Veganism is Me.

I need to keep up on this blog.  I spend so much time writing, working on Hello Veggie, and networking with me peeps that sometimes I forget my own personal outlet.

Someone very close to me recently checked this blog, my personal blog, and had an interesting comment.  They wanted to know why this one (too) is about food- or health.  They thought that Hello Veggie is where I talk about food/health/veganism and that this is where I just tell fun stories about my life.  Well, I gladly explained to her that my life IS about veganism.  It's not a diet, it's not my job.  It's what I care about, it's what I think about, it's what I consult people about.  It's who I am.  Veganism is not a diet for me, it is a lifestlye. It's not my religion, it's my lifestyle.  Which luckily, is hand in hand with my religion. 

You may not know what it means to have a vegan lifestyle, so I'll fill you in.  It means that I try my best to live by my deepest values of love, kindness, peace, gentleness, and caring.  It means that I do not want any living thing, who is able to suffer, to experience pain simply for my pleasure or enjoyment.  It means that I am conscience, daily, of the decisions I make and how they affect me, others, and all of Creation.

Sometimes I truly wonder what about that sounds so bad.  What is so unacceptable or obnoxious about not wanting to cause harm to an animal?  What is holier-than-thou about wanting to keep my body healthy? Really, it's nothing.   It can just makes others uncomfortable to think about having to give up something they want in order to not cause suffering in the world.  And unfortunately, many times people would rather say they don't care about suffering animals and unethical treatment in order to hold tight to their habits or lifestyle. 

Peace and Veggies, 

Jenn

Twonderful Twitterverse

I don't know if you're on Twitter yet, but I am and I adore the Twitterverse.  I adore all of my Tweeties (my followers).  I love Twitter because I have made many cyber pals, get lots of great information from those I am following, and I'm encouraged and inspired by the Twits in my network.  Is your Twitter experience the same?  Is your REAL LIFE experience the same? Is mine?

You see, it's easy for us to follow upbeat, inspiring, healthy, and fun people on Twitter.  I know it's easy for me, why wouldn't it be?  I love to be around healthy (mentally, emotionally, physically) and uplifting people.  During my adulthood I have come to realize that I have had too many attached relationships with people who are not healthy.  If someone is not mentally or emotionally stable, I do not need to be emotionally attached.  Because their instability can and will cause me to be hurt.  I am now smart enough to know better than to allow myself to not be vulnerable to such things.  

Accountability and partnership is a powerful thing.  I have sympathy for those who try to change lifestyle when they live alone and/or don't have anyone partnering up with them.  I am so lucky and fortunate to have D.  He is so open minded, kind, and caring that he was willing to go vegetarian with me.  He has made a lifestyle change with me.  I could have and would have done it alone if need be, but having a buddy is so helpful.

For anyone out there who is trying to get healthy (m,e, or p), who wants to change lifestyle, or who has surrounded themselves by the wrong people (on Twitter or in real life!) then know that I am here.  Hello Veggie is here.  Leave me comments on one of my site, drop me an email, or follow me on Twitter.  I love to chat and consult about all things healthy.  And do you know what, honey?  It isn't because I have an obsession, it isn't because I'm so good at it, it isn't because I like to take authority- it's because I truly believe and have a conviction that overall health is important.  If you don't have your health (m,e, or p), then truly, WHAT do you have?  If you don't have enough peace of mind to find joy and happiness in life, how can you appreciate anything?  If you suffer from anxiety, depression, or eating disorders, how much living are you missing out on?  If you're obese or headed towards disease, how are you and your loved ones going to feel when you're rushed to the emergency room at the age of 25, 35, 55, 65? 

All we can do is the best we can do.  That's all we can ask of ourselves to try our hardest.  Inhale hope, love, and provision- exhale love, courage, and strength.  

Peace and Veggies, 

Jenn

Eating Hearty & Taking Control

Hello Lovelies!

  For the past 6 weeks I have had freakishly strong food cravings.  I haven't had a clue as to why I was having them until I read in one of my favorite books, The Food Doctor, that stress can cause food cravings.  I have definitely been stressed.  I think I've slept through the night 2 or 3 times in the past 6 weeks, I've endured two cold sores above 

my lip, and have had back pain.

