Month Long Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Challenge

We're back at it again! My doctor (who is actually a nurse practitioner) recommended for the third time that I try going gluten-free and sugar-free for at least a month and asked that I document how I feel. I picked the month of June because, leading up to this point, I haven't been feeling so great. I've been sluggish, been getting more headaches, stomach pain in the evening, and my acne has been out of control. So I started on Tuesday with a well-crafted meal plan and a lot of conviction.

Week one has gone pretty smoothly, though not without some ups and downs. On Tuesday, I had a mild headache which I attributed to sugar withdrawal. On Wednesday, the headache morphed into a tension headache - sugar detoxing coupled with high stress from work, a pending storm, and not enough calories in my system? It was the set up for a bad scene. I ended up leaving work early and, after eating a handful of almonds and drinking two big glasses of water, I actually felt a lot better. I'm sure stepping away from work and my computer screen was a big help too. Thursday through today I have been feeling great! I'm not craving sweets and gluten was really easy for me to cut out.

Here's a sampling of our meal plan last week - I started by using other people's recipes so that I can get the hang of it and then begin writing my own!

Tuesday
Breakfast: Wild Blueberry Shake from lunchboxbunch.com
Lunch: Green Goddess Bowl from lunchboxbunch.com
Dinner: Vegan Macro Meal from lunchboxbunch.com

Wednesday
Breakfast: Wild Blueberry Shake from lunchboxbunch.com
Lunch: Green Goddess Bowl from lunchboxbunch.com
Dinner: Bake Stuffed Sweet Potatoes from lunchboxbunch.com - modified, we just topped them with diced tomato, broccoli, and tahini

Thursday
Breakfast: Homemade Shake - 1 1/2 cups frozen mixed berries, 2 Tbsp peanut butter, 2 cups almond milk - Serves 2
Lunch: Green Goddess Bowl from lunchboxbunch.com
Dinner: Celebratory dinner at Green Elephant (it was J's last day of work at his old job!) - I had the spicy green leaves salad with gluten free dressing and brussels sprouts

Friday
Breakfast: Homemade Shake (see above)
Lunch: Lunched at Local Sprouts - I had the fiddlehead salad special with balsamic dressing
Dinner: Sesame Miso Zucchini Noodles & Tofu from Snixy Kitchen

Saturday
Breakfast: Almonds, peanuts, and blueberries (we bused down to Boston and need something easily portable!)
Lunch: Tofu Pad Thai at My Thai Vegan Cafe in Boston's China Town
Dinner: Sesame Miso Zucchini Noodles & Tofu from Snixy Kitchen

Sunday
Breakfast: Sweet Citrus Avocado Dreamboat from lunchboxbunch.com
Lunch: Green Power Tower Salad from lunchboxbunch.com
Dinner: Raw Macro Bowl with Knock-Off Dragon Sauce from Raw Food Recipes

Our snacks throughout the week consist of homemade oil-free hummus with veggies, frozen grapes, apples, and baby carrots.

So far, I've lost 6 pounds. I'm hoping to add at least 20 minutes of walking to my days to continue on this track and I'll keep monitoring the effects of GF/SF eating - maybe you'll want to test it out too? Check out other recipes we're considering on our Pinterest board!

Weight Loss Reassessment

So if you aren't new here, you've followed J and me through three detoxes and 25 pounds of weight loss. But man - it is hard! As soon as we finish one detox we fall of the meal-planning wagon and wade back into the world of take-out. We get lazy. But honestly, it's understandable. We live in a complicated world full of work stress, family stress, over-stimulation from technology, snow storms, money shortages, illness, and more. I cut myself a break because, you know what? I'm only human. And all I can do is try, try, try again!

I keep hitting this fun point in my weight loss journey where I hover at ten pounds over the weight I was when I graduated from college. And I keep telling myself, "It's only ten friggin pounds!" Why is it so hard? It's not even my goal weight - I'd like to lose another 25 - but for now, it's the impending doom that awaits me every time I step onto the scale.

I have some new motivators in place. Number one - I wasn't sick at all during our detox. Since we've slowly but surely fallen off our bandwagon of healthy eating, I ended up getting sick and missing an entire week of work last week. I've been feeling sluggish again and moody and have been having frequent stomach aches. Ding! Ding! Ding! My body's telling me it's not working! Number two - My best friend is getting married in May and I'm one of his grooms"men." He and his fiancé requested that the women wear black dresses and I'm determined to get something sort of fabulous from ModCloth. Their wedding is going to be something of a college reunion for me and I want to look awesome, dammit! Number three - On top of this, my own spectacular-vegan-wedding extravaganza (more to come on planning a vegan wedding!) is going to be in October of 2014. As I start to look at dresses, I start to panic. I am not one of those women who wants to starve herself in an effort to look like someone I'm not, but I would like to look healthy, happy, and at my best.

