Please take a second and watch this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvYS5yGI9H4

Where have the days gone? My twins have stopped napping so things have gotten a little crazy. However, the vegan lifestyle continues to go well. It's been 4 weeks now and I still feel great! I keep trying to figure out if I will stick to this when Lent is over. I just feel so good that I would like to keep it up. Also, I just watched the above video and now feel like I can't really go back when I see things like this. This really happens, it is in our country and people need to be aware of it.

I have a couples supper club this weekend and I will be bringing a vegan dessert. I can't wait to try the recipe because of what I've read, no one will be able to tell that it's vegan....meaning it has no dairy or eggs in it. I'll let you know how it goes.

Tonight a group of girls are going to Bambu for sushi. I am so excited because sushi is a vegan treat! I know that there will be plenty on the menu for me to choose from and that makes this girl very, very happy!

My new discovery this week is the mock chicken salad at Whole Foods! Can I say delish? Wow! I couldn't even tell it wasn't meat when the guy behind the deli counter let me sample it. He says it actually sells better than the regular chicken salad to meat eaters alike.

Eating out is still a little challenging, but if I do my research ahead of time it's not too bad. I think all in all that is the hardest part about this lifestyle. There is usually something I can have on the menu.

I've been wanting to post links to other vegan blogs, foods, resources, etc but I've been having some technical difficulties with the blog. Hopefully I can get those figured out and pass them along. Until then....have a great sunshiny day!

You are what you eat!


Live life to the fullest, it's the only one you've got!

My top 4 reasons to be a healthy mama...

My 3 beautiful children and wonderful husband! If they see their mama wanting to be healthy and happy, then hopefully they will want the same thing out of life...

Daily workout: 5:15 am-5 mile run (with Jen)

Todays meals:

Breakfast:

Coffee with coconut milk hazelnut creamer

sprouted grain bagel with 1 TSP almond butter

banana

coconut water with pineapple (YUM!)

Lunch:

Vegan burrito (EVOL brand, delish) whole wheat tortilla filled with brown rice and veggies (corn, black beans, peppers, etc)
So Delicious mini ice cream bar (for dessert!)

Snack:

1 oz raw almonds

Dinner:

Falafel, whole grain couscous with toasted pinenuts, and sweet peas

You are what you eat!

Live life to the fullest, it's the only one you've got!

Cookie Monster

For the last couple of days I've had a MAJOR sweet tooth! When I crave sweets, I crave cookies and cupcakes, I mean who doesn't? To my surprise at Whole Foods the other day, I found wheat-free, dairy free Newman-O's cookies. I almost jumped for joy in the aisles!! And they were on sale!! I've eaten Newman-O's before, but wasn't aware of this version, which happens to be vegan friendly. I know cookies aren't healthy, but a girl needs what a girl needs every now and then, so I bought them. And how did they taste compared to an oreo? YUMMALICIOUS!! Nothing fake or artificial about them and that's what I love about them. My boys won't eat these everyday, but I feel less guilty giving this to them as a 'special' treat. There is a whole lot of goodness in these cookies...lets compare the ingredients of an oreo to those of the wheat free-dairy free Newman-O:

Oreo:Sugar, flour, hydrogenated soybean oil, cocoa, high fructose corn syrup, whey, corn starch, baking soda, salt, soy lecithin, vanillin, chocolate

Newman O: Organic Barley Flour, Organic Sugar, Powdered Sugar, Organic Palm Oil, Organic Corn Flour, Organic Rice Flour, Canola Oil (expeller pressed), Organic Cocoa, Cocoa (processed with alkali), Organic Unsweetened Chocolate, Natural Flavor, Salt, Baking Soda, Soy Lecithin (an emulsifier).

And for about 50cents more a package, why not feed you and your children something better for them?

Daily workout: 5:15 am 2 mile track run at the gym, 60 minute body pump class

Todays Meals:

Breakfast:

coffee wth coconut milk hazelnut creamer

mango, banana, blueberry smoothie

Snack:

handful of almonds

2 (wheat free, dairy free Newman-O's)

Lunch:

toasted sprouted grain bagel with 1 TSP almond butter

handful of veggie chips

Dinner:

blue corn tacos with avocado, corn, black bean salsa with gardein sesame crusted chickin (for me) and chicken, cheese and sour cream for everyone else.

