My tips for eating a healthy vegan diet outside the home
When eating out at restaurants check out the menu online prior to your visit, this will help you to know what your options are and make healthy choices.
Avoid dishes that are made with high calorie or sugary sauces such as ones that you find at Asian restaurants. Look for dishes that are filled with veggies, grains and a protein.
Share an entree with a friend or significant other to avoid over eating since most restaurants serve portions that serve two to three people or try ordering a salad/vegetable side and an appetizer.
At parties/gatherings bring a healthy dish to share; this is a great way to guarantee that there is something for you to eat besides chips and introduces your friends to something new. If bringing a dish is not appropriate than eat something healthy before your get there and limit the amount of chips and other unhealthy goodies you might want to eat.
Practice the 90/10 rule. This rule is that you eat really well 90% of the time and the other 10% you eat however you like. Now this could be having some soy ice cream at home or you a great time to use you 10% is when eating out at your favorite restaurant or at a party. Eating healthy doesn’t have to mean never enjoying your favorite treats like pizza, fries and chips. Everything is in moderation and if you are eating healthy 90% of the time allow yourself 10% to indulge without guilt.
Mickey & Jo- Named after the founders of the famously vegetarian Chicago Diner, these two domestic Muscovy ducks were rescued from freezing waters by a caring NYC resident.
Beans, beans the magical fruit the more you eat the more you…..okay you know how the rhyme goes. Beans are a great source of protein and nutrients but for many people eating beans does a real number on their stomachs. The cause of the gas is from a sugar in the beans and it is easily preventable. Here are a few ways to make beans give you less gas:
1. Make sure if you are using dry beans to soak them for at least 8 hours and then make sure when you do cook them that they are cooked in fresh water until soft. Do not add salt to the water. Alternatively for canned beans make sure to rinse them to remove all the salt and then I recommend cooking them in a little vegetable broth for 10 minutes.
2. Refried beans, not the healthiest; these beans that have been cooked once and then cooked a second time with some sort of fat weather margarine, oil or vegetable shortening. The fat helps to balance that sugar causing gas.
3. Do not eat fruit with beans such as tomatoes.
4. Eat rice and beans- whole grains and beans are a great combination and civilizations have been pairing these two things for hundreds of years- this is proof that they are a wonderful combination.
5. My favorite thing to do is add seaweed, specifically kombu to my beans when I am either boiling them from dry or even with canned when I do a second mini cook. Additionally adding seaweed will provide a number of essential minerals and is a great detoxifier; I also love to add it to my grains (don’t worry if it makes you squeamish you don’t have to eat it to get the benefits and it doesn’t make your grains or beans taste funny).
I would recommend that if you shy away from beans because of their “magical properties” that you test out these 5 easy tips and see how your body feels. Everyone’s body is different so if one suggestion doesn’t work for you move on to the next.
Below are a few of my favorite bean recipes:
Three Bean Burgers
2 cups of black eyed peas, kidney beans, and chickpeas
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1/2-3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2t chili powder
1/2t cumin
1/4t garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1T hot sauce (I used VT Pepperworks Chocolate Chipotle)
Preheat the oven to 400F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Mash the beans up and add in the spices, chickpea flour, panko breadcrumbs and hot sauce. Form the patties into 1/4 cup patties and bake for 10 minutes on each side.
Creamy Mashed White Beans
2 cans Cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
8-10 oil packed sundried tomatoes, chopped small
5 scallions, chopped small
3T vegan cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1t garlic powder
Add all ingredients to a pan over medium heat and mash with a potato masher. Mix everything together and then heat until warmed
Friday after work I headed downtown to meet the Hubz and grab a bite to eat before we headed to our spa appointment. I decided that I we should try a place we had never been, New Moon Cafe, at first glance I thought the place was super tiny but when we got in a little further we realized the place was huge! We have decided that with the free wi-fi we probably will be spending a lot more time here, except strangely they are not open on Saturday’s.
The Hubz and I shared the grilled veggie sandwich (sundried tomato pesto is vegan!), a Gus soda and a bag of Zapp’s Spicy Cajun Crawtators chips. Everything was delicious!
After our bite to eat we went for a walk to kill some time before our spa appointment.
Finally it was time to enjoy our spa treatment! Since there were no cameras or cellphones allowed I didn’t get any shots but let me tell you it was amazing! Here are some photos from the Jivana website:
Entrance
Entry and Massage Room
The Sugar Scrub Table
After the amazing Balinese massage I had a sugar scrub and left the spa feeling refreshed, renewed and so relaxed. I decided to go with the lemongrass massage oil and body scrub and it really did smell wonderful.
After our spa appointment it was getting pretty late so we decided to go out for some yummy Asian Food. We got the avocado roll to share and then I got a big bowl of tom kar soup with tofu, veggies and udon noodles. The Hubz got this great dish which was almost like a deconstructed sushi roll both amazing and ridiculously filling.
I woke up bright and early this morning ready to seize the day however I ended up sitting on my computer planning out my life for the next 7+ days and I’m wondering when I am going to be able to take time to celebrate this birthday week. It seems crazy that I have to schedule time off on the day of my birthday but when you are an assistant, a housekeeper, a cook, a student, a health counselor, a fur baby mama, an asipring runner, a blogger and an entrepreneur, scheduling time for fun things like my own birthday party is necessary.
