Finals are over and the countdown has begun- 82 days until graduation. It really feels like yesterday that I started college. It's hard to believe that by October, I will be living in New Mexico. I've been doing research (on Yelp... don't judge) on what vegan restaurants are in Albuquerque, and there, surprisingly, is a lot! AND THEY HAVE A TRADER JOE'S. That made my day when I discovered that gem.
The journey of becoming vegan has slowing integrated into my lifestyle. Challenging, yes. Have I made mistakes? Yes. But, overall, I've been proud of this transition and decision to no longer consume animal products. The next part of this lifestyle change is figuring out how to take out all products that test on animals (you can find the whole list here). The list seems to go on and on, and that's simply heartbreaking. I often wondered when changing my diet how and why the meat and dairy industries have gotten to be where they are, and how people think it's acceptable. But I can't call myself a vegan without considering the products I use, and whether or not an animal was harmed when testing my makeup, face wash, shampoo, or acne medication. I have been slowly pulling these products and companies from my possession, and vowing to never support them again.
I hope that over the weeks I've been writing these blog posts, someone has been inspired to truly think about what they're eating, and now the challenge I'm being vocal about is not just what we're eating but the products we're using. I know I'm not going to end animal cruelty by going vegan, but I am helping make a change; giving around 100 animals their lives back, freeing them from a doomed fate.
I can't quite think of a way to wrap up this long-overdue post... This will have to do :)
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Thursday, March 6, 2014
One month of many more :)
I can't believe I made it a month! I am so excited. I bought soy ice cream the other day to celebrate :)
In general, I don't feel significantly different. I still weigh the same, and all of my measurements are around where they were a month ago. But, I wasn't doing this for diet, so it's not a worry to me. I do feel "lighter" though- I don't know how to describe it. The scale still has the same number, but I feel better.
I've managed to run to the grocery store in my spare moments of free time to gather my essentials- bananas, spinach, avocados, and frozen raspberries. And a couple of other goods, of course!
If you have a Trader Joe's, you MUST try Punjab Choley. It's an Indian style curry with chick peas, and is pretty much the most delicious thing ever. I probably go through a box a week. I should just learn to make it myself.
Also, the edamame hummus is delectable. I'll dip grape tomatoes and carrot sticks in it for a quick, light snack.
As for the spinach, I put a good handful in a smoothie every other day. What I add to it depends, but most commonly I'll add raspberries, avocado, coconut milk and a dash of agave.
This past weekend, my friend Jess and I ran the Hot Chocolate 5k in downtown Seattle. It was so much fun! The only bummer was that I couldn't eat a lot of the things they gave us to dip in the chocolate. So, the night before, I went to Vegan Haven (a vegan grocery store) and bought some marshmallows to bring with me. The were so yummy! My roommate thinks they taste better than normal ones, and I would have to agree :)
Speaking of my roommate, she made granola bars! They are a perfect grab-and-go snack, especially on early ROTC or math class mornings. She used oats, Rice Krispies, almonds, coconut, raisins, cashews, and chocolate chips. Instead of butter and honey she used my coconut spread and agave syrup. They are so delicious!
Here's one with my smoothie and math assignment. I'm really only enjoying two things that are in this picture, and I'm sure you can guess what those are...
If anyone is looking for an amazing addition to their diet, try cocoa nibs! They are ground up cocoa pods, so they retain a little of the cocoa flavor, but there's also a bit of a nut taste. I add them to my oatmeal in the morning and it adds a great level to it.
The box says you can use them in anything, and I believe it. They'd be a great addition to cookies or breads. Even Caitlin's granola bars!
And, finally, meet the new addition to our family: Chroma :) How can you not love that grumpy face?!
In general, I don't feel significantly different. I still weigh the same, and all of my measurements are around where they were a month ago. But, I wasn't doing this for diet, so it's not a worry to me. I do feel "lighter" though- I don't know how to describe it. The scale still has the same number, but I feel better.
