October Closing Thoughts

Today is the last day of Vegan MoFo. It's a good day to mark the beginning of my new diet. I think those 15 pounds of Daiya found their way directly to my you-know-what. Look, I know it's not always polite to talk about your weight. Obviously, we all come in our own beautiful shapes and sizes, and I only judge myself. I'm 5'3", I have no thyroid, I'm not genetically skinny, I have short legs (ha), and this is a subject I'm always going to struggle with. I am currently 20ish pounds heavier than my "normal weight." I never lost all of it after I had Sissy, but I did lose all but 10 pounds of it...then I gained back 13 the past 6 months, which is so depressing. (It was sort of emotional eating. It's kind of been a weird 6 months. Which led me to stop regularly exercising. And I just like to eat. It was also my thyroid medication, which is always being adjusted. ) It's not all about the scale; it's about how I feel. And I do not feel like myself right now. Plus, if I was going to even think about having another baby (my poor husband will fall over when reading that), I need to take action now because...historically...ahem...I've been known to gain 60 pounds while pregnant.

I've already started this week replacing a meal each day with fresh juice. I go over to my parents' house to walk on the treadmill, then use Dad's juicer. Thursday, I made carrot, beet, celery, apple, orange, mango. Friday, I made beet, apple, orange, pear, grapefruit, carrot. I'm talking about it because I think it's important to have goals for yourself, and I also think it's a good idea to announce those goals publicly. It's accountability. I don't need to be making doughnuts right after I said I'm trying to lose weight...I could secretly make them and just not post the pictures...I won't do that, though!
I'm going to get back to more raw foods and more vegetables overall. Today, I tried out Kristen's Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce. Loved it! Here is the link to her recipe. I really enjoy her blog (I've mentioned her before) because of the great raw recipes (I've also purchased one of her ebooks.) and also because of the way she honestly shares what is going on in her life, including travels, infertility problems and and her recent pregnancies. I like food blogs that "say a little more."

Anyway, this sauce was great as a dip for raw veggies (would also be good with chips, I'm sure) and as a sauce for a veggie burger (which I did for Ryan today) or as a salad dressing.

Strangely enough, today I discovered I love...raw celery sticks. If you would have asked me before if I loved celery, I would have been very neutral about it (I always just use it in recipes). I think the mistake of celery is not cutting it into thinner strips, like above. I think I've also never gotten into celery because it's always served with ranch dressing or full of pimento cheese, etc....so when I was young I never got into the habit of eating it. I like it just as much as baby carrots now. Poor celery; I really didn't give you a chance before.

Since this is the last day of V MoFo, I went through my pictures and here is every other picture I have taken of our food the past few months. Guacamole with flautas. I rolled up a corn tortilla with refried beans (sealing it with a little of the beans) and fried them in a skillet. The kids ate these up.

Spinach-Artichoke Dip - I threw a bunch of ingredients in the blender, sort of versions of this recipe and this one. It was mostly spinach, artichokes, Vegannaise, garlic, non-dairy milk, Galaxy Foods Parmesan, and Daiya cheese. It was the richest, most gooey and sinful thing I may have ever eaten. It was so good that I can assure you I won't be making it anytime soon.

Potato salad from Veganomicon...we've made this and the book's macaroni salad a few times this summer, and they were both great recipes.

Minestrone with low-sodium vegetable broth, cannelini beans, kale, carrots, squash, zucchini, and hemp seeds sprinkled on top. Garlic toast made with Serenity Farm Bread, which we love. Serenity Farms Bakery is located in Leslie, Arkansas. If you're ever driving up Hwy. 65, stop at the location that is also a small health food store or downtown where the cute bakery with a wood-fired brick oven is located. We love their bread. It's made without yeast, sweeteners, additives, or oils.

Baby carrots, just barely steamed, with spices (I felt very fancy making this kind with the stems; I never had before.), steamed greens with garlic, steamed butternut squash with walnuts and a little agave nectar drizzled on top, and grilled cheese sandwich with tomato. I wrote about this kind of "uncheese" and the cookbook I love here.

Enchiladas...for the record, here is my favorite enchilada recipe. I didn't use that one this time. I always make my own enchilada sauce because I have yet to find one to buy that doesn't contain sugar. Does anyone know of one? I just mix, in a pan over low-medium heat: tomato paste, water, a little cornstarch, salt, a little garlic, and a little chili powder (can't make it too spicy for Tornado). I covered the pan with a little sauce, dipped each tortilla in the sauce, then rolled each up with more sauce, black beans, brown beans, corn, and chopped zucchini.

So don't even THINK you're going to see me eating anything like these cheesecake bites anytime soon...it's not going to happen.

I'm very excited about the time change. A lot of people don't like the time change. My husband is the #1 un-fan of the time change. I say, every year, I'm going to buy him one of those artificial light therapy boxes. I rather like the dark; it's cozy. I like the extra hour. It usually does wonders for me. I feel like I haven't really caught up from last spring. Maybe, just maybe, this will be exactly what I need to get me back on track with life.

Happy Time Change and Happy Halloween, for those of you who care.