Vegan in the Honeybaked Ham Store

Here it is, the day before Thanksgiving.  The last day of this vegan challenge, and where do I find myself? The Honey Baked Ham Store.  This is our first year hosting Thanksgiving, and I decided cooking a turkey wasn't going to become part of my tradition.  Being vegetarian (my daughter is too!), I have learned to suck it up and cook meat for people on occasion, but after this challenge, after really thinking about those defenseless animals, the last thing i wanted was a poor dead turkey roasting away in my oven.  andplusalso I make a killer "stuffing" (is it still called stuffing when not stuffed in a dead bird's tucus?)  and I need plenty of oven room for that reasonably sized gigantic pan of it! I also am very bothered by wasted meat.  And let's face it, there's always that one uncle that wants the fatty parts of the turkey, but then what? White meat gets devoured, and the rest gets thrown away.  I can't do it.  So this year, I ordered a small turkey breast from the Honey Baked Ham Store, already cooked. It's even sliced.  Laine and I will be indulging in Trader Joe's turkey-less turkey roast.  I'm sure it will be amazing  slightly disappointing.  I always have high hopes for these meat substitutes.

I'll be happy when the challenge is over, because I really miss my fancy cheese (cranberry chevre anyone?), but I will definitely be making more of an effort to not include dairy in every single meal.  I felt better eating that way.  Dairy cows suffer just as much as meat cows (and before you say "but they aren't killed!), yes they are killed.  And I won't get into the horrific conditions chicken are kept under, but use your imagination. 

So there you have it. First challenge coming to an end! I wasn't perfect, but I tried! Katie and I are putting the final details on our next challenge and will reveal it soon!  And just for the record, she summed up our main differences in one sentence:  

"That's one thing I normally don't have a problem doing - staying away from alcohol.  I don't see the point in drinking my calories"

Stay Healthy and have a cocktail!
Kelly

AMA Day!

Sunday Sunday Sunday!  

Sunday was AMA Day. How exciting is this?! I - yes, meeee....I am going to be in a live audience at the American Music Awards!!!!  How FUN!?! 

After we got up, we just had breakfast in our Hotel. Nothing special - just a normal breakfast buffet with the addition of rice and miso soup since we were staying in Little Tokyo.  lol  We decided we'd just do a little walking around the area after breakfast but everywhere was closed.  Decided to get Starbucks and head back up to the hotel room to just chill for a little bit before getting ready.  Saw this "gem" of a sign on our way --- the nerve?!  

Granted, this place was probably tasty, but I already had my heart set on Starbucks. So that's where I went. I got myself a super skinny soy non fat no calorie amazingly healthy surely not a large Caramel Brulee Latte. ::sigh:: and a snowman cookie.  I suck.  

So I'm kinda lame and watched an episode of NCIS and just chilled before having to get ready.  I love those shows - what can I say - and we just wanted to relax a little because there wasn't much time to do anything before needing to get prettied up.  Time to get ready!!

Here's what I wore to the AMAs because I know you're dying to see....

So we left early to check out the red carpet!!! You know, we wanted to be those cool people watching the celebs step out of their limos onto the carpet and head off to do their little interviews.  Well, that DIDN'T happen.  Those "lucky" people pay for that!!! They've got it all blocked off with black fabric/screen so you can't even see!!  So here I am trying to peer in cracks and rips to get a glimpse....

Red Carpet...Shred Shmarpet....we have TICKETS! We get to go IN and watch these celebs perform and accept awards...

The show was so fun. The theater was FREEEEEEEEEEZING though - like, damn, I wish I had more clothes on FREEEEEEEEEEZING!!!!! My favorite performance was probably Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly because I love that song, but there were so many great acts.  And can I just say that I am totally jealous of J-LO!!! Holy crap she looks good!  I did feel really old though - every time One Direction or I think as all the youngins call them "1D" were mentioned, awarded, or even thought about I went deaf for a brief minute or two. HOLY CRAP.  Their fans.....I'm sure none of them can speak even today.  But I was there before....N Sync, BSB, 98 Degrees....yes, i remember....but I still felt old.  

