http://myveganjournal.com/?p=4115


I really like this blog post so I thought I'd share, I'm making a commitment to a healthier lifestyle this spring so I read it at the perfect time. I also have a giant sweet tooth and I can be a little lazy so I have a tendency to live on vegan junk food and not exercise if I let myself. This is the kick in the ass I need to eat more fruits and veggies, buy less processed crap and exercise more.

This extends to the products I use too, I've been getting more concerned about the ingredients in my household cleaners and makeup and such, I want to make sure that the things I put on my skin or use to clean my house are not only vegan but also as natural as possible. I'm going to start cleaning with vinegar more and moisturize with coconut oil rather than scented crap.

When I first went vegan all I was worrying about was not eating/using/wearing animal products and I wasn't too concerned about health stuff, and I think that was an okay choice for me because it made it easier to stick with. But now that I'm so comfortable with it I feel like I can take things a step further. I don't want to be an athlete or anything but having more energy and endurance would be pretty awesome, I want to stop being a vegan couch potato and become a vegan.... uh.... what's an energetic vegetable? I want to be a mountain climbing stalk of kale!

I hear you!

Lucky me, I'm a stay at home mom, so I have time to make everything from scratch (even our bread, but not ALWAYS). But in the past I would cook on Sunday a big batch of good food and freeze it in individual portions. That way, you end up with different kinds of meals over time which you can reheat in a pinch. You know what's in them, and you know they're healthy. Same goes for muffins, they freeze really well, and you've always got an easy snack or breakfast available. Plus, I find that smoothies are the best thing in the world! You can put almost anything in there! Mmm, banana-avocado-soy...

And it's true that if you don't have junk food in your pantry, you can't be tempted.

Every night, I scrub my face with a damp cloth (just water), dry it, and dab on some apple cider vinegar. It's the best thing in the world to treat greasy, acne-prone skin, and it costs next to nothing! In the morning, again just water, and an organic blueberry eye cream hand-made by a native artisan. I've used a few of her products once I got to know her and her methods. Maybe you can find a small organic business for your creams?

Go kale!

Great post Werewolf Girl!

Getting back to wholefoods and health is the best move a person can make IMHO. It leads to feeling better and looking better, becoming the kind of vegan who, by their very presence, inspires others to go cruelty free!

Never!

I wish the "no junk food in house = no junk food consumption" was true for me. But I find if there is none, I end up on auto pilot driving to get it. And if I am out I will always end up buying it so it is hard not to buy it. *Sigh*. I need one of those sadistic personal trainers with me 24/7 for me to get healthier.

I can record some messages on an mp3 and send it to you so you can listen 24/7, Freesia! Hehe...

''Listen up! You want that junk food? Do you? Well, you can't have it! Keep driving! And drop and give me 50 right now just for thinking about it! Go go go!''

Since I started buying the pre-rinsed, organic greens, my salad consumption has skyrocketed.

If only! That actually sounds like kind of a good idea : ) .

Me too! If I'm hungry, I want easy peasy.

I've been trying to eat just a tiny bit healthier and exercise more. It's only barely working. I think I broke my leg from running too much or something.

I get weekly organic produce from a local farm (imported organic produce when in winter and spring). My family needs to eat everything because I do not want to waste, and there are a lot of fruits and veggies in those baskets!

I'll work on my sadistic voice, then! *ahem*

^ I will imagine you are one of the Biggest Loser coaches. : )

Your goal sounds similar to mine. I have been eating a primarily whole-foods diet for a while, to the point that white rice at a restaurant kinds feels like junk food to me. Now that I have begun my vegan transition, I am trying to be even better about it. I have transitioned my beauty products to natural options and I am working on getting active again, now that the weather is getting nicer.

Gradual progressions in the right direction might be easier to stick with. Rather than eradicating all the junk food and processed foods from your house, cut down your consumption over time, or replace the sweet treats with healthier alternatives. Each time I grocery shop, I allow myself to buy one junk food item, so I don't feel totally deprived. Being active helps too, your body starts craving the foods it needs more than the foods it wants.

