missing in action

Good afternoon blogland! Ive been so crazy nuts busy the last few weeks. Been going mad with uni work and other stuff. I just wanted to drop by and let anyone may be interested know I have started a little side blog to this one http://ticklishtakingcontrol.blogspot.com/ 

I am starting the Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation program in a few weeks and am keeping a little seperate blog about it to track my progress etc. Its still 100% vegan but will be heavily based on exercise and stats like weight, calories, kms run etc instead of laid back vegan blogging like this one. Ill still be updating this blog with my general stuff and any awesome recipies i find. Wish me luck!!!

If anyone else is interested go check out the website at http://www.12wbt.com/


update

On the tail end now of this cold thank god!!! Back to work tomorrow which sucks but I guess ive been off work for over a week now so I should go earn some money! Going to be a very tight budget next week thats for sure! Thankfully im working all easter which will be some bonus money. Unfortunetely next month is 'dog month' here, Lucy is due for her annual vet check which is about $150 and Leon will be old enough to get his boy bits snipped off which is a few hundred dollars aswell. I dont want any hanky panky between those two though, as appealing as german shepherd puppies sound, I couldnt give them away plus there are plenty of pound puppies which need adopting. Sometimes I feel really guilty about having pure-bred dogs over pound dogs but its done now and I wouldnt give up my babies for anything. The cats are both rescues from the pound so its something I guess. Mum & dad are thinking about getting another kitty now that gobbie has passed on, im trying to talk them into going to the pound for one. I have to admit, the pound dont make it easy for people to adopt pets though. We found a kitten a few months ago and took it to the pound to hand it in and the woman in front of us was there to adopt a kitten but they told her they were $180 to buy and she didnt have enough money so turned her away. We ended up giving her the kitty we found so she wouldnt have to pay all that money and at least then we knew the kitty was going to a nice home. I understand they need the money but come on- this woman was obviously going to give this animal a good home and becuase she couldnt afford it another animal would be put down because there was no home for it. Just crazy. I remember when I adopted my kittens (from the same place) they were $80 each 5 years ago. They are now charging an extra $100 per kitten, and even the dogs are hundreds of dollars. I dunno.


Here is a picture of Leon I took yesturday. I had to take it through it the glass, he doesnt sit still and jumps all over me when I go see him. He is 5 months old now and getting so fat! What a handsome young man! His ears are so big and his paws, I think he will be much bigger than Lucy.

Havent done anything exciting vegan wise lately. Just living off budget food this week- vegies and noodles! Went to my parents house for dinner last night, they always do a big roast and ive always been served up a big plate of roast vegies when I was vegetarian anyway which is still vegan- roast potato & pumpkin, mushrooms, broccoli & carrots. Yum. So no need to change what I eat there! Was so nice to have a decent home-cooked meal like that though. I cant replicate my mums roast vegies at home, must be a mum thing. She just makes them so darn good! Plus I blame my oven anyway. Thinking about some cheap meal options for next week aswell, im hoping it wont be as bad money wise next week, I dont have any major bills due thank god but it will still be tight. Id like to try something quick & hot for breakfasts now its coming into winter here.


I was so devastated this morning, I got a letter from the vegetarian/vegan society of QLD which ive been a member of for many years and they usually send me out the 'Vegan Voice' magazine every quarter as part of my membership but apparently VV is no longer in production. And a few months ago I found out the 'Natural health & vegetarian life' magazine is no longer in production either!! What the hell??? Where am I meant to get my vegie fix now?? Does anyone know of any other vegan or vegetarian magazines out there? Preferrably in Australia, but if overseas can they mail to Australia. Im going to miss catching up on all my vegie goss at 3am at work which is when I usually catch up on all my magazines!


Recipe steal...

Still sick. It totally sucks! Have had 4 days off work now, bank balance isnt going to look very good next week! Oh well.


Felt okay enough to do a spot of baking this morning. This brownie recipe is from little billie's blog at www.little-billie.blogspot.com (i have no idea how to do proper links on this blog- if anyone could be so kind as to the how to that would be great!) But back to the brownie's. I didnt have any coconut so I just used almond meal instead and they turned out pretty good!



And for dinner I made pasta from Emma's blog at


Was soooooooo good! And so easy. I added a dash of soy cooking cream aswell which was yummo!


