Here We Go Again: New Years Resolutions

It is that time of year again! Time for people to make lists of goals that they may, or may not, keep throughout the upcoming New Year. This year, I do truly feel like it is going to be a different one for me; a better one! And as I follow the long standing tradition of writing out New Year’s resolutions, I have a gut feeling that this will be the year I follow through on them. So, without further ado, and not in any particular order, my 2014 New Year’s resolutions:

• Be Active: The #1 resolution for most people at the start of a New Year. Everyone decides, especially after their holiday feasts, that it is time to bust that bulge! I can’t say this is a goal for me for the same reasons since I didn't gain much (I say much because I would be lying if I said none) weight over the holidays however, I have noticed that, although my diet isn't so bad, I am not really being active to help facilitate the weight loss! Not to mention, I do know how much more energy I gain when I am out there being active and I tend to feel better about myself when I do exercise. So, since my husband’s employer pays for a percentage of a gym membership we decided to join a gym and get our asses in gear. I have friends and family members who go to the same facility and I feel that will help motivate me just a little bit more. The crazy thing is I have never been this excited to start getting active. We signed up on Saturday and if it wasn’t for this cold creeping up on me, I would have gone to workout already! For that reason alone, I think this resolution will stick for 2014 (at least for a while hehe.)
• Focus on a Plant-Based Diet: Although this is something I have already been doing for the past few months, I have definitely waivered from it for one reason or another, here and there. Part of my choice to “waiver” has just been based on the memory of how “good” something tasted when it was a part of my diet (ex: steak, cheese) but when I actually consumed those products based on the “craving”, I not only felt a little guilty, but my stomach let me know it was a bad idea! And once the flavors hit my taste buds, I did not get the satisfaction I was hoping for. Because of this, I know my choice to follow a plant-based diet is the best one for me. If you notice, I am saying “plant-based” and not “vegan”. Originally the resolution was going to be “To Follow a 100% Vegan Diet” but, honey is just not something I think is worth giving up. I definitely understand the vegan point of view on honey however; the benefits of local, unprocessed honey outweigh those negativities. Best example would be that my husband suffers from horrible allergies. He becomes a pill-popper every spring and not only is that not the healthiest but it costs a lot of money! After some advice and research, he started consuming 1 TBSP of local, raw honey each day through the allergy season and like magic, his allergies were gone. This was 2 years ago and it has been working ever since! I would much rather spend the money at the farmers market for a product like this than put in any more money than I have to into the pharmaceutical industry! Therefore, I cannot label myself “vegan” (and who needs a label anyways) because honey, for us, has great advantages (and tastes great!)
• Cut Out Processed Foods: This resolution could be tied into the one above but I wanted to make it a separate goal. When I was focused on a vegan diet, I started to notice how processed a lot of the “vegan” substitutes could be! To be honest, I felt I might as well eat a piece of cheese than the 13+ ingredient vegan alternative. And with some added inspiration from a blog (and Facebook page) I follow, 100 days of real food, I have realized that you cannot always trust those added preservatives in your bagel, or granola bar. So why not cut those out or try and make homemade versions where you can trust what ingredients were really being used. No "monocraposulfate" in this kitchen! As I was typing this blog entry, I had a loaf on homemade bread in the oven; my first attempt at making replacements for store bought, over processed foods. It was such a simple recipe and turned out amazing. The best part? It took only 4 ingredients to make the bread! The average bread I have bought has at least 7 ingredients and 1-2 of those are things I may not be able to pronounce. The advice given to try and lessen your processed food intake is try and make as much stuff at home as you can and if you do need (or want) to buy packaged food try and stay with items with 5 ingredients or less. In our society, this may be a challenge but, I am ready to face it head on!!
• Positive Thinking: Over the entire year (2013) there has been a lot of negativity surrounding me (some I created) and within the last week I finally realized I need to take a stand against it all! There are so many details behind this resolution and trying to find a way to tactfully explain it seems quite difficult. So, I will say this, the experiences I have been through have only made me stronger and although I learned from them all, I will not let them repeat. Fool me once, shame on you…fool me twice, shame on me! I have so many positive opportunities coming my way this year with school, my marriage, and rebuilding of other relationships, that I have no plans to be brought down by any petty drama (and this may be my toughest resolution yet!!!)

Well, there you have it. I am very hopeful for what 2014 has to offer and I wish everyone a very happy and healthy New Year!!!!!

