eat corn this week?
9.) How can you tell if your liver is missing?

The ease was unnerving, but the speed was the real mystery. How can someone shit that much in such a short amount of time? I was honestly only in the bathroom for a quick bathroom break. It felt like a little turd to be honest. It felt like your average little turd, but it was piled so high I was amazed I didn’t stick my fist in the giant turd when I wiped my ass.

Maybe it wouldn’t have been so shocking if it felt like I was passing a giant turd. If I struggled to expel this monster from my bowels, maybe I wouldn’t have been so taken aback.

So, in the end, I’ve come away with three life lessons.

A: Never underestimate the power if fiber.
B: Never walk away from a toilet before taking one quick look… to see if you’ve lost your liver.
C: Teddy. If I was forced to take him home, I’d name my giant turd baby Teddy. Teddy the Turd.

#VeganPoo2K16 #FreeTeddy2K16

 

Drink Milk, ’cause it’s in everything!

Avoiding dairy is really hard!  It’s in my k-cups at work, in my frozen dinners, in my microwave popcorn, in the cheese flavoring in my chips… it’s everywhere! (Yes, I’m aware these are all bad foods anyway, but bear with me.)

Why you bein’ all up in my bizzzznass 24/7 you silly cow? #Cowspiricy2K16

However, knowing that I need to look for hidden milk in everything makes me look at labels in general, which is actually a good thing. I’m reading labels now, and I feel good about myself, and a little stupid too.

Stupid because I should already know what’s in the food I’m eating, right? How, or more aptly, why has reading labels suddenly become a ‘new journey’ and a learning experience? The real question is, why do I need to ‘learn’ what’s in my food? I thought I knew what was in my food just by looking at it. Silly stupid me!

DANG! I’m really starting to see why I’m so flippin’ fat! #bigFatCow2016

Meanwhile, I’m trying to figure out if my YEAR of being a vegan will be in the year from the date I started trying to be vegan, or when I’ve made it 1 entire year eating vegan only food. I can’t decide. What would you do? What would you consider a year?

‘Cause if my year of being a vegan means I need to go an entire year without fucking up, I may be doing this for the rest of my life. I can’t seem to get past 3 days without eating some sort of dairy product. The only way I see around this problem is to only eat food that I personally cook.

That. Is. Impossible.

I mean, it’s impossible, right?

Oh, and I nearly lost my shit yesterday because I bought some Morning Star burgers and I thought they were vegan then I heard not all Morning Star burgers are vegan. FML, what’s in this now! Then I saw this… CONTAINS SOY, WHEAT, MILK AND EGG INGREDIENTS. These are pizza burgers. Do you know what that means to me? Pizza and a burger, in one. I haven’t even tried them yet, but I’m already saying I’ve fallen. I need to try this veggie but not vegan burger.

Fallen Vegan Counter: 0

This week, I guess I’m a vegetarian.

Being Vegan is Hard! #FallenVegan2K16

 

 

Feisty = Feel The Burn

My ‘fake’ meat got a little touchy and aggressive. Maybe I’m just being sensitive, but I think it potentially got “ballsy” with me. My Beyond Meat was really friggin’ spicy and I couldn’t do a fair job judging it’s fake meatiness because it was so dang hot-hot-hot-hot! #FeistyMeat2K16 #FeelTheBernBurn

feist·y

ˈfīstē/

adjective

informal

 

1. (of a person, typically one who is relatively small or weak) lively, determined, and courageous.

   “a feisty heroine who’s more than a pretty face”

   synonyms:

   spirited, spunky, plucky, gutsy, gutty, ballsy “the part of Annie called for a just-so balance of adorable and feisty”

   • touchy and aggressive.

     “he got a bit feisty and tried to hit me”

Looking at the above definition, I’d think ‘feisty’ might be a step above medium. Not quite HOT, but feisty. I wasn’t aware that “feisty” was code for burn the house down! Does this particular ‘fake meat’ normally burn your pie hole hella bad? I feel like I got an overly spiced batch of spirited, spunky, gutsy mouth-burning-fuckery.

And yes, I know I said I wanted to try spicy foods, but I wish I was aware of the spice before putting said pie hole burning matter in my tender little mouth. Granted, maybe all I needed to know was in the name, it does say “Feisty” on the package, but really… how smart does this company think I am?

I don’t see any flames, or red lettering on the packaging. Oh, you say there’s hot peppers in the photo on the label? Really? (Pauses for a moment to look at food packaging.) Yeah, well… ok. Now I see it.

Here’s a tip for this and any other company interested, maybe subtle isn’t the way to go when advertising spice levels in foods.

I’m going to say this was a miss and not a hit. I’ll try the other not so ‘feisty’ crumble, but this little adventure in fake meat has put me off to being adventurous. I might just stick with the chicken tenders and the veggie burgers until I’m ready to kick the ‘fake meat’ habit for good.

Walking the line

Now I’ve got ALL new goodies. Unpacked and ready to go. I’ve picked up Miyoko’s cheese, I’ve got my crumbles, and I even have ice cream. I have no excuse.

I want cheese.

