Who Says We Have To Be Perfect?

I slipped. My boyfriend and I went out for Indian last night, to a place that usually has decent vegan dishes, but alas today they didn’t. My boyfriend’s response? “We’re already here.. I don’t want to leave”. So I did the best I could, but I ended up with one dish that had cream in it. I had a gnawing feeling in my stomach all night. I felt so guilty. I so easily could have said “No, I want to go somewhere else.” but the fact is, I didn’t. I got the dish that has cream, and I ate it. Don’t get me wrong, it was delicious, but was it worth it?

I woke up this morning looking at it from a different perspective. Sure, I could have stood my ground, but the fact is I didn’t. I made the choice to eat the non-vegan dish. Sure, I could feel bad about every little decision I make, and shame myself into full time veganism.. but who wants that? I want being a healthy vegan to be something that exhilarates me, and something I am proud of. I am coming to terms with the fact that the only way that’s going to happen is by accepting when I make a mistake. It’s going to happen, and it’s probably going to keep happening. So rather than dwelling on it, I need to accept that it happened and move on. Plain and simple.

In the meantime I made delicious vegan cinnamon rolls. That  helped me push past it. 😉

I am not a natural baker, but these delicious puppies made me proud! 

A Haircut and a Baking Fail.

I got a haircut! For anyone who knows me, this is a huuuuuge deal. I don’t do haircuts. My last trim was in January. Haircuts are not my style. I pride myself on my long hair. I was proud of looking like this:

That’s my pup, Nikki, by the way. She’s my pride and joy, and a bit of a nutter butter – clearly. I’ll share the story of how she came to be a part of my life sometime soon. It’s a fun story that warms my heart every time I tell it! 

Anyway.. I got to the point where it was just time for a change. The ends were dead, and I only wore it in a bun. So I took the plunge. I went to the only person who I will ever let take a pair of scissors to my head, and

Tada! A Brand new, polished Katie! My head feels 10lbs lighter. Seriously. 

Now all that aside, I came home from work today refreshed and revived.. and ready to bake. I found a recipe on Pinterest for vegan brownies that looked delicious (and easy!) so I thought I’d give them a try. I followed the recipe (except I added a touch of vanilla extract.. but not enough to make a difference.. I don’t think.. Oh, and I used coconut sugar instead of white sugar, but I use it for every recipe I make and I’ve never had a problem before!), but they turned out dense and.. well.. just dense. They aren’t flakey, they aren’t cakey (I would not eat them on a boat, I would not eat them with a goat. Sorry, had to). They actually don’t taste that bad. I whipped up some quick and super easy chocolate frosting, and put in on top. Unfortunately the brownie itself just wasn’t what I was anticipating. Any ideas on what I may have done wrong? Has anything like this happened to you before?

This was the end result. Not terrible, but could have been better! 

Starting point..

I want to share a bit about myself, my body, etc.. To use this blog as a place to keep used accountable. I have a handwritten journal that I use for daily writings, but I have this funny feeling that if I put my info out into cyberspace, where other people can see, I’ll be more likely to stick to it. Crazy? Maybe.

I weighed myself this morning for the first time in a loooong time. 191lbs. Not terrible, considering the scale used to say 230lbs. I have gained 5lbs since Kara passed away. Given all the crap I’ve let myself eat, I’m surprised that’s all! I took my measurements this morning as well.. 45-36-46.

I’m not looking for huge, drastic changes. I may not lose anything. my measurements may stay the same, but once a month (maybe more, maybe less), I want to update these stats and see how I feel at time, if there are any changes, what’s working, what isn’t, etc.

So this is my current starting point. Wish me luck!

Resurrection? Perhaps.

I want to resurrect this blog. It’s been over a year since I last wrote, but I want to come back and try to write some more. I’ve had a lot of obstacles, and I’ve given up on the vegan thing (temporarily.. I will get into that later). I want to try and get back into it , and give it a real shot, again.

Obstacle #1:
I had been doing great adapting a vegan lifestyle for the past 4 or 5 months.. until 3 weeks ago when one of my best friends passed away. It was unexpected, it was unexplainable, and it has been hell. My veganism, and overall health, has suffered greatly. I’ve given myself a pass because I’ve been in major mourning. But enough’s enough. I’m not honoring her memory at all, and I’m certainly not doing myself any favours by making poor choices. So I want to start working towards health again. I am going to forgive myself if I slip up, but I want to know I’m trying. It’s what Kara would want for me, and it’s what she would expect of me.