Shepherd's Pie - Vegan Style

Back in October, I swayed from my veganism quite a bit. With plenty of visits to happy hour, I found myself consuming cheese fries, quesadillas, and even buffalo wings. One night, after spending more money than I needed to, only to be feeling icky and bloated, I decided I needed to snap out of this self destructive routine and get my mind and body, back on track. As we left the frequented establishment, I asked my husband to go to Target; earlier in the week I came across a cookbook there that really peaked my interest. I ran into Target and when straight for it. The next two nights I spent looking over all the recipes and tips throughout the book (which I commonly do with cookbooks) and was pleasantly surprised at the simplicity of most of the recipes.

The book is written by chef Roberto Martin and is called Vegan Cooking For Carnivores. Martin is the private chef to Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres (two people that I didn't know followed a vegan lifestyle - news to you as well?). Like I mentioned, most of the recipes are practical and I have now made four things from the book and they all were delicious. Below is the adaptive recipe (only made some seasoning and execution changes) for the shepherd's pie. This is a wonderful dish to incorporate into your meal plan to please everyone (including the most indulgent carnivores.)

Looks yummy right? With a slice of garlic toast on the side...

• 1 cup dried lentils (used green)
• 2 lbs russet potatoes, mashed
• 4 TBSP vegan butter (such as Earth Balance), melted
• 1/2 cup almond or soy milk
• 1 TBSP chopped chives (optional - and I used green onions)
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 white or yellow onion (diced)
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 3 celery stalks (minced)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrot mix 
• 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 3 TBSP all-purpose flour (unbleached)
• salt and pepper

Preheat over to 420 degrees

Cook lentils in about an inch of cold water for 20 minutes. Lentils will be underdone but will cook further later. Drain excess liquid (if any)

Make mashed potatoes; use standard cooking method but once drained, mash and add melted butter, milk and chopped chives. Season with salt and pepper to taste

In a saute pan, heat olive oil.

Once hot, add diced onions-saute for 5 minutes or until they show color, add garlic, celery, salt, and  thyme and cook for another 3 minutes

Sprinkle flour over the vegetable mixture and stir in - then slowly add vegetable broth

Stir in lentils and simmer then mixture for around 5 minutes (you will see the mixture thicken)

Add peas and carrots to lentil mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste

Spread mixture into an 13x9 baking dish and top with the mashed potatoes (making sure the edges are covered with potatoes to prevent mixture from bubbling over

Bake for 25 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown, and let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving

As you can see, this is a slightly labor intensive recipe. I made the mistake of not looking over the cooking steps beforehand and chose to start making this dish around 5:30pm on a weekday night and wasn't ready until close to 7pm (sounds early but not when the husband goes to bed around 8pm). This would be a great recipe to make on a Sunday night and have left overs for a couple days...either way, it is delicious and worth the effort!

Enjoy :)

Homemade Hot Chocolate

Well, I know I haven't been updating as much as I would like to, and trust me, I have many things to post but to show that I am still alive I wanted to add a quick post for some simple hot chocolate!

Of course, it can be more convenient to run down to the drive-thru Starbucks down the street than to pull out the ingredients, combine, enjoy and to do the dishes for the homemade version but, there are those days you just don't want to leave the house. Today is that day.

All I did was cut back on a recipe I found on Pinterest (since I was only making this for myself) and it definitely hit the spot. If you want to make more than approx. 8 ounces than feel free to double, triple, quadruple (whatever you want) the recipe!

• 8 ounces of non-dairy milk (almond is my personal favorite)
• 4 tsp cocoa powder
• 4 tsp turbinado sugar (each packet of Sugar in the Raw is the equivalent to 1 tsp)
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract (almond may taste nice as well!)

Heat your milk of choice over medium heat until slightly steaming (about 2 minutes). Stir in cocoa powder and sugar until cocoa powder looks dissolved. Lastly, turn heat off and stir in extract.

Cup used to honor the drive-thru down the block ;)

A variation for this, that I tend to favor, is adding some leftover coffee from the morning (since we now use a drip pot versus the Keurig, we always have left over) for an afternoon mocha (sometimes you need that pick-me-up)

Enjoy!! :)

Adapted from: Homemade Hot Cocoa

Chickpea and Avocado Salad Sandwich

Thanks to Pinterest, I find all sorts of interesting recipes to try. This one, I pinned when I was browsing through "vegan recipes" and I am so glad I pinned it!

My immediate thought was that this would be a great substitution for egg salad, or even tuna salad for lunch (or dinner - whichever) but was not sure if the mixture of avocado and smashed chickpeas would make an "off-putting" texture (I one of those texture people). Thankfully, I was wrong! However, I do feel like I may have smashed the ingredients a little too much and could have left some "bite" to the chickpeas. This lunch offered a nostalgic feel that I was looking for when enjoying a good, egg salad sandwich.

