What's shaking? More Vegg, lentils, and other food stuff.

The Summerville, SC area apparently.  Another couple of quakes hit this past week.  Neat, eh?

Other than quakes, it's the same old except in the kitchen.  I'm playing with The Vegg still and loving it more. The french toast and tofu scramble with cheesy grits were awesome!  And easy!  I didn't follow recipes from The Veg Cookbook, but used it in my usual recipes.

Tofu scramble and grits with Vegg, nutritional yeast, garlic, a little Earth Balance,
and hot sauce.  Yeah, baby! 

French Toast made with Vegg, homemade raw cashew milk,
cinnamon, and turmeric.  Agave Nectar-topped with fruit on the side.  

Tonight is breakfast for dinner night, a family fav.  Pancakes, grits, scrambles (eggs for them, tofu for me), roasted potatoes, pear compote, and gluten-free cinnamon rolls are on the menu.  And yes, Vegg will play a role in there.

Today (and tomorrow) the plan is to play with lentils.  I'm challenging myself to come up with several ways to use them without making hubby bored.  So far, lentil soup/stew, curry served with greens, lentil loaf, shepherd's pie, and lentil 'meatballs' with marinara come to mind.  I'l let you know how it goes.

For now, I'm out.  I am so stoked that I get to play with food for a living and for fun.  Feeling lucky, that's me!

Merry, Merry!

Whatever you celebrate, may your holidays be filled with love and light!

Now hear this: if you call me between 8:50 and 11 pm on Christmas night, I will ignore you.  I have to get my +Doctor Who and +Leverage on TNT on.

Much love! 

Semi-wordless Wednesday - all about the food

Nom nom nom

Vegan French Onion Soup from Vegan Nutritionista's
Cut the Cheese 

Vegan Cheesecake from Cut the Cheese

Same cheesecake topped with strawberries.
'Twas awesome!

My fav veggie curry from Saffron Cafe and Bakery
 (soon featuring vegan desserts - just ask)

A fab dinner from Sunset Oasis

Black Bean Sliders and Sweet Potato fries from
Sesame Burgers and  Beer

Dinner salad from Runaway Bay 

Are you hungry now?

The year in review and the year ahead

It might not seem that a lot happened in 2011, but it did.  I am coming out of it stronger and more aware of what's going on and what I need to do.

(Yes, my daughter and I are hugging giant chickens.  It just had to be done.)

Food in 2011 was awesome!   One of the biggest things we did was purchase a freezer.  We can stock up when things are on sale (BOGO Gardein for the win), cook ahead for quick meals, and keep fruit and veggies at the ready no matter how the vegetable bin looks.

New cookbooks were added to my collection and I've been giddy.  Decadent goodness from Vegan Diner sits along side Radiance 4 Life, Eat to Live, Happy Herbivore's books, The 21 Day Weight Loss Kickstart, Get Healthy, Go Vegan, and Appetite for Reduction.  I've been cooking a lot more, reduced my sugar intake, and eat out less.

I've also changed my mindset somewhat.  While the scale may not move as much as I'd like, I've noticed major changes in my body.  Three weeks ago I bought a pair of size 20 jeans.  Two days ago, those jeans were falling off of me, but the scale stayed the same.  Not long ago I'd be upset about the scale, but now I celebrate the clothing size.  The weight loss will follow the size change.

And it's easy to change how I think about my body when I can look at how far I've come even with the pain. Remember this?  I do, and I still cringe when I look at it.  But that was August, and the chicken-hugging pic is from yesterday.  I knew it would be a full body shot and I didn't care.  Scratch that, I wanted it to be a full body shot.  I had no fear of it.  That is huge for me.

I think 2011 is ending on a positive note and am so excited about 2012.  Why be exited about the year when something scared the Mayans into ending their calendar? Well, I'm not a Mayan and have plans. Both the daughter and I are graduating in 2012, and those big days will be celebrated.  I'll hit the big 4-3 and tackle my first big race since my high school track and field days.  The year will kick off on a fantastic vegan note (and another PCRM 21 Day Vegan Kickstart will start on January 2) and the weather in town will be lovely.

