Weight this morning 234.0....slow going but still going in the right direction Katie stayed the same despite going to the gym 3 times this week
BREAKFAST
Had pancakes with blueberries and banana
LUNCH
We had half a veggie burger sub
Had all the veggies plus half a veggie burger......deeeee....lic.......ious!
Speaking of delicious, Katie and I are planning to go to "Delicious" Restaurant tonight, Katie never stopped cleaning the whole day, and I worked on computer issues virtually all day. So Katie deserves a break, and we want to try some different dishes there.
DINNER
Katie and I went to Delicious and had three dishes, along with tea
We had one of the same dishes we had last time, because we enjoyed it so much....that was sweet and sour gluten balls, and I published a picture of that the last time. We also had spring rolls, and Hawaiian Fried Rice
and Stir Fried Noodles
The meal as you might expect was Deeee....Lic....ious!!!!
Thoroughly enjoyed every dish. We will certainly return in the future.
Feel like I'm boring you...having the same one or two things for breakfast almost every morning....but....doesn't bore me, because I enjoy both.
This morning, usual cup of fresh ground coffee with oatmeal, banana, blueberries, and apple.
Today, it's really cold here and the windchill makes it worse. Instead of going for a walk outside, will go to the Y, and do treadmill and weights.
Today also plan to do a fresh install of Windows XP on my desktop machine, it's about time and I haven't been pleased with how it has been running lately. I put a beta copy of Windows 7 on it recently, but not impressed enough to keep using it at the moment, so will wait until they have all the bugs worked out, and may keep XP on this machine as long as I possibly can.
Well that turned out to be another project that caused me no end of headaches. Nothing EVER seems to be just straight forward with electronic projects. I managed to figure out the major problem but it took me just about all day. Still have a couple of things to resolve. Very frustrating for something that I have done before without difficulties. I can build a whole computer myself and can't do a fresh install of Windows XP? Hardly likely...but happened. Has to do with the way the drives are configured on my motherboard...won't bore you more with details.
Finished the satellite project for a friend of mine, it was a bit of an ordeal, but persistance paid off.
LUNCH
Had a half homemade veggie sub....PDG....pretty darned good!
DINNER
Lemon roasted potatoes and a mexican vegetable salad. For dessert we had apple sauce with homemade granola. lt was really good!
Had a nice bowl of oatmeal with banana and blueberries, with whole grain brown rice vanilla "ryza" milk on top.
plans are to go to the YMCA this morning to do some treadmill work and weights.
Need to fix a satellite receiver for a friend of mine.
Went to the Y and had a good workout. Walked there and back...pretty nice day here today with it still being winter.
LUNCH
Had a homemade veggie sub sandwich...pretty darn good if I do say so myself.
DINNER
We had a baked potato and a veggie stir fry...portebella mushrooms, onions, red and green peppers, zuchini, kale, garlic, pepper and veggie broth. Very Good!
We have been making our veggie subs on small buns as we were not able to find subway type whole wheat buns. But today on the way home from work, Katie scored and found them not so far away from our place.
We got two different kinds of coffee beans from the bulk barn...one was espresso and the other was Sumatra Dark Roast. Had the Sumatra this morning...yum yum...we both like it better than the espresso, and is about $4/lb cheaper than Kicking Horse when not on sale. It's about $2/lb cheaper than other free trade coffee.
Having shredded wheat cereal this morning with banana.
you'll have to judge for yourself, but Katie and I are going to try and stay away from them as much as possible.
LUNCH
For lunch I had the rest of the soup Katie made, and a little bit of left over pizza from last night. Still really good.
Went for my usual walk this afternoon....
DINNER
We had a fresh salad with homemade Italian dressing, and whole wheat pasta with vegetable tomato sauce. Delicious!
Here is another interesting article....
ScienceDaily (2009-02-20) -- A new study shows that high-fat diets, even if consumed for a short amount of time, can inflame fat tissue surrounding blood vessels, possibly contributing to cardiovascular disease.
Katie and I went to Affinity Vegetarian Restaurant on Edmonton St last night for dinner.
We ordered the combo, which starts you off with a choice of Hot and Sour Soup or Wonton. We both chose the Wonton. It was excellent!
Then we had Sweet and Sour Soyapork, stir fried mixed vegetables, brown rice and spring roll.
Katie wasn't crazy about the soyapork, but liked everything else. I didn't mind the soyapork but it was a bit chewy. The small dish contains seaweed and sesame seed, it was crispy and pretty good. Everything else was good. The whole combo cost $9.50. We both liked what we chose at "Delicious" Restaurant better...but perhaps we just need to try something else at this restaurant...we will see.
