(mis)Adventures in Veganism

So I've been trying to go (and stay) vegan since the beginning of the year. But unfortunately, cheese has a hold over me that I've felt powerless to overcome. Recently tho, I listened to a talk from an animal rights activist, and it really kicked up my motivation to really give this a shot. It also gave me an idea for a plan. He said that dairy contains caso-morphins.. a chemical secreted into milk to induce bonding. Morphins.. as in morphine.. as in as addictive (or more.. not really sure on this) as heroin. As someone who's been on a host of psychological medications for depression and anxiety and still puffs a cigarette or two.. I know a lot about how my body responds to addictions. Those days when I run to the fridge and raid whatever cheese my unsuspecting roommates have left behind? I'm just getting my fix. So like all good addictions, I need to overcome my desire and seemingly physical need for cheese. This takes time. Just giving up cheese for a day isn't going to stop the cheese beast. It's going to rear it's ugly head even harder tomorrow. So.. like many addicts.. I'm living day to day. Week to week. Eventually I won't 'need' it anymore.

Today didn't get off to a very good start. Silly me bought rolls and didn't meticulously look through the ingredients.. whole milk AND eggs.. perfect. When I went to Target to pick up a loaf of bread, I realized that almost every single of loaf of bread in the place had milk in it. Since when does bread have milk in it? I wasn't even looking for honey (I'm not convinced with that argument.. maybe it's because I'm terrified of bees). But now I know why I can never have just one Trader Joe Parker House Roll.. they're addicting.. literally. I did all my shopping at Trader Joes.. but it seems like they're more friendly to vegetarians than vegans. I did manage to find some decent meatless entres.. chik'n nuggets and the like. The speaker made it sound like most of these are vegan, but I found a lot of them had hidden dairy.. Very sneaky. I even got myself to snack on cherry tomatoes during class. I hate tomatoes. I always feel like I'm popping a pimple when they burst open in my mouth. But I did it. I had a whole baggie of them. Maybe they'll grow on me.