I can't deal with fruits and veggies going to waste. I cringe whenever I hear or see people throw away produce because they never ate it and allowed it to rot away. I waste nothing!

It makes me sad that some people don't truly appreciate how wonderful fruits and veggies are. They seem to take for granted the fact that they have these things abundantly available to them when others do not.

I use my rice cooker a lot. I cook my grains like savory rolled grains for breakfast or lunch. This is a mix or rye, spelt, hulled millet and buckwheat groats that I make myself and then I add nutritional yeast, cumin, chili powder, and various other spices, then I cook in my rice cooker. I use my rice cooker to steam veggies as well. I rarely eat any "manufactured" food even veg*n. On occasion I do have a veggie patty or veggie dog. My food is all grains, seeds, roots, leaves, fruit etc. No oil, no sugar -- maybe a bit of white flour in bread because I still buy bread. To sweeten, I use stevia. Not sure how safe this is. I try to get high grain bread, but sometimes I fall a bit short. Sometimes I will eat canned foods, but they can only contain 2 ingredients -- that item and water. Since I am still transitioning to vegan food, I was having some problems giving up cheese and eggs. Now, I think I have kicked the habit.

I do not have a sweet tooth-- thank the elements-- I have a crunchy/grease/salty tooth and so getting away from crunchy dry salty snack food has been a problem. I see that I can air pop pop corn, and put nutritional yeast on it, making a good snack. Salad dressings are also a problem. I love salad, and formerly loved putting massive amounts of cheesy dressing on it. I've been using balsamic vinegar, and it is not doing it for me. Maybe I will get used to this.


I also eat a lot of cruciforms, like cabbage and cauliflower. A typical meal for me (what I ate last night) would be steamed sweet potatoes and cauliflower with a side of spicy quinoa pilaf, and an avacado/onion/tomato salad, and a few tangerines for dessert.

The story of me and broccoli.

I have such a hard time not wasting produce.

A few good tricks not to waste anything:

Carrot/beet/any root veggie leaves can be eaten in a salad. I keep the peels, bruised spots and such of veggies (I have to peel brocoli stems for my daughter because it is too tough, for example, or whenever I peel carrots) in a container in the freezer. When it is full, I cook it with water and strain it = homemade veggie broth!

Fruit that are bruised or that are ripe but I do not have time to eat, I will cut into pieces and put in another container (without the cores/stems) and when that one is full, I make a fruit compote!

If waste is a bad habit for you, the freezer should become your best friend! You can freeze just about any vegetable and fruit. If, say, your brocoli is about to go bad, cut it up, freeze it, and use it in a later meal just as you would with fresh.

I haven't gotten around to composting yet, but I'll wait until I have an actual yard (this June).

Fruits and veggies are the bounty of our mother!

If you weren't an ocean away, I'd say send them to me!

The only problem is that I almost never eat vegetables, so when I actually buy them, the thought of using them never comes up in my head.

And it's not that I dislike them or anything, it's just that I get full on other food.

My nutritionnist brainwashed me! Veggies = 50% of my plate. 25% grain and 25% protein.

Mine is like 50% grain and 50% protein.

Well, unless one considers beans and pulses to be vegetables, which I'm sure it isn't.

Pretty sure they fall in the protein category. Make yourself some morning smoothies to boost your veggie intake!

My favorites:

1 avocado, 1 banana, soy milk, silken tofu, maple syrup and vanilla extract
1 banana, 1 mango, 1 bunch spinach, soy milk and silken tofu
1 bunch strawberries, 1 bunch kale, soy milk and silken tofu

The possibilities are endless!

Ok, but I better put some protein powder in there as well.

I never shy from a challenge though, so I'll let you know how it went tomorrow.

Yay! You can do it!

Stew! Or freeze.

Ahh... my famous ''end of the veggie basket'' stews...

My mother keeps buying produce and forgetting about it. So annoying. Im going to make a curry with her "forgotten" stuff today.

As I'm reading this my fiance brings me home

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3...9evco1_500.png

lawllllzzz