BREAKFAST
We had oatmeal for breakfast with banana and blueberries. We had espresso coffee beans which we ground that were purchased from the bulk barn. A lot cheaper than Kicking Horse but pretty good.
LUNCH
We had waldorf salad and leftover shepard's pie. Very good!
TOFU AND SOY PRODUCTS
Lately I have been reading some disturbing articles about using Tofu and Soy Products, which seem to be a staple for many vegetarians and vegans. Trouble is....just like lots of other things, there are proponents on both sides, with lobbies and huge companies vying for $$. So what is one to believe, and how do you decide? For me, it is a matter of informing yourself and then going with what you think is logical. What else are we to do? Companies, so called experts, studies paid for by large outfits out to make $$, ordinary uninformed people who just simply believe something but if you ask them...have no idea why they actually believe what they do.
It's tough...these days to know what to believe. Look at the American economy...many of the so called "Experts" and people with financial designations...had no idea what was happening while it was happening, and have no real idea how to stop it. It all seems to be a massive guessing game, just like trying to pick healthy foods, prepared in the right way, for your health.
Here is one point of view about Tofu and Soy
DINNER
We had vegeterian pizza for dinner on a whole wheat crust. No cheese of courese, but it was great!
Then the piece de resistance....apple cinnamon pizza for dessert....Awesome! Whole wheat crust, apples, apple sauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves.
Here it is....
and now....we would like to thank the members of the Academy, all the crew, everyone in the world....etc. etc. etc. ad nauseum.
My Weight this morning 235.2 Katie is down 8 pounds
BREAKFAST
Katie and I are having blueberry and banana pancakes this morning. We are out of Kicking Horse Coffee so we are having Maxwell House Regular...which is still ok.
For those of you who never saw the Texas Blog, and for those that did, here is a small reminder of how badly we ate.
Huge plate of Deep Fried Shrimp at Dirty Al's
Single Hamburger and Onion Rings at Gonzales Burgers
Steak, Baked Potato and Mushrooms at Texas Steakhouse
Chicken Strips at El Patio
Were all those dishes great tasting? Absolutely! Are they good for you? Absolutely not! so.....we are just not going to eat like that anymore. I feel a lot better eating this way, than that way...I don't feel full and bloated, my blood sugar is good, and my total cholesterol will tell the tale when I go for my annual physical. Instead of gaining 7 pounds, I have lost 7 pounds in 18 days.
Why are we doing this? There are lots of reasons, and I explained some on the first day...it's just time to try and get healthier, and we both should have done more a lot sooner...perhaps right after we both quit smoking some 18 years ago now. Some of the reasons are explained on the following link...not all...but certainly gives FOOD for thought...hmmm....wonder where that comes from? ahahaha.
We had a home made veggie sub...which is just as good as the one at Subway. Fresh strawberries for dessert and a piece of Katie's excellent carrot cake, which has nothing bad in it.
Weight this morning 235.8...still going in the right direction.
BREAKFAST
Had a bowl of cereal with banana...and of course a cup of freshly brewed Kicking Horse Espresso coffee.
later on had a whole wheat bagel with natural peanut butter.
Had to go to the dentist to get the stitches taken out of the roof of my mouth from the skin graft. Feels good to get those out of there, and I have also been having to eat out of one side of my mouth as a result. Now I get to talk out of both sides of my mouth...unlike our former Prime Minister....lol. Still have to get another set of stitches out, in a week...but in the meantime I get to eat normally again....well not really....vegan eating only!
Internet was down most of the morning...luckily this is a rare occurrence.
LUNCH
Had a bowl of the soup Katie made earlier in the week...ummm...really good!
DINNER
Katie and I had the left over Shepard's pie for dinner. Just as good as yesterday, both with and without ketchup.
We're both drinking a lot more water than we did before, which is a good thing. We used to drink quite a lot of diet drinks...none with aspertame...only with Splenda. Now we don't drink any....talk about a change in eating style this has brought about. Have to say...don't miss the drinks either.
My sister sent me an email today, entitled "Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" Just had to laugh. Her point? that when I was small, I wouldn't eat any vegetables unless mom made coleslaw. My sister kept begging my mom to make something else because she was getting sick of coleslaw all the time. Now here I am eating all the things that I wouldn't eat then. I made a sort of apology to my sister...."I'm sorry...I know not what I did".....ahahahaha.
If I can remember, I am going to repost a few pictures from my previous blog, which was our trip to south Texas in January...where we ate almost all the things which are not good for you...and too much of them.
