Cravings

First off, today's winner on the bus was a real goodie. I have seen her on the bus many times, I was pretty sure she was schizophrenic, but tonight confirmed it lol. She always sits in the same spot and BARGES her way to the spot so nobody gets there before her...well tonight this 15 year old or so black kid sat there. He had glasses and was a total band nerd (carrying a trumpet case and all!). Really nice looking boy. Well, this schizo lady throws a fit, she went absolutely ballistic and started screaming about him being the devil in disguise and she has to wipe out all the devils and she started crying and shaking and screaming about god, and everybody telling her to kill the devils in disguise, then she HIT HIM ON THE HEAD with her umbrella. I felt so sorry for the kid, he was crying and she hit him REALLY hard too. So, the bus pulled over and the cops were called and stuff. Normally I get irritated when there is a bus delay, but this was entertaining.

Needless to say, I probably won't be seeing schizo lady around anymore.

I decided to do a post on cravings tonight. I was sitting on the bus and a girl near me started eating reese's peanut butter cups and I massively wanted some. I have a recipe to make some, but I wanted some SOOOOOOOOOOOOO badly. Now that I'm home, the craving is gone, but it was definitely the strongest one I've had since going vegan, or even vegetarian.

Cheese: I have not had a single craving for cheese. There is a new vegan cheese out called "daiya" that is supposed to be amazing and exactly like regular cheese, I briefly wanted to buy some for Mexican food or pizza...basically somewhere where you think you "need" cheese. Well, after thinking about it for five seconds I realized things taste better without cheese. I have never been a big cheese eater, with the exception of Mexican food. Pizza is actually a health food without cheese! Not to mention how nasty cheese is for you, so even if I did get a craving (unlikely) I would just think about all the nasty things it does to you.

Here is a little blurb on why cheese is addicting, I'm too lazy to find a better one...I think it sums it up enough though. Basically many cheeses contain morphine (from the cow's stomach) as well, casein (a milk protein) is concentrated in cheeses, and is highly addicting. Cheese also causes cancer (well dairy in general is the single most potent and dangerous carcinogen today), gives you migraines, makes you fat, smelly and lethargic.

Milk: Again, not a single craving for milk...or even chocolate milk, or a latte, or anything with milk as the main part. I have wanted a chocolate bar once or twice like a coffee crisp or something but again, I think how terrible that is for me. If I do get a chocolate craving I buy a dark chocolate bar. Lots of them have fruits and nuts, so they can seem more candy chocolate bar type too. If I really need a candy chocolate bar, I just buy a dark kit-kat. So...no, I have not had cravings for milk or milk products.

Yogurt: No cravings here either. I thought that I would crave yogurt because I used to eat it at least twice a day. I absolutely loved it. I am actually surprised I haven't wanted any, and now that I think about it...yogurt isn't even that good. You don't even need it in smoothies, and most brands of yogurt just plain suck anyways.

Eggs: Again, no cravings here either!! I really LOVED scrambled eggs with 12 pounds of ketchup on them, seriously, the best breaky ever. I am quite surprised I've had no cravings for that. As for baking, eggs "bind" and that's their only purpose in baking. So, for vegan baking all you need is something to "bind". Easy peas. Things like flax seed, banana, apple sauce, or even "egg replacer" which is just a powder you mix with water to replace the egg. Like the dairy products, if I ever do get a craving (again, unlikely) I will just think about all the nasty things they do to you, and the horrible cholesterol aspect.

Don't even get me started on the allyouneedischeese and dairy goodness, and yourhealthy weight ads. First of all, it all causes cancer and makes you fat and second of all dairy products are not a good source of calcium. If you are consuming animal proteins (from meat, dairy, eggs) it "cancels out" the absorption of the calcium, so you aren't even getting very much calcium from milk or whatever. Other foods contain equal amounts and more of calcium.

Anyways, back on topic.

Meat: I never really liked meat to begin with. I smelled bacon the other day (i used to LOVE it and the smell) and really felt disgusted by it. The only thing I am craving is a hamburger. I don't know why. Probably because it is really the only meat thing I regularly ate before going veggie. I just can't kick that craving. I get it almost every day. I just remind myself of the tortures of slaughter, animal cruelty and the fat and calories. The craving then goes away :)

I don't know what other foods there are, but the bottom line is I haven't craved anything. I have heard cheese is the only hard one to "give up", but I didn't eat much of it to begin with. You also cannot think of it as "never eating ____ again in my entire life" because then you are setting yourself up for failure. Think of the reasons why you do not eat ____ anymore, and is it really worth giving into the craving for your taste buds? Probably not.

Basically, you may think you will get cravings for certain animal products after going veggie, but really, you probably won't. Even if you do, they pass very quickly.

The same goes for things like sugar, pop, junk food, or any food. Honestly, try giving up something you thought you could NEVER give up for just two weeks. I'm sure after that two weeks it won't be as appetizing nor will you be craving it.

Anyways, I have a paper due tomorrow that I must start. (yes start, but it's a shortie)

Tomorrow I am going to post a recipe for the most amazing fruit crisp ever. You must make it on the weekend. I promise that you're taste buds will explode with excitement and over-deliciousness.