Day 29- Being Vegan in a Carnivore family

First, I really shouldn't call myself vegan.  I realized this week that I eat honey and have no plans of eliminating that. *** I wear leather.  I have a boar's hair brush.  And I'm not even sure what vegans say about yeast... I like animals, but I also think they're yummy.  (I also think they should be treated humanely).  At almost a month into the challenge, I'm beginning to think about what I want to do after the challenge.  What things will I bring back and what's going to stay away?  I think most definitely butter will be back, and probably eggs.  I'm not sure about dairy though.  I love it and all, and I'm sure I'll really want pizza again, so maybe that can be a very occasional thing.  Then there's meat.  I haven't missed meat nearly as much as I thought I would, and I suppose that's not a really big surprise.  I've had a few bouts as a vegetarian before, but the longest was only for 3 months.  I don't know if I would really miss it long-term.  I'm thinking that maybe I could just eat meat only if it was from a local farm, grass-fed, all that good stuff.  We get the "good meat" occasionally, but it's really expensive so it's always been more of a treat rather than the standard, but maybe that's how meat should fit into my diet...as a treat.  So I'm reading this book called Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.  I already LOVE this author so I figured this might be a good book for me to read to help me decide what kind of eater I want to be.

Regardless of what I decide, I'm living in a house full of carnivores, and I don't think any of them are interested in changing that.  Figuring out what to cook for dinner that will satisfy me and them has been a big challenge, but usually a pretty fun one.  I like figuring out meals that complement each other, satisfy me and the carnivores, and maybe, just maybe gets them to try some of my stuff too.  The easiest meals are meals we can assemble at the table (like tacos, wraps, etc) so that I can have a meat ingredient for them, but plenty of other options for me (and them too).  Often I'll do a two-pasta night, one with meat and one without.  It's a lot of food, but with five people living here, leftovers go fast.  Sometimes I'm able to make a meal out of side dishes, but that's usually tougher or at least less satisfying.  A couple of days ago, I made two pots of chili...mine had tempeh (love love love tempeh!), black beans and kidney beans, onions, mushrooms, red peppers, and carrots.  I was fortunate to have Cori here as an extra set of hands while I was cooking them both (especially when it comes to prep work.  So much chopping!).  The chili was great, and the carnivores liked it, but they stuck to their meaty chili for the most part, and left me with mine (not that I mind...the leftovers have been better than when I first made it).  I'm happy with the direction my diet is going now though.  It took a few weeks to get into a groove and actually find a variety of meals that keep me happy, but it's working and I'm pretty excited to see what's in store next!

***Edited to add that I just found out that the Pop Rocks that I got at the candy store last night have milk in them. Damn you, Pop Rocks!!

Days 21 & 22: Weekend wrap-up

What a terrific weekend! Saturday, I finally finally had a good dining out experience at the fabulous Dandelion Communitea Cafe. This adorable restaurant is all vegetarian with a lot of vegan and gluten free options. I met a friend from high school there who frequents this place pretty often. (Thanks, Julie for going with me!)



The menu was really extensive! It was exciting to have so many choices in front of me, but finally, based on Julie's suggestion, I went with the Buffalo 66 wrap with a side of blue tortilla chips and hummus. The wraps had some great grilled tempeh in them, along with onions, celery, greens, and carrots, and a great tangy vegan sauce. I think it was supposed to be like Buffalo chicken, and I don't know that I would say that, but it was a delightfully bright and tangy wrap! I loved it!

Actually, I loved this whole area. In one little block there were all these great places that I'd be interested in frequenting, along with this yoga studio across the street that has a lot of offerings that tempt me. Maybe I'll ask for a 10 class punch card for my birthday....(you reading this Dax?).

