my aha moment.

My aha moment occurred today. smh. (shaking my head...)  It's almost embarrassing to share this with anyone.

I started this blog on Tuesday. This past Tuesday. Two days ago. Actually, I agonized over my first post for 3 days prior to Tuesday. I wrote, deleted & re-wrote it three times, changing the subject completely and starting from scratch each time.

Finally, I decided on a subject:  I wanted to share my excitement about the BBQ wings I had discovered over the weekend! Those friggin' things were delicious and I wanted everyone to know about it!

BBQ WINGS?!?! Was that really the best I could come up with? Well, it ended up being my first post, and since it's now been shared with the 'world wide web' (I love that old-school term) I guess the answer is yes. Yes, that's the best I could come up with as a new, nervous blog writer.

So now I'm a blogger. Cool.

Time to start blogging about how easy it is to be a vegetarian. After all, it is easy to be a vegetarian...isn't it? I thought so. Well, until I really started thinking about it.  Today was that day. I thought about it. Maybe too much.

Here's how it went down:  I was talking to my BFF on the phone, and I asked her what she thought about my new blog. She started laughing and told me she thought it was 'cute'. She liked my idea and supported my effort.  She's cool like that. Seriously, I could tell her that I started a blog about crayons and she would support me 150%. Hence, part of the reason why she's my BFF. The other part is because she's totally awesome (...just like me). enough about that.

I'm not sure why, but I always feel the need to explain myself to everyone, and with her it is no different. I told her the reason I started the blog: I'm always being questioned by people when they find out that I don't eat meat. First, most people look at me like I'm from outer space, then they want to know how I do it, why I do it, what I eat, how hard it is, if I think they could do it...etc.

I have a bunch of reasons why I stopped eating meat. Since I had cancer, I'd say it's mostly for health reasons, but I also have some compassion issues. I'm not interested in any animal suffering/dying for my benefit. If I were to completely explain to you my reasons for being a vegetarian, we would be here for a very long time. When it comes to health issues, I'm very long winded and try to leave no stone unturned. 

I enjoy helping people help themselves. And that my friends, is the reason why I'm here. There are a ton of people in the world who are interested in becoming a vegetarian & start eating healthier, but they're not sure where to start or what to do. I want to be their source of information for starting a healthier lifestyle & becoming a vegetarian.

Well....getting to (the point) my aha moment:
As I was talking to my super-supportive BFF on the phone, I started telling her my 'ideas'...what I wanted to blog about and how I could make a positive difference in people's lives. Then, suddenly as I continued to talk to her, something became very clear to me....

I am a vegetarian & I eat like shit. complete shit! How am I going to help other people be "healthy"?


omg. I have no idea. All this time I thought that because I was a 'vegetarian' that I was doing good. I'm not. I'm not doing good at all. What I eat is not a good example for anyone. While I was talking to her, I started to recall all the things I had eaten so far today:

Breakfast
1/2 of a sesame bagel with cream cheese from Dunkin Donuts
A small iced coffee with cream, no sugar
Lunch
Rice pudding from Wawa
Cream Soda

Yikes! Time to regroup.  Immediately. 
Waaaay too many carbs, not enough (not even a smidgin') of fruits and/or veggies. 
What. The. Heck?!?!

Lesson learned:  originally, my intent was to use this blog as a teaching tool for others. However, after my aha moment today, I realize that I need to be a student. I've got a lot of work to do....and I welcome the challenge. So from this point forward I will research & learn, and share my findings with you!

Quick meat -free meal: gardein sweet & tangy BBQ wings

I've never been a big fan of artificial meat substitutes. To me, many of them taste like they have a ton of chemical additives and the flavor that I'm left with is very....well, artificial.

So when I'm in the grocery store, I try to stay away from the artificial meat substitutes. However, a few weeks ago I was starving & shopping at the same time - which is the #1 rule of things not to do while food shopping. I'm aware of that. Needless to say, everything in the entire grocery store that day looked delicious.

While I was in the frozen food section, I started daydreaming about chicken wings. I began to crave them. I wanted them immediately and I was prepared to do everything in my power to get them. Then I came to my senses and headed straight for the vegetarian category of the frozen foods. That's where I found these gardein-brand sweet and tangy barbecue wings...and I'm so glad I did! Admittedly, they sat in my freezer at home for a few weeks. Although I was salivating over them the day I bought the wings, I wasn't overly excited about the idea of indulging in artificial meat substitute so I put them in the freezer & made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for myself when I got home.

This past Saturday night we had a really bad thunder storm which meant the kids and I were stuck in the house.  Earlier that evening I had made chicken nuggets for the kids and saw the package of BBQ wings in the freezer so I decided to cook them. Since I didn't think I was going to like them, I only made two wings.

As soon as I tasted the first bite I immediately wished I had cooked the entire bag, but thankfully I only made two because the electric went out (for four hours!) shortly after I started cooking. However, there was just enough heat remaining on the stove for me to finish them...and they were DELICIOUS!  Exceptional! It was the first time I've ever truly enjoyed an artificial meat substitute. The wings were so good that my 6 year old son loved them too. Not at all spicy, just perfectly balanced with sweet & tangy.

These wings are a fantastic, quick meat-free option for meat and veggie lovers alike. They are made with a savory blend of beans, wheat, grains and veggies.

For more information, visit their website: www.gardein.com

I'm going to check it out now to see what other kind of deliciousness they have for me.  Can't wait to see what kind of new goodies I come home with after my next visit to the grocery store.