So, the task for Day Six is to get a "big, beautiful fruit bowl and fill it with your favorite fruits". This is a not-so-subtle ploy to get me to eat more fruit when I'm hungry and/or in a hurry and running out the door, rather than stuff like bagels or doughnuts. Mmm...doughnuts... *shakes self* This is EXACTLY what we're trying to AVOID here!
Okay, snagged a cheapo bowl at the thrift store. It's clear glass. My thought process? I can eat the fruit I put in it before it spoils, as nothing will be hiding on the bottom. It's not a large bowl, but since I'm only one person and I'm generally not home and awake many hours out of the day (not to mentioned possessed of little means at the moment), it's likely just gonna have a little bunch of bananas. Bananas are cheap. Cheap is good.
For the price of a bunch of bananas, task is done. :)
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Day Five: Find Substitutes
The task for day five is to find substitutes for meat, cheese, and dairy products.
This one is super-easy for me. I already love Silk vanilla soy milk, Daiya cheese, Smart Bacon (veggie bacon), and Morningstar Farms Chik'n Patties. All of these things are currently in my fridge/freezer.
Sarah rightly points out that these should be "transition foods", not a permanent staple of a vegan diet. Vegans who eat this stuff (plus all the vegan junk food out there), but don't eat much by way of fresh veggies, fruits, etc, end up becoming unhealthy "junk food vegans". The key to success with this is to use transition foods wisely, sparingly, and to really get to know your nutrition needs.
Done (and I didn't have to go anywhere or spend any money)!
This one is super-easy for me. I already love Silk vanilla soy milk, Daiya cheese, Smart Bacon (veggie bacon), and Morningstar Farms Chik'n Patties. All of these things are currently in my fridge/freezer.
Sarah rightly points out that these should be "transition foods", not a permanent staple of a vegan diet. Vegans who eat this stuff (plus all the vegan junk food out there), but don't eat much by way of fresh veggies, fruits, etc, end up becoming unhealthy "junk food vegans". The key to success with this is to use transition foods wisely, sparingly, and to really get to know your nutrition needs.
Done (and I didn't have to go anywhere or spend any money)!
Day Four: Eliminate Red Meat
Day Four's task, per Sarah's Words of Wisdom:
"Eliminate all red meat from your diet and your kitchen. Remove meat from your refrigerator, freezer, and cupboards. If there are other people in your household who are not going vegan, make specific areas in your fridge, freezer, and cupboards for their meat products, and keep your food separate. Donate any of your remaining meat to a local food bank - they will be thrilled for the unusual windfall!"
Okay, this is alternately very easy and very hard for me. On the one hand, I have no red meat in my house. This meat-free state has been my choice for quite some time prior to finding Sarah's book and choosing to tackle this challenge. On the other, I have a truly vicious, life-consuming, waistline-expanding addiction to Taco Bell. Specifically their crunchy tacos and their cheesy potato burrito. Both of which contain beef.
*braces herself* Well, that's just gonna have to change. Maybe it'll help if I get one of those tapes you listen to while you sleep to program my mind to "Taco Bell is Evil... Taco Bell is Evil..."
"Eliminate all red meat from your diet and your kitchen. Remove meat from your refrigerator, freezer, and cupboards. If there are other people in your household who are not going vegan, make specific areas in your fridge, freezer, and cupboards for their meat products, and keep your food separate. Donate any of your remaining meat to a local food bank - they will be thrilled for the unusual windfall!"
Okay, this is alternately very easy and very hard for me. On the one hand, I have no red meat in my house. This meat-free state has been my choice for quite some time prior to finding Sarah's book and choosing to tackle this challenge. On the other, I have a truly vicious, life-consuming, waistline-expanding addiction to Taco Bell. Specifically their crunchy tacos and their cheesy potato burrito. Both of which contain beef.
*braces herself* Well, that's just gonna have to change. Maybe it'll help if I get one of those tapes you listen to while you sleep to program my mind to "Taco Bell is Evil... Taco Bell is Evil..."
Day Three: Fruit and Veg Cleanse.
Okay, so the task for this third day was a fruit and veg cleanse.
"Task: Eat only whole fruits and vegetables today, preferably raw, organic, and fresh from your grocer's produce section. Small amounts of condiments, like vinaigrette dressing, can be used to supplement your food."
Yeah, that didn't go as planned... but I ate a banana. That counts, right? Honestly, I was at work and grabbed a wheat bagel before I remembered that I was supposed to be chowing on veggies all day. Organic was a no-go from the get-go. I work at a grocery store, people. Can't nobody afford organic on grocery store wages, mkay?
