Vegan with jam

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  • Found Time and Energy

    Now just over half way through the first week, I’m struck not only by the weight loss, but the increases in the amount of personal time and energy. With the daylight hours near their annual max, this is strickingly apparent.

    I haven’t been on the bike in well over a week. For one thing, the garage door is busted. I think the tension spring has weaked, a normal occurance I expect, and the chain drive slips with a horrible noise during the “Go Up” operation. We can still operate it manually, but when I think about getting on the bike, I think I should really fix the damn door, and I don’t want to do that either, so I sit in front of the computer or do dishes instead. That shows you how much I am avoiding the door. The door or dishes. Hmmm. Not a very proud zen moment, I confess.

    OK. I’ll fix the door this evening. How hard can it be?

  • A Zen Note Along the Way

    It is not often that I quote another blog. But I came across this post today in one of my favorites and think you might enjoy it. Try it out! 🙂

    http://zenhabits.net/2007/05/10-benefits-of-rising-early-and-how-to-do-it/

    I recommend subscribing to this blog, a wonderful source of inspiration.

  • And The Count begins anew…

    Looking back on the early days of this blog, you’ll note how I initiated the 31 day experiment, now part of the tag line. A few days ago, on June 21st, I started yet another countdown… to eat more from the column of foods that have the highest ratio of nutrients to energy (calories). I can’t even begin to tell you how shocked I am at how effective this is as a weight loss strategy. Yes, shocked!

    My plan is to stay on this regimen until the end of July and see what happens. So, let’s right here define this as The Six Week Experiment. And right now I’m on day three of the first week. So, how goes so far?

    So many of us get on the scale and say, “That can’t be right.” And then maybe even get on it again just to make sure. I’ve done the same thing. Well, if you weigh yourself on a regular basis, I know you’re hoping with all forces you can muster, that it will read lower than it will. Yep. Me too. So, as you verbalize, “This can’t be right!” what you really mean is, “I can’t be that fat”. And of course, we all step on the scale in the morning because that is when you’re supposed to weigh the least.

    Yesterday, I had more vegetables for lunch than most high school cafeterias serve in a week. (Take a moment here to let that sink in…) So, come time for dinner, I wasn’t starving. I had some moderately stressful news at work that got me worked up for a while, and was also trying to complete a canopy building project in the back yard. With dinner now running late, but not before a very necessary shower, I figured I’d weigh in, even though it was late evening and it would certainly return depressing results.

    As the digits emerged like an omen on the old “Magic 8 Ball”, I thought, “That can’t be right!” But not because it was too high! It was too low! Way too low! Since that very morning, I dropped a solid 3.5 pounds, since yesterday, nearly 5. Obviously something was wrong.

    So, I didn’t even get back on the scale and headed to the shower. Then dried and fresh again, I thought, “Let give this another shot and see if we can’t get it right.” On the second read, I weighed in a half pound less than the first! Gads!

    OK! I’ll take it! Further I had reached another milestone, one of those arbitrary ribbons you grab along the way to make yourself feel better about losing weight. So, why this result?

    Certainly I was dehydrated. That could account for a pound, maybe two or three. But still, this was dramatic. And it can only point to eating from the first column of high nutrition/energy ratio foods. Vegetables. Raw and cooked. Lots of them. Vegetables that have NEVER been on ANY high school menu. Vegetables.

    Further, I’ve not had this much energy in the evening for quite some time. Years.

    So… thanks to all who helped me get to where I am today. You know who you are, Sam. I am very grateful. And to the man that led me to planet Vega. My continued gratitude for you and what you do.

  • More Veggies – Less Starch and Sugar

    After having just returned from a big blow out wedding, I found myself not quite where I want to be weight-wise. So, as a result of watching a video that compares the food with the highest nutrient/calorie ratio, I’ve decided to shoot for the food with the highest numbers. Which one is highest, you might ask? Kale. Followed by others green, leafy, or just green… Foods such as rice, potatoes, WW bread, to name a few, fall into the third column, vegan though they may be. And of course, continue to watch the oil, and… need I say it, the wine…

    So, the result since June 21st, the day I woke up and smelled the kale? When I returned from this wedding trip, I weighted in just short of where I was two or three weeks ago. Not a lot of progress. As of today, eating veggies, salads, soups, etc. I’m down seven lbs!

    Two dishes have emerged that have been long forgotten:
    #1. Kale and tomato soup. Saute 3 onions and 40 cloves of garlic (in very little oil – 2 tbls tops) in a 16 quart stock pot. Add some mushrooms too. Add a gallon of diced tomatoes (I got mine at Costco in a #10 can). Add two or three bunches of kale, mustard greens, and/or collards. Cook for an hour or two. Add water or reduce until it is the right thickness, depending on whether you want soup or stew… season to taste.

    #2. Black bean, tomato, corn salsa. As above, saute three onions, two or three bell peppers, 40 cloves of garlic, a half dozen chopped jalapaneas (include seeds). Add a quart of water. Bring to boil. Add six ears of corn. Cook till the corn is done. Remove corn, slice kernals off cob and return the kernals to the mix. Add two pounds of dried black beans. Add a gallon of diced tomatoes. Cook for two days… (OK… just kidding on this part… however, the beans will take a LONG time too cook!) As the pot thickens, reduce heat to simmer and watch it doesn’t stick to bottom or burn! Stir at least every 15 minutes. If it starts to stick to the bottom, aggressively scrape bottom with spatula until the bottom feels clean. Season to taste. I made mine pretty hot with some sambal ulek. Serve either hot as dip, or cold as salsa. Use for dressing on salads.

