***30 Day Veggers - Day 28!***

[Liann]

Well, another weekend survived with no meat. Which is saying a lot since I ate out all weekend. DH and I went to a reptile show on Saturday and on the way back found a "Noodle Co." restaurant. I remembered Emily mentioning it before, so we stopped there. Nice place, they do serve meat, so DH was able to order his meal with Chicken on top and I ordered mine with Tofu. I WISH we had one of those near us, but that is probably the closest one and it is over an hour away. We went to the York Fair on Sunday and I was able to find a vendor selling Baked Potatoes. So I ate one of those and then later had a slice of cheese pizza. I honestly do not know how vegans do it. My potato had sour cream, butter, and cheese. If I was vegan, I would only be able to eat the potato and some salt. At home, I could use my alternative sour cream and butter, but when you are out, it's almost impossible. I do not think I will ever be completely "Vegan". I will just cut down where I can.

Hope you guys all had a good weekend! I did bring home two new additions from the reptile show, so I'll try to get some pics up later.

 

[teri ket]

Hi Liann~ Sounds like you had a great weekend. I hear you on the issue of being a Vegan. I will cut back at home but that is about it.

I did really good this weekend. We had a birthday party for my MIL 75th birthday and it was a barbque. The smell of the grilled chicken and hamburgers almost drove me crazy!!! I did have them grill me up my soy burgers and they were really good about cleaning me a spot on the grill!!

I can't wait to see the pictures of your new babies! (I never in a million years thought I would be saying that about reptiles!!!!)

 

[queenmaynie]

Hey guys,

Liann: more creatures, huh?? I am such a girly girl, I think I would have anxiety being in your house. Although I am sure they are all loving and adorable, for reptiles, that is!

Teri: Good job at the barbecue.

So, speaking of BBQ's, last night I was at one at a friends house. So, she called me in the afternoon to confirm and she said, "I'm having chicken just for you". I didn't say anything and she re;eated it a minute or two later. So I told her I gave up chicken and she let out a huge sigh like I was doing it to offend her!! I told her not to worry, I would bring a veggie burger with me. She was fine when I got there, but her initial reaction made me feel bad. Then again, this is the one friend who always seems to want to sabatoge my healthy eating. She'll bring over a fruit pie and insist I should eat it becuase it's fruit, even though it's loaded with sugar and I don't eat sugar ( I am a diabetic, as well as just don't eat anything unhealthy aymore). Or we were at the movies and she bought Twizzlers and tried with all her might to get me to eat one because they are "fat free". So, I should have expected her to be annoyed with my vegetarianism. Oh well, tough tooties.

So far so good. I bought some ground beef substitute. I think I'll try to put it in soem pasta sauce. I actually don't really eat pasta, but I make sauce and then put it on string beans with grated cheese. So, yup, think I'll try that. I'm a little nervous about how it will taste, I'll let you know!

Have a great day!

 

[Liann]

Teri - Good for you sticking to your guns at the BBQ. I know what you mean about the smells! I walked past a bunch of BBQ stands at the fair and the aroma was very tempting. My DH actually forgot for a second that I wasn't eating meat and asked me if I wanted a Smoked Turkey Leg. I just looked at him like WHAT??? He was totally shocked that he had forgotten.

Vicki - I promise you wouldn't even know we have snakes if you ever came to my house! Our house is very well kept and the snakes live in the basement. We have a very "professional" set-up down there. Nice thing is that no one knows it's there unless we take them downstairs.

Here is a section of the snake room (shows the baby enclosures all the way up to the adults). Pardon the mess:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/aljack_78/SnakeRoom-middle.jpg

And here is one of our display cage stacks that the beardies are in:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/aljack_78/CageStack1.jpg

We try to keep it classy.

Sorry you had to tell your friend no to the chicken. I know that isn't easy. I'm not looking forward to several upcoming work dinners...