I've managed to run to the grocery store in my spare moments of free time to gather my essentials- bananas, spinach, avocados, and frozen raspberries. And a couple of other goods, of course!If you have a Trader Joe's, you MUST try Punjab Choley. It's an Indian style curry with chick peas, and is pretty much the most delicious thing ever. I probably go through a box a week. I should just learn to make it myself.
Also, the edamame hummus is delectable. I'll dip grape tomatoes and carrot sticks in it for a quick, light snack.
As for the spinach, I put a good handful in a smoothie every other day. What I add to it depends, but most commonly I'll add raspberries, avocado, coconut milk and a dash of agave.
This past weekend, my friend Jess and I ran the Hot Chocolate 5k in downtown Seattle. It was so much fun! The only bummer was that I couldn't eat a lot of the things they gave us to dip in the chocolate. So, the night before, I went to Vegan Haven (a vegan grocery store) and bought some marshmallows to bring with me. The were so yummy! My roommate thinks they taste better than normal ones, and I would have to agree :)
Speaking of my roommate, she made granola bars! They are a perfect grab-and-go snack, especially on early ROTC or math class mornings. She used oats, Rice Krispies, almonds, coconut, raisins, cashews, and chocolate chips. Instead of butter and honey she used my coconut spread and agave syrup. They are so delicious! Here's one with my smoothie and math assignment. I'm really only enjoying two things that are in this picture, and I'm sure you can guess what those are...
The box says you can use them in anything, and I believe it. They'd be a great addition to cookies or breads. Even Caitlin's granola bars!
And, finally, meet the new addition to our family: Chroma :) How can you not love that grumpy face?!
Friday, February 28, 2014
The Blessed Unrest
The majority of this post is going to be completely unrelated to food. You've been warned.
On Thursdays, my 9 to 11 class doesn't meet, which is awesome. I come home from early morning ROTC stuff, take off my uniform, and do homework, watch the tele, and relax for a bit. Yesterday, I decided to clean. And, boy did I ever. I turned on Pandora, cranked it loud, and went to town. I cleaned the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom, and managed four loads of laundry. Oddly, I enjoy cleaning when it's on my own terms. I get mildly irritated when someone tells me to clean up after myself. I'm a grown adult, I know how to clean. After a good hour and a half of cleaning and organizing, I put my uniform back on and head to class.
Now, you have to understand... the tension in my apartment is at a terrible, yet hilarious level. It's at that point where nothing is a surprise, you laugh, and move on. I had organized all of the DVDs on one shelf of our tele stand- There was a clear separation between one roommate's discs and the other's, but they were right next to each other. Well, apparently, that was too close. One roommate had separated hers, and put the others on the complete opposite side of the stand. I saw that, and was floored. Like, I dropped the f-bomb, and may have moved the rest of her stuff to "her side." Why not, right? If our discs weren't good enough for hers, I'll just put everything of hers next to her discs (cleaning supplies, and other household things). I don't know why that irritated me so much, but it did. I just kept thinking, "sorry our DVDs aren't up to your standard and can't be next to yours." Pissed. I sat on the floor, reminding myself that it was petty, didn't matter, and I just needed to move on. BUT WHY DID IT MATTER THAT OUR DVDs WERE NEXT TO HERS? It doesn't matter, and it shouldn't matter, and I think that's what irritated me.
I felt the anger bubbling inside of me. I talked myself into calming down and just paced around the living room for a little. Side story, a four months ago, I was in the ER. The bills totaled over $2,000 and I was in a panic about how I was going to pay for that, school, and my living means. I sent in a request for financial aid a few weeks ago, and received the reply letters from Harborview yesterday. I decided to open those after the DVD snafu. The first was a bill, but it had my previous balance on it. My stomach dropped, thinking that they didn't award me any aid. I opened the second letter, which was addressed very kindly, and continued to say that I was awarded 100% financial scholarship. I can't even express how grateful I am for that.
What is the blessed unrest, besides the newest (amazing) Sara Bareilles album? It's actually an amazing poem that, I think, plays well into this. "There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. … No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."
