Overload

I'm feeling very overwhelmed today.  Make no mistake, I plan to keep going the full 30 days and at this point, I am considering making a permanent change.  The overwhelmed feeling is coming from information overload.  I asked some people for their favourite websites and boy did I get them!  I've spent half the day reading blogs and I started to think that I'd never be as accomplished as these vegans.

I have to remember that everyone starts at the beginning.  It's all I can do right now to make a menu and utilize convenience foods for my meals.  My goal is to be accomplished enough to be making meals from scratch.  For that, I need to be organized and prepared.

I am finding it...difficult...maybe that's the wrong word. Challenging.  That's a better word.  I am finding it challenging to make meals for my family and myself.  They are meat eaters. They eat dairy foods, too.  I don't find it bad to cook for them, just that I wish I could find a way to bring more vegan into their lives without tricking them.  I am finding it harder than I thought I would to be making two meals every night and I worry that once I start working, I won't have the time.  I find myself thinking that veganism isn't exactly a time-friendly lifestyle but then I snap out of it.  I have the time right now to learn and I intend to take advantage of that.

Learning...yes I certainly am learning.  I am learning that there is a vegan substitute for every single animal product on the planet.  Why eat animal products when there is so much available?  Cost? Perhaps.  I find that these products are a little more expensive than animal products but at the same time, I find that I am eating less because my stomach is full much quicker than before.  I feel completely satisfied after a meal and don't have to deal with sugary cravings anymore.

Convenience is expensive for vegans and non-vegans alike.  Cooking from scratch is the way to go if you want to save money.  I've done it while on an animal-based diet and I plan to learn how to do it while eating vegan.  It would be easy for me to give up at this point.  I could certainly cite a dozen reasons why I could give up and on the top of the list would be expense. 

The second reason would be that there is so much to learn and I don't want to be eating beans and rice for the rest of my life.  I have to remind myself that it took me years to learn how to cook from scratch.  My mother was a patient woman and by the time I was a teenager, I was cooking for the family.  I've spent my whole married life cooking for the family.  Cooking from scratch.  That's alot of time invested in one aspect of my life.  It's not going to be an overnight experience to learn how to cook vegan.

Learning something new is daunting.  It's also very interesting and feeds my curiosity.  I really haven't found anything I don't like, so far.  I am sure that there are going to be things I don't want to eat. In fact, I can list a couple of things right now; beets and turnips.  YUCK!!  Though in all fairness, I've never liked them.  I do enjoy trying new things and think of the Jamie Oliver idea to give children stickers for trying something new.  I'd like to brag about my venture by wearing a sticker, too.  SEE!  I tried something new and I liked it!  And I'd be proud of it.

So I am going to stop reading for today and concentrate on what I am going to have for dinner and snack tonight.  Easy enough. No information overload since I already have the menu set.  That's the key...organization.  To accomplish organization and preparedness, I need to rely on those who learned before me; breathe in their knowledge and lean on them for support when things get overwhelming.  I really can do this.