Obstacle #2:
I had some blood taken a few weeks ago, and the results came back that I have low iron. A normal persons iron level is between 80-100.. mine is currently sitting at 14. I have to start taking control of my diet to get my iron levels back up to normal. In comes diet. I don’t want to have to start eating red meat again, so I have to find other ways to get a large amount of iron. I have started taking iron pills.. but I read that they can take years to get iron levels back to where they should be. So I have to make it up in my diet.

I intend to use this blog now as a place to share my recipes that I’ve tried, that I’ve created, or facts about health that I find. It will be personal, but also informative. I hope you share the journey with me. I want to hear feedback and information if you know something I don’t, or disagree with something I’ve said!

Kara, I love you.

 

Some truths.

Okay guys,
It’s time for me to be honest.. I have cheated, in a major way. The last few weeks have definitely NOT been vegan. There have been a fair bit of fish, and dairy centered meals. So I think I have to go about this different. Instead of doing this vegan thing cold turkey (so to speak), I think i need to slow down and introduce myself slowly. Otherwise I’ll do it for a few weeks and quit, do it for a few weeks and quit. I think because my motives are different than they were when I went vegetarian (I did that for the animals sake), it is harder to say no to food I know that I love. So I think I need to phase out dairy and eggs slowly. Eggs are easier than dairy. I don’t eat a lot of eggs/food with egg ingredients, but I do love my cheese!
I am going to start with, instead of 6 data a week vegan and one cheat day, I’m going to do 2 meals a day and one non-vegan. I think thats more reasonable until I get back in the groove. Any advice would be more than appreciated!!

Another Lesson Learned.

Today was my non-vegan cheat day for the week. My boyfriend and I chose to go to Mandarin for lunch/dinner. I had egg drop soup (easy on the egg), caesar salad, some ice cream and a waffle.. Everything else I ate was vegan, as far as I know. It is amazing how crummy it makes me feel. (I apologize for the details), but I felt gassy, and bloated. I felt like I looked as though I had put on 10lbs. I just felt gross. It’s amazing how great I feel when I cut out dairy and eggs, and focus on plant based foods. I feel like this is something that I can easily sustain. I have more energy, I don’t feel dizzy or headachy, and I actually feel like cooking and trying out new recipes. I’ve also lost about 8lbs in the last two weeks, which is amazing! 

The one thing I want to try more is actually cooking, and trying to make more vegan baked goods. I am dying to try to make vegan red velvet cupcakes! They all look so good, I just need the patience which is something I very sorely lack. Maybe that will be my new challenge for myself. I will try to do some vegan baking this week. Wish me luck! 

I had my first struggle today. Today is the birthday of the little girl I take care of. Her mom is an excellent baker. She had made an adorable teapot cake, and cupcakes. I told her I couldn’t eat the cupcakes because I am vegan now, but she gave me one for my boyfriend. I had to hold it on the drive home so that it didn’t knock over, and it smelled like Red Velvet Cupcakes. I almost caved, but I stood my ground, and I did not have any of it! I was proud of myself for not caving. I am proud, I think I can do this full-time soon!

10 Vegan Friendly Sources of Protein

I just found this at http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4771/10-Vegan-Sources-of-Protein.html, and I want to copy it to keep for the future! 

1. Veggies: Yep, good old greens will pack a protein punch. One cup of cooked spinach has about 7 grams of protein. The same serving of French beans has about 13 grams. Two cups of cooked kale? 5 grams. One cup of boiled peas? Nine grams. You get the idea.

 

2. Hemp. No, you don’t have to get high to get your protein. But toss 30 grams of hemp powder in your smoothie and get about 11 grams of protein – just like that.

 

3. Non-Dairy Milk. Got (soy) milk? A mere 1 cup of soy or almond milk can pack about 7-9 grams of protein. Eat with some fortified cereal and you’ve got a totally vegan-friendly breakfast.

 

4. Nut Butter. Eat up your peanut butter, almond butter and cashew butter. A couple of tablespoons of any one of these will get you 8 grams of protein.

 

5. Quinoa. I kinda think quinoa is God’s gift to vegans (and gluten-free peeps!), as it’s versatile, delicious and delivers about 9 grams of protein per cup.

