Saturday was my birthday and yesterday was my government birthday*. The celebrations started on Thursday with a trip to Vegan Treats in Bethlehem, about 2 hours away.

We got a chocolate encased chocolate chip cheesecake on a stick, a soft serve ice cream cone, 2 cannolis to take home, and a cannoli cake for Saturday. The cheesecake was good, it was very rich and a bit too sweet for me…not that it stopped me from eating it.

The soft serve was blueberry cheesecake swirl and it was AMAZING. It was probably the best soft serve (dairy or non) that I’ve ever had. I kept saying “this is SO good!” despite all of my husband’s massive eye rolls.

We ate the cannolis later that night (yes we gorged on sugar that day), and they reminded me of getting pizza and cannolis on Saturday nights from this Italian restauant as a kid. We’d stop every night after dance class, and while we wouldn’t *always* get cannolis, it was probably my favorite part. I like the plain ones better as opposed to the chocolate dipped ones, but they were both to die for. I think I actually started eating healthier when I became vegan because the sheer amount of crap wasn’t as easily available. I’m pretty glad Vegan Treats is 2 hours away, otherwise I’d probably be 20 lbs heavier, and a lot poorer.

My parents came down for the weekend to visit. I made mock lobster rolls for dinner on Friday, and my mom’s favorite enchilladas on Saturday. (Speaking of my mother, the 27th marked her 1 year vegan anniversary! She had blood work done from WellnessFX, and her cholesterol levels are now awesome!) We had the cannoli cake for dessert and it was great. I was a little nervous at first because I used to fall for all the pretty cakes in the glass display at the local diner, but they never had any flavor, they just tasted like sugar.

This one was pretty and it was tasty. The chocolate was moist and rich, and the cannoli cream was slightly tart. It probably could’ve had a little less frosting on the outside, but once again, I ate it with no complaints.

My husband ordered me chocolates from premiumchocolatiers.com, and I have love/hate feelings about it. He got me 3 packs of No-No’s (both plain and “peanot butter”), 6 chocolate bars (2 dark, 2 milk(less), 2 white), and 3 packs of peanot butter cups. Everything is delicious (yes, I’ve tried a little bit of everything), but the peanot butter cups taste almost identical to Reeses cups, except more flavorful. I love the taste, but oh my goodness I have zero self control. Just knowing the stuff is in the fridge is torture.

Oh a slightly healthier note, I did Jillian Michael’s Yoga Inferno level 1 this past week, and thought it was pretty good. Not going to lie, I kind of skipped the cardio parts, and just went into a deeper stretch, but I was sore for the next few days, which is always a good thing.

I’m also thinking about starting the Whole30 in a few weeks. I generally eat pretty healthy, but I need to kick this newly found sugar habit. If anyone has any tips, especially for vegan meals, I’d love to hear them. I think my plan is to find a few basic meals and repeat them 4 times or so.

(*The day I was actually born on is not the same day the SSA/IRS says I was born on, and they refuse to change it. So two birthdays for me!!!)