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.

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. 

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 Two Recap

Day 2 has almost come a close and both of us are feeling pretty good. When I picked J up from work we both admitted to feeling a little headachey and pretty hungry, but good nonetheless!

Our meals/snacks today consisted of:

Carrot-Mango Herb Smoothie
1 Clementine
Avocado with Bell Pepper and Tomatoes 
4 Fruit & Nut Bites
Steamed Broccoli and Squash with Tahini Dressing 
Pistachio Stuffed Dates with Coconut

And lots of water! All of the recipes were awesome - especially the Carrot-Mango Herb Smoothie. It's really smooth and has this wonderful basil aftertaste. Yum!

What I thought would be the most difficult part of the day, was actually fine. I had a work meeting where they serve lunch and while they always make me a vegan lunch, it's still not on the plan. They make a big plate of desserts and inevitably the tray always ends up in front of me. Since going vegan, it's still been hard to stare at that stuff because yes, I'm a chocoholic. But today, I was totally fine. Didn't want it at all. The amazingly filling avocado lunch staved off cravings and I smiled inside during the meeting, knowing that I was fine. That's not to say that I didn't have trouble today. In the morning I was having a hard time waiting for lunch, but I stuck it through; drank another bottle of water and breathed.

The one thing I'm finding is that it takes a lot of energy to prepare everything. I don't want to find myself in a lurch with no food options and so I have to think ahead of time and prepare all of our breakfasts, lunches, and snacks in advance. It's great being prepared - I just hope I can keep this up! I recommend creating a menu for your week instead of blindly picking and choosing recipes from the detox each day. The rigidity helps you plan and also helps you visualize - "This is what I'm eating today." There's no room for that quick run to Starbucks for a coffee and a Kind Bar.

I'm going to have to start planning week two already, but will need to veganize some of their recipes. Week one is focused on only eating fruits, vegetables, and plant-based fats, including nuts, seeds, and oils. Week two adds back in seafood, lentils, beans, and soy. Hold the train. We're not eating seafood...so I think I'll sub in some tofu or tempeh. We'll see - I'm pretty creative :)

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! 

Detox Time

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of our holiday eating. Yes, we're vegan, but we still eat things like....Salt and Pine's Chocolate-Peanut butter Decadence Cake. (Yes, I made that this past weekend!)

Although I don't plan to stop baking (it's my "job" on the side and my passion) I do plan to start a detox plan on Monday with J. If I bake, I'll take it to work or give it away so that it's not lingering around the house. 

I got the idea when someone I know on Facebook posted a link to the 2012 Whole Living Action Plan. I'm at a place where I'm not losing the weight, I'm constantly tired and just want to re-start my body. This detox goes on for 4 weeks and we'll have to create some vegan alternatives for the later weeks since the menus include fish. 

Our first week will include:

Breakfasts:

Antioxidant Smoothie

Carrot, Mango & Herb Smoothie

Green Smoothie

Mango-Coconut Water Smoothie

Orange-Berry Smoothie

Cucumber, Honeydew, and Mint Smoothie

Lunches:

Spiced Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Kale Slaw with Red Cabbage and Carrots

Sweet Potato, Celery, and Apple Salad

Avocado with Bell Pepper and Tomatoes

Dinners:

Steamed Broccoli and Squash with Tahini Sauce

Roasted Peppers, Cauliflower and Almonds

Snacks:

Dried Fruit and Nut Bites

Crispy Roasted Cauliflower

Cinnamon Poached Apples with Toasted Walnuts

In addition, the site gives you a mediation of the week, suggests starting a food journal, and has several detox yoga poses.

I'm excited to get started new week and hope to not only shed some weight but to feel rejuvenated!  

Goals revisited

A year ago, my fiancé and I made the commitment to become vegan. I started this blog to document our new way of life, the things we learned and to share our trials and tribulations along the way. As I look back through my 107 posts, it's clear that we've loved being vegan! At this point, we are fully committed to veganism for life. We have both learned so much over the last year and there is certainly no way we could ever go back. I've even converted my baking service to a fully vegan operation and thus far, I've received rave reviews.

