Sunday, September 26, 2010

Lots and Lots of Updates

Updates In No Particular Order:

1. I have started Juicing.
For my birthday I was given a juicer- which I have wanted for sooo long! I dont know why but I didnt open it up right away. I think I was nervous...like ehhh im not really sure how to do this. I know I WANT to try it but I'm confused on what to mix and how much to make and blahblahblah and finally i was like this is redic! Im taking this thing out and Im making some juice! OMGGG. It is amazing!!! I now use it almost EVERY morning. In the book skinny bitch (see update #2) it says the best thing to start your day with if fruit bc its the easier for your bod to digest. When I juice I use a couple kinda of fruits (mangos are my fav and then I use either blueberries, strawberries, a pear, or an apple) and I throw in a TON of greens.. spinach, kale, swiss chard,etc.) The amazing thing is all you taste is the fruit! Its SO GOOD! Im gonna branch out more too but adding diff veggies but for now the mango blueberry is my fav :)

2. I read the book Skinny Bitch.
Heres my quick review: It basically told you everything the book The Kind Diet tells you except way bitchier. Im already vegan (which the book says is the way to become skinny) so a lot of it was stuff I already knew. Im glad I read The Kind Diet first bc Alicia talks to you like a fellow girlfriend and the authors of Skinny Bitch talk to you like a pathetic fat ass. The only thing I really took from it was the idea of eating fruit in the morning first thing. In The Kind Diet Alicia touched on factory farming and the horrible treatment of the animals on 99% of the farms these days but she did so in a way in which you could continue reading through the section...In Skinny Bitch they go into such grotesque detail I had to skip over the part about the factory farming. I get it- its a horrible industry that I do not want to support. Thats part of the reason Im vegan. I think 80% of people who have read SB had to skip through that part too making it pointless to even touch on it. They talk about extreme cases leading the readers to think "that's just so extreme that it probably only happens on rare occasions". In other books I have read when they talk about factory farming they talk about the EVERY DAY things that go on- although horrible, not as extreme. (Cutting off the birds beaks with a hot blade, disposing of male chicks they don't need, and leaving animals in tight confined spaces)I think this is enough for most people to understand how horrible factory farming is. In conclusion, if you are thinking about becoming vegan or learning more about it go read The Kind Diet. If you are already vegan, eat a piece of fruit in the morning and save $14.95.

3. I went hiking for the first time today!
Im trying to get back into working out more. I used to run 5 miles a day! Right now Im up to almost 3 and a half but its more like every other day or on 2 days off a day. The treadmill gets boring so I decided to take a friend up on an offer to go hiking. I really liked it! We did 3 miles and it includes some steeper hills and rougher tarain! We are doing it again next week so at least once a week I think I'll be doing this. We'll see! Heres a photo I took on the trail :)


4. My new favorite dinner
Awhile back I found this AWESOME vegan meatballs. Being vegan I have to especially watch my carbs because so much vegan food has carbs. Sometimes I would eat the vegan meatballs with just some spaghetti sauce over them but go noodle-less. THEN, I found a recipe that used spaghetti squash instead of pasta and my new fav food was born! Its super easy too. Just bake the squash and scoop out the insides with a fork when its done cooking. It scrapes out like angel hair pasta! It doenst have much flavor so it takes on the flavor of whatever sauce you put on! I use Muir Glen organic sauce (every kind I have tried is SO good!) and I use Nates Zesty Italian meatless meatballs. Heres a pic:

5. I found the best vegan cheese

Its called "tease" and they just started carrying it at Whole Foods! I bought the cheddar and the mozzarella. The cheddar is GREAT for macaroni because it comes out like Velveeta and once you add a little salt its the closest you are ever gonna get to that yellowy comfort food! I haven't tried the motz yet but Im sure that's good too. Follow Your Heart also makes a good motz. Heres a pic of my mac and 'tease': I used whole wheat pasta - of coarse- and it was awesome.

6. I'm loving Amys Organic foods
My favs now include Lentil Soup, Low Fat Veg and Barley Soup, Veggie Loaf frozen entree, and I'm still in love with the cheese-less pizza which subs caramelized onions for the cheese. YUM!

7. I took a cooking class at Cafe Manna
So fun! I went with a friend and we learned how to make 4 things- guacamole walnut potato skins, sweet potato cakes, pumpkin gnocchi, and Carmel apple fudge. It was so fun and we sat with some really nice women. We got to try everything too. They do one a month and its totally work the $40. Check out their website for info on upcoming classes www.cafemanna.com

8. I had a birthday party and served vegan food
I had my bday this month and at my party there was vegan and non vegan food. I didn't label it but lets just say there are some vegan lovers in my group of friends and they prob don't even know it :) I'll have pics of the food posted soon. The sweet potato phyllo cups were my absolute fav! A massive amount of earth balance and veganaise was also consumed :)

Thats all for now...more recipes and pics soon! :)