I guess I'm about halfway through my *mostly* vegan experiment. I definitely haven't been a gung ho vegan, especially with family visiting, but I've noticed some pretty drastic differences.
Immediately after Aoife was born, I got a gym membership. Ross and I got to talking and I told him my big goal (the one I thought would be unattainable) is to weigh 125. My more reasonable goal was 130. I am now just 2 pounds away from my BIG goal. (While I'm not posting my actual weight, I'm pretty sure y'all can do the math.)
My main purpose for doing this experiment wasn't for the scale numbers, but let me tell you, it's a big perk. There are visible differences in my body, and I'm starting to see the potential of what my body can do. And I like it. NOTE: I am training for a half marathon, and I'm sure the running and strength training are contributing factors.
I was on sleep aid, anxiety, and depression prescriptions. (Oh, the unspoken joys of motherhood.) I still take the one for depression, but I rarely take the other two. I've been falling asleep faster, sleeping better, and all around feeling a lot better. Frustrated kids don't stress me out nearly as much as before and I'm really enjoying being a mom. I'm loving singing songs over and over again to Claire and playing with these two. We've been exploring and having a blast together. My house is cleaner than usual, and with new recipes to try, I'm ENJOYING cooking for my family. It's no longer something I view as "my job", but a new found hobby.
Yesterday, I ventured off to Good Earth Natural Foods. It's a small store, but I was like a kid in a candy shop. They had vegan, whole wheat, whole grain, gluten free, super healthy cake mixes, cereals, amazingly fresh produce, and even a bulk section! As small as the store is, I could have spent all day in there. I'm excited to shop there more and find new things to try. They even had a beauty section. (It looked like fun, but I was on a mission to get coconut oil to bake cookies.)
I'm about halfway through, and I'm finding a mostly plant based diet helps me feel better. I'm not eating nearly as often as I was before, but I still pig out! I feel fuller longer, and have more energy than before. I honestly think this is a lifestyle I want to adopt beyond the 30 days. Again, not completely vegan, but mostly plant based. I'd be ok with incorporating meat into my diet, but sparingly. It's been fun discovering new recipes that don't leave me wanting. I don't feel like I'm depriving myself in any way. (Though I did have a delicious ice cream sandwich last night.) WE'll see if I still feel this way in a couple weeks!
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Pinterest.
Pinterest has ruined me. I already had a deep love for a clean organized home, but after discovering Pinterest, I've had to make our home more clean, crafty, creative, organized, and full of memories.
Back in July I made the note card calendar, where each day you write something that happened that day and you reuse it each year and add to it. I loved that idea. I'm excited for 5, 10, 20 years from now where we'll have a history of our family happenings. Imagine how long it'll be when Ross and I die! (Not to be depressing, but I think it'd be neat to find of my grandparents, or parents.)
I added some shelves above the laundry area, and above the toilet in the front bathroom. Yes, we have a linen closet, but not everything would fit, and Claire loves to open the door and pull it out. Now I'm able to stack our sheets and towels where Claire can't wreck havoc, and our linen closet it clean and organized and holds all of our extra things.
I'm really bad at baby books. I didn't even buy one for Aoife. It's been so hard to keep up with Claire's. (Do not ask what a stay at home mom does.) So instead (And I'm so proud to say this is my own idea and not something I saw on Pnterest) I got the girls some really pretty floral binders and filled them with page protectors, and photo sheets. Each month on the day they were born, I write them a letter. Right now they're so young and they change so quickly, I figured I could cover all the changes they've gone through each month and funny stories I'd like to remember. I can also put important papers or certificates in there as well as pictures as they grow.
All in all, I've turned into a cleaning psycho, constantly thinking of how I could redecorate, organize, or little crafts I can do. Bless your heart, Pinterest. Bless your heart.
Back in July I made the note card calendar, where each day you write something that happened that day and you reuse it each year and add to it. I loved that idea. I'm excited for 5, 10, 20 years from now where we'll have a history of our family happenings. Imagine how long it'll be when Ross and I die! (Not to be depressing, but I think it'd be neat to find of my grandparents, or parents.)
I added some shelves above the laundry area, and above the toilet in the front bathroom. Yes, we have a linen closet, but not everything would fit, and Claire loves to open the door and pull it out. Now I'm able to stack our sheets and towels where Claire can't wreck havoc, and our linen closet it clean and organized and holds all of our extra things.
