Okay now Im just being an Asshole

idk wtf I was thinking today but I had to stop at McDonalds for my bro two doubles and I got me a cheeseburger and strawberry/cream pie.

Which is so funny because when I volunteered today I was very careful and bought a salad with no meat/dairy and tortilla soup. I did add thousand island dressing. I really didnt want the vinaigrette stuff :/

idk why I did it. I no longer enjoy it and I no longer think of myself as a meat and dairy eater. Then why the fuck did I do it???

I actually sat there and thought about it before I did it. Back and forth and then I finally told myself it would be okay. WRONG!

But I still dont understand why I did come to the conclusion is because I dont like being denied and I have no self-discipline. But I have done great so far. So why fuck it up??? Its a Cause I believe in indefinitely. It took me a long time and a lot of guilt to come to the conclusion that I wanted to be a vegan. This was no overnight decision. This is no fad for me.  Maybe its letting go of who I was before or the new change in myself? IDK. I really dont know. But I think when shit like this happens it gets easier and easier for me to separate myself from it Ive noticed and I have lost 7lbs : D

I live in Utah, which is somewhat trendy with its Vegan food but not enough like LA or NY. We have a couple of specific vegan restaurants and options and we have a Whole Foods and a Sprouts. But we can still customize our food vegan still with no meat and no dairy. Just like any other fast food or restaurant place. I wish more food places would act as an example of Chipotle.

Anyway WORLD VEGAN DAY is coming up November 1st. I am also preparing my favorite holiday Thanksgiving Vegan Style. I just need to buy more sides. I cannot wait to share :) on here.

Chipotle Vegan Sofritas!

Before I begin, I would like to start off by saying IM AN ASSHOLE. Yes, I ate a piece of pizza today with pepperoni and extra cheese and at first I was going to remove the cheese and pepperoni but then just said FUCK IT. I also had 2 donuts. Im annoyed with myself but got back on the vegan wagon and moving forward again. 

I think it was because I am super stressed right now so I was in no mood to give a shit. Which happens. I am getting better at controlling it since I am still new at this. The reason why I admit it on my vegan blog is because I dont want to lie to yall secretly and we all make mistakes. I almost had a hershey bar but stopped myself.

Anyway what is pictured on the right is the new sofritas at chipotle! For a long time (before I decided to become vegan) I have always heard of how wonderful chipotle is and then I heard they are cutting out gmos and now I see they are adding a vegan option!

So I figured to try it all at once I would hit up chipotle and test it out AND try their new vegan option! It was perfect! :D

What is Sofritas your wondering right? Well Chipotle describes it as "We start with organic tofu from Hodo Soy that we shred and then braise with chipotle chilis, roasted poblanos, and a blend of aromatic spices. The result is a delicious, spicy tofu that will give vegans and carnivores something they both will love".

So with it I had it in a flour tortilla with green peppers & onion, pinto beans, brown rice, medium salsa, guacamole, and of course sofritas! DELICIOUS! <3

Boy was I Tempted...

Vegan Veggie Marinara Spaghetti for Dinner tonight

Boy was I tempted to have a hot dog before I had dinner ready...instead I ate the leftover veggie pasta I made yesterday...

Boy was I tempted to eat meat (ground beef) in my spaghetti...Instead I separated some veggie maranara sauce for myself...

Boy was I tempted to eat ice cream but instead had some of my Clif Bar.

Ironically, I have the worst self-discipline, but the longer I am Vegan the easier it gets. 

I still have plenty of VEGAN food to eat too. I have leftover vegan sloppy joes, veggie pasta, sandwich stuff, chikn patties & black bean vegan patties plus some Clif Bars for dessert.

It was hard at first, being the only Vegan in my household but I manage and I try to share my meals with my non-vegan family so that they can see it can be good without meat or dairy and I still get all my vitamins with a good multivitamin with iron, B12 & protein. No reason not to go Vegan. ;)  Even if you dont care for the animals going vegan is actually good for your health & the environment.

TIP: If you want to go vegan read the labels of your food choices it will let you know right away if there are any milk or any other dairy items in the product! AND non-dairy does NOT mean dairy free, its just a tricky word. 

Here are a couple of helpful articles I found this weekend about being Vegan on the Cheap (NOT a vegan article BTW ;) ) and living without Dairy:
7 Foods to Buy when Your Broke (#7 has a dairy free option)
29 Tips to Get Rid of Dairy (without turning to Soy!)

