[Xist]

I previously mentioned this and then deleted it, but we had a Sergeant in my last unit that was vegetarian, and he told us the U.S. Army had almost fed him for nine years. He was overweight. He never ate vegetables, but lived off of soda and chips, but shortly before he got out of the Army he lost a significant amount of weight.

I believe the Turing Test is a matter of perspective.

Fat is flavor, but so is sugar. Mmmmm... Maple bacon!

It does not make sense to me to attempt to avoid or reduce gluten if it does not cause any problem. I just imagine that if you started eating seitan sooner or later someone would freak out when they realize you are eating straight gluten.

I honestly want to see that.

I will eat meat with piña coladas if I want. Gosh!

Again, I do not know what it is about eating meat that satisfies me, but to me it is like if I drink so much water that I feel full, or I drink a protein smoothie or milkshake instead of an actual meal.

It just feels hollow.

I read something recently about Temple Grandin and her campaign to make slaughterhouses humane. They would bring one cow in while two others were in various states of slaughter.

You would think the cows would realize humans were taking apart the other cows.

My sister the scary bossy nurse practitioner told me to not eat soy. Dr. Axe said that most soy products are basically junk food, but fermented soy is prepared completely differently, and is good for you. A cousin mentioned on Facebook she was considering going vegan for her health. My sister linked an article saying eating a balanced diet is healthier.

I found a woman to date half an hour from Mom's house, so I drove there every weekend, spend the better part of the day working on projects, and then would drive to the young lady's house, we would cook together, and would watch a movie. She had a Master's and understood my references. I wondered if she found my trivia boring and then she would share her own.

She described herself as 90% vegan, but she loved cheese too much to give up, and then said she was lactose intolerant. We met at a Mexican restaurant for the first date and then she suggested we went hiking, there was a trailhead half a mile away. On the fifth date, I went over earlier and we hiked near her house. For the sixth date, last weekend, she picked me up for a day trip.

We alternated taking care of dinner. I spent a while trying to find another good vegetarian recipe to try, but everything called for cheese and eggs. I tried finding a good vegan recipe, but nothing I found looked good.

I had time Saturday morning, but if I only had a few hours to work on projects, that was how I was going to spend my time. When she picked me up, I told her I had not planned anything for dinner, and she insisted she had been craving pizza. I asked about the cheese and she said she would be fine.

Previously, purchasing a number of vegetables had been expensive. I may be several thousand dollars in debt with credit cards (with a 0% introductory rate for over a year), but I eat cereal for breakfast and ramen for lunch and dinner with an egg or two.

Oatmeal is cheaper than Kashi, but I like eating the fiber and protein.

"Stay fuller longer!" Ha! I eat half a box for breakfast!

I kept reading that people with lactose intolerance could usually eat aged cheese, it was a sugar that broke down while being aged, and while a fresh cheese might have six grams of sugar per serving, aged cheese might have half a gram. When she went to choose grated cheese for pizza, I could not find any that said they were aged. Parmesan? Somehow I forgot when I put the cheese on the pizza, I should have asked about only putting half of the bag or something. We ate and I asked if she wanted the $4 pint of lactose-free ice cream she had bought.

She ended the date because of cheese problems.

Page does not have school today. Instead of trying to drive straight to Show Low from work, I am leaving this morning, so I can drive during the day.

I would have changed my plans if I could have seen the young lady today, but instead she sent me a text saying she did not want to be in a relationship. At this point, vegetarianism is an academic interest. I had wanted to make sure that I had vegan meals planned that both of us would enjoy. She had meat cravings and acted like it was an addiction. She had only been "90% vegan" for six months. Maybe she had not tried seitan, but it could help.

Maybe I will stop driving to Mom's every weekend and will actually stay in Page. I imagine the people here are nice. Ten hours of driving each weekend is not my favorite way to spend time and while each trip used to cost $35, now it costs $40, and winter is coming.

I am happy to continue discussing vegetarianism. Thank you for your input. Please enjoy your weekend.