Well, friends, I made it through my second no sweets, no cheese, and no alcohol January! Whew! Actually, it wasn’t that bad. I’m already strategizing for next January for what else I can cut out to make it more challenging. I suspect it was easier because it was the second time I have done it though!
There were only a handful of times throughout the month I found myself REALLY wanting anything on my no list. As a wannabe baker and frequent tracker downer of chocolates around the office, I thought I would be dreaming of Dove chocolates and missing their witty and inspirational wrapping paper sayings. Turns out, the sweets I missed the most…Starburst FaveREDS Minis. I’m pretty sure I’ll grab a bag of those for breakfast this weekend, AKA long run fuel. As much as I love cheese, there are so many delicious meals that are usually smothered in cheese (or it’s hidden in the ooey gooey goodness layers) that are perfectly acceptable and still downright tasty without it. Mind-blowing, I know. The only thing I had that wasn’t as good without the cheese…Torchy’s Fried Avocado Taco. Don’t get me wrong, it was fine, it just wasn’t next level drive an hour for lunch good. With cheese it totally is. Ah, prosecco. I did want a glass of my favorite bubbles when we were out and about with friends one night, but my favorite flavored sparkling water is just as delicious and WAY more calorie (zero) friendly. I did have 4 Sprite’s over the course of January though – that was disappointing, but I have decided to forgive myself and move on with my year. I gave up sodas cold turkey in junior high after drinking a Mr. Pibb every day at lunch. Don’t add up the calories. Yikes.
The first 3 days were mostly having to remind myself to read ingredients in various things to make sure there wasn’t a sneaky bit of parmesan added to a sauce. Oh, and picking up a salad to go from some of our favorite places…there wasn’t an option to uncheck cheese through online ordering. So, we skipped those places for January. The hardest day of the 31 days of January no’s? Day 31. I had a friend over one night this week and had bought manchego for a snack platter. It literally stared at me when I opened the fridge on my last day, but alas, I resisted. I think knowing that the 31st is basically the 1st of February was where it got a little dicey and suddenly cheese overtook my thoughts. But with only 6 hours to go of my January challenge, I kept my goal in mind and went on about my night. Without any cheese.
I baked cupcakes and made decorated sugar cookies this month and couldn’t even taste test them. Don’t worry though, my husband was more than happy to take on that very important job and he did so well! The extra cookies on the counter will definitely be a part of my February life though.
How will I break the January challenge? Easy. Queso and cookies. Maybe some wine at dinner. Who knows. While I certainly don’t plan on cutting out any of the 3 from my day-to-day life, I do think I can stand to trim back on them. Cheese is on/in everything. Okay, not everything. But definitely a lot of things. I probably don’t need it on every salad, or on black bean burgers. And while I intend to fill my candy bowl on Monday (you’re welcome, co-workers) I can stare right back at chocolate for 31 days so I can cut back on my candy bowl visits for sure. While I do love a good Sauvignon Blanc, it was easily the least missed. I don’t really drink during the work week anyway and January had very few events so I just coasted along with my sparkly waters and 4 Sprites.
Stay tuned for my February challenge! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find some cheese for breakfast.
Thanks for stopping by!
Taryn
YOGA MATS & HARD HATS 