A "What the heck can I eat as a vegan" Guide



Sorry boys shes taken!

I would like to introduce you to my roommate: Miss Kerri, isn't she cute:) Well Kerri has agreed to help me complete my 100 things in 1001 days challenge! She is going vegan for the month of January and I am very proud of her! I can't wait to see her glowing in all her glory:)

However Kerri is not a big fan of cooking... at this point in her life (I think she'll come around). She is a big fan of the quick and easy. She'll  grab something on her way out the door or at her next stop on the road.

 The other day Kerri told me she was looking for some books on "what can I eat that's vegan"! That's when I thought wow I should write a post about this.  Now this is not a post on things I eat now but things I ate a lot when I first went vegan. Also its a good post for someone who doesn't know what vegan means.  A lot of you might be surprised to find out a lot of items in your kitchen already are vegan.


Vegan= somebody not eating animal products: somebody who does not eat meat, fish, dairy products, or eggs.

I Went through some of the food Kerri currently has in our kitchen to show whats vegan and whats not, take a look....Thumbs up= vegan
Thumbs down= Not vegan

Cereal is usually safe for vegans, both kinds Kerri has are. I would just make sure to check the labels because some companies like to sneak in dehydrated milk or yogurt in. Coco puffs are out though, sorry guys. (I'm sure whole foods makes an alternative)


Cereal is a good breakfast choice when switching to a vegan diet especially if that's what you currently eat for breakfast, however no more cows milk! There are so many yummy alternative milk choices and some not so yummy ones!


My favorites
-365 brand almond and rice milk
-Pacific organic soy milk
-SO delicious ccoconut milk
-Silk almond milk (probably the tastiest but also the highest in sugar)


Brands I am not a fan of:
-Almond breeze...yucky
-Tempt hemp milk ....I have yet to find a pre-made hemp milk i like....making my own always taste the best

  

Oatmeal is another great option for quick and easy vegan breakfast options. I like to make mine with mashed banana, a little soy milk, Cinnamon, almond butter and walnuts on top...maybe some chocolate chips:) And for those wondering about chocolate chips,  whole foods, Trader Joe's,Ghirardelli, Guittard all make  semi-sweet chocolate chips that are all vegan.


If you need some oatmeal recipes this lady knows how to eat oatmeal right Kath!

Eggs most of you probably know this but eggs, are not vegan. Instead of scrambled eggs I like to do sweet potato hash. Which is just sweet potato chopped up in cubes, red onion, garlic, bell pepper, maybe some tofu! However its more of a weekend breakfast thing.For those short on time some great vegan breakfast options are going to be:

1) Cereal with alternative milk

2)Oatmeal maybe with semi-sweet chocolate chips

3) A smoothie, classic green monster- Fresh spinach, banana, soy milk. ice. but really options are endless

4) Fruit and granola with almond milk

Snacks! There are a lot of snacks that are vegan, however these gold fish are not!

Somethings I like to or use to snack on are:

-Corn chips and salsa or gauc

-Vega bars

-Larabars

-Trail mix (just make sure there is no milk chocolate)

-Hummus and veggies

-Fruit

-Dried fruit

-Sweet potato/ veggie chips

Lunch! My favorite lunch when I first went vegan was millet bread

This brand is my favorite, with peanut butter (go organic with peanuts) and banana! so good quick and easy!

Other good lunch options are: 

-Soup... lots of vegan soups out there Amy's brand makes a bunch

-Amy's also has a lot of frozen vegan burritos and wraps along with frozen rice cheese pizzas

-Salads are also a good option for lunch, throw some beans and rice in there for a taco salad feel

-Nachos minus the cheese! Chips, beans a bunch of veggies with gauc and salsa over the top.( Daiya does make a vegan cheese, Not really my favorite I'd rather use nutritional yeast...found in bulk section its vegan but I'll save that for another post.

Dinner! These are good! well mission kinda has a lot of crap in the ingredients! but they are vegan! I would go with a more natural brand, but veggie burritos are in. Or bean and rice burritos, even fajitas minus the meat! Add tempeh that's stuff is yummy!


Other vegan dinner options
-Spaghetti minus the meat balls and Parmesan...trust me you wont even miss it!
-Veggie burgers and sweet potato fries. Sunshine burger makes a great one and sweet potato fries are easy to make but alexia makes great fries.
-Pita sandwich's with veggies, sprouts and hummus


Dessert! Man so many vegan desserts! My favorites:
-Dark chocolate, endangered species makes great bars, Try the one with raspberries
-Hemp ice cream with chocolate number 9 fudge sauce...or fruit a little healthier:)
-Flying apron cookies/Brownies
-Whole foods and pcc both always have vegan items like cookies and brownies in their bakeries
-Hail Merry's raw desserts Yum! If you haven't tried one you are miss out go now!