Afterwards, we went to this yummy Japanese restaurant, and I had another non-vegan meal.  Boo me.  :-/

It was delicious and I had to pretend that I can use chopsticks (which I suck at!!!!!!) No forks - can you imagine?! But I acted my way through that and enjoyed the food....and drinks....yes, 2 $15 grapefruit cosmos please.  Oh and I had a $15 margarita at the AMAs -------- ::cue rant:: Soooooooo you get into the Nokia theater and there's concession stands so we each get a drink, some caramel corn and a bottle of water.  Walk towards the doors.  "Sorry miss, no food or beverages in the theater." me: Not even water? "No, not even water" WTF. You just sold me $30+ worth of stuff and now I need to down my margarita, throw away 3/4 bag full of caramel corn and half a bottle of over priced water?!?!!! UGH.  ::end rant:: 

Anyhow, dinner pics:

So back to our main focus of this blog........I didn't eat/drink the best on this trip, but we did do quite a bit of walking and didn't eat as often as I typically do.  I don't know what the scale would say today because I didn't step on it.  I'm not stepping on until Thanksgiving morning. Today I am Vegan.  I had my tea, and some oatmeal, pb, and raisins this morning.  Other than tired, I'm feeling good.  I also added some HL supplements because I still have some left. Hoping to flush out any excess water and bad that's left in my system.  Lunch will be chick peas, carrots and celery with balsamic vinegar and dinner will be some zucchini and maybe quinoa.  I'm excited. Feeling good and ready to do this!!!!!!!!

--Katie

Bottoms Up!

So L.A./Hollywood was great!! We had so much fun.  I probably should've been cool and stuck with Veganism while on vacation because that would've made me more awesome - just proving that I could do that.  But I didn't.  I splurged on things, didn't drink the water I should have, and drank more calories than I normally do.

That's one thing I normally don't have a problem doing - staying away from alcohol.  I don't see the point in drinking my calories....I guess it's just because I like to eat. It's like I have to make a choice --- do I want to sip these calories away or chew them - I most often opt for chewing.  But in L.A. it seemed more appropriate to drink them.  

I just realized that I never updated about meeting Katy - yeah, we're totes on first name basis, I know she'd agree.  HA!  When we got to the hotel where we were supposed to meet, we were early so we just kinda walked around checked out that hotel - super nice!  The only thing was, I had no idea where we were supposed to meet.  So about 7:15 p.m. I decided to ask the front desk.  He had no idea and directed me to the Concierge..... "Hmm. Katy Perry? Did they say it was going to be HERE?" Uh yeah - Okay, let me call my contact.  So I made my call - and got voicemail - wait til about 7:25, called again...still nothing! AH!  Cue freaking out.  So I turn to my other contact who wasn't really for this event but I had a cell number.  Grasping for straws.  She answered.  She let me know I was supposed to be meeting in the private dining room --- imagine that, when I ask the Concierge he knew.... Now I get why he had to play dumb but thanks buddy...thanks a lot... 

Walking into the room with maybe 20 people was neat.  There was a bar, some cold appetizers set out and this fancy schmancy poster. (I was going to wait to take my pic next to it until after the event but they wound up taking it with them when Katy had to leave) ::SAD FACE::

But here is what I wore :)

So I thought cool - we have asparagus, crackers, cheese, carrots, broccoli, etc....that's a nice spread! And then they began bringing out meatballs, cute (amazingly delicious) little sliders, risotto balls, and more!  I felt special!!  I could get used to this!

Oh...yeah - and the free drinks....I think I wound up having 3 of these. For someone who rarely drinks, that was enough to warm me up and make me nervous to stand up and walk out at the end of the night (especially since it really wasn't a long event lol) 

But during this time, Katy Perry arrived!  The room got completely quiet when she walked in - no one really knew what to do, or how to act. It was pretty comical. lol But then we got to watch her do a little interview. That was neat!  She seems so nice!! As expected, she was on a tight schedule so after her interview, she took pics with everyone. They took the pics (we couldn't take any of our own and no autographs) but here is the proof!!!

She's sooooo skinny -- grumble grumble -- and so pretty :) SO glad we were able to meet her.  

We hung out after she was whisked away to her dressing room to get ready for rehearsal and do another interview. Afterwards I stumbled down the street, holding on to Steve, as we found a cab to take us back to our hotel.  Cue another drink....Amaretto Sour.....one of my FAVES!!!!! YUM.  I was feeling good!! 

