Recommitting in January!
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Sweet doggies and what a fantastic path to walk on! I've heard Austin is a great city.
We had our power go out again overnight and I was worried we'd be without for another long stretch, but it came back on shortly after I got up. Really happy about that!
I haven't kept up with my meal plans lately. I haven't had the motivation to do it. I'm going to try to turn this week around by throwing together a few easy things and then do prep work for next week this Sunday. I'm doing short walks each day just to get back in the habit.
Cashew cookie is my favorite Lara bar. Just dates and cashews for ingredients and not too sweet.0 -
Your pups pose so nicely Donna... my boy can't sit still for 30 seconds to take a decent picture. Really nice walking path!
Glad your power didn't stay off too long Carla. I think it's so much harder to get motivated to do anything in the winter.
I have been a snack monster at work the past week, but at least it's mostly pretzels, baby carrots and fruit, so on the better side, but needs to be stopped. Dinner tonight was a big bowl of sauteed onions, collards and kale. I have work I brought home again so I need to get busy.
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Yikes, Carla. That is scary. Our power went off in our hotel the first night...only on our floor. They comped us a free breakfast...they had an interesting quinoa vegetable frittata.
Well all that walking resulted in being up all night with sore leg and hip. We went swimming today and I feel much better. I have been snacking too. Discovered Thai lime chili cashews at Trader Joes.
Mihani....the dogs were so tired by the time I had then pose. Beautiful blue sky sunny day to walk yesterday. Brooks did a 5 mile run. We have to go back soon! Austin is only 90 minutes away. Undecided if I life the city or not. A lot of vegan/vegetarian places to eat plus juice bars.
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I've heard good things about TJ's Thai lime chili cashews.
Yesterday I got in the mood to do some cooking, so I ended up making a cauliflower masala with brown rice, and some aloo tikki. Both are good, but quite a bit of work. Roasting, blending, boiling, mashing, forming patties, frying (w/o oil). I'll make them again, but next time I'll double the curry. The roasted cauliflower was coated in some plant milk and spices and turned out really tasty by itself, too.1 -
Carla, that sounds so good. I will be right over
. I am currently roasting a lot of vegetables in batches. In the mood for more mexican food so I made a salad with lettuce mix, black beans, red pepper, onions, red pepper, avocado and for dressing I used this vegetarian salsa from TJ's called Cowboy Caviar. I am done with soups for a while.
I am avoiding the scales for a couple of days as I was off weighing food and having drinks in Austin with Brooks. It was nice to not be cooking or weighing. Overall we made healthier choices except one night of wine and fried calamari.0 -
Another long day and more work to do tonight. Inundated with new cases and deadlines on existing cases.
Carla, that does sound like a lot of work, but yummy! I haven't done a lot of cooking lately, but hoping to get back into it more over the next few weeks.
I love Mexi-Salads, Donna! TJ's has great salsas. Hope your leg is still doing better.
Going to eat the last of the soup I made on Sunday and some of the leftover greens from last night for dinner. I think I'll try something new this weekend, need to browse through some of my cookbooks.
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We had Aloo Tikki last night with a fresh green chutney and a salad with cilantro lime cashew dressing. It was good, though the chutney was a bit strong, a little went a long way! Up next is a wrap with a touch of masala, mango chutney,spiced chickpeas and greens. Another feast to look forward to.
I managed to not have any snacks yesterday after dinner which is usually when I blow it. Supposedly, if you power through 3 or 4 evenings of not giving into the snacking urge, the urge starts to fade away and eventually disappears. I'll be thrilled if I can get there!
I had a stressful morning and when I got home I binged. It was all whole food plant based, but it wasn't because I was hungry. It was all comfort food. Oh well, tomorrow is a new day!0 -
Finally cooked some of the black bean rotini that has been in my cabinet for months. It was actually really tasty. The texture is about the same as regular pasta, but it tastes like black beans. I tossed the pasta with leftover greens and topped with Sriracha sauce, which I forgot is kind of too spicy for me. Fortunately I didn't use too much and was able to mix it in enough to tolerate. I tend to overeat pasta so I was happily surprised to find I was very full after eating half what was on my plate. I think I will be using a lot more bean pastas.
Stayed at the office pretty late tonight and going to bed early. It has been a rough week.
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I think I've had bean pasta before...I'll have to check it out again one of these days. That's one of the down sides to the meal plans, I have less room to make my own things. I think I'm going to continue for the next month, or maybe two months, and then stop for a while. I'll have 12 to 16 weeks worth of recipes to cycle through which is plenty!
