So It has been a week of being back on the Vegan Train. And a what a week it has been. It has been a reminder to me what importance momentum is and I understand a bit better after this week. You see, before I left for my trip to Australia I was so into the idea of eating better and changing my habits to eliminate animal products from my diet I could think about nothing else. That is why I created this blog. I thought, dreamed and talked about food and totally enjoyed how I was changing. On my trip I got off of this rush and was focusing on other things. Doing my best to eat well but not putting it in the front of my brain. Once home I started up the Vegan trail again at the beginning of last week. And instead of cruising along the speedy track I was pulling a truck out of the mud. That is what it has been like....a slow and bumpy start but thanks to this blog having commitment in writing, I am back in motion. Amazingly, this week I have been sticking with it. I have been very diligent on keeping on the vegan plan but not super excited about it. I am happy about our local Organic Market that just opened so I don't need to drive too far and I am excited to support them. The main thing that I see being a problem is not overdoing it on Soy Products. I mean every meat substitute is a soy product so I am watching that an limiting my soy to twice a week and drinking almond or rice milk. So this week I plan to write more and be more involved in the journey. I am feeling the momentum picking up again and I am riding with it. Can't wait to try some new recipes.

Home From Australia!!

Just as I thought...it was beyond difficult to be Vegan while traveling. For some, it might work fine, but for me...Nada. I just didn't want to mess with asking about every thing while ordering and being a guest I eat what I am served(for the most part) and that is how it goes while on the road and at the mercy of restaurant eating. And let me tell you....I ate well. Awesome, wonderful food of all sorts. We ate at amazing restaurants and the quality was divine. I truly did enjoy every aspect of being in Australia. It was a life changing trip and glorious experience. I also learned that if you order a Veggie Meal on the plane you get served first, with your name on it. That was cool and the food was okay. There is also a vegan option...so next time. Well I am a bit off focus and kilter since I returned but totally motivated to clear the cheese and other stuff out of my world for a while. How am I so motivated? Well let me explain. On vacation pictures are taken. And if you are with me and my sisters we take a lot of photos and have a pretty great computer to look at them closely and let me tell you the scenery was gorgeous but every pic of me nearly brought me to my knees in frustration. I mean, I knew I was a bit large but I did not realize to what extent. To put it like it is...I have come out of my denial. I am in serious need of a body makeover and if cutting all the cheese and animal out of my diet doesn't work then wrap me up and send me to Jesus cause at this juncture I have nearly tried everything. So, The plan is this: On March 1st I am going for it. I am declaring myself Vegan. This means no egg, dairy, meat or any animal product of any Kind. I am ready. Until then, I will eat well but I have a birthday party coming up for my son and I will be adding eggs to his cake and honestly I just can't commit until Monday. And this commitment will last for the Months of March and April. At this time I will evaluate my state of being and look at what, if anything, will need to change. So there is the plan stan. And I am so glad I have this blog because if not, this thought of changing my diet might have flown away with the wind. Over and Out for now:)

Down 5 and Down Under

I am a few hours away from heading to Australia! I am so excited. I will be spending time with both of my sisters. And I am leaving kids and hubby at home. A real trip on my own. This experience is going to be awesome. I am going to take in every second of every day. A am a sponge absorbing everything!! And lucky for me my little sister happens to live in Australia right now. I am meeting My older sister in San Fransisco and we are boarding a 14 hour flight across the Ocean. This part freaks me out, however, it has given me the gift at looking at my life a bit differently. Every moment could my last every moment is a moment to cherish. Somehow every thing in my life is coming together in a good way. The universe is cradling me. I am so excited to see how the people of Sydney Australia eat, drink, and live. Exciting times.

I decided to get on the scale today and Yipppeeeee! I lost 5 pounds. And this is not from counting calories or measuring portions. This is just from eating great food when I am hungry. Ever since I picked up Alycia's book my eating life has totally changed. This is proof to me that sometimes getting the right thing at the right time is a miracle and something to run with and take seriously. I must say that I am not going totally Vegan until I get back from my trip. I have been pretty much for the past week but there are times I have not been perfect. For example, baking with eggs. And when I went out on my birthday I ordered a roasted beet salad with goat cheese and the spinach came with parmesan. I just went with it. I will draw the line post trip. And I am not sure how everything will be going at my sisters house and I will spend a bunch of meals eating out so i am not committing to full on veganism until I get home. But for the record I am a vegetarian. Yes I will declare that. I have had no desire what so ever to eat meat. Not one craving. I think I am not craving things because my body is so happy with the food going into it there is no room for craving. And I am officially off of Coffee. I am still withdrawing. It mostly hits at dinner time. The room starts spinning and my head feels clogged. I just go with it. No more headaches though. That is a huge plus! I will be fine and not a complete mess traveling cause "I haven't my cup o' Jo".

Happy Travels and Joyous Times.

Time to finish the TO DO List and hop on that plane.