Let's revisit the goals I set all the way back on January 5, 2011:

1. Health - Although we both do feel healthier, I must say that we haven't really experienced the weight loss that many have when they switch over. This is for a number of reasons - the biggest probably being that I'm constantly baking and, well, it's just too hard to resist! The other, we don't exercise very much. I've started taking Pilates classes once a week and I'm trying to walk more and J is thinking about taking up fencing. I also bought the Forks Over Knives companion book which has some great, low-fat, low-cal recipes. Although we are cooking and eating MUCH healthier now, we tend to make things that are fairly rich and use a good amount of olive oil. So my new goal - eat simpler, more wholesome foods. Replace carbs with proteins like lentils or beans.

2. Environmental - well, no one can argue that we aren't helping the environment! But one of the biggest things we've noticed since going vegan is that the amount of trash we generate has significantly decreased. Practically everything we use is recyclable and the only things we really throw away are veggie waste after we've used it for making stock. Just think - if we had our own back yard, we could compost! I recently read an article that said you're not truly recycling unless you buy recycled products/products made from recycled materials. So true. So we are being more conscious about this now too!

3. Cost benefits - I haven't really been tracking our savings, but I know that we are. Meat and dairy products are far more expensive than vegetable based foods. J and I tend to spend a lot on groceries but that's because we LOVE cooking and buy things like morels ($20 for a few ounces) or vegan pesto ($9 a jar). We do purchase a lot of things we could be making on our own (pesto, hummus tapenade) so we recently bought a food processor and have started with making our own hummus - and it's SO much better fresh! We've also really embraced local buying and have been utilizing our local farmers market as much as we can. You wouldn't believe the money you save buy shopping at the farmers market - so worth it! And your food isn't from California - it's from a few towns away, if that!

So that's where we are folks - happy and healthy; ready to jump into 2012 and to keep learning and experimenting and I hope you'll join us for the ride! Even if you're not vegan, I hope you've learned something here and have enjoyed reading! Happy New Year, friends!

Let's play catch up...

I apologize for my recent departure from blog-posting. Life has been quite the whirl-wind lately and, unfortunately, my blog has moved to the back burner. In recent news:

-I started a Cupcake Club of the Month with Salt and Pine Bakery and, in my first month, had 5 members! Members receive 4 beautifully packaged cupcakes delivered to their door once a month. Within days of the first delivery, I increased membership to 8. J and I also recently realized that the kitchen in our place may not be all that difficult to certify after a few minor enhancements (mainly dealing with the facet pressure/temperature and finding a suitable door so that the kitties can't come in). I'm excited to move forward and take my business to "legit" status. Have you seen my new logo designed by Derek Kimball of Last House Productions? It's beautiful!

-For a while there, J and I weren't doing much exciting cooking. We go through phases and the busier we are, the less inspired our meals become. I've realized that as my back feels better, I need to really focus on weight loss since I have increased mobility. So I've started going to one-on-one Pilates sessions at Springboard Pilates and I'm planning all of our weekly meal in advance again. Meal planning not only helps with weight loss because it tells you what to eat and when, but it also helps you save money so that you're not buying things without plans. Yay planning! And FYI - Pilates is amazing. I'm loving it so far and recommend taking one-on-one or really small classes using the reformer if you can afford it. It is costly, but in my mind, my body is a worth-while investment. My trainer knows a lot about back injuries and is excellent at paying attention to my facial and body cues and makes sure I won't re-injure myself.

-So since we started cooking planned meals, we've made some awesome things. Here's your recipe recap:

• On Monday we tried Vegan Yum Yum's Pan Fried Tofu, Kale, & Stir-Fried Noodles. The recipe was easy to follow and came out wonderfully. One thing I'll say about Vegan Yum Yum is that her recipes tend to be a bit intricate and can take some time, so if you're in a hurry, I don't recommend trying out her stuff. This dish used a wonderful marinade on the tofu and a dipping sauce based on the marinade.  

• Tuesday's dish was Post Punk Kitchen's Black Beans & Quinoa with Chipotle Raspberry Sauce. Again, a dish that took some time, so don't make this if you're in a real hurry. I also recommend using a food processor for the dressing, not a blender. At the time, we didn't have a food processor (just got one on Friday!) so sauces in the blender were a pain because everything just gets stuck on the blades and doesn't move. The dish was awesome though - we made it with a small hot chile instead of chipotles in adobe because we just don't really like that flavoring all that much. I also used cashews in the sauce because we didn't have any almonds.  

