stumbled for a moment, but still going strong

its been a week since my last post, and that's a testament to how fucking busy we can get thanks to modern-day society. while i fell off my animal-less eating during a brief moment of drunkenness, i was back on track later that same day.

this post tries to provide more context to my attempt to refrain from eating animals. its easy to go vegetarian or vegan when you grow your own food or right after a trip to the farmers' market and nothing to do but cook all weekend. but try doing it during your normal 9-5 work schedule, and it can seem almost impossible.

that is why today i share more about the environment in which i am doing this to demonstrate that it is possible. my job implies not only various receptions and copious amounts of free alcohol, but usually a limited non-animal food selection. therefore, if i can stop eating animals, you can too!

below is a recap of the last week:

thursday - i started with a breakfast burrito at possibly my favorite burrito place in the city. ive been coming here for years and ordering a breakfast burrito with turkey sausage, no guac (porque es fake), and salsa on the side (porque es pace). when i ordered the burrito without turkey, the lady that always takes my order was surprised. i told her i stopped eating animals and she said, "good," but you could tell that she wasn't necessarily convinced that i'd actually do it. for lunch i had a sprout tomato cucumber sandwich at a small-chain east-coast sandwich shop. i knew this day would be hard because i had meetings and events all day. after the sandwich i had a meeting, and after the meeting i had just over an hour to kill before a congressman's birthday fundraiser. so i went and had a beer with my boss. we then went to the bday money-chaser to mingle and work. per usual, free drinks, wine and beer. and this was particularly enticing because the bday boy had his mom's chili replicated by a local chef. to my surprise, they had a veggie chili. i had a sample with a cheese enchilada and some guacamole. it wasnt enough to fill me because while there is always enough food at these events, its almost considered faux-pas because you cant talk business with food in your mouth. after the event i wanted to eat something because by now i had agreed to go watch the nba finals with some friends and another congressman. but my attempt for some tapas turned into a pitcher of sangria. and the basketball watching was accompanied with nothing but beer. suffice to say, i went home tipsy. despite not eating one meal at my house however, i did not eat animals.

congressional veggie chili, guacamole & cheese enchilada

friday - i woke up dry and knew this day would be difficult as well because of work and social events. so i made the time to cook some potato avocado tacos for breakfast. lunch was at a work press conference event where i had a spinach cranberry walnut salad and my entree was pineapple, mango, papaya with what seemed to be a pear tart over a bed of couscous. i found it interesting that i was the only person in my table to opt for the veggie option. dinner was an alfalfa avocado tomato sandwich with potato chips at a bar for another bday. i had beer there and at a club afterwards. another day at bars and drinking, and still holding strong against eating animals.

saturday - once again, i woke up dry and opted for cafe and 2 croissants. i held out too long for lunch and had potato tacos, fresh cucumber and bell pepper, and some hummus. i was feeling light-headed because i was recovering from the last two days of drinking and the cucumber and bell pepper tasted amazing. i had never enjoyed fresh vegetables as much. it wasnt your much-too-common heavy meal yet it powered me enough to be active, get out of the house, and join my friends at the annual pride parade (which is done right in this city). that is where the trouble started. after two beers and a jello-shot, we downed a bottle of skinny-girl mojito and another of skinny-girl margarita. i know, i know. but it was pride.

PRIDE happens

after another three pints, i was standing around drunk and was holding 1 1/2 empanadas. i realized that no one else was going to eat them and gauged my level of drunkenness and determined that it was decent. i felt i needed some food in me to keep going. and the empanadas were hanging off my shoulder. it was an easy decision. it allowed me to keep drinking enough to get invited to late-night dinner. while i could have easy justified a bacon cheeseburger during dinner, i stuck with my animal-less eating and ordered a veggie pasta. did i really need the empanadas you may ask? ill put it this way: i didnt remember i went to dinner with my boss ladies until i saw what i ate in my trashcan the following day.