Birthday

It's my Birthday today!! I am 38 years old. I am in shock. I think I am still twenty something. Oh my how time flies. This very morning my son woke up with a fever and horrid cough. Poor guy! I cancelled my plans and started to feel sorry for myself. This changed when I read something. And that something went something like this "happiness is not always in the moment and maturity is being able to appreciate delayed gratification". This makes complete sense. Just because it is my Birthday does not mean I need to be ecstatic with joy. And because I am happy does not mean I am going to be happy in every second in every moment in my life. In other words... Go with it. Go with the good and the bad, eventually it will cycle back again. If I were to rate myself I would say that I am over all... happy!! And this is the greatest gift I could ever ask for on my birthday or any other day.

Okay I am a total geek. Nobody wants to read about what I eat. With that being said for some reason I want to write about it. Why don't I just journal? Good question. I don't know. So here I sit at the computer. It is sooooo amazing that I am still wanting to fill my body up with amazing veggies and food that is "kind". Today is day 7 with no meat 6 with out Dairy and 4 with no coffee and I am still here to talk about it. I am getting waves of craziness with the coffee or lack there of. One minute I will be fine and the next total headache or tiredness hits me. I have been a coffee drinker for years and going without is, well unexpected. Honestly it is not that bad. This journey is one of opening up to the universe to show me the way and so far I have not been let down. Something is pulling me along right now. It is the strangest thing. Who knew that such a subtle change would lead to such a personal break through. I asked for guidance and sure enough I knew what I had to do. When I ask for clarity It is there in front of me. Amazing.

Freak out time

Does anyone else totally loose it right before dinner time? This is by far the most challenging part of the day for me. Why? because I am tired and want to chill and somehow more things are piled up on the to do list than any other part of the day. So I have spent many before dinner moments trying to breath in and not yell. Well, today I didn't quite make it with out a freak out. So after a pretty okay day...it hit me like a wave. My husband came home and I bit his head off for stepping in the door. Next, a serious wave of illness came over me...next thing I knew I felt like pins and needles were in my head. I had a splitting headache! It was freaky. When I was trying to apologize to my husband i realized...I have not had coffee for TWO DAYS! What? who am I?? Coffee is my number one pal. The only thing I swear I will never go without and now I have gone 2 days with out it? This is odd. This is beyond odd...this is a miracle! Weird. Strange. Awesome. However, caffeine withdrawls are a bitch. I have been through them many times in my life and it is not fun. AND I think I am having some other detox stuff going on too. I just felt so strange and ill at dinner I had to stop eating and rest for a few hours. Luckily, about 2 hours later I woke up with out the headache and finished my Polenta and mixed veggie delight. I am now thinking I should ride out the coffee detox. I am about to take a trip and it would be nice to not be NEEDING a cup of coffee. I may still indulge, but hell, might as well take a break from the tar like substance while I have the chance. I wonder if the bad mood was a result of diet change too. Whatever is going on I am going to ride with it.

2/1/10 iI's official: I am LOVING THIS! so far!

Today I went to the Good Harvest Market. It is the nearest organic health food market. It is a little further than my regular shopping place but I knew I had to load up on goods. I spent the morning reading and planning on what to buy so I would have some idea of what I was getting before i arrived. It is so easy to drop a load of cash at the store if I don't have a list. And I have been there before and shop there at times.. but for some reason, I felt like the new kid in class. So many choices and I seriously had to investigate what certain things were on my list. For example, I know what soy sauce is.. but shoyu is a bit different. Duh. And what are daikons? Okay, I may be a complete moron but I didn’t quite know. And the sea stuff? I know what Nori is but that is about it. Luckily the sea stuff was all grouped together for next time. I felt a little overwhelmed here and there but oh well. And guess what? I know what Daikons are now and can’t wait to use them!! Looking around at all the beautiful food I got inspired. I wanted to go with the Nabeyaki Udon noodle dish and basic miso soup. And that had a bunch of random ingredients I didn’t have on my list. So I ended up looking up the recipe from Alicia’s book while walking around. I think that might be my new Bible. Any way. I made it out of there and only spent 20$ more than I regularly do. However, not sure how long the supplies will last and/or if anyone besides me will eat them. I am also happy to report for the first time since forever I actually remembered to bring my own bags and not use paper or plastic. That felt great...so great in fact I took numerous pictures of the bags and my groceries. I have to say a full bag devoted to greens... was beautiful.

And then... the cooking. Wow, I loved it. I didn’t get everything perfect on the list but that was okay. I just chopped away and improvised. I did a great job I must say and pulled off making miso soup on the side. Why am I such a dork and have not been making miso soup more often? It is so easy and good and my children actually ate some of it. They also ate some of the Udon noodles and few veggies. They didn’t freak out too much or ask for a PB and J which happens often around our table. So I feel great about that. My husband, of course scarfed it down but did pick out the mushrooms. And I have to say...Shitake mushrooms are NOT my favorite. I did loooooove, however, adding fresh ginger to the dipping sauce... although, I cut my finger on the grater somehow, it was totally worth it. And the best news...this meal was totally Vegan! I did it. I am a person who is all or nothing sometimes and easing into veganism is looking more like jumping in and more exciting than I expected. I am beginning to think that although I am “flirting” with the idea... I just may be falling in love!!

