I have hit the dreaded slump. You know, the slump where the novelty of a new challenge has faded and the motivation that comes with starting something exciting has somehow been misplaced. That is my slump. More and more I find myself caving into letting Hayden have non-Vegan treats while we are grocery shopping, just because it is easier. Two times this week I failed to come up with a dinner and my poor family ate tortillas and beans. And the worst, I decided to get more facts about all the scary things that soy can do to me... and instead of feeling outraged at tricky marketing ploys and inspired to cut out soy completely... I felt tired and defeated. The feeling of defeat is a definite slump indicator.
No matter what new thing I start, this slump is inevitable. In some ways though, it is a good thing. If I can make it through this "poor me" phase and come out vegan on the other side, then I know I am committed. Right? The trick is not giving up when the going gets tough. Okay, so we all learned that in kindergarten, I know, but just because I have known it for a long time, doesn't make it any easier to follow.
Thank goodness for New Food Friday though, just the opportunity I needed to jazz things up in my life. Tonight I made Cashew Sour Cream to add a little excitement to my super slump. It was easy and a great substitute for the "real" thing. I put it in my Three Bean Chili over rice, topped with avocados. (Side note: How I EVER lived without avocados in my chili is beyond me. There is just nothing that compares! Like the song that goes, "Noooothhhhing compares, nothing compares to you...", whoever sang that was totally talking about avocados in her chili.) Cutter tasted it, said it tasted too much like real sour cream for his liking. But, Cutter is a creamaphob. Won't touch anything that is white, creamy and food like. Poor guy doesn't know what he is missing. Hayden dipped his carrots in it, seemed to enjoy it. Me, I think it might even be tasty on a vegan bagel. My friend Sally the nutrition expert reports that you can also make a nacho like substance out of pine nuts. I will have to try it.
While I am on the subject of raw nuts, let me riddle you this: Why, oh why do raw nuts cost more money than roasted nuts? Don't raw nuts require minimal work as compared to the roasting and salting that other nuts go through? This makes NO sense to me. One pound of raw organic cashews were $10.99. This is no joke. 3/4 of a pound of said nuts made approximately six servings of sour cream. You can do the math exactly but to sum things up, this cashew cream cheese that I made was definitely the single most expensive dollop of sour cream I have ever ate. This doesn't take away from the great taste factor, but will most certainly be a treat I only eat on VERY special occasions. Like maybe once a year. Maybe even just once a decade.
See, it is apparent that my "slump" is effecting even my blogging. Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer, wah wahhhhhhh. The cashew sour cream is delish, go try it and just don't tell your husband what it cost. Okay? Bad advice, just save two dollars a week for the next month and make it on May 14th, in celebration of your own New Food Friday. Then you don't have to hide the Whole Foods receipt from your hubby. Not that I did or anything :).
Have a great weekend. And cheers to slumps that WILL eventually fade, leaving you feeling even more proud of the changes you have made! I hope. Wah Wahhhhhh......
No matter what new thing I start, this slump is inevitable. In some ways though, it is a good thing. If I can make it through this "poor me" phase and come out vegan on the other side, then I know I am committed. Right? The trick is not giving up when the going gets tough. Okay, so we all learned that in kindergarten, I know, but just because I have known it for a long time, doesn't make it any easier to follow.
Thank goodness for New Food Friday though, just the opportunity I needed to jazz things up in my life. Tonight I made Cashew Sour Cream to add a little excitement to my super slump. It was easy and a great substitute for the "real" thing. I put it in my Three Bean Chili over rice, topped with avocados. (Side note: How I EVER lived without avocados in my chili is beyond me. There is just nothing that compares! Like the song that goes, "Noooothhhhing compares, nothing compares to you...", whoever sang that was totally talking about avocados in her chili.) Cutter tasted it, said it tasted too much like real sour cream for his liking. But, Cutter is a creamaphob. Won't touch anything that is white, creamy and food like. Poor guy doesn't know what he is missing. Hayden dipped his carrots in it, seemed to enjoy it. Me, I think it might even be tasty on a vegan bagel. My friend Sally the nutrition expert reports that you can also make a nacho like substance out of pine nuts. I will have to try it.
While I am on the subject of raw nuts, let me riddle you this: Why, oh why do raw nuts cost more money than roasted nuts? Don't raw nuts require minimal work as compared to the roasting and salting that other nuts go through? This makes NO sense to me. One pound of raw organic cashews were $10.99. This is no joke. 3/4 of a pound of said nuts made approximately six servings of sour cream. You can do the math exactly but to sum things up, this cashew cream cheese that I made was definitely the single most expensive dollop of sour cream I have ever ate. This doesn't take away from the great taste factor, but will most certainly be a treat I only eat on VERY special occasions. Like maybe once a year. Maybe even just once a decade.
See, it is apparent that my "slump" is effecting even my blogging. Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer, wah wahhhhhhh. The cashew sour cream is delish, go try it and just don't tell your husband what it cost. Okay? Bad advice, just save two dollars a week for the next month and make it on May 14th, in celebration of your own New Food Friday. Then you don't have to hide the Whole Foods receipt from your hubby. Not that I did or anything :).
Have a great weekend. And cheers to slumps that WILL eventually fade, leaving you feeling even more proud of the changes you have made! I hope. Wah Wahhhhhh......
Sorry... your slump was instigated by my questions of soy!!! ;)
ReplyDeleteAvocados in my chili... I never would've thought of that! I'm going to have to try that now. And Cashew Sour Cream sounds phenomenal! Please share the recipe! (By the way, it was Sinead O'Connor that sang that song) haha!
Word of encouragement: Revisit your big WHY for becoming Vegan in the first place! And pray that God changes your heart/slump! :)
Thanks Amy that was very encouraging. Nothing compares to yooouuuuuuuu! :) I needed a little boost. I will post the recipe right now. It is so super easy that you will fall off your chair.
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