"enjoy your vegans."

I really enjoy eating at vegan/vegetarian restaurants. The menu is much more creative and exciting. Different ingredients and combinations, it is almost impossible to choose. Nothing you would ever find at your local Applebee's (Couple's Retreat joke. Anyone??). Anyway....

Tuesday's Groupon featured a place called, Tree Hugger's Cafe. With me being on the hunt for vegan restaurants, I was easily persuaded to try them. The menu is huge and offers a bunch of different selections for meat-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. The atmosphere was that of a typical coffee shop or small bakery:

(quite cozy until I spilled my entire glass of water on my lap - sheesh)

My dinner consisted of a sampling of:

Sweet potato fries coated in a cinnamon sugar salt with a side of honey mustard (I didn't dip, honey is technically not vegan.)

A [coffee] cup of vegetable soup.

Black bean chimichanga with sweet potatoes, brown rice and a side of vegan mango salsa.

Everything was very good, but had a bit too much seasoning for my taste. Cinnamon overpowered the sweet potato fries and chunks in my chimichanga. A little goes a long way with such a strong spice.

With their support for local food, and use of organic/healthy ingredients - I will definitely make my way back.

sushi and conflict.

I have been feeling on top of the world the last few days. This blog has already revealed a few great opportunities and rewards in its short run. I felt like I finally started to find my niche. Then it all came crashing down today.

You see, I don't talk about my food adventures with most face-to-face - especially those I work with. Today it came out, and today I felt more bullied than I ever have in my life.

"You're crazy."
"Why???"
"I could never do that."
"How are you even getting enough nutrition?"
"Do you never go out? You can't eat ANYTHING."
"You are not eating enough, how can you run?"

No wonder people fail. Apparently a person cannot change the way they live to better themselves, without being ridiculed and mocked.

I am angry. I am upset. I am disappointed. But I am NOT discouraged. Jealously will not discourage me. If anything, I will work even harder.

fact.

• I've never felt better.
• Skin is clearer, energy is high.
• I am getting proper nutrients. Multivitamin along with extra calcium.
• Although not the intended purpose - down 5 lbs. in one week.
• There is plenty to eat when you go out. Choose wisely and ask for substitutions.
• I no longer snack or eat out of boredom.
• My temper is gone. My mom says I am much more pleasant, and I don't get aggravated like I used to. (Hmm, jumping to conclusions here - animal hormones make you a jerk)
• Food cravings are non-existent.
• Rarely tired.
• On a meal-to-meal basis I don't need to eat as much as I used to.
• And most importantly, I am more educated about food and nutrition.

Although I'm still agitated by the situation, I know I will move past and be stronger in the end.

fall festivals!

This past weekend CLE hosted a few very fun festivals, all right up my alley. 

The Cleveland Botanical Gardens presented RIPE! Food & Garden Festival. Celebrating local farmers and distributors, this was super fun for a foodie like myself!

Unfortunately, not many of the samples were vegan-friendly. Everything looked and smelled incredible though.

Some of the lovely gardens:

Food was had at the Great Lakes Brewery. It was Oktoberfest weekend!

Amongst the menu of pork schnitzel, potato pierogies, bratwurst, and cabbage was *sigh* a vegan burger...

Oh don't get me wrong, this was DELICIOUS buuuuuut the Hungarian side of me was aching to scarf down all those heart-stopping meats and cheeses. I allowed myself to have fries to make up for it : )

IngenuityFest 2010 is maybe the coolest thing I've ever been to. It was held under the Detroit-Superior bridge, in the old subway level. Yeah, that's right.

Over the bridge:

Under the bridge:

Sooooo cool! Hats off to the city for letting this space house the IngenuityFest this year. I couldn't think of a better venue for an art and technology festival. Brilliant I say, BRILLIANT.

Still think Cleveland's a drag??

black bean chili with butternut squash.

Hey Friday, nice to see you!

It has been a long and busy, yet uneventful week. Wish I had more to report, but I do have some fun things planned for this weekend. Keep an eye out Monday for a recap.