CORN BREAD AND LENTILS 11/31/10

• Okay, so tonight I made lentils and sweet potatoes( my own recipie) and the corn bread vegan style. It actually turned out without eggs and I loved it. I also found out...My husband is not on board with giving up the cheese. I totally misunderstood him. He said he would eat what I cook but he is not going Vegan with me. Oh well. I am not letting that get me down. I can still do it and it is is his body. So be it. Tomorrow I am going to the health food store and loading up on goods. I feel soooo much lighter already. I have not had meat since I bought "the book" two days ago. Alicia Sylverstone I love You!! Two days is not long but I feel great!! Tonight after being reminded of the harshness animals are going through by reading a detailed description of the crappy life many animals live that we eat...I have no desire to eat them. Poor little buggers and guess what? dinner was awesome with out the flesh. I am soooooo excited to be in a great food store tomorrow. I just feel so inspired right now. I am going with it. Blessings. And by the way...I know that some animals are not treated poorly. Many of them have great lives on the farm, however I still don't want to eat the happy animals either. At least for now. But who knows, that may change. But for today, I am meatless. Peas OUT!

1/30/10 Veganaise here I come!

Here is goes. The declaration. I am going Vegan. This means I will not be eating meat or animal products for ummm.......not sure yet how long. Now I will answer some questions. Why did I decide to do this? Well, first and foremost I am not getting any younger. I am climbing up the number chart and only inches away from 40. Meanwhile, the girls are flying south and not just for the winter. My body is changing in ways I didn’t expect and trouble is on the horizon...I can feel it. Also, my skin is worse than when I was in Jr. High school as far as blemishes go and I am lugging around many excess and unwanted pounds!! AND Not one diet I have tried in the the past few years has helped to shed them. So those are my personal reasons. There are also many enviromental reasons and of course concern for the animal reasons but for the most part right now I have the desire to overhaul my eating and cut out animal products simply to see if could help me with the issues I have listed above. Yes, I know, totally self centered. With that being said I also know It is time I devote some time and energy to my health or I will be in trouble. Now, I hear the health benefits will rock my world. I have never actually tried being vegan. And this is why I am blogging about it. I think it will be interesting to record and report the changes as I go. Also fun to write and share the experience. Although being vegan has not been on my radar, I have been a veg head for nearly a decade at one point in my life after taking a trip to a slaughter house. This shook me to the core and I swore off burgers forever. Well, forever didn’t last forever and I began eating meat again years ago and this lead me to a new low.... I ate my first Big Mac for the first time a few month ago. I have to admit, I liked it...I liked it.. a lot and the eggnog shake was oh so yummy. I probably put on a few pounds in one sitting with that meal. Micky D’s is a place I do try to avoid .You see, I am not a fast food junkie. I do on occasion go to Taco Bell or Subway if I am going to indulge. Anyway, In general, I don’t eat horribly I just don’t eat great. And years of not eating great are catching up to me. I have to be honest. The most beloved food in my life is cheese. I love cheese and put it on just about everything. I think it is god’s gift to me and my fellows. This could also be why I have the skin resembling an 8th grader (in the blemish department not the wrinkle department). Also, sour cream? Come on! that is pure heaven on earth. I might start to cry I love that stuff so much. And also this means bye bye to eggs, yougurt butter and cream. It will happen. When am i making this shift? That is yet to be determined. All I know is it WILL happen. Over and Out For Now!

1/29/10 The Beginning

I have been praying and hoping for something to inspire me into getting healthy again! I have tried sooooo many diets over the past couple of years and nothing feels right or works. When I heard of Food INC and Alicia's book on Oprah the other day I went straight to the book store. There was only one copy of The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone left and so I sat down to look it over. Just then I noticed a Paul Mcartney song on the radio and then I noticed the preface I was reading was written by him! This was a sign to me. I knew in that moment this is the book, has the philosophy I have been looking for and need desperately. I am about to turn 40, well actually 38 but my body is changing in a not so good way and all the dieting and "trying" to eat healthy is actually going the opposite direction and I am packing on the pounds. It is time to try something different. I have alway feared loosing cheese. I soooo love that gooey stuff but now my skin is worse than when I was in Jr. High school. The girls are flying south and my body is at it's all time worst.The Kind Diet seems like a "god send" right now. . I do have a trip planned to visit my sister in Australia I will be "flirting" or gearing up until I return. When I return I am re-vamping our pantry and making the commitment to "GO KIND" I believe this was exactly what I needed in my life. I am totally up for it. And ready to learn more. I was a veggie for many years but never Vegan. I know my body is crying for a change. My spirit is also. Cheers to Health!