So what's next? I have realized that for J and I to lose the weight, we need a plan. Just saying, "I'm going to eat healthy!" does not cut it for us. We need a menu that we have intentionally crafted and a plan. It takes time and planning, but I just have to keep on reminding myself that I am worth the time and planning. My health and happiness are worth that time.

I know, I know, I know

I know it's been forever. Sorry buddies! Life's been incredibly hectic since J and I found out we unexpectedly have to move. We think we finally found a place - so fingers crossed!

Since January, I've shed about 15 pounds. At first I was incredibly proud of myself and excited...but now the thrill is gone and I'm remembering that my real goal was to lose about 45 pounds. So back at it we go!

For the next week or so, I'm jumping into a semi-raw diet and excluding bread, any pre-prepared vegan foods other than tofu, and eliminating cooking for the most part. Pintrest has been a huge help in providing inspiration for meals and I've even started "Raw" and "Get Healthy(er)" boards to collect ideas. This morning's breakfast was a Pinterest find and is from food blogger Oh She Glows - Easy Overnight Buckwheat Parfait. It's really delicious - earthy tones of buckwheat, the tapioca like chia seeds sweetened with banana, the fresh strawberries J and I picked at Alewives Brook Farm yesterday, and some blueberries. And no cooking involved! Yay! She gives other incarnations of the parfait to try out just to mix it up and I'm sure I'll test those out too.

I also love how portable this breakfast is. One of my more recent goals is to try to make time for myself to eat breakfast at home in the morning. Not standing over the sink, not taking bites between brushing my hair - but actually sitting down, taking in the tastes, appreciating the work that went into making the food I'm consuming. But honestly, some mornings just don't work out as planned. And this morning, I just grabbed my little juice glass sized Ball jar and headed out the door.

I also prepared a large pitcher of water with lemons and limes at home and filled my water bottle up this morning to take to work. After I get to the store this week, I'll add cucumber and mint to the water to make "Sassy Water" - which a friend pinned on Pinterest and told me she was drinking for a while while detoxing and it really helped improve her skin health. I'll let you all know how it goes!

Monday Salad

This past weekend, J and I traveled 90 minutes up the coast for a weekend getaway in Camden, Maine. I will certainly post about the trip soon (need to steal photos from J first!) but I will say that it IS possible to take a vegan vacation! Especially when you stay at a Bed & Breakfast with owners who are VERY sensitive to dietary needs and who provide a morning menu that includes many vegan options!

As we pull ourselves out of vacation mode, it's time to get back to work on shedding those pounds and keeping our diets super healthy. J was plateauing with weight loss last week and asked if we could try replacing meals with big simple salads. I'm certainly game for this approach. We're going to continue limiting carbs/gluten and reduce, if not almost eliminate, the use of oils in our cooking.

I had off work today too so that I can get laundry/house cleaning done since we were away. So for lunch, I made myself a simple, delicious fresh salad with:

2 kale leaves - de-stemmed
1 handful of spinach leaves
1/8 of a red bell pepper sliced thinly
1 shiitake mushroom, sliced thinly
5-6 thin slices of English cucumber
1/3 cup broccoli with a dash of water microwaved for 30 seconds
1 Tbsp of sunflower seeds
1 1/2 Tbsp dried cranberries
Freshly ground pepper
1 tsp Italian herbed red wine vinegar
Handful of alfalfa/clove sprouts

27 is here

Today I turn 27 and the day is always bittersweet. I'm happy to be another year older and don't fear the approaching 3 - 0 as many do. What's makes it bittersweet is that someone isn't here to celebrate with me. In 2007, my mom died from an extremely aggressive version of cervical cancer. She was my idol, my hero, my best friend. And so on this day, I'm spending the day at home by myself with the kitties, baking for an event on Sunday, remembering her life, and feeling thankful she brought me into this world.

I'm glad today is quiet. I'm going to test out two new types of cupcakes: Cookies n' Creme and Peaches n' Cream. It's another test of my willpower over sweets! I've lost another pound this week and am down by 17 since starting, so I'll just keep reminding myself that fitting into those jeans and that skirt and that blazer are WAY more worth it than scarfing down a cupcake.

Yesterday, I took off work and treated myself to a haircut in the morning and then walked around the city with J. We went into LeRoux Kitchen, an amazing kitchen supply store in the Old Port. While there, we did buy a little Taza Chocolate that was salted almond and I stowed it away in my purse. Taza Chocolate is incredible and if you haven't tried it, you need to. It comes as a small circle and although it looks and feels like a dense chunk of chocolate, it tastes incredibly airy and light. Then we walked around a bit more and started feeling hungry by 1:30, so we went over to the Portland Public Market and visited our friends at Granny's Burrito, Kamasouptra, and Market House Coffee. Whenever I visit the Public Market, I try to spread my wealth around by purchasing something small from several vendors. So for lunch we shared a burrito filled with peanut tofu, rice, lettuce, and hot sauce from Granny's, a small cup of vegan chili from Kamasouptra, and a pineapple coconut water from Market House Coffee. It was certainly a larger lunch than we're accustomed to and I was glad we'd skipped both our morning and afternoon snacks. We also spent the good part of the day walking at a good pace - I'm guessing we walked 5-6 miles by the time we were done.