  I let myself 'go' for a while while trying to deal with my stressors on my own by internalizing the stress.  Well, a couple of weeks ago I gave myself a good kick in the brussels and am getting myself on track.  I cannot always control the stressors in my life, but what I can control is how I respond.  So what did I prescribe myself?  More water+exercise+yoga+meditation+prayer.  So far, it's been working.  I've been feeling better mentally, emotionally, and physically.  I haven't been sleeping through the night every night but I do feel the like quality of sleep I have been getting is better than it has been.

 I'm trying to control my food cravings more.  I never got to where I was super over-eating.  But I did spend way to much money eating out! 'I need sushi, right NOW. Let's go!'.  Yeah, one night it's sushi, the next it's fajitas, then burritos, then veggie 

burgers.  My cravings left me with less money in the bank and less recipes to post on Hello Veggie. Uh oh!  So, now I'm getting myself back on track.  The fajita recipe I came up with is just as good as a restaurant, I'm getting back to making sushi from scratch again, and just last night I made some awesome Homestyle Biscuits.  I may not be able to stop the cravings but I do need to plan ahead and make the tasty foods I want at home. Every. Single. Day. That's the goal! 

Here I am, quenching my craving for a 'sausage' biscuit with ketchup.  It was a good morning. I had two. 

 But what are your goals?  Do you need to lose weight?  Exercise? Or just mark 'all of the above' and give yourself a kick in the brussels to start getting healthy? Are you bold enough to set a goal for yourself.....and are you even bold enough to share it here?  

 

The Other Half

When most people think of what a person does to be 'healthy' they think two things; Diet and Exercise.  Well, for nearly the past year of my life I've been focussing on and learning the ropes on the first half of that equation, Diet.  I've lost 10 effortless pounds since changing my diet and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  I was never trying to lose weight. I didn't need to lose weight.  But it's amazing the extra bulk a little body can have that it doesn't need or want.  

Since I've been on and off little wanna be diets since I was in 5th grade, it certainly is nice to finally understand the essence of what living a lifestyle of healthy eating truly means.  I don't eat any animal products.  I still eat sweets, still drink a beer when I want one, and I never count calories or feel guilty after an indulgence.  The best part?  I eat whatever I want and more than I ever have and I get incredible perks like losing weight, having more energy, no longer suffering from IBS daily, and being practically kaput with anxiety.  You can have that too, but you have to eat your  way there.

Since I'm feeling pretty good about my nutritional state and goals I decided it was time to firm up my little self.  After all, what's so great about being skinny and squishy?  I've never been a fan of working out all of the time.  And I've never had the discipline for it.  But that's the beauty of the road I've traveled.  After giving up MEAT, ICE CREAM as I knew it, and CHEESE I have clearly demonstrated to myself that I CAN DO IT. I have the self discipline and determination to do whatever I damn well please.  I've shown myself that through my drastic change in diet.  And it is EMPOWERING.  I am empowered.  

So, in order to keep myself from being a health hypocrite and, of course, for the sake of my own physical and mental well being I have started exercising.  Every day.  So far I've been walking, jogging, doing beginners yoga, and some brief glimpses of pilates.  I'm only a couple of weeks in and am taking it slow.  I'm proud of myself for being active one way or another every day.  It feels good and I've experienced physical benefits already.  In addition to exercising I've been laying off caffeine and seriously upping my intake of water.  Water is great for losing fat and not overeating.  So far I can really tell it's helped me poop every day.  Pooping 1-3 times a day is super health ( 1 being OK and 3 being Fab!) and I like to hit a once a day minimum.  

The Twittersphere has been rocking my world lately and I'm loving meeting so many radical peeps. 

Peace and Veggies, 

Jenn

Adulthood

It's been a while since I've posted on this sucker.  Mostly because I've been busy doing better things and haven't had the need.  I've been expressing myself in many other creative outlets which I believe is a very important thing. 

  This has been my first year (almost a year) of being completely 'on my own' from my family of origin.  Thank God.  Relying on my family has been something I've been resentful of in the past for a variety of reasons.  Because I would be guilted over financial dependence and would not be empowered or encouraged to do anything about it.

