Before I forget:
After I posted the Raw Macaroon recipe, several of you asked if you could use coconut oil in place of the coconut butter and if there’s a difference between the two. Answer: Yes, you apparently can sub one for the other, as I have a friend who did so with good results. I didn’t know what the difference between the two was either, so I googled it. Coconut butter is the oil plus the meat of the coconut.
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Today’s post:
Since I started blogging, I’ve received quite a few emails like this recent one, below:
Hey Katie! I’m a new reader and a new vegan too. And I have a question for you. Your meals always look amazing and so well put together. So my question is how do you decide what to eat? Do you plan your meals in advance?
My response:
I have a great friend who tells me exactly what to eat.
His name is Mr. Tummy 
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Ok, lame jokes aside, I actually don’t plan in advance anymore. For a while, I tried planning my meals out the day before. But then, when the time would come to eat said meals, I often found that I was craving something else, so I’d have to change the plan anyway. Finally, I just gave up with the planning and let my tummy tell me what it wants to eat for the day.
And I always listen to my tummy, even if that means chomping down Mounds Bar Babies at 7AM. (Yes, it has happened before. Don’t judge!!) I figure that my gut knows what it wants; if it craves chocolate at an ungodly hour, there must be a reason for it! Allowing my body to tell me what it wants not only wastes much less time, it also means I get to eat what I’m truly craving instead of forcing something down that I’m not really interested in eating.
That being said, there is some planning that goes into my meals. I make different things up in advance and keep a rough list on hand of what’s available; that way, come mealtime, I can choose what I want to eat. So in reality, I “plan-but-don’t-plan” 
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Someone’s probably wondering:
What if your tummy only wanted sweets all day?
Answer: Then I guess I’d have a problem LOL. But honestly, I don’t think that would ever happen, because as soon as I indulge my sweets’ cravings, they go away. I’ve never met anyone who keeps truly, intuitively craving sugar even after eating sweet after sweet after sweet. At some point, one’s tummy is going to scream: ENOUGH! Give me some veggies, girlfriend!
You just have to trust that your body is going to tell you what it wants.
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What about you? Do you plan your meals in advance? Or do you listen to your tummy? Does your gut ever tell you strange things (like my aforementioned Mounds Baby craving)?
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Unplanned Chocolate-Covered Meal of the Day
Second breakfast this morning.
An example of my “plan-but-don’t-plan” idea: I made up the oat bran the night before but didn’t decide to Snickerdoodle it (Like my verb?) until the morning.
Chilly almond milk, a frozen mango (this morning was surprisingly warm for November), and Snickerdoodle Oat Bran.
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Once again, I have to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who’s helped with Operation Chocolate-Covered Kindness, whether it be through mentioning and linking back to the charity drive, clicking extra on the site, or telling other people to click.
I still need as much help as I can get in raising money, so please keep opening your hearts .
I’ve been floored by the amount of compassion people have shown so far.
I feel very blessed to have met so many thoughtful, compassionate people through this blogworld. Every day, my inbox fills with sweet comments and emails that just make me smile from ear to ear. And the fact that so many of you are taking time out of your busy lives to help those in need? Well, it just makes me happy to live in a world where people will help each other out at the drop of a hat.
Speaking of compassion, I owe a very-belated shout-out to my dear friend Averie, my raw-dessert-making twin and new blog friend. Out of the blue, she sent me the sweetest care package filled with some of her amazing homemade raw treats. Sadly, my family and I gobbled them up before I even remembered to take a photo. So you’ll have to check out her blog for photos and recipes. Thank you, Averie; your kindness means so much to me!
And there’s no way I can end this post without specifically thanking one blogger in particular whose generosity has gone above and beyond anything I could’ve ever imagined.
Not only did Heather (a.k.a. the nicest girl in the world) mention Operation CCK, she is embarking on a challenge to make a dish inspired by a chocolate-covered recipe every day during the charity drive to help get the word out and raise more money. I think she’s probably singlehandedly doubled the amount of money we’ll end up raising for this worthy cause.
Talk about a big heart! I told you she was the nicest girl in the world.
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Tomorrow, I’ll get up the first of the month’s giveaways.
Anyone interested in a Magic Bullet? A hand blender? Perhaps a spiralizer?
If so, you’d better come back tomorrow .
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