Had oatmeal with blueberries and bananas, and of course the usual fresh ground Kicking Horse Espresso Coffee. This breakfast seems to be a bit of a staple for me now.
LUNCH
Had a salad and Veggie Burger.
DINNER
Katie made a Shepperd's Pie with Veggie Hamburger, mashed potato on top, and with lots of veggies....carrots, peas, beans, onions, and mushrooms. It was of course...Very good...and I never really liked shepherd's pie.
Katie filled a pretty good sized casserole dish, so I think you could be reading about this dish for a bit.
Had our usual cup of freshly ground Kicking Horse Espresso coffee...ummmm!
Had a bowl of oatmeal with banana and blueberries, and a glass of pure orange juice.
Popped a vitamin B1 and a D....I've actually eliminated the other vitamins I was taking...three or four...we are getting all the vitamins we need from eating fruits and vegetables.
There is a controversy about the need for those on a vegan type diet to get enough protein. I say controversy, because as usual, there are experts and so called experts on both sides of the argument, with different views. Seems the academics and health care professionals call for extra B1 on account of not enough pure protein. On the other side there are endurance athletes on plant based diets, who take no extra protein supplements whatsoever.
Here is an example
For the time being, and because Katie and I are not on a Raw Foods Diet...I am going to take B1...I am taking the D because of not getting enough sun light in this cold climate during the winter. When I go out for my walks, I am all bundled up so I do not get the necessary sunlight exposure.
LUNCH
Went over to my brother's place, as I had not seen him nor my sister-in-law, since before we went to Texas. Was good to see them. My sister-in-law, gave me a bowl of carrot soup she had made...no...they're not vegan...she just got a great deal on carrots so she bought 5 pounds....ahahahaha.
Couple of years ago, after coming back from a trip to Las Vegas, where I cleaned out every buffet in town...I weighed in at a rotund 271 pounds. I also discovered that I was type 2 diabetic. My blood sugar in Cdn measurements was 19, when it was supposed to be between 4 and 7, or 7 and 10 after meals.
I required three pills a day to control my blood sugar...and I started to make a concerted effort to lose weight and watch my sugar intake. I gradually got the diabetes under control. I ended up losing 35 pounds, and as a result of that and watching my diet, I managed to get off all the pills.
This adventure that Katie and I are on, can do nothing but be good in all sorts of ways. I check my blood sugar fairly regularly, just to make sure. My reading after my visit to my brother's place was 4.7....Excellent!
I am still on high blood pressure medication..(it runs in the family) and as we proceed with this...we will see if that is still required in the end.
DINNER
veggie mushroom fried rice and salad....Very Good!...
for dessert...banana chocolate mousse...made with banana, tofu, cocoa, and a drizzle of maple syrup. It was excellent!
Two weeks! Seems longer...not because we are on this program...but seems longer that we have been back home from our great holiday in Texas this year.
Two weeks eating as a vegan has been painless so far. Of course the big reason for that is the effort and talent that Katie is putting into it. I can honestly say that I don't feel deprived, and am not craving anything in particular. If I want something, I just grab something different than I used to is all. I can understand why a lot of the people that help people diet or affect a life style change...go to their residence and clean out their cupboards of the bad foods. Makes it a lot easier after that. Basically we just cleaned ours out, so that we had room for the new.
Weighed in at 236.4 this morning...so the progress in that regard is great during a two week period. A 6 pound loss is good for me, I am not trying to set any speed records. Katie is also down 6, and so far is enjoying this whole process.
We are planning on having our regular breakfast, coffee, orange juice, and oatmeal with fruit.
Then I have to get my walk in....missed it the last couple of days...and today for sure we are going to the Y to put our membership back in place.
We also need to go shopping again...one of the things about eating Vegan is that there are far more vegetables in the house. In order to keep fresh, they have to be purchased more often and kept for less time. A lot of the time, the other products which we used to have in the house, had ingredients which were designed, to enable the product to have a much longer shelf life. Just about all of those additives are simply not good good for you.
LUNCH
For lunch we had a great salad...letuce, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, avocados, apple, purple cabbage...the dressing was balsamic/pear/fig dressing.
Then we had a half each of Katie's delicious pumpkin pecan muffin
Spent about three hours tearing down my component stereo equipment...cleaning all the pieces, then trying to rewire everything so that all the wires were neater than when I first started. This project takes a long time, and everything has to go back in the proper order, otherwise my harmony remote which runs everything would not work properly, and I would have to hook it up to the internet to reprogram it.
