the worthy opponent

Confession, I love cheese. It is without a doubt one of my most favorite foods. Cheese and crackers, grilled cheese, pizza, queso, cheese cubes, cheese flavored goldfish, goat cheese, havarti with dill, the list is endless. However, in this world there is no such thing as a free lunch, and the deliciousness of cheese, my friends, is no exception. Cheese is most certainly one of the most fattening foods you can eat. There is NO such thing as low fat cheese because cheese is fat. FACT. In the words of one of my most precious books:

"The fat in cheese is what gives it the taste and texture we love. Of the calories found in cheese, 70 to 80 percent come from fat.Even if you're buying the low-fat, part-skim nonsens, more than half the calories come from fat. Fat free? Give us a freaking break! Remember what milk is for. It is designed to fatten up baby cows. Do you really think it could be fat free? Get your head out of your ass.

We are the commanders of our bodies. Unless we eat cheese. Cheese will rule our lives and fatten our asses if we don't kick the addiction....All milk, whether from cow or a human contains casein, a protein that breaks apart during digestion and releases a whole slew of opiates. All these 'feel good' chemicals exist so that newborns will nurse and thrive, and to ensure a bond between mothers and their young...All dairy products contain casein, but cheese has the highest concentration. It also has PEA, an amphetamine like chemical. So when we kid around and say, "I am addicted to cheese" its not a joke-its true. We are chemically addicted to cheese"

Phew. Lets take a step back here. First off if you haven't read Skinny Bitch, let me make a plug for it. It is highly entertaining with sass and crudness to spare. While it is a vegan diatribe, they definately bring up some valid points about dairy and meat which I found to be highly enlightening. Knowledge is power. ANYWAY, I think its worth repeating, WE ARE ADDICTED TO CHEESE. Hallelujah the world finally makes sense.

So being the nice Catholic girl that I am, when it came time to make a Lenten sacrafice the choice was clear. I have been abstaining from cheese for 40 days. It's been quite the journey. What have I learned? It is not as difficult as it sounds (my special friend would say otherwise-he failed at this miserably, its not his fault, weaker sex). Honestly the hardest part was having to Nancy Drew menus and ingredient labels, the nasty booger hides everywhere. Soo where do we go from here? A wedge of laughing cow will continue to flavor my morning egg sandwich, and my salads will need to be reintroduced to feta and goat cheese, but on a day to day basis peace out cheese. This is of course after I make myself ill tomorrow. Ah, I love Easter.