World Vegetarian Day, Vegan MoFo, and a Challenge

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Another Vegan Kickstart has come and gone and so have 4 pounds. Granted they were lost in the first week, but I maintained for the month and that makes me happy.  Counting Points is working for me and I’m saving money in the process, too.  Less junk is coming in the house and less food is being wasted.  It feels good.

It’s almost October and that means another World Vegetarian Day will kick off another Vegetarian Awareness Month.  I’m a giddy girl because it means another Vegan MoFo is upon us.  My procrastinating butt missed the Vegan MoFo signup deadline so I will be sitting on the sidelines again.  But I won’t be completely out.  I’ll be blogging more often and posting pics more often, too.  That will be a challenge in itself because I don’t always post regularly.

Another challenge that I’m going to take on is the Eat-In Challenge from Cook. Vegan. Lover.  Basically I’m going to eat in for every meal, drink, and snack for the month of October.  I am somewhat torn because I have a new job (yay) and wanted to celebrate at The Sprout next week.  The special events are scheduled monthly, but this one is screaming my name.  Other than this meal, I’m going to stick it out.   It’s easier for me to eat at home anyway since I’m the ‘difficult’ one in the family when it comes to eating out.  Difficult according to the omni family, anyway.  :sigh:

Eating in would save us a bundle.  We rarely spend less than $40 when the four of us are together and most of the time the bill pushes $60. I can throw a killer week of meals together for $60.  Hell, I’ve done it with less.  Once the pantry is stocked, I can work magic with $40-50 a week.  I know I can keep on track because I track Points already.  The most difficult part of this challenge will be the hubby and kidos.   Yeah, I’m going to give it a shot.  

On the health front, the headaches continue while the blood pressure continues to fluctuate, but that’s another post.

Until later, peace.

Harmony Valley Mixes and my Food Network Addiction

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You know me.  You know I love to cook and have to please the omni family while making meals healthy, colorful, and veggie.  Because I don’t always have the time to block 1-2 hour cooking sessions, most meals have to be quick.  Harmony Valley Foods helped cut down cooking time and made the omni man and boy happy at dinner and breakfast.  

I was sent two packages of Harmoney Valley to try, and both resuted in kitchen success!  I cannot tell you
how much I enjoyed them.

I am a Food Network Addict.  I freely admit it to anyone who asks.  On weekends, I set my DVR to record my favorite shows so  can catch up during the week.  I don;t always watch all of the shows.  I watch the intros and see if the family or I would be interested in any of the on-screen goodness and to see if I can veganize any of it.  Aarti Parti is one of my favorite shows.  Not only is Aarti a doll, her food looks amazing.  Hubster and I love Indian food, so learning from Aarti’s show is a must see.  Keeping food prep time manageable is also required most days.

A few weeks ago, Aarti made Kheema, a quick-cooking dish with ground beef and peas. While beef is out of the question, vegan beef crumbles are not.  Usually I make my own crumbles by seasoning TVP, but I was out of some of my ‘beef’ stock ingredients.  Harmony Valley Foods’ Hamburger Style mix was perfect.  I added cold water to the mix and threw it in the fridge.  The instructions say to refrigerate for 15 minutes before cooking, but it was much longer than that.  The dogs can be particularly cute when I’m cooking and I was distracted and watched them for a while.

I pulled out the rehydrated mix and went to cooking.  The recipe took 25 minutes from the minute I put
the onions in the skillet and made the house smell yummy. I forgot to take a picture of the finished dish
topped with cilantro because once I tasted it, I was ready to eat.  No need for stinking cilantro.  Cilantro,

baby, I still love you.  It was tender and much more like ground beef than my usual TVP blend. And the bonus was that it took took less time than my usual route.  The Hamburger Mix and Kheema recipes are keepers!

A few days later, the craving for biscuits with sausage gravy made me a mad woman, so I whipped some up.  The biscuits came from The Joy of Vegan Baking, and the sausage gravy was my own recipe with Harmony Valley Sausage Mix instead of my usual Gimmie Lean.  I loved it!  The texture was more like the sausage I loved back in the day, but so much better since it’s cruelty-free.  And the flavor was spot on!  I had it for breakfast, lunch the next day, and breakfast on the third day.  I still have a little waiting for me in the freezer.

Harmoney Valley mixes can be found on the dry goods store shelves (near the rice) and online.  And a Classic Hummus mix is next on tap!  Have I mentioned that one of my first vegan experiments included falafel and hummus mixes?

Anyway, pick up some HV and save some time in the kitchen.  And watch Aarti Party!  I’ll be doing both.

Peace!

Full moon on Monday

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Instead of a new moon – any of my 80s music fans get it?  Dating myself?  I thought as much.