Katie spent the afternoon cleaning....lucky us.
DINNER
We are having maple glazed yams with whole wheat pasta and vegetable tomato sauce.
We had 8 grain Hot Cereal by Bob's Red Mill this morning with bananas and rice milk. VG!
Today was the day we were supposed to book a Cassita at Bentsen Palm Village RV Park for next our trip to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, next year...but we decided instead of committing ourselves to that...we would just wait and see what else develops in the next little while.
LUNCH
Katie made muffins today....can of pure pumpkin, whole wheat pastry flour, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, raisins and pecans. Pecans for Katie...she hates raisins, and raisins for me....
Of course mine is the one on the left....there is nothing bad in these muffins, unlike store bought muffins, which have some bad ingredients...and guess what? These muffins are delicious!!!!!
We are having vegetable noodle soup for lunch, which Katie made previously.
DINNER
We had pizza for dinner. Katie did not have any peppers so she subsituted pineapple pieces instead. All I can say is yummy! Also had onions, mushrooms, garlic, and homemade tomato sauce.
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! Weighed 237.2 this morning. We didn't make it this week to take our YMCA membership off vacation status, but we will do that this weekend and get back at it.
Katie and I had planned to go out to Affinity Vegetarian Restaurant for dinner, but not sure whether we are going to do that tonight or wait a week, due to the fact I have to eat on one side of my mouth.
Did I mention that I don't really feel that I am missing anything on this vegan routine? Well I don't, and no cravings either. I just would not have believed it, and if someone offered me a big steak or hamburger right now, I would have to decline. Don't know yet if it is permanent, after all this is only day 12, but it is looking like it may be or some modified version.
Had a really bad dream last night that Katie told me to go to VJ's (a local great hamburger and fries joint) and get what we used to have...and I did. Whew! when I woke up this morning discovered it was only a bad dream and was actually relieved. Could not and would not have said that 13 days ago.
BREAKFAST
Katie made cornmeal pancakes with blueberries, blackberries, and banana topped with pure maple syrup. Delicious!...she made one shaped like a heart...but I ate that one...hahahaha. Here's the other....
LUNCH
Katie made a smoothie, with banana, blueberries, blackberries, water....and it was very good!
Then we went to Organza market which is a organic and whole food type of market. Bought a few items, but not too many because it is more expensive than other places we have seen. I don't mind a fair markup, but when you compare that to other places, I view that more as pickpocketing. For example, one of their canvas bags...granted a bit larger than normal...with their logo and store name on it....$10. What a ripoff! You can get strong vinyl large ones at certain grocery stores for 99 cents. Other items were priced too high as well. We will not be returning.
Then we went to Eatit http://www.eatit.ca/Default.asp?c=152646 an organic store. Much smaller but the lower prices for the same articles compared to the other store reflected that. We did not feel like we were being bilked for our $$ in this store. We will return.
Then off to the Bulkbarn we went. We have been to these stores in the past and they are great. Almost anything you want in terms of bulk foodstuffs. Some of the same products as the other two stores only cheaper again. You just have to know your prices. My guess is...if we had purchased everything at the first store we would have been out an additional $10-$15. But here is the best of all, at the Bulkbarn if you bought more than $15 worth of goods, which we did...they issued you with a $5 gift card. Nice!
We had a couple more errands to do...but by this time...I had this time I had a real sore stomach. Don't know why as it was fine before I had the smoothie and not fine afterwards....but Katie had the same things as me during the day so far.
Because of that, we decided to delay our visit to the Affinity Vegetarian Restaurant.
DINNER
Well this may sound odd, but even though I still had the sore stomach, and I mean sore...I decided to still eat a full dinner even though many people I suspect would have said...skip it...give the poor thing a rest. Still don't know why I decided that, but I did.
So we had A veggie burger and a potato cut into fries but done in the oven. Put some white vinegar on them(many of our friends in the USA have no idea why many of us Canucks do this...yumm!
Surprisingly...but not really...somehow I sensed this would happen...my stomach pain started to subside gradually as the night went on.
After that some more catching up on missed episodes of Lost, and a couple of other shows.
Had a big bowl of oatmeal with banana and blueberries and the usual cup of espresso coffee. Sent off a valentines ecard to friends, who are enjoying the warm weather still in Pharr, Texas.
Talked to my youngest son yesterday, he and his girl have a busy day planned, going to the forks, the Festival De Voyageur, and are topping it off with supper at Mondragon, another vegetarian restaurant in the City. I don't really think what Katie and I are doing is rubbing off on him, as I think he has been there before...but maybe.....
