I Said “No” to Cheese!

I thought this day would never come. I have been so addicted to cheese my whole life! I grew up in a Quebecois family, so those lovely Quebec cheese curds that make a world of difference in a true Quebec poutine? Ate them out of the bag as a snack! In fact, my dad, once my parents divorced, would take out the block of cheese, break off a piece for each of us, and that’s what we would eat.

I was vegetarian for almost 10 years. I thought a few times about trying veganism. But I never could do it, simply because I was so addicted to cheese. I could give up yogurt, milk, even ice cream! But I could not give up cheese. I swear it was running through my veins. The only cheese I probably never was interested in was the varieties of blue cheeses. I can never seem to justify eating something that is mouldy. Yuck.

After doing some research this year, it all made sense! Cheese literally can be an addiction. Other dairy products fail in comparison to how densely packed cheese is with different parts of nutrition. I believe it was casein that was pointed out specifically. Because of the concentration, it literally leaves us wanting more. It’s not just the flavour, there is an actual addictive side to the chemical mix of our bodies and the ingredients of cheese. How interesting is that! I literally was addicted to cheese!

Even with my first few days of going vegan, I fell with cheese. Like I said, everything else is avoidable, but cheese. When I had my burrito for supper last night, it would have been so easy to just throw on the cheese. It was readily shredded and available. But I said NO! Wow… I can’t even tell you how empowering that felt. And then my husband and I went to the theatre for the first time in forever last night. I LOVE peanut butter Reese’s and even the new peanut butter M&Ms, but I said NO. I can’t believe it. Who am I? Who is this woman that could never give up this stuff before. I like her! She’s empowered!

I’m feeling awesome. And even this morning, when I just wanted to grab some salt and vinegar cracker chips because they were easy to grab, I said NO and went to work. I’m now drinking my orange juice (another 2.63L) and I know I’m feeling a ton better than I would have otherwise.

I love this lifestyle. I’ve finally got it! Not that I don’t think there won’t be struggles (I haven’t tried going to a function or travelling while being 100% yet), but I’m up and ready. My foot has been stomped. I’ve beat the greatest temptation of all! I’m so excited!

Two of My Favourite (Healthy) Treats

When we were kids, the 6 cousins on my Dad’s side would always gather at my grandparents after church and my grandfather would give us each $2. We would then walk down the road to the Irving gas station (that sadly no longer exists there) and we could either get candy and a pop or chips and a pop. What a walk in memory lane… can’t buy chips and a pop for that anymore!

Now that I’m eating healthy, I view treats very differently. If I go to the theatre and buy the popcorn with butter, candy, and pop, I feel it the next day, and it’s awful. The damage you are doing to your body when you partake of these unhealthy foods is astronomical. And I notice it.

Now that doesn’t mean I don’t indulge every once in awhile. As much as I hate to say it, I do believe unhealthy foods have an addiction attached to them, just like a drug. Very seldom do we crave the healthy food we eat, and yet most of us can agree with craving unhealthy food a lot. I’m not so sure about what makes it addictive, but it’s definitely a battle of willpower to stay away and fight those cravings.

As much as possible, I try to find healthy things as treats. The best part is, I could eat them all the time if I wanted to (they are that healthy), but I don’t have the money to fund that indulgence. So I’m going to share with you my treat from yesterday and my treat from today. Two healthy treats that I definitely look forward to having whenever I can.

#1. Synergy Organic & Raw Kombucha Drink(s)

What a company statement, what a drink! I actually had the one on the left: Mystic Mango. The bottles are 480 mL (16 fl oz) and can you guess how many calories/carbs for the ENTIRE bottle? 70 Calories, 8g of carbs! Talk about a great option for sticking with diet restrictions! The Kombucha tea is cultured for 30 days before being sold. The health properties of this refreshing and tasty drink are numerous. I highly recommend you check it out! Just be forewarned, the smell of the drink is not the greatest, but don’t smell it and the taste is good! 🙂

#2. Quest Cravings Protein Peanut Butter Cups

(Thepennywisemam.com had the best picture. I ate mine too fast to take one… oops. Check out her blog while you’re at it! It’s got some really great stuff!)

These are absolutely AMAZING! Say good-bye to Reese’s! No more suffering calories for something delicious, we now have it in a healthy option! Clean ingredients, 17 g of fat (a little heavy on the fat), only 10 g of carbs and 20 g of protein! You won’t get that from your regular Reese’s cups. I was an AVID Reese’s eater. So these were a reason to celebrate for me. I do find them a little dry, so just make sure to have a glass of water, or as I do since I love being so healthy, drink my Organo Gold coffee drinks with it. What a match made in Heaven! Love it!

What healthy snacks do you like to eat? I love hearing about new things so that I can try them too! Food NEEDS to be healthy but it doesn’t HAVE to be boring! Enjoy the good stuff! And if you’d like to sample my absolutely delicious OG coffee and tea drinks, just let me know!