Vegan is a Lifestyle Change

This morning I weighed myself, even though I slipped a couple of times with meat & dairy, I lost 3lbs. But I aint doing this to lose weight. There is a much BIGGER picture. Like not supporting animal cruelty and saving the planet. Being healthy & weight loss just happens to be one of the many benefits.

Since I always do my best to be honest, I still have my vices. Like Dr. Pepper and regular sugar & creamer for my coffee. Thats it. But I stated in the beginning I wont be a strict Vegan because I know myself better than anyone.  

Sugar, Creamer & Dr. Pepper have animal by products in them. I tried stevia I dont like it. I dont like any sweetners. I only like Silk Soy Vanilla milk in my coffee but looking for Vegan creamer at Harmons soon. I will have to try a different kind of sugar that is more natural or raw then but I am working towards it. Dr. Pepper I wouldnt give up though. Tried in the past and I know I really dont want too so I wont.

Anyway I know I cant be an animal activist especially for farm animals and NOT be a vegan. It just doesnt make any sense. Plus I feel guilt. I LOVE MILK, LIKE ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. But learning that cows are impregnated over and over again just to service a gallon of milk and the environment pays for it and she loses her baby calf over it and cant feed her calf after its born and then they are separated, its just not worth it on my conscious. If I was in a cows position I would just want to die and eventually they do get slaughtered because they are now unprofitable and useless. What a life huh? Plus think of all the chemicals and hormones in milk. Imagine now you are sucking on a cows teat/udder. Because that is exactly what it is without the middle man. You are also taking that poor baby calf's milk as well. You're Welcome.

This weekend to further my belief in my cause I am going to watch Cowspiracy and Speciesism. I also sign animal petitions and will be hitting colleges and educating people on veganism. :)

Vegan Statistics

Are you sure you need that Leather Chair?

CREDIT: Artist Cao Hui

Dairy is Death. Go Vegan.

Vegan Sloppy Joes

Organic tomato paste, Vegetarian/Vegan sloppy joe mix, dairy free cheese

Im not proud of myself today and I have a confession. First, I might add I am a NEW Vegan but I will get hell for it no matter what.

On my way home from work I bought a jr. bacon & chocolate frosty from Wendys and feel guilty AF as I should.

But having this Vegan Sloppy Joe I feel like their are alternatives and for now I should choose the latter and that is being Vegan. Although I made an error today I am going to move forward and continue to make sure I eat Vegan.

BTW the sloppy joe was absolutely delicious! Tasted just the same and I was able to eat it on a good conscious and no guilt!

Day 7 I AM VEGAN!

YES I MADE IT! I know I can do it. I pretty much made it 7 days! : D I am not pretentious about it, I am doing this for my own personal reasons. I am a Vegan because I give a shit about animals, the environment and my health!

I want to mostly be a healthy vegan. Because there is vegan junk food out there if you didnt know!

I will come up with my own personal vegan menu and add new recipes to it to satisfy my hunger and get all my vitamins and minerals. :) 

Juice Recipe: Green Juice

Whole Green Apple
1 Carrot
Some Baby Spinach
Green Grapes
Bragg ACV
Lemon Juice

Combine in Juicer & add in Bragg ACV

Note: I also use Bragg ACV & water to clean my fruits veggies before Juicing 

Vegan Recipe: Bean & Tofu Tacos

 Can of diced tomatoes with green chiles (fresh tomatoes better)
Can of Pinto Beans (homemade beans better)
1/4 Diced tofu
Chopped Onion
1 Chopped Jalapeno Pepper 
Season All
Salt & Pepper
Minced Onion Seasoning
Garlic Salt 
Avocado
Corn Tortillas
Cooking Oil

Combine and strain pinto beans & diced tomatoes with green chiles. Get a frying pan, turn on high heat and make sure that oil is very hot before adding ingredients. Add pinto beans & diced tomatoes, chopped onion & jalapeno, chopped tofu and all your seasonings. Lower heat to medium and let simmer and stir occasionally for 10 minutes or more depends on your taste. I like to make sure that the onion is sauteed completely before I consider it finished. I also like a slightly smokey flavor to it.

