Two days to go in our secret fast. No one has asked us what we’re fasting this week. Weird.

I guess the curiosity has worn off.

Anyway, the secret fast is going ok. I’ve broken it a couple times, it’s hard when there’s no one to keep me accountable.

Oooh, that’s a lie. Sgt. Cucchi asked us what we were fasting and we told him – he promptly took advantage of this knowledge and asked us to do something for him.

Since last Wednesday at noon no dairy has entered my system.

No butter, no milk. Those two things have manageable substitutes, but nothing I’ve found comes close to the glory that is cheese.

I miss the way it melts over sauce and bread, I miss way it sits on a piece of apple and a cracker. I love how it’s always the last thing in my fridge before I go shopping again – yeah, there’s a little mold to shave off, but it’s still good.

I love the versatility, the varieties, the texture, the smell (well, sometimes), I love how adding cheese to anything makes it better.

My pasta, my pizza, my sandwiches, my bagels, my everything – misses cheese.

Americans are busier than ever, but when the days whirlwind of activity momentarily ceases, many of us choose to use what little free time we have to deflate in front of the television.

For a week we swore off all video; streaming, airwaves or otherwise. With the elimination of each television hour, we also avoided the exposure of some 20 minutes of commercials.

Melody watches the majority of her television online and also participates in a massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Erin watches some shows via DVD or online, but also watches conventional television, which carries the risk of promotional persuasion leading to hours of prime-time programming.

Television is no longer the single-set, family gathering event of the early days. People now have more television sets than they do people in their household. According to Nielsen Media Research, in the average home there are 2.73 TV sets for 2.55 people. People are mounting monitors in their bathrooms, kitchens and cars, only to be outnumbered by those in buses, airport terminals and bars. At times we felt a need for blinders to guard our eyes from the bombardment of video media.

With the advent of digital video recorders and a myriad of channels to choose from, people are watching more television than ever, and viewership has reached an all time high.

For the 2008-2009 TV season, the time a person spend with their eyes glued to the tube topped out at four hours and 49 minutes a day, or two solid months a year. This number is up four minutes from last year and up 20 percent from 10 years ago, according to Nielsen.

It is a huge part of our culture, and we are not immune.

Melody spent the week missing Glee and her World of Warcraft guild. Mostly after a long day of work she missed zoning out and turning off her brain.

Erin is disappointed to report her willpower faltered when she watched the season finale of the Amazing Race. It probably wasn’t worth it considering her brother’s guilt-trip coupled with her father’s words from childhood echoing in her head, “What possible difference will this stupid show make in your life?”

Well the answer is a resounding none, unless of course Erin is some day a contestant on a television pop-culture game show.

Try going a week without spending

A week without meat wasn’t all that challenging; however, the cultural aspects of vegetarianism made the task trying at times.

The health benefits of a well-balanced vegetarian diet are obvious, and can aid in staving off hypertension, diabetes, cancer, obesity and heart disease. Regardless, we are nation of meat lovers that gladly contribute to the $832 billion meat and poultry industry each year.

A meatless week isn’t much to ask and the process was pretty cut and dry for Melody and Erin. We both conquered our animal instincts, even when Erin accompanied friends to In-n-Out Burger and Melody was struck by a sushi craving.

But go to any standard-fair franchise and the choices are, more often than not, limited. If you’re lucky you may have a meager choice in entrees, rather than defaulting to the lone vegetarian plate, or combining salad and side orders.

The fact is, most menus cater to carnivores, and a selective personal diet can leave the herbivore a bit isolated.

Erin’s brother has been a long-time vegetarian, and fellow diners often feel the need to identify the flesh free food for him. Of course people are only trying to be accommodating, but it’s humorous that they want to help an adult with his “special diet needs.”

A diet once considered faddish is becoming more popular as people reject the traditional meat and potatoes in favor of a healthier alternative. A Vegetarian Times study shows 7.3 million Americans consider themselves vegetarians.

This has created a niche industry responsible for customized cookbooks and the advent of vegetarian restaurants.

Strangely, during our week of meat sobriety we could not find one vegetarian restaurant in either Woodland or Davis. There are a few in Sacramento, including the family-owned, Noble Vegetarian.

Tuan Lee helps run the restaurant that serves family-style Asian-inspired vegetarian cuisine at a moderate price. In this setting, not only does the vegetarian diner have a menu that caters to his/her needs, but strictly vegetarian fare eliminates the risk of cross contamination with meat products.

Lee said very few conventional restaurants take precautions to discriminate when cooking every food group in the pyramid. Further, if you order fried vegetables, don’t count on the cooks changing the oil after the chicken has been greased to perfection. Lee recalled one occasion of ordering deep fried tofu that came garnished with scraps of chicken.

Vegetarian restaurants are far more common now than when Lee stopped eating meat in 1990. But a night out with friends with this diet still proves to inconvenient at times.

Many are inclined sacrifice health for convenience, and meat is often at the core of that convenience.

Both Melody and Erin celebrated the end of a week of meat abstinence with fish. We know the health benefits of vegetarianism and keep our meat consumption minimal. However, we both rely on meat as a source of protein and can’t imagine permanently substituting it with tofu, nuts and legumes.

Next week’s fast: Spending money.

So we’re doing ok. I’ve yet to exchange money for goods or services. Erin broke fast a little when she went to visit friends in the city.

My husband informed me we’re out of toilet paper, so I’ll swipe some from the ladies room at work on my way out the door today.

Erin and I have secured a manicure in exchange for internet marketing.

And here’s a very interesting article about a women in Germany who lived without money for 13 years.

Stay tuned for more Quick Fast news and check the DailyDemocrat.com for our weekly column.

Yesterday Erin and I drove to Nugget Market in search of food free of Trans or saturated fats. Finding nothing, we did a QuickFast change-up and decided to try vegetarianism for a week.

We discussed giving up milk and eggs as well, but in the end decided to save that for when we eventually go vegan (we’re working our way up to that).

So far nothing’s  changed for me. I had pistachio nuts for lunch, and chips and salsa for dinner and this morning I had  a hard boiled egg and a scone.

Fish cravings have set in,  now  I know  I can’t have it, but it’s nothing I can’t fight off for a week.

In addition to watching what we eat we’re going to be tracking how much we spend. Next week we’re fasting spending money in honor of Buy Nothing Day (Nov. 27). So in order to see if we save money by stock piling our food for a week we need to know how much we normally shell out in a given week.

I will be traveling to Humboldt County for the Holidays so my husband will purchase our gas, since I won’t be purchasing anything. It’s not a cop-out because my husband and I have different bank accounts – don’t question the way we choose to manage our money – our  marriage is fine thank you very much.

Erin is staying here so hopefully one tank of gas will last  her the whole week.

Please feel free to participate in Buy Nothing Day or fast along the whole week.

Also – does anyone have any good vegetarian recipes or tips?

Jittery over a lack of good old joe