I need to start smashing some serious essay butt this group of days off. Its just so hard when it feels like my head is full of snot (oh wait...it is!!!!!!!!) Grr. Go away sickness!!!

update

Im sick. And it sucks!!! Head colds are just the worst. The only good thing is lemon tea I guess. Ive started going to the gym, went the last 2 nights and now im sick and my body is aching but im not sure if its from using muscles again or from being sick or a combination of both! Either way, im in pain and bummed because im full of motivation for exercising right now but this stupid cold means I cant even get up the stairs without collapsing from lack of oxygen! Just hope I make a speady recovery, then back to treadmills & crosstrainers! I joined a 24hr gym. Being a shift worker is hard to find time to exercise and I like the idea I can go to the gym at 3am if I want. I doubt that will ever happen, but I find 8-10pm is when im most likely to be free-instead of sitting on the couch watching tv waiting to go to bed at least I know the gym is open. I went at 10pm last night and it was fairly busy, so I guess im not the only one!


Im thinking about signing up for Michelle Bridges (from the biggest loser) 12 week body transformation deal. Its a 12 week program which is online but its live- its not an automated thing, everyone starts & finishes together and there is live chats with Michelle aswell. Its a diet plan aswell but from what ive read there are vegetarian & dairy free options aswell so the only thing I would need to substitute is eggs.


Does anyone have a workout regime or have ever done an online training program?

Vegie & lentil stew

Ah bills, bills, bills! I hate payday: within a few minutes all my hard earned cash towards bills!!!

Its serious budget shopping this week for groceries. I decided for dinners I would make a big batch of vegie & lentil stew and freeze heaps.

Ingredients:

Cabbage

Vegetable stock

Mushrooms

Brown lentils

Cannellini beans

Red onion

Red lentils

Carrots

Potato

Sweet potato

Zucchini

Turnip

Salt & pepper

Cook it all in a big pot and all done! I paid $18 for ingredients and got 10 serves, so $1.80 a serve aint bad. I know its as boring as bat shit but figured I could put some with toast or some rice to break it up abit! Other cheap meals this week will include avocado on rye toast for breakfasts (already had the bread in freezer and avo's were $1.20 each this week!), and udon noodles with steamed vegies. At least being broke is good for one thing- relying on cheap vegies as the only thing to eat! At least its healthy.


What seriously budget buys does everyone do when money is tight????



Vegan bolognese

For dinner last night I made a vegan bolognese. It was very quick & last minute but was still good. I didnt have any vegies to go in but I found a can of mixed beans in the cupboard so threw those in. I think some mushrooms & onion would be good for next time.




I used a vegan mince- vegemeal spicy beef mince for $6.80 from www.crueltyfreeshop.com.au its a dry mix which you add water to then cook. Along with some gluten-free pasta & some tomato & garlic pasta sauce. Word of warning- this vegan mince stuff is quite spicy! Im not a huge fan of spicy things but it was nice. I think next time I will definetely add more vegies and probably another bottle of pasta sauce to even out the spice! But overall was nice. I got 4 serves out of this, at $3 a serve.


In other news, ive lost another 1kg this week. I dont do an official weigh-in til wednesday so im a couple of days early but I was feeling particulary light this morning and fair enough, 1kg gone. So thats 1.7kg in nearly 2 weeks of being vegan. I have not counted 1 single calorie (I do look at the calories on the back of packets just for a rough idea & make sure its not massively high, but im not doing a total daily calorie count). Ive also had my fair share of vegan snacks this week! Note to self- do not purchase new & exciting vegan sweets or chocolates when doing my major thesis!!!! It will be devoured in 10 seconds flat with no memory of the event! Speaking of which, I have 17 days til my essay is due, and im working 10 of those days, so thats only 7 full days left to get this finished, and all ive done is a measly 200 word introduction! Time to pull my finger out!


I had to work in a ward yesturday. When its really quiet in ICU we get sent to other wards in the hospital to help out. I got sent to a general surgical ward and had the best shift! Its been a few years now since ive done general nursing and I was a little scared at first but turns out its like riding a bike! In ICU its 1 nurse to 1 patient as they are on life-support machines and are very sick but in the wards we had 10 patients to 2 nurses. The nurse I worked with was just loverly and was very appreciative for my help. It was just weird having patients with only 1 drip and who walk around-im used to heavily sedated patients lying in bed on breathing machines & dialysis and going into a cardiac arrest!


I have found a very nice studying companion though, soy chai lattes. My mother-in-law owns a coffee shop and I was reading the label of the chai syryp (seems all I do is read labels now- does everyone else do this?) and it was vegan yay! Ive found a brand of soy milk I actually like aswell and my MIL gave me nearly a full bottle of this chai to take home so ive been using my coffee machine to froth up some soy milk and its sooooooooooo good!!!! Yum.