It's all about balance! My coworker says it's simple, "Calories in must be equal to or less than calories out." I think it's important to celebrate things once in a while and to not deprive ourselves of things forever because that is exactly what causes me to fall off the weight loss wagon.

So for dinner last night we had a very very light dinner of 1/2 cup of brown rice over arugula with 1/2 cup of shiitakes and a wedge of lime squirted on top. We followed dinner by a few bites of the Taza chocolate and then ran some errands for my day of baking today. After returning home, we were both hungry. Stomach grumbling hungry. So I suggested we make some Ginger-Lime Hummus and have a little with some carrot and bell pepper sticks. It totally did the trick and I'm pretty sure Ginger-Lime Hummus is our new favorite flavor!

Tonight, J's taking me out for a birthday dinner at the Green Elephant - my favorite restaurant. We've already talked about the idea of getting an appetizer to split and then sharing one entree so that portion sizes are smaller. Green Elephant makes vegetarian and vegan food and it's wonderfully fresh and elegant. I'm excited :) J's birthday present to me is a two night stay in Camden, Maine next weekend and I'm super excited about that!

Since 2006, I've thought my birthday was "cursed." In 2006 and 2007, my mom was re-diagnosed with cancer once on my birthday, once the day before. In 2008, we were told my grandmother (my mom's mother) going to die from cancer just days before my birthday. So I've had trouble celebrating these last few years, no wonder. But I'm going to move past the past and look to the future. A future filled with healthy happiness and a celebration of the strong and beautiful women who helped shape me into the woman I am today.

Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes for Valentine's Day

This month's Salt and Pine Bakery cupcake flavor was Raspberry Truffle. I must tell you, as the weekend neared, I was nervous. I had just completed 4 weeks of detox and had lost 15 pounds (I've lost a total of 16 now!). It had been a month since I'd had any refined sugar, let alone baked. So it was a test of my will-power; time to muster up some fortitude.

I started with my fail-safe chocolate cupcake recipe. This batter turns out a light, moist, very chocolatey cupcake that melts in your mouth. I did not take one taste of batter because I've made this recipe so many times that I trust myself and know I make it perfectly each time. I finished all 53 of them was still feeling fine. After they cooled, I started coring them, and that's when things became a little more difficult. As I removed the core from each cupcake, that rich chocolatey smell drifted up at me and my taste buds tingled. Dang - it's incredible how much food can affect us! I did well though. And through filling them with chocolate ganache, icing them with raspberry icing, I'm proud to say that I only took one taste of icing to ensure that the raspberry taste was there and tasted one cupcake core just to be sure they came out correctly/baked long enough. 

Justin Lumiere Photography

Justin Lumiere Photography

I had one extra at the end and J and I split it because, as a baker and a business-woman, I feel that I cannot turn out any of my product without ensuring that it is perfect. So we did a little quality control test. And boy, was it good! 

Here's the funny thing, all throughout the detox, I didn't crave sweets at all. I saw things around me at work - cookies, cake, candy - and didn't even care. But since tasting that 1/2 of a cupcake, my taste buds have re-awakened and they want more. I made mini cupcake bites using the cores and left over frosting and had 2 cupcakes left over and brought them in to work. They were gone by the day's end which was fabulous because I was NOT taking those home! I was tempted all day to take a little bite, but here's what stopped me: that morning, I tried on a pair of jeans that hadn't fit in two years, and they fit! I reminded myself that there will always be cupcakes in my life - seriously I'm a baker! - but I will never get another body and I need to take care of it NOW! 

I made 12 deliveries and have received some incredible feedback. J took an extra to work for his boss and she's placed and order and one of my club members has ordered an additional 4 of the same flavor. Business is "booming!" 

So I am motivated. J and I are excited to celebrate our accomplishments and I am excited to learn to be a baker who is not addicted to food. 

Detox Concludes

Today marks the end of our 4 week long detox. In summary, it was a great experience and it has kick-started our drive, motivation, and will-power to lose weight. I'm 15 pounds lighter and J is 20 pounds lighter. It's fantastic! We both still have a long way to go - I'd like to be about 40 pounds lighter from where I started and J wants to drop 50ish.

So what comes next?

Well, we've decided to just continue - why stop a good thing?! We put together a Week 5 menu pulling from our favorite recipes from the detox and starting to incorporate our own recipes. I'll post tonight's dinner tomorrow with some photos by J. He made a rockstar seaweed salad with marinated tofu. We talked and we both want to start writing more recipes and posting them on here - so stay tuned...some changes are coming on here!!