I guess the roundabout purpose for this post was a quarter ranting and three-quarter gratitude and humility. I need to stop being so easily irritated by ridiculous things like reorganized DVDs or a shoe rack (that's a whole other roommate story. I'll spare you.) I don't believe everything happens for a reason, but I do think there's a reason everything happens. Being granted that 100% coverage was a huge burden off my shoulders, and challenged me to rethink what I stressed about, and what I let affect my relationship with those in my life. I am the only 'me' there will ever be on this earth. I don't want that energy, my expressions, to be negative. I love the line "You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you." I don't want to be negatively motivated by little things, but positively motivated to do good for others and for myself. Whoever chose to give me 100% financial coverage, thank you. You allowed me to reevaluate and continually challenge how I choose to channel my energy- it is the blessed unrest of our daily lives that allows us the opportunity to continually makes those changes that motivate us to be more, be better for others and ourselves, than we were before.
And, you better believe, the next place I live, I'm going solo. And I'm leaving my shoes in a pile at the front door. Suck it.
This is what Cait and I made for dinner last night- quinoa "fried rice" with veggies and pineapple :) Of course, I ate it in my favorite little bowl that I bought in Vietnam!
On Thursdays, my 9 to 11 class doesn't meet, which is awesome. I come home from early morning ROTC stuff, take off my uniform, and do homework, watch the tele, and relax for a bit. Yesterday, I decided to clean. And, boy did I ever. I turned on Pandora, cranked it loud, and went to town. I cleaned the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom, and managed four loads of laundry. Oddly, I enjoy cleaning when it's on my own terms. I get mildly irritated when someone tells me to clean up after myself. I'm a grown adult, I know how to clean. After a good hour and a half of cleaning and organizing, I put my uniform back on and head to class.
Now, you have to understand... the tension in my apartment is at a terrible, yet hilarious level. It's at that point where nothing is a surprise, you laugh, and move on. I had organized all of the DVDs on one shelf of our tele stand- There was a clear separation between one roommate's discs and the other's, but they were right next to each other. Well, apparently, that was too close. One roommate had separated hers, and put the others on the complete opposite side of the stand. I saw that, and was floored. Like, I dropped the f-bomb, and may have moved the rest of her stuff to "her side." Why not, right? If our discs weren't good enough for hers, I'll just put everything of hers next to her discs (cleaning supplies, and other household things). I don't know why that irritated me so much, but it did. I just kept thinking, "sorry our DVDs aren't up to your standard and can't be next to yours." Pissed. I sat on the floor, reminding myself that it was petty, didn't matter, and I just needed to move on. BUT WHY DID IT MATTER THAT OUR DVDs WERE NEXT TO HERS? It doesn't matter, and it shouldn't matter, and I think that's what irritated me.
I felt the anger bubbling inside of me. I talked myself into calming down and just paced around the living room for a little. Side story, a four months ago, I was in the ER. The bills totaled over $2,000 and I was in a panic about how I was going to pay for that, school, and my living means. I sent in a request for financial aid a few weeks ago, and received the reply letters from Harborview yesterday. I decided to open those after the DVD snafu. The first was a bill, but it had my previous balance on it. My stomach dropped, thinking that they didn't award me any aid. I opened the second letter, which was addressed very kindly, and continued to say that I was awarded 100% financial scholarship. I can't even express how grateful I am for that.
What is the blessed unrest, besides the newest (amazing) Sara Bareilles album? It's actually an amazing poem that, I think, plays well into this. "There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. … No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."
I guess the roundabout purpose for this post was a quarter ranting and three-quarter gratitude and humility. I need to stop being so easily irritated by ridiculous things like reorganized DVDs or a shoe rack (that's a whole other roommate story. I'll spare you.) I don't believe everything happens for a reason, but I do think there's a reason everything happens. Being granted that 100% coverage was a huge burden off my shoulders, and challenged me to rethink what I stressed about, and what I let affect my relationship with those in my life. I am the only 'me' there will ever be on this earth. I don't want that energy, my expressions, to be negative. I love the line "You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you." I don't want to be negatively motivated by little things, but positively motivated to do good for others and for myself. Whoever chose to give me 100% financial coverage, thank you. You allowed me to reevaluate and continually challenge how I choose to channel my energy- it is the blessed unrest of our daily lives that allows us the opportunity to continually makes those changes that motivate us to be more, be better for others and ourselves, than we were before.
