Vegan Paradise

Is Portland.

I am squatting at my bachelorette pad in NE this week, trying to secure new tenants and make a few repairs. Though I'm having fun, and reuniting with a ton of friends (hello ladies that I have a hot date with TONIGHT!), I am eager to kiss my husbando and pooches. A week is a long time, yo!

You should see my set up - I have one pot, one bowl, a french press, a mug, and an air mattress. (And a pound of Stumptown!!)

Using the "Happy Cow" app on my phone, there are about a billion vegan food options within a 10 minute walk from this place. Seriously! Alberta St. might as well be re-named VEGAN AVENUE, given the fact that there are not one, but TWO vegan bakeries, several veg-friendly restaurants, and even A ENTIRELY VEGAN FREAKING BAR (supposedly run by hot boys, but I haven't been in yet to verify), people!
I don't remember it being like this when I lived here.... but then again, I was still a full-fledged Omni at the time and probably wouldn't have noticed anyway.

I've eaten my way up and down Mississippi too, and have determined that I would happily eat a Native Bowl from those cute food carts every single day if I lived here.

So: the 22nd marks one month of veganism.
Have I lost weight? I haven't weighed myself but I don't think so.
That wasn't really the point anyway. (Though I realize if I am going to ever wear jeans again, I will definitely need to STOP BAKING ALL THE DAMN TIME! Oh, and possibly reunite myself with this activity known as exercise.)

Here's the TMI part: I've never been more regular. Like, ever. Even when I'm in hotel rooms, which used to require pills.

And also? I haven't ever given two shits about my nails, (they weren't even painted on our wedding day!) but can I just tell you that they are long and luxurious and strong and I should probably get a mani so that I don't wind up looking like this:


The only downer: I don't feel comfortable coming out of the closet with a lot of people. For instance, my colleagues. They already think I am the weird hippie from Oregon because I am not Catholic (like ALL of them! No joke!) stopped eating chicken, and carry recyclables with me until I can dispose of them properly. I can typically side-step the vegan convo by suggesting Asian restaurants.

And with clients? I am DEFINITELY not comfortable. In my professional life I feel enough like an outsider because I am not Christian or Republican. I'm sure a lot of these feelings are self-imposed and I am probably being judgemental by assuming that these people will think I am a gigantic weirdo that they no longer want to do business with, let alone have lunch with. Sigh. For now - I just do the best that I can. Twice I've eaten dairy, and another time I had soup that was likely made with chicken stock. Sales are tricky.... you often have to make the client think that you could be friends. I don't hunt, fish, golf or scrapbook (a sample of common convos) but I can fake my way through it decently enough.

Also: when someone invites me to their home for dinner, I will say that I'm vegetarian, but I don't want to put them through the agony of suggesting that I prefer not to eat dairy or eggs. It was just nice of them to invite me over, you know?

Okay - had better get back to scrubbing mold off of the bathroom ceiling. Don't ask... it's gross and hopefully I've fixed the issue.

Vegan-ish????

Perhaps for the past 6 months or so, I've been seriously contemplating vegan-style eating. And then, a sign, of sorts, arrived in my mailbox. My cute mid-western-would-never-turn-down-a-factory-farmed-porkchop mom saw Alicia Silversone on Oprah, figured I might be interested in her book (TRUE - have been wanting it!) and ordered it for me as a random little surprise.

About 2 hours into reading, I kind of knew that I had to at least spend more time considering my dairy intake. And by the end? Yeah, I decided to go for it.
I've been meat-free (minus an isolated incident here or there) for awhile without any pangs of sorrow, so why not at least try to drop the dairy? (I know what Gazelle will say: CHEESE is the reason! Haha!)

I'm only about two weeks in. And for the most part? No issues. There have been slip-ups, for instance - I had friends in town and was super jealous of their cheese consumption (house-made burrata) at a restaurant... so I joined in...but hey, this is a journey, and I'm sure I'll stumble.

The decision was made only a few days prior to a business trip to LA. Typically, business trips are a pitfall for me, food-wise. But you know what? Being committed to this has it's perks on the diet-front. For instance, if I pop into Starbucks for an afternoon iced soy latte, I can't exactly grab a dairy-laden cookie while I'm at it.

