San Francisco Dreaming

Look what came in the mail the other day!

The invite to Dave’s brother’s wedding!!!

Doesn’t it look lovely?

This means we’re going to San Francisco!  I’ve never been to San Francisco before, so what are some MUST GO places?

Anyways, today I made myself some easy peasy meals while munching on my HLS swag.

For breakfast I munched on Barney Butter and Tostitos.

It’s actually a great combination if you like sweet and salty foods.

For lunch, I sauteed some seitan and made myself a seitan and corn salad.

I loveeeeeeeeee seitan!

I ate the rest of my Glo Bar for a snack.

Picture taken prior to consumption.

For dinner, I made a simple stir fry of potatoes, edamame and corn.

Topped it with some nooch!

Tomorrow my friend from out of town is coming in, so I need to think of what to make for dinner!  Gotta go to TJ’s for some major fridge stocking now!

Yummy and Healthy Carbs!

I am totally PMSing this week and all I want to do is to watch t.v. and inhale carbs!!!  First things first, I’m sooooo bummed out that Evan didn’t win DWTS.  Yeah, yeah, Nicole’s the better dancer but this isn’t the Olympics.  It’s not about who’s the best but about who has grown the most.  If I wanted to watch professionals dance, I wouldn’t be watching DWTS.  I was so sad my first choice, Chad Ochocinco, got kicked off a few weeks back, but oh well, I can’t wait for the next season.  Hopefully my favorite dancers will also be the judges’ favorites too :-p.

Also sad that Lost is over .  Didn’t love the finale but didn’t hate it either.  Wished they had more answers but can’t wait until the season 6 DVD set comes out.  Allegedly, there will be some answers in the extras.

After last night’s let down, I needed major comfort food in the morning:

Nothing beats pb and banana on a slice of toasted bread for a carb craving!

Dave came home early and made me lunch:

He made my salad with tempeh, romaine lettuce, hummus and dressed it with balsamic vinegar.  The hummus and balsamic vinegar combo is surprisingly tasty!

For dinner, I had a healthy meal of cookies and “milk.”

Dave kind of “invented” the cookie recipe as he made it.  I think he used a combination of oatmeal, wheat flour and carob chips to make them.  For the “milk,” I mixed in the Amazing Grass Wheat Grass with soymilk and added a little stevia to it; truth be told, it wasn’t half bad.

Anyways, bedtime for me, I’m trying to wake up earlier and earlier.

Dear Chicago…

PLEASE BE SUNNY so that I can have an excuse to buy some Karen Walker sunnies!

To be perfectly honest, if I could afford it, I would have 10+ pairs of Karen Walker sunglasses and go through 3 a day, while wearing the most glorious scarves + accessories.

From Left to Right

Row 1: The Rover, The Village, The Hector

Row 2: Otrera Hamsa Scarf, Alexander McQueen, Hermès Brides de Gala

Row 3: Church Burwood Brogues, Fendi Peekaboo Tote, Rick Owens

::Sigh:: one can only dream.  Anyways eyewear envy aside, I did an indoor workout today, the Tracy Anderson video.  My arms are killing me!  I was too tired to cook anything after my workout so I threw together… you guessed it, a salad!

Sauteed Tofu + Onions + Lettuce + Garbanzo beans

I also found a way to make the wheatgrass powder bearable to me– by mixing it with soymilk, spinach and bananas for a green monster!  Unfortunately my blender broke in the middle of mixing so there were still chunks of banana and spinach floating in the green monster… not very sightly but was drinkable.  If anyone has any blender suggestions under $75 let me know. I want something that can make smoothies, possibly nut butters, and has a 2 + year warranty.

Anyways, I might go see Shrek tonight in 3-D!  I heard it’s good but will have to read more reviews first.

Oh and you know who won’t be seeing Shrek?

Wishbone says, “GTFO!

The Queen pooper herself.

First Shot of Wheatgrass + More Green Foods

So, I had read a lot about how great wheatgrass is for you and how it gives you a “jolt” of energy, thus, I had to try it firsthand.  Dave and I walked to our local Whole Foods (WF) today and asked the barista what wheatgrass tastes like.  She told us that it tastes pretty much like how it smells, grassy and green.  She said that she didn’t like the taste of it but she still drinks it for health reasons.  At that point, I was pretty scared but I still wanted to try it.

Such a small shot, but so so intimidating!

Well, the wheatgrass didn’t taste too bad.  It was very green, like a mixture of raw kale and spinach, and a little sweet.  It led me to buy Amazing Grass Wheat Grass Powder.