I'm really bad at baby books. I didn't even buy one for Aoife. It's been so hard to keep up with Claire's. (Do not ask what a stay at home mom does.) So instead (And I'm so proud to say this is my own idea and not something I saw on Pnterest) I got the girls some really pretty floral binders and filled them with page protectors, and photo sheets. Each month on the day they were born, I write them a letter. Right now they're so young and they change so quickly, I figured I could cover all the changes they've gone through each month and funny stories I'd like to remember. I can also put important papers or certificates in there as well as pictures as they grow.
All in all, I've turned into a cleaning psycho, constantly thinking of how I could redecorate, organize, or little crafts I can do. Bless your heart, Pinterest. Bless your heart.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Day 2 Observations.
It's only the second day of my plant-based diet, and I'm already noticing differences. Last night we had veggie enchiladas. The veggie mixture was delicious, and actually reminded me a little bit of my absolute favorite fajita burritos from Chipotle. The only problem we ran across was the enchilada sauce. While the cookbook I'm using has an enchilada sauce, I chose to make it easy and use a can. (Which was an option given in the book, not cheating!) The sauce was SPICY!!! So so so spicy! Next time I'll use the brand I know and trust and I think it'll actually be a really good dish.
Yesterday we went grocery shopping. Ross was getting food he wanted for his lunches, and down the snack aisle, I found a few snacks that I could eat, and they're super tasty as well!
Today I decided to try a vegan chocolate chip cookie. It was FAB and tasted like a normal sugar cookie. The difference is, this one is sugar free, non processed, healthy(er), and super filling so I don't feel the need to binge.
Chocolate chip Cookies:
2 1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour (I got from Winco)
1/2 T baking soda (oops, just realized i only used 1/2 t)
1 t fine sea salt (got from Winco as well.)
1 1/2 C evaporated cane sugar (used a sweetener instead)
1 1/4 C refined coconut oil (Used canola, though I'm sure olive would work fine, too)
1/4 C ice water
1 T molasses (I used mild flavor molasses. I haven't ever cooked with molasses before and wanted to make sure it wouldn't be nasty.)
1/2 T pure vanilla extract
10-12 oz vegan chocolate chips (Used Baker's chocolate for baking and chopped up 6 of the packets, so you'll only need 1 box)
1 C chopped walnuts (optional) (didin't use them, but I'll bet it'd be super tasty.
Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with parchment. (I used foil)
Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In mixer, combine sugar and oil until creamy. (About 3 min)
Add the water, molasses, and vanila until well combined. With the mixre, add the flour mixture in 3 to 4 additions, mixung until each addition is almost fully incorporated. (I didn't do the flour mixture, I just dumped those 3 things in and mixed it.)
Add the chocolate chips and walnuts, mixing until just combined.
Arrange 2-T sixed balls on prepared backing sheets. (I just grabbed some dough and rolled it into a ball)
Bake for 13-15 minutes until the edges are slightly browned, and the centers are set. Thoroughly cool on a cooling rack. (Cooling is IMPORTANT!! I don't think the cookies stay together really well until they're cooled.)
There's the recipe if you want to try. Anyway, I've noticed a difference already, just on day 2. During my meals, I eat a lot. The meals are low calorie and contain absolutely no processed foods, so I can eat to my heart's content guilt-free. And i actually stay full for longer. I don't feel the need or want to snack all day. I eat until I'm satisfied, and am pretty much full until the next meal rolls around. (Though I do have a couple snacks a day. One between breakfast and lunch, and the other between lunch and dinner.)
Last night I had a kick butt workout. And I killed it. I felt great. I'm not sure if it was the veggie enchiladas, or me wanting to push myself harder after a terrible workout the night before. Either way, it was awesome. I did my run and lifted weights alongside the boy's club and felt great. My shirt was a few shades darker when I left the gym.
I even fell asleep quicker than I do most nights. Since putting Aoife on REAL gripe water, she's sleeping better at night, and I'm getting more good sleep in, though I still use a prescribed sleep aid to help with the sleeplessness. Around 6:30, Claire was awake, and he said he'd take the baby, too, so I could sleep a while longer if I let him run tonight. DUH! Yes I'll allow you to run!
After breakfast this morning, I wasn't dragging or hating the fact that the sun was up. I was energized and ready to be productive. I feel like I'm enjoying my two sweet babes more, getting more done, and just all around I'm feeling good. Right now I think I could adopt a mostly vegan life style. It's so much easier than I thought it would be and I'm loving all of the fresh foods, as well as the desserts I can stuff my face with without feeling guilty.