Take your corn tortillas, dip them individually into your bean & tofu taco mix on both sides then grill them in another frying pan to taste. I like them to have a slightly burnt/crisp look to them. Then add your taco mix to the tortilla, scoop in avocado with salt to taste and serve.

Meat Eater to Vegan Animal Activist

I basically skipped the middle and went Meat Eater to Vegan Animal Activist

 

But WHERE do you get Your Protein? SMDH

Day 6

Having my morning coffee with sugar and vanilla soy creamer. Unsure really now about both that are "healthy" or have animal by product in them (my white sugar) but oh well. At least I am still on the right track and will workout the details later on my food products I use. I did buy a new sugar but idk some say this is pure cane and nothing else and some say its not just depends on how its manufactured. I think bone char is what they use if manufactured the other way idk.

Anyway going back to signing and SHARING again my animal petitions full time online again, lately I have been doing it only when they pass on my facebook newsfeed. Some are ugly but justice needs to be served.

I have a recipe fb group and I am no longer going to share recipes with meat or dairy in it. I am taking baby steps with all of this and trying to stay on track.

In the Vegan fb group they were talking about how being healthy and being vegan going hand in hand meaning avoid foods with gmos, processed because in order to help another being we need to be healthy to do so. Which makes sense but I want to get to the basics first of NOT eating meat or dairy at least directly and worry about the specifics later but I do realize I can indirectly be eating meat and dairy as well which sucks because it seems everything on the fuckin planet is tarnished with meat, dairy, sugar and gmos whether we want to eat it or not.

Went to Harmons today and purchased organic herb style stuffing for my Thanksgiving, dairy free mac and cheese and vegetarian sloppy joes.

Thanksgiving my all time favorite holiday ever regardless of how it originated. I celebrate it for different reasons so I am preparing for my Thanksgiving this year as a Vegan. I have a celebration roast, now my stuffing....I also love mashed potatoes, veggies and cranberry sauce. I will try to use more natural (healthy) ingredients as well as of course vegan ingredients. Im excited about doing something unique from now on for my favorite holiday.

Eating leftover vegan pizza and bean/tofu tacos today. Its nice to have options. I need to get more veggies and beans though. I dont think I am going to juice again today, not in the mood. 

Well I didnt really eat anything else except a banana before bed. I think I did good today. 

Day 5

As usual sugar & vanilla soy milk in my first cup of coffee and just sugar at my coffee at work, but I also ate a banana at work this time as well from the lobby.

On my way home from work today I bought some wendys fries & then came home and made leftover bean & tofu tacos.

Then a few hours past and I had been craving pizza and thinking about vegan options and went online to my favorite pizza places papa johns and ordered a hand tossed cheeseless veggie pizza and it was delish! :D I ate it with the free garlic sauce and had two slices. I was going to make my own but I didnt feel like going to the store for the ingredients.

Well I learned last night that papa murphys garlic sauce and crust both have dairy in it :( But not going to let that get me down. The website doesnt even really specify neither about their ingredients just wheat flour and water. Fuckers. I hate that. I wish companies could be more honest. I do want to make my own pizza anyway just not my own dough. I aint Martha fuckin Stewart! (even though I look to cook but not that thorough). I will deal with the GMOs personally. My only goal is to go Vegan period. 

Day 4

Day 4 I have done pretty good so far. The usual coffee with sugar & today vanilla soy milk and at work coffee with sugar.

I had to pickup mcdonalds nuggets for my family again and only had two then when I got home I made myself a bowl of apple sauce with cut up banana and grapes. It was good!

I also made my lunch/dinner which is bean & organic tofu tacos with diced tomatoes, onion, chiles, seasonings, tofu and pinto beans and I will have with avocado on a corn tortilla.

Im supposed to juice today too since I made a smoothie yesterday. I made a green grapes, carrots, leftover tomato, spinach with lemon juice and Bragg apple cider vinegar.

Between juicing and becoming a vegan, OMG I seriously have never ate so many fruits and veggies before in my life!  I need a new juicer though, this one is good but so many parts and such. Its a good starter juicer. Hamilton Beach $50 at Walmart. Bought it for myself last year as an xmas present. I just make sure I clean all the parts right away after I make my juice so I dont get lazy later and the fruits and veggies dont stick to the juicer parts.

