I'm a young, vivacious woman with terrible health. I'd like to blame genetics and situations beyond my control for this, but I know it is partly my fault. I decided I was sick of feeling like "twenty five is the new fifty two," so I changed my diet and lifestyle to help fix my declining health. No one my age should have a blood pressure of 190/110. This is where I write about it.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
The Official Guide to Vegan Halloween Candy
I’ve been eating Now and Later Soft for 3 days and it turns out they have egg whites in them, but the normal Now and Laters don’t. Man, it’s irritating finding out things you love aren’t vegan, things that seem like they obviously would be. Then there are things that surprise you, like Oreos being vegan! Crazy!
Spicy Vegan B.S.A. (“Bacon”/Spinach/Avocado)
- Three LightLife Organic Smoky Tempeh Strips
- Two slices Natural/Organic Whole Wheat Bread (I used EarthGrains 100% Natural Whole Wheat Bread)
- Fresh Spinach Leaves
- 1/2 Medium Avocado; Sliced
- 1 tbsp. Follow Your Heart Organic Veganaise
- 1/4 tsp Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (more or less, depending on taste)
Toast slices of whole wheat bread, and prepare tempeh strips according to package. (Only requires a few minutes of simple pan-frying in oil)
After cooking tempeh strips, pat with paper towel to remove excess oil. Layer on toast, then top with spinach leaves and Avocado. Spread-on Veganaise and Sriracha sauce. You can choose to mix them together before spreading them on, but I find it easier just to do this when applying them to the bread.
Cut in half, and enjoy!
The whole process takes about ten minutes, and the outcome is an absolutely delicious sandwich. Even my non-vegan friends love it!
Approx. Calories: 557; 222 Fat Calories.
Not bad considering most of the fat calories come from the “good” fat in the Avocado. You could also reduce your calorie intake by trying this on the SandwichThin bread, or even a lettuce wrap.
Be a (Good) Fatty
If you’re anything like me, you fear the word “fat” more than you dread the notion of having to represent Lindsay Lohan in court.
Perhaps there may be no good excuse for LiLo’s moonshine addiction, but there is such thing as “friendly fat.”
I want you to meet my lovely friend, Omega-3 Fatty Acid (and no, Lindsay; you don’t tootally trip balls off of it)
Let me give you the skinny on my favorite fatty:
Omega-3 Fatty Acids are a “family of similar” unsaturated acids. The most important ones being ALA, DHA and EPA. They are considered essential for good health.
Not only do you need Omega-3 Fatty Acids (which I am going to shorten to O3FA’s from now on, because… I said so) for your BRAIN to function properly, but research shows that they provide the following health benefits:
- reduced risk of heart disease
- lower bad cholesterol levels
- reduced blood pressure
- lower triglyceride levels (for diabetics)
- better mood (aided in depression and bipolar treatment)
Lack of O3FA’s in your diet can result in some crummy symptoms, including fatigue (read- really freaking tired), dry skin, mood swings or depression, heart problems or poor circulation.
This might explain why my hands and feet are perpetually cold.
Your body cannot make O3FA’s on it’s own; you have to get them through food. Here is a quick list of some delicious places to get your fat fix:
- Flax (the BEST source!!!)
- Walnuts
- Pecans
For those of you who like to eat the flesh of living things, you can also get it from seafood, and even seal oil. However, the last option is fairly illegal, so I would suggest having a nice salmon fillet before you try to claim you were clubbing seals to lower your cholesterol.
If you really hate fish, you can take a fish oil supplement.
Now when someone calls you a fatty, you can smile and say, “thank you!” After you kick them in the jugular, of course.
(Source: Wikipedia)
9.8.10 End
4:00pm
15Mg Tablet Adderall
7:30pm
500MG Tablet Metronidazole
8:45pm (Beans and Barley Cafe)
Vegetable Stir Fry with Brown Rice and Ginger Glaze
309 Calories; 20 Fat Calories
BITE of Chocolate Cherry Cake
Unknown- 50 Calories (?)
Orange Jack Rabbit Juice (Half Fresh Orange Juice; Half Carrot Juice)
101 Calories; 1 Fat Calorie
Total- 460 Calories; 21 Fat Calories
I am pretty proud of myself for eating well at dinner! I really wanted to get the tempeh, lettuce and tomato sandwich, but I decided the bread would be too heavy and throw-off everything I was trying to do. I also have only eaten at BB once before, so I have a hard time choosing things at places I am relatively new to. I am a huge fan of ginger, so the stir fry was an easy choice. I was also really distracted by talking to my friends, so I just kind of picked whatever I saw first, and wasn’t too interested in eating.
Everything went well with my friend. He had a lot of fun stories to tell, and it was nice to talk to him; not awkward at all. I missed his friendship and it is fun to share in the exciting things going on in his life.
After dinner we went back to his house and opened the mountains of packages and mail that had amassed over the past month. It was like having Christmas in September! After that I played around with his kettlebells (he has a gym in his basement) and chatted with a group of people.
I am pleased that I went out and did something last night; it really kept me from mindlessly snacking.
11:45pm
2- 25MG Tablet Topiramate
2 Fiber Tablets
1 Excedrine PM
9.8.10 Lunch
12:30pm
I am not feeling very hungry, but my stomach is doing it’s best impersonation of a doped-up Ozzy Ozzbourne right now. Honestly, I wouldn’t me surprised if I heard it gurgle, “Sharon! Where’s my burrito?!”