  • Eating Raw?! How crazy is that?

    I’m at the beginning of yet another transformation. I’ve been eating “raw” (vegan) for the past week. The day begins with fruit, usually oranges, apples, bananas. Nothing but fruit until at least lunch. Then a very large salad with practically any kind of vegetable (mixed greens, romaine, apples, strawberries, celery, carrots, snap peas, onions, peppers, etc.) and balsamic vinegar as a dressing (sometimes with tofu, black beans, or chic peas, not raw…). The vinegar goes well with the strawberries and apples. Sometimes I have a handful of almonds during the day.

    My frequent dinner routine: shredded wheat and blueberries with rice milk.

    I’m dropping weight like a stone. I’m never hungry.

    So, why this crazy change? I recently woke up to discover (!!!) my healthy weight is 175. I haven’t weighed that since high school. For the past 40 years I’ve thought my “normal” weight should be around 220. Ha! That would be obese. And I passed that mark 25 years ago. Anyway, my goal is 175. According to my projections, I should reach that on August 8th. I’m already down 20 lbs and feeling much better.

  • And Three Years Later…

    I’m still vegan.

    Hard to believe it has been that long. I’ve just read through these past entries and found it remarkable how my life has changed since the beginning of this, on a number of fronts.

    First of all, I’ve switched careers again. And that is good news all by itself. I’m now working with my buddy Rob here at the USDA in Kansas City, MO.

    Secondly, and not quite so great, I’ve lost weight and then regained it. A couple of summers ago, I had a pretty dramatic accident on my bike which dislocated my shoulder. That hurt. No permanent damage, but it broke my exercise routine. I’ve since joined another exercise club and with all the house construction going on, just haven’t gotten back into it. It is a pretty weak excuse. I’ve got to do better.

    The weather has been pretty cold these past weeks, no surprise given the season. I’m looking forward to longer, warmer days.

    So, now the vegan aspect. It is very easy to maintain, especially not traveling like I did when I started this. Sister Sunny is also trying the vegan route as well. And I think some of her kids. Casey pointed out to someone that he doesn’t even think of cheese as being food, and now I can understand that. The very thought of going back to the usual carnivore ways is disturbing.

    I’ve had checkups with the doc and he says my cholesterol is normal. BP is still a tad high, but probably only because of not getting exercise.

    So, that is it. Three years and running. And feeling pretty good, all considered!

    — More later
    — jam

  • CONTROLLING YOUR CHOLESTEROL

    I’ve been curious about how long it takes to lower cholesterol and by how much by switching to a vegan diet. The answer isn’t simple. Not like reducing caloric intake which is not that difficult to measure. But I found a good article that explains much of this and other things. Here it is: CONTROLLING YOUR CHOLESTEROL

    My standard breakfast has pretty much been a cup of oatmeal (1 cup of dry rolled oats before cooking) with some fruit, lately blueberries. Sometimes a cup of OJ. I’ve cut out the WW toast with Earth Balance primarily to reduce calories from carbs.

    And I’ve been eating more rice, brown rice whenever available. Last night for instance, I had a wild, brown multi-rice mixture with fresh green beans sauteed in a Tsp of EVOO served wrapped in a WW tortilla with hummus and mango salsa. Superb! This mango salsa is better than I expected, and I expected a lot! Great stuff. I got it at Costco.

  • More New Things

    The other day while traveling on business in Tulsa, I ordered a lunch from a take-out place to eat with the other people in the meeting. So, I ordered a salad with none of the usual stuff and some fruit. I forgot to order dressing – and got exactly what I ordered. Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, 2 olives, and 1 pepper. Lesson: Be more specific and order dressing.

    However! For lunch today I ate at Dean and Deluca’s at the Towne Center and it was great. Had roasted vegetables including asparagus, peppers, onions, squash. Also some kind of cubed winter squash thing that was very tasty. And some baba ganoush that I put on a baguette. Also some kind of rice pilafe with a vinegarette. Excellent. I’m going back there again next week. Tonight, I think I’ll do the falafel again with some rice. See ya!

  • Falafel Recipes

    Finding a different type of falafel mix at the Price Chopper yesterday prompted me to see what kind of recipes might be on the web. And of course, there are a bunch of them. Here is one: Falafel Burgers

    And here is another: Fava bean Falafel

    And of course, there are a thousand others. Hey. It’s the 21st century. You can find anything, anytime, on the web. And of course, it’s free. It’s a beautiful thing.

    Off to the shower. More later.

  • Finishing Up the Day

    And here we have it. 31 days of living as a vegan in Kansas City.

    Dinner Yesterday: Had the left over Falafal with the rice and veggies. It took about 4 minutes in the microwave. Dumped on the chopped tomatoes. This was basically a good ol’ fashioned “garbabe plate”, similar to what they serve in the finest restaurants in Rochester, only vegan style. Simple. Good. Good for you.

    I’m off to the gym. I’ve got to drive to Tulsa this afternoon and want to get some exercise before I start the day.

    Thanks to all for the feedback during the course of this 31 day experiment. The adventure continues. My special thanks to my son for his patience, understanding, and leadership. Attaboy, Casey…