But it was a really big banana. And I ate it before I ate the bagel. *counts that as a win*
I don't even remember what I ate the rest of the day. Likely not much, as my illness hit with extreme prejudice that day. I just remember collapsing in bed that night and wishing I could crawl under a rock and die.
I didn't die, though. :) On to Day Four!
"Task: Eat only whole fruits and vegetables today, preferably raw, organic, and fresh from your grocer's produce section. Small amounts of condiments, like vinaigrette dressing, can be used to supplement your food."
Yeah, that didn't go as planned... but I ate a banana. That counts, right? Honestly, I was at work and grabbed a wheat bagel before I remembered that I was supposed to be chowing on veggies all day. Organic was a no-go from the get-go. I work at a grocery store, people. Can't nobody afford organic on grocery store wages, mkay?
But it was a really big banana. And I ate it before I ate the bagel. *counts that as a win*
I don't even remember what I ate the rest of the day. Likely not much, as my illness hit with extreme prejudice that day. I just remember collapsing in bed that night and wishing I could crawl under a rock and die.
I didn't die, though. :) On to Day Four!
Day Two: Know The Basics
Sorry I've been off the grid the last few days -- I've been sick and that's thrown a bit of a wrench into my plans. I'm on the path to recovery now; enough, at least, that I can get out of bed and bring Ye Olde Laptop to Starbucks for a blog update. :)
So, let's get back on track with Day Two: Know The Basics.
One can't very well adopt a vegan diet and lifestyle unless they know what exactly it means to "be vegan". A vegan diet, per Sarah in "Vegan in 30 Days", is
"one that does not include any flesh from animals or any animal products." If one plans on expanding this to an entire lifestyle change, then this will also include using up or giving away any leather clothing items or accessories, and checking surprising household items like make-up, shampoo, soap, and even your medicine cabinet for sneaky animal-tested or animal ingredients.
Anyway, we're just focusing on the diet aspect right now. Back in 2009 I developed a real interest in the vegan lifestyle, thanks to that at-the-time famous book (whose title I have censored for Muslim-friendliness, lol), "Skinny B****". You guys can figure out what the "B" stands for.
"SB" became famous, largely for its "no-nonsense tough talk". It contained some good information, but was one of those books marketed as a diet book, when it was actually one of those hardline vegan books that shoved the "meat is murder" slogan down your throat while telling you that meat, milk, and cheese were the reason your butt (not their word) was the size of a small country. Like Guam. Or Cuba.
Not the most pleasant book, but the vegan lifestyle got a lot of attention because of it. I read it, then went looking for other books. Among the ones I read was "Vegan Freak 2.0", which had a bunch of good info, but the authors' attitudes clouded the message. Basically, they dictated what the "right" reasons were to be vegan, and if you didn't fit their criteria, you were a poser.
I also did a lot of reading up online back then. For extra help, I also have a "Vegetarian Times: Vegetarian Beginner's Guide" from when Borders was going out of business and I was working to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle. I've been pretty successful with that - I eat far more veggie food than meat - and I figure, via the power of the magical Interwebs, I can fill in the gaps.
Did you know that Hormel's Vegetarian Chili is vegan? It's also made of awesome with some saltines on the side when you're sick and have no money to go grocery shopping.
So, let's get back on track with Day Two: Know The Basics.
One can't very well adopt a vegan diet and lifestyle unless they know what exactly it means to "be vegan". A vegan diet, per Sarah in "Vegan in 30 Days", is
"one that does not include any flesh from animals or any animal products." If one plans on expanding this to an entire lifestyle change, then this will also include using up or giving away any leather clothing items or accessories, and checking surprising household items like make-up, shampoo, soap, and even your medicine cabinet for sneaky animal-tested or animal ingredients.
Anyway, we're just focusing on the diet aspect right now. Back in 2009 I developed a real interest in the vegan lifestyle, thanks to that at-the-time famous book (whose title I have censored for Muslim-friendliness, lol), "Skinny B****". You guys can figure out what the "B" stands for.
"SB" became famous, largely for its "no-nonsense tough talk". It contained some good information, but was one of those books marketed as a diet book, when it was actually one of those hardline vegan books that shoved the "meat is murder" slogan down your throat while telling you that meat, milk, and cheese were the reason your butt (not their word) was the size of a small country. Like Guam. Or Cuba.
Not the most pleasant book, but the vegan lifestyle got a lot of attention because of it. I read it, then went looking for other books. Among the ones I read was "Vegan Freak 2.0", which had a bunch of good info, but the authors' attitudes clouded the message. Basically, they dictated what the "right" reasons were to be vegan, and if you didn't fit their criteria, you were a poser.
I also did a lot of reading up online back then. For extra help, I also have a "Vegetarian Times: Vegetarian Beginner's Guide" from when Borders was going out of business and I was working to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle. I've been pretty successful with that - I eat far more veggie food than meat - and I figure, via the power of the magical Interwebs, I can fill in the gaps.