Im still very unsure about some ingrediants, mainly the numbers on the back of the labels. I try to go for things with the least amount of numbers anyway. Does anyone know of a good book for vegan shopping??


Next week im going to break out my blender again and have a green smoothie for breakfast everyday! So baby spinach, a banana & ice. Ill take a photo to show how green it is! Its really nice though. I need to make the effort to make them more often. Last time I used my blender was to make mushroom soup then I left it too long til cleaning and it went quite nasty but ive been scrubbing it everyday for the last week in boiling water so hopefully its clean! Looks pretty clean. It was a $200 blender and I dont have any money to buy a new one!


Whats your most used kitchen appliance for vegan cooking??


A sad day

A got a call from my mum today to inform me their cat, also my first ever pet, Gobbie had passed away. He had to be put down, he was in alot of pain and wasnt eating or drinking anymore. He was 14yrs old. Gobbie loved his food, his favourites were prawns & ham. Goodbye sweet boy, may you be at peace. We love you and will miss you.

im losing count

Well its been over a week now of being vegan. No more need to keep track of the days! Its been very easy so far which is nice. Still havent told my husband yet. Im going to see how long I can go vegan for before he figures it out! Well just a quick update today as I need to work on my essay. Will be back hopefully with some new piccies soon. I made some awesome 'chicken' vege burgers last night but forgot to take a photo. Im having them again tonight so will try remember to take a photo!

Day 8

Back to work today. Had a pretty cruisy day. Tomorrow is going to be even easier, all the afternoon surgeries for today got cancelled and there is no surgery tomorrow (I work in a cardiac surgical intensive care unit) so there is no patients! Even the general ICU isnt busy so the bosses decided that everyone who is working tomorrow who is doing study (im doing my masters degree) can spend the day at work studying and get paid for it! Nice! There is about 20 nurses doing more study at the moment so its very nice of them to let us do that I think. I have my essay due in 3 weeks so will be using tomorrow very wisely! Todays eats:

Breakfast: vegan cereal with soymilk.

Snack: soy yogurt.

Lunch: leftover vegan lasagne.

Dinner: vegan hotdogs.

Snack: some vegan coconut ice (yum!).


I had such a crazy headache again this afternoon. At about 1pm it just hit me and it didnt go away til many pain pills later at about 7pm. Ive had heaps of water today so it cant be that. I havent had any coffee...maybe I need a good caffiene hit! Im pretty tired tonight, I should get a good sleep though as its raining like crazy in beautiful sunny (not) QLD! Might let myself have a nice coffee tomorrow, especially if its a study day! I find studying makes me so exhausted sometimes, such a brain strain!


What does everyone else do to get through the brain strains of studying??

Dinner!!

Its not a very good picture, and I apologise in advance! So I got my delivery of stuff from www.crueltyfreeshop.com.au today and I had ordered this vegan cheese sauce mix to have with schnitzel. OMG its so yum! I made 1 serving according to instructions but I think this was way too much and would only use a third of it next time! I made it on soy milk aswell, instead of water and it was very creamy & cheesy and yum yum yum! It was abit thick but thats ok, I will just add more milk next time. Very good for when you feel like something cheesy & nasty and naughty but vegan! It was $11.60 for a packet which claims to make 5 serves, but I honestly would get at least 3 serves from 1 serve, so at least 15 serves which is $0.77 per serve, not bad for a cheese sauce.

Day 7

Well its its day 7 today, officially my first week as a vegan! Its been a good week. Ive learnt some new things and tried out some new taste's. I even managed to lose 700grams this week as a bonus! But now the real test starts: back to work today! I have an education day today which will be fairly cruisy- sitting in a classroom for 80% of the day listening to lectures. Im going to take in my own lunch obviously. The only hurdle I can foresee is people usually bring along cakes & sweets on education days so I will have to politely decline those. I will be quizzing the coffee shop on whether they do soy milk aswell for their coffee's. I think it should be a legal requirement for all coffee shops to offer soy, not just for vegans but people with lactose intolerances aswell. Maybe thats what I should call myself: a vegetarian who is 'allergic' to eggs & lactose intolerent, instead of saying 'vegan'. I still havent told anyone ive gone vegan yet, not even my husband. Im surprised ive gone a whole week without him even noticing!

Todays eats:

Breakfast: grain & rye toast with tofutti.

Snack: soy coffee (if the cafe has soy milk that is!).

Lunch: wholemeal crackers with hommus & sun-dried tomatoes. Fruit & yogurt.