Yesterday we went grocery shopping. Ross was getting food he wanted for his lunches, and down the snack aisle, I found a few snacks that I could eat, and they're super tasty as well!
Today I decided to try a vegan chocolate chip cookie. It was FAB and tasted like a normal sugar cookie. The difference is, this one is sugar free, non processed, healthy(er), and super filling so I don't feel the need to binge.
Chocolate chip Cookies:
2 1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour (I got from Winco)
1/2 T baking soda (oops, just realized i only used 1/2 t)
1 t fine sea salt (got from Winco as well.)
1 1/2 C evaporated cane sugar (used a sweetener instead)
1 1/4 C refined coconut oil (Used canola, though I'm sure olive would work fine, too)
1/4 C ice water
1 T molasses (I used mild flavor molasses. I haven't ever cooked with molasses before and wanted to make sure it wouldn't be nasty.)
1/2 T pure vanilla extract
10-12 oz vegan chocolate chips (Used Baker's chocolate for baking and chopped up 6 of the packets, so you'll only need 1 box)
1 C chopped walnuts (optional) (didin't use them, but I'll bet it'd be super tasty.
Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with parchment. (I used foil)
Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In mixer, combine sugar and oil until creamy. (About 3 min)
Add the water, molasses, and vanila until well combined. With the mixre, add the flour mixture in 3 to 4 additions, mixung until each addition is almost fully incorporated. (I didn't do the flour mixture, I just dumped those 3 things in and mixed it.)
Add the chocolate chips and walnuts, mixing until just combined.
Arrange 2-T sixed balls on prepared backing sheets. (I just grabbed some dough and rolled it into a ball)
Bake for 13-15 minutes until the edges are slightly browned, and the centers are set. Thoroughly cool on a cooling rack. (Cooling is IMPORTANT!! I don't think the cookies stay together really well until they're cooled.)
There's the recipe if you want to try. Anyway, I've noticed a difference already, just on day 2. During my meals, I eat a lot. The meals are low calorie and contain absolutely no processed foods, so I can eat to my heart's content guilt-free. And i actually stay full for longer. I don't feel the need or want to snack all day. I eat until I'm satisfied, and am pretty much full until the next meal rolls around. (Though I do have a couple snacks a day. One between breakfast and lunch, and the other between lunch and dinner.)
Last night I had a kick butt workout. And I killed it. I felt great. I'm not sure if it was the veggie enchiladas, or me wanting to push myself harder after a terrible workout the night before. Either way, it was awesome. I did my run and lifted weights alongside the boy's club and felt great. My shirt was a few shades darker when I left the gym.
I even fell asleep quicker than I do most nights. Since putting Aoife on REAL gripe water, she's sleeping better at night, and I'm getting more good sleep in, though I still use a prescribed sleep aid to help with the sleeplessness. Around 6:30, Claire was awake, and he said he'd take the baby, too, so I could sleep a while longer if I let him run tonight. DUH! Yes I'll allow you to run!
After breakfast this morning, I wasn't dragging or hating the fact that the sun was up. I was energized and ready to be productive. I feel like I'm enjoying my two sweet babes more, getting more done, and just all around I'm feeling good. Right now I think I could adopt a mostly vegan life style. It's so much easier than I thought it would be and I'm loving all of the fresh foods, as well as the desserts I can stuff my face with without feeling guilty.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
30 Days Of *Mostly* Vegan.
I say mostly, because We have family coming next week, and I'm not going to make them embark on my experiment. And today I made myself a pina colada smoothie for breakfast to finish off the Greek yogurt I'm completely obsessed with.
I recently watched Forks Over Knives, and was intrigued. If you haven't heard of it, it is on Netflix! It's about how a plant based diet can solve medical problems, and the benefits of establishing a plant based diet in general. I was curious and have thought about it for a while. I've decided to do an experiment and take on the plant based diet for 30 days. I'm hoping it will not only help with getting in shape, but will also give me more energy, help with the post partum depression, and help me sleep better.
The problem: when I think about plant based diets, I think of salad. Salad, salad, and more salad. While salad is delicious, I don't want to eat salad for every meal over the next month. Yesterday I got a vegan cookbook from the library. I want to put a couple more on hold, too. I was shocked at all the recipes, especially the dessert ones. My first challenge is to find vegan chocolate chips. I just got done calling just about every grocery store in this great state of Utah with no success. However, after a little research, it turns out Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate chips ARE vegan!