• Wednesday morning I set up the crock pot to make Fat Free Vegan's Spiced Butternut Squash & Lentil Soup.  One of my favorite things about cold weather seasons is using my crock pot. There's nothing like coming home from a really busy day to a home smelling like someone's been cooking and a meal ready to eat. The garam masala in this dish is a wonderful touch and makes the soup smell so delicious.  

• Thursday was Vegan Yum Yum's Pistachio Arugula Pesto with Penne & Sauteed Broccolini.  YUM! Just look at the photo on her website and you'll salivate. J made this dish and I think one of my favorite parts was the miso in the pesto. Such an interesting twist and it gave it a little bit of sweetness. We didn't have any arugula so we used spinach instead....soooo good. I'm curious to try it again with arugula, but it was really awesome with spinach. 

-On Friday, J and I went to Portmouth, NH and had dinner at The Friendly Toast. They've got a lot of vegetarian options, but not so many vegan ones. You can have things modified though...they're totally open to that. And nothing beats the decor in there :)

-Saturday we had a delicious brunch at Local Sprouts. J had a VLT - a vegan version of a BLT with tempeh, lettuce, tomato, and their homemade vegan mayo. I had the sweet and sour tofu sandwich and we shared a little bowl of their vegan mac n cheese. Yummers!

-Today I received the sad news that my family cat Pumpkin passed away over the weekend. My mom got Pumpkin back in 2006 from Harvest Hills Animal Shelter in Fryeberg where she volunteered. He was such a fluffy little cat and we were told that he was an adult...but as it turned out, he kept growing and growing and growing into a 15 pound cat the size of a small dog! He was the most cuddly cat I'd ever had and enjoyed spending an upwards of 10 minutes kneading your chest every night. He loved to jump really high in the air to catch toys and would run after me as I walked across our dining room, pawing at my feet.

After my mom passed away in 2007, my step-father kept Pumpkin until he had to give him up in 2010 because the apartment he was moving into wouldn't allow pets. I tried to take Pumpkin in but my apartment was very dark (I was living in an awful basement apartment) and my kitty Ellie was being extremely dominant and Pumpkin just was not happy. So my friends in Boston offered to take Punky and he's been living with them for the last year or so. They've given his such a wonderful, loving home and I'm so happy he lived out his time with them. I feel just awful that we've all lost him so soon; he was only maybe 6 or 7 years old. In any case, he will be sorely missed by many and I am deeply saddened to receive this news. It's times like these when you realize just how meaningful our relationships with our companion animals become. After my friend called me in tears, I grabbed both of our cats and gave them more hugs than they could stand.

We will miss you, Pumpkin.

Top 10 Money Saving Tips for Going Vegan

At the request of my friend Liz and because I hear it so damn often, this will be a post about how to be vegan and save money. So often I hear people telling me, "Oh, I'd go vegan/vegetarian if it didn't cost so much, but it's so expensive I just can't do it." I want to laugh when I hear this. Are you kidding me? Switching to veganism is WAY cheaper than consuming meat, but only if you are a smart and conscious shopper. Sure, you can go to Whole Foods and purchase pre-made seitan, wheat balls, veggie burgers, polenta, etc. And yes, your shopping bill will be high. No doubt about it. But if you follow these few tips, you'll find you'll be saving money in no time!

Christi's Top 10 Tips for Saving $$ on a Vegan Diet:

1. Avoid fancy specialty items. They're packaging is enticing and their easy to use but they will jack your bill up, so be prepared. We do purchase Tofurkey deli slices on a regular basis and we'll often buy Field Roast. But we know they're more expensive and we can afford it right now. These aren't vital items to be a good vegan cook and you can totally make amazingly delicious food WITHOUT them. I promise :) You can also find recipes that tell you how to make them. Homemade seitan is far more cost-effective than pre-made store bought seitan. Homemade veggie burgers are way cheaper and you don't have to worry about egg whites being included.

2. Plan your meals in advance. Every Saturday I sit down with our cookbooks and pick out 4-5 meals for the week. I write out my shopping list based on these meals and I write down the meals, cookbooks, and page numbers and stick it to the fridge for the week. You're thinking, "I see how this would save time, but money?" But it does! By creating a shopping list around the things you plan to eat for the week, you won't be tempted or even need to purchase things that are not on your list (ALWAYS food shop with a list). You'll also find that you're buying the appropriate quantity of food for you and your family and you aren't wasting food by letting it go bad. If you find that food is still going bad, make smaller shopping trips.