sunday - woke up hungover, and wanted pozole. i didnt give a fuck about my animal-free pledge. i wanted pozole. so i went to get it. but it wasnt ready. so i settled for a little broth, veggie eggs and a coke. there are some foods that seem to be highly desired after a night of drinking, and animal-less concoctions usually dont make the cut. but it seemed a matter of fate that the pozole wasnt ready. no pork for me, yet i survived my hangover. so much so that i went for a beer with a friend before another work reception with free booze. after 4 mojitos i had two small slices of an artichoke pizza hors d'houevre and noticed the lack of animal-free options. after the reception i went to a work walk-thru. when i got out i was beat. i had gone non-stop since thursday and i needed a moment to unwind. this is what used to be my bacon-cheeseburger, rhode island calamari, bar food moment. i did go to a bar and i did have a burger: the hand-made veggie burger, with tots and a beer. was it healthy? the tots werent. and the beer lost it charm by the second sip (it had been a tough 4 days), but at least i didnt eat animals.

monday - i went back to my favorite burrito place and ordered sans animal. the lady was impressed that i was still not eating animals. lunch was what could be perceived as a weak lunch of carrots, celery, half an apple, a peach nectar and orange juice mix, some white corn tortilla chips, and a cauliflower ceviche sampler. the thing is that while i may not have eaten what is considered a traditional meal or normal portions, i was able to prepare the ceviche and a vegetable soup (which is what i had for dinner). i finished the day with 2 beers at bar meeting.

tuesday - i went back for my veggie burrito and the lady told me she mentioned it to her husband, who is normally makes my burrito. he said, "ah man, i dont know why youre not eating animals. why else were they put here? a chicken is good for nothing other than to be eaten," he exclaimed. i was passive and said it was simply an attempt and that i wasnt sure how long id do it. the truth is however that i felt like an atheist talking to born again. i chose to rather not engage. lunch was a nice break from an all-day conference escorting members of congress around, but was small given the long hours i had put in and still had ahead of me. i had an avocado pepino sushi roll with a miso soup. it was possibly too light a lunch because i didnt have anything for the next 8 hours other than a mini pistacho dessert and a beer. after a 12-hour work-day on my feet, i went back to last tuesday's bar for the nba finals and splurged on a french onion soup and artichoke olive and tomate pizza (and 4 beers of course). once again, out all day and no animals. sure, eating little and drinking a lot isnt good, but not eating animals and doing that is obviously not deadly.

wednesday - breakfast was a home-made rice egg lettuce taco, which felt great after eating out for the last 5 days; lunch was a meeting, but i enjoyed an assembly-line style pita place that offered delicious falafel rice tomato cucumber and hummus; dinner at home consisted of two rice avocado quesadillas and two beers. i rode out the events and bday wave, and i survived. eating at home again was simple, but tasty and filling.

mouth-watering falafel lunch

thursday - breakfast at home was rice avocado tacos and some of the remaining cauliflower ceviche. i had a latte and chocolate chip cookie for lunch, and dinner consisted of rice in a vegetable soup and an avocado tomate salad with two beers.

i may have stumbled for a brief moment on saturday, and i realize that i drink a lot. but im still off animals. and i think thats a good thing.

4 days in and still alive

once again, it was pretty easy to refrain from animals both yesterday and today.

yesterday: for breakfast i had egg shallot tomato jalapeno avocado tacos. pa lonche me comi una torta de hummus lettuce tomato y aguacate. y for dinner i had more tacos: 2 raw hummus bell pepper tomato onion; as well as 2 sauteed jamaican jerk potato con aguacate.

hoy: desayuno was 5 mini egg onion tomate jalapeno aguacate quesdaillas con salsa roja. lunch was jerk potatoes tacos con aguacate y salsa roja, with a cucumber bell pepper lettuce side salad with a splash of amino acids. for dinner i had a peanut butter torta with a banana peanut butter milkshake.

1 egg 1/2 avocado tomate onion jalapeno w/ 5 mini quesadillas

my observations thus far:

1) i enjoy cooking for my wife, who has been a vegetarian/vegan for some time. i even dedicate time and effort into plate appearance, which i never do when i cook for myself. but despite how good the food may look and taste, the truth is i never wanted and rarely ate the food i made her. now, i actually want it. and it tastes good.

things i never used to do for me: plate presentation & salad

2) i did get light headaches later into the day today and yesterday, but never felt weak. and whereas before i convinced myself that i needed a bulgogi beef or chuleta ahumada tacos, now i simply eat more or enjoy filling foods like potatoes and peanut butter.

