veggies!

First, I've started a new adventure in my life.  I know that I've been saying that in my last few blogs.  I'm not quite ready for the entire world to know what changes Melissa and I have made in our lives.  I just need a few more moments to let everything sink in.  However, I will tell you, I am now extremely happy.  I was thinking about it this morning.  I don't think I've been this happy in a very long time.  I feel that a huge weight has been taken off of my shoulders.  My dad mentioned to me a few months ago that I am not the same person I was before I left for my church mission.  Well, I finally feel that I'm getting back to that person.  If you remember me at all from back then, you'd remember how happy I was.  You'd remember all of the stories that I'd tell and all of the fun you had with me.  I used to be the one who would sing in the car with the stereo as loud as I could handle.  I was the one who would start dancing out of no where.  I was the one that people could turn to when they needed advice or something else.  I was your go to guy, and I'm getting back to that point.

I'm not quite sure how to put this other than to say that I have gone vegetarian.  I'm on a trial run for a week to see if it helps.  I'm on day three and I am finally able to say that I don't feel the urge to buy a hamburger.  I'm trying my hardest to eat better.  I have a lot of health issues when it comes to my digestive system.  I'm starting to weed out the foods that aggravate it.  I have noticed over the course of the past year that my body does not digest anything fatty or greasy.  Whenever I eat something with a high fat/grease content my body seems to implode on itself.  I have eliminated meat because I have noticed that my body just doesn't have the power to digest it like it needs too.  I have spent many nights tossing and turning because I have been in a lot of pain.  I spend way too much time in the bathroom, wishing I was dead.  It's sad to say that the number one thing that I drink is pepto.  But, it's not just meat.  Whenever I eat cheese or high-fat milk, I end up with the same reaction as meat.  All of the fat in the dairy clenches onto my stomach and intestines and won't let go.  It's not that I am lactose-intolerant.  I have tested other low-fat cheeses and other things and find that they don't bother me.  I know I sound crazy, but I'm trying to get to a point where my body just doesn't hurt anymore. 

Today, I made a pineapple fried rice and baked veggie springs rolls.  I didn't like how the egg roll wrappers turned out when they came out of the oven.  That's the only thing that was a miss.  I also made a sweet and sour sauce to dip them into.  One of the foods that we need to eat in for our 1001 is Japanese eggplant.  I sauted it with red cabbage, green onion, and carrots.  It turned out very delicious.  It had a milder flavor than the globe eggplant, but had a lot of little seeds I was worried would get stuck in my throat.  After it was all cooked, you couldn't even tell that the seeds were in it.  It's a mix that I could put over noodles or even mashed potatoes.  I have pictures of the eggplant and the rolls that I created.  I'll share the photos in my post tomorrow.

-Jer