.Gratitude.

everyone gets a lot more gracious once thanksgiving is around. i'm thankful too, even if i don't express it. i'm thankful every single day. even if i don't feel like it. sometimes i think people around me have so much more to be thankful for, that it's easy to be thankful when so much falls into your lap, but i'm sure it's all from your own unique perspective. i'm typing this from my parents' heated house on my macbook. seriously, i'm considered a princess compared to others. so i'd like to remember that, the next time i decide to complain. i should just really learn to say thank you.

.lows.

day 10: friday: i like fridays during lent because it's meat free for the catholics. friday was an all day symposium. i drank about 10 cups of coffee but didn't add cream once. getting used to drinking it with just sugar. cheated with a mozzarella and cheese wrap as well as 4 cookies. there was no way i was going to make it through the rest of the day without them. dinner was good for the most part, i had some pasta with veggies but i admit there was some parmesean cheese sprinkled throughout. thought i had survived but then had another cheat with margarheta pizza. it was dang good too.

day 11: saturday: breakfast/brunch: tofu scramble with veggies, coffee. lunch: hummus and lettuce wrap which i promptly threw up probably due to bad lettuce or this bug i caught. dinner: veggie gyoza, cucumber rolls, and clear soup. i was so proud even though the sushi looked amazing.

day 12: sunday: the ultimate fail day!!! so i was feeling really run down and ended up going to ac with my parents so i wouldn't drive and just tag along. after church decided to go eat buffet which i was fine with, until my parents discovered it was lobster fest. forget it. i haven't eaten seafood in 21 days. i celebrated this victory by eating lobster, fish, shrimp, cheese, dairy, the kitchen sink and more. it was worth it. i fully expect to be just as bad this weekend in new orleans.

and that is how the cookie crumbles.

.whoas.

day 6: monday: breakfast: oatmeal. gross. will this get any better? lunch: spicy chicken patty. dinner: thai food. so easy to be vegan. i love it. tofu with coconut curry, and veggie pad thai

day 7: tuesday: breakfast: skipped; lunch: stir fry with bean curd and veggies; dinner: uhhh... i don't know, maybe leftovers from lunch

day 8: wednesday: breakfast: coffee; lunch: veggie fried rice; dinner: gluten free wrap with hummus & veggie burger: snack: hummus with pita chips

day 9: thursday: breakfast: cereal with special K.; lunch: quesadillas (soy cheese with gluten free wrap tortilla) with trader joe's veggie burger and lettuce; snack: rita's blue raspberry italian ice; dinner: leftovers from lunch

i think i've had the most success this week because i really haven't gone out and socialized. i didn't mean to skip out on st. patty's festivities. i knocked out for some reason and took a 4 hour nap waking up at 8pm. i went to the gym because i had nothing else to do. lol.

in other news, i got my personal best time, completing my 5K in 30 min and 30 seconds. i wanted to throw up in the last 2 minutes but i stuck it out because all i kept telling myself was that it was only 2 minutes and then i could stop for the rest of the night. telling myself things like that truly helps.

in other news, i got my state license to practice as an OT. it only took 4 months for them to process everything. go NJ go. so more than likely, monday will be my first day of work. i'm excited and nervous and scared. we'll see how this transition affects the diet and exercise. it might get ugly. stay tuned. and stay classy. ;)

.day5.

It is that much harder to let what belongs to us be taken without asking for it back. But the moment we accept this, we feel how light [the burden] is.--St. Therese

in addition to my vegan journey, i've been taking the time to pray more and more fruitfully. while i was the shrine on thursday, i got a stations of the cross rosary from a woman who gave them to me with the promise that i would do them everyday in a church or at home if i couldn't get to one. i've never been a big stations of the cross kinda gal, so it's been interesting doing them everyday. i like it. i feel more compassion and gratefulness for the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. it helps me to fall in love with Him more and more each day.

so yeah, i had ice-cream cake sat night. i couldn't help it. it was coldstone. my body was so mad at me! my stomach was in total knots after that. even the tea i had could not soothe it. you would think i would learn my lesson today. not really. this morning i was starving and i did good with my coffee with 2 sugars only, but i HAD to have a muffin. i couldn't deal. then my friend threw a pampered chef party, and she demoed pizza. again, couldn't resist having a slice, nor did i fare any better by having some pasta that had mozzarella cheese in it. i did better later in the evening by having bruschetta and a salad. sadness. i've been awesome at staying away from the seafood (i now mourn the loss of sushi and have sympathy pains for pregnant women who cannot consume its beauty) but the dairy is a bugger to stay away from when i'm out among friends. at home i have a better grasp on it, but yuck, i am so lame when i'm out!!! i'm afraid that i'll have to start packing food to bring with me everywhere i go.

i love food so much. such a crazy love-hate relationship!