Dax had taken the kids fishing while I was gone for lunch, so when I got home, I was pretty excited to have the house to myself. However, I was even more excited about the restaurant and some of the other businesses in that area that I just couldn't wait, leashed up the dog, and walked over to where they were fishing just so I could tell Dax about it sooner. In fact, I loved that place so much, Dax and I went back that night for dinner. I ordered the Giddyup wrap (similar to what I had for lunch, but with vegan tempeh chili in the wrap. This is what Julie ordered at lunch, and I just had to try it too.). It didn't disappoint. There are still several things on the menu I want to try, so I will definitely be back! In fact, I may just move in.

Sunday means Farmers Market Day, and we always try to go when we can. I purchased a ton of gorgeous strawberries, a different variety of oranges, some blackberries and blueberries, tomatoes, and green onions. It was a beautiful haul, but I didn't take any photos except for this black and white one taken with a fancy camera app on my phone.

Isn't it pretty though?  I generally hate photos of food in black and white, but I think there are some beautiful tones in this one (and believe me, I'm not taking credit...it's all in the app!).

Dinners on Sunday are Dax's job, but since we're not all eating together these days, I made my own. Inspired by all the great food I had this weekend (and cleaning out some leftovers in the fridge), I think I finally came up with something that is worthy of sharing. I started with a filling of brown rice, sauteed shredded purple cabbage, carrots, green onions, and tofu with a little ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil. I also squeezed in some lime and a little bit of Green Goddess dressing.

Then I just put that filling into those crazy cheap tortillas that we bought at the Tropical Supermarket and made these little guys...

I thought they were great! Seriously yummy! Cori liked them, Dax and the kids thought they were o.k. Fortunately this means there are lots of leftovers for me! I am definitely pleased with how they turned out and hope they reheat well. I would love to figure out how to freeze them without all the stuff falling out of the middle. Still, this was a successful meal, and one that I definitely found satisfying.

Day 18--The pizza that wasn't.

One of the bigger learning curves for me is figuring out where to go if I want to go out to eat and what to order.  After my disappointment with my french fry only dinner at Smokey Bones last week, I have made an effort to do a little more research before heading out to eat, which unfortunately, has been leading to even more disappointments (aside from Chipotle.  I always love Chipotle.).

I was seriously craving pizza last week and did a search for places to get vegan pizza, and I found a listing out near all the Disney stuff.   I don't mind going out that way, but it is about a 40 minute drive.  However, I was certainly willing to do that if it meant I got pizza!  So last week on Cori's day off, we headed to a place called Pizza Fusion.  The only problem was once we got to where it was supposed to be, we couldn't find it.  Anywhere.  Finally, giving up, we opted for Chinese, and I ordered veggie lo mein (not realizing lo mein noodles were also egg noodles.  It was good, but not vegan and certainly not pizza.

Last night, we went to a place much closer called The Mellow Mushroom that also boasted soy cheese as one of their pizza topping options.  I ordered the 10-inch artichoke, tomato, and mushroom pizza with soy cheese, while Cori and the kids chose the Mighty Meaty (oh my, did it look good!).  When my pizza arrived, I was soooo excited because it looked pretty darn incredible!  I even took a crappy cell phone picture because I couldn't wait to come back and blog that I got to have pizza!  It was lovely.  

However, that's where the happiness ended.  As it turns out, I hate soy cheese!  Oh my god, it was awful.  I tried scraping the cheese off, but it had just permeated everything.  I had one partial piece and then said goodbye to the rest and waited while everyone enjoyed their Mighty Meaty.  This place also ended up being way more expensive than I realized, so I ended up leaving $60 poorer (!!!) and starving.

Sometimes I think my weight loss is as much of a result of me not liking anything I eat as anything else.  When I got home from the restaurant, you would assume I'd find a dinner alternative since I was so hungry, but instead I ate a banana to dull the hunger and called it a day.  There could be worse things I suppose, but I am getting tired of non-satisfying meals.  In retrospect, my sorta ok bean burgers I made were probably the best thing I've had at home that wasn't just some variation of pasta.  This may sound like I'm unhappy with the vegan diet, but I'm really not right now.  It's just food (I think it took going vegan to really "get" that), and it's just 100 days, right?  And I know that I'll find more and more things I enjoy, and my experiments aren't all going to be disappointments.  It's all a matter of changing habits and getting used to things, which is the main reason I chose to do it for 100 days.  I figured that would give me plenty of time to rethink what to have to eat.