3) my wife and i received sound advice during our marriage prep: "if you consider divorce an option, youll take it." ive modified that wisdom to apply to this journey: "if you make meat an option, youll take it." part of my ease with going meatless is that i have ceased to make it an option.

4) im pretty much eating the same food in every meal. yeah... so what! ive been preaching about food budgets and extending ingredients to students and families without ever doing it myself (because i knew a bacon cheeseburger was around the corner). but now that im actually living what im preaching, i find myself cooking more at home and spending less on the streets.

5) not eating animals make you reflect on your other eating habits. because while i may not want a beef, turkey, pork and chicken anymore, i still enjoy pan dulce, sugar in my cafe, brownies, beer, tortilla chips with hot sauce and lime. again, i am not going to go preservative-free or give up sugar and pastries altogether, but i appreciate how i now think about it.

6) i may be all bff with spiders and bees now, but i killed a mosquito today. im cool with fruit flies, aphids and ants, but apparently "mosquito no es animal."

day 2

i had a light breakfast of cafe y un platano before heading to the gym.

afterwards i came out hungry, and for years ive been told that i need protein after a weight workout. but my typcial source was always turkey, sometimes chicken. i didnt have time to get creative with nuts so - like day one - i stuck with an old-time, child-hood favorite: la torta.

i used the hummus i made last night, con aguacate pepino y tomate. i did have two, because one was definitely not going to cut it.

lunch was my first real test because i was not at home. my job requires me to be out a lot, and i know this will limit my options. nevertheless, even if limited, there are always vegetarian options. the deli i visited today even had a "vegetarian" section, thus making my selection easy.

avocado sprouts cucumber tomato lettuce on focaccia

for dinner i had a plain-hummus torta, and i ended my day with a banana-apple-juice smoothie.

i know, i know. i had four sandwiches today. and you may say "the whiter the bread the sooner youll be dead." but my goal is to no longer eat animals. i will deal with white bread when mexican panaderias make whole wheat bolillos or birotes (just like i will deal with sugar when i find cafe good enough to not need doctoring).

por ahorita, me estoy concentrando en los animales.

day uno

my first day not eating animals was a success.

i had hash-brown tacos con home-made salsa roja for breakfast, and a green smoothie mid-day snack consisting of mango manzana y spinach.

for lunch i had chilaquiles (tortillas, chile rojo, queso), which made me question my consumption of dairy. i only have cheese in quesadillas o on chilaquiles; and eggs for breakfast and the occasional french toast. milk would be hard to give up because of my cafe indulgence. while ive tried soy, coconut, almond and rice milk, i thoroughly enjoy my cafe con leche de vaca. but given that ive decided to stop eating animals, i think the industrial production of food might mean ill probably refrain from animal products. aver que pasa.

for dinner i made hummus. i had never made hummus before. but i did it in 5 mins y la neta estubo delicioso. used it as a spread for aguacate tomate chile morron y cebolla tacos. making hummus that easily made me think that if im really going to do this, i might as well become the best non-animal cook on earth. ill be trying from now on.

home-made hummus in 5 minutes

the food came rather easily. i am decent in the kitchen. what struck me more was what happened during my run and then at home.

while running through the woods i cam across a deer. it wasnt my first time. i always stop to acknowledge; trying to get closer as the deer run away. today the deer did not run away. it let me walk a few feet away from it while taking pictures with my phone. i realized it wasnt going to scurry so i continued my run.

the deer knew i was now friendly

later at home with my wife and i noticed a bumble bee had gotten stuck between our window and screen. i figured it would eventually die like dragonflies would on the house walls in acaponeta, mexico. but i started to feel bad for the bee. i started to think that it must be stressed and desperate. although i was extremely cautious because a bug bite landed me in the hospital last year, i figured out a way to guide the bee to a hole in the screen. it took a while, but the bee flew away.

i think my deer did not run because he was able to perceive my new awareness. and i know i helped the bee because of it.

while i know not everyday will be as memorable, i am excited to see what this journey will offer.

it starts...

i saw the video below yesterday and decided to no longer eat animals.

this is my account of the journey...