Vegan Challenge--Day 1

So, it is officially Day 1! I'm more excited than ever! Sounds silly, right? Well, you'd be excited too if you've got what I do to eat! I'm focusing more on planning and preparing meals so I'm not stuck in too many sticky situations. So, here's what I have done so far:

Last night, I made a (delicious) vegetable curry, with leeks, onion, garlic, bell pepper, brocolli, and tofu. I love all of those things individually, and to throw them in the same pot with delicious, creamy curry sauce just makes me smile! Then, after dinner, I made breakfast (tofu scramble) for the next few days because I'm going to have limited time to make a nutritious breakfast. Then, I packed up kenny and myself a lunch of curry with rice for today.

Ok, so yesturday's focus was on cleaning out any non-vegan food you might (and probably) have. Today, I'm going to focus on something different than what's in the book I'm reading: What to do in a rut--last minute vegan meal ideas for hungry, busy people.

First off, some things you may not know are vegan should be stated: bread (most breads, but not all) hummus, tortilla and corn chips (but if you get flavored ones, look on the ingrediants list for milk), a lot of cereals (like fruit loops, life, and reese's peanut butter puffs---all taste good with soy milk), CRACKER JACKS!, (my all time favorite sweet for road trips), ramen noodles (without the seasoning packet**look for a recipe on my other page**), and so much more.
These foods are good for one of those moments where you're starving, but just need a little of food to get you to the store... i love putting hummus on bell pepper slices!

Once you realise what else is vegan than you knew (nutter butters. nutter butters are vegan.) you can more easily find something to tie you over until you can get some real food.

I hope this helps!

The 30-Day Vegan Challenge

Hey there! So, I have an amazing book called “The 30-Day Vegan Challenge,” by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. This book is pretty good, and I’ve been eating non-vegan for a while, so I thought I’d give this book another chance. It helped me last time when I was vegan for almost 2 months, and I thought I’d share some of the pointers that I love with you.

I'm not actually starting the challenge until tomorrow (due to some left over that need to be eaten) but I'm all in tomorrow!

So, for day one, the focus is stocking up a healthy, animal-free kitchen. The main point that she brings up is that once you go through your fridge and get rid of all meat, dairy, and egg products, and other products containing them, the average American has hardly anything less. Now, if you, the reader, differs, and have a bunch of fruits, veggies, and what not, then I’m impressed. Even as a Vegetarian attempting to be Vegan, I had to get rid of some things.
Another point that’s made, is if you are doing this challenge, you don’t necessarily have to get rid of everything. You can eat through it, donate it, bring some into work (if you have enough eggs for all of those ravenous coworkers.) But, make sure that there are some healthy replacements; nobody wants to open a fridge with a lone apple from that time your neighbor was trying to be nice.
Foods like canned beans, dried beans (ones that you like, of course), fruits and vegetables, and grains are good to have. I always make sure that I have apples, rice, quinoa, a block of tofu, a bag of lentils, and a can of beans left on hand, because that’s what I know that I like.
If you do decide to go on this challenge with me, feel free to jump in at any time! The first few days are stuff that you usually have to do all at once (tomorrow being about the cost benefit of eating vegan), so missing the first few days is totally fine.

Also, tomorrow, I'll be touching on the healthy benefits of eating a Vegan diet.

Can't wait for tomorrow!
Kristin

Happy December!

So, I've fallen off of the wagon for a bit, but this month, i'm going to try and be 100% Vegan the whole time! I'm excited, because Kenny made me curry tonight, and made sure to not accidentally make it non-vegan. (It's pretty hard, but it's possible). So, tomorrow, I'm having a big breakfast of fruit and german bread (i LOVE it). Lunch? Curry leftovers!

Dinner? I'm going to be creative. i have all sorts of veggies in my fridge, and grains, tofu, and beans. So, the sky is the limit!

If anybody is actually reading this, and you have some ideas, here's some of what I have:

asparagus, onions, bell peppers, green onions, leeks, and a carrot (only one, i ate the rest)

also, a bunch of different salad greens were on sale at the store, so i can just go back.... and they're the GOOD salad greens, not that nasty iceburg lettuce garbage that's 99% water.