Dinner: ill probably make the same pizza's I had last night, just to use up the fresh vegies.

Dessert: vegan jelly & grapes.

Day 6

Pretty boring day today. Had my exam, I got 85% which isnt too bad I guess. 100% wouldve been better but im still happy with what I got. Now to get cracking on this assignment which is due in 3 weeks eek!!!!


For dinner tonight I made these pizza's. I got the pizza bases from the health food aisle, they were labeled as gluten free but I checked the ingrediants & they were vegan aswell. For toppings I used tofutti & tomato paste on the bottom, mushrooms, grated zucchini & pepper & thats it! Was pretty nice. Abit expensive, next time I would like to try make some vegan pizza bases from scratch.

Day 5

First a few piccies

Vegan raspberry jelly with grapes


Vegan lasagne! I wanted to use up all the end of week vegies in the fridge so made this. Im giving it 2 points for presentation, 9 points for taste, 9 points for difficulty (in other words was so so easy to make) and 9 points for cost. So on average, a 7. But who cares about presentation when im the only one eating it right?

I used these Orgran mini lasagne sheets to make a vegetable lasagne. They were $4.30 for a packet from woolies


The filling for the lasagne: diced mushrooms, green & red capsicums, grated zucchini, 2 cans of 4 bean mix, diced tomatoes & baby spinach, plus seasoned with lots of pepper. Total cost of vegies: approx $16. So total cost of all ingrediants- $20.


To make this lasagne I cooked all the vegies in a big pan, cooked the lasagne sheets in the some boiling water, then layered it all in a bread loaf tin with diced tomatoes on top to keep the pasta sheets moist. In the oven at 180 (fan forced) for 30mins. I made 2 lasagne's which I divided into 3 serves from each, so 6 serves in total. So thats $3.33 a serve. Not too expensive at all! It was very yummy & I will be making this again!


My collection of daily pills! Spirulina tablets on the left. I originally was only taking 1 a day then I actually read the bottle & the dosage is 6 tablets a day! So im managing to shove those down every morning. In the middle is a multivitamin & on the right flaxseed oil-both vegan from www.crueltyfreeshop.com.au

Todays eats:

Breakfast: soy latte

Snack: 1 vegan chocolate rum ball (omfg so good!!! Leda brand)

Lunch: vegan lasagne. handful of vegan poppy seed crackers with some tofutti

Dinner: Leftover tofu, vegies & noodles

Dessert: vegan jelly with grapes

Lots of water today!

I bought some vegan 'chicken' schnitzels today and so wanted them for dinner tonight but im waiting for my delivery from the cruelty free shop- I ordered some vegan cheese sauce mix so im saving them for that to have with some steamed vegies.


Its such a nice day today, slighty overcast but not raining. Did all my housework & cooking this morning, then spending the afternoon studying for my exam tomorrow eek!

'Chicken' noodle soup

After my big day of junk food yesturday I had a light dinner of soup. This is a chicken flavoured noodle soup, its vegan, its $2.90 and I got it from www.crueltyfreeshop.com.au
It is sooooooo yummy! Even the caveman liked it! (P.S I will now be referring to my husband as the caveman in this blog)


Haha. Just realised I got a sneak peak of my feet in this photo. Need to improve my photography me thinks!



The finished result! It makes 4 cups but I only used 2 cups of water to make it about thicker otherwise its really watery. There is alot of noodles in it too which I tried to get a piccie of but as soon as you stir it and the noodles rise they fall back down again :(
but trust me, there is heaps of noodles in the bottom of this bowl!

Day 4

So out of the 4 night shifts I was meant to work this week I have worked a total of...........none! Hehehehe. I work in intensive care and sometimes we dont have very many patients so if the rest of the hospital isnt busy either we get to have the shift off....we still get paid for it but it comes out of our annual leave which is fine because I have soooooo many holiday hours banked which I havent used.
Today was kinda a lazy junk food day. For breakfast I made vegan pancakes for me & normal pankcakes for hubby. Then for lunch I had vegan hotdogs while hubby had meatdogs. Feeling pretty full now! Might just have a light vegie soup for dinner. I had a diet coke today which is naughty I know but it was only a small can, not a whole 2L bottle like usual! And I savoured it along with my hotdogs so it actually meant something. Otherwise ive been having heaps of water & feeling great for it!

