Day 233 -- Happy Birthday To Me!

It's day 233 and it's my birthday, so I'm taking the day off of blogging.  But I will leave everyone with this -- a recipe for Vegan Chocolate Cake from MarthaStewart.com!

And I hope that's not a glass of cow's milk sitting next to that plate!

Day 232 -- Looking Back -- And Forward

Tomorrow is my birthday!  I won't say how old I am.  Old enough.  As the big day approaches, I've been thinking about the changes I've made in my life in the past year.

Last August 16th, I was pretty unhappy with myself.  I'd spent the summer feeling exhausted and sick and uncomfortable.  I was way too heavy and I began to wonder if I'd ever do anything about it.  Birthdays are always a time to reflect on the past year and the upcoming year and for the first time in many years, I have an optimistic outlook.

I've lost 74 pounds since the start of the year and I'm pretty happy with that.  I've been sitting at the same weight for about a month now, but I also haven't been focusing on diet as much as I should.  So I hope August 16th will be motivation to finish this thing.  The end of my "vegan year" is approaching more quickly every day.  And I'd like to lose at least another 40  pounds before the end of the year.  That's going to be a pretty tough thing.  So maybe I'll have two years as a vegan.

I have made one decision, though.  I won't be a strict vegan.  I'm going to try to eat vegan as much as I possibly can, at home and out when there are vegan option on the menu.  But I am going to eat fish occasionally and cheese when I have pizza.  Other than that, I think I should be able to stick to a vegan diet and be perfectly happy.

Day 200 -- Green Peas And Tart Cherries

Today was the perfect 200th day of my vegan life.  When I began this little project, it was the dead of winter, the days were short, the night was long and the ground was covered in snow.  I honestly thought that summer would never come.  Well, it was slow in coming, but it is here now and with it, lots of wAndnderful fresh produce.

Today, on my 200th day of vegan eating, I shelled some fresh peas and ate them.  They were from my dad's garden and at first, I thought all that shelling really wasn't worth the measly amount of peas I got.  But then I cooked them and ate them with a little margarine and some salt and freshly-ground pepper and they were heaven!

Later in the afternoon, a friend of mine came over and we picked the cherries off my cherry tree.  I then pitted them and made another cherry crumble, this time not from store-bought Bing cherries but from my own home-grown cherries.  And the crumble was so good!  The cherries were just perfectly tart and yummy, better than Bing!

It wasn't the healthiest day of eating.  In addition, I managed a veggie burger on a whole wheat bun and a Pink Lady apple, but that was pretty much it for the day.  I guess cherries and peas aren't the worst choices, but they are a far cry from the junk I was eating 201 days ago.  I'm glad that I can get all excited about fresh peas and homegrown cherries.  Now on to the next 100 days!
  

Day 199 -- My Vegan Odometer

I'm not sure why I get so excited about silly milestones in this year-long journey.  First it was one month, then two months, then one hundred days.  After that it was halfway through (one-hundred eighty-three days) and now my odometer is going to turn over from the hundreds into the two-hundred day mark.  Two-hundred days seems like a very long time.  In another seventy-four days, I'm going to be three-quarters of the way done with my year.  My birthday is also coming up.

So, I suppose now is as good a time as any to look at what I've achieved since the last "big day."  I spent most of June stuck at one weight.  Though I continued to eat healthy and light, nothing seemed to be moving.  And then, at the beginning of July, I got food poisoning and that all changed.  In the course of three days, I lost five pounds!  Though it was the worst way to shed weight, I think the illness shocked my body and the pounds started coming off again.  Since then, I've lost another two pounds.  Total weight loss -- 70 pounds!

I still haven't added exercise to the mix and it's really starting to show.  The skin on my arms and thighs is beginning to resemble a shar pei!  I watch "Extreme Weight Loss" and envy the contestants who get the skin surgery, then realize that I'd never be accepted on that show because I don't weigh enough -- which, of course, makes me very happy.

It's strange, the little things that seem to delight me these days.  What are some of the things I'm looking forward to?  Watching my weight loss odometer turn over and breaking into "one-der-land".  Watching my BMI move from obese to overweight and then, someday, to normal.  Reaching my one-year anniversary on December 27th.  Being able to fit into an old pair of Levi 501 jeans that I've never worn.  Hey, being able to fit into any of the old jeans I've kept that don't have an elastic waistband.

