It’s day one of a 28 day Vegan Detox I am participating in.  For the life of me, I can’t remember WHY I decided to sign up for this.  I even paid a few hundred dollars to participate and bought some interesting supplements that are supposed to help clean out my liver or something.  Part of the reason I can’t figure out why this is happening, is because I feel extremely caffeine and dairy deprived and have been in a bad mood all day.  No, caffeine is not anti-vegan (or whatever you want to call it), but since this is a ‘detox’, caffeine is the bad guy.  Oh, and so is booze and gluten.  Add those up and subtract them from the food world, and you get vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, rice, and TOFU.  You might see why I’m crabby.

Prior to starting this challenge, I read a bunch of information about why people choose to eat vegan, or why this is a good way to ‘clean out’ your system.  It all makes sense to me, but doesn’t change the fact that I’ve always thought vegan eating was for NPR listening weirdos.  Yes, be offended, but my favorite brother listens to NPR, he’s a total weirdo, but I still love him.  My point is, I don’t feel like I fit into the vegan category.  Like, if there were tryouts for some sort of vegan sorority, there’s no way I’d make it solely based on my love of hamburgers.

I went to my local co-op yesterday to stock up on organic produce and vegan-friendly ingredients.  I decided I was going to cook my way through this challenge and learn to eat some new things.  There are two things (everything) wrong with this plan.  I don’t really like to cook, and I hate trying new foods.  I grew up eating Top Ramen, Trix, Doritos, and salad.  (Yes, I’ve always liked salad).  It’s taken me 41 years to eat a lot of other foods and even learn how to prepare them in a healthier way.  This, in itself, has been a challenge.  Now take away some of my favorite foods, like coffee and dairy products, and I go into full on meltdown mode.

I know there are lots of people out there who eat vegan on a regular basis, which is great for them.  I’m guessing they also load up on coffee every morning and even eat bread.  This is the start of a short, but annoying journey for me.  One of many I have taken on in my life.  Like, putting an offer on a house we couldn’t afford, getting two cats, and trying to color my own hair when I was eight months pregnant.  I made it through all of these challenges, and more.  Some brought great rewards, many remorse.  Who knows where it will lead, but you better believe I’ll tell you about it.