So, I have left Germany, I've flown half way across the world, gotten married, driven accross the United States, stayed in more hotels than I can count, and have eaten at my very first all-vegan resturaunt.
Let's start with the flight. I've had this issue before, but it seemed more irritating because I was sleep deprived, anxious to get to the states, and sad to leave Germany. I get on the plane, it's time to eat...and the food that I pre-ordered as Vegan, seemed like it wasn't coming. So, I reluctantly order the cheese pasta or whatever it was, and just sit there. It's a good thing I didn't open it, because a minute later, they came with my vegan food. Has anybody else's food been pre-ordered, but forgotten? Technically, it wasn't forgotten, but it felt like it had been for a bit of time there, and it was, well, pretty depressing.
Oh well, on to the next two weeks. I prepared for the wedding by running around to a bunch of different cities, in the New Mexico/Texas area, made decorations, got my dress hemmed in the middle of the night, and had a blast. I was so happy that some of Kenny's and my friends could make it from Germany. They were so much fun to show around, and to take goofy pictures with. We did lots of massive cooking late into the night, and loved every minute of it. The wedding was fun, too, but I'm just glad that I decided to make the food mostly vegan.
I have a (now) nephew that was born allergic to a lot of different things, to include: all meats, dairy, eggs, tree nuts and peanuts (cashews are okay), and avocados (has anybody else heard that they're put in the tree nut category???). Now, most people would think that the kid would starve to death, right? Well, here comes aunt-to-be Kristin, ready to be the superhero.... okay, not really. His mom already realized he has to eat vegan, but I made sure that he had food at the wedding. There was hummus, and bread that he could eat to start, a main dish and plenty of sides. So, not only could I eat at my own wedding, but so could this little 4 year old that really just wanted to run around in circles.
After the wedding, Kenny and I packed our bags and hit the road! We drove from New Mexico to Maryland. We broke it up into 4 days, about 8 hours a day, and loved almost every moment of it. Oklahoma was probably the lowest point, and Missouri the highest as for road quality. Texas had almost no cars on the road, while Marylanders keep trying to run us off of it. We've stayed in crappy motels with sticky carpets, no fridges or cable, all the way to getting a free upgrade to the penthouse with 2 floors, 3 bathrooms, and a fully working kitchens. It was great!
Eating Vegan has been difficult, and there was a couple times of unknowning faulters. Like, for example the time I forgot to tell the waitress to NOT add butter to my oatmeal (who does that?) and I ordered some pancakes that I'm assuming had some sort of egg. I'm not perfect, but I'm trying....
...which leads me to the best part of my day so far: Great Sage. I'd been getting depressed and irritated (I've hit lots of road blocks with moving) so Kenny said I can pick a place to eat, completely my choice. Little did he know, I have the happycow app on my phone. So, when I saw that Great Sage has a TON of amazing reviews, I decided that's the place for us. He was skeptical, but I was excited. I have never been to a place that doesn't serve meat, let alone dairy and eggs. And let me tell you, it was worth it. I got the spring rolls for the appetizer, and I love love love! the raw spring rolls! My entree was a beautifully crafted display of braised tempeh with savory eggplants and filling polenta. We got a cocunuty cake for dessert, and even kenny was drooling by the end of the meal. If you are in the DC/Baltimore area, I would strongly suggest going there. Now, I don't think spending almost $100 on memorabilia afterwards is neccessary, but it couldn't hurt.
Not only do I feel great right now, but I feel empowered to be a better vegan than I was yesturday. I want to enjoy life, love everything, and not hurt anything!
I hope everybody gets this euphoria as well,
Peace out!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Wow, I haven't posted in a while. Sorry about that guys, I've been super busy, and without internet for a while. I am currently sitting in a temporary room, using an internet stick which means that my connection is slow, and not very trust worthy.
On the vegan front, it's not been so good. My microwave doesn't work, and I don't have any cooking stuff anymore, so i've been stuck with mostly raw foods, or out to eat. Awesome.
Today is the day; the day I final-out. Final-out is when you are completely done with everything, you've cleared every office that you have to, and you are ready to fly to your next duty station. Everything is done. I hope no curve balls get thrown at me, but I don't think there will be.
