Day 9: Strike One and Redemption

**Backdating this entry to when this affliction began...on Day 9**

Well, it was bound to happen. It was a speeding train and a brick wall and no brake pedal. I was bound to hit this unavoidable obstacle and have to find a way to assemble the tangled mess of scattered pieces around me.

I had my first "gross doesn't even begin to describe it" vegan meal.

I guess I should be grateful. Grateful this didn't happen sooner... grateful I got it out of the way... grateful it's over? Yea, grateful it's over, let's stick with that.

The memory is still so fresh in my mind, I struggle to write this without reliving each atrocious and mortifying bite, but let's start from the beginning.

I decided to grab dinner with a friend. Instead of seeing a guilty pleasure movie that shall remain nameless, we decided that we would take a tour of her very posh new condo and grab a "vegan-friendly" bite at an "anonymous" restaurant nearby. Excited that my oh so supportive friend would be willing to choose a place that supported my new and exciting lifestyle, I merrily skipped down the street and into the doors of this dark and cozy restaurant.

Upon glancing through the menu, I was pleasantly surprised at how many dishes were marked vegan or indicated that they could be made vegan. They even had a choose your own combo plate with so many choices I was instantly overwhelmed and never turned to that page again.

One intriguing entry in this large menu was the Vegan Mac & Cheese. A skeptic about soy cheeses and their ability to taste legitimate, I instantly thought this would be a delightful looking fraud that would not quench my craving. Curiosity got the better of me when my super enthusiastic friend jumped on board wanting to try the starter size of this meal. What came next, I could never have expected: 

What iiiiiis this???

Behold my terrifying meet and greet moment with this green little gem of vomit. This is what breeding sunflower seeds and cashew gives birth to, a green "cheese sauce" nightmare. 

My, ever optimistic, precious, little friend ignored all signs that something was rotten and through a voracious appetite tried desperately to convince me that "It's not so bad! It's actually growing on me!" No, sweet girl, no...you are being poisoned. This can only be described as eating slightly undercooked pasta drenched in sunflowers (and no I don't mean the delight of seeing a sunflower on a warm summer day, I mean the terror of eating a mashed up sunflower with sprinkles of cashew)

I would love to say that the dinner got better. That this mean trick was only the start of something amazing and satisfying. But alas, it just stayed stagnant at terrible and ended with us spitting up ginger flavored dinner mints on our walk home before they had a chance to kill us. 

I tried desperately not to wish ill on my dear friend. She was suffering her own "black death" punishment from this horrible dinner. But you see, she sparked something in this virgin Vegan....a craving for Mac & Cheese. 

Up until now I had only been combating an overwhelming craving for pizza. But as a self-proclaimed pizza addict, I've had 27 years to cope with this twitchy addiction. The mac & cheese, however....I hadn't even thought about it. I entered into the world of Veganism without a backward glance at that little devil and now, sunflower disaster and all, I missed him. 

So the next day, still shivering in fear from my previous night's dinner I was determined to erase this terrible taste. I went to my security blanket, Veggie Grill and got their version of VG Mac & Cheese:

Will you save the day?

Everything they make is so tasty and delicious, this had to be my saving grace! This would be the cure to my sad and pathetic ailment! Well......almost. It wasn't terrifying and it didn't make me want to vomit up my own stomach, but it wasn't hearty delicious, guilty, cheesy, Mac & Cheese. 

Needless to say, my horrible taste was only subdued by a less horrible taste and neither cured me. I remain on the hunt for a VG Mac & Cheese that will not kill me. My other supportive friend, probably in a desperate attempt not to see me throw myself off her roof, looked up some additional recipes that we are going to try together. As long as it doesn't turn out green, I'll be hopeful. And like my friend pointed out during our disastrous meal "Hey, at least I'm giving you material for your blog!"