3. The bulk aisle is your best friend (most of the time). For the most part, items in the bulk section will cost less than buying that fancy Bob's Red Mill's bag of polenta (we don't buy his products anymore and you shouldn't either!). Your bulk aisle will likely include polenta, flour, sugar, beans, spices, nuts, and many grains. But make sure that the cost is less. Last week, I wanted to buy a good amount of cranberries to use in my baking. I checked out the price per pound in the Whole Foods bulk section. In the same aisle they sell packaged bulk items, and the packaged cranberries cost less per pound. So goo thing I checked!

4. Beans, Beans, Beans. I know it's a pain in the ass to buy dry beans, but MAN do they cost less than canned. Seriously! So here's what you do...you buy your beans on the weekend and on Sunday afternoon, soak a big batch, boil them, drain them, and put them in tupperware and stick them in the freezer. You're set for a while if you do a good amount and a variety. Beans are an awesome source of protein and numerous vitamins - so eat 'em up!

5. Shop Local. Farmers Markets, road stands, local orchards are a fantastic way to save money. Check out some of my earlier posts with shots of all the food I've gotten for $10. It's incredible and it's fresh and local and so much better for you. Think about how far some of our food travels to get to us, how it's banged around, gets dirty....local food at the Farmers Market traveled up to an hour on the back of a truck and the person who grew that tomato is handing it to you. Fantastic! I don't know why you wouldn't shop there :)

6. Use substitutions in fancy recipes. So your mushroom risotto recipe uses morels which are like $5.99 for a small bag. Substitute! You don't have to use morels. The amazing thing about veggies is how versatile they are. You should use recipes as a guide and not feel tied to them. If your recipe calls for expensive mushrooms, substitute with criminis or white mushrooms and you'll save $3. You have a recipe that tells you to deglaze the pan with red wine but you don't have red wine or can't afford it, use veggie stock or water instead.

7. Choose your proteins wisely. Many people, when they first become vegetarian or vegan, feel that they need to buy meat substitutes to replace the protein they were getting from animal foods. Not true! There are many, many, MANY other sources of protein that, at times, have more protein than the meat subs. Here are some examples of protein content from plant food from Vegan for Life:

• 3 ounces of seitan = 22.5 grams 
• 1/3 cup of soy protein powder = 23 grams
• 1/2 cup of soy beans (edamame, if you will) = 14.3 grams
• 1/4 cup of peanuts = 8.6 grams
• 1/2 cup of firm tofu = 20 grams (firm has a higher protein content than soft)
• 1 cup of soy milk = 10 grams
• 1/2 cup of quinoa = 4 grams
• 1/2 cup of frozen spinach = 3.8 grams
• 2 Tbsp peanut butter = 8 grams

You don't need soy meat alternatives if you learn about nutrition and make smart choices throughout your day. If you understand the nutrition behind it, you'll save a great deal of money! I can't stress that enough - you really need to learn nutrition and make sure you're doing vegan right - you'll save money and ensure your health. Don't be a junk food vegan (french fries and Oreos). 

8. Waste not - make stock. We're getting back into soup season and I cannot stress enough how silly it is to buy veggie stock. Seriously - don't make me come over there to give you a swift kick in the pants. Here's the trick - as you're cooking throughout the week, keep a large tupperware container in your fridge and add any veggie odds and ends - carrot peels, onion ends, avocado skins, kale stems  - you name it, if it's veg, throw it in! Then, at the end of the week, throw all the ends into a big pot with a little olive oil and saute them. Once the veggies are warmed and smelling good, add water, a bay leaf, some fresh ground pepper and 1-2 tsp of soy sauce or Braggs. Cover the pot; bring it up to a boil and then simmer for a few hours. After you turn it off, allow it to cool so you can work with it and strain the liquid into a pitcher or large container you can store in the fridge. Squeeze the veggies to get excess liquid out (it's crazy how much liquid they hold). And now you've got stock for the week to make soups, cook rice and other grains, use in sautés, etc. If you have a composter, throw the veg in. Sadly, we don't have one, but at least we're getting as much food as we can out of the veggies we buy. 