I'm super excited, but a little nervous as well. This is it, I'm done, finished, ready to go, move away from Germany, from my home for the last 2 years, from the country and culture that has shown me so much. Now, I'm moving to a country that thinks pizza is a vegetable, where vegan is seen as a disease, and if somebody exercises more that 3 times a week, they're obsessive, not just trying to get in shape. Don't get me wrong, I love America, I love being able to call people during the day, and not at 11 at night. I love that if I've got an upset stomach at 11 o'clock at night on a sunday, I can go to the store to get some medicine. I also love that it is becoming more easy for a vegan to eat out without just ordering a salad. (Something that Germany lacks ever so slightly.)
I'll keep everybody updated on my travels. Wish me luck!
On the vegan front, it's not been so good. My microwave doesn't work, and I don't have any cooking stuff anymore, so i've been stuck with mostly raw foods, or out to eat. Awesome.
Today is the day; the day I final-out. Final-out is when you are completely done with everything, you've cleared every office that you have to, and you are ready to fly to your next duty station. Everything is done. I hope no curve balls get thrown at me, but I don't think there will be.
I'm super excited, but a little nervous as well. This is it, I'm done, finished, ready to go, move away from Germany, from my home for the last 2 years, from the country and culture that has shown me so much. Now, I'm moving to a country that thinks pizza is a vegetable, where vegan is seen as a disease, and if somebody exercises more that 3 times a week, they're obsessive, not just trying to get in shape. Don't get me wrong, I love America, I love being able to call people during the day, and not at 11 at night. I love that if I've got an upset stomach at 11 o'clock at night on a sunday, I can go to the store to get some medicine. I also love that it is becoming more easy for a vegan to eat out without just ordering a salad. (Something that Germany lacks ever so slightly.)
I'll keep everybody updated on my travels. Wish me luck!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Happy Sunday everybody! This week was a short week at work (technically) but it felt very very long. I had CQ on Friday, and that was a long day. Tuesday I got ready to start clearing. Thursday I officially stopped work, and am focusing on clearing.
It was a jumbled week, and this one won't be much better. Kenny has to clear his apartment this week, and I'm already in the Temp rooms at the barracks. The microwave doesn't work very well, and my cooking utensils are already shipped. So, I'm on what a lot of people have been calling the PCS diet. I eat out a lot, or a lot of raw/instant foods. I have a water boiler, so there's these noodle bowls at the commissary that are vegan. (only one brand, so if they run out, I've got nothing.) Kenny still has a rice cooker, so combined, we can eat a lot of grains, and raw veggies. Awesome. It's one way to eat super healthy, but it is putting a strain on the vegan thing.
The topic I'd like to discuss today is Vegan Travel. I love traveling, and I love being a vegan, so, in theory, they go hand in hand in my world. However, contrary to popular belief, the world is not completly vegan friendly. I know, I'm completly shocked as well. But, traveling as a vegan doesn't have to be completly miserable! Sometimes, it's trying, I'll admit. In the states, airports and resturaunts are becoming much more vegetarian and vegan friendly. Websites like happycow.net and even peta are making where to eat an easier option, or at the very least can educate you on which cuisines to eat at for the most options.
When I'm in doubt, I usually pick thai food, or italian for some plain pasta with marinara sauce. But, incase you readers aren't aware, here are some of the best places to eat, and what to get:
Thai: Curry, pad thai, and stir fried veggies. I am lucky to have a thai place down the street that has vegan spring rolls (the not fried kind), soup, and 7 or 8 choices for entrees. Just make sure you let them know that you don't want fish sauce. Sometimes they think that fish is still okay.
Italian: You can get plain pasta with marinara, or, if it's not on the menu, you can explain as nicely as possible that you are a vegan, and ask for some sauted (in oil) vegetables to be added. Some other options are: cheeseless pizza, or calzones, vegetable raviolis with an olive oil or marinara sauce.
Mexican: Beans! Anything with beans, as long as they don't have lard, can be used. Taco Bell is my favorite "fast" Food, place for mexican, they don't use lard, and you can substitute beans in for mean in just about anything! Chipotle is another place that is the perfect place for a vegan, black beans, some rice, some vegetables; the perfect meal on the go.
Japanese: If you're eating japanese, I'm assuming that you're eating sushi, and never fear my friend, you are in the green zone. Just ask for anything with vegetables! I've even had fruit on one before, and it was delicious.