During my research, I have found a few other local restaurants that I really want to try, and I'm going to get the opportunity to go to one of them on Saturday with a friend from high school.  I hope hope hope to report back favorably because I am in dire need of a treat and some inspiration!

Life can knock you on your ass, can't it?

At least this kind of weekend can.  Dax had his last two wisdom teeth removed on Friday.  I had a car wreck on Saturday.  I'm trying to gather all the needed paperwork for the house closing (finally!  hopefully.)  And then Dax and I fought for the rest of the weekend and it looks like it will get worse before getting better.  Last night, after one of the worst days I've had in a really long time, I had a few beers with my sister.  No sticker on my calendar today.

The one bright moment in a string of really bad days is that in two weeks, I have lost 8 lbs.

Day 11--on an upswing. :)

I slept a full eight hours last night!  That's pretty amazing right there.  I haven't done that for awhile.  So for a change, I was actually feeling a little, dare I say, refreshed this morning.  I even went as far as to go outside and do some yoga on the deck by the pool before showering and getting dressed.  All before 9:30!!  I know that's not a big deal for most people, but I usually don't have any place I have to be, so I'm lucky to be clean and presentable by the time the kids get home from school.

Last night, I began the quest for a good vegan burger.  After my failure at Smoky Bones the night before, I was really craving something resembling a burger.  I looked at lots of recipes online, and couldn't find one that really sounded good, or had ingredients that I actually had.  So I decided to wing it and combine various recipes until I had something that resembled a burger, and I have to say it wasn't too bad.  In the food processor I combined a can of dark red kidney beans (out of black beans), a cup of cooked brown rice, about a 1/4 cup of cornmeal, some cumin, garlic and salt and pepper.  I made little balls of the stuff (sticky and messy), and then let it chill in the freezer for a little bit while I worked on the rest of the meal (everyone else got real burgers.  Is it awful that I really wanted to cook my burgers in the same pan so they would taste more meaty?)  When I was ready to cook them, I just smooshed them down into more of a patty shape and fried them up.  It wasn't bad, but it still tasted like beans.  Not that I don't like beans.  I do.   And I'm glad that I have leftovers now and can have another one later today if I want.  Oh, and just for the record, the damn buns had milk in them.  Let me tell you just how much I care about that!  ....yeah.  Anyway, this was the first of probably many veggie burger experiments.  I was pretty happy for my first ones out of the gate.

Finally, I weighed this morning, and then made Dax weigh.  Why him?  Well, other than a moment or two here and there, today is the first time since we got married that I weigh less than Dax.  Now, I know that's not truly accurate, but in general, I weighed a little more than him when we got married, and he gained weight around the same pace as me.  Now, on him, that just means he's not super skinny like he was when we met.  Now, he looks awesome and fit and trim.  I didn't fare as well, so this is a nice milestone for me.  I hope it's a trend that continues.

Day 10--A "slip", a grocery trip, and dinner out.

Happy Tuesday!  My cold is really almost gone, and I had my first good night's sleep in awhile last night (although the crick in my neck that was almost gone came back. boo.)  The past few days have gone pretty well as I muddled through the end of the sickies.  Sunday (and Monday too because of leftovers), I had my first slip up.  We were low on groceries, so I thought for dinner I'd make two pasta dishes...a chicken alfredo for Dax and the kids, and a veggie stir-fry for me.  I figured, they should have the big box of pasta and I'd just take the little bag of egg noodles.  It didn't occur to me until halfway through cooking that egg noodles weren't exactly on the approved vegan list, but this is one of those times I can say I really didn't care!  If I had thought of it sooner, I wouldn't have had them, but since they were cooked, and it was my dinner, then I wasn't going to just let it sit there.  And I certainly wasn't going to throw out the leftovers and not have them the next day!  So there we have it...sin confessed, moving on.