And, you better believe, the next place I live, I'm going solo. And I'm leaving my shoes in a pile at the front door. Suck it.
This is what Cait and I made for dinner last night- quinoa "fried rice" with veggies and pineapple :) Of course, I ate it in my favorite little bowl that I bought in Vietnam!
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Banana Potato... NA NA NAAAAAAH
I remember watching this movie for the first time when we were still in Vietnam- we walked into the theater with our big 3-D glasses, five minutes late, and enjoyed subtitles :) The minions will forever hold a place in my heart. (This song is actually my ringtone... don't judge.)
This connects to food, believe it or not! For breakfast this morning, I had one of the BEST smoothies I have ever had. I blended coconut milk with avocado, spinach, watermelon, and frozen BANANAAAAAAH. I don't know if I'll ever be able to replicate it, but it'll be a good day if I can. I tend to not follow recipes (like... ever.) so the odds of something working twice in a row is rare, so I've learned to have a greater appreciation for things the first time around.
After a long, tiresome day of classes, I was craving something warm and delicious. Soup sounded just "meh," and I wasn't in the mood for a sandwich. A bag of potatoes peaked itself from the top of the fridge and I thought about what I could make with those. Mashed potatoes, potato salad, potato soup... SCALLOPED potatoes. And boy did I scallop the hell out of those things. Oh my gosh. Using Veganaise, nutritional yeast, turmeric powder, Daiya cheese, and sautéed onions and garlic, I put that sauce on the potatoes under the broiler for five minutes. Heaven. Even my roommates liked them! That made me happy.
For some reason, when people hear vegetarian, vegan, or gluten free, people think taste is compromised. Okay, sometimes texture can get a little funky and flavor might seem like it's missing something, but I feel like for the most part, I've had only good experiences with alternatives. My next mission is mac and cheese! I'm sure if the scalloped potatoes were good than I have a good base recipe for the cheese sauce. Now, just to recreate the Panera Bread Bowl...
Until next time, my lovelies.
XO
Monday, February 24, 2014
thoughts, thoughts, FOOD!
It's been a crazy few days! This weekend, we were on SPRINT (Seattle Pacific Reachout International) retreat. For those of you who don't know what SPRINT is it's a group at my university that sends teams across the world on short-term mission trips. So, a few weekends ago, our core team had selected around thirty students to participate on different teams, and this weekend was the first time they got together to start team bonding and learning about how to approach preparing for their trip. It was a very emotional weekend for me; I can't believe it was a year ago that I first met my team that I went to Vietnam with. I had such a life-changing experience there, and I am so excited for the girls who are going this summer. I can't wait to go back and reunite with the fantastic people I've built relationships with there.
Food this week has been pretty decent. For some reason, my body is still adjusting to whatever it is I'm eating. There's always some kind of gurgle noise coming from my stomach- it'll be great when that stops. ;)
Food at retreat this weekend was actually really decent! They had good salad bar options, and for breakfast, they had oatmeal and frozen blueberries. I pretty much cleared the bowl of those... twice. Ha.
For lunch on the second day, I think I made my first unintentional mistake... I think. It was wild rice, so I asked the employee if there was any dairy in it, and she claimed that it didn't. However, the taste was a little like butter. I don't know if it did have butter, but after two or three bites, I stopped eating it. I filled up on salad instead :)
Today, dinner was a struggle. I tried to make something from Pinterest, and it didn't turn out all that great. It was dry fried tofu with barbecue sauce. I mean, it was still tasty, just not as visually pleasing as the pin made it seem.
Luckily, I had green beans to pair it with. I sprinkled it with Daiya cheese and a little garlic salt. YUM!
Mid day today, I was so tired- I could hardly keep my eyes open. So, I went to a local bakery, Flying Apron, that specializes in all vegan and gluten free food. I bought a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, and enjoyed it with an Americano. So tasty!