Day 3

Didnt work again last night, was home sick with a headache. Side effect of going vegan maybe??
Todays eats:
Breakfast: vegan cereal & bran with soymilk
Snack: soy chai tea latte (again!) & soy cappucino
Lunch: lentil burger with avocado & baby spinach ( on white bread which was abit naughty but I was craving white bread and I never have it so it was a treat!)
Snack: soy yogurt & grapes
Dinner: marinated tofu with mushrooms, zucchini & couscous
I havent had any diet cola for 2 days now. I usually have anywhere between 3-10 cans a day so this is a massive thing for me! Instead ive been having water or a diet cordial. Im pretty happy with myself! I did have a coffee today but I really wanted one and I savoured the moment: I sat outside a nice little cafe with a magazine in the breeze and enjoyed a cuppa while my husband was at a doctors appointment. Much more enjoyable then sculling as much as I can during night shift!
Its only been a few days but im starting to feel abit more energetic. Which I was highly doubting with the severly decreased caffiene intake but im managing. I slept really well last night too which was a bonus. The real test will be the next 2 night shifts and how I go with those sans coffee. Ive got green, pear & jasmine tea to have instead.
Havent had much other interesting news. Went shopping today. Got some new work shoes, a nice big white shiny owl ornament to add to my collection, a cheap cardigan & some bra's from the rivers sale & a couple of scratchies which I didnt win on :(
I have my major essay due in 4 weeks! Its really killing me. Hopefully I can get some articles read tonight at work. I have an exam next week, but im not too worried about that one. Its stuff I already know so shouldnt be too exciting. I do wonder why im back at uni sometimes, putting myself through the hell of study again but I seem to be a sucker for punishment! Wish me luck!
I have decided to share my weight progress on this blog, ill be updating the little section on the bottom right hand side with my weight, probably weekly. Im not actively trying to lose weight at the moment but thought it would be a good idea to keep track as I transition to vegan.

Day 2

Well I didnt end up going to work last night so I got to sleep in my own bed last night yay! I am going to work tonight though (boo!). Todays eats:
Breakfast: soy chai latte (hubby wanted to go out for breakfast-he had bacon & eggs so I thought I would grab breakfast when I got home but I didnt get home til lunchtime anyway!)
Lunch: Lentil burger with avocado & baby spinach. Half a dragonfruit.
Afternoon tea: soy yogurt. 1 vegan chocolate biscuit (naughty I know but I wanted to try them!)
Dinner: leftover tofu stir-fry from the day before. Handful of grapes. I got 4 serves out of that stir-fry so have frozen them for quick dinners.
Today has been pretty boring. Like I said, joined my husband for breakfast as he had finished night shift so we usually get a big breakfast after that. Then when we got home he went to sleep and I did his grocery shopping. He hates grocery shopping. He usually just buys take-aways all the time and its so expensive. I showed him how he can get a whole fortnights worth of food from the supermarket for half of what he was spending on fast foods and now he is saving so much money. Then I came home & had a nap before work tonight, and am now checking out some blogs. Ive started following a few vegan blogs and im amazed at how much variety there is out there. People are making things with ingrediants ive never heard of and I cant wait to do that myself! I pulled my blender out of the back of the cupboard the other day and gave it a good clean. Need to start making smoothies again I think! I used to always have a 'green smoothie' of a banana, some ice & 2 handlfuls of baby spinach-thats it. Its so delicious though and so healthy. I might start doing those again. I need to invest in a food processor aswell I think so I can make some of the awesome things I see these nifty blogging vegans make!

food

I know everyone knows what a stir-fry looks like and mine is nothing new or exciting but here is a piccie of the stir-fry I just made. In it is tofu, mushrooms, zucchini, green capsicum, a bag of cantonese frozen vegies (sugar peas, broccoli, bamboo shoots & carrot) noodles & lots of soy sauce. What makes this stir-fry extra special, is the fact that my husband ate it!!! Now, my husband is what I call a 'cave-man', he eats nothing but meat preferably bleeding still and hates vegies (his father & 3 brothers are exactly the same!) So imagine my surprise when he actually wanted to eat this, he even ate the tofu! I feel like ive just made the world a better place by getting my husband to not only just eat, but actually enjoy, a vegan meal instead of a meat one!




Next id like to talk about dragonfruit. I have no idea how many people actually know what dragonfruit is or have ever eaten it but I only discovered it about a year ago. It looks like this:
And the inside when cut in half: a delicious sweet & refreshing pulp which is best served chilled and eaten with a spoon. Yum!

Dragonfruit is very good for you aswell. It helps keep blood sugar levels stable, improves digestion, is good for the eyes, bones & teeth, and has vitamin C, vitamins B1 B2 & B3, calcium & iron & is low in calories. They are pretty expensive to buy where I live as they are imported, they are $4 each but I only have half of one at a time so its not too bad. Im pretty picky with fruit so if I find something I enjoy then ill get it.