I am on an antibiotic right now that says one of the side-effects are loss of appetite. I remember having to take this a few years back (or what I think is the same medication) and it left a taste in my mouth that I can only liken to sucking on a bag full of dirty pennies. Would you be hungry when everything you ate tasted like metal?
So far, no used coin taste in my mouth. I think I’m just tired. I decided to eat the other half of my Vegan fajitas I made yesterday morning. Someone at work brought in home-made salsa, so I put two tablepoons of that on top.
Vegan Fajitas:
Calories: 130; Fat Calories: 20
I am just guesstimating the added calories/fat calories from the salsa, because there were a few little pieces of avocado mixed in.
Oh, and I had a few assorted things this morning as well:
6:45am
1 Topamax Tablet
30mg Adderall XR Capsule
1 Antibiotic Tablet
(I’ll try to remember to look up the dosage/actual name of the medications)
8:00am
SoBe Black and Blueberry Lifewater
0 Calories
9:30am
Hot Herbal Green Tea w/ Lemon
0 Calories
Total at 12:43pm: 130 Calories; 20 Fat Calories
9.7.10 End
4pm
1/4c Cashews
300 calories; 200 fat calories
6pm- Panera Bread
Black Bean Soup
110 calories; 20 fat calories
1/2 Tomato, Mozzarella & Basil Salad
380 calories; 210 fat calories
French Baguette Side Portion
180 calories; 10 fat calories
Total- 670 calories; 240 fat calories
8:30pm
2c Peanut Butter-Filled Pretzels
Unknown, but probably not that healthy.
12:30am
2tbsp hummus
8 Whole Wheat Pretzel Sticks
Vegan Burger Patty w/ Vegan Sriratcha Mayo
I honestly was so tired and hungry, I didn’t bother to look at any of the calorie counts.
2 Topamax Tablets
1 Antibiotic Tablet
I absolutely despise bar-tending on Tuesday nights because I always come home tired and cranky. For whatever reason this always translates into me coming home and eating whatever the hell I want. I also mindlessly munch on the peanut butter filled pretzels that we have at the bar, which are not that good for me, either. I am afraid to total-up everything from yesterday.
Vegan Fajitas
1 box Chick’n Style Smart Strips
1 Packet simply Organic Fajita Seasoning
1 Red Pepper
1/2 Onion
1 Jalapeño Pepper
1/2 Avocado
Mix fajita seasoning in a bowl with 1/4 c warm water until dissolved. Set Aside.
Open packet of Chick’n Strips and put in a bag with 1TBSP vegetable oil. Shake to coat strips. Add fajita mixture, and shake until all strips are evenly coated. Set aside to marinate.
Cut-up peppers and onions into strips. This is where you can “go with the flow” and cut them whoever you wish. I like to cut the peppers into the strips, and the onions into smaller pieces. I also mince the jalapeño so the spice isn’t overpowering. You can also feel free to use whatever color peppers you’d like, or substitute any other kind of vegetable. Get creative!
Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan. Add fajita chicken mixture and cook for several minutes, stirring constantly. Add vegetables and continue to stir for at least five minutes, or until vegetables are warm. Be careful not to over-cook them or they will lose their crispy-ness.
Remove from heat, top with 1/2 sliced Avocado and serve. I choose not to eat them with tortillas, but this is a serving option. They are amazing when topped with Daiya cheese and Tofutti sour cream as well. The calorie counts listed below are for the recipe as pictured:
Calories: about 250
Fat calories: 117
If you decide to leave the avocado off, your calorie count will be as follows:
Calories: 110
Fat Calories 0
That’s right! A delicious meal for under 300 calories. The best part? It leaves you FULL, and is fairly low in carbohydrates.
Let me know of any good recipe variations you come up with!
9.7.10
7am
30mg Adderall XR
1 Tablet Topamax (cannot recall dosage)
8am
1 Apple
70 Calories; 0 Fat Calories
10am
1/4c Almonds w/ dried Cranberries
190 Calories; 150 Fat Calories
Popcorn
Unsure
I woke up early today and made some delicious vegan fajiats for lunch, so I am kind of stoked to eat that later!
I feel like my life is kind of sad when I am looking forward to eating. I need to be really good about my diet this week, though, because I made an appointment to get my tattoo on Saturday. I am mildly concerned because it is going on the lower part of my stomach/hips which is one of my problem areas. I am hoping getting this will motivate me to keep it in shape!
Breakfast burritos at Comet Cafe with Dominique.
I had mine vegan style with sour cream and ranchero sauce on the side! Dominique had to have a heaping plate of bacon. Did I mention she has an uber tiny waist?
Jealous.
Migraines
I’ve been nursing a migraine since this morning. I was hoping the diet change would make them stop, but I guess it just means they are caused by something else. Great.
I feel your pain, cupcake.
I had chronic migraines for awhile after my car accident. So bad, that I would just lay in the dark with an ice pack on my head and pray for death!
I was put on a medication to help prevent them, and I haven’t had one for months. The med is pretty hardcore though, and has some crazy side effects that take getting used to. Dizziness, Memory Loss…
One of the reasons I went back to being Vegan was in hopes a “cleaner” diet would help balance out these side effects, and I feel like it has.
Feel better!