That was my Friday.  Saturday was blogged about already in my previous entry (Hollywood and all that good stuff, remember??) 

Okay - now we're on to AMA day!  Actually - I'll put that in a new post!!! Coming right up ;)

--Katie

Hanging on by a thread

Really struggling these past few days.  With veganism and with healthy eating in general.  Princess has been starting her day at 5am, and i just can't do it.  I'm exhausted, and I turn to carbs to wake me up (in addition to entire pots of coffee).  My main meals have been vegan, but portions have been out of control, and my snacks haven't been completely vegan (there may have been a mini reese's cup involved around 6am this morning).

Speaking of meals, I made sweet potato pancakes last night that were out of this world! The recipe was from this book (on sale for $2.58 for kindle edition.  Seriously, that's insane). 
http://www.amazon.com/000-Vegan-Recipes-ebook/dp/B00BS03QX4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385307953&sr=8-1&keywords=1000+vegan+recipes

I did say no to 2 different peppermint mocha samples at Target and the grocery store yesterday, so at least I have that :-) and i made some outstanding oatmeal with banana this morning!

Pumpkin-Lentil soup is on the menu tonight.  Trying to stay focused for the tail end of this challenge!

-Kelly

I realize this post seems like it was written by a 7 year old.  Forgive me, I'm tired.  Here's a picture of Morris to make up for my Debbie Downer post.

I am not perfect but I keep trying!

Today was so much fun!! The hubby and I did a hop on - hop off bus tour. We took a cab from our hotel -- which by the way, I don't think I mentioned, greets you with a fresh chocolate chip cookie when you check in....

But any who... We took a cab from the hotel to the Chinese Theatre...this is where you see all the stars and and footprints...real neat stuff!!!! We browsed around for a bit, took some pics.

So at this point we still hadnt eaten anything so we decided to find something nearby. We found this cute crepery - I guess that's how you spell it! Oh I didn't go the Vegan route, but it's amazing how quickly I filled up. 

This was my crepe of deliciousness - ham, cheese and pickles.... I didn't even eat half of it before I was full, so I did something amazing............I stopped eating!! :) While we were in this area we took our cabbies tip and decided to go up a few levels to check out the view and see the Hollywood sign.......so what we ignored blockaded escalators and signs saying we weren't supposed to go up to that level....I saw an elevator with no signs so I took that as an open invite ;)

After seeing those pretty letters on the hill we hopped on a tour bus. We passed a bunch of cool things but stayed on until we got to the Santa Monica / Millions of Milkshakes stop.......and NO, I didn't have a milkshake...what kind of person do you think I am??????!! (Yeah...they weren't open yet...)

We ended up transferring over to the yellow line bus after riding down Rodeo drive. I wanted to see the ocean so we took it to Santa Monica pier. Now my eating wasn't the best there but my biggest issue this trip has just been not drinking water like I should and like I'm used to!! But we put our toes in the ocean which was fudging cold!!! But it was sooo purdy!

We headed back to Rodeo drive and continued our journey. Got off at the La Brea tar pits. We have pics on the camera but my phone was dying at the time, so I had to reserve it for important things....like Pinks!!! Haha

The line was long but we wanted to say we stopped there :) it does move quickly! So my pseudo win for the day............I ordered a vegan dog topped with guacamole and onions!

I will say that it was different - but not bad! And like the title of this post says, I'm not perfect - I did have some chili cheese fries and they were flipping awesome!!! I love how fast I fill up tho. Ending the night I had to buy these.....

Jelly bellys - in all the flavors I like because I picked them from those magical self serve dispensers. Now hubby reminded me that they're not vegan and commented that it's not like I'm going to eat them all before we're home...and I reminded him that he doesn't know me very well. Lol but I prob won't and that's ok. Ill tell C i bought th for her. Win win. 

Okay - peace, love and Hollywood ya'll 

-- Katie 

One bite of chili at 11:30 pm last night

But other than that, 4 days vegan!!!! I had to try my hubby's chili that he was entering in a contest at work. Yum! He won!!!

We're now on a bus to the hotel in L.A. We will have a couple hours to get ready and then off to meet Katy Perry -- I'm guessing it will be a pretty structured thing but so looking forward to it :) hope she's as nice as I imagine she is lol 

Today I've had a pb&j with marshmallow - overpriced sandwich that was just "eh" and a package of jellybellys :-/ fat free, but not calorie free....and not vegan. The vegan thing wasn't so hard tho - I was surprised. After thanksgiving ill do it again. I need to keep dropping lbs and getting healthier!!