Misc. Asian styled food: I say this one because sometimes it's called a chinese resturaunt, but it doesn't resemble any actual chinese food. But, they will usually have steamed veggies, and white rice if there's nothing else to eat. I've convinced the chinese place where I work to stop mixing egg into their noodles, so now I can eat those too!
American: Don't eat at an "all-american" place unless you KNOW that they have vegan food. This is a setup for disaster.
Well, I'm off to google places to eat at while I'm traveling, have a great week!
It was a jumbled week, and this one won't be much better. Kenny has to clear his apartment this week, and I'm already in the Temp rooms at the barracks. The microwave doesn't work very well, and my cooking utensils are already shipped. So, I'm on what a lot of people have been calling the PCS diet. I eat out a lot, or a lot of raw/instant foods. I have a water boiler, so there's these noodle bowls at the commissary that are vegan. (only one brand, so if they run out, I've got nothing.) Kenny still has a rice cooker, so combined, we can eat a lot of grains, and raw veggies. Awesome. It's one way to eat super healthy, but it is putting a strain on the vegan thing.
The topic I'd like to discuss today is Vegan Travel. I love traveling, and I love being a vegan, so, in theory, they go hand in hand in my world. However, contrary to popular belief, the world is not completly vegan friendly. I know, I'm completly shocked as well. But, traveling as a vegan doesn't have to be completly miserable! Sometimes, it's trying, I'll admit. In the states, airports and resturaunts are becoming much more vegetarian and vegan friendly. Websites like happycow.net and even peta are making where to eat an easier option, or at the very least can educate you on which cuisines to eat at for the most options.
When I'm in doubt, I usually pick thai food, or italian for some plain pasta with marinara sauce. But, incase you readers aren't aware, here are some of the best places to eat, and what to get:
Thai: Curry, pad thai, and stir fried veggies. I am lucky to have a thai place down the street that has vegan spring rolls (the not fried kind), soup, and 7 or 8 choices for entrees. Just make sure you let them know that you don't want fish sauce. Sometimes they think that fish is still okay.
Italian: You can get plain pasta with marinara, or, if it's not on the menu, you can explain as nicely as possible that you are a vegan, and ask for some sauted (in oil) vegetables to be added. Some other options are: cheeseless pizza, or calzones, vegetable raviolis with an olive oil or marinara sauce.
Mexican: Beans! Anything with beans, as long as they don't have lard, can be used. Taco Bell is my favorite "fast" Food, place for mexican, they don't use lard, and you can substitute beans in for mean in just about anything! Chipotle is another place that is the perfect place for a vegan, black beans, some rice, some vegetables; the perfect meal on the go.
Japanese: If you're eating japanese, I'm assuming that you're eating sushi, and never fear my friend, you are in the green zone. Just ask for anything with vegetables! I've even had fruit on one before, and it was delicious.
Misc. Asian styled food: I say this one because sometimes it's called a chinese resturaunt, but it doesn't resemble any actual chinese food. But, they will usually have steamed veggies, and white rice if there's nothing else to eat. I've convinced the chinese place where I work to stop mixing egg into their noodles, so now I can eat those too!
American: Don't eat at an "all-american" place unless you KNOW that they have vegan food. This is a setup for disaster.
Well, I'm off to google places to eat at while I'm traveling, have a great week!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Hello Goodbye!
As my days in Germany draw close to an end, I must start saying Goodbye to lots of things; my friends, my living space for the last 2 years, all my stuff (that's on a boat now) and my car. Today was my car. I must greet this ending with as much confidence as I lacked when I got here. I will end this chapter of my book on a happy note, I hope, and start the next on at a totally different setting, with different characters and possibly different roles.
My car is officially off of my name today. I didn't really like the car, but it did its job. It never officially died on me, never blew a gasket, or even kill a battery. I sold it for dirt cheap, because nobody in their right mind would have paid more. I tried to fix it, but, to my dismay, all I did was reaffirm my dislike for cars. They're nice to have once and a while, but the upkeep is too much, gas is aweful for me, the environment, and my walet, and they're just money pits that never pay themselves off. Here is a (crappy) picuter of my car when I first got it.