However, about 20 minutes after Dave and I had taken the “shot,” our tummies began hurting.  It’s not like a grumbling hurt, it’s like a I’m going to throw up kind of hurt.   Since I just had dinner before going to WF, I am going to try taking the wheatgrass on an empty stomach from now on.

Anyways, today was my rest day from working out and I totally indulged myself in GREEN foods.  By the way, green is quickly replacing purple as my favorite color. For breakfast I had a tempeh and avocado salad + a bowl of Kashi.

Weird but yummy

It seems that I can’t get enough of tempeh these days!

Look at the nutrition information!

20 Grams of PROTEIN!

For lunch I had a hearty kale salad.

I was craving carbs for dinner so I had some toast with lettuce “meatball” wraps.

All in all, today was a very satisfying day.  Gotta wake up early to run tomorrow, hope it doesn’t rain!

Good Dogs Gone Bad + Healthy Living Summit

My landlord is having a fit because Wishbone has been pooping everywhere at night. Wishbone had managed to figure out a way to escape the “baby fence” which encloses her in the kitchen and laundry room and went poopy in the living room… on both of my landlord’s new rugs.  Since Wishbone is my landlord’s dog, although I unofficially claim ownership, she is banished from the house today and is spending the day in the garage.  ::Sigh:: the dogs drive me nuts!  They are both so cute but so naughty!

Anyways, onto something exciting!  Guess who’s going to speak at the Healthy Living Summit (HLS)??? I was so surprised and happy that they accepted my proposal for eating ethically on a budget.  I will post more details later!

The one thing, though, that scares me to death about the HLS is that I’ll need to be in sick shape for it.  They are even having a “fun” 5k.  I can’t run very far on pavement and that’s a huge problem.  Thus, I’ve devised a training plan and will be posting my weekly workouts.

This is what I have planned so far:

Week 1 May 17th – May 23rd

Monday: Run 30 min

Tuesday: Run 35 min

Wednesday: Run 25 min + workout video

Thursday: Run 30 min

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Run 45 min

Sunday: Rest

I started running yesterday and it was TOUGH!  I only ran/ walked about 2 miles :-\.  I made up for my lack of distance by doing the Tracey Anderson Mat Workout, which is a killer!

Today I ran with my roommate Sara.  We ran a mile and a quarter together and then I took a water break and ran about a mile later with Dave.  I tried to do the Tracy Anderson video again but I was so sore!  I managed to get through the arms though, whew!

I am also trying to get more protein into my diet.  For breakfast I’ve been eating Kashi Go Lean Original cereal with flax seeds.  For lunch I had a tempeh salad:

I dressed it with an asian style peanut butter dressing using pb, soy sauce, siracha sauce and water.  It sounds gross but is absolutely delicious!  I’m planning to switch from eating mostly tofu to eating more tempeh.  Compared to tofu, tempeh has a much more dense and dry texture.  It also has a hell of a lot more protein! Yum yum!

For dinner I made a “meatball” salad using my favorite vegan meat substitute, Trader Joe’s Meatless Meatballs!

I used meatless meatballs, onions, tomatoes and olives to adorn my plate of kale.  Kale is quickly becoming my favorite veggie.

Dave also had a salad.

He prefers romaine lettuce to kale and adorned his salad with meatless meatballs, sauteed frozen veggie mix, giardiniera, olives, onions and tomatoes.

I must say that since I discovered the salad spinner, I’ve been making a lot more salads.  Now, I can’t imagine life without it!

Anyways, I’m kind of nervous about speaking at the HLS because I’ll be surrounded with such prominent bloggers!!! My goal from now on is to try to update my blog as often as I can, eeep!

Happy Hump Day!

Today started off quite gloomily, but Wishbone cheered me up!

Wishbone says, “I’m gonna lick you!”

Wishbone says, “Gimme the stick!”

She looks so tiny here!  I’m holding up a strawberry “fruit floe” from Trader Joe’s.

I had one for breakfast, not exactly nutritiously sound, but it was absolutely delicious!  I also had Kashi with rice milk.

I didn’t get to eat lunch until later in the day so I was starving by then.  For lunch I had edamame sprinkled with sea salt and a delicious daikon, green bean, and soy nut salad.

Yummy in my tummy!

Edamame with Sea Salt

I think I’m in love with daikon.  I love the crunchy texture.  It’s a pretty mild radish and is delicious both raw and cooked.

Tasted as good as it looks!

For dinner I was craving something sweet and salty so I made a vegan rib salad.  I used Morning Star “riblets.”

They come frozen and looked pretty gross out of the box.