Totally finished the problem with the piece of entertainment equipment, back in perfect working order....yay!
Got to get a great valentines card for Katie today...we were going to try Affinity Restaurant for valentines day, but a going to rain check it for a week until after I get my stitches out.
Friday the 13th today....be careful out there!!!!!!
LUNCH
had a veggie burger for lunch...quite good Went for my walk after lunch...took a few steps on the snow then went down hard. Pure ice under the snow. Took a shot on the elbow...but not too bad and went on with the walk. Seems like no adverse results...lucky.
DINNER
Katie made a stir fry which as usual was very good, had brown rice, peppers, spices, pineapple pieces Trying to catch up with the episodes of "Lost" that we missed while on our Texas Trip.
Had a big bowl of oatmeal with banana and blueberries and over the top rice milk. Think I will have a permanent tilt to my head, as I have to try and eat on one side of my mouth, so I tilt my head to the right to try and accomplish that. Good thing is...no pain this morning, can just feel the stitches on the roof of my mouth when my tongue accidently touches. The gum where the graft is...tender!
On the way back from the dentist yesterday, stopped in at Affinity Restaurant on Edmonton Street as they are another vegetarian restaurant. They had their lunch buffet laid out, so asked if I could take a lot(hahaha saved this version first, then realized, I had to edit this word to "look"). Sure, no problem...looked very good, and the restaurant is nice looking and clean. They also have a newspaper clipping from Marion the free press food criticd on their window...so that is a good thing. Katie and I will try that soon.
Weight this morning 237.6...going in right direction
LUNCH
Had big bowl of Katie's home made soup, which I had for supper last night.
DINNER
Katie was thinking about my sore mouth, and made a soft dinner, consisting of potatoes, portebella mushrooms, zucchini, onions, tamari, and garlic, Very yummy and easy for me to eat on one side of my mouth.
Espresso freshly ground coffee as usual...ummm. Kashi cereal with rice milk.
No more after that...had to get ready for dental surgery. At 10:30 went and did that, and by 11:30 I was done, $750 lighter in the pocket for a gum graft on one tooth, and an ice pack in hand. Have to go back in a week to have at least one set of stitches out.
No lunch...but later was able to cut up a banana and eat it on one side of my mouth. Taking Tylenol and ice pack on and off the rest of the time.
DINNER
Katie made soup, from vegetables ground up, some peanut butter, soft noodles, and god knows what else. Very good...just hard to eat is all...as I have to tilt my head to one side to try and keep it all on one side.
Not in that much pain, but certainly looking forward to healing. Don't really want to think too much about the next procedure which would involve an implant.
Weighed myself this morning 238.2...but I'm sure I'll be losing some more with the lack of calories I'm taking in.
We started off our morning with a bowl of Oatmeal, complete with banana and blueberries. Also our cup of Espresso Coffee.
Read an interesting article this morning, about the consequences of the "Western" type diet...not the Tammy Wynette type of diet, but rather the Winnipeg type of diet. Of course we have all known this for a long time...but most of us choose to ignore it for all types of different reasons. For Katie and I, it just reinforces the steps we are taking right now.
Had a veggie burger for lunch. Then it was off to the periodontist. Bad news in terms of $$. I have a tooth at the bottom which is deteriorating as a result of a previous injury. It has to come out and I have the choice to replace it with an implant...a mere $3,000-$3,500 or not. Then I have a receding gum on a tooth at the top, so tomorrow I am going to have a skin graft to build up the gum...luckily it is covered by Katie's plan 80%, but I still have to pay $750. Oh well...all things considered...not a big deal at all.
After the dentist had an apple with some peanut butter on the slices.
Good news for the day...after three days of trying...solved my ongoing problem with a piece of my equipment....YES!!!!
DINNER
Katie decided to make a stir fry...and it was very good!
Had rice pudding for dessert, which was also very good.
Some relaxation tonight...then off to the periodontist tomorrow.
Had a bowl of cinnamon harvest by Kashi with bananas and a good cup of espresso coffee...yumm.
weight this morning 238.8....fine with me!
going to work some more on my technical problem today...can't stand something not working, especially if I can see some light at the end of the tunnel.
Also, will go for my usual walk today, my audio book is nearing the end, so will have to get another ready to go.
Seem to be sleeping a bit longer during the night than before, just wake up too soon before Katie's alarm goes off at 6AM is all.
Better weather here today...although freezing rain overnight, so it was very slippery, and more accidents than normal, according to the news.