For my own sanity I try not to have more than 10 items on my “To Do” list each day and one of those items is always just for me because I know that even with all the crazy and exciting (and not so exciting) things going on in my life that I still need to make time for me. I also have learned to delegate things to others like my husband so that I don’t have too many things going on. For example he wanted BBQ Seitan this week so rather than me slave in the kitchen to make the entire meal and the seitan ahead of time he has been hired to make the seitan and BBQ sauce tomorrow night for Wednesday dinner which gives me more time for my studies. I also have learned that it’s okay to say no. You don’t have to constantly have your hands in everything and if it doesn’t fit into your schedule don’t force it otherwise you’ll burn yourself out.
My last “words of wisdom” are to evaluate what time of the day you are most productive and do top priority things during those times. On the flip side of that take into account when you are the least focused and productive and don’t schedule anything after that time. For me it’s generally around 9pm that I start to feel like I’m ready to end my day and basically nothing else is going to be done so that’s when I make time for reading blogs, catching up on shows, reading a good book or sometimes I just head to bed. By doing this I can wake up the next morning and be ready for another day.
Top 5 Tips:
Make a list each morning or night of 10 things you need to do that day/following day; make sure that there are only 10 and that 1 of them is something for you (i.e. reading, exercise, massage, shopping, meditating, ect).
Delegate! You don’t have to be super woman/man; if your list starts to creep past 10 things then ask others for help.
Say No once in awhile.
Take time to evaluate when you are most productive; are you a morning person? or a night person?
BREATHE! Yes that’s right take time to breathe and center yourself. Whenever you are feeling overwhelmed take a break and take 10 slow, deep breathes.
I didn’t make have time to blog this morning since for some reason my ‘To Do’ list just keeps getting longer and longer. When will it ever end! I have a school and unpacking and planning to do OH MY! Yes planning – my girlfriends and I are headed to Lexington MA for a girls weekend in just 2 weeks and I being the borderline obsessive planner that I am, am feeling anxious because I haven’t done much research! Now I don’t need a detailed itinerary or anything but rather ideas of what we can do – I basically want to know everything before I get there so I can just relax and do things while we are there- logical right? Anyways all that being said I also am attempting to do some planning for or DC trip this fall as well. So if you have any Lexington MA or DC suggestions tell me!
Since I didn’t blog this morning I also neglected to photograph my breakfast of Me & Goji cereal with banana and coffee. However I did get a photo of lunch which was simple and yet healthy and delicious: spinach salad with mushrooms, chickpeas and balsamic and of course my Earthlust bottle filled with water.
So as my blog title says ….I am having a bad hair year and I finally made an appointment to get my hair cut- you are probably saying yeah so, what does this have to do with healthy living or veganism? Well it has everything to do with healthy living! By taking care of ourselves and doing things that make us feel great and present ourselves well is all part of a healthy lifestyle. Now apperance is something that has taken a back seat for me in the past few years, and no it is not everything and I am not trying to be vain but it does make a difference. Since I started my IIN holistic health counselor program I have been reminded that things like taking care of yourself are important and since I will be starting to see clients in the near future I think I should look the part. That all being said I am having a hair crisis- I have no idea what to do! My hair is long and a mess and needs to be fixed so do you have any suggestions on new looks?
Q: How often do you get your hair cut? or do other things for yourself?
The Hubz and I were not going to publicize our pregnancy until we were at least 12 weeks so it may seem strange now that we have decided to publicize our loss. Last week, the day before our 8 week and first midwife appointment, something just didn’t seem right and after an ultrasound it was confirmed I had a miscarriage for the 2nd time. Over the last week we have been dealing with the loss of our pregnancy and are doing fine, it’s never an easy thing but we have the support of each other, our family, bosses and the few friends who knew.
So why am I writing this post and telling the world? I received a wonderful gift from Earth Mama’s today and I just felt like I should post and let others know that things like this happen even to healthy people and that there are great resources out there to deal with losses like ours. I was originally going to do a post for Earth Mama’s about their tea but when I lost the pregnancy I let them know that I would no longer be doing a post and that the shouldn’t send the product to review. They sent me the most kind and caring note back expressing their sympathy for our loss and to my surprise I received a few wonderful items today: Harmony Tea and Seeds of Hope.
It brings tears to my eyes that people I don’t even know can be so supportive and caring about our loss. I think that it is important for others to know that there are things out there to comfort women who are dealing with loss of pregnancy. During our last miscarriage my husband and I felt lost and a lack of support resources. There are so many resources out there for postpartum or loss of a child but miscarriages seem to get pushed to the side; for those of your who know someone that has experienced one or you yourself have know that it’s heartbreaking and an extremely emotional experience. I would like to note that Earth Mama’s have not asked me to do a review of these items but that they were sent as a sympathy gift and I felt that it was important to pass on that there are things out there for those who are dealing with such a loss.
During our last miscarriage Kristen Suzanne of Kristen’s Raw was such an inspiration and role model for me during our hard time. Reading her posts helped me through my hard times; I actually went back to her post at this point and just felt more at peace with things because her fertility ups and downs have kept me positive. I would like to mention that Kristen just had a baby girl Kamea which gives me hope that even with our struggles someday we will be able to have a our baby of our own. Congratulations Kristen & Hubby! I recommend that if you are pregnant, thinking of getting pregnant, are dealing with a pregnancy loss or fertility struggles Kristen is a great resource.
Once we move into our new apartment (hopefully this weekend) we will find a beautiful pot and plant our Seeds of Hope. I want to thank everyone for their support during this hard time and say Hubz I love you.
Update: I just found out at I have extremely low progesterone which may be the reason why we have had issues staying pregnant; http://www.buzzle.com/articles/low-progesterone.html Do you know of any natural ways in which to increase progesterone levels?