What other exotic fruits or vegetables is everyone else into? Id love to know!

Day 1

First day of being vegan today! Went grocery shopping and got some good stuff for the week. Today I have had:
Breakfast: soy chai tea latte & handful of grapes
Lunch: lentil burger on wholegrain & rye bread with avocado & baby spinach
Snack: handful of beetroot corn chips
Dinner: tofu stir-fry (marinated tofu, mushrooms, broccoli, carrot, capsicum, zucchini) with cous cous
Im working night shift tonight and for my breakfast break at 3-4am im going to have cereal (a multigrain vegan version of cheerios, with bran) & soymilk and half a dragonfruit. Then I get home at 8am and will have a soy yogurt before going to bed. Thats the plan anyway!

tomorrow when the vegan began....

Im officially starting my new vegan lifestyle from tomorrow! Pretty excited. I havent had my first consult with the dietician yet, money is just abit tight at the moment with uni fees, car rego, vet bills etc. So im going to be going it alone for the first 2 weeks until I can comfortably afford to go to the dietician.
Im on night duty for 4 nights from tomorrow then have 2 days off then back on a week of early shifts so im trying to think of some good vegan ideas to fit in with my shifts.
Night duty usually involves a normal dinner at about 7-8pm then a break at about 3-4am then I finish at 7:30am. I tend to eat 'breakfast' at the 3-4am break then have something light when I get home from work before going to sleep. I usually sleep from 9am til about 2-3pm then wake up starving and have lunch.
So im thinking for dinners this week I will try make a few different vegie dishes as I will have time to cook before work. Noodles with vegetables or a tofu stir-fry are easy options I should be able to whip up. Breakfast at 4am im thinking I will probably do fruit salad & soy yogurt as this is quick & easy for me to take to work. When I get home from work I will try have a piece of toast with avocado & tomato. Lunch will be a battle as I always wake up feeling like a zombie and am starving and this is when I would usually reach for the quick & nasty junk foods. So I need to be prepared to prevent this. Im thinking maybe a vegan 'burger' with salad would be a good option.
Another big battle with night duty will be the coffee. I can easily get through 5 cups a night. Im not a big fan of soy milk in coffee either unless its made properly, like in a coffee shop. It just doesnt sit right in the instant stuff we have at work. So this run of nights will be coffee-free!! I do like chai & green tea so im going to take some tea to work instead. The idea of working 4 night shifts with no coffee is putting me to sleep already but I know its a habit I need to get out of.
The week after that is a whole week of day shifts. I get up at 4:30am and get home at about 4pm. For breakfasts I think a vegan cereal with soymilk should be ok. Just something really quick for the mornings. Morning tea will be fruit and maybe a soy yogurt. Lunches will need to be something easy for work aswell, probably sandwiches with salad. Im usually in traffic from 3:30-4pm and dont have afternoon tea then end up really hungry at dinner time. I thought maybe a small handful of nuts would be easy to nibble on in the car when im stuck at a set of traffic lights, just to keep the hungries away before dinner. Dinner will need to be quick & easy again, probably more stir-fry or noodle type stuff. Im thinking very basic recipes that arent full of ingrediants I dont know or are too hard to prepare. I want to go back to basics this fortnight with fresh fruit & vegies and simple flavours before exploring the vegan world abit further.
I will try to post everyday if I can and keep a track of everything this first fortnight. Plus any suggestions/comments would be awesome! Just to know im heading in the right direction before seeing the dietician.
I havent told my husband yet im going vegan again this week but im sure he will figure it out tomorrow when I go shopping! There is an awesome little fruit shop about 10mins away which does alot of exotic fruits I like, such as dragonfruit. They are pretty cheap and I cannot figure out why I dont go there more often? I always end up back in woolworths or coles with the same expensive crap. I need to make more of an effort to go to the smaller shops & support local businesses. Even it means having to make 2 trips, one to the fruit shop then back to coles to get my other groceries (cat food etc).
Ive been thinking it over about whether to make this a weightloss journey blog aswell with stats etc but am still not convinced. Not to mention being embarrassed about my weight & measurements. I might keep a journal of my weightloss then when im abit more comfortable I will do a post on my progress.
So here's to looking forward to the next 2 weeks full of fresh & healthy vegan living!

my family in pictures (warning:image heavy)

While I wait patiently for payday to go vegan shopping I thought I would do a post on my family. My family is everything is to me, and if I keep going the way I am im not going to be around very long to see grandchildren. I want to be a happy & healthy mum & wife. So here is some piccies of my husband & I and our furry children. They are my rock & what keep me moving forward in life.