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| Stupid car that wasn't worth what I paid for it. |
Another part of ending the Germany chapter means no more trips to places older than my country. It's sort of depressing, but I'm glad I got to see some of Germany. I never seemed to have made it North, and now I can't think of why I didn't. ...Pictures from trips in the past...
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| Me, probably a month or two ago. |
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| Me, just hanging out in the new barracks room... my hair was so long!!! |
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| Kenny is driving to Bavaria |
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| A cow in Austria |
I'm getting all reminiscent and I'm not even touching on the Vegan thing.... here's today's quick topic: How OCD are you when you go shopping? I've heard people telling me not to buy produce from the grocery store beause it's covered in wax (from bees, duh!) and then I have those that just don't eat meat, egg, or dairy (no, I don't search the entire ingrediant list for that one thing telling me not to eat this.) I'm somewhere in the middle, which is probably good. The lactose intollerant thing makes it important to ensure that dairy isn't lurking without me knowing. But, I have never even heard of some of the lists that people come up with, naming chemicals out of the yin-yang that are from animals one way or another. I feel like I'm stuck eating the grass outside some days.
Anybody else feel like this? (I bet the cow does!!! Look at that gorgeous cow, eating the grass!)
Monday, April 9, 2012
Happy Day-after-Easter!!!
We have the day off from work, so I'm just running around getting things done. Today, I am finallizing the wedding invitations, buying the stamps, and mailing them off. I am also getting my laundry done from the weekend, that way there's less for next weekend. Finally, I am going to yoga tonight.
I've really come to love yoga. I do it almost every night now, just to destress right before bed. I love centering myself, and finding me. I think that this ties into the vegan thing, but who knows.
As for easter, I went to a vegetarian-friendly dinner party at Kenny's place. I ate vegetarian because there was nothing, not even the bread, that was vegan. Awesome, but poor planning on my part. So, one day out of a while isn't bad, I think.
I didn't dye eggs, mainly because of the vegan thing, and also because of the no kids thing. But, I was extremely happy to find that you can get ceramic eggs now to dye, for whenever I decide a child should enter my life.
I also had a semi-serious discussion with Kenny. We're getting married in a month and some change, and we'll be living in the United States. The meat in America vs Europe is different; the laws towards how they're treated are different, the laws dictating what can be fed to them are different, it's all mostly different. Our discussion was on how I don't feel he should be eating American meat as it is now. We talked about it, and he's agreed that (after the wedding) he'll be eating 99% vegetarian with me. That last 1% will be the "I'm not cutting it out officially" percentage. Men, what are you going to do?
I'm glad that he is at least open to the idea of cutting most of it out. I hope that this is the gateway to him going completely vegetarian. Will it be? Probably not. But, one can only hope.
In lieu of Easter/Spring (even though it's raining here) I'm going to post some pictures of animals and spring related beauties.
We have the day off from work, so I'm just running around getting things done. Today, I am finallizing the wedding invitations, buying the stamps, and mailing them off. I am also getting my laundry done from the weekend, that way there's less for next weekend. Finally, I am going to yoga tonight.
I've really come to love yoga. I do it almost every night now, just to destress right before bed. I love centering myself, and finding me. I think that this ties into the vegan thing, but who knows.
As for easter, I went to a vegetarian-friendly dinner party at Kenny's place. I ate vegetarian because there was nothing, not even the bread, that was vegan. Awesome, but poor planning on my part. So, one day out of a while isn't bad, I think.
I didn't dye eggs, mainly because of the vegan thing, and also because of the no kids thing. But, I was extremely happy to find that you can get ceramic eggs now to dye, for whenever I decide a child should enter my life.
I also had a semi-serious discussion with Kenny. We're getting married in a month and some change, and we'll be living in the United States. The meat in America vs Europe is different; the laws towards how they're treated are different, the laws dictating what can be fed to them are different, it's all mostly different. Our discussion was on how I don't feel he should be eating American meat as it is now. We talked about it, and he's agreed that (after the wedding) he'll be eating 99% vegetarian with me. That last 1% will be the "I'm not cutting it out officially" percentage. Men, what are you going to do?
I'm glad that he is at least open to the idea of cutting most of it out. I hope that this is the gateway to him going completely vegetarian. Will it be? Probably not. But, one can only hope.