I'm sitting here with a silly grin, blogging and smiling at hubby on the desktop ad listening to the kids game in their rooms.  I am a happy wahm this New Year's Eve and hope that you are happy, too.

For the last time in 2011, peace.

Gone since July?

Wow. Sorry about that. I still can't believe October is here and it's nearly over.

I'm alive. I figured no one would want to read about my wrecked knee for the umpteenth time. Wrecked knee = hobbling instead of exercising. Yep, even my walks are off right now.

Food is as yummy as ever. I'm not vegan, but close. I make sure all packaged goodies are vegan - bread, cereal, margarine, that kind of thing. Dairy destroys me and is easy to avoid, but eggs I crave.

That's about it on the health front. Being on the sidelines has been somewhat entertaining. Balloon boy, racist JoP attempting to justify his crap, Rush/Beck/Faux News/neocon loons - you know, the usual.

Here's to healing, love, peace, and being ourselves.

Rambling

I hit 40 the other day. Yeah, baby! I've been looking forward to 40. Reaching it meant I've outlived my dad and am smacking the early death curse into a corner. At least holding it back.

It's been a while since I've posted because I fell off the wagon. Way off. The other day I got on the scale and was sad but not surprised to see 240 staring at me. I couldn't play off being surprised because I know exactly how I've been eating and how little I've been exercising.

I've been thinking about my journey and I decided I'd go back to what worked for me as far as my eating plan. I pulled out my old Richard Simmons' FoodMover info and am going back to basics. It's an exchange program based on the old Weight Watchers plan (his words) and similar to the TOPS plan. It helped me get control of my portions better than any other plan I'd tried and I felt really good on it. When I can't exercise (like this week - gotta love lingering injuries) I can still see a change on the scale and in my energy level.

I am 40 and fab, regardless of my weight. By 41, my inner hottie will be out for all to see!

Good, bad, or ugly, I'll be posting more regularly. Til then, be well.

Two steps forward, two steps back

I took another tumble. I forget that my balance is nowhere as good as it used to be and that I can't be moving without paying attention. Especially where heights are concerned.

I'm at 231 and holding. In a week or two I'll be cleared to exercise full on again. In a couple of days I can get back to the elliptical.

Gah.

Dinner tonight: lentil soup (lentils, celery, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, soy sauce, and water); massive salad with mixed green, cukes, tomatoes, celery, pepperoncini, & either fat free feta or a boiled egg.

Wednesday day 3

Whew! It's hot out and inside today. I've been cleaning and packing pretty much since I crawled out of bed this morning. I got in my 8MM and after all this heavy lifting I think I may make tomorrow my day off instead of Sunday. Maybe. I haven't decided yet.

Food has been ok, but I've had to make myself eat because I haven't been hungry. For dinner tonight we're having pasta with a garden vegetable sauce and a zucchini, garlic, tomato, and onion saute on the side. I'm going to water saute them and add a little oil just before serving, either a drizzle of olive or flax oil. I'd planned to make either pumpkin or flax muffins too, but it's too frickin hot! Maybe after the sun sets I'll go for it.

Where does DS get the frickin energy? He's making me tired - biking, two basketball games, and now fooling about with his RC car - all in the three hours. Gah!

I may be back later; undecided.

I've been quiet, but busy

We're house hunting. Well, we've put in a bid that was accepted and are now in the appraisal and inspections stage. Everything else is in line, so much so that we could close within 2 weeks of the appraisal. It's terrifying and incredibly exciting at the same time. I'll give a heads up if I have to disappear for a day or two to move.