And because I have Bunco with the girls tonight: RED Wine!! (maybe 2 glasses if I'm feeling good!) Hey, it's full of antioxidants....

You are what you eat!

Live life to the fullest, it's the only one you've got!

I'm vegan and I don't have 3 eyes!

I was ordering a smoothie from a local smoothie joint the other day and asked for it to made without honey. "Why no honey", she asked? "Are you allergic?" I sighed deeply and answered, "I'm a vegan for Lent so that means no animal products or by-products". She looked at me strangely and said, "You don't look like a vegan". I didn't ask what that meant, but I'm pretty sure I knew what she meant. In doing a lot of research I am finding that there are LOTS of vegans out there and they seem normal, like me! So yes, you can be uber-trendy and on the cutting edge of fashion (ha, ha, joking) and be vegan. Imagine that! It really is amazing the looks people give you. For kicks, I thought I'd post this list of celebrities that are vegan. I thought it was a pretty eclectic list...

•Alicia Silverstone
•Alyssa Milano
•Carrie Anne Moss
•Casey Affleck
•Casey Kasem
•Daryl Hannah
•Demi Moore
•Daniel Negreanu (professional poker player)
•Elijah Wood
•Ellen DeGeneres
•Emily Deschanel
•Gillian Anderson
•Ginnifer Goodwin
•Heather Mills
•Jennifer Connelly
•Joaquin Phoenix
•Keenan Ivory Wayens
•Kevin Nealon
•Mayim Bialik (Blossom)
•Mutt Lange
•Natalie Portman
•Pamela Anderson
•Portia de Rossi
•River Phoenix
•Sandra Oh
•Tea Leoni
•The Artist, formerly known as Prince
•Toby Maguire
•Vanessa A. Williams
•Weird Al Yankovic
•Woody Harrelson
•Zooey Deschanel

Daily workout: Running- 5 miles @ 5:15 am (with my friend Jen!)

Meals for the day
Breakfast:
coffee with coconut milk hazelnut creamer
Pure organic apple cinnamon raw bar

Snack:
mango, blueberry banana smoothie
vegan apple cinnamon muffin

Lunch:
veggie medley garden burger on sprouted grain and seed english muffin
black bean hummus
pita chips

Dinner:
Risotto with porcini mushrooms, sweet peas and kale (shrimp with everyone elses)

You are what you eat!

Live life to the fullest, it's the only one you've got!

Lesson learned

On the weekends, we like to eat out as a family at least one night. It gives me a break from the kitchen and teaches the boys how to use their manners in a restaurant. We were out and about on Saturday running errands and decided to eat at a local Mexican restaurant last minute. Poor planning on my part. There really wasn't anything that I could eat except chips, salsa and guacamole. This restaurant was not 'fresh' Mexican, but what my husband refers to as 'slop' Mexican..the type of place where everything is cooked in oil and slopped on a plate. So, I ordered the guacamole and of course it came out brown...YUCK! I was hungry, so I filled up on my chips and salsa and felt disgusting afterwards. Even my husband, who ordered on the lighter side as well, did not feel good. We both made a pact after we left to try fresher, healthier alternatives next time! Lesson-learned, I will always plan ahead and know my menu options next time we dine out. Luckily Charleston has a wide variety of this type of restaurant, so it shouldn't be hard. And with spring and summer fast approaching it should be even easier to find this.

It's been almost 2 weeks since I started this adventure and I must say, I really do like it. Yes, I miss the occasional piece of cheese, but my digestive system is oh so thankful! Will I ever eat cheese again? Oh I am sure I will, but after 2 weeks without it...I know that it will at least be every now and then, or I may decide not too. We shall see...

Since I plan my weekly dinners on Sunday. I'll try and post what we are having each week on Monday.

Weekly Dinners:
Mon-Spicy Cilantro Chickpea Burgers on sprouted grain buns with mango chutney, tomato, sliced avocado and roasted sweet potatoes

Tues-risotto (made with vegetable stock), sweet peas, porcini mushrooms and kale (my family will have shrimp in theirs)

Wed-pizza made with whole wheat dough (sans cheese for me)

Thurs-Blue corn tacos with avocado, corn, blackbean salsa (shredded cheese, chicken and sour cream for my family and gardein sesame crusted chickin tenders-all vegetable based for me)

Fri-Falafel and black bean hummus and whole grain couscous with roasted squash.