Below is what I used to make the recipe, the recipe it was adapted from and a picture I took before devouring it (which I am apologizing in advance if it may not look appetizing to some of you but, it truly was delicious).

Chickpea and Avocado Salad Sandwich

• 1/2 cup canned chickpeas (rinsed and dried)
• 1 medium ripe avocado
• juice of 1/2 a lime
• 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon chopped red onion 
• salt and pepper to taste

Using a fork, smash together the chickpeas and avocado until a consistency you desire. Add remaining ingredients and put between 2 slices of delicious bread!

Easy huh?

Adapted from: Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad Sandwich

The Power of Truth

Documentary (n) - A work, such as a film or television program, presenting factual information without editorial comment or fictional elements.

Yes, I did truly look up the definition for documentary in the dictionary. The reason behind this is because, within the last couple months, I have been utilizing my subscription to Netflix and watching a lot of documentaries concerning the current diet/food industry in America. One of these documentaries that hit a serious nerve with me was Vegucated; a film that follows a group of people who are introduced to the vegan lifestyle and the "secret" world of the meat and dairy industries. Being an animal lover, this film was extremely difficult to watch and of course, triggered the start of my husband and I attempting a new, vegan lifestyle.

When my husband and I decided to share this lifestyle change with our family, we received an expected response from most of them. At one point it was suggested that where we could be getting our information from was exaggerated and potentially untrue. This is what led me to truly look up the definition of the word documentary. Not to be confrontational but to verify, for myself, if the content of these films that my husband and I were basing a lifestyle off of, were true! Based on the definition, I believe the information provided, within all of these films, are not exaggerated nor false. And this doesn't go for just the "vegan movie" but for all the documentaries supporting a healthier lifestyle. How can a suggestion to choose to eat healthier be an exaggerated claim? As I remember stating in my very first blog post, I was, and am, searching for a way to live a healthier and satisfying lifestyle. I wanted to make my footprint on this planet a little less noticeable and if that means mainly shopping at farmers markets, using only reusable grocery bags, or even going vegan, then those are the things I am going to do.

Through this exploration though, I realized I need to remember that from the beginning I was focused on the organic, on the farm to table movement, and focused on what made me feel good! Regardless of seminars I listen to or documentaries I watch, or what the suggested lifestyle may be, I am going to follow what my mind and body tell me because at the end of the day, that is what I have to deal with.

Below are the list of documentaries that I really enjoyed and think they are worth the time to watch and all available on Netflix:

• Forks Over Knives
• Vegucated
• Food Fight
• Hungry For Change
• Farmageddon

Hello, my name is Tiffany and I am a sugarholic...

Clever title, eh? Joking aside, I am a sugarholic...and it was not until recently that I realized how much of an addiction it truly is.

Going through all the articles and videos regarding the diet/lifestyle change that we are doing, one, constant, issue that is brought up is the amount of sugar we all consume on a daily basis. I have heard it in the past but just shrugged it off and used the excuse that "I have a sweet tooth, I can't help it!". But I can help it. Is it easy? No way! And it sure doesn't help that I work in a bakery surrounded by cookies and cake each day. All you need is will power right?

I actually started typing this blog entry about about a week ago, when I decided I was going to have the will power and motivation to cut out the unneeded sugar I was consuming so much of! And I would love to tell you how it has been over a week since I have had any cookies, or cake, or chocolate...but I would be lying. Again, I truly feel this is an addiction! I made it 8 days without; I stopped using artificially flavored coffee creamer, stopped eating little goodies at work, and had nothing in the house to indulge in for 8 days! I was pretty proud of myself, and within those 8 days, I was able to look at the cookies and cakes at work and mentally tell myself, "you don't need that" or "is it worth it?". I also kept some fruit or nuts out, while working, so if it was a hunger urge to eat something sweet, I had a healthy alternative. Sounds perfect right? Well, today, 8 days into my sugar-sobriety, I relapsed. And it wasn't just a bite of a cookie to satisfy the temptation, I binged, big time! I wont go into detail because, frankly, it is embarrassing! But I definitely made up for those 8 days!

When I originally researched how to cut sugar, as successfully as possible, out of my diet I came across some articles through Sutter Health. The one I was going to add to my entry was this one: "13 ways to beat your sugar cravings". I found this article helpful! But as I was browsing this website I came across another article that I didn't really relate anything to until now. The article is about emotional eating. Of course it has been mentioned to me that, perhaps, I go to food, and unhealthy food, when I am having a bad day. I always followed that thought with, "who doesn't?". But there are people who do not need a pint of ice cream to make their bad day better. And today, in the middle of stuffing my face, I realized that, not only am I addicted to sugar but, I am also an emotional eater!! Wow! How many issues can one girl have? (haha).