Well since I seem to be balancing juicing and being a vegan just fine I think I need to add in some workouts again. I want to do just simple at home workouts. No gym, no dvds. I was a beach body coach at one time and bought quite a few of their workouts and then a couple of years later sold a couple of them on ebay. I dont want to overwhelm myself with certain programs or a gym membership again although, I will browse. ;) Once I get fit I would like to build some serious muscle. Not bulky but still have maybe a little bigger than lean muscle. IDK I am not sure yet.

As an entrepreneur its amazing how many health and wellness companies there are out there. 

The new multivitamin I bought is working well. It has everything and especially protein, iron and B12. I havent felt weak since the second day of becoming a vegan. Plus I make sure I add enough protein in my meals daily.

I decided once I have been a vegan for a couple of months I am going to take a trip to whole foods or sprouts (not near me), then go to a vegan restaurant and buy a vegan shirt as a treat and reward for becoming vegan. :) 

Well to end my night I had some organic oatmeal with no dairy just cashew milk and some hot tea with stevia and vanilla soy milk. 

Goodnight :)

Day 3

This morning I started off with my usual coffee with sugar and cashew milk as creamer.

The only bad thing I had was some tootsie rolls and a few hot fries plus 2 mcnuggets. I had a stressful morning. But ironically I still feel in control of not eating meat or dairy. I almost got french fries at mcdonalds but decided against it since it uses oil with animal beef in it.

I had a smoothie today too, I wanted something creamy so I made a smoothie with honey (not vegan want to finish it up and hate wasting food), cashew milk, green grapes, bananas and ice.

Then I was still hungry so I had a toasted bagel sandwich with vegan mayo, avocado, tomato, onion, jalapenos and salt & pepper.

Whats great about being vegan though is all the options you have, you can eat unlimited fruits, veggies, nuts and beans plus carbs. :)

To end my meal for the night I had a PB&J on a half a bagel with Silk Soy Vanilla milk...YUM!

MADE IT THREE DAYS! SO PROUD OF MYSELF! :D

Instructions for Reporting Animal Abusers and Pedophiles to Interpol

http://our-compass.org/2013/10/07/instructions-for-reporting-animal-abusers-and-pedophiles-to-interpol/

Vegan Cats? (and Dogs)

Sources:
Kitten Nearly Dies on Vegan Diet 
Vegan Cats Store 

There is this on going debate that cats are carnivores or that they can be vegan.

IDK if i would try it on my cat, she is older and set in her ways, but if it is possible more power to the vegans that do give their cat a vegan diet. If I had a kitten one day maybe I would try it but correctly and with vegan cat food.

Plants have Feelings too??? WTF!

I was reading my facebook newsfeed and came across some crazy article with "studies" showing that plants have feelings too...now I think the article is out to confuse vegans and vegetarians with some staged propaganda like they have been doing because more people are turning into vegans and vegetarians because of how more aware people are of slaughterhouse and factory farming of farm animals. Such as "meat myths" etc...

Its quite ridiculous if you ask me. The Bible states in Genesis 1:29-30 that all the vegetation on earth is for us to consume basically.

This picture though from VeganStreet.com pretty much sums it up.

But to be fair plants do grow and change but I dont think that necessarily makes them sentient like animals and people. Animals feel pain and love etc...

Day 2

Like I stated I would most likely still be eating after 8pm last night and did. I had two vegan soy dogs..thumbs down...going to give them to my doggies...and then I woke up at 3am and had a PB&J sammich with cashew milk.

Today again I had my morning coffee with sugar and cashew milk and at work this time I had it just black with sugar. It wasnt too bad. I could probably get used to the taste if I am drinking coffee while I am out.

Note about my bread: Its bread so most likely has some sort of dairy and I picked up the wrong loaf a week ago and says it has honey in it. Im just focusing on staying away from general dairy and meat/seafood before worrying about the details later. 

Before work I stopped at Del Taco and had my usual 1/2lb  bean and cheese burrito with red sauce and sour cream but this time just plain no cheese or sour cream but with the red sauce. It was good. I was feeling kind of weak before I went there and the burrito made me feel better. Realized I need to get my vitamins together as a Vegan. Which after googling noted B12 mainly, then Iron, Calcium and a few others. When I get my vitamins I want to make sure that they do dissolve into the body and work, instead of just buying it and nothing happening.