Well that's all for now peeps. I'll try to keep up on my trip!!

--Katie

Time for some thoughts

This vegan challenge has got me thinking about my choices, but I've come across a big dilemma: when are animal products the healthier choice?

Let me expand on this with an example.  Normally, when I go to my safe place Starbucks, I get espresso, either hot or over ice.  Sometimes I'll add a pump of peppermint syrup, but that's about as crazy as I get day to day; HOWEVER, occasionally when I earn enough reward stars to get a free drink, I splurge and get something fancy, with modifiers....lots of modifiers (extra shots! 2 pumps of this! extra foam! free pour!).  Yesterday was one of these days.  I walked in, ready to splurge on a grande soy gingerbread latte. But then as I was about to order, I thought about calories.  A soy gingerbread latte has about 50 more calories and 5 more grams of fat than one made with nonfat milk.  Now 50 calories doesn't seem like a lot, but this is for a DRINK. And not even an alcoholic one.  Fifty calories and 5 grams of fat IS a big difference in terms of a coffee, especially when you are trying to lose weight.  So then I contemplated. I ended up going with soy because of this challenge, but had I not been doing this, I would have gotten nonfat milk based on the calorie and fat difference. 

Another example. At the grocery store the other day, I was trying to find a vegan bre
ad.  The whole wheat bread I have been buying contains milk, so I put that one back, and picked up a different 100% whole wheat variety.  Did a scan of the ingredients; no milk! wooo hoo- wait. high fructose corn syrup. So which bread do i go for? I ended up getting the one containing milk since my daughter will be eating most of it, and I vowed not to eat any (I bought tortillas instead).

miniature cow, who I don't think produces milk anyway, but you get the point.

Now in a perfect world, I would never get holiday coffee drinks and I would bake all of my own bread. But that's not happening, and with girlfriend always with me, I can't always make a separate stop to get different bread.  So what do you do? I suppose it depends on your reasons for going vegan (ethics, environment, diet), as well as where you stand healthwise.  Just something to ponder. 

Stay Healthy and go get a gingerbread latte for goodness sake! 

Kelly

Oh yeah, I got this!

So walking into work today, what do I hear - "There are donuts and candies in the cube by the printer..." WTF people.  Geebis!  I'm not tempted but I did snap a pic just so you all can see what I'm dealing with -- craziness I tell you!

A little backstory confession regarding me and donuts.  So occasionally (which = more than I'd like to admit) when I'd go to the store I'd make a stop in the bakery and get a doughnut.  And by A doughnut, I mean at least two which I'd devour in one sitting..... Gross.  

So still feeling stressed but proud that I've been keeping it in check.  Last night my "dinner" was less than healthy, but it was Vegan.... Yeah I wound up just having some pita chips...

I was down another pound today though!! Yippeeeeee! Hoping my trip doesn't blow it all.  I'm sure I'm going to be drinking - and we'll of course have to check out some restaurants  (I can NEVER spell restaurants right --- spell check is my only saving grace with that word!!) .. but isn't LA full of crazy diets and fads? I'm sure I can make some good choices :) So since Saturday I'm down like 7 lbs -- that's freakin awesome!  I'm glad I accepted this challenge -- definitely is eye opening.  Like I said, I think I'll be doing more of this when I get home too.

-- Katie

Nailed it!

got right back on track today and it felt great! Veggie dog and 2 clementines for breakfast, Dr. Praeger's California burger for lunch, hummus with tortilla chips and an apple for snack, some air popped popcorn as well.  Dinner was leftover heaven from last night (aka vegan shepherd's pie).  Laying off the booze tonight.

I felt so much better being in CONTROL.  

I also got my awesome Alpine thigh-high socks today from Grace and Lace.  They are amazing. And on Friday they will be famous (they are appearing on Shark Tank!).  Go visit their etsy site and buy something!  https://www.etsy.com/shop/GraceandLaceCo

Also got an awesome cut and color done tonight, so basically, I'm feeling amazing at the moment!

Stay Healthy. Stay Fabulous.

