I went to TX, and didn't starve!

Growing up in the grand ole state of Texas, my diet consisted primarily of beef, dairy, casseroles, and baked goods. I thought guacamole came from a packet of powder that you mixed with water. Vegetables came from a can or a freezer bag. I had never had hummus, avocado, Thai food, or brown rice. I didn't know what gluten or Vegan meant. I had heard myths of Vegetarians or Lactose-Intolerant people existing, but like Sasquatch, had never actually caught sight of one. My brain wouldn't have been able to comprehend cheese coming from cashews or milk from rice. Most of my meals came from a drive-thru or a mircowave tray.

Five years ago I moved to California, and was exposed to a world of organic, free-range, fresh foods. I explored Farmer's Markets, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's. I learned how to use a rice cooker and how to steam vegetables. I introduced edamame, tofu, and kale to my vocabulary and my palate. I stopped microwaving things. I fell in love with Thai, Mediterranean, hummus, Agave, and goat cheeses. I traded in Guiness, Bud Light, and Keystone for Fat Tire, Stella, and PBR. I still ate a LOT of dairy and baked goods. I went home to Texas for barbeque every chance I had.

I used to plan my trips home based on what and when I would eat. Breakfast at Cracker Barrel, followed by lunch at La Madeline's, topped off with dinner at Spring Creek Barbeque. I planned my life around The Texas State Fair and made sure I would be home during the winter months when Blue Bell puts out its peppermint ice cream. Life was simple. Life was grand. Life was about to take a backflip.

After I was diagnosed, I didn't go back to Texas for two whole years. Why bother? I wasn't allowed to eat anything! My sister had to go and get pregnant to get me to come back. Smart move, Sis! Oh, and there was that whole recovering from surgery thing, too...

While I was home for nearly three weeks, I was certain I would starve to death or be living on almonds and carrots which is usually what happens when I travel. This time, I learned a Whole Foods has opened near where my parents live, so we took a family excursion over there. Minds and wallets were blown, interesting stocking stuffers for the whole family were acquired, and Bren-friendly food was found. My Mama made it her mission to ensure I wouldn't starve, bringing me something to eat approximately every 27 minutes:

Fried egg, bok choy, tomato, brown rice, black beans with corn


Rice crackers, cucumber, hummus


Black beans and corn, chicken, rice noodles


Fresh raspberries


Stir fry


And of course, there were the pancakes that she perfected the recipe for!

She even packed my lunch when a friend picked me up so I could visit another friend in the hospital. (That's almond butter in the container, btw)


I was even so nice as to decorate cookies for my family, (while elevating my foot, no small feat). I think my tears added something extra special to the taste.





Much to my surprise, Texas and my Mama did me well.

This is your brain on drugs...

I've figured out that you can cook egg whites in the microwave without setting off the Apocalypse. (Does anyone else recall being scared shitless as a kid with horror stories about cooking eggs in the microwave?)

That's about as exciting as things get, relating to food, lately.

I'm kind of over cooking right now and food really holds no appeal for me these days.

I have grand plans of coming up with some kick-ass Christmas recipes...we'll see if I muster up the energy for it.

I must say, Aspergillosis is the best damn diet (if you don't mind feeling like utter shit all the time) and everyone should give it a try. I've lost almost 40 lbs in 6 months. It's better than The South Beach Diet!

I ain't missing you at all

PIE.



I. Miss. PIE.

And BBQ. I'd stalk & butcher a cow tomorrow, single handedly, if my doctor told me I could.



And donuts. 3 dozen. That's how many I'd sit down and eat. I doubt I'd come up for air, even. With sprinkles. So. Many. Sprinkles.



I also really miss Smirnoff Ice, particularly the Mandarin Orange and Green Apple varieties. (I recently got wind there is now a pineapple flavor! FML)

I miss being able to drive through any place I wanted, order whatever hit my fancy and spend less than 5 bucks.

And pre-packaged foods and microwave dinners. Oh to be able to shop once a month and be able to prepare a meal in 3-5 minutes with nothing to clean afterwards. Those were the days!

And ice cream. I would KILL for an Its-It. No seriously, I've yet to see someone eating one, but when that day comes, my cane WILL be re-purposed to bludgeon.



But none of that comes as a surprise. From the start I knew it would be tragic letting those things go. What I was not prepared for, however, were the things I thought I'd miss, and don't.

Got milk? Well I don't and I'm surprised by my utter lack of heart-pangs for my loss. I was a gallon to 2 gallon a week-er and yet, rice milk is doing me just fine. Sure, throwing back a box of rice isn't the same as chugging from the gallon, but other than that, I've made a painless transition and never looked back.

Cheese. Aside from ketchup and bbq sauce, I once covered everything in cheese. I don't really like many spices, can't stand salt and pepper, and don't trust any white sauces(alfredo, white gravy, horseradish, tarter, mayonnaise, hollandaise, sour cream etc.), so cheese was always my go-to. But, I guess when you aren't eating burgers, pizza, noodles or bread, what's the point anyway?

Bread. Really carbs in general. Meh. I have some oats here and there and some rice crackers or millet and it's all good. (Hmm, it just occurred to me that I may retract this on Thanksgiving when I'm missing stuffing, but aside from that...)

Speaking of Thanksgiving, this year I'm going to have to come up with some worthy alternatives so I don't go crazy watching everyone eat and then murder them while they're enjoying their Tryptophan-induced fat-puppy comas.

I ain't missing you at all since you've been gone away
I ain't missing you, no matter what my friends say



*Also, I baked my first butternut squash this evening. I took pictures of it and promptly hid my camera from myself unwittingly. I swear, sometimes I believe all the weight I'm losing is coming from my brain...cuz it's sure not coming from my rear-quarters.

When life's got you Squashed, make Spaghetti

I poked holes in this bad boy, threw him in the microwave for 12 minutes then let him cool for 20 minutes.



Then I took a knife and whacked him open.



Then I scooped out his innards and discarded the seeds.



Voila! Spaghetti squash. It was enough to fill four bowls, so I shared some with a couple of friends.



It was crunchy and sweet. I'll definitely be consuming mass quantities of this until I grow tired and move onto the next thing, as has been the case with everything else I've liked thus far.