I ate too many of the banana oatmeal bars yesterday. I was stressed out and when I walked in the door, I went for comfort food right away. I knew I was doing it at the time, too. It's so weird because while I like oatmeal, I don't go crazy over it, but bake it into a bar shape with the same ingredients and I can't stop eating it. I guess I'll have to stop making it!
I've gotten out of the habit of having a big salad for lunch, so one of my goals for the coming week is to get back into that.
Yesterday I went for a walk in town. The air was crisp and fresh, but shortly after I got there, it started to rain, and I wasn't dressed for it. I'm going to leave a raincoat in my car from now on.
Sorry you've had a rough week, Mihani. I hope you get some time to relax and refresh over the weekend!
How have you been doing, Donna? Have you gotten back on track after returning from Austin? I'm sure you burned off any excess calories with all of the activities you were doing! You do an amazing job with exercise.0 -
Carla - I have been a bit down after Austin...I pulled a back muscle on the same side hip and leg have been hurting. Today was the first walk since Monday. Tuesday we swam and felt great but Wednesday I did something to my back. I have a lot of furniture and stuff to move. We got new windows installed today ! Our windows were all double paned cheap windows that had condensation between the panes. It is nice to look out now.
Diet wise I have been so hungry lately. I binged on some chocolate the other day. If the oatmeal bars were in the house today they would be gone.
Mihani take care and I hope you got some rest this weekend. I am going to be on the look out for bean pasta.0 -
Oh no... sorry to hear about your back Donna! Hope you are feeling better soon. Congrats on the new windows.
Carla, did you have a salad today? I am having a lettuce wrap right now. Literally a sprouted grain tortilla with lettuce and some brown mustard. Too tired and hungry to make anything fancier. Glad you enjoyed the trip to town and that the oatmeal bars are all gone now!
I have been working on the house for 2 days and today the guys got the new dryer hooked up, so I'm working on the backlog of sheets and towels. I am tired and sore, and almost looking forward to going up and sitting at my desk to do real work. I have one room left to vacuum first, then a shower is very necessary.
Pressing some tofu, not sure yet what I'm going to do with it. Likely a tofu scramble although I'm having such a late lunch so I may wait until tomorrow and just have some soup and an apple for dinner tonight.0 -
Donna, the window upgrade sounds great! It is nice to have clear windows. My parents had to do that recently and they were really happy to be able to see out again, too. Sorry about your ongoing back and hip issues. I've got a shoulder that has been sore for over a month now, but I'm happy that it doesn't stop me from walking. It just makes for some uncomfortable sleeps and I can't do much lifting with my right arm.
I didn't have a salad yesterday, but Joe and I made some bean burgers with smokey paprika sauce yesterday, so I will be having that with a salad for lunch today. I also made more of my favorite dressing, the lemon-tahini one.
Mihani, sounds like you got in some good workouts around the house this weekend! I think it's great that you managed to stay away from the office and now almost look forward to going back. A nice change! I should press some tofu, too. I like to do a marinade with it and then add it to my salads. We have a lot of bean burgers, so it will be nice to have some tofu days in between to shake things up.
Joe and I went for a walk around our property this morning, and came upon 2 deer. They saw us as we crested a hill and were startled and went running down the field towards the road just as some cars were about to go by. We stopped in our tracks and they stayed on our side of the fence while the cars went by. We heard another car coming so we turned around so they didn't feel cornered. About 5 minutes later we tried again, and they had moved to the other side of the field and were safe.0 -
Happy Monday!
Carla it is always fun to see wildlife on a walk. There is something about being outside and seeing trees, plants, birds and other animals that is good for the soul. Brooks saw a real road runner bird on his 5 mile run yesterday! Today I did not see one deer but lots of red cardinals.
Mihani I am glad you got some things taken care of this weekend. Laundry pile ups stress me
out.
Carrie I miss you. Hope the move is going well.
Did not start the day out well. A friend who I love dearly brought over apple pie yesterday. We got together and made valentine day cards. She knows I have been avoiding sweets but I thanked her for it. Guess what I had for breakfast this morning???? Apple pie. It is not even one of my favorite things to eat. I made Brooks take the rest to work this morning. I had a rough weekend with food and today was going to be a restart. Before I went on a late morning walk I knew my blood sugar would probably drop after having such sweet stuff so I had a breakfast taco...At least I had a good walk, 3 miles in less than 60 minutes with 3 little dogs who want to smell everything. I took motrin prior to walk for the pain. Back is much better. Hip comes and goes.