  I do not think that ANY young adult should be completely financially dependent on their family.  I don't care if they're in college or not.  I think it is the PARENTS responsibility to teach (via personal experience and example) their kids how to live on their own.  If a parent feels their child is taking advantage of what they're given, that is the fault of the parent.  

  I have also come to learn a lot about non-family relationships.  And thank God because I surely had it WRONG before.   I am not a people pleaser.  I am a thinker, who is judging on what I think is right and wrong and there is nothing wrong with that.

  Some people are more emotional than logical, some people sense things out instead of being intuitive, and so forth.  Well, I am a very 'what you see is what you get' kind of person.  And that is what I expect from other people.  If someone isn't like that, then likely I won't like them.

There's nothing wrong with that and it doesn't make me wrong and them right or me right and them wrong.  It's just a difference of personalities.

 Well, the difference in me now and me how I used to be is that I'm not afraid to see things how they are.  Before I would deny how people truly were.  I would have an instinct or knowing that someone was not acting the way I thought was right and instead of putting 2+2 together to = 4, I would be in denial over it.

  Bottom line, if you have a friend who repeatedly screws you over they are not a good friend and maybe not a good person.  If you have a boyfriend/girlfriend who takes advantage of you in ANY way, it's not because they haven't learned certain life lessons.  It's not because they didn't realize they hurt you.  It's not because it was an accident.  If you are friend with someone or in a relationship with someone who treats ANYONE poorly at any time and isn't repentant about it, they are not who you need to associate with. 

 Before, I have had an eerie desire to make people want to be my friend.  I didn't want to cut people out.  I was thinking "forgiveness", "patience", "acceptance", "loyalty".  And do you know what 5+ years of that has got me?  Honestly, I'm being serious.  It has gotten me way too many scars from putting myself on the line (emotionally, socially) for people who are NOT worth it.

If you don't have a 100% 2 way street kind of relationship with someone then it's not the kind you should value highly.  Do not have expectations on people who have proven to you they do not deserve your high expectations.

  If someone lets you down, plan on them letting you down until proven otherwise.  Don't think that all of the sudden they will be a gem when they have changed zero.  Someone not wanting to be best friends with you is not necessarily a reflection of you and what you have to offer.  Some people just do not want it.

 Some people do not search for friends with openness, honesty, character, commitment, emotional depth, who are fun, smart, etc etc etc.  Some people do not seek out those characteristics.  And if you DO seek out those characteristics, you can't MAKE someone fit that mold.  Believe me, I've tried.  I've told myself for years that someone was a 'friend' and it is absolutely not true.  They possess 10%, at best, of the qualities of a friend that I want. 

  And the good news is this, we all have the ability to chose.  We don't have to be friends with someone just because we lived with them in college, were close for one year, knew them for 10 years, are their oldest friend, or because they need you.  Like all things in life, we get to choose.

Choose who builds you up, who gives to you, who is reliable,  and who is genuinely interested in your life and in what's important to you.

  You can easily choose wrong, get attached to a person who is wrong for you, and feel left with nothing when the wrong situation pans out in a wrong way.  And like I said, you end up feeling left with nothing.  And the bottom line is what you were settling for 'nothing' in the first place.  

Hello Veggie

Well, I am here and I am enjoying keeping up with my fellow vegan bloggers.  I would like to put out a plug for my website  http://helloveggie.org

Please feel free to comment!  I love talking to fellow bloggers and I getting feedback really helps!

Blogs

Well, I've started a blog for my business, Details.  Also, I'm in the midst of starting a blog about learning to be Vegan.

Obviously, I've posted some blogs here that are about cooking or nutrition. But so many different subjects start to get things congested after time.  So, I'm think about breaking it down!  Stuff about justjenn, goes here.  Stuff about veganism, go there.  Details, over there. 

Things are great at the home front right now.  David and I are both little working machines and we're trying to stay strong.  It can be tough making time for each other in the midst of everything else.  David has his career, personal/free lance projects, friends, family, second job, his band.  That's a lot. 