So there you have it, if you get creative the vegan options are unlimited! I hope this helps, try it out go vegan for a day, a month or forever! You'll help the planet, you'll help the animals and best of all you'll help yourself!


Wish my cute little roommate luck this new year, Kerri I know you can do it, you can do anything:)


Happy New Year everybody!


xo
Sarah.


Stay tuned for what I eat now a year after going vegan!

What I Am Loving

Is it Christmas yet?!

Man I feel like December came so quickly and now the week is dragging. I can’t wait for Christmas!!! I am like a little kid around this time of yearJ

I thought I would use this post to share some products and things that I am A big fan of right now.

First: Chocolate my new dessert of choiceJ

Well Dark chocolate of course. This one isn’t as dark as I would usually buy but a coworker bought me one last summer and ever since then hooked, I make the exception for the 60% dark….

Let me introduce you to Theobroma,

The bar is perfect size with four breakable pieces. I have only had the chocolate with banana which is so good. But they do have other flavors chocolate with orange, raspberry, coconut and according to their website almond maple…which I have yet to see in store (maybe a good thing). I highly recommend going to your nearest whole foods and picking up a bar they are so good.  Did I mention it’s organic and has won a bunch of awards.

As I write this post I realize I two things, 1. I really am five years old and  2. It seems I have a thing for bananas!!!! ABRACADABRA

Bubble Bath! I got this from one of my favorite store the Herbalist. I think Know it’s for children but I used it last night and it totally made my bath. It’s made with all natural ingredients, feels great on the skin and smells amazing.  I suggest picking up a packet or two.

Ok so I use to be (Gasp...) blonde and I felt like my hair was super unhealthy because I was dying it all the time which it probably was.  In addition to that  I think it was because I used cheap hair serums, shampoo and conditioner.  Well I found the good stuff and while it’s expensive it’s worth it. And A little goes a long way Meet John Masters, He's a good guy:0

The line is all organic with whole food and natrual oils as the ingridents. I only have two products from his hair line but he has a skin and body line I think I need to check out.

1). Dry Hair Nourishment and Defrizz Oil. This oil works so well and I only use one drop.  My hair feels super soft but not oily and gross.

2).Lavender and Avocado Intensive Conditioner.

Similar to the oil the ingriedents are such high quality, that just a small amount will give you great results.

Well I could go on but I have to run 15 miles in the am so I should probably get ready for bed...

I'll save chocolate Coconut Water (sounds weird right.Its not) Lace Bras (Sorry male readers..awkaward) for another post!

Three days Until Christmas!

What are you loving right now? and Are you a holiday person?

xo

s

Goals Are Good For Me

Happy Monday!
Morning Juice




Contains: Kale.parsley.lemon
.fennel.grapefruit.beets.lemon

 So This weekend I have been busy making a list of 100 things I want to accomplish in 1001 days (works out to be 3 years). My friend Nadina actually did the list first and told me about it, which was funny because I happened to see it on a random blog a few days prior...must be going around the blog community!  It's Similar to a bucket list however there is a definite time line, motivation to get things checked off the list. The list was super fun to make but definitely harder then I had thought, got real stuck at 90!


So here is my list, I know some people are not fans of setting goals.  They feel they are stuck to things they might lose interest in or they miss out on uncharted territory, but for me right now Goals are a good Thing


Starting today December 19th 2011
Finishing September 15th 2014


Fitness

1. Practice yoga everyday for 30 days straight
2. Complete a triathlon
3. Dominate climbing at stone gardens
4. Become a certified yoga instructor
5. Swim with Dolphins
6. Tackle and conquer toleak peak
7. Surf West port WA
8. Do a pull up
9. Kayak a river
10. Weights once a week
11. Participate in ski to sea race
12. Cross country ski
13. Backpacking adventure with friends
14. Kayak the San Juan islands
15. Take a Pilate's class with the equipment
16. Complete the 100 push up challenge
17. Try p90x
18. Run with a group

Health
19. Juice fast every Sunday for a month
20. Take a nutrition class
21. Get my hormones back on track
22. Get a friend/coworker/family member to go vegan for a month


Food
23. Master dehydrated crackers
24. Master the art of making pretty pies
25. Get peter to make me breakfast in bed
26.Participate in a bake sale
27. Make a homemade gluten free pop pie
28. Have dinner at sultra
29. Make my own non dairy milk for a month
30. Make mama peas Dough Balls recipe
31. Pick organic strawberries during strawberry season
32. Master a Dish from another country
33. Make a dish for someone from another country
34. Make my own kombucha