I love my windows! WE have lots of trees all around our house and it is so pretty to look outside now instead of looking through a film! I am rearranging furniture today and cleaning. Being very careful with back.
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I ended up making BBQ tofu last night. I just cut it into bite size squares, marinated in bottled BBQ sauce for an hour, then baked at 400 for 20 minutes, flipped and brushed with more BBQ sauce, baked another 20 minutes.
Nice that you and Joe got in a walk together this morning Carla. What do you think you did to your shoulder? I finally made that T Crack dressing tonight. It is very good! I am thinking about adding some whole peppercorns to the rest of the batch to give it a little bite. Glad the deer got across the road safely. How's Ruby doing?
What do you put in your breakfast tacos, Donna? Sounds like you walked off the apple pie. Many years ago, driving through the desert, I saw a roadrunner and it was being chased by a coyote. I kid you not! I'm a big Looney Tunes fan so that was just awesome for me, and I do hope the roadrunner got away! Now I realize that the Roadrunner cartoons are actually documentaries.
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Hiiiii guys!!! The prodigal daughter returns!! And what better day to pop by on the second to last day of January... I debated just waiting until Thursday to come say hi (on a new thread) but if I don't do it now, then who knows.
Hi Donna!! So nice to e-meet you. I used to be a regular on here but had a baby last year and since then, it's been sporadic at best. Your mexi-salad sounds so yummy, I think I'll put that on our meal plan for next week. I also made an apple crisp last fall and froze it... well I remembered it and have no occasion to use it, so we thawed it and have been eating it this week. Sigh. It's a "healthy" apple crisp.... which is probably not that healthy at all lol. Hope you feel better soon.
Mmmm BBQ tofu! How was it, Mihani? Was it a nice break from the office? Did it feel like some good time away?
Carla, ahh I still cannot believe your property is so big you can walk around it and see deer. It sounds so peaceful. Although I got worried when you said they ran towards the road lol. How is your weather there?
Our meal plan this week was Tomato-Lentil soup from Let Them Eat Vegan (I'm on a big Dreena Burton kick... this tomato soup actually has celery, carrot, and cauliflower blended into it too!) and a chana masala with basmati rice in my instant pot. I'm obsessed with my new instant pot so far!! Hope you guys have a good Tuesday. I'm back at work more regularly and I'd really like to start tracking again... so will hopefully be around more often to say hi! xo0 -
Good Morning!
Off to a good start with an egg & vegetable scramble.
Hi Liapr - congratulations on your new baby!!! In your picture you have another toddler? Your days are full.
Mihani - my breakfast tacos vary. I make them ahead of time for emergencies. I use egg but you could use tofu. My favorite ones are a mixture of red & green peppers, onions (the fajitas breakfast taco), sometimes potatoes and salsa plus homemade tortillas. I buy them at a mexican grocery store. You could use either a whole wheat wrap or whole wheat tortilla to make them healthier or corn tortillas if you are avoiding flour. I sauté the peppers and onions, sometimes I throw in zucchini too. scramble the egg, mix it all up with salsa. Wrap them individually and freeze. Sometimes I add a black bean roasted corn mix. I don't think my tortillas are that healthy as they usually mix them with lard...the ones at the grocery stores are much healthier.
Carla - I am going to try to make black bean hamburgers this week. How is Miss Ruby?0 -
I am still upset about the APPLE Pie !
1. It is not something (other than being sweet) I would normally be tempted by.
2. My friend knows how hard I am trying to lose weight.
3. She also brought over a bag of M & Ms.
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Ah friends are funny sometimes too. One of my best friends loves to gift me food, and we enjoy food as a part of our friendship. But for Christmas, she gave me a big bag of Reese's mini cups. Which I love, but she knows I've been trying for totally vegan for months now. Sigh. Don't beat yourself up though, it's something we can all learn from! I have FINALLY realized I actually prefer a side salad to french fries at restaurants - as of this past weekend lol.
Now that you mention it, I've been thinking of trying to make homemade burritos for the freezer for quick meals!! I love the Amy's rice and bean but they are so expensive.
My sister just had a newborn baby at the end of november last year! So my picture is actually her little baby and my big baby - she's 9 months but she looks so big next to a real baby now!1 -
Oh, now that is a great idea! Homemade burritos to freeze...my husband loves to take burritos to work and I am buying Amy's but no reason I could not make those too.
How fun to have a niece close to your daughter's age.
