So this vegan thing isn't very easy! Hell, being a vegetarian is totally hard for someone who is usually an omnivore.
This morning I was trying to track the days so far I've been a vegan or vegetarian. Sunday I had barbequed chicken for breakfast! It wasn't an ease-in day though. I don't remember Monday. I had some cheesecake and there was some
parmesan on my sprouted grain pasta. I think Monday was meat-free.
On New year's eve I stayed the night at the home of a couple of friends who were doing the Master Cleanse together. They also happen to be moving so they gladly gave away a ton of the groceries. Score! Part of that was a 6lb bag of carrots, a bell pepper, and half a bag of oranges. We made off with a few packaged food with health claims or sporting the green "All Natural" label (which we know does not make it healthy). Nonetheless, it was nice to go home with some free groceries a few days before the anticipated expenses of organic lemons.
Anyhow, on the morning of January 1st, I had planned to make oatmeal but that was interrupted when the couple suggested having some organic vanilla (sugar filled) yogurt with some Kashi (sugar filled) cereal. Garrison indulged. I had 2 oranges. I was starving not long after so we got some dried mango from the health food store (we were there to pick up Stanley Burroughs' book and some copper supplements).
After we came home, I sauteed some garlic, onions, carrots and green peppers in some coconut oil and doused my veggies with Frank's Red Hot then wrapped up the mixture in a (mostly) whole wheat tortilla. I had 2. Garrison put cheese on his. I refrained so up to this point, I had a vegan day.
So then we went to yet another party at which I snacked on fruit, veggies, nuts and grains. I did not succumb to the cheese! Yay! But there were cocktail weenies sitting in a bowl and looking at me. Just before we left, I popped one in my mouth. It was cold so it wasn't worth it. Then later, as I was snacking, I had some cheese.
Yesterday I ate pumpkin oatmeal for breakfast, snacked on raw fruit (which freaked me out because I had to eat so much!) and a lunch of the above described veggie tacos. Dinner was a pb & J sandwich (100% ww bread, all fruit spread without added sugar, and natural peanut butter), then whatever the heck I snacked on: Nut Thins, mustards, pepper jelly, pickle relish, carrot....aw crap- half an ounce of cheese.
So Wednesday was vegan up until about 8:30pm. Not bad. Just not perfect.
I had intended today to be grain-free but I have two more tortillas to use up (I hate wasting). Other than that I'll be grain free and I WILL NOT HAVE CHEESE! I had a pumpkin banana smoothie this morning with peanut milk and chia seeds. So far, I've eaten 3 clementines and 2 pears. It's a half hour until lunch and I am very hungry.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Monday, December 31, 2012
You do your chores, I'll do mine
Usually my fiance and I do just about everything together; cooking, cleaning, shopping, running errands, laundry, and even a bit of car work (handing him wrenches and paper towels counts, right?). But today is a "you do your chores and I'll do mine" kind of day.
One of the best things I learned from an etiquette column was in response to a woman whose husband refused to write thank-you notes for birthday gifts he recieve. The columnist answered "Whatever happened to 'You do your chores, I'll do mine' ?" Suggesting that this woman should write the guests of the party she threw for her husband, thanking them for attending and also dropping a line in about how much her husband loves the gift. After all, there are different things that men and women are expected to do.
Now don't get me wrong, I consider myself progressive! But after carefully observing and reading about the differences between men and women, it has become clear that there are certain things that women are more inclined to do--like the dishes--that men will most definitely forget. Then there are certain things that would drive a woman nuts if she had to deal with that a man can tackle with a little crumbling and cursing but will feel so amazing after it's over; like fixing the car (which is precisely what Garrison's task is today).
So my plan for today is to write thank-you's for our Christmas presents, clean the apartment and then zone out on some piece of cardio equipment whilst watching a tv movie.
In other news, I tossed my charred toast and didn't feel too sorry about it. And yes. I ate way too much crap at the party anyhow. I've also mapped out my Master Cleanse ease-in. Today my diet shall be "normal" but I'm basically cleaning up the leftover perishables and procuring raw fruits and veggies for the next couple of days. The day before the cleanse, I plan to drink smoothies and juices.
