Happy New Year's Eve!

I think I have recovered from the cookie/french fry/pretzel binge over Christmas...everything seems back to normal, my smaller jeans I bought a few weeks ago still fit, and I'm still in love with the gym. Me and the gym sitting in a tree... ;)

I am really excited to start my new Slingshot planner tomorrow too! They rock!

I got myself a little gift for the New Year and I am excited! After I got so motivated by Eat To Live, which I checked out from my library, I decided to read Eat For Health, the next installment. I'll prolly read and resell, as that's how I justify buying new books (Half.com is awesome for that, by the way).

I threw in a cute new barrette for good measure, and Amazon threw in cute little free shipping. Yay!!

Hope you all have a very good New Years! I got my workout in this morning, will grab some $4 pink champagne on the way home from work this evening, and plan to ring in the New Year cozy in my bed...yay for sleeping in in 2010!!!

Cajun Skillet Beans...A Bowl!

Here's a recent dish I made into a delightful meal...E2L approved! I love the Fat Free Vegan resources- so many delicious recipes!

Cajun Skillet Beans- these smelled great cooking!

I made this dish into a full meal by adding millet, a veg sausauge link chopped up, and some baby spinach leaves. Yum!!

And finally...wish flowers! I forget what they are really called :)

Have a great day!

E2L Detour: Christmas Love!!

Yes, my loves. Junk food extravaganza!!!

I am typing this in Greensboro, NC, my belly bursting with Mexican food, Christmas cookies, coffee, and other very non-nutrient-dense items. For the last three days, I have danced the evil dance with all the junk foods I could find. Bread has once again entered my life, temporarily!!! It started with pretzels and Dramamine in the car (16 HOURS one way!!!!) to stave off the car sickness. It progressed to Christmas cookies, flavored creamers, chips and salsa, and all manner of "white foods." I have eaten enough bread products to knock me out!!! It's been a great and happy Christmas visist with family though!

I did manage to work in some healthy stuff: I ate several salads, Ezekial bread sandwiches, and fresh fruit for breakfast. We took a great walk on a snowy golf course and I see-sawed with Brad on an old see-saw, swung, and climbed the monkey bars. I also made up a workout in the hotel. An ipod full of mellow music to combat the "I've been in a car for 466788 hours," my pajamas, and the two stairwells at the end of our hall! I spent 35 minutes traversing the hall, going up and down the 5 flights of stairs at each end. Good workout, and I felt relaxed too!

It's been such a great visit with new family, and the ch-ch-cheats on eating have been mildly entertaining, but boy am I itching to get on my yoga pants and scamper to that gym for a big sweat!! I hope you all had a great holiday...time to start thinking about resoultions!!!

xoxoxox
bye everyone!!

Eating The Rainbow

I have been thinking about this lately...I read everywhere that "eating the rainbow" is a great way to see whether you are getting all you need out of your food. In reading Eat To Live, I realize that even sort of healthy vegan eating can weigh heavily on the way less colorful aspects of food...brown and white. Here are my ways of eating the rainbow lately.

For breakfast I eat Purple grapes, Blueberries, Red apples, Orange melon, Green kiwis, and Yellow bananas

For lunch I eat Green lettuce, Orange Carrots, Red tomatoes, Green Peppers, Red Peppers, Yellow Peppers, Purple olives, White tofu, Brown beans

For dinner I eat: White/brown millet, Brown beans, Green cabbage, Red tomato sauces, Red salsa, Black-Eyed Peas (lol), Green lettuce, Green kale, Green spinach, White onions, White beans, Yellow curry (that's not a veg I know!), and lots of other colorful fruits/veg.

Maybe my hair will start growing like this!!

How do you get your rainbow of nutrients?

Have a very Happy Christmas!!

Oh my hair....

I miss you hair. I dunno why I so impetuously had you chopped off...just to be swept up and discarded. Pigtails, you were colllosal. Please come back soon.

(That's a big awesome Millions of Milkshakes soy cookies-n-cream extravaganza from Santa Monica Blvd. by the way...ahhh vacations!)

Rays of Hippie Sunshine

Good morning, loves!
Here are a few great Eat To Live-approved breakfasts, and the handsomest dog in the world...

Super Saint Smoothies!!

A lovely little plate of fruit: organic apples, bananas, and kiwi.

And finally, as promised, my handsome little man, being a diva and refusing to be photographed in his dressy sweater...

Happy holidays!!

E2L Recipes: Corn Salad & Cheezy Garbanzo Spread

Yum yum yum! Here are a few recipes I've enjoyed lately.

Raw Corn & Black Bean Salad: This was great with avocado, romaine lettuce, and refried beans.

Second, an old favorite that magically works with E2L and that big, fat, unlimited pile of raw veggies I can eat every sunshiney day!!

Cheezy Garbanzo Spread!!!

Makes about 2 cups
■1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
■1/2 cup roasted red peppers

■3 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed butter)

■3 tablespoons lemon juice
Drain the garbanzo beans, reserving the liquid, and place them in a food processor or blender with the remaining ingredients. Process until very smooth. If using a blender, occasionally stop to push down the bean mixtures with a rubber spatula. The mixture should be quite thick, but if blending is difficult, add a tablespoon or two of the reserved bean liquid.

