9

A note on weight loss. Taking meat out of your diet will often times make you lose weight, especially if you are an overeater. The same can be said for taking milk and egg products from your diet.

When I first switched to a vegetarian lifestyle I lost 85 pounds in about 8 months. I let my diet get away from me with greasy cheesy foods and gained back 15 of that, but still after 13 months I had equalized at 215 down from 285 and from 38% to 24% body fat.

This last week I've started losing again, down to 23% body fat. Just a week I know, but it is easy to understand that taking out those calorie dense foods makes it harder to overindulge.

I've been eating more than I have in a long time, feeling full, but I'm not getting bogged down with all the bad stuff.

Tonight I was able to cross off something from my bucket list I've wanted to in a while. Spinning fire poi thanks to my roommate's girlfriend. I would recommend it to anyone, if just for the thrill of the sound.

8

Had my first real challenge last night due to going out to eat. My buddies got burgers and I had some fries. That is pretty much the only food I have the chance for in a bar/restaurant. But the fries were good and so was the Sam Adams Winter Lager.

I decided to try a vegan pizza from Tofutti. I am kind of skeptical of cheese replacements. Any I have tried in the past have left me quite sad with no melty goodness. However, I have an open mind and decided to give it a shot. After leaving a third of it plain as a control and topped the rest with mushrooms, peppers, and some wilted spinach.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the faux cheese was melty and quite tasty. While not just like real cheese, I would be more than happy to use this in place of it, just like my feelings on boca and black bean burgers. Different but delicious.

Also, way to go Broncos.

7

Cajun rice and beans today.

Made some large red kidney beans last night and then some rice. This morning I threw a cup of water with some creole seasoning, brought to a boil, then added about a cup of beans and half cup of beans. Sadly I guessed too much seasoning but it wasn't bad.

It was good for lunch and worked really well as an addition for the burritos I made for dinner. I love burritos, have I said that before?

Batman is currently on MeTV, so I'm going to watch some campustown goodness before heading to the longest yard.

6

Barbeque outside for lunch on January 6th, that's all I really need to say.

Spent the day working out in this beautiful weather again. And luckily we had all planned last night to grill out. I made some bbq Tempeh on an onion bun, veggie skewers, and some steamed potatoes. Delicious. I really can't get enough Tempeh.

Tomorrow at 7pm will mark a week from the last non-vegan meal I've had, and I'm still feeling good.

Going to make some kidney beans.

5

I still haven't had any real issues yet with this vegan thing, though it is only the end of day 5. It takes a little more effort, but it is the good kind of effort that makes you really appreciate what you are doing. It is kind of great to have more structure.

To stray away from the food, let's talk sustainability. I am putting my employer's stack of pallets to good use. Today I spent an hour cutting appart some pallets and then the second hour prototyping an adirondack chair. Out of one pallet and some scraps I will be able to make one chair...I just need to finalize all of the angles.

Here's a picture minus the front legs.

I'm going to go eat some stir fry.

4

Sauté some veggies and last minute add some Sriracha and salsa. Throw it in a burritos shell...Mmm.

I would like to say how sad I am to discover that altoids are not vegan or even vegetarian for that matter - oops. Luckily I read the label before I ate any this year. Looks like I will have to find a new place to get some awesome little tins for projects. Sad.

I made some beans from scratch last night. It's so easy I'll tell you how:
1) Soak your dry beans over night with 3x as much water.
2) Drain and rinse your beans.
3) Add 3x as much water and beans to a pot with any spices you may want to add.
4) Bring to a boil.
5) Let simmer til tender.

I made black beans and it took around 50 minutes to get it to my liking. Since then I've been adding the beans in everything.

3

A little thought I has this morning turned out to be delicious, even though at lunch my Grandma told me she had done a long time ago. I can never get my oatmeal to taste that good without adding a bunch of junk to it. However, today I decided to replace the water in the recipe with some blueberry pomegranate juice from my fridge.

I did a straight conversion from the water and cooked it the same length, but it turned out to be the best oatmeal I've ever had. No, I'm not being overdramatic, it was delicious.

If you've never been to the Ritual Cafe in downtown Des Moines, definitely go there right now. I have gone there since I moves back to DSM, but today I met up with Grandma for some lunch. It was the tasty vegan veggie sandwich for me, pretty much sautéd veggies and hummus on some ciabata bread.

After a good day of cleaning and keeping stuff that should have been thrown away at work, I made some simple stir fry with some peanut butter and Sriracha thrown in for good measure. I've got the stir fry down to about 15 minutes including prep.

That's about it...sorry, I still don't miss you cheese.

2

All about the recipes.

I ended up making some delicious black bean burgers today, courtesy of the Happy Herbivore. Just changed up a couple things.

Here's what you need:
1 can black beans
1/3 cup instant oats
1-2 teaspoon lawry's (or whatever spice your feeling)
1 tablespoon mustard
2 tablespoons catsup
1 healthy squirt Sriracha (I added that for a small kick)

Drain and mash the beans with a fork. Mix in your spices and wet stuff. Follow that up with your instant oats. Split this up into 3-4 parties. HH says to cook them in the oven at 400 degrees, but I just threw them on the skillet for about 8 minutes each side. They can get a bit crumbly, but they hold together pretty well on the bun.

I also sliced up a potato to fry for a side, and it tasted so good I didn't even need to season the fries.

Enjoy, and make sure to check out the Happy Herbivore.

1

After living a vegetarian life since November 2010, I have decided to give vegan a try for the month of January...maybe longer if I find I like it.

Living in the Midwest, it'll be tough to avoid the milk and eggs. And since almost everyday for me starts with a breakfast burritos it will definitely be a big change.

Vegan for me means no animal products, byproducts, or anything that I find injures animals in the process. That even goes down to candies that use shellac to coat them - I'm looking at you, skittles, you delicious little Bastards.

I'm not out to force others into the lifestyle, how you live your life is your problem. Every now and then I may end up reminding you of the health benefits to lessen your meat intake.

Hopefully this will serve to illustrate my joys and sorrows during this month and beyond. And I will for sure throw in some fun posts on projects I'm building and whatnot.