I'm curious to see how this goes! I'm excited and hope I can stick with it, and hopefully see results after the 30 days! Not even in school, and doing an experiment.
-Ross is NOT going vegan. He will NOT be taking part in this experiment.
I recently watched Forks Over Knives, and was intrigued. If you haven't heard of it, it is on Netflix! It's about how a plant based diet can solve medical problems, and the benefits of establishing a plant based diet in general. I was curious and have thought about it for a while. I've decided to do an experiment and take on the plant based diet for 30 days. I'm hoping it will not only help with getting in shape, but will also give me more energy, help with the post partum depression, and help me sleep better.
The problem: when I think about plant based diets, I think of salad. Salad, salad, and more salad. While salad is delicious, I don't want to eat salad for every meal over the next month. Yesterday I got a vegan cookbook from the library. I want to put a couple more on hold, too. I was shocked at all the recipes, especially the dessert ones. My first challenge is to find vegan chocolate chips. I just got done calling just about every grocery store in this great state of Utah with no success. However, after a little research, it turns out Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate chips ARE vegan!
I'm curious to see how this goes! I'm excited and hope I can stick with it, and hopefully see results after the 30 days! Not even in school, and doing an experiment.
-Ross is NOT going vegan. He will NOT be taking part in this experiment.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Here We Go!!
Last night for Family Home Evening we took Claire to Target to pick out her own potty and big girl underpants. We spent a really, I mean REALLY, long time in the potty aisle letting Claire look and play with the different potties. Her favorite turned out to be a pink princess one. Needless to say, I was thrilled. Then we ventured over to the toddler underwear. We held out seven different packages of panties to her and she loved looking at all of them. Finally she decided on the Disney Princess panties. (YAY!)
When we got home, we set up her potty and let her explore. When it was bedtime and we took the potty away she hard a mini freak out and kept yelling, "MORE!". I'm glad she likes it. We're leaving it set up for a few days so she gets used to it, though the actual potty training adventure won't begin until Friday.
I did some reading yesterday and decided to go with the 3 day naked weekend approach. This could be the longest weekend of my life, so Thursday I will be stocking my fridge with some Diet coke to keep the calm when accidents happen. Unfortunately our whole apartment is carpeted, so I'm counting on renting a carpet cleaner come Monday. (Carpets could use it anyway, I'm sure.)
Wish us luck!! It'd be nice to have only one kid in diapers!
When we got home, we set up her potty and let her explore. When it was bedtime and we took the potty away she hard a mini freak out and kept yelling, "MORE!". I'm glad she likes it. We're leaving it set up for a few days so she gets used to it, though the actual potty training adventure won't begin until Friday.
I did some reading yesterday and decided to go with the 3 day naked weekend approach. This could be the longest weekend of my life, so Thursday I will be stocking my fridge with some Diet coke to keep the calm when accidents happen. Unfortunately our whole apartment is carpeted, so I'm counting on renting a carpet cleaner come Monday. (Carpets could use it anyway, I'm sure.)
Wish us luck!! It'd be nice to have only one kid in diapers!
First order of business: Teaching her to NOT do this AFTER we go potty.
Monday, July 2, 2012
A Little Bit Of Everything.
A little over a week ago my mother in law, (let's face it, she's really MOM) texted me -she's fabulously young and even more tech savvy than me- anyway, she asked if I'd run a marathon with her next June.
Ummmm YEAH!!
So we chatted about different training programs and half marathons around in the fall. So I signed up for this one. And I'm really excited about it. I've written out my training program for each day on my monthly calendar. I like that I not only know exactly what I'm doing that day without having to look it up, but that I can see how it progresses and I know that I'll improve and and do better each day. (Except for my rest days. But it's nice to see those, too and know a break is on its way!)
So I've been running in the evenings, about 8:00. At first I thought it'd be hard. I thought I'd be completely drained and wiped out from the day, but it's turned out to be quite the contrary. I LOVE it. I look forward to it. And I get excited about it. It's become my me-time. I love and adore my little girls, but I get to be a real person outside of just a mom for a few minutes. And it is wonderful.
Plus all that weight I packed on last month is disappearing again, despite my sneaking and indulging on Ross' Father's Day candy. Thank goodness.