You can cook them by either microwaving them or baking them; I chose to bake them.  I put the frozen riblet in a piece of foil and wrapped it up tightly so that the sauce wouldn’t drip.

Still looks gross!

All wrapped up!

The riblets actually came out very well.

I put them on top of a bed of lettuce and green beans.

I made Dave chana masala and served it over a bed of brown basmati rice.  It was the first time I made it and I think it turned out great.  I practically ate half of Dave’s meal.

Chana Masala

Our meals together

I wasn’t feeling too well today so instead of going to the gym Dave and I took the dogs for a nice long walk.  I haven’t uploaded the pictures yet but it was so much fun to watch Wishbone and Cody frolic in the park with the other dogs. I’m currently working on writing out the recipe for the chana masala so expect a looong post soon.

Wishbone Day

I named today Wishbone Day because Wishbone has been such a good dog.  She was totally posing for the camera this morning!

Wishbone says, “Pet Me Biotch!”

“Gimme treats!”

Cody, the other dog, has “spring fever” and won’t leave her alone!  Thus, I’ve been giving Wishy extra attention and love.

Cody the lonely JRT.

Speaking of dogs, I realized how incredibly ridiculous I sound when I talk to dogs.  When talking to a pup, I instantly become this incoherent hot mess who resorts to baby talk.  I can’t help it!  As soon as I see a cute dog my college education flies out the window and I’m totally gaga-ing at the dog who just stares at me like I’m crazy!  Geez Louise!

Anyways, for lunch I made this amazing carrot and daikon salad with Trader Joe’s Italian Sausage-less Sausage.  I had originally thought the sausage was vegan but upon closer inspection of the ingredients, I saw that it had egg whites in it.  Damn, I guess I won’t be buying that again.

Nevertheless, the sausage was very tasty and easy to cook.  I just cut it up into little pieces, heated it up in a skillet, and threw it on top of my carrot and daikon mixture.

Note: As soon as I took the picture, I realized that I should have cut the sausage up first before heating it up.

Anywhoo, the end product looked like this:

Wishbone soooo wanted my salad.

But she didn’t get any!

Soon after lunch it was time for Wishbone’s walk!  It was a beautiful day out, so instead of going to the gym, Dave and I took her for a long walk in the park.

Oak Park’s Historical John Farson House

In the park, Wishbone met the cutest 9 month old Coton-de-Tulear puppy named Noor!  It was so cute because Noor ran all the way across the park to say “Hi” to Wishbone.

Dogs in Love.

Noor being bashful.

When we left the park Wishbone made another friend!  She met a Lhasa Apso!

Notice the tension in the leashes.  They couldn’t stop sniffing each other!

Wishbone loooooves meeting new dogs.   She definitely has a type too!  She likes them small, cute, and fluffy!

After the walk I was starving!  So for dinner I made some yummy gnocchi with vegan “vodka sauce.”  I got the recipe for the sauce from thekindlife.com.  I used Target’s Archer Farms pre-made gnocchi, cooked it according to the directions on the box and simply added the cooked gnocchi to the sauce.

Everything tastes better with cilantro!

Coming from a non-gnocchi fan, I thought the dish was quite good.  The sauce doesn’t taste anything like real vodka sauce but it was yummy nonetheless.

All in all today was a lovely day with good food and happy times with my favorite little JRT.

Vegan for a Month

Currently drinking: Synergy- Guava Goddess Kombucha Tea

So today is my one-month anniversary of being vegan.  It’s been quite an interesting month as I have craved not only meat but also dairy and menthol cigarettes several times.  However, I stuck with it and I’m pretty content with myself.

It’s been a very exciting month as I’ve tried lots of new foods, most were awesome,  but select foods were gross (Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo, I’m lookin’ at you)!  I guess I’m now one of those new age “foodies,” obsessed with watching The Food Network and reading food blogs.

Dave and I took Wishbone the sprightly Jack Russell Terrier (JRT) to the park today where she happily sniffed several doggie butts.

Wishbone drives me nuts!

I love Wishbone but she has the worst breath ever!  At the park, we met a very nice elderly lady who was taking her 10 year old yorkie, Humphrey, for a walk.  She (older lady) was totally talking smack about the other dog people in the park, namely, those who had their dogs unleashed.

When I got back I was starving and made my infamous soy sauce salad.  It’s basically your conventional mixture of salad greens topped with soy sauce, sesame oil and some type of nuts.  I prefer soy nuts, which Dave hates.

Anyways, I’m going to finish my Kombucha and head to bed. I have a long day tomorrow.  Ugh.  I will be dreaming of Lululemon speed shorts.