Kelly

Is that a bear??....no, it's just my stomach growling..

*sigh* Today is a struggle so far.  So much going through my mind today that it leaves me with that empty feeling in my stomach.  Trying to fend it off with chewing gum and drinking water.  But I'm left wanting chips/cookies/chocolate - whatever. BAD.  I will not give in but I'm at least acknowledging that stress does bring on me wanting to binge.  Why can't we want to binge on lettuce, carrots, and celery?  Why does bad food have to be so satisfying?  I know you regret it after - but how does it make you feel better in the moment???

No one ever says, man, this is a tough day, let me get my hands on some kale!  (although, actually, some kale chips sound pretty yummy right now!) That actually reminds me when we were at Hiller's the other day, they had a small container of seasoned kale chips for like $9!!! WTF! That is insane. Sure it sounded good but I can make my own for sooooo much cheaper!! Note to self: buy kale!

So we found out that we're leaving Friday for L.A. I'M GOING TO HOLLYWOOD!  I'm super excited - but still kinda stressed with trying to get life organized for while we're gone.  It's going to be so fun!!  After I get back I do want to continue this Vegan challenge though.  I like it - some things are difficult but I'm seeing the scale go down and feeling better.  I love that I'm making better choices and being more aware.  I know it's only been a couple days but I feel in control (other than the stress getting to me a little today) :) 

--Katie

Day 2 down!

I so wanted to stress eat today -- at work it would be so easy to. Everyone has a candy dish on their desk like it's some unwritten rule or something. And not the crappy candy like hard cinnamon candies, mints, or some other random bulk food prize, but amazing candy like kit Kats, Reese's, whoppers, Hershey's, and those evil M&Ms...seriously who does that?! And then someone is always bringing in bagels, donuts, dips and chips, etc. crazy people I tell you! 

But as much as I wanted to "just have one" (which never works out btw) I didn't!! Vegan all the way. I also freaked because I was going out to dinner - but found an option and stuck to it! A bit hungry now but trying to just drink water to flush out any excess sodium that was in my foods today!! 

Proud of myself -- still miss cheese..I'm not gonna lie :) 

--Katie

Old habits die hard.

ugh. m&ms.  I don't know what to say.  I have absolutely no control around them.  Well...that's not entirely true! I haven't had any since the start of my challenge last week! I don't know what came over me this afternoon, but as I was working so hard to prepare my vegan dinner party meal, i went right on in the cabinet and grabbed a handful (we have them for potty training rewards).  I'm mad at myself.  I really wanted to reach the end of this and say i was perfect. UUUGGGHHHH! Turning it around and getting right back on track though.

So for dinner...Vegan Shepard's Pie using TVP, and sauteed peppers, eggplant, onion, garlic and fennel.  Topped with a potato and carrot puree! A lot of work, but both parts are amazing (haven't had it all together yet!).  I also made a nice little cucumber tomato salad (cucumbers, tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt) and HOMEMADE dinner rolls.  From.  Scratch.  Yeah, you kind of want to be a dinner guest at our house.  

So here's to getting back on track ::holds up glass of sauvignon blanc::

Stay Healthy, and stay away from m&ms.  even if they are cute christmas colors. 

Kelly

Woot Woot!!

Who's down 5.5 lbs since Saturday??? {THIS GIRL} Yesterday wasn't bad at all.  1 day Vegan DOWN!!  So dinner was quinoa, carrots and seasoned chick peas mixed together. I'll save you the picture...it wasn't pretty... lol....but it was tasty.  Ah, hell, you get to see the pic....

I kept my portion size on the small side and was left hungry after - but I lived :) And hey, it paid off!! Starting today off with a fruit smoothie made with almond milk.  It's tasty -- and some pomegranate on the side.  Kelly posted a video on how to open up the pomegranate so I figured I'd try them (never had 'em before) and they're really good -- it's different because it kind of reminds me of a seed or corn kernel but so juicy and yummy!

So I do have to say that it's good that I'm doing this challenge right now.  I still do not have details for my trip to L.A. --- I would be eating my stress typically. But I'm not. I'm good. I've got this!!  Hope everyone has a great day!!

<3 Katie

Feeling good!!!

OMG, I survived my first Vegan meal.... not that it was hard. :)  It was one of my old staples -- quick oats, natural pb and I threw in some raisins and omitted the honey I normally added.