Did you know that Hormel's Vegetarian Chili is vegan? It's also made of awesome with some saltines on the side when you're sick and have no money to go grocery shopping.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
"Vegan In 30 Days" and Day One.
Happy 2013, folks!
A couple of weeks ago I picked up a copy of "Vegan In 30 Days" by Sarah Taylor at the thrift store. After reading through it, I was impressed with her emphasis on health, rather than the anti-meat message on overdose that I've seen in so many other vegan books.
I have to admit that I haven't been feeling well lately. I haven't been eating even remotely like I should. I've gained a bunch of weight so that I now weigh more than I ever have before. I'm tired a lot. My joints ache. My whole body feels slow and lumbering. I have no energy. I don't sleep as well as I used to.
With that in mind, I figure I have nothing to lose by trying this, but everything to gain. I didn't plan for it to start on the first of January, but... *shrug* All the better to help me keep track of what day it is, I suppose. I can't promise that I'll be able to post every day, but I will take notes so that I can put in an entry for each day.
Each of the 30 days has a task assigned to it. The first task is to clarify the reasons you want to go vegan (if only for 30 days). Sarah encourages us to make it something more meaningful than "I want to lose 10/15/20 lbs". The more meaningful the motivation, the more likely we are to stick with it. So.... here we go.
Day One: Why do you want to be vegan?
I want to be vegan because I want to feel healthy and energetic again. I want to be vegan because it fits with my goal to consume less of the world's resources and be kinder to the enviroment and the other creatures that live in it.
A couple of weeks ago I picked up a copy of "Vegan In 30 Days" by Sarah Taylor at the thrift store. After reading through it, I was impressed with her emphasis on health, rather than the anti-meat message on overdose that I've seen in so many other vegan books.
I have to admit that I haven't been feeling well lately. I haven't been eating even remotely like I should. I've gained a bunch of weight so that I now weigh more than I ever have before. I'm tired a lot. My joints ache. My whole body feels slow and lumbering. I have no energy. I don't sleep as well as I used to.
With that in mind, I figure I have nothing to lose by trying this, but everything to gain. I didn't plan for it to start on the first of January, but... *shrug* All the better to help me keep track of what day it is, I suppose. I can't promise that I'll be able to post every day, but I will take notes so that I can put in an entry for each day.
Each of the 30 days has a task assigned to it. The first task is to clarify the reasons you want to go vegan (if only for 30 days). Sarah encourages us to make it something more meaningful than "I want to lose 10/15/20 lbs". The more meaningful the motivation, the more likely we are to stick with it. So.... here we go.
Day One: Why do you want to be vegan?
I want to be vegan because I want to feel healthy and energetic again. I want to be vegan because it fits with my goal to consume less of the world's resources and be kinder to the enviroment and the other creatures that live in it.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Ditching the Bed.
No, I didn't actually ditch my bed. I have a mattress and boxspring.
What I do not have (and haven't had for about 3 years) is a bed frame. I hate having to clean under the bed. My cats thought that black lining on the underside of the boxspring was made for ripping holes in and sleeping in like a hammock.
So, after removing that annoying fabric, I put both mattress and boxspring on the floor and sold the bed frame. At the time, I'd intended on replacing it with something I liked better, but then I realized: I like having my mattress on the floor. It makes getting out of bed easy, my cats don't get underneath it, my nightstand/two-shelf bookshelf is the perfect height, my bedroom seems bigger and airier, and making the bed look neat on the quick is so easy.
Maybe it's normal for most people to have a bed frame. I don't know. But I know what I like, and I hope I can always have a mattress on the floor! :)
P.S. Ideally, I'd like to try a futon and sleep on the floor, but I know that I really love a soft sleeping surface, and futons are meant for people who like a firm mattress.
What I do not have (and haven't had for about 3 years) is a bed frame. I hate having to clean under the bed. My cats thought that black lining on the underside of the boxspring was made for ripping holes in and sleeping in like a hammock.
So, after removing that annoying fabric, I put both mattress and boxspring on the floor and sold the bed frame. At the time, I'd intended on replacing it with something I liked better, but then I realized: I like having my mattress on the floor. It makes getting out of bed easy, my cats don't get underneath it, my nightstand/two-shelf bookshelf is the perfect height, my bedroom seems bigger and airier, and making the bed look neat on the quick is so easy.
Maybe it's normal for most people to have a bed frame. I don't know. But I know what I like, and I hope I can always have a mattress on the floor! :)
P.S. Ideally, I'd like to try a futon and sleep on the floor, but I know that I really love a soft sleeping surface, and futons are meant for people who like a firm mattress.
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