Going into this, I knew that there would be moments of struggle and the temptation to eat foods that I had previously eaten before going on a vegan diet. The first temptation came last night.
While Suzanne and I did our grocery shopping last Saturday, we entered Fareway and were greeting by a young boy scout, who was around 7 or 8 years old. He approached us, and with his best business man technique, asked us if we would like to purchase some popcorn from him. His smile revealed two new "adult" teeth with a decent sized gap between them. His mom smiled at him as she sat behind a table covered in different popcorn goods. In this scenario, I saw myself. I was once a boy scout and was required to sell M & M's door to door. My mother, the ultimate trooper that she was, sacrificed her Saturday mornings and afternoons to take me around town to sell my candy so I could have the chance of being top seller and winning the coveted first prize: a new bicycle.
(Side note: Although I didn't win the bike, I won a walk man. This resulted in me being able to take my MC Hammer cassettes on the go.)
I looked at this kid and laughed. I couldn't resist his charm and dedication to his cause, so I bought a bag of caramel corn.
(Another side note: His eyes bugged out of his head when I asked if he could break a $50. It was priceless.)
I had every intention of eating some that Saturday because Suzanne and I were planning on starting the diet on Sunday, however, I had forgotten about it. So, Monday night rolls around and Suzanne and I have some friends over. I was feeling snacky and had a eureka moment. "There's caramel corn in your jeep!" I shouted as I ran to put some shoes on. Suzanne responded, "Um, I'm not sure if we can eat it though." I laughed and shook my head. "Of course we can. It's just popcorn, right?" I proceeded to walk out to her Escape and got the caramel corn out of the trunk. I brought it back in the house, sat down in the chair, and began to read the ingredients. "Almonds, pecans, corn starch...butter." I frowned, dropped the caramel corn onto my lap, and let my head fall backwards onto the the back of the chair. I had never been so devastated to see the word "butter" before. Eventually our friends came over and I offered it to them. It was hard to watch at first, but I eventually got over my urge to dunk my face into the bowl. Suzanne ended up making kale chips, which were awesome, and that got my mind off of the processed sweets.
One of the reasons this was so hard is because I am somewhat notorious for having a sweet tooth. I had trained myself to expect something sweet after I eat lunch and dinner. There are a variety of vegan sweets, and I'm looking into them, however, I think I need to cool it for a bit before I begin to stuff my face with vegan treats. Ultimately, I would like to get to the point where I don't crave or expect sweets after meals but rather enjoy them occasionally. Moderation is key with many things in our society, and this is a perfect example.
So, first temptation: conquered. I'm expecting more, and when they come, I'll be ready with a "vegan one-two combo."
-Bearded Vegan
(Last side note: My wife has already lost 3 pounds since Sunday! Super proud of her!)
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