I can always find something to look forward to on this year-long journey.  And along the way, I seem to amuse myself with food.  Who would have ever thought two hundred days ago, that my major concern would be how I might be able to fit more chia seeds into my diet?  Or that I'd be eating beet greens?  Or nutritional yeast?   Life is good.

BTW, I should have used an odometer for my photo, but I couldn't resist the chance to put up the shar pei photo.  

Day 163 -- Grocery Cart Shame

A few days ago, I was standing in line at the grocery store and remembering how I used to feel when checking out -- shame.  I'd have a cart full of junk food and not a veggie or fruit in sight.  I'd unload my choices and wonder what the people around me were thinking.  I knew what they were thinking -- no wonder she's so fat if she eats that junk every day.

Now, when I go to the grocery store, I find myself analyzing other people's carts.  When I see a lot of packaged junk food, I don't make a judgement, but I do think to myself, oh, please don't eat that stuff.  It's so bad for you.  Of course, I think people should be able to choose exactly what they want to eat and I'd never say that outloud.  But I want to tell them how good it feels when you get rid of processed food and eat whole foods instead.  And if someone asks how I've lost so much weight, I'm very happy to tell them about my vegan diet and my aversion to processed food.

Yesterday, my grocery cart was a thing of beauty.  I had mushrooms, onions, zucchini, avocados, cauliflower, cherries, apples, bananas, a melon, two jars of organic no-fat spaghetti sauce, and  two packages of Boca crumbles (yes, I know they're bad, but I have to get protein!).  I was so proud.  And then I started to think about what other people were thinking -- if that woman eats so healthy, why is she so fat!

I don't care what other people are thinking.  I'm very happy with the changes I"ve made to my diet and that's all that matters to me.  I've just finished week 23 and in just 19 days I will be at the halfway mark in my year as a vegan.  I can't believe how fast time has gone -- or how lucky I am that I stumbled upon this plan.  I could still be back where I was 60 pounds ago -- unhealthy, depressed, uncomfortable.  Thank goodness for  veggies.

Day 157 -- Pizza With Cheese Is Not Vegan!

Yes, I will admit it here.  I strayed.  And it was very deliberate.  I had lunch with a friend who I see only a few times a year and we'd planned the lunch a few weeks ago.  We usually go out for pizza and the last time we went was a few weeks before I decided to eat vegan.  I had  the choice to order my pizza without cheese, but I figured, what the hell.  I'd been thinking about pizza for two weeks and I was going to have pizza.  And it was so good!

Now, you'd think I'd feel guilty about this but I'm not exactly an ethical vegan.  I could very easily be an ethical vegetarian, because I'm pretty okay with cheese and dairy products.  I'm still on the fence about eggs though I have had exactly two prior big lapses and about five other smaller lapses (ranch dressing on tortilla chips at my favorite restaurant).  I never thought I'd be able to make it for an entire year as a strictly strict vegan.  I expected that there might be a few little lapses along the way.  But I'm pretty proud of what I've managed to do so far.  Five months ago, I was a committed meat eater and now, I've managed to stick to a vegan diet 98% of the time.

So, thank you, J, for the fun lunch.  And for giving me that chance to eat a little dairy!

Day 141 -- I Guess It Had To Happen Sooner Or Later

I have now finished twenty weeks as a vegan and over these past twenty weeks, I've lost 57 pounds.  But this week, I didn't lose a pound.  Now, in all honesty, I haven't been as vigilant about watching what I eat.  I've been eating vegan and mostly low-fat vegan.  I've eaten out a few times and enjoyed some drinks.  And I did have a major pig-out last Sunday, a day that I spent eating everything I could find in the house -- all vegan, all low-fat, but more calories than I usually eat in three days.  I think I ate at least eight meals that day.

Since I told myself at the beginning of this vegan adventure, that I wasn't going to watch what I eat as long as it was healthy and vegan, I can't be upset with myself.  Everything I ate was wonderfully healthy.  However, I haven't been getting as much protein as I should lately.  I haven't been eating my greens or my beans.  So, I need to get those back in my diet and maybe I won't be tempted to have another Sunday vegan binge.  I think balance is the key and I definitely have't been balanced.  I reach the halfway mark in my year as a vegan in just six weeks -- June 27th!  It's hard to believe that after that date, I'm on the downward side of the curve.  Now is no time to give up on good health.  