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Lia!!! Glad to see you! Love the new profile picture. You've been doing great with trying to stay full on vegan. Justin's brand has a vegan PB cup, but they are pricey. Thrive Market has vegan candy like PB cups and M&M's. Not that they are ETL friendly.
I'm also a big fan of Dreena Burton, although the last cookbook (Plant Powered Families) didn't have as many things that jumped out at me. I think she was trying for a lot of kid-friendly recipes. I should send it to you.
Donna, that is too bad about your friend bringing over things like that knowing you are trying to lose weight. I have clients who bring things sometimes but I just give them to someone else. They usually aren't vegan anyway and that's the one thing I totally stick to as far as diet. How is your back doing? I have been buying corn tortillas more often since they are made without oil. All the good flour tortillas have oil. I buy the sprouted grain ones sometimes, but they aren't as pliable.
The sloth has made an appearance too!
I got out of the office fairly on time for once, ran to the grocery, and now need to eat a bite and get to some work I brought home.
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Wow, I miss a few days and come back to a little flurry of activity!
Hi Scott! Cool image, did you draw it?
Lia!! Great profile pic! I can't have any sweets in the house or I eat them until they are gone. Even if I put them away, they are on my mind! That apple crisp wouldn't have made it to the freezer over here! Is there still a bunch of snow at your place? I'm such a chicken about driving in the snow.
Mihani, I'm glad you like the T-Crack! I wasn't sure if you would, with the tahini in there. A lot of the CleanFoodDirtyGirl dressings have tahini in them and we've been going through a lot of it lately. The BBQ tofu sounds good. Do you use regular bbq sauce or have you found a healthier version? When I use it, I just use the regular stuff which is quite sweet. Making it is a pain in the butt!
Donna, too bad your friend brought the apple pie! A bouquet of simple flowers would be so much nicer to receive. (And give...that's what I'm going to try to remember to do from now on!)
I just got back from my annual exam at the doctor's. I finally switched to a doctor in our new town, so it is only a 12 minute drive from my house instead of 35. I really like her and I'm so glad I made the switch. I had blood work done too, and it is very convenient at this new location, which is in the same building as the doctor's office.
Joe's birthday is tomorrow so we'll be going out for at least one dinner to celebrate, possibly two. We're going to a Thai place with my FIL and his wife on Friday. The restaurant has the option of tofu for the protein with virtually all dishes, so we'll have lots of selection. They also offer brown rice as an option! Yay! We may have found our new favorite place nearby.0 -
Scott/Sloth/Mr. White! Are you rocking a new look these days? You're the prodigal son/I'm the prodigal daughter I think. Just for now. I'll be a regular again soon... muahahaha
I have heard of PPF from Dreena, Mihani, and was thinking it would be a good one for me to buy. I'm really hoping if I feed Edie what we are eating now that maybe she won't have a super picky toddler phase? But the kid-friendly stuff Dreena has looks neat. ANd who does like "healthy" two-bite brownies?! lol.
Did you get your blood work back, Carla, or just get it taken today? Yay for a nice doctor. Seems so hard to get these days lol. So many of ours are located within walk-in clinics, so they are insanely busy (and filled with sick people, haha). My mom has a terrible doctor that seems to screw up things a lot but she's afraid to switch and get someone worse.... which is silly lol. Oh well. Happy birthday to Joe too! Yay for a veg-friendly Thai place too, that's the besttttt.
I think i'm sick for the third week in a row... can't kick these colds!0 -
Carla, I do like the dressing, but will do some tweaking as I make it more often to adjust it to my tastes. I think I will cut back on the dates so it's not quite so sweet, and add some lemon zest with the juice for more lemon kick. I added whole peppercorns to what was leftover last night and had some on my salad tonight. Really liked that contrast of heat/sweet. I love the lemon tahini dressing from OSG too, but it uses oil. I use the Kroger brand organic BBQ sauce, no oil or HFCS. I like Stubbs too. So glad you like your new doctor. Mine rolls his eyes at me being vegan, but I've been going to him for so many years I just roll my eyes back at him lol. Happy birthday to Joe!
Lia, I think it would be a good book for recipes to try on Edie. She says they are all "kid-tested". I don't think I saw the two bite brownies. Problem with things like that is if you eat 10 of them lol. Sorry you are still not feeling better. Stupid weather and cold season!
I have more work to do tonight, but I need to get to bed earlier. I'm feeling a bit out of it today from pushing so much Monday and Tuesday.
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