Obviously I dropped P90X. Which I'm ok with. I had a great 1st week running last week. This week I'm planning on adding a rotation of the Ab program from P90X and a 20 min yoga disk that I love. If this week goes well, next week I'd like to add in weight training on my run rest days. Just adds in more me time away from the kiddos, right?
I guess I can and should provide a family update since this is our FAMILY blog.
Aoife has been sleeping consistently from between 9 and 10 until 5:00, sometimes not eating until 7. When she wakes , some time's we'll give her a binki instead of a bottle and she'll sleep a couple more hours. Maybe she'll be ready to move into her room soon!
Miss Claire had pink eye in both eyes all last week. I think it's clearing up so she'll be good to go for the 4th of July. It's interesting, whenever she goes to the bathroom now she grabs at her diaper and says, "Ewww." and wishes to be changer IMMEDIATELY. I'll be spending the day learning about potty training, but any advice, tips, or information from you experienced moms would be appreciated! It feels a little daunting to me, but then I think, well I'm potty trained and a whole lot of other people are so it CAN be done!
Ross finished his internship at RPM last month. Unfortunately they aren't able to offer positions as this time, so he is currently working on campus for the summer and starting to apply for jobs. He'll be walking next month, though graduating in December. The end is in sight!! His goals right now are to apply to three places a day, eat around 3500 calories a day, and this week he's starting a program he likes to call, "Batman Abs".
I kind of feel like I'm writing a holiday card, so we'll leave it at that. Things are well with the Lovelands and we're looking forward to 4th of July festivities in Utah county!
-Oh, and let's just talk about pinterest for a minute. I've had an account for the longest time, but never pinned anything. It was just fun to look at. And then Aoife was born. And now I can't stop!!!! Is there a Pinterest Addicts Anon group somewhere?
Ummmm YEAH!!
So we chatted about different training programs and half marathons around in the fall. So I signed up for this one. And I'm really excited about it. I've written out my training program for each day on my monthly calendar. I like that I not only know exactly what I'm doing that day without having to look it up, but that I can see how it progresses and I know that I'll improve and and do better each day. (Except for my rest days. But it's nice to see those, too and know a break is on its way!)
So I've been running in the evenings, about 8:00. At first I thought it'd be hard. I thought I'd be completely drained and wiped out from the day, but it's turned out to be quite the contrary. I LOVE it. I look forward to it. And I get excited about it. It's become my me-time. I love and adore my little girls, but I get to be a real person outside of just a mom for a few minutes. And it is wonderful.
Plus all that weight I packed on last month is disappearing again, despite my sneaking and indulging on Ross' Father's Day candy. Thank goodness.
Obviously I dropped P90X. Which I'm ok with. I had a great 1st week running last week. This week I'm planning on adding a rotation of the Ab program from P90X and a 20 min yoga disk that I love. If this week goes well, next week I'd like to add in weight training on my run rest days. Just adds in more me time away from the kiddos, right?
I guess I can and should provide a family update since this is our FAMILY blog.
Aoife has been sleeping consistently from between 9 and 10 until 5:00, sometimes not eating until 7. When she wakes , some time's we'll give her a binki instead of a bottle and she'll sleep a couple more hours. Maybe she'll be ready to move into her room soon!
Miss Claire had pink eye in both eyes all last week. I think it's clearing up so she'll be good to go for the 4th of July. It's interesting, whenever she goes to the bathroom now she grabs at her diaper and says, "Ewww." and wishes to be changer IMMEDIATELY. I'll be spending the day learning about potty training, but any advice, tips, or information from you experienced moms would be appreciated! It feels a little daunting to me, but then I think, well I'm potty trained and a whole lot of other people are so it CAN be done!
Ross finished his internship at RPM last month. Unfortunately they aren't able to offer positions as this time, so he is currently working on campus for the summer and starting to apply for jobs. He'll be walking next month, though graduating in December. The end is in sight!! His goals right now are to apply to three places a day, eat around 3500 calories a day, and this week he's starting a program he likes to call, "Batman Abs".
I kind of feel like I'm writing a holiday card, so we'll leave it at that. Things are well with the Lovelands and we're looking forward to 4th of July festivities in Utah county!
-Oh, and let's just talk about pinterest for a minute. I've had an account for the longest time, but never pinned anything. It was just fun to look at. And then Aoife was born. And now I can't stop!!!! Is there a Pinterest Addicts Anon group somewhere?
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