9. Make your own snacks. Snack foods are so tempting to buy. If you're dieting right, you know you need a snack or two throughout your day, but snack foods like granola bars, veg chips, trail mix, etc. can get really pricey. So make your own! Make a nice big batch of granola bars - there are tons of great recipes on VegWeb and there's a great one on The Vegan Stoner. Make your own trail mix by purchasing a some nuts, seeds and raisins or cranberries in the bulk section and then just mix them together. Ta-da! Trail mix. Make your own veg chips - you've got an oven! If you buy kale chips, I will smack you. They are SO much cheaper to make at home and you can do fun things like add a good amount of cayenne pepper and sea salt or coconut...Google kale chip recipes and you'll find tons of combinations. 

10. Set a take-out/dine-out limit. This rule applies to all diets but it's easier when you're vegan because there are less dining options to begin with! Set a rule for your household limiting the number of times you eat out or order take out. Our rule is 2 times per month and we seriously save a good chunk of change. It's hard to stick to this rule when you've got a lot of friends pulling you in all different directions, wanting to dine with you. Don't fret - just suggest small dinner parties at your houses. The setting is more intimate, you can actually hear what people are saying, and there is something so satisfying about cooking for the people you love. In other cities, there are a lot more dining-out options for vegans than in Portland, Maine, but you should still limit your meals out. Think about it, often times the bill for a dinner for 2 is equal to your week's food shopping trip. And you only get one meal out of it. If you don't believe that it will help you save money, start tracking how much you spend, not only on eating out, but record every time you purchase a latte and how much it cost you. It's so easy to drop a few bucks here and there, but then when you track it and look back at your months expenses, you'll be shocked to discover that you've spent maybe $50 on coffee. $50?! That's a food shopping trip providing food for a week! 

So all of these tips are awesome, but maybe they don't answer the question at large - is veganism cheaper than being an omnivore? Well, let's look at the cost of ground beef, pork chops, and chicken.

Average cost of ground beef, per pound, in August 2011 = $3.21
Pork chops, bone in per pound, in August 2011 = $3.65
Chicken, boneless per pound, in August 2011 = $3.25
Tofu, with a price that rarely fluctuates, 14 ounces = $1.69 (365 extra firm tofu)

Ok so, a pound is 16 ounces, so the beef is 20 cents an ounce, the pork is 23 cents, and chicken is 20 cents.  Tofu is 12 cents an ounce. Maybe you don't think that's very much, but it all adds up! And these prices on meat are averages, the region you live in and store you're shopping at can cause major fluctuations. As I noted above, the price of tofu very rarely fluctuates and so we always know how much we're going to spend.

Here's some additional reading if you want more info:

MSN: Go vegetarian to save money
20 Something Finance: Frugality through Vegetarianism - How to Save $2-$3K per Year & the Planet by Moving Away from a Meat - Based Diet
Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson

Making do with an emptying fridge

Last night, after finishing my last baking order for the week, I peered into the fridge for dinner ideas. A lone cucumber, bag of carrots, and emptying jar of salsa stared back at me, daring me to make my move. As I uttered comments of discontent, Justin yelled in and said, "Let's just order out." I thought about it, but then I thought, No way! We need to save money because we may be moving in a month or two and we've eaten out too much lately (our original goal of one eat out pass per month has fallen by the wayside recently). I mustered up courage, flung the fridge back open, and rolled up my sleeves.

Our pantry is always well stocked with grains, so I pulled out the rice cooker and started a batch of brown rice. Then I heated a skillet with some olive oil and added the rest of an onion - less than a 1/4 cup, but hey, at least it didn't get wasted. After the onion was cooked, chopped up 3 carrots and threw those in. I followed with beans and some spices, and ended up with a really nice Mexican rice and beans dish. Ta-da! My man even went back for seconds. Here's my recipe:

Odds & Ends Mexican Rice & Beans
2 cups brown rice
olive oil
onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 tomato, diced
1/2ish veggie stock
1 can garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1/3-1/2 cup TVP
Mild - hot salsa
salt & pepper
chili flakes
chili powder
cayenne pepper

Heat the onion in olive oil over medium heat. Once onions are translucent, add carrots and cook until they are tender. Add veggie stock, beans, and TVP and cover. Let the mixture simmer covered for a while, allowing the beans to soften, stirring occasionally. You may need to add more veggie stock or water as it gets soaked up pretty fast by the TVP and beans. After 10 mins or so, add in the tomato (I did it here because I didn't want them soggy, but you could add them earlier) and salsa and mix. Add spices - I didn't measure, so just be mindful of how spicy you want it to be.