 

6. Tofu. Four ounces of tofu will get you about 9 grams of protein. And at about 2 bucks a pop, it’s a cheap vegan’s BFF.

 

7. Lentils. With lentils, you can make rice dishes, veggie burgers, casseroles and more. One cup cooked delivers a whopping 18 grams of protein!

 

8. Beans. They really are the magical fruit. With one cup of pinto, kidney or black beans, you’ll get about 13-15 grams of protein, a full belly and heart-healthy fiber.

 

9. Tempeh. One cup of tempeh packs abour 30 grams of protein! That’s more than 5 eggs or a regular hamburger patty.

 

10. Sprouted-grain bread. Pack a sandwich with vegan sprouted-grain bread and you’ll get about 10 grams of protein in the bread alone.

 

How helpful is that?! 

Cheat Day is Upon Us

Today is my cheat day. Until I have fully gotten adjusted, I am allowing myself one cheat day a week.. which will be reduced to one a month, and then hopefully none. I am extremely excited, because cheat day today falls on Jamaican Day! My father, brother and I have a fairly new tradition that once a month we hang out and watch whatever pay-per-view wrestling is on. Today it’s Summer Slam! I’m not a huge fan of wrestling, but I go for the Jamaican food. My dad’s fiancée is Jamaican, and an amazing cook! She cooks grouper, and snapper, as well two side dishes called Bami and Festival. My mouth is watering just talking about them! They are so good.
As dedicated as I want to be to doing this, I have decided that I am making the conscious choice not to feel guilty. I am still starting out, and I am still learning. Considering this has been my first week, I think I have done pretty good! I have already made quinoa for tomorrow to prepare my lunches for the week, so that I can stay on track. So let cheat day commence! 

What’s So Special About Me?

Before I get ahead of myself, I want to share a bit about myself. I am Katie, I am a 25 year old Early Childhood Caregiver from Toronto, Ontario. I have been a vegetarian for almost 10 years, but most of those years were spent being an unhealthy vegetarian. I replaced meat with pasta, and heavy cheeses and french fries. Only recently have I realized that being a vegetarian is supposed to be a healthy alternative.
I have always had a problem with weight. Always. I have always put it on very easily, and never understood why. I figured ‘I’m not eating meat, so I should be slim!’ It was only within the last two years that I realized that I am fully accountable and to blame for my unhealthy lifestyle. Just because I call myself a vegetarian does not mean I am healthy. I wasn’t putting the work into my body to get the outcome I wanted. I was relying on terribly unhealthy foods to supplement for the meat I wasn’t eating. One day I had a wakeup call. I don’t remember how I came to it, but I realized that I need to be in charge in of my health, and I need to make smarter choices to get the body I want to have. I started eating healthy meat alternatives, and more importantly, I started to eat veggies. I found it made a big change. I lost 35lbs, and I found myself with more energy and feeling better about myself. I found that I could endure more exercise, and I enjoyed it!
I have found that in the past few months, my weight loss has gotten a bit stagnant. I am plateauing at the same weight roughly, and I am finding myself bored with eating the same things all the time. I am not challenging myself in any ways, and I’m getting tired of the same old thing. In comes going vegan. I decided to do this a few weeks ago, but only put it into action on Monday. So far I feel amazing. It’s amazing how much more energy I have, and how fun it is finding new recipes! I feel cleaner, and I have already lost 5lbs in 5 days.
I would like to get one thing straight though. My intention for this blog is not to “diet”, or necessarily to lose weight. This is about my getting healthy (however my body ends up looking as a result) and more important, about my learning to treat my body right! I need to respect my body and what it does for me, and I need to give back to it so that it keeps me healthy and alive.
I have spent most of my life being obsessed with looks, and beauty, and the proper measurements to be the perfect hourglass.. I live in North American, is that really a surprise? Only recently am I realizing that my body is so much more than boobs, waist, hips, or a number on a scale. It really is a temple; it is how I stay alive. Rather than fuss about being curvy and beautiful (but don’t get me wrong, I do love being curvy), I need to take the focus away from trying to be what society tells me is perfect, and back to what my body is telling me it needs to stay alive. I need to lose focus of the Hollywood gossip, close my eyes, and listen to my body. It’s screaming at me that it wants to be properly nourished, it’s time I take action!

“Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own” – Baz Luhrmann.