OYMST Day #31: WHEW! In Conclusion

In the past 48 hours I have had not one, but TWO or THREE opportunities to have a vegan dessert when I was not expecting it and have turned it down. Really? Like really! Today I considered making cookies, but decided to have apple slices and some pumpkin dip instead. Why did this miracle happen?

Operation Yank My Sweet Tooth. Has it in fact been yanked? Not really, but I have experienced a change that has altered my relationship with eating sweets. Prior to this experiment, I had been making a return to mindless eating, something that is not really good for me. I also have a family history of the diabeetus and I need to be careful. I really didn't think I'd be able to make it.

Then I decided to blog about it and reach out for support. I treasure dessert for what it really is: a beautiful end to a nice meal with friends, family, self, and as a special treat. Not something that I scarf before my 4 year old son sees me and asks if he can also have cookies for breakfast. You can only bullshit a kid for so long until he smells the turd of deceit. What kind of lesson would I be teaching him then?

I've reignited a love for fruit, something I can share with my kids since they adore fruit too. I've found that and some hot tea really does the trick. I feel better. It isn't so hard to get up in the morning. I can concentrate better at work, and I think people have noticed. I've discovered that there are different ways to have sweet treats without feeling deprived. Day 10 was really hard, but after day 15 or 16 it just didn't seem like such a big deal.

What will happen to me when I have dessert tomorrow? I have no idea. I'll keep the size small and will be eating with a bunch of people so I don't eat an entire Smolve pie by myself. I've always enjoyed cooking for people, but now I really treasure eating a meal with the people I cook for. Today I took my daughter out for Thai food at Bloomington's best ethnic restaurant: Siam House. This is a must if you are visiting our little city for whatever reason. The cozy lil' gem is located on 4th and Dunn St. During warm weather you can enjoy your meal outside. They have one of the best lunch buffets, $9. Get this: no fish in the vegetarian dishes. In fact, there are big labels on the dishes that say VEGAN. No guesswork-- I counted 5 things on the buffet! I had red curry w/tofu, soup, spring rolls w/ peanut sauce, a delicious savory salad, and fresh cool melon. I thanked the wait staff for taking the time to label everything. I got a container to go for my spouse and the waiter insisted on holding my daughter so I could tend to that task without any distraction. Is that service or what? You'd really be a fool to not hold her. She's super cute.

I haven't seen my tally for this month, but I'm pretty sure that I was able to raise $15 for the food bank on my hits alone--that's 105# of food! Thank you so much, beautiful readers. Stay tuned for fun stuff next month. I'll be cooking the $#!T out of 500 Vegan Recipes and The Complete Guide to Vegan Substitutions. You'd think I was married to Celine or Joni, but I'm not. I'm just really believe these books don't get enough cred.