Day 127 -- Happy Birthday, Sissies! And Bro!

Today, May 2nd, is the birthday of both of my sisters.  They aren't twins.  They were born exactly two yeaars apart on the same date.  Two years later, my brother was born on May 8th.  In honor of their birthdays, I went in search of a cake recipe that meets my vegan requirements and is also low in fat -- a tall order, but not impossible.

Vegan baking comes with it's own complex set of problems and most of those start with the eggs, butter and oil usually used in traditional baking.  How does one replace such important elements with plant-based alternatives.  I've used egg substitute for several attempts at baking, but bananas also work as well.  Applesauce is a good choice to use as a binder, but it can also be used to replace fat in a recipe.  For more info on vegan substitutes in baking, use this extensive list from VeganBaking.net!

This recipe for Vegan Chocolate Cake, from the CHOW website, uses all the goodies -- vegan margarine (a pound and a half between the cake and frosting!), but a birthday only comes once a year.  So I guess it's okay to just let 'er rip.  Happy Birthday, L and E and B!  I'm not going to make this cake for you, or for me, but it's the thought that counts.  For me, just looking at the picture is enough.

Day 126 -- Hooray, Hooray, It's The First Of May!

It's May Day!   After a long winter, I wondered if this day would ever come -- but it has!  May Day has been a traditional day of festivities throughout the centuries. The day is most associated with towns and villages celebrating springtime fertility (of the soil, livestock, and people) and revelry with village fetes and community gatherings.  I'm having my own little celebration today.

Though summer doesn't officially begin until June, I've always considered May to be the beginning of summer.  Spring is that time between the last snowstorm and the first really warm day.  Once I can go outside regularly without a coat, it is -- in my mind -- summer.  This is a good thing since our summers in the Midwest are always too short.

This is my first summer as a vegan (and hopefully not my last) and I'm looking forward to the bounty of fresh fruits and veggies that summer brings. The modern day supermarket can supply me over the winter months with a nice variety, but now I'll be able to find golden beets and zucchini and sweet corn and cukes.

My father plants a huge garden and is always happy to share.  And I'm ashamed to say that I've never visited our local farmers' market.  In truth, until I started eating vegan, I was never very interested in vegetables.  Vegetables were like vitamins -- something you should be eating but something that got pushed aside for something more tasty.  I hadn't yet learned to cook with the ingredients I had at hand.  Instead, I would always cook what I had a craving for -- often ignoring the veggies I had in the fridge.  Sad to say, man of them ended up in the trash.

This year, I'm going to dig up a corner of my perennial garden and plant a few tomatoes, some basil and maybe some peas.  Nothing big, but it will be nice to eat sun-warmed tomato and basil sandwiches.  I have the perfect whole grain bread!  The farmers' market doesn't open until the June 2nd, but I can wait.  It's not to early to start looking for new recipes, though.

Day 122 -- Another Milestone In A Year-Long Journey

Four months ago, on December 27, 2012, I decided to make a major change in my life.  Now, here I am, on Day 122, a third of the way through the year.  I'm over a third of the way toward my weight loss goal, but I expect that as I get closer to my goal weight, things will slow down.  Though I'm tracking my weight loss, this still doesn't seem like a diet to me.  I'm eating all the time and there's no deprivation.  And I still love veggies!  Let me show a little veggie love before I go on.

In looking back at my first four months as a vegan, I think I did pretty well.  I ate meat once -- pepperoni on a slice of pizza a week ago.  I have eaten tiny amounts of extraneous cheese a few times (picked out of a salad and stuck to some guacamole) and enjoyed a few treats that contained eggs and butter.  And I can't seem to visit my favorite restaurant without indulging in the ranch dressing dip with the tortilla chips.  So, I will proudly declare that I'm mostly vegan.  About 98% vegan.

Of course, the vegan police will beg to differ.  If anything other than veggies pass my lips, then I'm not a vegan.  But every now and then, I meow like a cat. Does that mean I'm not 100% human?  So, I'm going to continue to eat vegan, even though I might not be considered a vegan.  One thing is very true -- I'm so much healthier than I was four months ago.  I feel good!  And I'm looking forward to the next four months.