Favorite Detox Breakfast to date!

Yum! So have you ever tried black quinoa? I did not even know such a thing existed until we reached week 4 of the detox diet. Black quinoa is not sold in the bulk aisle at our Whole Foods and since we rarely <never> buy grains that aren't in bulk, we never even noticed it sitting there on the shelf. So what's the difference? Well, it's similar in nutrition to red quinoa, but it's much more fragrant and it doesn't have that crunchiness to it. Which is why it made for a wonderful breakfast!

On Sunday night we cooked up a big batch of the black quinoa and for breakfast we have about 2/3 of a cup with 1/4 almond milk, 1/2 Tbsp of honey (yes, we're vegan and we're okay with honey...it's a debatable topic and we only buy local), 1 Tbsp of slivered almonds, and a couple thin slivers of avocado. It is an awesome way to start the day!

Although black quinoa is more expensive (it was $7.99 for a small bag...but remember - quinoa expands to 4x its size when cooked. A little goes a long way!), I think we'll continue buying it once in a while because we are liking the taste and texture much more than red. Have you tried all of the different types yet? Let me know what you think!

Detox - One week to go!

Hello there, friends! I'm sorry; I've been a terrible blogger lately. My "real" job has been super stressful lately and I'm just exhausted when I get home. The detox is going really well but that also takes up a good chunk of my time. It's a lot of planning and cooking ahead of time - something I'm just not used to! 

So far, I've lost about 12 pounds and J has lost 16. We're feeling more energetic, happier, and healthier and it's fantastic. This week, we added back in grains including brown rice, amaranth, and quinoa. Next week, our last week, we add back in wheat products. 

So my fear is coming back....what happens when week 4 is over? I don't want to go back to my old ways of perpetual snacking, processed vegan foods, and carb overloads. We ate healthy before, but we ate very rich foods and our portion sizes were out of control. J and I have vowed not to go back to that way of life and will try to continue making our weekly menus, preparing our own snacks rather than buying meal bars and rice cakes and munches, desserts are going to be be a once in a blue moon thing and no more eating after 8pm. We both want to lose 40+ pounds this year and are determined to do it!

End of Detox Week 1!

Week one has been a breeze....well, for the most part. I'm going going to say there weren't times when I sat at my desk at work and longed for a bag of trail mix to munch on or one of my hemp seed bars, but I pushed through. And you know what? I'm feeling awesome. I've lost about 5 pounds so far (maybe more, I stupidly didn't weigh myself before the first day), I find it easier to get up in the morning, and my mood has improved a lot. J has lost about 10 pounds so far and has had a harder time adjusting then me, but now feels pretty good about all of this.

Week two is when we get to add back in tofu and beans/legumes. It's funny, I'm almost tempted to do one more week of the week one plan, but I think I'll just stick to it the way it's written and see what happens. My biggest goal is to become more active. I've never been one to be excited about exercise...it's just not in me. I'm bummed that I'm not more excited about it, but it's hard to change that about yourself. I've been pulling out the WiiFit again, walking more, and still going to weekly Pilates sessions. I hope to keep up with the weight loss.

The biggest help is doing this with someone. I hear negative comments around me all day long. "That doesn't look like enough food." "I'd still be hungry if that's all I ate for lunch." "Who cares? One cup of coffee won't hurt you." And I've been superbly deflecting them all. I need to feel positive about me and not care what others think and perhaps my positivity and great results will inspire them to make changes in their lives too! Who knows!

Detox: Day One - here we gooooooo!

Ok, so I'm only 2 hours in to detox month, but I'm still feeling good and I'm trying to keep my mood positive. I CAN DO THIS!

It won't be easy considering I just had to bake 2 dozen cupcakes for the Cupcake Club of the Month deliveries tomorrow for Salt and Pine Bakery. I delivered the first batch yesterday and have received rave reviews so far:

"SO DELICIOUS!!!! Thank you so much!! They are amazing!"

"Honestly Christi, this is the best cupcake I've ever had. Feel free to bring me only this for the rest of my life."

 Chocolate, Sea Salt, and Caramel Vegan Cupcake 

Photo by Justin Lumiere

Luckily, the next set of deliveries is scheduled in the last week of my detox and I'm hoping, by then, that I won't be craving cupcakes! It's challenging to work with food when it's something you struggle with, but I'm determined to lose weight and change my way of thought so that I can pursue my passion. 

So for breakfast this morning, I'm drinking (right now, yes) a smoothie made with 2 navel oranges, 1 cup frozen raspberries, and 1 cup frozen blueberries. It is delicious. So simple and pure. I've already made up a batch of the Cranberry-Pumpkin Trail Mix and I'm going to make the Fruit and Nut Bites later today. I'm excited! Let's hope I can keep it up. The website that gives the details for the cleanse suggests keeping a food journal. I will likely use this blog. I intend to be brutally honest about my feelings, trials and tribulations and hope you all will encourage me as I go; I hope to encourage you, too! 