On my way to taking my daughter to school this morning, I silently prayed that becoming a Vegan would be an easy transition for me and now I actually feel like its easier. I love it :) 

Before I left my client she gave me a couple of pieces of jelly candy and swedish fish and I ate it without thinking because she normally shares her candy with me. Then I realized it could possibly have some sort of dairy in it and will check so I am aware for next time.

When I came home I finished the burrito I had bought in the morning and then ran to another market for more vegan items that had more (picture below) and just got home and had a stem of green grapes and a banana. 

It doesnt really matter to me but I do kind of want to keep track somehow of my lifestyle change so I am noting here my weight is 153lbs.

you know, its funny, after eating processed food all my life, then eating processed vegan food, ironically now i think ALL processed food aint the way to go...even though i already knew that about clean eating but the realization just hit me....what brought that on was eating my boca chikn again and the thought of eating my processed soy ham kind of made me ill...but i do think it would still make grilled cheese sandwiches when i am in the mood...now i just want to focus on 3-4 ingredient recipes like i would if i were to normally cook...i cant stand recipes that have too much ingredients...too overwhelming and i really dont think its necessary...

Today I went to Harmons...a neighborhood grocery and has much more vegan items and organic

items then walmart would ever have...and i picked up the correct vegan processed cheese & vegan soy ham, this special sugar with no gmo or animal by products in it...a dairy free creamy chocolate candy bar, veganese (vegan mayo), a multi-vitamin with B12 and iron in it...oh and a celebration roast for thanksgiving! :D lol MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY!

I also heard oreos were vegan so I ate some of those today with cashew milk, it wasnt the same and i think i need to soak the cookie in the cashew milk longer...but i drove right past McDonalds today and did NOT get an ice cream and was more determined and set on doing so on my way to get my daughter...

anyway with some trial and error i am bound to get this right and come up with my own routine favorite meals & snacks and i think aside from the fruit the best vegan meal i had today was my burrito from del taco :D

Day 1

Today so far (its only 833pm) I didnt do too bad. This morning in my morning coffee which is normally dry creamer and sugar, I used cashew milk.

My second cup of coffee at work, got a little bit more confusing. On the little cup of the International Delight Coffee Cream it said "non-dairy" puzzled but still thought it would be ok to use, but later learned its just tricky words they get you to use their products. It is in fact dairy.

Then I came home and had a boca chik'n burger on toast with mustard and ketchup and a banana with an Bragg ACV elixir. It was good but noted that I need to get me some vegan mayo and/or butter. 

On my way to get my daughter from school because I normally stop at McDonalds and get a ice cream cone. Well, as hard as I tried I went and got it anyway :( and the guilt and what I imagined with the cows in factory farms and their babies being taken from them, I felt bad the whole time and realized more than ever I never need that ice cream again. :'( 

After my nap I had a banana and some cashew milk and remembered I needed to juice so I made kind of a short style V8 juice with Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar to clean and use in my juice, lemon, half a tomato, carrots and baby spinach. 

I know I may not be done eating for tonight but after the ice cream incident this afternoon I realize I am more clear on becoming a Vegan than ever before and will not be touching meat or dairy for the rest of the night. 
 

7 Day Pledge

http://www.vegansociety.com/try-vegan/get-support/7-day-pledge

My Food Purchases: Not pictured baby spinach, boca chik'n & black bean hambugers

 

 

Starting Monday, October 13th through Sunday, October 19th 2014 I will be eating no meat nor dairy.

Im going to be prepping today and going to the grocery store to get what I need.

Plus I will get some stuff to start juicing again this week. I will juice just once a day. I really want to get a nutribullet but I will need to wait and just use the juicer I have for now.

Now going to make a food shopping list for my Vegan and Juice food.

Going to Try Again

After some careful thought I decided I think I am ready to try to go Vegan again. At first I was just going to give up. But then I debacle back and forth with myself constantly. I cant give up. Like a Vegan mentioned you cannot undo what you know and nor do I want to.

I just got done watching Vegucated on Netflix. Im taking it one step at a time back to becoming a Vegan. Ironically I was asked to start juicing again too. The only fruits and veggies I have at the moment are green grapes and bananas. So I need to go shopping again and get what I need. So I need to be more conscientious  of my food choices again.

12 Things You Need to Know Before Going Vegan - ABC News

12 Things You Need to Know Before Going Vegan - ABC News