Travels

This week is going to be a lot of work. I'm working my second job on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights. I'm dog sitting Wednesday through Sunday. I have two personal days to use up by the end of this week, so I'm taking tomorrow and Friday off, which means I have a TON to do before leaving for Mammoth early Monday morning. Right now I should be organizing and gathering things to bring in the car, but nope! I'm to the point where I have way too many things to do, but can't bring myself to do it all. So here I am, writing on my blog.

On Sunday, I made quite a tasty Easter dinner for my family and a family friend. I made scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, chive biscuits, and a tofu fritatta (which was my substitute for the ham that everyone else ate). Once again, I did not take pictures. I really do suck at that. Our guest brought a vegan chocolate cake that was delish!

Weight update: I have lost 10 pounds since I started on March 1. All of my clothes are starting to feel loose, especially my jeans. I have three pairs of skinny jeans that aren't skinny anymore, so tomorrow I'm going shopping for jeggings, just as a quick fix. I don't want to buy pants until I've lost most of my weight and actually know what size to buy. I don't want to buy something now and then not fit into it a month from now. This issue is that I absolutely hate baggy pants. I don't know why, but it feels disgusting if they are supposed to be tight, but are loose instead.

So, in the last month, I have really been going crazy with spring/summer clothes. I bought a ton of dresses, tops, and shoes:

TJ Maxx: 2 dresses, 2 tops, 2 belts, 1 crossbody purse (for New York/Boston...it was a must)
Target: 6 dresses, 2 pairs of shoes
American Eagle: 1 dress (originally 4, but took 3 back), 1 tube top, 1 sweater
Famous Footwear: 1 pair of shoes
Keds: 1 pair of shoes, 2 packages of socks
MLB Store: 1 Boston Red Sox shirt (for the Red Sox vs. White Sox game I will be attending in May)

I'm hoping that's all, but it seems like I'm missing something. That's never a good sign.

This weekend I really need to do some spring cleaning in my closet. I have way too many clothes (2, almost 3, closets worth). It's time to put away the sweaters and get out the tank tops. Wait, maybe I should rethink that since it's snowing here right now...

Happy Earth Day!

Whelp

I haven't been doing a very good job of posting pictures of my delicious food, have I? I'm hoping that will change soon. I just need to REMEMBER!

Weightloss update: No change

I recently bought an iPhone. Here are my reasons for the purchase:

1) to be like all the cool people

2) to have a camera. I recently broke mine when taking this amazing photo of my family on Super Bowl Sunday. I propped it on top of the TV and down she came, bending the lense.

3) so I can have access to all of these amazing apps, especially the ones that help me know and understand being vegan.

I discovered this website called Barnivore and it tells you if the booze you want to drink is vegan-friendly. On this website, there are iPhone app recommendations for vegans. I downloaded those apps. Now, when I'm doing my travelling, I can easily hop on that app and check to see if what I'm drinking is vegan!

Travelling? Yes. I will be out of town throughout most of May. Starting on May 2, I will be driving to Mammoth where I will be working the Alpine National Coaches Academy for two weeks. I come home for a week and a half before flying to New York for a week, with a side trip to Boston in the middle. A few days after that, I might be driving up to Boise for my BFF's baby shower.

I'm definitely in need of these apps and a camera! The iPhone camera is surprisingly great.

Meals

I have not been doing a very good job of taking pictures of the meals I've been making. Two nights ago I made the most delicious Pad Thai ever. Last night I made a delish breakfast bake. Good thing I have both of them for lunch/dinner today! Tomorrow night I'm making Yam Burritos with the leftover yams I had from the enchiladas. Can't wait!

Bossypants

I am BEYOND excited to read this book. Buying it on Sunday with my 40% off coupon from Barnes & Noble!

Month 2: Vegan

I'm embarking on my second month of being vegan. Today marks 5 weeks, but since it's the first Tuesday in April (my next post on being Vegan will be on May 1ish) I thought I'd start this month out on a high note.

The first thing I'd like to mention is that as of this morning I have lost 7 pounds since I started my journey!! I was really skeptical on my losing weight, or lack thereof, because I read that some people don't lose weight at all, but I figured that since I'm not at my healthiest weight that I would lose at least a few pounds. After three weeks of not knowing if I lost weight (because I didn't have a working scale) and not feeling or looking like I was losing weight, I was honestly a little concerned. It was slow at first, but now it's to the point where it's dropping off...close to melting! 7 pounds in 5 weeks? I'm absolutely happy with those results. And it's the healthy way to lose weight!

Over the weekend I tried to do a juice feast. It didn't go so well. I borrowed a juicer from a co-worker and started the feast on Saturday morning. We got about three hours in before we decided to eat. We kept on drinking the juice (which was delicious), but started to crave food. I have learned on past diets that when I force myself to give up things that I need in my body, then start to crave, I do a 180 and overeat. I don't think I'm up for that kind of challenge just yet, but it was good to see how easy it was to make the juice and how delicious the juice was. The only exception? It's SUPER expensive! I think I bought $40 worth of vegetables and that lasted me one day.

I'm really excited for this weeks meals because not only are they vegan, but they are also gluten-free (thanks to my new cookbook, The Gluten-Free Vegan). I will be making:

-Yam Enchiladas with a Pomegranate Sauce

-Minestrone Soup

Then we will finish up the Apple Sage sausages that I bought on Sunday.

It's supposed to be pretty snowy this week, so I thought a hot soup would be perfect for the cold nights!

Oh! When I was doing the juicing, it leaves you with a bunch of shredded vegetables. So instead of throwing them all out, I decided to add it to some tofu to make a tofu scramble for breakfast this morning. There was enough left for lunch, too!

Ari Solomon

The Kind Life, Alicia Silverstone's blog, frequently has guests posts. Today's guest post was from Ari Solomon, the founder and owner of A Scent of Scandal. I think this might be one of the most profound things I've ever read about what it means to be vegan and ways to convice others of the same.

"If we're supposed to be eating things like meat, dairy, and eggs, why do we find slaughterhouse footage so disturbing? Certainly no one would ask us to emotionally prepare ourselves before showing a video of people harvesting broccoli, or picking apples. If eating animals and their "by-products" is so natural, what's with our revulsion to blood and gore?"

My reasoning for becoming vegan is leaning more and more towards animal rights because of arguments like this. I don't think anyone has a good rebuttal.

Read the full post here. I LOVE the ending!

Italian Sausage in Whole Wheat Pita

I came up with a meal all by myself last night. No recipes or anything! I went to Whole Foods and bought some Field Roast Italian sausages, whole wheat pitas (already in the shape of a bun) and some sauerkraut. For a side dish I used leftover bulgur wheat with radishes (from The Kind Life) and pickles! I really felt like grilling the sausages, but since it was snowing heavily (sping in Utah!) I decided to cook it over the stove instead.

I bought the Field Roast Apple Sage sausages as well, so I will be making those for dinner tomorrow night. The pitas came with eight and the sausages come with four in each package, so it's perfect!

I recently bought a cookbook called The Gluten-Free Vegan: 150 Delicious Gluten-Free, Animal-Free Recipes, so I cannot wait to start using it! This week's meals will come from there. I'm excited about this book because it has normal every day food in it, unlike The Kind Diet which has mostly foods that you would never think to make (but are still ridiculously delicious).

Weight Update: 6 lbs lost since March 1.