Me, our beautiful german shepherd girl Lucy & my husband Sam at the park


Our second-born, another german shepherd, my beautiful lil man Leon the day we bought him home


Leon at 10 weeks old looking cute


Me & my girl

The first feline furball- Yoda when he was a kitten


Yoda doing what he does best-rolling around in the sun being cute & talking to me


The second feline furball, my beautiful girl Halo as a kitten

Halo doing what she does best: curling up next to me & snoozing

They are either fighting or curled up together. They are just so darn cute when they groom each other

Me on my wedding day. Wish I had a professional hair & make-up artist everyday!

Me & my beautiful bridesmaids

The boys! My husband is the good looking one in the middle

Newlyweds

Old photo of us when I was at my happy weight

My family wont be joining me on my vegan journey. I was a meat-eater when I met my husband 8 years ago and I know alot of people couldnt handle being with a meat-eating partner but I fell in love with him 8 years ago and I dont think he will ever cross over to the vegeie side but thats ok. He is very supportive of me being a vegie and is something he says he actually admires about me. I do wonder what our children will be like, I am going to raise them mostly vegetarian but provide them with all the information on the vegie way of life and why mummy doesnt eat animals but daddy does and let them decide for themselves. We will get to that road when we cross it!



the initial revealing

So before my first consultation with the vegan dietician sometime next week I had a nice long questionarre to fill out about my dietary habits, and my god im so ashamed! It would be much less shameful if I actually wrote something decent in there but hey, its not about that is it? Im hiring a dietician to get me on the straight & narrow so its time to bare my soul & essentially get my moneys worth! I thought I would share my answers with lil blog world so I can one day look back and think what the fuck was I thinking?????? (I know any vegan worth their weight in tofu will cringe at this but please dont judge me: ive admitted to my errors! Some support would be much more productive!)
Past medical history: asthma (aged 5), anorexia/bulimia (ages 12-19).
Last cholestrol check: never.
Family history: heart attack, angina & obesity.
Do you smoke: no.
Medications: none.
Allergies: beer, penicillin.
Supplements: none.
Food group avoidances: meat.
Vegetarian: yes.
Laxatives: no.
Appetite suppressants: no.
Weight fluctuations: 5-10kg up & down a month.
Do you want to increase/decrease body fat: decrease.
Past weightloss attempts: numerous! Ive tried weight watchers, tony ferguson, lite & easy.
Are you concerned youre not meeting all your nutritional requirements: very concerned.
Do you ever skip breakfast: yes.
Do you ever skip other meals: yes.
Do you have no time to prepare meals: yes.
Do you eat takeaway more then 3 times a week: sometimes.
Do you drink more then 4 cups of coffee a day: yes.
Do you drink less than 4 glasses of water a day: yes.
Weekly physical activity: 1hr walk with dogs most days.
Do you plan to change this: yes, try go to gym.
Main reasons for seeking nutrition assistance: to lose weight & get healthy.
How would you rate your appetite: above average.
How would you rate your speed of eating: faster then usual.
How many times a day do you eat: 0-5 times a day.
How true is the saying 'eat what you like when you like': very true.
Would you say you have a sweet tooth: yes.
Do you enjoy fried foods: yes.
Do you enjoy salty foods: yes.
What is your goal weight: 65kg.
How much time do you spend preparing food: 5mins a meal max.
Would you like to change this: yes.
How would you rate your cooking skills: quite good.
Does anyone else at home cook your meals: no.
Food frequency
red meat: never
chicken: never
fish: never
seafood: never
cows milk: only in coffee
cheese: once a week
yogurt: once a week
eggs: 2-3 times a week
soymilk: never
soy products(tofu): once a month
peanut butter: once a month
nuts/seeds: once a month
baked beans: never
legumes: once a month
breakfast cereals: never
bread: everyday
rice: once a week
noodles/pasta: 4-6 times a week
green vegetables: 3-4 times a week
salad vegetables: 2-3 times a week
other vegetables: once a month
fresh fruit: 2-3 times a week
biscuits: everyday.
cakes: 3 times a week.
lollies: everyday.
chocolate: everyday.
margarine: 3-4 times week.
soft drink: everyday (diet).
beer: never (allergy).
wine: never.
other alcohol: once a month.
Typical days diet:
Breakfast: 2-3 large skinny coffees. Leftovers if home.
Morning snacks: coffee. maybe a lollie or biscuit.
Lunch: Egg sandwiches with mayo(from work cafe) or leftover creamy pasta.
Afternoon snack: red bull or coffee.
Dinner: fried or baked meat alternative with hot potato chips or a creamy pasta. Usually very large servings.
Dessert: ice-cream of chocolate.
Fluids: 3-4 coffee's, 2-3 cans of diet coke, 2-3 cans of red bull on night shifts, a glass of water a day if lucky.
Oh my god that sounds so shocking! No wonder im so fat! Its not always that bad, sometimes ill go a whole week of eating fruits & vegetables & low fat noodles but generally whats above is pretty typical.
From reading that back I can see my main problems are:
Skipping breakfast and generally the lack of food in the morning which makes me starving by lunchtime.
The coffee & diet coke is just disgraceful! I seriously think i have an addiction to diet coke & coffee- is that possible?? I do really enjoy coffee though, not just as a pick-me-up but whenever I see friends or go out for breakfast I really appreciate a fantastic coffee. Something I will have to change to a treat instead of a daily thing though.
Convenience foods show up alot. I usually buy my lunch from the work cafe and the only vegetarian sandwiches they have are egg & mayo. I usually give in when standing in line to pay and buy some biscuits or a chocolate bar at the checkout.
The red bulls & coffee for afternoon tea are terrible, I should be having something healthy & small to tie me over til dinner so im not so hungry at tea & eat such large portions. The trouble is im usually either stuck in traffic on the way home or just starting work at afternoon tea time so afternoon snacks are very hard to fit in anyway.
My dinners are usually something quick & easy either from the supermarket that I can throw in the oven while i have a shower or take-away. Take-aways are usually vegie chinese dishes or hot chips.
The desserts of chocolate & ice-cream have to stop. Usually im not even hungry for dessert, I just have it anyway & I usually end up going to bed feeling stuffed and then dont sleep well as i have reflux all night.
Im so looking forward to making alot of changes, there is definetely room for that! The main changes I want to focus on would include eating more fresh produce, eliminating all animal products and taking the time to prepare my own meals and stop relying on processed & convenient foods.
So I should be having my first consultation with the dietician in a week or so. Ill definetely be posting about how that goes! (that is if she doesnt pass out from disgust after reading my questionarre responses!)
In the meantime I might post some random vegan/healthy things I find to keep me amused!