Tonight may just be laundry night for me!  I cannot express enough how much I love to have a clean house, all messes put away, and all laundry and dishes done!  And when I say messes 'put away', I mean put where they belong and not just shoved in a closet!  Because then, when you open the closet you get to look at a messy gross pile of crap and realize that you're house only LOOKs tidy and that it's not really true!  It's a 'wanna-be' neat and clean!

Speaking of clean.  I love David, I love him more than anyone.  And I love my little 1br 1ba apartment.  HOWEVER, sharing a bathroom with a man is a lot trickier than just having your own.  Did you know, Blog, that if a man shaves his face you are left with all of these teeny, short, straight hairs all over your sink, faucet, and countertop?  Not only do you have to clean up more frequently, but those little suckers can be hard to get!

I'm ready for fall/winter.  You know, not summer/fall but fall/winter.  We've been keeping the windows open in our apartment all day and night.  It's been amazing.  I hate having the air conditioners blazzzzing...and we haven't had to have them blaze anymore.  Hooray!  Thank you God!  You are good!

Stir-Fry. Oh, one of my favorites!

Brown rice. Good for you, just a little chewy. Luckily, when you eat it with a tasty sauce it gets moistened up nicely and is delicious!

Get a large pan or preferrably a wok. Put a couple of tablespoons of sesame oil in there and let it start to heat up. Med-high heat. Nothing to fierce, we wouldn't want to start a fire.
(five words= little sister, wok, fire, tuscaloosa)

It's super easy and tasty to use a frozen bag of stir fry veggie. Frozen veggies are great because you don't have to rush to eat them before they go bad, they are much more healthy than canned veggies, and they are cheaper than fresh produce.

So, dump in a bag of frozen stir fry veggies. I like to add in some extra broccoli, fresh or frozen, to hearty up your stir fry. Those stir fry bags are great but I say, the more large crunchy veggies the better!

Once you've got all your veggies sizzlin', add in some minced fresh giner (about two or three tsp) and a large clove of minced garlic. Mix it around. THEN douce that junk with some soy sauce!

OH mercy. So tasty. You'll have your rice cooking before hand, since rice takes longer to cook- duh. So, once your rice is done just get yourself a hearty scoop of vegestable stir-fry and you're golden.

I also like making stir fry with noodles. However, that recipe requires more of a saucy saucy, whereas the rice resonds well to the light, thin, sesame oil and soy sauce combo. Oh yum. This is what I shall make Thursday night for dinner.

CHIPS.

Why buy a bag of Pita Chips when you can make your own, pay less, and get more?
I love eating guac. and salsa, but I hate eating too many corn chips (with it) and getting that 'ew, full, i just ate too much junk food' feeling after I'm done with my would have been healthy snack.

SO, I like to eat my dips with whole wheat pita chips. And when I make them, I can flavor them as I like!

Take one bag of pita bread (1.99$) and take out three of six pita breads in the bag. Cut the three pita breads in half, length wise. Now you have 6 halves. Cut each half stack of three into fourths (triangles) and you now have 24 triangles. As we all know, Pita Bread is 'pouch style', which basically mean that each triangle has two sides to it. So, tear each triangle into two seperate triangles. You know have 48 pita chips! I DOUBT a $2.99 or $3.99 bag of Pita Chips has 48 chips.

Lay your 48 pieces of pita bread on two baking sheets. You don't want to over crown one sheet because having a little bit of space between them helps them to crisp.

Put a light layer of olive oil on each piece. Now, this is the best part! You can season your chips however you want! If you're doing them with a dip, you can leave them plain. If you're having them with a soup or with another main dish, you can give them a little spice or herbs. Whatever works!

I prefer doing one baking sheet of chips with only olive oil and sea salt (to keep them plain). I like to make the other sheet full of chips a little more tasty! Combine, in a small prep bowl, some onion powder, garlic powder, sea salt, black pepper, lemon juice of about half a lemon or less, and some fresh basil, chopped. Mix this up into a gritty little paste. Spread a dallop on each chip. Some can be more and some can be less. This makes for a tasty tasty treat! You can easily omit the lemon and basil and stick to dry seasonings.