So I’ve been back to counting points and doing what I need to do for one month now.  I lost 4 pounds before the vegan kickstart and 3 pounds in the first week of the kickstart.  7 pounds in a month!  The last time I lost that much, I was working out hardcore without changing my eating plan.  Can you imagine how well I’ll do while eating right?  That’s all I’ve been doing for the most part, just eating right and getting on 2 days of decent exercise.

This WAHM is happy!

I need to get these headaches in check before I kick up the exercise regimen.  I feel like crap when I have one (like today) and cannot function much more than the minimal amount when one is really working me.  But that’s another post.

Dinner is ready to roll – leftovers and the family will deal with it, bread is in the machine, and the first gallon of tea is ready.  Yes, the family takes out 3/4 to a gallon of iced tea a day in addition to water and coffee.  I’m still having just one cup of joe a day.

Is it just me or am I rambling?

Anyway, until next time.

A fun weekend so far – not really

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Stupid Irene kicked it off.  While she just waved to us as she went on by, she may hurt some people I love and I am not feeling it.  Vibing for you guys!

I’m fired up.  We bought a few things for updating and making over our kitchen and I wanted to jump all over it today.  I wanted to start with the floor because it’s currently covered with a  pretty cheap maple laminate and does not match the hardwood we found under the carpet. And it was starting to warm and curl at the edges.  And we have some nice tile that will work with whatever countertop we eventually choose (but I’m pulling for Blue Pearl or some other silvery solid goodness).

So there I was with a plan.  I pulled up the board with the most curling and discovered that it was damp underneath.  That is not something I wanted to find.  I decided to cut a slit into the underlayment and found a damp subfloor.  We either have a leak or our dogs’ daily water bowl dumps have done damage.  Either way I am not looking forward to what else I find.

Why is this a post for a healthy lifestyle blog?  Because it’s been a day of work!  I got in my sweat time by loading and unloading stuff from the truck and ripping up flooring.   And because my mood over the next few days will be determined by what happens to the floor after I run the dishwasher tonight.  I may not be nice to be around.

Family, friends – you have been warned.  And I apologize now if Angry Sherrie takes over for a few days.

Peace.

Still sore – Could I be Sherrie the human barometer?

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Stupid stormy weather and increased pain seem to be buddies lately.  When a thunderstorm is about to hit, whether reported beforehand or not, I feel it.  A deep throbbing in my bones.  Add that to the regular aches and pains of my semi-broken self and you have a whimpering mess.

Well, not much whimpering comes from me.  The dogs, Big V in particular, whine and whimper when I’m not running about with them.  The nightmares about my legs crumbling as I walk do not help motivate me to move more than I have to.  Creepy dream, eh?  More than once now and it’s freaking me out.

Anyway, I wonder if I am feeling more due to the weather.  If cold can affect people, then surely storms can, too.

So can stepping in a hole and twisting an already aching ankle, but that’s another post.

Man I’m rambling today.  I blame the hurricane.

Be safe, friends.

I’m loving Jackfruit and WW

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Last week I watched my portions and got in more produce.  The result was a 2 pound loss and looser pants.  My usually bloated tummy looks smaller – to me and hubby – and I feel pretty good.  Even the three day migraine didn’t mess things up much.  Yay!

I logged most of my meals on SparkPeople and realized how I regained the weight.  I let fattier foods and larger portions take over my plate for the most part and did not get in the sweat time I need.  Food is a big part of it for me, and I know how to do better.  I am doing better.

And speaking of food, want a recipe?   I’m in love with Jackfruit.  I my first batch of Jackfruit Carnitas last week and made my second last night.  These Enchiladas came together quickly because of the leftovers and convinced me to keep it on hand.  It’s perfect – it’s a non-soy, fiber-rich, all-natural meat substitute.  Yay!

Speaking of SparkPeople, I’m leader of two teams, Charleston Sparkers and Vegetarian/Vegans with 100+ to Lose.  V/V is small, only 6 members, and was a good place for me a few months back.  The leader disappeared, so I stepped up.  Knowing that others are expecting me to help them stay motivated will help me stay motivated.  Join me?

Migraines

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I get them and they suck the life out of me.  I’m working on day three and it’s the worst day so far.  I am so not loving myself right now.

The headaches started when I was 12-13, but back then adolescent migraines were not diagnosed.  The ped called them stress headaches and recommended a visit to the orthodontist to see if my bite may be responsible.  Yeah, didn’t help.

Twice a month, every month, my skull tries to hold my throbbing brain in check while I have trouble seeing, thinking, tasting, moving, hearing, and sitting still. I want to sleep for a week when they come on, but that’s not possible.  

I take meds, but they are sometimes worse than the headaches.  Feverfew and valerian help more and don’t leave me feeling hungover.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know where I’ve been and why I’ve been quiet.  I’m going to go hide in bed with an icy sleep mask now.