Rejuvinate!

I don't know if it's the warm weather - but I've been feeling so creative lately, and it feels spectacular. I've been coming up with new flavor ideas for my vegan baking, envisioning a new website (if only I had the skills to make what's in my head!), gathering ideas for starting a monthly book group, and resurrecting my knitting habit. Once I have a little extra cash I'm going to get my violin bows repaired and get back to making music again too! Phew - I just hope I can keep this up!

Justin and I have been talking lately about how much we're starting to dislike the television. I find myself exhausted after walking home, doing dishes, picking up the house a bit, and making dinner - sometimes it's just way too easy to slide onto the couch and sit like a lump until it's time for bed. The other night we played a friendly game of Scrabble and it was so refreshing to actually interact with each other. I'm still finding myself "night eating" and I'm hoping that less time in front of the t.v. will help to quench this.

I want to start paying more attention to the foods I eat. Maybe you just did a double-take and thought, "Um, this is a food blog and from what I read, she's eating pretty healthy!" This is true. However, I'm not going to lie, I have the occasional "cheat." I'll eat a cheese sample at Whole Foods or have some ice-cream with friends or a baked good at the local coffee shop. These little "oh it's just a little thing; it doesn't matter" moments need to end. That's not to say that I should deprive myself of everything, but I want to continue to lose weight and feel healthy and I think that's a good place to start.

Three times in the last 2 days someone has told me I look thinner and I've felt thrilled. I attribute the majority of my weight loss to becoming vegan because it's not only been healthier, but it's given me more energy to go go go! I am this close to fitting in my "skinny" jeans and need that extra little push to get me there. I can do it - and so can you!

Granola bars, Quinoa Salad, and Edamame Pesto!

It's only Tuesday and already we've tried out four different AWESOME recipes. Here we go:

1. On Sunday I made up Vegan Stoner's Granola Bars. First off, these babies are SO easy to whip up (as are all of VS' recipes). They're sweet and crunchy and nutty - mmmm! We used trail mix from Whole Foods bulk aisle so that we only had to pay for a cup of it and we could pick from a bunch of different types. We went with a locally made trail mix that boasted a high level of antioxidants and didn't include candy pieces like many of the other options. I will make these again, but my one critique is that they are very crumbly. Next time I think I'll add a little more peanut butter or agave to help them stick together more and I'll bake them a bit longer. I still recommend trying them out though! So far this week, they've helped quench my afternoon cravings and I have not made any mid-afternoon CBD trips! Victory!

2. Monday night my fiance made veggie chili burgers using left over chili and some frozen veggie burgers and I made up Vegan Stoner's Mango Quinoa Salad. This salad is AWESOME! The next time we go on a picnic, I am totally bringing this salad. It's crisp and refreshing with sweet mangoes paired with tart strawberries and crunchy celery and red onion. Make it!

3. On Tuesday I decided to try out Post Punk Kitchen's Spinach Linguine with Edamame Pesto. We didn't have any spinach linguine (sadly), so I made it with regular. The only complaint I had with it, and it had NOTHING to do with the recipe itself, was the fact that we had to make the pesto in a blender instead of a food processor. The next kitchen upgrade on my list is a food processor - no more lumpy pestos! The recipe was awesome though and it's included in her list of low-fat recipes, so yay to sticking to the diet!

4. For dessert on Tuesday, I decided to try my hand at Vegan Stoner's Strawberry Soup. This was my first time using vegan sour cream (I used Tofutti's) and I actually enjoyed the taste of it and foresee using it in some of my baking endeavors and Mexican dishes. The soup was...different. My fiance liked it better than I, and finished his whole bowl. But we both agreed that there was a strange aftertaste - possibly attributed to the strawberry seeds. We saved my portion and incorporated it into our breakfast shake and I thought it tasted wonderful. I'm not sure that we'll be trying that one out again any time soon though.

Today I picked up fiddleheads at the Portland Maine Farmers Market an I'm wicked excited to figure out how to prepare them. I can't wait for the Farmers Market to expand as more and more produce becomes available. It's a bit sparse right now, but I was able to find the fiddleheads and pick up a bunch of scallions. I also found, maybe, the largest carrot I have every seen in person!

Yoga Soup

I simply adore VegWeb and their awesome Facebook page which is updated with recipe highlights several times a week. Often times, when I'm stuck for a recipe, I jump right to the VegWeb Facebook page and check out their latest highlights. The one that most recently caught my attention was a recipe posting for Yoga Soup by VegWeb member "mishkalee." Just look at the recipe's comments section and it's quickly apparent that it's a favorite among many.

