Exploits of a Vegan Wannabe

I learned two things about myself today (Wednesday) and I wanted to share. They seem like revelations that could help another in some form.

A little background…I do not like spinach. I have never liked spinach unless it was spinach dip, which is really mayonnaise and sour cream with enough spinach thrown in to warrant the name. I dislike spinach so much its like if you were married to Popeye then had a name calling, heart wrenching divorce. You would feel like, spinach you are dead to me.

During the vegan retreat we were shown how to put greens into smoothies so you could consume them and not really know it. Because we were willing to try, we have a big bag of baby spinach in the house so I can obliterate it with my smoothie maker. As I was making Tofurkey sandwiches today I went to the crisper to grab the lettuce and had none. Without even thinking, I pulled out the bag of spinach and put handfuls of it on our sandwiches. I swear to you, I turned them into spinach sandwiches. It was like I was momentarily taken over by a vegan superstar spinach lover. It was one of the best sandwiches I have ever had. The spinach was so sweet and crunchy with the turkey and hummus.

I have always believed that your tastes, edible likes and dislikes were molded and created over time through experience. If you hated mushrooms as a child you hate them now…end of story. I am so inspired to learn that does not have to be true. We can choose to allow ourselves to experience or re-experience things anew from a new perspective.

The vegan challenge has made me so inquisitive about all things edible. When you are living on a plant based diet you will leave no “plant” food undiscovered. I LOVE that. I want to create my experiences with limitless possibilities. I just never imagined how much fun it would be with food. We can try and retry foods any damn way we want. We don’t have to continue playing and replaying the old internal tapes of what we used to eat or used to hate. Lets try everything like it is our first time and be unlimited.

Here is the second thing I learned. This afternoon  I was getting all of my things ready for a jewelry making class I was teaching that evening. I started to feel time crunched, insecure and frazzled. I immediately began eating my way through the cupboard to soothe myself and to ease the discomfort I was feeling. I wasn’t hungry, I was scared. I finished the cashews and was about to plow through the animal crackers when I suddenly stopped and thought, “Sherry I know you aren’t hungry, you are scared and feeling insecure. Can we just try blueberries instead?” So I got out the carton of blueberries and ate them like I would have if they were M&M’s. Instead of berating myself or denying myself the comfort I was seeking, I gave myself permission and set myself up for success with the berries.

I felt like the recognition of this was such a huge step in releasing the need to use food as both the weapon and the reward. You can’t release a pattern until you know it is there. I have never had that moment of clarity before in the midst of a crisis. I really think it is because the vegan challenge has made me so much more mindful of what I am putting into my body. It felt like such a great success and it made me realize how much I am learning on this journey.

We can change, we can be gentle with ourselves in the process, and we can learn new ways to soothe the inevitable scary feelings that come with being alive. It is like changing our own lives one meal at a time. So fantastic.

Have a delicious day trying something new.

Tags: 30 day challenge, compassionate eating, mindless eating, spinach, trying vegan, trying vegetarian, vegan, vegan challenge, vegan experience