If only I'd make this decision years ago, when I lived in the vegan paradise known as Portland! (Or LA - I stumbled upon a vegan cafe that knocked my socks off called Native Foods)

And friends, do not be concerned: I vow not to become one of those self-righteous angry vegans either... there are so many of them trolling the message boards pointing out each others vegan sins,all of them trying to be crowned "most vegan human EVER". It's a real turnoff.

The Huz just warmed up some leftover chili and cornbread, so my stomach is calling me downstiars.

Now - I command you PDX ladies to send me your favorite recipes from your vegan week experiment!

Announcement: Eleven Point Five Down

Yes, I don't blog, but I *AM* still dropping some chunk.
Albeit s.....l.....o.....w.....l......y.

But whatevs!

You wanna know what else? I have seriously slacked on working out, so the fact that I am losing weight anyway, is okay with me. If watching consumption + 30 minute nightly dog walks = slow weight loss, then I'll take it!

But I haven't been sitting on my a$$.

We have a little guest shack behind our house in dire need of updating (ugly yellow grandma wallpaper, etc...) and I finally got to work fixing it up. Painting like crazy, new furnishings, updating some of the electrical, etc....

While it's nowhere near completely finished, it's starting to shape up nicely!

On a lark a couple of weeks ago, the Huz and I threw an ad up on Craigslist to rent it out. You see, there was a GIGANTIC fancy car show going on a couple of miles from our house and all hotels in the area had been sold out for months. Anyhoo, it was rented immediately by some great people. It was FUN meeting new peeps, making them breakfast, and I've always loved entertaining, so it was a fabulous way to make $400 with very little effort.

And it got us thinking.. Maybe we could moonlight as innkeepers and make a little extra dough???

I found an awesome new(ish) BnB website and listed our little guest shack, just to see what would happen.

And we're booked. Like every weekend in Aug. Several weekends in Sept. And already for a week over Christmas!

At this rate, the guest house will have a new flat screen and that Pottery Barn duvet I've been eyeing in no time.

So that's what I've been up to....
That, and my usual west coast work tour.

See you at 15 down??

Like, Whoa.

It's been awhile, friends!

3 second update:
I am down 8 pounds.

Insert clever phrase about slow and steady winning the race right here: ______________________________________________________________________________


I am also, semi-psychotically contemplating doing the Cape Cod Marathon, in a mere 15 weeks. How much can I run right now, you ask? That's a good question! Maybe 8-10?
Also... just 3 weeks after the Cape Cod Marathon, I am doing the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk (20 miles per day for 3 days in a row.) Is it unreasonable to think I *MIGHT* be able to do both? Input please.

Food: still tracking. Trying to eat more protein, but less carbs. Difficult as a vegetarian! I'm not trying to be a no-carber, but I'm trying to reduce the cycle of oatmeal for breakfast, tortilla/wrap thing with my lunch and say, quinoa for dinner.
New breakfast: greek yogurt w/ 1 scoop protein powder and fruit (around 35g protein!). Lunch: whatever. Dinner: fish or tofu w/whatever else we're having.

Sorry for the boring post. I've written about a dozen clever posts in my head over the past month but haven't taken the time to write them.

WTF?

Since when did wizards start creating yellow watermelon?


I was at Whore Foods yesterday and grabbed the first of the season (that I'm aware of) California-grown organic watermelon and chopped it open as soon as I got home only to discover it's lemon colored flesh. Where have I been?
I'd like to think that I am a reasonably educated fruit and vegetable consumer. Thanks to the CSA, I've got frigging AGRETTI (a rarely seen, strange Italian vegetable of sorts) in my crisper right now. But I've never heard of this yellow watermelon business.

FYI: it pretty much tastes just like pink watermelon.
I don't now why I'm so worked-up/perplexed.

Weight? Wait!

Just saying that I haven't weighed myself in quite some time.