Sure it might not look like much, but it was delicious!! I had been doing Herbalife shakes for a while lately and missed out on the yumminess Quaker & Jif created.  Just knowing that I'm going to be eating heatlhier has me feeling great today. Sure I'm tired because storms + a 2 yr old does not equal good sleep, but it's all good!!  Lunch is going to be brown rice and hummus. Snacks will be my hardest thing. I'm a big HUGE snacker while at work. It's really crazy.  I hate when I find myself eating even if I'm not hungry or whatever I'm eating doesn't even sound/taste good.  

Okay - guess I'll do a little work now.....

-- Katie

no, YOU are So Delicious!

Ok, first things first.  EVERYONE should be drinking these magical drinks, no matter what your dietary preferences are.  The mint chocolate is some blend of unicorn tears and rainbows i think.  The nog is straight up holiday cheer. Yeah yeah yeah, I know it has a crap ton of sugar in it, but sometimes you need to have a little fun!

I got a little carried away on the "vegan food is healthy food" train yesterday.  Lots of snacks (tortilla chips, hummus, olives, aforementioned holiday drinks, etc), so I definitely need to reign in on that today!

Now let's talk about the pizza...ooooooh the pizza! I started with my usual homemade dough (1 TBSP yeast, 1 1/2 c. warm water, 3 1/2c. flour, spices, salt,  1 tbsp olive oil.  Let yeast and water hang out for a few minutes, add in other ingredients and knead for 5-10 minutes, let rise for an hour, punch down, let rise again if you have the time). Topped with some bbq sauce, leftover TVP from my pasta the other day, red onion, diced green chili peppers, and some Daiya shredded cheddar.  The Daiya was a little different, but it rounded out the pizza perfectly! It was amazing.  I should have stuck with 1 piece, but of course I had 2.  Like I said, reigning it in today.  

Goals today include lots of fruit and veggies, loading up on more water, and not eating the remaining 1/2 of my delicious pizza that is sitting in the fridge :-)

Stay Healthy!
Kelly

Tomorrow..

Tomorrow is the day...um holy crap...haven't done nearly enough planning and feel like I'm just going to wing this. Tomorrow I'm planning oatmeal (no honey like I normally do!) for breakfast and a lunch of some brown rice and maybe frozen veggies??? Oh - actually my hubs made some awesome hummus today so maybe ill just do rice and hummus for lunch tomorrow. Dinner I think I'll make some quinoa. I'd roast this butternut squash that I've had for weeks but I don't think I'll have enough time because we have to do some running around tomorrow night - grocery shopping, laundromat, and probably something that I'm forgetting... Lol 

Tomorrow while I'm craving my normal work time snacks - yogurt, string cheese, beef jerky - ill prob be saying "what was I thinking???" BUT I saw some pics from our Vegas/AZ trip today and it made me sad. Plus I just know how much worse off I am than a few months ago. Climbing the stairs has me hot and winded. 

Tomorrow will be an exciting day - it will be a good one - I'll get through it!! :)  tomorrow must focus on water and tea!!!!

--Katie

F this...

I stepped on the scale a day early......I weigh more than the marbles I have in my jar.

This was supposed to be motivational. And it will be again. 262 today --- only 260 marbles in the jar. I'll make better choices today and good, healthy vegan choices tomorrow!!! Lots of excitement and stress this week but that won't stop me!! 

--Katie 

So you can't hate me....

Ya know....as much as I'd love to take Kelly to LA and the AMAs I kinda have obligations.... Eventually I might want to have another kid and the hubs kinda is important for that...if I skip out on taking him, he may never let that happen.... It would be a total different trip if it was a girls trip....although Kelly would prob just get me totally wasted and making a fool of myself...like dare me to trip Miley Cyrus on the red carpet or something. Me being the lightweight (no jokes pls) that I am - would prob agree and then wind up in jail or something while Kel lives it up and forgets about me for hours while schmoozing with the rich and famous. But text, I'm saving you from all the non vegan temptation .. You're welcome.