I made the soup on Friday night because my fiance teaches a night adult photography course and doesn't get home until 9:30 and I was tired and not feeling great and just wanted something quick and fairly easy. I made a few adjustments to the recipe, adding chopped crimini mushrooms, green onion, collard greens, broccoli, and sesame seeds, and excluding lime juice. I also used our homemade veggie stock rather than a veg bullion. The soup was ridiculously easy to make - I mean, just throw all the stuff in a pot and cook - and it tasted delicious, more like something I'd spent at least an hour on.

Although I don't actually know the nutritional facts for this soup, I think it must be low in fat and in calories. The only thing that bumps up the calories/fat is the veggie potstickers. The potstickers certainly aren't required, but they did add some nice flavor and texture to the soup. I threw 6 into the pot and each of us had 2 in our bowls, but really it didn't add that much. I think this soup will become our go-to recipe for those nights when we're just too tired to think about cooking or we're in a rush. And the great thing is, you can keep playing with it every time you make it by making subtle changes to create new flavors.

It's a slow and steady climb

Since January 1st two of my goals were to: incorporate a fully veganized diet into my life and lose weight. Becoming fully vegan has been a snap. I'm enjoying the foods I eat and my body is thanking me so much for cutting dairy out of my life. The weight thing on the other hand...

Within the first few weeks of going vegan I shed about 5 pounds. But since the weight has been coming off extremely slow, in incremental baby steps. I'm very much a "make it happen" type of person and always seeking immediate results, so this is certainly a test of my patience.

I can't beat myself up though, and I must attribute all of the lost weight so far to my diet - not activity. Unfortunately I have a really bad back; we're talking wicked bad. I have 3 herniated disks and all three of them are rapidly degenerating. I've been in physical therapy since February and have seen numerous doctors. Although they aren't telling me to just lay down all the time, which was a common treatment 5-10 years ago, I can't just jump on a treadmill or go for a jog. So needless to say, exercising has been extremely limited. I do my PT exercises which are extremely mild but focus on strengthening specific muscle groups so I can better support my back, and occasionally I do some mild exercises on the WiiFit.

I'll be 100% honest with myself though; I could be doing more to shed the pounds. Sometimes, if I get starving at work and don't have a snack with me, I reach for that scone at Starbucks. I also bake weekly, which is needed since I'm running a baking service, but I need to find people to hand off the excess baked goods to so that they aren't laying around our house. Yes, the baked goods are vegan, but that doesn't mean they aren't high in calories or fat.

I jumped on the WiiFit this morning and found that I'm down another 4.6 pounds, bringing me to 15 pounds lost. I'm hoping that if I start getting in the habit of bringing healthy snacks to work, find more taste testers to give my baking loot too, and regain some of my mobility through PT and an injection I'm getting tomorrow, that maybe these pounds will shed a little easier. At the same time though, slow and steady is probably the best way to lose the weight and keep it off! I know that losing the weight will really help with my back, so I will just keep at it!

Shepard's Pie and Corn Bread

So when I told my boyfriend I was making vegan Shepard's Pie for dinner last night he laughed and shuddered. We both remember the dreaded Shepard's Pie dish as the stereotypical lower middle class cheap meal; our moms would layer cheap ground beef, peas, and other assorted frozen veggies and top it all off with a heaping helping of mashed potatoes. It was bland, but warm on a cold winter's night. I never complained (can't speak for my boyfriend, though).

I was paging through Vegan on the Cheap and found this recipe for Smoky Southwestern Sweet Potato Shepard's Pie and was intrigued. The ingredients included carrots, onion, black beans, sweet potatoes, and corn. Things we like, yes? So I went for it! Here's the recipe for you - enjoy!

Smoky Southwestern Sweet Potato Shepard's Pie, adapted from Vegan on the Cheap
2 chilies in adobo
2 Tbsp water
3 sweet potatoes or yams, skinned, and cubed
2 Tbsp Earth Balance or other margarine
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 cans black beans
1 1/2 cups mild/spicy salsa
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh corn (defrosted if frozen)
1 tsp cumin
Salt & Pepper

Set oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 inch pan. Set aside. Steam the sweet potatoes for about 12-15 minutes until they are soft enough to mash. In a blender, blend the water and chilies until smooth; set aside.

In a large skillet, cook onion and carrots in olive oil, covered, until softened, about 10 minutes. In the mean time, mash the sweet potatoes and add Earth Balance, salt & pepper, and half of the chilies mix. Mix well.

Put the onion/carrot mixture into the prepared pan with the beans, salsa, corn, cumin, the rest of the chile mixture, salt and pepper. Mix well and then spread the mashed sweet potatoes on top in an even layer. Bake for 40 minutes.

Someday I'll get a better camera :P

We served this with a small spinach salad and vegan corn bread from my new book, The Joy of Vegan Baking (thank you Amanda & Erin!). The Shepard's Pie takes a long time to prepare so I wouldn't make it on a hectic night but it was well worth the wait and was certainly a fresh twist on an old, tired out dish.