Daily workout: Running-2 miles on the track at the gym, Body Pump (strength training) 1 hour class

Today's Meals:
Breakfast:
Organic Pure Chocolate Brownie raw bar
coffee with coconut milk hazelnut creamer
banana

Snack:
handful for peanut butter pows cereal (I have a major sweet tooth today and these are the ultimate guilty pleasure, with none of the guilt, just don't eat too many. Available at Whole Foods.)

Lunch:
Gardein sesame crusted chickin tenders (all vegetable based) on sprouted grain and seed english muffin (Food for Life) with horseradish mustard and veganaise
handful of Whole Foods brand veggie chips
2 wheat-free, dairy-free Newman O's (yes, definite sweet tooth today! and these taste JUST like an Oreo, with none of the yucky stuff. Just don't eat too many.)

Dinner:
Spicy Cilantro Chickpea Burgers on sprouted grain buns with mango chutney, tomato, sliced avocado and roasted sweet potatoes


You are what you eat.

Live life to the fullest, it's the only one you've got!

Live Simple

My mantra these days. How I strive to live. I have to remind myself all the time to slow down and enjoy these simple, carefree days with my children. With that being said, this is another reason I decided to adopt this eating lifestyle. I wanted to eat simpler foods, whole foods, foods that I know where they came from. I just read a quick read by Michael Pollan, Food Rules, and it hit the nail on the head for me as far as eating goes. Know where your food comes from, don't eat foods with ingredients that a 3rd grader can't pronounce, don't eat foods that have been passed through your window, etc. I'm not perfect in ANY way and those that know me well, know that I have an enormous sweet tooth. But this lifestyle has taught me to slow down, cook my food with care, involve my children in the process and realize that I am giving them the best gift possible as a parent, the gift of healthy eating and living. It may sound corny, but when 1/3 of all children in this country are obese, with that number climbing every day, it's a little bit scary. In our house, we are going back to the basics and living our lives as simple as we can. Taking more time for each other, spending less money, having more game nights, making s'mores in the backyard, family dinners nightly.

Last nights dinner was incredible, so good that I am going to post the recipe here. I did add diced turkey (free range! of course) andouille sausage to everyone's elses bowls...the light coconut milk MADE this one dish meal. I highly recommend it. It made tons, so we are eating it again tonight. I imagine it will taste even better tonight. It's from the Whole Foods Market Cookbook, which I've had for about 8 years.

CREOLE RICE AND BEAN SOUP
Whole Foods Market Cookbook
by Steve Petusevsky & Whole Foods Market Team
Serves 6 To 8

Even in steamy South Florida, this soup is popular year-round. Many people from the Caribbean make their home in Miami, where this soup provides an inexpensive and nutritious meal. The combination of scallions and fresh thyme can be found in many island dishes.

1 tablespoon canola oil
2 large carrots, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 small green pepper, seeded and diced
1 small red pepper, seeded and diced
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes with their juice
4 cups cold water or vegetable stock
1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk
1/2 cup brown rice
1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups chopped and washed kale
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas
3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste


Heat the canola oil in a large pot over medium heat; saute the carrots, onion, celery, peppers, and dried thyme for 5 minutes, until the vegetables are crisp-tender.

Add the tomato puree, whole tomatoes, cold water, and coconut milk to the pot; simmer for 5 minutes. Break the tomatoes apart with a spoon and add the rice.

Simmer uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes, until the rice is tender.

Add the kidney beans, kale, peas, and fresh thyme; simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the parsley; season with the salt and pepper.

PER 1-CUP SERVING: Calories 110; Calories From Fat 30; Calories From Saturated Fat 20; Protein 5 G; Carbohydrate 16 G; Total Fat 3.5 G; Saturated Fat 2 G; Cholesterol 0 Mg; Sodium 120 Mg; 27% Calories From Fat

Today's Meals:

Breakfast:
acai berry banana smoothie with vega protein powder and almond milk
ultima replenisher (all natural electrolyte beverage since I ran this morning)
coffee with coconut milk creamer

Snack:
gRAWnola bar (locally made in Charleston!) filled with pumpkin seeds, apples, dates, figs, walnuts, orange essence, vanilla
Vita Coco coconut water with passionfruit (delish!)