So today was a crazy day. Got two dresses but again realized that shit, I have to do something. Being forced into the plus sized section of nice dept stores to find red carpet worthy dresses sucks ass. I felt like all I was going to find was dresses my grandmother would wear to a wedding or funeral. I found two tho. Would - scratch that - WILL have many more options when I can get to a size 14 at least!!! One more day til I begin challenge vegan. More nervous lol  but it's all good!

my first "oh shit" moment

As I was cooking away tonight, making a fabulous dinner, I got caught up in my sauce...mostly because it was amazeballs.  Silken tofu, pumpkin, so much sage, cayenne, salt and pepper, and nutritional yeast.  Anyways, I was so focused on making it delicious, I didn't even think to look at the gnocchi ingredients until after dinner.  Eggs AND milk.  Mother effer.  Luckily I made it with 3 Chinese eggplant as well, so at least it wasn't all gnocchi...right?

Besides this I have been perfect! Treated myself to an iced soy gingerbread latte (no whip of course!) on Friday, and picked up some FABULOUS So Delicious Coconut "nog."  It's pretty high calorie, but I cut it with unsweetened almond milk or add it to my coffee. 

Even with my accidental slip tonight, I am super proud of myself that I've been so good! I was even down 2 pounds this morning from the beginning of the week! YES!!!

And just so everyone knows...even though me and Katie have been tackling this whole get healthy bit together for a long time now, she will NOT be taking me with her to the American Music Awards.  I think it's bullshit.  I doubt her hubs REALLY wants to go on a once in a lifetime trip and meet celebrities...I mean seriously.

Stay Healthy!
Kelly

PS. Let me know if there's a vegan gnocchi out there.

Omg!

Well - my 10 day Vegan challenge is being cut short becauseeeeee I just won a trip to LA and the American Music Awards!!!!! Yes that's right. I'm still in shock!! 

So I will still do the Vegan challenge Monday-Friday :)  but right now I'm really regretting gaining back the 20 lbs I had lost. But I'm still going to find something fabulous to wear and rock it out!!!!

Trying to get all my ducks in a row now because this is happening fast!!! Lots to do and gotta find something to wear :) zoo was fun today though!! C and I had a great time!!

Gaining consciousness

So I'm still not starting til Monday but I am making myself more conscious of labels and such. It's pretty much going like this..."Shit. I'm not going to be able to eat that!" "What? How does that have milk in it?!"  But it's all good...I'm still up for the challenge!! 

So what I can't enjoy these waffles with my girl - but gross, they have blueberries in them anyway! 

So before we head to the zoo I started raiding my pantry...seeing what i already have...turns out I have quite a bit! Lots of grains! Quinoa isn't my favorite, but maybe after 10 days it will be :) I sent this pic to Kelly to verify that I didn't miss anything....this reading labels thing and knowing what to look for is new for me. These were my findings...

And of course my fruit bowl...

Now the challenge will be sorting through the fridge and freezer...most will be off limits I think but I'll go through that later!

Time to get ready for the zoo! 

-Katie

Vegan Schmegan!

Hey y'all! 

I'm gonna say it.  Day 1 was easy peasy! I was surprised how many goldfish crackers I willingly replaced with fruit! I felt good by the end of the day! I even tried something new...TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein).  TVP is "defatted soy flour." YUMMY! It's basically dehydrated soy protein that is shelf stable and super cheap! You reconstitute it with boiling water or broth and go from there.  I just used water, and mixed in sage, thyme, fennel, onion powder and some salt.  Added it to marinara sauce to put over some spaghetti, and voila! Delicious! Even hubby was raving about it! I actually only ended up using 1/2 of what I made (last minute decision to only cook half the box of pasta for extra portion control!), so I have the rest in the fridge for some other tasty concoction (taco salad perhaps?!)!

TVP, reconstituted

I also boiled up some chickpeas that I soaked on Sunday night for 12 hours.  It's amazing how much a $1 bag of dried beans makes compared to canned (not to mention that they taste like a completely different food!) Soak the bajeezus out of those babies before you cook them though!

Yesterday was the first day in awhile that I really gave it my all in regards to eating healthy, i mean really HEALTHY, HEALTHFUL! Just about every single thing I ate was GOOD for my body, and that was a pretty good mother effing feeling. 

Hoping day 2 goes just as well! 

Cheers!
Kelly

Hi, I'm Kelly, and I'm a sugar addict.