Self
35. Spend an entire day reading a book start to finish
36. Plan my wedding
37. Make a new friend
38. Write 100 blog posts
39. Cut my hair short...above shoulders
40. Attend a blogger conference (blog her foodie Seattle on my wish list!)
41.  Write 3 book proposals
42. Coach something new
43. See the sunrise seated on a mountain
44. Keep a thankful journal
45. Use reusable bags for shopping
46. Read spirit junkie
47. No laundry for a month
48. Meet a blogger I read
49. Attend a TED Conference
50.  Make Everyone homemade gifts for Christmas
51. look at houses in California
52. Spa day with the girls
53.Create a YouTube video
54. Sell my car
55. Walk a runway in heels
56. Leave someone a big tip
57. Make a meal for a homeless person
58. Plant a garden with children for children
59. Attend a service at mars hill church
60. Go Christmas caroling
61. Find a natural doctor I actually like
62. Attend a husky basketball game
63. Clean and organize baking cupboard
64. Disconnect for a day
65. Use reuse able cups
66. Pay off credit card
67.  Have a Blog day and or night with Nadina
68. Write a poem
69. Write someone a card that tells them how much i appreciate them
70. Send Christmas cards
71. Send out thank you cards
72. Go to the ballet
73. See another musical
74. Find out blood type


Learning
75. Knit a scarf
76. Host an event for a stranger
77. Host a race
78. Learn to sail
79. Take a creative writing class
80. Impact children
81. Do something for someone else that I don't want to do
82. Learn to sow
83. Go to a counseling session at least once with Peter
84. Take an event planning class
85. Learn a new type of dance
Travel
86. Go to NYC with my boo
87. Hop on a plan within 24 hours of booking flight
88. Camp at Birch bay state park
89. Go to Canada
90. Stay in a log cabin
91. Visit sonoma California
92. Take a trip with Kerri and nass
93. Sleep under the stars
94. Take a family vacation
95. Run with a group
96. Go to the Rain forest


A few I forgot
97. Fix something for Peter
98. Learn another language
99. Spend 24 hours/pull an all night er on a creative project
100. Leave an Operational Beautiful note


Wow that took a second! Can you tell I made this list during the holiday season:) Well that's the list, I am excited to get started and I'll keep you updated as I complete items.
Did you make a list? Whats on your list?
xo
S

Women That Inspire

I have been saying I am going to write (A) post for a while but nothing came to mind…. until last week when I watched some TED ( Technology, Entertainment, Design) videos, Ted hosts speakers with all sorts of backgrounds, who are passionate about speaking.  I may have watched two or a lot of videosJ but one that really spoke to me was Alisa Vitti’s video, she is the founder of a women’s wellness center Flo Living. In her video she speaks about loving your lady parts (I love that she calls them this) and the importance of being in balance with all aspects of your body. She takes us through her journey to a healthy self and touches on saying No thank you to a life of medication. I highly recommend watching her video!

I never thought public speaking would be something I would be interested in, but after watching “two”J videos it’s definitely on my bucket list!

Watch out TED here I come!

I also really love Gabrielle’s video

Last but not least Natalia Rose! Man she is so on it! This is a little pass due, but right before Thanksgiving I embarked on a women’s detox From Natalia Rose’s book Detox 4 women.   I wanted to do the detox because right before I read the book I was having really bad sugar/carb cravings and I was told that it could be candida or maybe my system was just clogged.  This detox is by far the best one I have done yet.  It reminded me of the importance of juicing first thing in the morning and focusing more on greens in my juice less fruit. Also eating greens before grains or anything cooked .The greens create a clear path through your digestive system for the harder to process foods.   I am now eating gluten free focusing on ancient/ easy to digest grains like, buckwheat, millet and quinoa.  Lots of cooked root vegetables like parsnips, beets, squash and my favorite sweet potatoes.  The detox had me avoiding hard to digest foods or slow exit foods (Foods that take longer to digest) like Nuts/seeds and beans, which I use to eat a lot of. 

As the detox is over, I adapted a lot of the detox into my diet and I don’t see myself going back. I just feel so much better…did I mention you can have dark chocolate on the detox…I’ve went through a few barsJ But really I can’t say enough good things, Natalia really knows her nutrition stats and it shows, the book also has great recipes.

P.s I was not doing it to lose weight but I did lose five pounds on the detox, great way to take care of extra pounds from the holiday!

I am inspired by so many women but these are just a few that have been on my mind lately.

What women inspire you?

Namaste

Sarah