Well, in other news, i've been riding my bike to work all week, and i am totally loving it. There's no snow yet, so i'm still enjoying nice (brisk) mornings, and dark (snow free) evenings. Saturday, i'm going to attempt to get around all on bike. Sunday i have to go somewhere 45 minutes away in a car.... not happening on a bike, sorry.

That's it for today, and maybe I'll start posting more often.

Vacation

So, I'm leaving for ABQ tomorrow, but i HATE HATE HATE the day before I fly, because I can't seem to stop thinking about leaving. Then, the clocks all slow down. The clock said 2050, and for some strange reason I thought that it meant that it was almost 11 o'clock. no, that means it's almost 9 o'clock. oh my goodness. So, i've painted ALL of my nails, twice, and even made a pattern on some of them...

Why am i staying up so late? I have to sign out, and i want to sign out at midnight, because i have to leave at like 5 in the morning, this leaves me with more time to get the car packed for the airport, and making sure i have everything, without having to worry about signing out. where's CQ? Why aren't they answering the phone? Blah blah blah, not worth it.

Soooooooooo, I'm going to try and actually blog my trip, so i can share all of the exciting details... we'll see.

Have a good weekend,

Kristin

Biking

So, tomorrow will be day 4 of me taking my bike to work. I love it, and I hope that I can continue to love it. I thought that i'd share this... and hopefully some time this week i'll feel comfortable enough to bike to pt AND work. wish me luck!

road trip tomorrow!!

i'm super excited to go on a road trip tomorrow for my birthday!! i'm turning the bit 2-0. ya, i'm excited.

here's what needs to get done today, to be ready for tomorrow:
[]finish cleaning out car (i got most of it done last weekend, just things like vacume... take out my school stuff i don't need...)
[]fill up the car
[]pack my bags
[]make something for the trip tomorrow, it shouldn't be more than 3 hours, so just a snack or something...
[]sleep-always put sleep on the checklist, so you can say that you accomplished SOMETHING

i've been on cq, and i'm in the last hour... i had chips and salsa, pumpkin soup (boyfriend brought it, yay!) twizzlers (ya! vegan candy that i can easily attain!) and mandrin oranges. my favorite.

not the healthiest, but vegan :D

more later, possibly,
me

hummus

hummus has been my main meal starter this weekend... i absolutely love that stuff! it's amazing! i put it on bread, sprinkle some vegan cheese, sliced olives, maybe some left over food (i get bored, and experiment with food) and it always tastes delicious!!!! yum yum!!!

CQ

hurray for cq! i am getting paid to pull somebody's 24 hour shift, and all i'm going to do is complete ALL homework, read, watch gilmore girls, and maybe spend a tiny bit more time than i normally would on the internet...

I hate the shoppete here, the only things that are vegan are:
-tortilla chips/corn chips
-plain bean dip (they don't even carry the enchilada one...)
-salsa
-water
-a microwave asian noodle thing (but it's got 410 calories... so i don't really like eating it)
-coffee.
done. nothing else. stupid shoppette. So, I am munching on chips with beans and salsa, and i'll probably make a Thai food run, or try and cook something later for dinner.

wow

so, it's been a hot minute since i've been on here. i was reading vegnews and (it was an older one) they had a vegan bucket list. one of the things was to write a book, or a blog. i already have one, so i thought i'd be more avid about it.

i had a 2 1/2 weeks of meat eating period. i feel bad about it now, but i had to. being in the army, i had a field exercise. unfortunately, i had to eat what was provided. MRE's give me the runs, so i was relying on breakfast and dinner from the dfac (dinning facility). ya, that wasn't so hot either. not only did it give me the runs, but my meals consisted of:
breakfast: fruit cup and as many apples as i could grab
dinner: salad, green beans, more salad, and if there was any fruit left... fruit.
beans? no. grains at all? sometimes for breakfast. so, in order to not pass out and/or start screaming at people, i did consume packaged tuna and cheese when i needed to. but, i'm back to being vegan, and will try and plan the next one a little better. (i.e. invest in tofu jerky and stuff like that)

i have a guy at work who is interested in vegetarianism, and i'm hoping that he converts. he sees why people do it, but he has the stigmatism about men eating meat, and doesn't want the scorn that he sees i get everyday. hopefully it works out.

that's it for now,
keep it green!!!!