.whoops.

so hi. i was doing really well huh, and then bam. so let's try this again shall we? i'm doing the vegan diet for lent, so we'll see how well that goes. april 24th, will i make it?!? hehe...i expect to fall off the wagon, especially with an expected trip to new orleans. i will be seafooding my head off there.
wed 3/9: fasting. easy breezy. one main meal was pasta with tomato sauce. TOTALLY wanted the pizza. gah.
thurs: 3/10: i have no recollection. honest. but i stuck to it, i'm sure of it.
fri: breakfast: oatmeal with brown sugar, lunch: spicy boca chicken patty with salad, dinner: pancit with tofu and veggie broth.
sat: more pancit. it's my godson's birthday so there will be cake and dairy and goodness. this is impossible.

.day 3.

getting better.

breakfast: no almond milk in the house! made a tofu veggie scramble. it actually turned out quite well. maybe b/c i drowned the tofu in veggies.

lunch: protein shake, taco burrito. yum and yum.

dinner: soft tofu soup. cheated a little, added some of the egg white from the fresh egg she brought me. couldn't help it. i know.

dessert: bought these coconut icecream thingamajiggers. not a big fan. don't think my stomach enjoyed the coconut so much. eh. will have to try the soy ice cream next.

.day 2.

so to follow up from last night, i did well! i was FEENING for a milkshake, but my friend bought me a vodka lemonade instead. fair trade. had the veggie burger, but i think the sauce was kinda questionable in a thousand island kind of way. need to remember to ask for those kind of things on the side.

Breakfast: Special K with almond milk
Lunch: sauteed spinach with garlic & boca chicken nuggets. was running late and i nuked them. made me sad to eat them in such a horrible way, but the spinach helped.
Snack: unsweetened peach ice-tea from DD. i really wanted coffee, but if i got coffee, then i would be tempted to put creamer in it. i hate my life.
Dinner: vegan taco salad--i love the boca crumbles and it helps when i need to change it up a bit. used a reduced sodium taco mix and then added it to a bed of fresh spinach and tomatoes. also tried out "veggie shreds" brand of cheddar cheese, which is a non-dairy concoction. it wasn't bad.

i'm really cranky today. i think it's a weird withdrawal symptom. more than ever, i realize how terrible i eat. and i miss my horribly wonderful tasting food. =(

.21 day vegan diet.

the history of my meat-free life has gone down a bit like this: i stopped eating meat after my 22nd birthday in september of 01. for a good 3-4 years, i was a pretty strict vegetarian and did not partake even in seafood. then i had my back surgery in 05 and recovery was a little difficult. i started eating more seafood to assist in the healing process. i felt better and started incorporating it more into my diet. so i wouldn't really call myself a vegetarian, but more of a pescatarian.

my weight has always been an issue for me. i'd like to consider myself a healthy eater, but sometimes i end up carbing out because of limited options. in light of a recent episode on oprah, i decided that i was going to try a vegan diet for 21 days and see how it helps me to feel. as much as i love dairy and eggs, i wonder if cutting them out of my diet will help. in order to help everyone get on board with this, i posted a sign up on the fridge listing all the things i couldn't eat, so they would understand if i didn't eat something.

it's been a little tricky. i was to start it officially like 2 weeks ago, but recent events have thrown me for a curb ball, like getting a new job! but anyhoo, i find that i'm starting to look for products that are milk free and dairy free. the way i kind of liken it, is as if i was lactose intolerant or had a milk allergy. that helps me to remember to hold the cheese. i've also been reading up and getting some help from some websites like eatingwell.com which has recommendations on what to buy organic, and what you can buy non-organic, as well as http://vegandad.blogspot.com which has tons of vegan recipes. i hope that holding myself accountable on here will also keep me diligent. just to warn you, i may have a few cheat days like this wedding coming up. <3

day one
breakfast: powerbar. i think it had milk in it, but i was running super late for spinning class and had to house something in the car or i was going to crash during class.

lunch: soft tofu soup. i don't normally like silken tofu, but when it's served in this korean style, i'm all about it! there's a pre-mixed powder that i bought at the asian mart, and then i added the tofu, scallions and baby spinach. you really can add whatever you want. it's amazing. i also heated up some vegan korean spring rolls that i had bought at the asian mart as well. so so so good.

snack: protein shake with banana, black berries and almond milk. earlier when i was food shopping, i noticed that silk is now selling coconut milk in a carton form. i was completely intrigued but i chickened out from buying it. gotta read more on it. and i like almond milk a whole lot more than soy milk.

dinner: this is going to be a challenge because i'm going out tonight, but i'll try to saute some spinach before i go out so i can fill up and not be so tempted! we shall see. <3