Vegan Peas (Week of 4/4-4/10/2016)
Apr 6, 2016 0:08:15 GMT
luckyexwife, Rainbow, and 1 more like this
Post by birukitty on Apr 6, 2016 0:08:15 GMT
Hello Vegan Peas! How is everyone doing? I came back from my whirlwind trip to Boston late Sunday night. I was there with my sister and my father who booked a package to see the World's Figure Skating Championships which were held in Boston this year for the first time. Last year they were held in China. The last time they were held in the USA was sometime in the 1980's. We are all avid figure skating fans so we decided since Boston is so close to where we live we'd go. It was so amazing! In the package we had tickets for 4 afternoons and nights of competitions (dance, women's, men's and pairs) plus the hotel was included.
Now to make this appropriate to the thread I did Google the Happy Cow app before I left to find restaurants to accommodate my new vegan diet. The thing is we didn't have a car while we were there, and limited time. The skating sessions were 4 hours long each afternoon and evening and we were taking the subway (which was great-30 minutes each way to the venue from the hotel) so the restaurants that did were Vegan or Vegetarian were either too far out or took too long to get too.
The hotel had a restaurant and I ate dinner there one night. They did offer a vegetarian choice that was Stuffed Roasted Acorn: Acorn squash stuffed with mushroom risotto and topped with feta cheese and truffle oil. I took a tiny bite of the feta cheese and after so long without cheese (two years) it tasted horrible so I scraped it all off. I was worried about the amount of oil in it (on the whole foods plant based diet they advise no oil at all) but my sister convinced me since it mentioned truffles I should not ask them to leave it out. I couldn't even taste the truffles sadly.
The rest of the week I had fish for dinner because it was the only available on the menus where I went that wasn't beef or pork. I had lobster roll the first night with french fries-and oh they were good. It'd been so long since I had french fries and these were hand made and cooked fresh. The third night was a great restaurant my dear friends who live in Boston chose. I had salmon with mango chutney (all fresh and whole ingredients) and broccoli. They served white rice with it, but I left that. I'm so used to whole grain rice now and I prefer it. White rice tastes bland to me.
Plus 2 glasses of wine. But these were friends from 1984 and I hadn't seen them in 10 years. We met in Japan when my ex and this friend's husband (who was there at the dinner) was stationed there. My friend S and I bonded right away. We are so much alike-into reading and art. We were the adventurous ones. We both lived off base, got our Japanese driver's licenses, and spent every spare moment off checking out Japan and sight seeing. We were 24 at the time. So wives never left the base. I could only stay 6 months back then because I was only engaged to my ex-not married. My visa ran out. We've been very close friends since then. The last time I saw them was 10 years ago when I stayed a week with them and they showed me Boston while DS went out to sea on a type of "Outward Bound" education cruise for 16 year olds for a week. It was part of his homeschooling I set up.
So sorry to get off track. Just trying to explain. Oh-need to tell you this! I have to take medication at night and I always take it with my dinner. Traveling away from home and eating in restaurants this is very difficult to remember. I'd take it at night in the hotel room but I need something to eat when I take it. So there was a tiny attached shop off the front desk in the hotel. There was so little to choose from. I'd buy a bottle of water and then search through the items for something without food dye (which gives me migraines). I found a candy bar without it-they colored the inside with amaretto instead of food dye. Good for them! It was a Butterfinger candy bar. I never eat this stuff. I do eat chocolate and candy-oh yes I do-but I only buy it at Whole Foods because everything has no food dye. I love the chocolate candies in the bulk food section.
Anyway, remember how we've talked about how processed food and especially processed junk food has chemicals in it to make you crave more of it? I think it might have been in the "Forks over Knives" film. I have to go back and watch it, it's been awhile. Anyway, oh my gosh! When I finished eating it a feeling came over me that was soooo strong. I wanted another one right then and there! I couldn't get out of the hotel room because my father was sleeping where the door was and he was already asleep. My sister and I shared the bedroom which was a separate room. Otherwise I would have run right down to that shop by the front desk and bought another one! I lay there and wondered if my sister had finished her Snickers bar or had she left half of it uneaten on her side of the bed? The I shook my head as I realized what was happening to me. I told myself, "be strong. Morning will be here soon. Just wait it out, it's all chemical."
Mornings at the hotel were great because they had a cook to order hot breakfast service every day. I'd order an omelet (yes, I know eggs cringe, but they didn't have oatmeal and I needed some protein to get me through the day and the only cereal they had was the food colored dye processed crap) filled with veggies-spinach, onions, peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes. For desert I'd have big fluffy waffles with fresh strawberries on top-no whipped cream which I didn't even miss. The strawberries were diluted into a juice of their own so it was nice and juicy and not dry waffles. Oh it was great to have so one else cooking for me for a change.
When I got home I got on the scale thinking I'd probably gained 7-8 pounds with all of this off diet I'd been eating, but we were walking 2 miles a day using the metro whereas at home I haven't been able to exercise for a year-due to rotator cuff surgery and then this sinus infection that's lasted 6 months. Guess what the results were? I lost a pound! I was shocked. It read 123 pounds! Now it's back up to 124 which is my normal goal weight and where I want to be and stay. Goes to show I guess that exercise is a big help, but I still think a healthy vegan whole foods plant based diet is the way to go. Best would be both.