We've only been vegan since January 1st, so almost two months now, and I have already lost about 9 pounds without really making a strong effort. I've started feeling healthier and have thoroughly enjoyed researching and learning about what I'm putting into my body and what it will do there. I'm actually glad that cheese is beginning to repulse me, since I was craving it everyday in the very beginning. The more research I do on milk/dairy products and the industry, the more disgusted I get....more on that later!

Mochi?

I'm going to admit something that is no real secret: I have a major sweet tooth. It's no surprise that I have a little baking service on the side, From Scratch & Sniff. Well tonight, after we had Coconut Curry Rice for dinner (um...yum!) I was craving something sweet. I've done so well on this pseudo diet so far and didn't want to wreck it by eating something totally indulgent, so I pulled a package of mochi out of our fridge.

Mochi was a Whole Foods discovery/impulse buy. It's completely vegan and made by Grainaissance; made from sweet brown rice, filtered water, raisins, cinnamon, and sea salt. The package's description says: "About Mochi (Say: Mo'Chee) Mochi is a traditional Japanese food made from a special short-grain rice. We steam then pound the rice to accentuate its chewy texture and nutty flavor. Bake Mochi - amazing! - it puffs up, creating a chewy muffin with a crispy crust. Mochi is a satisfying whole-grain treat known for promoting stamina. 100% non-dairy and wheat-free" 

Perfect, right? The package even tells you how to make Raisin-Cinnamon Mochi Danishes. So I follow the instructions, doubting in my head that these hard, stick squares will magically puff up in the oven. After 10 minutes, I check on them and they haven't moved. They look like tiles on the baking sheet. So I set the timer for another 5 minutes and check again; now they've puffed up a little but they haven't browned on top. I leave them for another 3 minutes - still not done. A final 2 minutes. So much for the 8-10 minutes in the directions! 

I pull them out and....well in the words of my boyfriend, "Um. They kind of look like dog poop." Not the most appetizing looking things, but hey, we're open minded here! They may have ended up baking a little too long, but I'm not sure. They weren't burnt but they had, perhaps, "over-puffed" (see photographic evidence). So I slit two of them with a sharp knife and stuff some Tofutti, raw local honey, and slivered almonds inside. We each take a bite and stare skeptically at each other. As we chew, we have that "I'm trying to decide what this tastes like/I'm trying to make myself think I like this" look on our faces. The texture was chewy alright. It was sort of like that of fruit leather - not at all what you'd expect from something described as "pastry."

 Fresh out of the oven...?

Raisin-Cinnamon Mochi Danish

Sadly, the mochi found it's way to the trash and we won't be purchasing another package any time soon. I've had a lot of Japanese food, have even been to Japan, but this was certainly a miss for us. Has anyone else out there tried mochi...and did you like it??? 

Satisfaction!

I just spent the morning playing with our Wii Fit -- yes, it does make exercising fun for those of us who hate, hate, hate it. I'll admit I haven't been using it every day as I had planned, but I am using it at least 2-3 times a week, which justifies the purchase :) I am happy to report that when I stepped on the board today, I discovered that I've lost 8.5 pounds since starting to use it on the 3rd, the day we switched to vegan eating. I haven't been doing a lot of exercise because I have a herniated disk that has decided to be unruly again, but I have shoveled a few times and again I've been using the Wii Fit on and off....I think though, I need to credit the loss with being vegan! My goal is to lose 20 pounds within 6 months- which I've done before in much less time- but the goal is to not think of it like a diet, but as a way of life.

It feels so gratifying to know what's going into my food; to know that the ingredients I'm cooking with are fresh and the majority of them unprocessed. I'm feeling healthier, more alert, more active- and it feels good! I'm still at the point where I'm craving cheese and desserts, but I think if I just continue to avoid cheese for a few months it will become a thing of the past and as for desserts, I'm learning not to deprive myself, but to concoct healthier alternatives like fruit salad or a mug of hot chocolate.

Last night I was starting having only eaten a muffin I grabbed on the go (which was not vegan, but I was in a rush and unfortunately most places don't have vegan options) and an apple all day. My boyfriend suggested we us our second "out to dinner" pass (we get 2 a month- a decision made to save money and to make eating out a special thing rather than a habit). He passed out on the couch and I wandered into the kitchen to search through the cabinets for inspirations.

We had a butternut squash left over from the Portland Winter Farmer's Market and a recipe in Vegan on the Cheap for Linguine with Lentils and Roasted Butternut Squash. I bit my lip and wondered if I should risk making it. My boyfriend is NOT a fan of lentils, though I prepared a lentil soup for him last winter that he loved and said was the first time he'd had them and liked them. Looking around our empty fridge and cupboard, it looked like this was my only option.

I'm glad I took the risk! He loved it and so did I. It's a great recipe though it does take quite a while to prepare which isn't optimal when you're as hungry as I was! Nevertheless, here's the recipe with a few modifications (the writer of this book LOVES garlic, and I'm Italian too but I don't need to ward of vampires for a month!). Enjoy!