Serve the mixture hot over the brown rice, or mix it all together and then serve.
Makes 4-5 servings.

And of course after dinner, there were cookies left over from the 3 orders I had this week, so dessert was a cinch :)

Vegan Linzer Tarts

Photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

So I took some leftovers for lunch, and also brought some cucumber salad. Cucumber salad is SO easy to make and so refreshing when it's hot outside. Pick up some fresh dill and cukes at your local farmers market and just chop them up, throw them in a container with some white wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and let it sit in the fridge for a day or so. Yum!

Lunch: Mexican beans without the rice, cucumber salad, grapes, and a small salad with radish and hummus.

Today's lesson: Even when you think there's nothing in your kitchen, try to make it work and you might surprise yourself with a new recipe. You just need to think outside the box and let the ingredients you have on-hand inspire you!

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!

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!

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.

Pizza! Pizza!

There are two major reasons I decided to start this blog:

1. To hold myself accountable to my new vegan lifestyle and my goal to lose 60 pounds in a year. I will be gloriously honest with all of you over the course of this year and hope to think of you as a source of encouragement- my cheerleaders, if you will.

2. To de-mystify the vegan lifestyle. Although the city I live in is primarily liberal and open-minded, I keep running into individuals who look at me as though I'm an alien when I tell them I don't eat meat. Is it really that strange to you? Some of the things I hear around the water-cooler at work are mildly offensive and just proposterous and, moreover, indicate to me that many people don't even know what it means to be vegan and jump to their own conclusions. I am not a hippie. I'm not a free-spirited-Berkinstock-wearing-fairy-loving-spiritualist. I am a young professional working in corporate America who wears suits to work and drives a Chevy Impala. You don't have to be a "type" of person to be vegan. Yet, people who don't understand lump us into a category and treat us as "different." I get frustrated and angry, but what's the point! This blog is to help educate so that I can turn that anger into something positive.

Ok- so are you ready for yesterday's menu? It was wicked good, I promise! And I must tell you, I hopped on the WiiFit last night and found that I've lost 2.5 lbs in 3 days- horrah! Clearly eliminating cheese from my diet is doing some good.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with Fruit Compote
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup of water
pinch of salt
The left over fruit salad from last night's dessert
1/2 cup Almond Milk

Cook the oats, water, & milk in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir in the fruit salad from last night's dessert (never let anything go to waste!) and microwave for 30 seconds. Pour the almond milk on top and eat!

Lunch: Left-over rice with broccoli and snap peas
Left over rice from previous night's dinner, about 1 cup
1/3 cup homemade veggie stock
Handful of broccoli
Handful of snap peas
You can use whatever veggies you have on hand!
Pinch of sea salt

Put it all in a bowl and microwave for 2-3 mins. Yum!

Dinner: Pizza! Pizza! Night
1 lb pizza crust--- we got ours at the food store and used Portland Pie Wheat Dough (this may not be a completely vegan dough, but we were in a hurry; you could make your own vegan dough)
Stuff for pizza!

We made 2 pizzas- one with a sauce made from a diced tomato, pesto, and garlic then topped with vegetarian sausage and orange bell pepper and the other made with a base of pesto then topped with sauteed onion, tomato slices and fresh spinach. Bake them in the oven on a pizza stone for about 20 mins at 400 degress---Belissimo!

Dessert: Chocolate Surprise Brownies (From Vegan on the Cheap, with my modifications in red)
Makes 16 brownies

1 cup cooked or canned black beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp canola or other neutral oil
4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ripe banana
2 Tbsp instant coffee (we didn't have instant so we just very finely ground 2 Tbsp of Coffee by Design's Ethiopian coffee)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegan semisweet chocolate chips (we didn't have vegan chips, but had a ton of regular since I run a baking service)
1/2 cup walnut pieces (optional) (we did not use these- the boyfriend HATES walnuts!)
1 cup frozen mixed berries, thawed in the microwave

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan and set aside. In a blender or food processor, combine blackbeans, sugar, & oil and blend until smooth. Add the banana, coffee, cocoa, and vanilla, and blend until smooth. Scrape the mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnut pieces, if using. Fold in mixed berries. 