In lieu of Easter/Spring (even though it's raining here) I'm going to post some pictures of animals and spring related beauties.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Today was day two of yoga class! I'm still in love, and I even bought my own yoga mat. (It's in the mail.) Today's class size was around 9 people, so double from last time. I liked that more people were doing it at first, but then I got slightly annoyed with the constant door opening, and people walking around because they were late, and dropping things. I'm trying to be more considerate, and I realize it's a $4 class, so there can't be too much complaining. I just hope that Friday's class is better. (I'm going Friday because my yoga mat should be here by then, and I want to get more of a rhythm before I go back to the States, and have to do some of it on my own.)
I have ridden my bike a lot more, and I'm loving it. Sometimes, it's irritating, others, it's not. So, I will continue to ride it. I even rode it to the movie theater where I saw the Hunger Games. It was a great movie, I thought, and I can't wait to see if there's more.
As for the vegan front: I made sushi again tonight, mainly because a pot of rice will make my lunches all week, and I'm tired of buying my lunches. So, I'll probably post a better one tomorrow.
Have a happy week!
--This is the OM sanscript in yoga. I think it's pretty. Enjoy!
I have ridden my bike a lot more, and I'm loving it. Sometimes, it's irritating, others, it's not. So, I will continue to ride it. I even rode it to the movie theater where I saw the Hunger Games. It was a great movie, I thought, and I can't wait to see if there's more.
As for the vegan front: I made sushi again tonight, mainly because a pot of rice will make my lunches all week, and I'm tired of buying my lunches. So, I'll probably post a better one tomorrow.
Have a happy week!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
German's anti-vegan lifstyle
Last night, Kenny and I went out to dinner at a place in Leimen. I ordered my food, and forgot the German rule of thumb for salad dressing: We'll cover a perfectly good salad with 3 X's more dressing than needed, oh, and it's a yogurt based dressing. So, I wasn't able to eat the salad. I got a spinach pasta. Unfortunatly, I thought they'd toss them in olive oil, like I'm used to. And from the looks of it, they did. But there was cream sauce on the bottom, and I had some of it. I'm lactose-intollerant, so when ever the time calls for dairy, I have lactaid that I usually take. Since I've been like super-vegan for these last two weeks or so, I don't carry it around with me. So, I was punished with an extremely bloated belly, making it uncofortable to sleep last night.
I love Germany, don't get me wrong. But, one thing I am getting tired of is going to a german resturaunt and not having any food choices at all. Or, I can eat a plain salad, with some oil and vinegar. That's part of the reason I 1) try to cook as much as possible 2)eat sushi and thai so much. 3)am partially ready to go back to the states. In the states, the service is usually already crap, so I don't mind asking for no cheese, or no cream sauce, or a vinigerette. In Germany, I don't speak the language very well, and everytime I ask, they look at me like I just asked them to sacrifice their baby. So, it's a little hard.
In lieu of being excited for the food in the DC/Baltimore area, I need to make a list of place to eat at while I'm there. Anybody have suggestions? In the DC area alone, there's dozens of places to try! I'm super excited!!! I've been dying to try Loving Hut, and I want to try vegan bakeries!
On a semi-side note. Kenny said that he'll probably go vegetarian in the states because "the animals there are so stressed in the factories, the meat probably tastes aweful." Those are his words, but whatever gets him going, right?
I'll probably take pictures of my food today, but we'll see.
I love Germany, don't get me wrong. But, one thing I am getting tired of is going to a german resturaunt and not having any food choices at all. Or, I can eat a plain salad, with some oil and vinegar. That's part of the reason I 1) try to cook as much as possible 2)eat sushi and thai so much. 3)am partially ready to go back to the states. In the states, the service is usually already crap, so I don't mind asking for no cheese, or no cream sauce, or a vinigerette. In Germany, I don't speak the language very well, and everytime I ask, they look at me like I just asked them to sacrifice their baby. So, it's a little hard.
In lieu of being excited for the food in the DC/Baltimore area, I need to make a list of place to eat at while I'm there. Anybody have suggestions? In the DC area alone, there's dozens of places to try! I'm super excited!!! I've been dying to try Loving Hut, and I want to try vegan bakeries!
On a semi-side note. Kenny said that he'll probably go vegetarian in the states because "the animals there are so stressed in the factories, the meat probably tastes aweful." Those are his words, but whatever gets him going, right?
I'll probably take pictures of my food today, but we'll see.
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