So, it turns out taking the stairs (sometimes) and not parking in the first parking spot at Target are NOT enough to keep your weight at a healthy level! Imagine my surprise when I came to that brutal realization!  Also, the myth that vegetarians weigh less...yeah...it actually IS a myth, and that frickin sucks.  So here I am, with one of my BFFs at my beckon text, here to get healthy for ourselves and our families! 

A little about me- my name is Kelly, I am a 28 year old stay at home Mom to a 2 1/2 year old little girl, Laine.  Also have 2 cats (who also need to lose weight, but that's another blog...or is it...).  I have been a vegetarian on and off since I was 7, but strictly one for the past 4 or 5 years.  I've fallen into the carbetarian trap and I.  Need.  HELP! I'm a sugar addict to the extreme, I'm talking sugar right out of the damn bag with a spoon (sometimes I use my daughter's toddler spoons so I feel like I'm only eating baby sized portions...of sugar...shut up). 

I also more than what a normal person considers a "social drinker."  I love a good wine, beer, cocktail, etc.  This has proven to be challenging when trying to lose weight...Trader Joe's makes it so readily available, I can't say no! I try to stick with lower calorie options, or just nurse a glass all night, but where's the fun in that?





I love a good challenge! Naturally, when Katie texted me, "I should just go vegan," I called her bluff, and guilted her supported her, by saying I would do it too! So this is happening.  I started today, since as a vegetarian I am halfway there anyway, and will be bitching blogging about it every step of the way! 


For those who have no idea where to start at the grocery store, here was the first draft of a shopping list I sent to Katie.  ***You'll notice the first item is the name of our little blog.  This was because Katie thought I was sending her a list of name possibilities instead of groceries.  Of course we went with it***

-raw nuts UNSALTED!
-salad greens: spinach, arugula, kale, romaine
-almond/coconut milk UNSWEETENED!
-fruit! Pomegranate,oranges, Kiwi, apples, bananas, star fruit, plums!, apricots
-pasta plus (barilla or store brand)
-canned tomatoes to make sauce
-silken tofu (either in produce section or shelf stable with organic or Asian food)
-whole grain bread (no honey!)
-brown rice
-couscous
-polenta or fine corn meal
-peanut butter: no honey
-low carb/low cal tortillas (no lard, no honey)
-veggies: garlic (lots and lots of garlic. All the fucking garlic!) , onions, squash, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, white potatoes
-beans: black, chickpea, cannellini
-raisins
-non dairy yogurt (coconut milk or soy)
-balsamic vinegar
-onion dip packet (mix with silken tofu for a salad dressing if u need one)

So this is where we begin the challenge!  Hoping to feel great, and more importantly, feel in control again!

-Kelly

So what happens when you say, "I should just go Vegan - that would just eliminate so many bad options" -- well you get challenged to 10 days as a Vegan and of course me being me, I accept.

A little back story....
Once upon a time...In a land far, far, far away......Oh wait... that's just how all my daughter's stories start out!

But, diet after diet, struggles, and a weight history that looks like it could be a chart showing an irregular heartbeat with all the ups and downs, has got me in a funk.

My biggest thing is that I've got so much support from an awesome husband and great BFF that this should be easy, right??  My highest weight since all my efforts has been around 267.....TWO HUNDRED SIXTY FREAKING SEVEN lbs. That is NOT okay.  I have a 2.5 year old daughter who needs her dad AND her mom around for many years to come.  I cannot will not sabotage her life like that.  So I had gotten down to 236 a few months ago and then gained most of it back --- I saw 259 not long ago.  I need to stay focused. I'll have two awesome days and then I fall.....hard!  I know that if I can get through a week of 100% good - I'll be well on my way to seeing those 230's again.

So Monday will be my day one of Operation Vegan.  :) Oh - did I tell you that I'm not even a vegetarian?  That I love steak?  That cheese is one of the best things on Earth?  No? Well - yeah....that's about where I'm at so this will be fun ;)  BUT - it's just 10 days right?????? RIGHT?????? Just 10 days! 

So Monday I'll give an official starting weight - but besides maybe losing lbs, I'm really hoping that this regains my focus. I'll have to be completely conscious of everything I'm putting in my body.  I'll be forced to read labels, not do things impulsively, and really make healthy decisions.  I'm excited...and nervous....but I want to prove to myself (& others) that I am capable. I can and WILL do this.