welcome

This blog is still very much a newborn to the blog world but its a start. I want somewhere to document my progress & experiences as I become a vegan and lose weight.
A little about me: Im Jess, im 24yrs old. I married my highschool sweetheart Sam in 2008. My husband works as a paramedic but is going to change his career soon and pursue 3D modelling & graphic designing which is his passion. Im a registered nurse. I finished my bachelors degree in 2006. I worked in all areas of nursing for 3 years before deciding to specialise in intensive care nursing which ive done for the last 2 years. Im currently studying for my masters degree majoring in intensive care. My husband & I live in a fairly rough neighbourhood and have done for 4 years but its home. We are just renting until we can afford to buy our first house. We have 4 'furry' children, 2 cats & 2 dogs. The cats are Halo & Yoda & are just leftover pieces of fur I rescued from the pound a few years ago. They hate each other but they love us. The doggies are both german shepherds, Lucy is 2yrs old & Leon is 4 months old. My pets are like children to me, I love them so much. Im sure this blog will become flooded with pictures of them very soon!
I originally became a vegetarian when I was 14yrs old but also 'became a woman' at this this age and became very anaemic. I didnt know how to eat properly as a vegetarian & neither did my parents. My parents blamed themselves for this and made me eat meat again. I became vegetarian again at age 20 after I finished uni & moved in with my then fiance. Ive been vegetarian since then but have also gained about 40kg in the last 4 years. I keep blaming shift work & married life for the weight gain but really its just I dont know how to eat properly.
Ive always been interested in being a vegan. So the time has come to bite the bullet and do something about my health. I have resisted for a few months with the excuse that im too busy with working full-time & studying my masters but this has to stop. I need to make the time to take care of myself. No more excuses. I am in the early stages of consulting with a vegan dietician who specialises in weight control for vegans. Im looking forward to working towards a healthy & happy vegan way of living.
There is no real purpose of this blog, just a place to document my progress really. Somewhere to post recipies I enjoy, to share vegan stories and hopefully meet some other vegan blog people out there! So if anyone is reading this please dont be shy & come say hi! Id love to meet you!