My original plan to only do this for a month is out the window- I'm pretty sure I'll stay vegan for the long haul! Still adjusting, but I'll get used to it. Yay! :)
Food this week has been pretty decent. For some reason, my body is still adjusting to whatever it is I'm eating. There's always some kind of gurgle noise coming from my stomach- it'll be great when that stops. ;)
Food at retreat this weekend was actually really decent! They had good salad bar options, and for breakfast, they had oatmeal and frozen blueberries. I pretty much cleared the bowl of those... twice. Ha.
For lunch on the second day, I think I made my first unintentional mistake... I think. It was wild rice, so I asked the employee if there was any dairy in it, and she claimed that it didn't. However, the taste was a little like butter. I don't know if it did have butter, but after two or three bites, I stopped eating it. I filled up on salad instead :)
Today, dinner was a struggle. I tried to make something from Pinterest, and it didn't turn out all that great. It was dry fried tofu with barbecue sauce. I mean, it was still tasty, just not as visually pleasing as the pin made it seem.
This is what it was supposed to look like:
<---------
And it looked like this:
--------------->
Luckily, I had green beans to pair it with. I sprinkled it with Daiya cheese and a little garlic salt. YUM!My original plan to only do this for a month is out the window- I'm pretty sure I'll stay vegan for the long haul! Still adjusting, but I'll get used to it. Yay! :)
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Oh the places you'll go
When I started this challenge a few weeks ago, I was nearly 93% sure I was only going to do it for a month. Now, more than halfway through this journey, I'm not even 7% sure I could go back to eating meat or dairy.
Research is a bittersweet thing. It's awesome to learn new things and expand what you thought were your limits of knowledge and understanding. But, on the flip side, you also learn the dirty, undesirable, and sometimes painful truth.
I took it upon myself to do more research into the dairy industry. I nearly cried, threw up, or wanted to pass out with every website, article, and documentary I watched. Hundreds of images, thousands of words, a pain we can't comprehend, simply for food that we'll taste for five minutes. A life lost for a meal. It just doesn't seem fair, and it angers me. I'm at that stage of being a vegan that I understand this isn't just a fad diet; it's a lifestyle of compassion, honesty, and love. No animal deserves to be forcefully impregnated so she can produce milk that she can't even give her calf because the babe is being taken away from her the second it's born to be taken to a slaughterhouse, and she goes to have her milk sucked out to be bottled for you to pour on cereal. After years of generating offspring that she never gets to mother, the spent cow is sent to be turned into cheap meat or pet food. I can't even fathom this... How did it get to be this disgusting industry?
I can hardly buy anything at the grocery store because everything has milk or cheese in it. Shelves and displays are packed with hundreds of dead and/or abused animals. You might not think that's a lot, but let's put it into perspective; you have a local grocery store. Within a 10 mile radius (assuming you live in a normal sized city) you have another 10-15 store options. Expand that to the whole US, and there you have it... Our meat and dairy industry. It's not even farming anymore! It's manipulation, lies, and DISGUSTING.
You can eat local and organically, but no animal ever wants to die. They say "you are what you eat." Well, I'm choosing to not eat fear. I'm choosing to not eat captivity. I'm choosing to give some animal, somewhere, freedom from a life it had no choice in having.
I'll write more later... My heart is just so heavy thinking about it...
Research is a bittersweet thing. It's awesome to learn new things and expand what you thought were your limits of knowledge and understanding. But, on the flip side, you also learn the dirty, undesirable, and sometimes painful truth.
I took it upon myself to do more research into the dairy industry. I nearly cried, threw up, or wanted to pass out with every website, article, and documentary I watched. Hundreds of images, thousands of words, a pain we can't comprehend, simply for food that we'll taste for five minutes. A life lost for a meal. It just doesn't seem fair, and it angers me. I'm at that stage of being a vegan that I understand this isn't just a fad diet; it's a lifestyle of compassion, honesty, and love. No animal deserves to be forcefully impregnated so she can produce milk that she can't even give her calf because the babe is being taken away from her the second it's born to be taken to a slaughterhouse, and she goes to have her milk sucked out to be bottled for you to pour on cereal. After years of generating offspring that she never gets to mother, the spent cow is sent to be turned into cheap meat or pet food. I can't even fathom this... How did it get to be this disgusting industry?