Yesterday, I made a trip to my favorite grocery store here, the Tropical Supermarket.  We live in a highly Latin-American neighborhood (is that what you say?  Cuban, Puerto Rican, etc.)  and this market caters to that clientele which means there's always a lot of neat finds!  It's a little hit and miss though, and yesterday was a bit of a miss.  It's also an IGA store, which I'm happy to support. I think they get new stock on Thursdays so they were pretty picked over yesterday.  I did take a few pictures with my phone though, just to share a bit of the experience.  One of the things I like best about the place is their produce.  Their produce isn't always good  (it's probably just more "normal" than typical grocery store produce), but you can find amazing deals!  The best I've found was giant sweet potatoes for 7cents a pound!  That's right...7.  A week later, I was a little disappointed that they'd gone up to 27cents (which is still quite a bargain), that is, until I went to Whole Foods and saw that their yams (non-organic, mind you), were $1.99/lb!  Yikes.  I also managed to snag bags of fajita tortillas (20 per bag!) for 59 cents a bag last week.  I bought ten.  There weren't any amazing deals this time.  I actually left a little disappointed because they didn't have a lot of things on my list (bok choy, beansprouts, lo mein noodles...not specialty items for sure, but certainly not the bread and butter of Tropical, but the atmosphere of the place never disappoints.  They play awesome Latin music, barely anyone speaks English, and they have a "Cash-for Gold" counter by the customer service desk (more on the weird Cash-for Gold places they have everywhere some other time.)  And as always, they have a lot of things that are totally unrecognizable to me, and make me want to go all Iron Chef and see what I can make.

Like this?  What's this?  What do you do with it?

Or these?  What are these?  It has the word "coco" in it which sounds like chocolate, but I bet it's not. 

Plus they have all of these different flours to make all kinds of neat things, but I don't even know where to start.  (I have to admit that I noticed that in this pic is mostly varieties of corn meal.  I do know what cornmeal is.  lol.) It's certainly fun though, and since I hate hate going to the grocery store, going here at least makes it a little more fun.

Cori does too.  :)

Finally, last night Dax and I were going to go see local variety show and wanted to have dinner first.  My first mistake was not doing any research into the restaurants nearby to make sure they had something for me to eat.  My second mistake was thinking that a place I did know had some options for me.  We should have chosen pretty much any of the asian restaurants in the area, but at the time, I was thinking a veggie burger would be good, and I was pretty sure Smoky Bones had one (yep, a vegan at a BBQ joint.  I planned that well, didn't I?).  I was mistaken about that and ended up having a lovely dinner out consisting of...a side of fries.  At least I'm a cheap date!  :)

One week down...

I've made it through my first week as a vegan.  It's had some high points and low, but mostly it's been something to muddle through.  The beginning of the week was colored mostly by lack of caffeine, but then I came down with a nasty cold, and the rest of the week was kind of focused on that.  The good news is that surely this means that once I'm recovered, I will be through all the body adjustments to the diet (right?) and I'll feel really good (right??).   Today was the first day that I've started feeling better.  I was able to get out for a bike ride with the family.  The weather here is back to beautiful this week, so I'm going to try to spend some more time in the sunshine.

