A soy decaf latte please!

Or, tastes like ‘tween spirit.*

I think I was about 11 the first time I decided I was going to become a vegetarian. At the time, I was not the library geek** that I am now so it never occurred to me to check out a book about vegetarianism or do any type of research. Anywho, at the time my family supported me a bit by helping me with meals that were full of bread, vegetables and fish (at the time fish didn’t count). My flirtation with vegetarianism would always peter out; the allure of sizzling bacon or a pizza covered with pepperonis would call to me and a little taste would derail my new diet. This little dance repeated itself a few times over the years until as recently as four years ago for a few rib-less weeks.

Friday evening as we talked about her week, The Bee griped about the chocolate she received from friends at school. Although most of her class, nay school, knows that The Bee cannot eat dairy, some of her new classmates are not in the know. As a result our conversation veered towards a bemoaning of not being able to eat ice cream, how she thinks pizza looks like it would taste good, how a grilled cheese sounds like it tastes good (?) and the feelings that no one knows her pain. While ignoring some of this – I have a drama queen in the making – and feeling the mommy guilt sense tingling, she announced that we should just stop eating meat.

Gulp!

Since The Bee already is a picky eater, I cannot imagine how she would get on without meat. She is not a kid who willingly eats veggies, frowns at new recipes and would rather not eat than try something she is not familiar with. This is a kid who will eat the same meal morning noon and night without blinking an eye.

I explained how a vegan lifestyle would be and she thought that it sounded fine. What didn’t explain was that Mommy was not digging this change! Anyone who knows me knows I like my coffee with cream, ice cream and a good burger. Since I don’t believe in making two meals (I don’t believe in making one meal either-hiyo!) we are all going to have to eat the same thing. Sunday I made a first stab at vegan living, cereal with soy milk for breakfast, a veggie sandwich for lunch and almonds as a snack. Coffee with soy milk didn’t quite make it so I went with water.
If nothing else, I will have a healthier diet.

Enjoying crunchy granola and oats,
-r

*There are only two more senses to go. Then no more plays on Teen Spirit. Promise!
** I was, however, a library fugitive and probably owed a huge fine which prevented me from checking out books.