I can hardly buy anything at the grocery store because everything has milk or cheese in it. Shelves and displays are packed with hundreds of dead and/or abused animals. You might not think that's a lot, but let's put it into perspective; you have a local grocery store. Within a 10 mile radius (assuming you live in a normal sized city) you have another 10-15 store options. Expand that to the whole US, and there you have it... Our meat and dairy industry. It's not even farming anymore! It's manipulation, lies, and DISGUSTING.
You can eat local and organically, but no animal ever wants to die. They say "you are what you eat." Well, I'm choosing to not eat fear. I'm choosing to not eat captivity. I'm choosing to give some animal, somewhere, freedom from a life it had no choice in having.
I'll write more later... My heart is just so heavy thinking about it...
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Love is in the Air
Halfway through the month! It’s crazy how fast time is going
by, and how smooth this is going. I’ve been busy with school and work, so I
haven’t been too frequently updating my blog, so I’m sorry about that; I’ll try
to be better about it!
I came to the realization a few days ago that, on Tuesday, I
register for my final quarter of college! And, since I’ve already met my major
requirements (besides one class), in order to keep my ‘full-time’ student
status with 12 credits, I’m taking some fairly easy classes. The one class I
have to take is a torturous one. It’s every day, from 8:30-9:20. EVERY stinkin’
DAY. Who does that?! Arg. That took away my ability to take a dance class,
which I wasn’t too happy about, but I guess I’ll just have to deal with it.
Currently, it’s 1pm on Sunday… The wind is blowing and the
rain is falling, and I’m sitting in a coffee shop drinking a latte. Norah
Jones, via KPLU, is making my mind wander all sorts of directions. I started
thinking about this weekend thus far, and my recap of Valentines Day…
Props to Paig Horton for putting up with me. Since her
boyfriend is stuck in Japan waiting to fly back to America, we decided to get
together and make food and have a girl’s night in. We had pulled up my vegan
Pinterest board and we were ready to do some baking and cooking. After a quick
trip to the store, we get back to her house and start prepping everything. We
planned to make braided spaghetti bread, jalapeno poppers, BBQ cauliflower, and
peanut butter chocolate bars. Well, that didn’t all happen. I started on the
bread while Paig prepped for the jalapenos. As she was adding the ingredients,
I caught the label of the breadcrumbs- it said “Italian” style. Of course, I
check the ingredients, and it has cheese. Okay, so those were out. While the
spaghetti was boiling, she starts mixing the goods for the peanut butter bars.
They called for graham cracker crust- long story short, milk fat. Now, she’s
just annoyed (bless her heart) as I keep apologizing for ruining everything. We
ended up with a huge role of awesome spaghetti bread and an improvised recipe
for the peanut butter bars. Both turned out delicious! I really did feel bad
putting such a constraint on our cooking adventures. The thought crossed my
mind to just let her add the ingredients, but I had made it half of the month,
and I wasn’t about to just throw in the towel.
My latte is nearly gone, now. The coconut syrup is more
apparent at the bottom- I like that.
You know what else I like? Being vegan. I really think this
is something I’m going to stick with for a while. I feel good (besides being
bloated from Aunt Flo), and in my continuous research, I feel more, I don’t
know the word…Grateful? Loving? Humane? about my decision to not eat or use
animal products. It’s caused me to be
more cautious (maybe that’s the word?) about knowing what’s in my food.
What I’m still trying to figure out is balance- how to not
eat only cabrs one day, and only veggies the next. I’m am learning, though,
that this isn’t an overnight process. It takes 28 days to break a habit, they
say, so I’m being patient with myself. I
haven’t, knowingly, eaten dairy, meat, eggs, or anything of the sort in 16
days, and I feel ready and eager to go many more! J
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