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 25-30 mins.

Welcome!

Why hello there! I've started this blog to catalogue my journey into the vegan lifestyle, which began with the new year. Why vegan, you may ask. Well, I can think of 3 reasons off the top of my head:

1) Health benefits. Although I've been vegetarian on and off for several years and fairly strictly in the last year, I'm still feeling sluggish, gaining weight, getting migraines, and colds. Although I tend to love dairy products (ice cream and cheese are my vices), they leave me feeling bloated and sick. The vegan diet, which cuts out all dairy/animal products, has been known to improve health. As I continue blogging, I'll fill you in on more of these benefits!

2) Environmental benefits. Studies have shown that the vegan lifestyle is not only healthy but is also a diet that benefits the environment! More details to come :)

3) Cost benefits. Animal products are pretty pricey these days. There seems to be a misnomer that vegan products are as well, and yes, they can be, but if you're savy, you'll end up saving money!

So let's get to the good part. The last three days of vegan eating have been superb. My boyfriend bought me a lovely cookbook for Christmas called "Vegan on the Cheap" by Robin Robertson and we've tried 2 recipes so far. I'd like to share a day's menu with you. Enjoy and please tell me your thoughts...I'd love to know if you try these recipes out!

Breakfast: Super Delish Fruity Shake- Serves 2
2 Frozen bananas or fresh (whenever we have bananas or other fruit that's ready to go bad, we stick it in the freezer to use for shakes so that it doesn't get wasted!)
Almond Milk about 2 cups
365 Everyday Value Vanilla Protein Powder with Spirulina- 2 heaping scoops
1 Kiwi
1 Apple
1 cup of frozen mixed berries

Just blend it all up and drink! Delicious and really filling breakfast that provides the protien, fiber and nutrients you need to get your day started.

Lunch: Cucumber-Avacado Rolls- Serves 1
Cucumber, sliced thin
Avacado, sliced thin
White or Brown Rice, cold
1 sheet of Nori
Sea Salt
Soy Sauce

Lay down a piece of nori, rough side down. Put a handful of rice in the middle and spread it out with a spoon into a thin layer. Lay cucumber and avacado in a thin layer towards the middle. Roll! Wet one end of the nori to seal the roll shut. Put it in the fridge for several minutes so that the roll dries. Run the blade of a sharp, unserrated knife under water, and gently slice through the roll, creating 4-5 sushi rolls.

In addition to these rolls, I packed celery with peanut butter :o)

Dinner: Tofu Fried Rice, Serves 4 (From Vegan on the Cheap, with modifications by me in red!)
1/4 cup soy sauce (I'd use less- maybe half this amount)
2 Tbsp ketchup
2 Tbsp rice vinegar (We didnt have this, so we used white vinegar)
2 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp canola or some other neutral oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced (I'm Italian and love garlic, but this was WAY too much- try using 1-2 instead!)
4 oz white mushrooms, chopped (splurge a little and use crimini mushrooms...they're only a few more cents per pound and have a lot more flavor)
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
8 oz extra-firm tofu, drained, dried, and crumbled
3 cups cold cooked rice (we used hot brown rice and it was fine- try white or brown!)
1 cup thawed frozen peas
Salt & pepper and Crushed red pepper
1/2 cup diced pineapple

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, & sesame oil & set aside.
In a large skillet, heat canola oil over med. heat. Add onion & carrots, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Uncover, and stir in garlic, mushrooms, & ginger. Add the tofu and cook, stirring for 4-5 mins. Add soy sauce mixture, stirring to coat.
Add the rice and peas. Stir-fry until well mixed and heated through. Mix in pineapple. Season with salt and pepper and crushed red pepper. Serve immediately.

Dessert: Fruit Salad- Serves 4
1 Apple
1 Kiwi
1 Orange
1 Apricot
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup of frozen mixed berries, microwaved for 1 minute

Chop up everything and mix it all together; add the berries last after they've cooled off a bit. Don't drain off the juice from the berries- mix them in!