June has been a nutty one in the SeriouslyTMI household. Mainly because in the entire month of June I will have slept in my own bed around 10 or 11 times. Lots of on the road action. (Just my usual west coast rotation, but seemingly on crack. How many times does one need to go to AZ in a month? Apparently twice. Plus San Francisco. Plus LA. Plus Seattle. Plus San Diego. Plus Portland with my boss.) At least my numbers are up!

Things that have been going well:
1. I have been getting 4-5 super sweaty workouts in per week
Yes, I'd like to bump that up to 5-6, but let's start somewhere. I'v even done a couple of double deckers: 60 minutes of crazy cardio in the am, followed by 45 minutes of sweaty weights in the pm. This will not impress my ridiculous tri friends, but it is a feat of strength for me.

2. I've been a decent on the road eater, opting for grilled portobello sandwiches (hold the cheese, please!), mixed greens, veggie wrap w/hummus, grilled fish with steamed broccoli, etc.... not too shabby!

3. I've noticed that my general mood and energy levels are UP. I know this happens whenever I'm exercising regularly, but still, it is one super fabulous side-effect.

Needs improvement:
1. DRINKING! Whenever I travel, I am usually dining with colleagues/clients/prospects and these people are DRINKERS! Which... I am too... so it makes resistance tough. Do I get extra points for getting up at 5:45am WICKEDLY hungover to go hiking before my conference in Flagstaff Arizona? Well I did. I puked all afternoon afterwards, and ordered a grilled cheese from room service that night, but dammit, I hiked.

2. Let's up the sweatfests, eh? New minimum: 5X week

3. Homegirl needs to drink more water. I would bet that I only get about 32-50 oz daily. I feel guilty buying bottled water on the road, so I bring a Sigg, but some places have some seriously bad tap water (LA and Scottsdale, I'm talkin' to you!). I try to remember to take the Sigg into to Starbucks with me to get my Venti coffee, as they have triple filtered water at every 'Bucks location, but I am forgetful. Maybe I should buy one of those Sigg-like contraptions that have a built-in filter??

4. I stopped journaling somewhere in there. Yeah, a doozie.

5. Note to self: you do not, I repeat you DO NOT have to buy a coconut-chocolate chip cookie each and every time you pass a Paradise Bakery. Really, you just fucking don't.

So there you have it.
I haven't weighed myself in a LOOOOONG time. How 'bout I do in on Friday, mmmmmkay?

Dudes!

I haven't blogged in so long. Not that you expect daily blogging from MOI, an obvious blogging slacker, but still.

I have a peace offering: a grossawesome recipe

I present to you: AVOCADO CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
My husband literally gagged when I told him what I was about to make.
If you are a vegan you already know about this secret, but if you aren't, then read on, my friend.


It's been a hyper-productive year in the yard of Ma & Pa Inlaw. Their avo trees are HEAVY with tons of fruit and though I am an avo addict, I can't eat at the same pace as production. Add to that, PaInlaw is allergic, and even though MaInlaw knows avocados are 'good fat' she still can't bring herself to eat them. Why this duo has a half dozen gigantic avocado trees on their property is beyond me, given the circumstances, but Huz and I are doing the best we can to eat these babies before they go bad.

Grossawesome Avocado Choco Mousse

2-3 ripe avocados
Sweetener to taste (I used agave)
1/3 to 1/2 c. quality cocoa powder
Soy/Almond/cow milk - amount depends on consistency
Vanilla extract

Scoop out the avo flesh and place in your ultra-handy dandy food processor (my BFF!). Add sweetener and a healthy splash of vanilla. (Maybe a tablespoon?) Gradually add cocoa powder until mixture is a deep chocolate color. If it is too pasty, add some milk. I used almond milk and it worked a-ok. Taste it. Don't be scared. Decide if it needs more _________ and then add that.

Put in the fridge and let it chill for an hour or so.
Serve scrumptious avocado chocolate mousse to some unsuspecting sweet-toothed friends. Dance around. Pat yourself on the back, you know, because you're awesome.

It is awfully rich, so just a few bites cures my always-throbbing sweet tooth.
Huz actually ate most of my last big batch so I foresee making more tonight.
This time we are out of cocoa powder, so I'm going to melt unsweetened baking chocolate with some brown rice syrup and almond milk before adding it to the avo.
Go forth and experiment!