Lunch:
Kashi Mayan Harvest bake (in the freezer section, I love this product line)
of course..So Delicious mini coconut ice cream bar (my daily treat!)

Snack:
1 oz raw almonds

Dinner:
Creole Rice and Bean soup



You are what you eat!

Live life to the fullest, it's the only one you've got!

time, time, time

I know most of us out there barely have enough time in a day. It seems as if we are all running around from school drop off, to grocery shopping, other errands, parks, playdates and other school or sports activities. I don't know about you, but I actually kinda like being busy like this. However, I do appreciate the down time too. I make sure that my kids and I have downtime together some part of the day every day.

Someone at the park this morning asked me how I had time for it all. I guess I really don't know the exact answer, but I will tell you what works for me. I am a lover of schedules. I live and breathe by a schedule, not a rigid one, but one that is flexible for myself and our family. I guess it all started when the twins were born. We went from this 3 person family unit to a 5 person family that included 3 children under 2 1/2 overnight. I knew that I had to be organized and on a schedule right away. Since the twins have been born, they have pretty much been on a schedule. Lucky for me, they are not too rigid about it and have learned to be go with the flow children.

I try to manage my time as wisely as I can. This is why I hit the gym or a morning run by 5:15 am. Why? Well, with 3 little boys, it's really the only time I can do it and get it done for now. I know that it doesn't work for everyone, but right now it works for me. I just have to make sure I am in bed by 10ish, which usually ends up being 10:30ish. If you do the math, I certainly could get more sleep and hopefully will one day. My workouts are my time. They keep me going, make me stronger, feel good about myself and make me a better mother to my boys.

Another time management area is the computer. For instance, I only allow myself 3-10 minute periods a day on Facebook. I get on FB in the morning, lunch/naptime, and and in the evening for only 10 minutes each time. I actually set the timer on my microwave because otherwise I'd waste so much time. As a social person, I LOVE social networking and think it's genius. It has grown our photography business two-fold and best of all it's free.

Another time management area is meal planning. I do all of our meal planning for the week on Sunday afternoon. I look through cookbooks, magazines and internet sites to get my meal ideas for the week and make my list for that week. This way I only have to do one trip to the grocery store each week. Laundry is another way I try to manage my time. With 3 boys and exercising 6 days a week, there is a lot of laundry. My system may be similar to lots of people. I wash sheets towels on Sunday, (usually 2 loads) whites on Wednesday (usually 2 loads) and darks on Thursday (2 loads). This way I don't have to do laundry every single day. It makes me feel better about it.

When I have photo editing to do for clients, I do this during naptime. Naptime is also when bills get paid online, this blog is updated and any online shopping (dog food, clothes for boys, etc), searching for new recipes or any other nutrional/foodie/fitness/photog blogs I enjoy reading are done. Just like on FB I usually only allow myself about 15 minutes or so to surf these sites.

This gives me the afternoon to spend time with my boys either playing inside or out (hopefully soon!) and cooking dinner. We have our family dinner routine when Daddy gets home and then it's bath and bedtime for the boys. Nights are usually not spent on the computer unless there is work that has to be done. I try to either read, catch up with my husband or veg on my fave tv shows as a guilty pleasure (Lost, Modern Family, Grey's). So there you have it, not a glamourous life by any means, but a life that I love!

On the vegan front. It's been 1 week today. I feel amazing, CLEAN and refreshed. Absolutely no stomach issues or headaches and I actually feel lighter. Woo hoo!

Today's meals:
Breakfast:
Pure Organic Chocolate Brownie Raw Bar
Banana
coffee with coconut hazelnut milk creamer

Snack:
1 oz raw almonds

Lunch:
Food for Life veggie burger on a sprouted whole grain bagel with sliced avocado, tomato, horseradish mustard and veganaise (Yum, yum, extra yum!)
handful for Whole Foods veggie chips
1 mini coconut milk ice cream bar (I do love a sweet treat! These are mini, only 100 calories each.)

Snack:
blueberry mango smoothie with vegan protein powder and almond milk

Dinner:
Creole Rice and Bean soup from The Whole Foods Cookbook (will add turkey andouille sausage for my family)



You are what you eat!

Live life to the fullest, it's the only one you've got!