Everything will be alright. I have my dairy substitutes, and your meat substitutes, (I’ll try not to say “fake” but you and I both know these things are fake!) I have everything I need for vegan meals for days and days. Unless I make an effort to go out and buy more food, I should be fine. I can theoretically keep up a totally vegan life.

I still want cheese. #FreeCheese2K16.

Here’s a problem I’ve run into. I’m sure many of you already know how to deal with this, but this is a new issue for me. I have another person in this house. My mother is almost vegetarian, but she’s not a vegan. That means I haven’t purged the house. It also means I have so many temptations, it’s ridiculous.

I know by the time I stop typing this blog entry, my fallen vegan counter is going back to ZERO days because I saw bbq chips in the kitchen and the ingredients say the package contains a milk ingredient, and I’m, not even sure what that means anymore but I know it’s not vegan it it pisses me off!

I’m a little pissed because:

1. Why add a milk ingredient and not even drop a hit as to what that oh-so-secret ‘ingredient’ my actually consist of.
2. I still have chips, and I still have dressing, and I still have all these little triggers and forgotten moments and intentional “oops!” moments where I’ll eat something I know has an egg or milk and I can’t just remove all the temptations and it’s killing me.
3. I’m pissed off that I’m letting another person’s choices effect the way I make my choices. The way I choose to eat is my responsibility. Period, end of. In other words, I’m pissed because I know I’m weak.
4. And because I know I’m weak, I want a 100% vegan home, but it’s not going to happen and I need to learn to live with that fact.
5. I’m still super overweight and watching the cashier as she watched me putting all these super healthy foods on the counter, and then watching the confused look on her face… If you’ve ever been a big gal trying to eat healthy, you know what I’m talking about, right?

For some reason, I feel a little stressed. Could it be the hour and a half wait I had yesterday for my emissions test? Could it be I’m always broke? Could it be I’m in need of a vacation while technically on a vacation?

UMMM… yeah! Boo-hoo for you!* Now go eat some chips!

*sometimes I hate my inner voice!

Anyway, except for the chips, today I’ll be able to say, “I walked the line.”

Fake chicken tenders

The good news: the fake chicken was good. The bad news: the fake chicken was good.

This blog isn’t about finding the best fake meat. It’s about learning how to be a vegan, how to fall and most importantly, how to pick myself up and start all over again. I want to be a good vegan. I want to eat clean healthy food. My new self is excited about this new chapter in my life.

My old self wants some meat.

But, I’m not gonna to let my old self win… not today. Maybe later, but today I’m eating vegan.

So I stopped on the way home and picked up a bag of Gardein chicken tenders, and a bag of tater tots. It’s was almost 90 degrees today, but tonight, the oven is on and the fake meat is getting crispy.

Enjoyed the “chicken” with Heinz ketchup and Open Pit Original. Don’t tell me these aren’t vegan, I don’t want to know right now.

Is it good? Mmmm yeah. The crisp crust was better than expected. The fake meat tasted like chicken. It tasted kind of like cheap chicken nuggets with lots of fillers. So this really passed as bad chicken. Is that a good thing? That’s another story.

Chicken Tenders: Fallen score 4 out of 10.

4 out of 10 means I won’t #veganCheat for chicken tenders because I’ve found a suitable replacement. Anything under 5 really, when you get right down to it… anything under 5 is quite good.

Panera Raspberry Dressing makes me fall

Honey I’m home!

Honey. Everyone loves honey. We dream of bathing in milk and honey. Golden honey, golden like the sun. Sweet honey, sweet like a field of flowers. Honey is amazing, honey is heaven sent, honey is not vegan. FML! #BeeLivesMatter

So, it’s early on in my Vegan life and I’m still learning what I can and can’t eat. I knew I’d have items at home that I’d need to pitch. To be honest, salad dressing wasn’t on the top of my list. To be perfectly honest, it never even crossed my mind.  Who thinks about what’s in your salad dressing? It goes on salad, it must be good for you, right?

I love this dressing and in a desperate attempt to hang on to anything sweet, I took a nervous look at the bottle and… DANG! Now I know why I love this dressing so much… it’s got honey. Oh fine! Sure! It’s got to have honey. #FML #SweetSorrow

Dang it! V for vegetarian, not vegan. It is DF (dairy free) so that’s good, but it has honey. This. This is why I’m a fallen vegan. I love honey.

Dang it, dang it, dang it! I feel like the bees know we like honey, so they make extra liquid gold for us thieving, no good, honey snatching humans.

Honey isn’t an easy give.

A “give” is something I’m willing to give up for the rest of my life. I don’t think I’m ok with saying no more honey forever and ever amen. It’s not a give, it’s a later. I’m not going to have it today, but later… yes.

That being said, honey isn’t an easy “later” either, but it’s do-able. Today it’s do-able. *sigh*

Honey: Fallen Score 7 out of 10

Cheat day once a week

Allow yourself a cheat day because if you know you’re going to do it, you might as well do it right! Eat a healthy protein and savor the flavors. I’m actually not a big fish gal, but I think that’s about to change. I’m going to try to eat fish once a month. Not fried fish planks, but natural fresh fish.

I’ll make my mother shrimp and everyone will be happy.

Fallen score: 6 out of 10