I'm sorry this thread is so long. I had a lot to tell all of you. Hope you are all doing well on your journeys. BTW, my friends were shocked when they saw me and immediately wanted to know what I'd been doing.They said I looked incredible. First they guessed vegetarian and when I told them they said they were going to watch "Fork over Knives".
Debbie in MD.
Now to make this appropriate to the thread I did Google the Happy Cow app before I left to find restaurants to accommodate my new vegan diet. The thing is we didn't have a car while we were there, and limited time. The skating sessions were 4 hours long each afternoon and evening and we were taking the subway (which was great-30 minutes each way to the venue from the hotel) so the restaurants that did were Vegan or Vegetarian were either too far out or took too long to get too.
The hotel had a restaurant and I ate dinner there one night. They did offer a vegetarian choice that was Stuffed Roasted Acorn: Acorn squash stuffed with mushroom risotto and topped with feta cheese and truffle oil. I took a tiny bite of the feta cheese and after so long without cheese (two years) it tasted horrible so I scraped it all off. I was worried about the amount of oil in it (on the whole foods plant based diet they advise no oil at all) but my sister convinced me since it mentioned truffles I should not ask them to leave it out. I couldn't even taste the truffles sadly.
The rest of the week I had fish for dinner because it was the only available on the menus where I went that wasn't beef or pork. I had lobster roll the first night with french fries-and oh they were good. It'd been so long since I had french fries and these were hand made and cooked fresh. The third night was a great restaurant my dear friends who live in Boston chose. I had salmon with mango chutney (all fresh and whole ingredients) and broccoli. They served white rice with it, but I left that. I'm so used to whole grain rice now and I prefer it. White rice tastes bland to me.
Plus 2 glasses of wine. But these were friends from 1984 and I hadn't seen them in 10 years. We met in Japan when my ex and this friend's husband (who was there at the dinner) was stationed there. My friend S and I bonded right away. We are so much alike-into reading and art. We were the adventurous ones. We both lived off base, got our Japanese driver's licenses, and spent every spare moment off checking out Japan and sight seeing. We were 24 at the time. So wives never left the base. I could only stay 6 months back then because I was only engaged to my ex-not married. My visa ran out. We've been very close friends since then. The last time I saw them was 10 years ago when I stayed a week with them and they showed me Boston while DS went out to sea on a type of "Outward Bound" education cruise for 16 year olds for a week. It was part of his homeschooling I set up.
So sorry to get off track. Just trying to explain. Oh-need to tell you this! I have to take medication at night and I always take it with my dinner. Traveling away from home and eating in restaurants this is very difficult to remember. I'd take it at night in the hotel room but I need something to eat when I take it. So there was a tiny attached shop off the front desk in the hotel. There was so little to choose from. I'd buy a bottle of water and then search through the items for something without food dye (which gives me migraines). I found a candy bar without it-they colored the inside with amaretto instead of food dye. Good for them! It was a Butterfinger candy bar. I never eat this stuff. I do eat chocolate and candy-oh yes I do-but I only buy it at Whole Foods because everything has no food dye. I love the chocolate candies in the bulk food section.
Anyway, remember how we've talked about how processed food and especially processed junk food has chemicals in it to make you crave more of it? I think it might have been in the "Forks over Knives" film. I have to go back and watch it, it's been awhile. Anyway, oh my gosh! When I finished eating it a feeling came over me that was soooo strong. I wanted another one right then and there! I couldn't get out of the hotel room because my father was sleeping where the door was and he was already asleep. My sister and I shared the bedroom which was a separate room. Otherwise I would have run right down to that shop by the front desk and bought another one! I lay there and wondered if my sister had finished her Snickers bar or had she left half of it uneaten on her side of the bed? The I shook my head as I realized what was happening to me. I told myself, "be strong. Morning will be here soon. Just wait it out, it's all chemical."
Mornings at the hotel were great because they had a cook to order hot breakfast service every day. I'd order an omelet (yes, I know eggs cringe, but they didn't have oatmeal and I needed some protein to get me through the day and the only cereal they had was the food colored dye processed crap) filled with veggies-spinach, onions, peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes. For desert I'd have big fluffy waffles with fresh strawberries on top-no whipped cream which I didn't even miss. The strawberries were diluted into a juice of their own so it was nice and juicy and not dry waffles. Oh it was great to have so one else cooking for me for a change.
When I got home I got on the scale thinking I'd probably gained 7-8 pounds with all of this off diet I'd been eating, but we were walking 2 miles a day using the metro whereas at home I haven't been able to exercise for a year-due to rotator cuff surgery and then this sinus infection that's lasted 6 months. Guess what the results were? I lost a pound! I was shocked. It read 123 pounds! Now it's back up to 124 which is my normal goal weight and where I want to be and stay. Goes to show I guess that exercise is a big help, but I still think a healthy vegan whole foods plant based diet is the way to go. Best would be both.
I'm sorry this thread is so long. I had a lot to tell all of you. Hope you are all doing well on your journeys. BTW, my friends were shocked when they saw me and immediately wanted to know what I'd been doing.They said I looked incredible. First they guessed vegetarian and when I told them they said they were going to watch "Fork over Knives".
Debbie in MD.
