| It's not supposed to be this punishing to be a vegan, and when I was vegan for a year, I enjoyed what I ate. That said, I've been barely functional without my daily coffee (with cow's milk). I don't think I realized before what an addict I am. Then, without caffeine in me, I've been too sluggish to bother with cooking - which resulted in an entirely new problem: foraging in the kitchen for enough vegan calories that don't have to be cooked. It doesn't help that I've had migraines for the last several days - probably due to financial stress, not veganism.
Yesterday, I solved the caffeine problem by hitting Mama's Bakery, a local Lebanese place, and ordering some Arabic coffee. Depending on where you are eating, it's called Greek, Turkish, or Arabic coffee, but it's basically the same thing no matter the name, and it's served black. I've been a fan of the stuff since a trip to Greece back when I was 16. Along with my coffee, I got a fried eggplant wrap.
Other than that, I've been eating lots of oranges, nectarines, apricots, and toast. Two days ago I went to the co-op to stock up on various types of whole grains and nuts. The nuts cost a fortune so I got one and a half pounds of walnuts and left it at that. I started choosing grains based on price - rolled oats and millet for $.99/lb - until a nutritionist I was chatting with made a strong case for the $3.99/lb red quinoa.
Yesterday I decided to "cook" my quinoa and ended up scorching a pan. It shouldn't be that complicated. 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water, cook for 20 minutes. So now I've got a scorched pan soaking in the sink. I tried again with a 2nd pan and succeeded. I added brown sugar, raisins, and cinnamon. I should probably add some soy milk too but I forgot. Now I'm hungry again, and I just ate another apricot. I've got asparagus, broccoli, a tomato, a cucumber, a potato, and carrots in the fridge - I just need to work up the energy to do my dishes and then cook one of them. |