On the food front, I'm doing better. I'm getting 6-8 servings of fruit and veggies a day and 100 oz. or more of water daily. I've also gotten a new pedometer and have been walking myself stupid. We even made a family day an active one - we took a tour of Ft. Sumter and walked on the beach afterward. Saturday I helped my brother and sister in law with their yard sale and got in some heavy lifting. I also got a reminder to get enough water on a hot day. I felt quite ill by the time the sale ended and it took many ounces of water, a cool shower, and a night's sleep to feel better.

It' s almost July, so I'll have new stats to share on the first. So far it looks like June was a good month for me. But July will be even better!

BTW, June 30 is Please Take My Children to Work Day, a plea for a day off for SAHMs. It's a great idea, and MommaSaid.net is the brainchild. So, give a SAHM, WAHM, SAHD, or WAHD the day off. A few hours off would be nice, too. It would be appreciated!

Monday wasn't bad; bleah Tuesday so far

Well, Monday did start with some sad news. RIP George Carlin.

After a little bummed time, I got to work on my assignment. I'm feeling better (woohoo detox), but for some reason am not in the mood to eat well. It's not like there's nothing in here. I mean I cooked on Sunday - collards, brown rice, vegan sausage (Julie Hasson's recipe), lots of salad fixins, okra and tomatoes, biscuits, and pancakes (plain for the kids, blueberry corn for me, and hubster will grab whichever he's in the mood for). I made sure the fridge and freezer are stocked with yummy goodness - fruit, veggies, vegan chicken strips, veggie chick'n nuggets, various lean protein options for the omni family. Yesterday I just wasn't feeling up to eating well, which is not normal for me anymore.

What has been normal for me is the need to jump from plan to plan when I'm not making the progress I want. I'll stop eating my 5 + daily veggie & fruit servings, forget to exercise or take down the intensity level, pack in the starchy stuff, and throw in sweets while wondering why the scale has stopped moving. Instead of refocusing, I change my eating plan. From low carb to counting points to nearly vegan - all for the sake of dropping pounds quickly. I've learned that I need to eat a healthier, balanced diet, keep fat within reasonable amounts, and to not see anything as forbidden. When I make a list of naughty foods, I want them more.

With that said, I thought I'd mention Team Beach Body. I heard about the virtual fitness club an decided to join. After a month a joined the club and followed the eating plan. I started with a 1600 calories 'low carb' plan, but it's not an Atkins-style plan. It's a balanced Zone or South Beach phase 3 plan and easy to follow. It's how I generally eat, but with less fat, regularly-sized portions, and, lower fat. I retook the test today and it suggested that plan again. I'm not sure how closely I'll follow the actual foods listed, but I will keep the fat, car, and protein content close. If anyone here is a member, feel free to invite me to a workout or two and add me to your list. You can get a better idea of what I've been doing so far by checking out my profile.

Huh. Tuesday is now looking up - we put in a bid on a house today and the seller is very excited about it.

Wednesday, my third favorite day of the week!

Hump day rocks! It's a sign that it's almost over. And this has been one of those weeks that I'm ready to end. It's been stressful, and stress makes me want to eat. I don't think I'll have to worry about that much today because my tummy is doing flip-flops. No, make that an entire Olympic-caliber routine.

I'm feeling every bit of the ick that follows a fatty & dairy-heavy day. I can handle a little cheese and maybe a dollop of cream, but a monster scoop of ice cream on top of full fat mayo on egg salad is too much. and let's not forget the friend stuff.

A detox may be in order. But not today. I'm going for healthy comfort food and bunch o' veggies.

B: PB&J on Ezekiel bread; coffee & water; supplements

L: McDougall Vegan Chinese chicken Noodle low sodium soup, bunch o' steamed broccoli & cauli (w/ginger dressing for dipping), Crystal Light tangerine strawberry [2 g fat! Yay!]

S: chickpea 'tuna' salad, crackers, & coffee

D: tasted cookie dough; Veggie sub from Subway. I so needed the veggies & kitchen break!

And the cookie dough tasting was it. I burned the cookies while playing with the kids. Totally forgot they were in the oven. D'oh!

Totally vegan! Yay!

Ex: 20 minute walk, yoga