Do you have days when you have more questions in your life than answers? And then other days – something that was foggy for a long time suddenly becomes clear? No matter how hard the decision is, you realize that it is the one you had to make a while ago, and no amount of time wasted will ever make it right. Move on.

One of the things that I decided to do, is to become a vegetarian. I am not saying that I will never touch meat again. Inevitable, when I have Shabbat guests, I will have to cook meat, and possibly, eat it. However, I am on my path to the veg-only land. Bli Neder. No promises.

Do you ever think of how many promises we all make? To others? To ourselves?

Maybe that’s why, bli neder is playing such a role in my community, and others, I presume. It all starts with the 10 Commandments – לֹא תִשָּׂא אֶת-שֵׁם-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, לַשָּׁוְא:  כִּי לֹא יְנַקֶּה יְהוָה, אֵת אֲשֶׁר-יִשָּׂא אֶת-שְׁמוֹ לַשָּׁוְא.   – thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain (Exodus 20:6).

If you promise to make me happy

And you don’t

Don’t ask me to stay. It’s too late

Do not teach me the words of Torah

Its living waters do not mix

With the stale smell of indifference

I also decided to try the healthier way of living – more walking, less laying down, more foods that are giving you energy as opposed to weight.

One of these foods (supplements?), surprisingly for me, is Brewer’s Yeast. Usually, I am very conservative as far as new foods are concerned. It took me a while to start eating avocado, and do not even ask about sushi, which I love today! However, this time, I’ve decided to change my habits (only a little bit). A friend of mine, Dr.Nehama Milson says that you will become much healthier if you eat a tablespoon of this thing a day. Now, I am a big zero as far as nutritional facts, and all kinds of health-related information is concerned. Neither do I want to learn this. I love learning other things – Torah, history, literature. Enough is enough. But, I do believe Nehama, as I’ve seen things close to miraculous happening with my friends that follow her advice. However, how do I eat this? So, on a day like today, when my head was about to explode, and I needed something quick, easy, and helpful, I’ve combined one of my favorite unhealthy things with Nehama’s recommendation:

Took some leftover challah (at least I never make the whole white one, always with whole wheat, spelt, or some other flour), some cheese (this is something I can’t live without), a raw mushroom, and combined the yeast powder with some fresh lemon juice and some olive oil, so that it became a weird looking paste.

So the bread, the paste, the mushroom were topped with a couple of slices of cheese, and it all went into the toaster oven.  A couple of minutes, a few cherry tomatoes to the plate, and my stomach and my spirits were ready to go on! Healthy or not, this was my lunch today.

This is not really a dish – just a pick-me-up.

Here’s hoping that my decisions, vegetables-related and not, will prove the right ones.