Saturday, I will start the Master Cleanse or "lemonade diet," as some call it. "Diet" is somewhat of a dirty word to me. It makes me think of punishment and a lot of low-calorie, yet highly-processed foods. Diets are meant to help you lose weight but not become healthy. Cleansing is meant to rid your body of toxins and thereby help you become more healthy. Weight loss is an inevitable side bonus since what you consume in the cleanse is limited to your "main course" of a lemon juice, water, maple syrup, cayenne cocktail plus herbal laxative tea, a salt water flush, and all the filtered water you can drink.
I did this cleanse last year in February and blogged about it. I'm interested in seeing the similarities between 2012's and 2013's. I didn't ease-in last time so I hope to see some major differences.
I'm using these two days off to get some cleaning done. I started with the fridge and now it is immaculate! But alas I don't have a picture to share because the camera went with my fiance to document some car work. I will put it up later so stay tuned!
One of the best things I learned from an etiquette column was in response to a woman whose husband refused to write thank-you notes for birthday gifts he recieve. The columnist answered "Whatever happened to 'You do your chores, I'll do mine' ?" Suggesting that this woman should write the guests of the party she threw for her husband, thanking them for attending and also dropping a line in about how much her husband loves the gift. After all, there are different things that men and women are expected to do.
Now don't get me wrong, I consider myself progressive! But after carefully observing and reading about the differences between men and women, it has become clear that there are certain things that women are more inclined to do--like the dishes--that men will most definitely forget. Then there are certain things that would drive a woman nuts if she had to deal with that a man can tackle with a little crumbling and cursing but will feel so amazing after it's over; like fixing the car (which is precisely what Garrison's task is today).
So my plan for today is to write thank-you's for our Christmas presents, clean the apartment and then zone out on some piece of cardio equipment whilst watching a tv movie.
In other news, I tossed my charred toast and didn't feel too sorry about it. And yes. I ate way too much crap at the party anyhow. I've also mapped out my Master Cleanse ease-in. Today my diet shall be "normal" but I'm basically cleaning up the leftover perishables and procuring raw fruits and veggies for the next couple of days. The day before the cleanse, I plan to drink smoothies and juices.
Saturday, I will start the Master Cleanse or "lemonade diet," as some call it. "Diet" is somewhat of a dirty word to me. It makes me think of punishment and a lot of low-calorie, yet highly-processed foods. Diets are meant to help you lose weight but not become healthy. Cleansing is meant to rid your body of toxins and thereby help you become more healthy. Weight loss is an inevitable side bonus since what you consume in the cleanse is limited to your "main course" of a lemon juice, water, maple syrup, cayenne cocktail plus herbal laxative tea, a salt water flush, and all the filtered water you can drink.
I did this cleanse last year in February and blogged about it. I'm interested in seeing the similarities between 2012's and 2013's. I didn't ease-in last time so I hope to see some major differences.
I'm using these two days off to get some cleaning done. I started with the fridge and now it is immaculate! But alas I don't have a picture to share because the camera went with my fiance to document some car work. I will put it up later so stay tuned!
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Away from my kitchen!
For Christmas, my fiance's family decided that we needed to be ripped away from the comforts of our kitchen for an entire seven days filled with outdoor winter activities and tons of processed food. Also, that my desire to eat whole foods needed to be mocked.
Wow, that sounded a little harsh didn't it?
Okay, I'll admit not all the food we ate was processed since a lot of it was from classy restaurants. I wasn't mocked either. It was merely suggested by the future Physician's Assistant that antioxidants could help undo the damage caused by the free radicals released by the heat treated vegetable oil that inevitably makes its way into foods we eat. And I did my fair share of dishing it out when I suggested my future father in law could attribute his hair loss to the rapeseed oil in his beloved Skippy peanut butter.
So let me try again.
In your own kitchen, you very much have control over the methods in which your food is prepared. In someone else's kitchen, even if you're given a touch of free reign, not so much. In your own town you also know the right place to shop in order to find the foods you prefer to eat. I've never appreciated Wegmans more! Absence makes the heart grow fonder, they say.
But I have returned home to my lovely canisters filled with brown stuff and my cute little Frenchy in which I meticulously brew delicious coffee meant for the sophisticated addict's taste buds.
