Mmm…This butter chicken is so buttery…

I had my first slip up being vegan here in Washington, and surprisingly enough it was at an Indian restaurant. After two long days with the family at assembly, we went out to eat with friends to a new Indian restaurant. The first thought that popped into my head is “Dang! I wish I could eat me some butter chicken right now”

But being the determined little girl that I am, I ordered Channa Masala. This dish is chick peas in masala seasoning. It was delicious…but so was my husband’s butter chicken. I admit it, I couldn’t resist lapping up the sauce from his dish. Even as the waiter pulled the dish out from under my nose…I think he knew I was cheating.

Phew…now that I got that off of my chest. I can move on with my last week of vegan foods!

The biggest challenge this past week was 1) Butter chicken *see above* 2) Going to eat after a long day with friends to the local Olive Garden, and not ordering the clams and linguine right off the menu with the Lemoncello cream cake for dessert, and 3) coming up with lunch ideas to take to said assembly. What would not get mushy? What would taste good cold? What can I make for my husband? As it was we did egg-less salad sandwiches one day (his had carved chicken), then the next day consisted of a quinoa salad, spinach/kale/chard salad, and an Egyptian lentil soup (that was slightly cool, yet that didn’t stop me from enjoying).

One thing that I was very excited to learn is that the co-op where we frequent, posts all of their recipes on-line. So this week I plan on making my own Aztec Quinoa Salad, and hopefully try to make the Egyptian Lentil soup.

As my last week of my 21 challenge is upon me, I promise I will post some of my favorite recipes so far.

Until then…

-M

A Third

It’s been an official 7 days here in Seattle since my last post! Can you believe it? I know I can’t! I have been pleaseantly surprised and content with this past week. Here are some peaks and valleys, some pros and cons, some cool things and not so cool things.

Last week I wrote on my personal blog about some fears I had. Time, coffee without cream, and frozen yogurt. The last two seem a little funny, and now I realize how much I can change in just seven days. I can safely say that I can remove frozen yogurt. While I miss it, it’s a representation of something bigger…dessert over all. I’ll talk about this in a bit.

Highlights

-Enhancing my love for brown rice. I can eat a bowl of warm brown rice with a little salt on it for dinner. It has such a great flavor on it’s own.

-I have lost some poundage this week. Although I’m not terribly surprised as that usually happens when I change my diet…let’s see what this week brings.

-While I’m still dead tired…my brain seems to be speeding up a little. I’m hoping this is true and not me just wishing.

-Popcorn with curry powder or nutritional yeast.

-Eating less sugar!! This may have a direct impact on two points up. When I say sugar I group it in with candies, desserts, etc. The obvious suspects. I know breads, sauces, etc have sugars…but I’m not concerning myself with those…yet.

-Finding new places and things to eat. Restaurants that I’ve been to before, yet now I get to try something new. Yelping (can I use that as an adjective?) and trying new places to have lunch around work.

-Realizing what supportive and beautiful friends I have, including my Cali Cousin.

Lowlights

-Ffake meat…I’m going to write a story about some of the new foods I’ve tried. But let’s just say I wasn’t a big fan before…and the thought of this one sandwich…actually let’s not go there.  In fact I took a picture to share with everyone, yet every time I looked at it, my stomach lurched so I had to delete it.

-I don’t like seaweed when it wraps itself around my feet, and I don’t like seaweed in my food.

-Lack of many options for “I snoozed my alarm for 2 hours, and I now have 5 minutes to get ready” breakfast.

-Coffee is not coffee without cream. Soy just doesn’t cut it. Although today I asked the barista to steam some soy milk for my Americano…and by the middle of the drink I was ok with it, even liked it a little. Now soy pumpkin spice lattes are a warm blanket and a sweet sweet lullaby for my taste buds…but it’s a fat party for my hips. So I’ve been saving those for once a weekend.

-Finding out my favorite protein bar has a dairy component as an ingredient.

-Not being able to take bites out of my hubby’s food. Although I’m sure this is a highlight for him.

-I miss chocolate!

Sounds like there is more negative than positive...but I actually don't feel that way at all. Stay tuned as I post some great (and not so great) foods I’ve tried so far!

-M

Can the Love of Veggies Be Balanced?

It's the California cousin signing in after months of ignoring the blog. That was because I spent months ignoring my healthy eating habits. Don't get me wrong, I generally eat pretty healthy. I enjoy vegetables and fruits...but I had to go back to eating meat after my Vegan adventure. I did get out of balance, though...eating more meat and grains without eating as many vegetables. And more sugar, too... So how does one find the balance?

I decided to start with Herbalife nutritional shake products. In the last year have gained weight by vacillating between meat and veggie lifestyles and I thought that having 2 shakes and 1 meal plus snacks would make my life easier, detox my system, and give me only 1 meat meal per day---resulting in weight loss. To my dismay, I started gaining more weight eating less and not eating meat for every meal for 2 weeks!

I have asked vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians, carnivores, and everyone in between, receiving many different types of advice on what to eat. "Eat more", "eat less", "give it more time", "detox first". Nutrition experts have told me that I need to eat more protein and more calories to stay within a certain range for health. I believe that too and have decided to listen. I downloaded My Fitness Pal app for my iPhone and I stay within a range, adding exercise calories for more eating pleasure.

My goal is to eat as healthy as possible, including more veggies and fruits while counting my calories and working out. I feel great eating lean meat in small amounts with each meal. Let's see what's in store on my journey. I've already lost 4 pounds since last week...