 

[materialsgirl]

Hey veggers!

Wow, you're almost done with the 30 days, you guys! How are you feeling? Do you think you'll keep going?

Liann, isn't Noodles the bomb diggity??? What did you order? My favorites are Penne Rosa, and Noodles Stroganoff, and the Med Salad. Yummmmmerific. :9 I wish we had one close by us too - the closest one is about 45 minutes away, so we hardly ever get to eat there. I keep sending Noodles emails, asking them to please open a location in Peoria.

Teri, good job at the BBQ. It can be hard when you smell that BBQ chicken.

I read something somewhere (I think maybe it was in Eat To Live?) that really made me think. When you think about meat - say, chicken or steak, or what have you... is it really the MEAT that you like? Or is it the flavor that's been added to the meat. If someone grilled up a chicken breast for you, and put no salt, no pepper, no seasoning, no sauce, nothing on it, and gave it to you to eat - would you even like the way it tastes??? I don't think I would. Chicken doesn't really have much flavor on it's own and it's kind of chewy and rubbery. What we actually like is the BBQ sauce, the buttery basting, the herb seasoning rub. Well, hey, we can put all those things on meat substitutes! Just some "food for thought", as you guys struggle with your meat cravings...

Vicki, I know how hard it is to tell a friend or relative that you can't eat the food they're planning to serve. It's kind of embarassing, isn't it? But you handled the situation with finesse - good for you! People will always try to make us feel bad for our eating decisions - whether it's choosing not to eat meat, or not to eat desserts, or not to eat dairy, or whatever. We just need to remember these are OUR bodies and only WE can choose what goes into them. Nobody else gets to vote on our food! Stand strong, veggers!!!

ETA - Liann, I almost forgot to comment on your "snake pit". Your snake setup is so cool! It's all organized and neat! As a person who loves places like The Container Store, your snake room is a dream-come-true. I keep thinking "Wow! Look at all those clear, neatly-arranged bins! Those would be great for office supplies!"

 

[queenmaynie]

Hey again.

Liann: I never had a doubt that your creatures were kept neatly and not in the main house! Actually, I had seen pics of them before. I am just such a baby that once we had a mouse in our attic and I freaked out and wouldn't stay here for three days until it was caught!! I think if I was at your house I would have thses secret fears of one of them breaking free of the container just to terrify me! LOL! Like that would be the one time they would fiugure out how to bust out and come and get me! I know it's irrational, but again, just my ridiculousness! I actually have a very real bat phobia. I can't even see one on TV because I will flip out. I think some day I will have to actually get some help with that, because at dusk if I see one I will run inside screaming.One time one flew at my windshield while I was driving and I almost crashed just from hyperventilating. My friend Dee loves to tell everyone that story since she was in the car with me and experienced it first hand. The bat phobia is a real phobia, I think the reptile thing is just me being a big baby. Although, spiders don't freak me out at all. Go figure. ( Hey, I never claimed to be a walk in the park, ya know?)

Emily: you're right about people not getting to vote on what we eat. And also another good point about the flavor of food. You always say things that make alot of sense! Thanks!

 

[Liann]

Emily - It's funny that you mentioned that about the meat, because I was actually thinking that it was the bbq sauce that I was craving and not necessarily the meat.

I had the Whole Grain Tuscan Fettuccine with tofu and a salad. It was yummy! DH had the same thing only with chicken. We both really liked it.

My mom has always said that if I ever get out of snakes, she wants all my enclosures to store her craft supplies in!

Vicki - Be glad you do not live in my area! There have been times in late summer that I have been mowing at dusk and have had the bats dive in front of me to grab the insects that the mower is kicking up. It can be pretty freaky. I've always had a fear that one would fly in my hair and get stuck. That is probably one of my top fears actually! I'm not afraid of the bats themselves, but the idea of one in my hair gives me chills. If I know they are out, I will wear a baseball cap and a hooded sweater!