Without dragging this blog entry on and on, I will sum it up with saying, I feel I am one step closer to handling these issues since I now see that they are issues. I believe that is the first step, right? Admitting you have a problem? Unfortunately, I can't end this with a fairy tale ending of stopping the sugar addiction and/or knowing how to control my emotional eating. My only advice would be to truly listen to that voice that tells you, "you don't need that". Because you don't!

D.I.Y. Chemical Free Fruit Wash

Just because it is organic, does not mean it is clean!!

As most people, my fruit/vegetable washing routine was to just run the item under some running water and it was good to go! Now, that isn't necessarily untrue however, you never know what has been sprayed or washed over your fruit and vegetables, even in the organic fields (keep in mind, certain items only have to be a certain percent organic to be labeled so). 

Because of all of that I decided to give a D.I.Y. fruit and vegetable wash a try! It is so simple and inexpensive, you don't even need to think about buying those fancy bottled brands!

All you need is:

• 1 cup of distilled white vinegar 
• 2 TBSP baking soda

And of course a clean sink filled with cold water!

I swished (yes, swished) the ingredients around with my hand until I could see that all the baking soda was dissolved, then added my fruit and vegetables. Let them sit for about 10 - 15 minutes and then give each item a quick rinse before letting them air dry (I used a baking sheet lined with paper towels to aide the process).

I was quite surprised by the hue of the water once the fruits and vegetables were taken out! I felt like I probably miss a lot of "junk" left on the items just by doing my tradition "quick rinse" in the past....glad I read up on all of this :)

Colors of the Farmers Market (San Francisco, CA)

Beautiful Peppers

These pictures are from our most recent trip to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco, CA. It was such a beautiful day and I was pleased with the array of certified organic vendors and their products! We even had some of the best nectarines we have ever tasted from Kashiwase Farms and I am hoping to take another trip to this farmers market asap just for their fruit!

Flowering Artichoke

The next two pictures do not do the flowers justice! In person, these colors caught your attention and the beauty of the dahlias just could not be capture with my camera...

It is always great to support the locals at the farmers markets, and the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, although about a 45 minute trip for us, is one of the best.

The jump start I needed!

Last week, my husband and I, took a short day trip over to the Marin Headlands (the other side of the Bay Area) to The Marine Mammal Center. A week prior, this center was recommended as a nice escape from the heat and also because I have a very large soft spot for the animals of this planet (land and/or sea). It was also that same week where my husband and I started gaining insight on the gluten-free world, the amount of processed food we are surrounded by and a whole bunch of interesting (and concerning) information about the food we consume!

Anyways, I knew we needed to make a change but my motivation wasn't 100% like it needed to be. After this trip, and I am not exactly sure why, I was all in for this lifestyle change. A small effort was made, almost immediately, by recycling all of our plastic shopping bags and purchasing (a very small fee) reusable shopping bags during our grocery trip after our visit to the center. This was because (and unfortunately I did not get a picture) around the center, that had displays of all the plastic shopping bags that the sea life either gets caught in or mistakes for food and chokes on; both resulting in fatal results. Again, this was a small effort put in by us but, I wanted the satisfaction of knowing at least we were not contributing to the death of an innocent sea lion.

The picture below was also very inspirational! Of course, I cannot help what fisherman use to fish with and whatnot but it is an eye opener to see the 450 lbs of netting and rope, left in the open ocean, that was the death of a adult sperm whale (by ingestion). Artists are always so clever in delivering their messages!

The Ghost Net Monster - Symbolizing the 450 lbs of netting, rope and junk found in a sperm whale's stomach and was the cause of its death.

I learned so much during our trip to The Marine Mammal Center. I truly learned how most of us take the ocean, and the life within it, for granted. I can honestly say I am so much more aware now of my impact on the ocean, and this planet, and will be doing my part to make it a cleaner and healthier place.

And so it begins...

Oh, the popular phrase, "Y.O.L.O". How it is used so often and freely. More recently it has meant something more to me than just live your life with no regrets. I have become more interested in where my food comes from, I am trying to be more "in tune" with my body and what it needs and doesn't like, and I am becoming more aware of how my actions affect our planet. I now realize there is a whole world behind those labels on your boxed macaroni and cheese, and the bottle of ranch dressing, and I am not sure I am too fond of it!

With all that said, I just wanted to start a blog to document my experiences through this"healthier living" journey.

You truly only live once so, why not feel your best while living it!