I won't rehash every detail of my trip but I will tell you I'm excited for my extreme recovery after the period of moderate indulgence.
My man's youngest brother bought two bagels from the grocery store the other night and after two days of them sitting in a paper bag and a 3.5 hour car trip, he decided he didn't want them. "I'm wasteful," he said. I appreciated his honesty. I, however, am not wasteful. Alas. I don't eat white bagels. Or at least I declare I don't until I accidentally do.
It just so happens that I'm attending a party this afternoon so I thought I'd put these bad boys to good use. I cut through their stale crusts and made small bruschetta toast size pieces. I figured they would be tasty to the average palette if I tossed them with herbs and oil and toasted them. So I did like I did when I make bruschetta. Well not quite. I usually brush on dried herbs, fresh garlic and olive oil. But this dish is for a party, not for me.
So I dumped on about 2/3 cup of canola oil (because it needs to be removed from my cabinet but I HATE wasting things I mistakenly spent money on) over the slices and added a spice blend I never use.
is what came out of the oven after 8 minutes. No, those darker ones are not a pumpernickel variety. Now I'm going to see about salvaging the ones which were not burnt and supplementing my dish with something else.Oh! I almost forgot to mention that these are intended to be topped with a hot pepper jelly whose first ingredient is sugar. Gotta get rid of it somehow, right?
I've yet to work out all the details of my recovery but I know at least it will involve an all-organic, vegan ease-in to the Master Cleanse and a similar ease out with some (hopefully) permanent changes.Wish me luck!
Wow, that sounded a little harsh didn't it?
Okay, I'll admit not all the food we ate was processed since a lot of it was from classy restaurants. I wasn't mocked either. It was merely suggested by the future Physician's Assistant that antioxidants could help undo the damage caused by the free radicals released by the heat treated vegetable oil that inevitably makes its way into foods we eat. And I did my fair share of dishing it out when I suggested my future father in law could attribute his hair loss to the rapeseed oil in his beloved Skippy peanut butter.
So let me try again.
In your own kitchen, you very much have control over the methods in which your food is prepared. In someone else's kitchen, even if you're given a touch of free reign, not so much. In your own town you also know the right place to shop in order to find the foods you prefer to eat. I've never appreciated Wegmans more! Absence makes the heart grow fonder, they say.
But I have returned home to my lovely canisters filled with brown stuff and my cute little Frenchy in which I meticulously brew delicious coffee meant for the sophisticated addict's taste buds.
 |
| This is what wooden spoons look like when they haven't been used for a week. WHO KNEW!?!?!? |
I won't rehash every detail of my trip but I will tell you I'm excited for my extreme recovery after the period of moderate indulgence.
My man's youngest brother bought two bagels from the grocery store the other night and after two days of them sitting in a paper bag and a 3.5 hour car trip, he decided he didn't want them. "I'm wasteful," he said. I appreciated his honesty. I, however, am not wasteful. Alas. I don't eat white bagels. Or at least I declare I don't until I accidentally do.
It just so happens that I'm attending a party this afternoon so I thought I'd put these bad boys to good use. I cut through their stale crusts and made small bruschetta toast size pieces. I figured they would be tasty to the average palette if I tossed them with herbs and oil and toasted them. So I did like I did when I make bruschetta. Well not quite. I usually brush on dried herbs, fresh garlic and olive oil. But this dish is for a party, not for me.
So I dumped on about 2/3 cup of canola oil (because it needs to be removed from my cabinet but I HATE wasting things I mistakenly spent money on) over the slices and added a spice blend I never use.
Maybe I'm recalling incorrectly. I thought when I did the brushed-on olive oil method that I left my toasts in a 450 degree oven for a good 10-15 minutes. Well since these slices were, like, totally soaked in canola oil...
THIS
is what came out of the oven after 8 minutes. No, those darker ones are not a pumpernickel variety. Now I'm going to see about salvaging the ones which were not burnt and supplementing my dish with something else.Oh! I almost forgot to mention that these are intended to be topped with a hot pepper jelly whose first ingredient is sugar. Gotta get rid of it somehow, right?
I've yet to work out all the details of my recovery but I know at least it will involve an all-organic, vegan ease-in to the Master Cleanse and a similar ease out with some (hopefully) permanent changes.Wish me luck!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)