Have a nice Tuesday

E2L Meal: Chickpea Deliciousness

If this is dieting, I'm all in! I think I finally have the hang of this Eat To Live thing. Its been almost a month, and it really is becoming my preference. I am not really craving anything too badly, although I had the good sense the other day to get out of the Christmas candy aisle...quickly! (Oh little Snickers Santas, why are you so lovely and terrible!?) Bread and pasta aren't worrying me either, especially with the new grains I'm trying. I don't even want the sprouted grain breads anymore. Bring on the produce!!! I'm holding fast to my weekend fancy coffee splurges, and I pop a bite of good chocolate in my mouth a few times a week, so I still get my sweet tooth fix.

An exciting new food I tried this week is millet. How did I not know about this? It's like couscous but apparently healthier. Yum!!!

I made a deeelicious recipe, Curried Garbanzo Beans, and ate them over spinach and millet. Sooo good and didn't even give off a hint of "healthy" or "diet" food- just good stuff. In other news, I think I am developing arm muscles. SCORE!!!

Motivation/Inspiration

I am still following Eat To Live, and I'm very encouraged by the changes I see. I have willpower (and some muscles under there!) after all, and it pays off! Today I'm posting about one of the people who motivates me with her music, attitude, and style.

*

I once saw a teevee show about ladies getting fit. There was this one woman who had lost a ton of weight, and she shared that she had a picture of Courtney Cox Arquette taped to her treadmill. CCA was the symbol of what the lady wanted to be, fitness-wise and confidence wise.

I don't have a treadmill or an affinity for Friends' stars, but I do have inspirations! Once such is lady Bitch, formerly of Bitch & Animal, now a solo act! (Sorry Miss Bitch, I dunno your given name or I might use it out of respect.)

Bitch is, ahem, a bitchin' musician and activist and downright kickass woman from what I can see. I love her music, I love her style, I love her attitude. She represents, seriously, the best aspects of blending what you love, who you love, and what you rock at. On top of all that, she has a body confidence that I really admire and am striving for...womanly, with strength. No apologies, no way. Thanks for all the motivation and the excellent tunes, Miss B!

PS: I am verrry excited about a pending new album from Bitch! Yay!!!

Holiday Happies

I don't want to be stirring up the hype or anything...but this stuff is amazing!!! It is sweet, healthy, and smells like baked goods. Mmmm! I can't find any locally..one grocery store even said a lady came in and bought the whole shipment. Whew! I bought 6 boxes online to get me through the winter :)

Furthermore, I want this from Etsy! Isn't it pretty?

Girls Are Not Chicks Coloring Book Review

I want to get this for everyone!!!

Whooohoooo!!!

12 & 0!!!

Breakfast Quesadillas!!

Happy Saturday!  I love having a cup of coffee and a nice leisurely session making some good brunchy stuff.

This is a personal concoction that I made using a scramble and some leftover queso I'd made previously.

I filled the whole-grain tortillas with one of Sarah Kramer's tofu scrambles, then made it all stick with the leftover noochy queso. Grill, flip, grill. Yum yum!

The best breakfasts involve salsa!!

Thanksgiving Redux

I do not heart Tofurkey. There, I said it!

Ok...let me qualify that with this: I have been following the Eat To Live plan for a couple of weeks. ETL calls very little to no added salt. I haven't missed the salt at all, as I was never a big fan. Consequently, now things that are moderately salty taste insane to me. I halved the salt called for, and then had to water down a soy-sauce based homemade salad dressing due to the overwhelmingly salty taste.

The Tofurkey was so cute! I baked it from frozen for three hours with some carrots in the foil. I was fine with the texture, but just didn't love the taste. I still am so thankful for the vegan holiday "meat" options, because it's great to have all the choices. I think I'll just stick to my veggies though!

I also ate lots of veganized favorites courtesy of mom. She made green bean casserole and dressing, both will all veg ingredients. I made brussells sprouts from Vegan Soul Kitchen.

We finished off the day with this magnificent pie from Fat Free Vegan. Yowser, it's delicious!!

Dr. Fuhrman warns: DO NOT take multivitamins or prenatal vitamins that contain folic acid

I read this blog post and decided to repost. I don't have any other info on it...but I will google!

It's a little alarming, as the community health center I go to gives all "child-bearing" age women Folic Acid supplements. Hrm....

Eat To Live Recipe: Cabbage Rolls

I am still following the Eat To Live eating plan, and loving it! I haven't felt hungry or deprived in the least, and I actually look forward to eating each meal. I have stopped snacking between meals for the most part, which feels good. My plates are full of color and crunch. The holiday was tough due to all the eating out, but I made pretty good choices. I let loose on Thanksgiving and had all types of food. All of it was vegan, but lots of starch and sugar. I was surprised at how sluggish and yucky I felt...not at all the "out of jail" feeling I was expecting after being so diligent with my eating choices. I was so happy to recover from the Tofurkey coma and eat a big salad that night! I had my stress-eating slip up this weekend, but overall, I am following ETL well and really loving the outcomes.

Here's a recent meal from the Fat Free Vegan ETL recipes.

Cabbage Rolls! These are stuffed with white beans, onion, spices, and a little brown rice. I like the ETL plan because it really puts in perspective that 1/4 cup of rice and a full plate of veggies creates energy and zest, whereas an entire plate of rice and little veg contributes those lazy, sleepy, after meal comas! Viva la ETL!