Coffee

01/17/2014
Vegan life continues. And mostly it's pretty good. Honestly. Most of the time, I am very happy with the abundance of choices that I have, and the new tastes that I've gotten to try. Also, I'm enjoying the nuts. I won't lie and say that the day my husband slow roasted a pork shoulder in the oven my nose lusted after that pig. But when I saw it on the plate, I had no desire to eat it. Even though I'm sure it was delicious, honey, and you did a great job cooking it! And occasionally, I wouldn't mind popping a chunk of hard Parmesan in my cheese hole (that doesn't have any meaning I'm unaware of does it?) or sprinkling goat cheese on my salad, on the whole it's been easy and enjoyable to eat without animal products. Except for one thing. And granted, it's a small thing. Probably 1% of my day. Or more. Or maybe less. I didn't do any actual math. But it takes up a lot of my brain space. Because it's become a puzzle I can't solve. Something that I haven't made better yet. And that's my morning cup of coffee.

I know. No one needs to hear another praise song about coffee. We live in a coffee saturated, Starbucks is my church kind of world. Or if you're the rebel type--my local coffee house is my zen garden. So yes, I agree. Coffee talk. We're over it. But, BUT I need to say, that I love my morning cup of coffee. It's whole bean that we grind at home and then use a French press to get a strong, delightful coffee flavor. Then I add sugar and creamer (just typing that word kind of makes me sad) and enjoy the heck out of that cup. And often that is my only cup of coffee for the day. So I'm not addicted. Just in love. I could give that cup up without side effects of caffeine withdrawal, but when you're in love you want the loved one to stay with you. You don't just toss it aside because you're trying something new. You don't treat friends that way! And I know that I could just add a little creamer to my coffee without the vegan police coming to take my card away. They'd never have to find out. It's already in my house because of my omni husband. The cow has been milked already. No giving it back.

But I would know. And I feel committed to this eating lifestyle. I've been very diligent in how I prepare my foods, and I feel disappointed in myself if I realize that I've accidentally used an ingredient that isn't fully vegan. So I'm on a quest to find a substitute for my half and half. It's not going particularly well. I've tried a variety of almond milks--white and chocolate. No. I've tried coconut milk-eh. I've tried a coconut creamer. I guess it has more fat in it than regular coconut milk? I don't know and don't really care. It doesn't taste like dairy creamer. I've tried non-dairy creamers. These are probably the closest to my regular creamer.   But I have to avert my eyes from the ingredients list so I can't see how bad they are for me. So, again, no. The best thing I've tried thus far, is vanilla coconut milk. I can drink my coffee that way. And almost enjoy it. Maybe I'll learn to love it that way. Or maybe I'll just switch to tea. But I'd love to find a better solution. One that lets me keep my good friend and my new lifestyle. Surely that's not too much to ask.