Sixteen down, fifteen to go

This isn't nearly as challenging as I expected it would be. That's not to say there aren't some inconveniences, of course, but avoiding cheese has been quite easy.

I'm 16 days into cheeselessness, with 15 to go. At this point, I can say with all confidence that I have no plan to slip. Every day, people quit smoking, people quit drinking, and I think both of those things have got to be infinitely more difficult. If that can be done, I certainly could go a month without cheese.

So far, my sister is paralleling me -- she hasn't slipped -- but my co-worker fell off the wagon earlier this week by eating a plate of homemade cheese ravioli. I give her credit for confessing, however, and she's back on track once again.

Going without cheese continues to move me in the direction of making healthier food choices overall ... with one exception: I'm now using mayonnaise. If I order a sandwich, I find myself wondering what to put on it instead of cheese. So, yeah. Mayo.

That said, it needs to be some sort of flavored mayonnaise (chipotle, curry, basil, garlic, etc.), and even then, only a trace of it. I suppose it's fairly harmless in the small quantities I consume. It's funny, though, because I've never really eaten mayo my whole life; it has always grossed me out, and now I'm using it to bring some form of moisture to a sandwich -- but only where mustard will not do.

Oh, and I wish someone would explain to me why having no cheese causes really strong cravings for French toast. What's with that?