You may have 48 chips, but they'll go fast! You'll be using that other half of the pita bread pack before you know it!

YUM YUM.

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Two nights ago I tried a Black Bean Burger recipe and also made some sweet potatoe fries.
The sweet potatoe fries were delicious, but not as crisp as I would like. If only I had a pizza stone to cook them on...the crisping part would be so much easier.

The black bean burgers...well. They were OK as far as taste goes. But they weren't that great to eat. I used bread crumbs in them- perhaps I used too fine of crumbs or I used too many. BUT, the patties had a chalky or sandy type of texture to them as I chewed it. This was not enjoyable.
I ate it, I got through it, I'm even eating the leftovers today for lunch. I will admit though, it was somewhat of a last resort.

Next time, I'm going to try using rice or perhaps rolled oats with my veggie burgers. I'll post the results.

YUMMY.

I was looking at two recipes, both of which called for a couple of ingredients I didn't have. I decided to nix the stuff I didn't have, add in a few more things I did have but that weren't called for, and do what I could. The result? A delicious, healthy, hearty, vegestable stew. We can eat it all week, easily take it to-go (to work) as long as we can reheat it, get our tummy's super stuffed because it's THAT hearty, and be comfortated. Who doesn't think healthy soup is a comfort food, it is! MY creation was a perfect welcome to the new season!

Saute: Two medium carrots copped, 3/4 large onion, one stalk celery (too much celeray=yuck!), half a green pepper diced, in a couple tablespoons of oil until the onions become translucent.

Shortly after you start sauteing the veggies, add in a large minced clove of garlic.

Chop into cubes: one large zucchini, one medium butternut squash, and a handful of red potatos
Dice: about 5-8 (however many you choose) tomatoes - one of the recipes said you can add a can of crushed tomatoes instead of this but I prefer fresh over canned any day I have it on hand!

Add in all of these veggies that you have prepared while your saute was going strong. Also add in 2 1/4 cups of watter and two veggie. boion cubes ( I think I totally raped the spelling of that word, but hopefully you'll get the idea).

After you have all of those veggies mixed up bring to a boil, then pull back down to simmer. At this time add in a cup of brown rice, some seasoning (salt, pepper, cheyenne pepper, cumin, orageno, thyme- any of these would be tasty as long as you don't go overboard or mix and match in gross ways...obviously). Cover and let simmer for 45 minutes. Durring the last 10 minutes throw in a chopped fresh herb if you have any. I have an indoor herb garden, so I grabbed some margoram. It's was tasty but pretty mild.
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Overview: veggie broth, brown rice(=great grain), butternut squash, carrots, peppers, onion, garlic, potatos, zucc., tomatoe==== YUM YUM hearty, healthy, comfort food! Eat it with a couple of whole wheat melba toasts and you've got a winner. I'll be honest, my soup could have done well will a little more spices than I actually added ( I used salt, pepper, and the the fresh herb at the end) but if you use a variety of veggies like I did they'll provide enough tasty flavor to get you by!

I think this stew would do well with some whole wheat pasta shells instead of the rice, or with some white, kidney, or lima beans. That would be a great addition of protien! YUM!

FOOD.

Ever since I started the vegetarian lifestyle I've been researching lots of tasty recipes and ideas for cooking. I love to cook, but have never made tons of stuff from scratch. Now, that I'm stratteling the Vegetarian/VEGAN line, I have more of need to experiment with different ingredients and methods of cooking. In order to cook vegan, you pretty much have to re-learn how to cook. No more MEAT, MILK, EGGS, or CHEESE. OH MY! Yes, not only is it possible- it's VERY healthy adn VERY tasty.

There are many awesome substitutes for you typical animal products. 'Animal Products'. Have you ever really stopped and thought about what that term means. It means that people take the milk from cows (which is meant for baby cows to be nurished) and decided to pasturize and drink! What are eggs, really? Like, chicken abortion by-products? Is that totally wacky to think of it that way? Are eggs just the would-be little chicks? I'm not trying to be radical or gross, I swear, honest. I'm jes saying, when did eating animal products start? Why did it start? Personally, I don't think that Adam and Eve were snoopin in a Chickens nest for treats or slaughtering the roaming cattle or deer for dinner. There wasn't the forbidden poultry, the bird that God said 'don't eat!'. NO, it was forbidden fruit. That is what they ate. They ate plants.