Because of feeling crappy, I haven't cooked as much this week as normal.  I eat a lot of things just to "get by" and a lot of it tastes pretty damn bland (ie. could use some cheese).  I did try one new recipe this week though.  My cousin, Mollie, her husband and daughter, were in town this week and came over for dinner one night. I wanted to make chicken tikka masala since it's pretty tried and true now, but obviously I can't eat that, so I found a recipe for aloo matar http://allrecipes.com/recipe/aloo-matar/detail.aspx to go along with it. It was really good.  Well, I liked it at least. (I'm not sure it was much of a hit with anyone else in the house, but oh well... more for me!).  It was great, and potatoey with a great Indian flavor, very much yummy and satisfying comfort food!  I'll definitely make this again.  It was great to have on hand this week.  The only other real dish I made this week was fettucine with an almond pesto with a side of spaghetti squash.  Those two were my favorite meals of the week.  Aside from those, I ate rather simply, sunbutter, oatmeal, salads, beans, oranges, guacamole, hummus, and semi-sweet chocolate chunks with almonds for dessert.

This week, I'm hoping for a little more excitement and variety in my diet, and a clearer head and more energy.   I hope so.  I'm happy so far.

Days 3 & 4--Detoxing

What makes you sleepy all day and gives you insomnia at night?  Giving up caffeine and alcohol in the same week.  Between that and the headaches, I've lost all interest in food.  I expected to be excited about trying new recipes, and I know I will be later, but right now nothing sounds good to me, so why bother?  lol.  I have to be careful not to just grab a bowl of pasta when nothing sounds good, but my tummy is telling me I better eat!  This is doubly strange because I should be smack dab in the depths of PMS, which usually means cheeseburgers and tater tots, and although I could justify the tater tots (they're vegan, aren't they?), it's just too much trouble.  It's "cold" here too (I know that's a relative term when you're living in Orlando, but I have a turtleneck sweater on right now, so that counts as cold), so I don't want to do anything except huddle in bed.

Fortunately, I have a nice, warm front room with big, south-facing windows.  We don't have much furniture in there at all, so it's a great space to do some yoga in the sunshine (good inspiration for some sun salutations...Hello, Sun!  Thanks for warming me up!).  I was also able to rally enough to shower and dress, and even dance around in my towel to "Rock Around the Clock", from my arguably favorite Christmas present--the American Graffiti soundtrack given to me by my mother-in-law.  My dad had the 8-tracks as a kid, and I used to listen to them all the time, thus establishing my love of the Golden Oldies.  The disc had been on my Amazon wishlist, but I had forgotten about it.  I burst into stupid ugly tears when I opened it, because all these awesome memories of my dad came rushing back.  But I digress.  My point here was that I was alone in the house (Alone!!!  I haven't been alone in a long time.), and dancing around with abandon, so there must be some energy lurking in this body of mine.

So I was thinking, (not like I don't have enough resolutions going on here or anything), I think one long-term resolution for the year is to choreograph a hoop routine to a song.  I have a few songs in mind that I'm always mentally creating hoop dances too, but never anything real.  I'd like to see what I could come up with and if I could practice one dance enough to really master the flow of it.   Maybe it will be to "Rock Around the Clock."  Have a great day, everyone!  And if you can, find a reason to dance around with a little abandon.

Day 2-In which I am a cliche.

I'm sitting in bed right now with heating pad on my neck and an ice pack on my knee.  My neck has been screwed up for about a week, a leftover from sleeping in the camper while the in-laws were here (doubly not fair because I like sleeping in the camper!), and the knee...well, the knee...I'm so sick of my knee!  It's never really been good since the ACL tear.  It started getting a lot worse this fall, beginning to really kick in when I was cleaning out the Albany house, leading me to start bracing it again, and even resorting to crutches a couple of times.  Between that and weddings, my knee definitely had some recuperating to do here, and it has somewhat.  I still have "spells" where a trip through the mall about does me in.  I had another MRI done to see if there was something else wrong, and basically my cartilage is wearing away behind my kneecap and there's not a lot you can do about that.  For now I'm on arthritis medication for the inflammation.  So lets go top to bottom just to have it all on record.  This is what ails me...

1. Head-migraines, easily distracted, foggy, sleepy

2. Neck-hurts.  I'm thinking about finding a new chiropractor.  I saw a guy last year for about 6 months and felt much better.