LUNCH
I had left over vegetable medley on a bed of brown rice, and a sald with balsamic vinegar with raspberry blush vinegar. Very good actually.
Then tried to go for my daily walk, but going out the door was like walking on a skating rink..only worse...so I turned around and came back in again. Worked on my technical problem...not there yet...but getting there.
DINNER
Katie got a different kind of veggie burger but from the same company as the other day. This one is actually called a veggie burger instead of garden burger. We had it on a whole wheat bun with regular mustard and whole grain mustard. This burger was on the small side, but very good!
then we had left overs from the delicious restaurant on Saturday. This does not look that appealing but was still very good.
For dessert we are having rice pudding, made with brown rice, cinnamon, raisins and pure vanilla which we bought in Mexico.
It's hard to believe this is Day 7, and both of us don't feel like we are being deprived. I just never would have believed I could do this...but I am. Katie is going to reschedule her annual physical for Feb 17th, so that we can give this regime a good chance and see if it makes any noticable difference in her regular numbers.
We started off our morning with a bowl of Oatmeal, complete with banana and blueberries. Also our cup of Espresso Coffee.
Then it was cleaning up the condo, and I spent most of the day trying to solve a technical problem with one of my pieces of entertainment equipment. I virtually spent most of the day on it..because I very seldom give up easily. Other people including my boys will tell me to give it up, but I usually don't. I still have not solved the problem and it is now almost Dinner time...I will put it aside for today as I am burned out...but will tackle it again tomorrow.
I was so into the problem, that I did not have lunch. Around 4...I had a banana and then went for my usual walk. Not so cold today...so it was good.
We didn't make it to the Y today to take our membership off holiday status, but will do that sometime this week.
We are going to have Katie's delicious pizza tonight, and will have leftovers from the delicious restaurant tomorrow.
Katie made whole wheat pancakes this morning...whole wheat flour,cornmeal,ground flax seed,bananas,blueberries, whole grain rice milk,added cinnamon,baking soda,and sodium free baking powder, and a dash of vinagar. The whole thing topped with pure maple syrup.
Delicious of course! along with our espresso bean fair trade coffee...we like our coffee a bit more on the strong side than most...for us it's hard to get into weak coffee, we like the full flavor.
Weighed in at 240.8 this morning, but Katie is down 4 pounds. I'll have to watch the nuts snacks during the day I think.
LUNCH
Katie and I had some errands to do today, so in the early afternoon, we stopped at Subway to share a 12 inch veggie delighte sub. It was good.
I had to fix a computer for someone, so that took up a good part of the day, installing winxp from scratch and getting all the updates put on. Also had to locate some drivers. It is never really easy with computers.
Dinner
Katie and I were going to wait until tomorrow to go out to a Vegan Restaurant, but found out the one we wanted to go to is not open Sundays. So, off we went to "Delicious" Vegetarian Restaurant on Pembina Highway.
Nice cozy place and not too crowded. Now if anyone has asked me anytime if I wanted to go to a vegetarian restaurant, I would have said "What? are you crazy?"
We asked the asian server for some recommendations but she did not speak English well, but in no time the owner "Mannie", a female, came over and she was extremely helpful when we told her we were neophytes about vegan food.
Soon after we had ordered soup to share....
with noodles and a peanut flavor, a little hard to explain, but.....YUMMY! The dish was actually called noodles and peanut soup. We had two helpings each, but couldn't finish it, because we knew we had more dishes coming.
Then the mushroom chop suey came, along with eggplant and black bean sauce, and brown rice.
Then came the Sweet and Sour Gluten Balls....
and....
Wow!!!! Every dish was delicious...which is so appropriate seeing as that is the name of the restaurant. What a shock for us to get food that tastes that good, presented so well, and with great service, with no meat, no dairy, and no processed foods. They don't even sell soft drinks, only tea, many different kinds, coffee and wine and beer.
Mannie was very attentive and made sure we always had lots of tea, water with lemon, and that we were enjoying our meal. We told her that we would certainly be back! and we will!
Then it was back home with full stomachs and a doggie bag, because we had ordered too much and were too full.
Despite a good day, still missing our friends and the Rio Grande Valley though!
We started off our morning with a bowl of Oatmeal complete with banana and blueberries. Also our cup of French Roast Coffee.
Feel fine....don't know about this for sure, but seem to be sleeping a bit better and do not seem to be so tired at night when relaxing and watching the tube. We'll see.
Weight stayed the same at 241. Maybe snacking on too many nuts, we'll see about that as well.