Let me go on a min-tangent from my main tangent for a moment, if you will, Blog. EVEN IF I ever ate meat again (which I'm not planning on) I would NEVER eat animal products of any kind that was not free-range and organic. I'm not even going to go there right now and talk about animal foods. Also, I'm not going to go there and talk about factory-farming. I'm hungry and I don't want to lose my appetite. BUT abusing the animals which you raise for food and dousing your food in chemicals (most of which are illegal in other countried due to their likelyhood to be carcinogens) then that is ...tisk tisk, bad! Yuck yuck, bad bad.

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Back to the innocent intent of my blog today. OK, in order to cook vegan you practically have to re-teach yourself to cook. ( I said this already, yes). This means, in your pancakes you need to use a ground flax seed/water combo. OR banana instead of eggs. This means in and recipe which calls for milk, you use rice - soy - almond - or coconut milk instead of mooo mooo milk. You get used to using things like whole wheat flour and whole wheat pasta instead of the conventional, white, processed starchy kind.

What gives? What's the point of all of this? Well, I'll save the whole kitten-kaboodle for another post. But, your food is WAY healthier, your food is tastier, and your food makes you feel better!
You get equally full and satisfied. BUT, you don't have that 'uugghh, I can't move and feel like I have a little brick in my tummy' feeling after your meal is over. It's a-w-e-s-o-m-e. I didn't lose that much weight when I first converted, but I'm already a pretty little person after all. I did feel a lot better (both physically, and mentally). I didn't have that guilt or ignorance of nutritional value feeling after I had a mean. It's amazing what just being conscience of what you are eating and making a daily effort to get the nutrients you need does for your moral. You feel pretty good about yourself. OK, so I didn't lose that much weight ( I don't think...) but my husband dropped 10 pounds in what seemed like over nights. AND he isn't quite as convicted about the dairy/egg intake as I am...but just give me time...I"ll convert him yet!

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So, changing your lifestyle via diet is one thing. But changing your lifestyle via budget is a whole other ball of wax. My hubby and I have decided to eliminate the moderately small amount of debt that we have and we have a pretty strict time-line. We've both taken up second jobs. So, not only are we trying to eat more healthily, we are trying to spend less on food, and are twice as busy as before! So, when do we stop and cook our healthy meals? Man, it has been a task!
Last Friday I was feeling freakishly fatigued during the day and I realized the lack of veggies and fruit that I had over the couple of days before hand. YIKES! So now, if my man is working at night and I have a few free hours to myself. . . cooking from scratch is my new hobby! I started last week...it was ok. I didn't make much and ...well, it was the thought that counted. Last night I gave it another go and I'll be keeping my blog updated. So far, this post is too long. So I'm going to start a fresh one. Yum. Yum.

Who am I? What do I DO?

This year I've gotten married, moved to a new city and state leaving all family behind, gotten my first fulltime job, quit my first fulltime job, gotten my second fulltime job, and have overall been in a beautiful position of growth and transition. I don't feel like paragraphs, I feel like lists:

2008 Hobbies: 2008 Top Interests: 2008 Top 5 Ways Life has Changed:
Jewelry Politics Marriage
Business Development Health Vegetarian/Vegan Lifestyle
Researching Interests Finances Nashville
Cooking Friends Work
Organizing HUSBAND (#1) Blonde Hair, again
Furniture


2008 Top 5 Goals: 2008 Top 5 Achievements:
Paying off ALL debt Financial indepedence from my parents! glorious.
Making a habbit out of Yoga Getting professional help with my anxiety problems
Saving money for Hap ki Do for '09 Moving Forward
No longer being a hypochondriac. sp? Remaining Ambitious
Growing my business
Finding a Church


2008 Top 5 Favorite Things to Do:
Taking walks- in the park, through the city, whichever!
Traveling.
Being cozy.
Drinking hot beverages.
Buying furniture.
Work.