3. Left shoulder-Joint pain.  It's not stiffness because I've been trying to work it out with yoga.  That does help a little, but mostly it feels sprained and I have poor range of motion.

4. Right elbow-Tennis elbow from shooting weddings.  Not much you can do about that one either other than rest it and let it heal.  Sound good until you realize that lifting a cup is the exact same motion that caused it and it's pretty impossible not to be picking things up constantly in your daily life!

5. Stomach-Intestinal issues, not specific, also newly lactose intolerant.  I'm a complete apple shape. 

6. Right hip-"hooper's hip" is a well-known malady in the hoopdance world.  I have it.  Basically, it's from overuse.  All of these things are signs of arthritis, and arthritis is basically the wearing down of cartilage from overuse.  Apparently, I'm getting good at that.

7. Left knee. - see above.

8. Both heels- I have plantar fascitis.  It can cause a lot of foot pain, but that is one thing that hasn't been hurting me for awhile.  Thank you Fit Flops! (squishiest most comfy shoe in all the land)

So that's it.  Those are the reasons I keep doing these challenges, because almost every single thing up there (quite likely everything) would improve immensely if I would lose weight.  For years, I would listen to my mom groan and moan, just getting up from the couch to walk down the hall to the bathroom.  It hurt her and she would bitch constantly about her knees hurting.  I can't count the number of times that I would think to myself that if she would just lose some damn weight, her knees wouldn't hurt her so bad.  So it looks like now it's time for karma to kick me in the ass and make me do something about it.  I won't go so far as to say I caused all of my problems up there.  I do think genetics plays a part in it (clearly, my family has week knees and are prone to arthritis), but the way I live my life certainly exacerbates the problems.  I'm hoping the change in diet will help with the inflammation, which has been slowing me down from doing a lot of activities.  Aside from headaches, until I hurt my knee two years ago, I've lived a basically pain-free existence.  I've never had a major injury and I've never broken a bone.  Now, pain has become a constant companion, and as tired as I was of hearing my mom bitch about her aches and pains, I'm even more tired of myself doing it. 

Day 1--a kickoff and a set of rules.

Here we go!  I stayed up late, enjoying the New Year festivities...we didn't really have any other than rewatching the Harry Potter series, but there were lots of outside parties and fireworks in the neighborhood so that was neat.  Holidays are certainly different here and I'm all for it!  (although I had a small pang of  nostalgia for the snow slide that inevitably got built in the front yard before New Years, leading to some bumps and scrapes when the drunken adults decide to try it out.  Still, I'll take shorts, sandals, and fireworks instead!

I spent some time indulging in food and drink last night, but mostly I spent it getting ready for the challenge...at least mentally...and settling on the rules.  Those of you who know me and know how I love a good challenge may think this is overkill and I really don't need to be this extreme, but extreme works for me and helps keep me motivated.  My diet has changed a lot for the better over the years, but it still doesn't show on the outside, and I don't feel it on the inside.  100 days of following these rules will show me something for sure!

Rules:

1. No meat or meat products.  No dairy, butter, or eggs (oh how I love eggs).  However, for the sake of family harmony, I am likely to turn a blind eye if Dax cooks with chicken stock.

2. No Caffeine.  No soda.  No coffee.  No black teas.  As a migraine sufferer, I reserve the right to use Excedrin as needed to get me through the worst of the caffeine withdrawals.  Maybe that won't be as "caffeine-free" straight out of the gate, but it's good enough, and hopefully won't even be needed.

3. No alcohol.  I do enjoy some red wine on occasion, but I'm sick of using caffeine to wake up and alcohol to wind down.  I want to be far more present in my life.

One final note, as much as I want this to be about perfection, I know it's different from other challenges I've done in the sense that the ultimate goal here is eating a mostly plant-based diet.  A slip-up, however undesirable, won't derail that.  I promise to confess any sins that may come my way, but I also promise not to fall off the wagon completely.