Sunday 4 March 2012

Home advantage.

VP:


It’s day 15.  Halftime if you will.  Halfway through our Vegan adventure and I’ve really come a long way.  I’ve learned a lot of new things, eaten a lot of new things, and I feel surprisingly normal.  I’m not malnourished, there’s no evidence of the protein deficiency I was virtually guaranteed and I even know what I’m shopping for most of the time.

But until now, I’ve always had the home advantage, rarely venturing too far from a home cooked meal and a packed lunch to need to worry too much.  However since it’s halftime, and I’ve effectively won the first leg, that means the real challenge is yet to come - the tricky away leg.  Taken out of my comfort zone,  in an uncertain environment and facing unexpected challenges.

So it’s appropriate that this time, I’m facing the new test of an overnight stay and a work trip away.  I’ll have to rely on the outside world to provide my 3 square meals this time.  And I’m a little nervous.

I’ll have to admit to cheating though. I packed some Soya milk and cereal along with my wash bag, since I didn’t want to take my chances and fall at the first hurdle.  Waking up at a mates house with bacon in his fridge makes this plan a massive win, and my regular cereal sorts me out until lunchtime.

But before lunch, another test.  Avoiding the selection of pastries and cookies during the break and not picking at the sweets on my table.  It’s certainly frustrating but I’m finding it a fantastic way to discipline myself to eating better and after successfully avoiding all the treats on offer, it’s safe to say I’m pretty excited about the buffet style lunch ahead of me. 

When lunchtime finally arrives, my biggest concern is usually knowing just how many chicken wings will be left by the time I get a chance to fill my plate.  But this time my concern is just what exactly my Vegan ‘option’ will be. 

Shockingly on this occasion, there is no Vegan option.  There’s not even a vegetarian option.  It’s a big disappointment.  And since I’ve got no back up plan packed in my bag, my only ‘option’ is to pick around the eggs in the salad, scoop the untouched rice away from the fish and sample a few (hopefully hair free) bread rolls.  It’s hardly inspiring.  Still, the fruit salad is good and I’ve eaten enough to tide me over until later when I can hopefully rely on the local 24 hour shop to inspire my choice for dinner

And is there anything more inspiring than a pipe of pringles, some houmous and a cold Peroni?

I’ve really got to get better at these away games.

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