So far so good...not really missing meat or dairy or processed foods at all. Matter of fact and I wouldn't have believed this...if someone offered me a nice thick juicy steak, or a hamburger right now, I wouldn't want it. Unbelievable! We'll see if that lasts as well, as we're extremely early into this adventure.
LUNCH
For lunch had left over vegetables on top of the rice which Katie had prepared for the week. Still very good, although green beans and peas are still not my favorite of all time, matter of fact, when I was a kid I just wouldn't eat them period.
Went for my 40 minute walk, fair amount warmer today. Put the new windows 7 on my desktop computer today so that it would dual boot with XP that was already on there. Not as easy an install as it should be, due to the fact it needed a driver from the raid system on the computer, so I had to find the original disk or it wouldn't have installed at all. This is a beta version supplied by Microshaft so they can get feedback, and expires on Aug 1st. DINNER Someone at Katie's work told her about veggie burgers which they said were good. So Katie picked some up at Safeway....
After Katie was finished with them they looked like this along side yams on two pieces of whole grain bread, sort of like a sandwich burger...
Actually quite good, would definitely try them again, although would like to try some of the other top brands as well.
Still feeling a bit hungry at times although you're not really supposed to on this regime because the food you are eating is supposed to be more filling. Not terribly hungry, so it is not a problem. Have to make sure we do not expect too much too soon...after all this is an adventure!
Had to drive Katie to work today, so after a fairly decent nights sleep, we were up at 6AM. Our cheating cup of coffee was next, french roast coffee beans...and ummmm again.
Then it was a duplicate of yesterday's breakfast...a banana into a bowl, with Kashi Cinnamon Harvest Cereal, and "Ryza" whole grain brown rice original, poured on top. Still good and I don't mind it at all.
Went for my 40 minute walk, glad to be back at it, after not doing it regularly during our trip to Texas.
Weighed in at an even 241 this morning...going in the right direction.
Katie has lost a couple of pounds as well.
I think one of the good things about this type of eating, is that any weight loss will not be due mainly to water loss, as is the case, with the high protein low carb way of eating, that has become popular since Dr. Atkins. On those type of regimes, one tends to start putting weight back on when stopping the "official" diet, and many people gain back more than they lost.
We're just trying to get healthier, and weight loss due to this type of eating will be a bonus.
LUNCH
Had the rest of the lunch from yesterday along with one piece of dry whole grain toast. Nuts and raisins for snacks
DINNER
Katie did it again!!! Made a veggie pizza so good she could sell it!
Whole wheat crust, homemade tomato sauce, with zuccini, red pepper, onion, mushrooms, tomatoes, and sprinkled with Italian spices.
It was awesome!
For dessert we had apple crisp with raisins and coconut, also good.
A cup of green tea to finish it off.
Now time for some more relaxation...we are planning on taking our Y membership off vacation hold on Sunday.
As we said, we were going to cheat with one cup of coffee in the morning, so into the grinder the french roast coffee beans went, and soon we were enjoying a delicious cup of coffee...ummmm
Then it was a banana into a bowl, with Kashi Cinnamon Harvest Cereal, and "Ryza" whole grain brown rice original, poured on top. This product is lactose, and gluten free, and enriched with calcium, vitamin D, and Vitamin A. It is pretty "thin" looking... worse than skim milk in appearance, but I didn't find it too bad at all, and I can certainly get used to it.
Both Katie and I are still pretty tired from our trip, always seems to take me three or four days to recover from a vacation.
Got to get organized...place looks like a hurricane hit it...but told Katie not to worry about it, as she is back to work today.
Weighed myself this morning 241.6...don't attribute this to being a vegan for one day...always lose weight when I get home, and stop eating like a pig.
Got a nice phone call from my friend Al this morning. He and his wife Judi are leaving in a few days for a two month holiday in Port Aransas, Texas. They were there last year and looking forward to their return trip.
LUNCH
Although tired, off I went in the cold for my 40 minute walk. I listen to an audio book while walking so it is actually quite enjoyable...more so...when it's warmer.
Katie had prepared more than required for last nights dinner so we could have some for lunch today. I had half of what remained so there is still some left. I also had a piece of whole grain bread toasted with no butter or margarine. Tasted just as good today as it did last night.
for a snack had an apple with a little organic natural peanut butter on the slices for extra flavor.
a few peanuts also during the afternoon.
I had a surge of energy, so starting getting things organized which were all over the place. Did some washing, vacuuming, and just generally getting things in better order. Katie was back at work today, so I am sure she will be happy to come back to a neater looking place.
