What would be your last meal?

Photo: rainbow cookie cake from that bakery in Bensonhurst.  Yes, it’s a photo saved on my favorites.

I love mac and cheese, baked with breadcrumbs.  I love vegetarian lasagna.  I love cheesecake, creamy and rich.  I love rainbow cookies.  But, umpf, San Francisco, I turned into a vegan and I didn’t even know it.  Not fully vegan, I still eat honey and eggs on occasion but not many quesadillas in my future.  The changes have been slow and steady but I didn’t realize it until today while I was eating my salad of cucumbers, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, and basil.

My favorite shoes of all time are Keen vegan denim sneakers, but they fall apart fairly quickly, so I don’t mind leather shoes that in the long run are better for the environment because less manufacturing and production.  I wore them on a trip to Italy where it rained every day and never dried out, smelling like mildew.  I’m pretty sure I threw them out at the airport and wore flip flops on the plane.  Since then, I only wear these sneakers on bright sunny days.

On one of my guided outdoor trips, we used Earth Balance instead of butter and then I started using it at home because it tastes better with a hint of olive oil.  Then, I stopped buying dairy (milk and cheese) because I’m pretty sure I’ve become more lactose intolerant over time.  I don’t buy carbs because they are too tasty and I can’t be confident I won’t eat them in large quantities all at the same time.  Some friends are gluten intolerant so I’ve started eating zucchini noodles instead of pasta and I make sure I don’t put soy or wheat in shared foods.

Then, there’s the laziness, I love my 3 ingredient no bake, granola bites: peanut butter, rolled oats and dates.  Just mashed up, rolled into a ball and thrown in the freezer.  They taste like ice cream.  I’ve become healthier because I am so lazy.

Then my hobby of dehydrating things, apparently I love all my snacks to come from the veggie aisle.  This week I’m dehydrating citrus – orange and lemon into wheels.  I read they make good snacks and lemons can be added to drinks (like tea or water) when hiking.

The lastest iteration of my eating habits though is due in part from my second new year’s resolution.  I’ve tighten my spending with all seriousness because I may move in five months.  I stopped using my credit card, switching to cash and I’ve stopped all unnecessary spending.  I only had one lapse this week, buying one book at the bookstore, but it was a gift and on sale.

The part time jobs I applied to have not materialized and that’s ok, as I think it’s difficult to represent myself as someone hire-able who may leave in 6 months, but I am still looking.  Meanwhile, at the grocery store, I look longingly at pickles, orange juice and olives.  The memory of salty olives lingers on my tongue as I walk past the aisle.