Seeing double...chin

Since it is Halloween I thought I would post this scary picture. Do you ever have a picture that you see and you can't believe that you look like the image in the picture? Well this picture made me want to hide in my house and never come out. I have a double chin...Yikes, how did this happen? On a positive note my mom and sis do look rather cute. This picture made me decide it is time to kick up my workout and try to get rid of this double chin before the holidays. I am going back to bootcamp starting tomorrow and I hope it will do the trick. I have also gone back to the daily green smoothie for breakfast. Happy Halloween!

Going Bananas

Sorry that I have been MIA for a while. Here is the thing, the last few weeks I haven't been eating as well as I should have. I wasn't doing anything too crazy, but I wasn't getting in my fruits and veggies like I needed. Then this week came and I had a new rush of motivation to get back to healthy regiment. I went out and bought some greens so I could make my green smoothies for breakfast and I bought some other veggies and fruit to snack on. It feels good to be back. Next step was to find some new yummy recipes to try so I browsed over fat free vegan ( my new favorite site) and I stumbled upon a few recipes I am going to try this week. This morning I made the banana french toast recipe from the site and it was so yummy! It tasted like banana bread, yummers! Bananas make everything so good. And to my surprise Josh was willing to give the vegan french toast a try and he really liked it too. He topped his off with maple syrup and I went for a less sugary route and put a little almond butter and strawberries on mine. The next recipe I am going to try from fat free vegan is the pesto pasta salad. I am in total L-O-V-E with pesto but it is so high in fat because of the oil content. Well the recipe on fat free vegan uses silken tofu instead of oil, which means a lot less fat and more protein. That's what you call a win, win situation. I will let you know how it goes. So here is my thought for the day: if you are lacking motivation, find a new yuumy recipe that inspires you to eat some good veggies. I know its such a deep thought...ok well I need to make my grocery list and hit up whole foods with my mom and sis. I will try to do better at updates and not wait a month to blog.

Sandwich

When Reins and I started eating vegan I had this dreaded thought that I would never be able to eat a sandwich ever again ( besides PB and J). I mean the whole basis of the sandwich is meat and cheese, so I figured vegans had no hope for partaking in a delicious sandwich...but I was proved wrong. It was hot and sunny Friday afternoon when Reins, mom and I went to Pomegranate cafe and what we discovered that day would change our lives forever. First off, they had a mini bagel sandwich that was vegan and so scrumptious; it had hummus. basil pesto ( anything with pest is divine!) avocado, cucumber and lettuce. Not only was this probably the healthiest sandwich I had ever eaten, but it was one of the yummiest too. Thank you Pomegranate cafe for making me realize that yummy vegan sandwiches can be done. But there was something at Pomegranate cafe that was even better than the sandwich...they had raw vegan chocolate cheesecake. OMG its true! It was so creamy and delightful. Pomegranate cafe has now made the list of our favorite dining joints and I recommend checking it out. It is far, but worth the trip.

Easy Homeade Vegan Ice Cream

As you probably guessed from the post title, my sugar strike is over. It only lasted 2 weeks. What can I say, when the weekend rolls around I start thinking about sweets. Everyone deserves a litttle something sweet on the weekend, right? Maybe I could have stuck with it longer if more people would have joined in the strike ( Olivia)! So Sunday Josh and I made some homeade vegan icecream that was totally delicious, you wouldnt even know it was dairy free ( Josh loved it too) My mom is the one that told us about the recipe so I have to say Thanks to her. Give the recipe a try:

Vanilla Vegan Ice Cream

64 oz of Mocha Mix ( you can find this in the milk section next to the coffee creamer)
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs vanilla

Its simple and delicious, but definitely not healthy. Speaking of healthy I tried that diet my nutritionist told me to do and didn't get any results. I am so fed up with trying to eat well and exercising and still not getting any results. It is the worst! But I am proud of myself for being healthy and so I am going to stick with veganism/vegetarianism.

Sugar Strike!!!

Have you ever had one of those weekends where you totally binge out on junk food? Yes that was me this weekend. And after its all said and done you just feel crappy. I do believe sugar is evil. A while back Reins and I went a month without sweets and it felt good. So I am inviting anyone who wants to join me on a sugar strike! I am going to start tomorrow and the goal is to see how long I can say no to sweets. I am hoping to make it a month at least....maybe longer. Its time to say hello to fruit for dessert and goodbye to chocolate. SO come on and join in on the strike. If you do decide to join I would love to hear your comments on your progress. Good luck!

New Status

Yes I have been on hiatus, its summer and I rarley take time to hang on the computer. But I decided it was time to tell the world that I am transitioning from being vegan to becoming vegetarian. Its true. I went to a nutritionist because I have had issues loosing weight ( regardless of hours at the gym and healthy eating) and she looked at my food log and said I needed to add more protein to my meals. So I am adding nuts into my daily regime and I plan on eating some occasional organic string cheese and organic plain greek yogurt to my menu. She also recommend adding free range eggs to my diet when I do become pregnant. So I plan on eating vegan most of the time still, I am still using dairy alternatives instead of milk and I have been adding tofu to my diet. I feel so grown up when I eat it. I was nervous at first, but the truth is, it can be really good. Reins and I have transitioned out of eating fake meat ( we indulge ourselves maybe once a week) and I plan on making some tempah dishes this week and some seitan dishes as well. Reins is keeping up with being full fledge vegan. I am so proud of her! I still believe it is such a healthy way to eat and I am sad that I will no longer be able to say I'm vegan, however,I did have some string cheese today and it was delightful. I will let you know if this new plan helps me loose some pounds.

summer vegan, had me a blast!

So what's new:

1. I am in complete total love with my vitamix ( I better be for how expansive those things are). I seriously use it 2 times a day at least. In addition to my green protein smoothie that I make for breakfast, I usually make a real fruit sorbet everyday for dessert. You just throw in some frozen fruit, soy milk, ice and a little juice and you get a yummy refreshing summertime treat! Loves it! If you want to get a little naughty you can throw in some unsweetened cocoa powder, stevia extract, soy milk and ice and it taste like a milk shake ( and the best part is there is no guilt). I have also made some 100 % fresh fruit syrup which was yummy. Just a little advice, don't use the vitamix to make your mashed potatoes. I tried that yesterday and it made the potatoes so starchy because of how much it got mixed. Hey I am learning as I go.

2. I was able to check out a vegan restaurant called Beets when I was in Austin and it was Amazing! It was not only vegan but Raw. I got pizza and a caesar salad and it was totally scrumptious, seriously I think it is the best vegan meal I have so far. I went there with my sister in laws and 2 of my nephews. My nephews ordered some raw chocolate almond milk and when they took a sip they totally winced. I think its safe to say they weren't big fans. They did like their food though and I was able to steal their choc milk so I scored on that deal.

3. I am curious if I will be able to do the vegan diet when I get pregnant. I have done lots of research that is for it and other research that is against it. So when I do get preggo I am hoping to hit up a nutritionist and see what they say.

Enjoy all the yummy summer fruit and goodbye for now!

-Elisha