DINNER
Katie did it again...another great meal...didn't think I would ever be eating like this...my mom wouldn't believe it if she saw it. The only thing I didn't like the taste of is the green beans...but...I think I will get used to it.
Dinner consisted of brown rice done in our new rice cooker(Katie made enough for the whole week) along with a stir fry medley, all mixed vegetables with balsamic vinegar and vegetable broth, which Katie added some garlic and ginger to.
The salad had raspberry balsamic vinaigrette on it.
Some green tea with blackberries, raspberries, pears, and a fig puree for dessert.
Just got back from 1 month holiday in Rio Grande Valley in Texas. During that time, both Katie and I ate more than we usually do...a lot more! The portion sizes were often huge and a lot of the foods were fried, and certainly not what one should be eating on a regular basis.
It is an old-fashioned,plant-based, whole foods diet based exclusively on whole fruits, whole vegetables and whole grains and offers literally thousands of food choices. It is derived from very simple dietary rules doctors use to successfully treat and reverse a wide range of diseases, particularly our number one killer, cardiovascular disease.
Both of us can stand to lose quite a few pounds and eat in a more healthy manner. We have tried many diets in the past with only limited success. My dad died of a heart attack when he was 54, although my mom lived to 100...so what does that mean? Katie's family has a history of Cancer.
We have decided to give the Rave Diet, which basically amounts to a change in lifestyle, a go, for 30 days and longer if possible. All will depend on how well we do, how we feel, and if we still believe that it is a more healthy way of living.
We are going to combine this type of eating with regular exercise. Prior to going to Texas I went for a 40 minute walk every day, and also went to the YMCA, Katie would go to the YMCA downtown at lunch time and do 30 minutes on the stair stepper. We intend to keep this up.
Our goal is to get thinner, reduce the important readings the Doctor takes for the annual medical, and in general just be more fit and healthy.
The Rave Diet book comes with a DVD which is an eye opener. I feel that some of the DVD contains some material which I think goes a bit far, but I can't argue with the claims of the medical benefits. There have been many studies over the years which I am aware of, which prove, that thinner is better. That's one thing....now, we intend to see if Vegan is better as well.
We are both committed to doing this, although I anticipate some difficulty as I dislike many of the foods which I will likely be consuming.
Today, Katie and I will be going shopping and loading up on fruits, vegetables, nuts etc...to start this adventure.
I anticipate posting as often as possible to create a personal account for ourselves as well as any of you who may be interested in following our progress, and/or trying the same thing in the future.
Katie and I will both do a weigh in today so that we can establish a starting point. We will also take before pictures....I will publish my starting weight...but Katie will keep hers to herself...at least for the time being. The pictures will also not be published, but may be at the end of the experiment.
Wish us well on our adventure, please.....
Morning
Starting weight on this adventure for me is 242.4 lbs, which means I gained approx 7 pounds on the Texas Trip.
We started off our morning with a bowl of Oatmeal complete with banana and blueberries. The only thing at this point we plan on cheating on is having one cup of coffee in the morning. On the Oatmeal, we put whole grain brown rice milk...not quite as good as regular milk, but not too bad at all really.
LUNCH
today we had to go get enough groceries to give us a good start on eating the vegan way. So lots of running around. We decided to have lunch at Subway. We had the veggie delighte sub, all veggies with whole wheat bun, with mustard. Actually quite delicious, I quite enjoyed it.
As I said, lots of running around, Costco for different types of nuts, Bulk Barn for spices, whole wheat pasta, more nuts, and other powders, apple butter, molasses etc. to make some of the recipes.
SUPPER
We are both pretty tired from the drive home, and are just glad to be home now. We had thought about going to a vegetarian restaurant today, but decided instead we were better off at home. Katie is making yams with real maple syrup, fussilli pasta with vegetable tomato sauce. Hmm...sounds yummy.
And is Yummy!! A very good supper, the veggies were stir fried with no oil, and the yam was excellent. Katie is just an excellent cook, and it it weren't for her we would not even be attempting this. I would lose weight by just slowly starving. We are just going to kick back and relax and watch some of the tv shows we missed which were recorded on my PVR while we were gone.
Every Year for the past few years, Katie and I journey to Pharr, Texas, where we have a mobile home in Paradise Park.
We also sponsor three girls in Nuevo Progeso, Mexico, so they can go to school. We travel to Mexico to see the kids, with Sr. Maureen Crosby who runs the program and our friends Ken and Vickey, who are Sr. Maureen's constant helpers.
Starting last year we also go by ourselves several times
and Stir Fried Noodles
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