Pesca Vegan- 3 Days Checking In

This has been alternating between absolutely frustrating and not too shabby. I'm hoping as I continue to get into the swing of things I'll feel more comfortable, but until then I feel like I'm on guard when it comes to what I consume. I promised myself when this started that I wouldn't beat myself up if I cheated, either intentionally or not as this is all about making positive decisions, but to just try as much as possible to stick to the pesca vegan plan.

Day 1 had it's own set of unique challenges- crazy work day, frustrating lunch, rushed to mass, home late but ended well, as you can see from the tasty recipe in my previous post. I felt overwhelmed, especially at the store worrying about buying enough produce and proteins but also trying to keep costs down. I'm big on buying meats and freezing them but don't feel as comfortable with fish- I prefer to cook it as soon as possible. I picked up some tempeh, soy milk, hummus and miso- all have long shelf lives- and nabbed some vegan black bean burgers (note: I learned from my vegan friends that most veggie burgers have eggs in them, so I had to be careful looking at ingredients) and a few other vegan frozen foods for those late nights... just in case.

Now Day 2... how do I describe day 2? If you know me personally you know I'm fairly laid back and usually am a pretty happy person. Sure, a few things have happened this and last year that does sometimes attribute to bringing my mood down but overall, I don't dwell. I do what I have to do that's healthy to get myself back on a positive footing and move on as much as possible. But yesterday I woke up in one of the best moods I'd been in for a long time. It was strange, completely bizarre. I wore a wildly colorful dress that I usually only wear to go out in with some leggings, complete with my Frye boots, and the fact that it all worked, and looked so sunny and spring-y on a dreary day made me feel even more amazing. It wasn't even that everything was going my way, generally speaking, there was nothing particularly different than any other day- I was just in the best mood.

The Challenge: Did I also mention that this was the most challenging day possibly of all days for the my dietary requirements. I had a sales lunch for wine week, then the Nickelodeon Upfront, complete with a cocktail and hor d'oeuvre reception afterwards, then a happy hour with coworkers and then a comedy show with some friends and finally, a late dinner. I would be dining out- mostly at restaurants- all day long and drinking, which for me means I need food in my stomach, especially to last all day. Lunch was a breeze as the restaurant had a tasty simply grilled mahi mahi, and the waitress was very accommodating with all sides and appetizers- letting me know which was ok or not. At the cocktail reception I messed up with a hor d'oeuvre that was a dumpling explained as having only cavier in it, but actually also containing cream cheese. Not too concerned, as I knew something like this would happen, so I didn't beat myself up and just moved to the sushi bar.

The most challenging part of the night was after the comedy club. It was late, I'd been drinking off and on throughout the day, but thankfully the amount of food I'd consumed kept me from lowering my restrictions or giving in to cravings. With the help of friends and a knowledgeable waiter, even though we ate strictly bar food I was able to nail down a simply grilled shrimp appetizer that was satisfying. And despite the non-stopness of the day, the drinking, the monsoon rain, constantly being "on" in various social settings with an eclectic mix of people, despite seeing my old boss (the one that laid me off nearly 2 years ago) and her boss, who I will just say no comment to, despite being talked up and flirted with by various levels of drunk men while packed like a sardine at happy hour, it was still an amazing day, and certain good little things happened that had me awake this morning with another smile.

Day 3 is still going and while it wasn't as amazing as yesterday, it hasn't been bad. For doing mostly good thus far with the challenge I treated myself to the veggie bowl at Chipotle for lunch, which I only ate half of. For dinner I'm staying in, relaxing with movies and making Miso Hake.

What I've noticed: It's getting easier and I'm finding it's better to find what in my normal routine I can make fit my dietary requirements instead of trying to go to places I'll never usually go to, especially for lunch during the work day. Friends and coworkers have been interested and helpful in helping me determine what's ok and not (thank you Jenny, et al for steering me away from the fish and chips last night!). I've been getting full faster- and being good about listening to my body when it tells me it's done. Also getting good about always looking at the ingredients for frozen food. Just because it's vegetarian doesn't means there isn't eggs or butter- in fact the TJ's Chana Masala I brought in on Wednesday for lunch had ghee in it on closer inspection of the ingredients. And this sounds silly but what I've been wearing has helped. This week, thanks to my new boots, I've stuck with colorful spring dresses instead of my usual gray and black winter attire. I'm throwing on bright scarves for splashes of color and feel like spring is here even if the weather says otherwise.

Currently Craving: Tex-Mex (thanks for that Ashley), all the tiny hor d'oeuvres I did not risk eating at the Nickelodeon Upfront after the cream cheese debacle, Indian food (damn you ghee).