Linguine with Lentils and Roasted Butternut Squash adapted from Vegan on the Cheap


1/2 cup green lentils
1 med. butternut squash, peeled, halved, and seeded (this takes forever and I'd suggest just buying on that's already dismantled at the food store)
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
1/2 cup minced yellow onion
1 garlic clove, minced (she uses 4...I used 1, try what you'd like!)
2 tsp crumbled dried sage (I'm going to try using fresh next time as I think the flavor will be...well fresher!)
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup veggie stock (make it yourself!)
12 oz linguine

Bring a pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add lentils, return to boil and then reduce to low. Cover & cook until tender, about 45 mins. Drain & set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 & lightly oil a 9x13in baking pan. Cut the squash into 1/2-in dice and spread in the pan in a single layer. Drizzle with some more oil and season with salt & pepper. Roast until tender, turning once halfway through, about 30 mins. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat some oil. Add onion, cover and cook about 5 mins. Add garlic and cook about 30 secs. Stir in the sage, tomatoes, and cooked lentils. Stir in the stock and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer to blend the flavors, about 5 minutes. Stir in the squash and keep warm over low heat, adding more stock if needed for a saucelike texture.

In a large pot, boil salted water and cook the linguine over med-high, stirring, until al dente about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Add the lentil-squash mixture and toss gently to combine. Serve hot.

The Art of Packing your Lunch

Today's Lunch: A spinach salad with yellow pepper, tomato and cucumber with freshly ground pepper and lemon juice; green beans, snap peas and radishes with black bean dip; and celery with freshly ground honey roasted peanut butter. Not shown: 2 clementines for later :)

I have a theory: if lunch doesn't look exciting, I will find myself in line at Starbucks by 3pm asking for an overly sweet scone and a large coffee. This may not hold true for everyone, but I think it does for a majority of us whether it's Starbucks, the office cookie jar, or the local convenience store. The fact is, it's hard to find a satisfying and healthy snack on the fly these days, so it's super important to pack a lunch that will get you through quitting time.

I like to make my lunches look pretty. I'm a HUGE fan of bento boxes and actually own one of the Laptop Lunch boxes (not shown here because I was too tired to wash it last night <shame>). They allow me to pack a nice variety of foods, while keeping in mind portion control. I try to make my lunches colorful: Rule of Thumb: the more colors your meals include, the more nutrients you're getting, the more likely you are to get your fill of the daily required amounts. I also try to include veggies, fruits, nuts and legumes in all of my lunches. I know that carbs like bread and pasta make me laggy so I steer clear when it comes to lunch. Normally I pack leftovers, but last night was one of the first that we didn't cook up a really nice dinner; we just used various leftovers in the fridge to concoct 2 portions for dinner.

If you're trying to lose weight, or just trying to avoid spending money on "quick" afternoon snacks, I suggest getting creative with your lunch so that you don't feel tempted.  Check out the Vegan Lunchbox blog for ideas to get you started!

Chocoholics Unite!

I'm trying so hard to stay on track....seriously. I'm not calling this a diet, because whenever I do that, I stay with it for a few weeks/months, lose some weight, then fall off the wagon. Lamesauce. In going vegan, I'm convincing myself that this is a lifestyle, not a diet (despite the fact that I have weight loss goals, shhhh, don't let my brain connect them!).

Thus far, I have spent 1 week of purely eating vegan and have been loving it. I've been sick though, which is really frustrating and is causing me to crave things I don't really need to eat...like cheese or sweets. It's probably not the sickness that's causing the cravings, but the fact that I've been couch-bound for a week and am utterly bored. Boredom = Cravings = No good.

I was going crazy for chocolate on Friday night, so I consulted the Vegan on the Cheap cookbook for an idea to satiate my needs for chocolate in a mildly healthy way. There, towards the back of the book was this recipe for no-bake vegan chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookies, and let me tell you man, these things are awesome. I am not allowing myself to make them again any time soon though, because between me, my boyfriend and a friend, we finished off the whole batch in a night! Yikes!

Anyway, here they are, but be careful- the are super easy to make and wicked addictive! Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies (From Vegan on the Cheap)
1/3 cup of vegan margarine (we LOVE Earth Balance)
1 cup of sugar
1/3 cup soy/almond milk, plain or vanilla flavored
pinch of salt
3/4 cup of peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups fast cooking oats
3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Heat the vegan margarine in a med. sized saucepan over med. heat. After it melts, add sugar & milk. Cook until it almost boils then remove from heat. Add in the PB, salt & vanilla, mix to incorporate. Then add oats and chocolate chips. Spoon out by the heaping Tbsp full onto a wax-paper covered baking sheet. Allow cookies to harden for about 30 mins---we put them in the fridge but you don't have to. Makes about 24 cookies.