My dad came home from the hospital this week (yay!), and I've offered to help my mom out with the cooking. Since my parents aren't vegan or necessarily vegetarian, I wanted to find good hearty meals and still stay vegan/vegetarian. For my dad's new super-powered heart, I'm trying to incorporated a lot of heart healthy vegetables and fats.

After having a delicious vegan wrap from Tommy's (I had a picture but was deleted in my frantic Blackberry scrolling), I went home to cook Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash and Swiss Chard for dinner tonight. It looks gorgeous, and tastes surprisingly meaty.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed, drained
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
• 3 cups (packed) coarsely chopped Swiss chard leaves (from 1 small bunch)

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté until tender and golden, about 9 minutes. Add squash; stir 2 minutes. Stir in chili powder and cumin. Stir in beans, broth, and tomatoes with juices; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in chard; simmer until chard is tender but still bright green, about 4 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle chili into bowls and serve.


I don't love onions, I probably only used a 1/2 cup chopped and I didn't have any chili powder (whoops), so i did a couple sprinkles of cayenne pepper. Eh, seemed to be okay.

With a chili or stew I seem to think making it the day before you plan on eating is best. It has time to macerate and thicken. Serve with some bread and go to town!

I'm sure my parents will be very happy tonight!

happy weekend!

paper v. plastic

The age-old question, paper or plastic? Which one is actually better? Growing up I always thought plastic was the right choice, until our homes were overloaded with bags filled with bags stuffed in drawers and closets. What happens to them now?

Then we have the paper debate. Paper comes from trees, and we must save the trees! So, which is better - paper or plastic?

Both are equally terrible. They take the same amount of energy to produce, ship, and store. Paper cuts down trees, and plastic takes approximately 500-years to decompose. *sigh*

Thankfully, it is the 21st century and we have a third option. The reusable bag was introduced in 1977 as an alternative to plastic bags, but has only recently become popular. Many stores carry them to be purchased for a few dollars, and some do offer a cash credit every time you use your reusable bags. Here is a list of stores that have an incentive for bringing your own bags:

• Whole Foods - 5¢ off your total or toward a local charity of your choice
• Target - 5¢ off your total
• Trader Joe's - an entry into their monthly drawing of a $25 gift certificate
• Heinen's - 6¢ off for every $20 spent
• Kroger - 5¢ off your total
• CVS - Greenbagtag program. Buy a tag for 99¢ and attach to your bag, every time you shop have the cashier scan the tag and your Extracare card and you will receive a dollar every 4th visit. CVS will donate 5¢ to the World Wildlife Fund for every Green Bag Tag sold between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011.
• IKEA - charges you 59¢ for every plastic bag you use.

Save money and the planet!

in other news...

Day three of my vegan challenge, and I am doing well. I will admit that it is a lot harder than my vegetarian challenge. I'm taking a lot of time to read labels and Google ingredients. I've successfully vegan'd at Chipotle and Starbucks (only after I investigated thoroughly : )

With the hectic-ness of my life this past week, I haven't had a normal schedule or the time to shop/cook/run/think. wahhh! So this is why I had the most random meal of my life last night. Furiously searching my kitchen for vegan foods, (finding old moldy things along the way) I settled on this:

Sweet potato fries, kosher pretzels with sesame seeds, carrots, and roasted red pepper hummus. Wasn't great, but got the job done. My hunger has significantly gone down, and my body wants food only for nourishment. That's impressive for such a short amount of time.

I shall keep you posted. Happy Wednesday!

three week vegan challenge.

Having this blog makes me accountable for my recent changes. Putting all of my goals and challenges out there pushes me to succeed. I don't want to write a blog about how I failed, and have all of you judge me. I don't want you to see me fail.

I will run a half marathon, I currently do not eat meat, and I will be healthy.

Today starts a new challenge. I will be a vegan (a strict vegetarian; someone who eats no animal or dairy products at all) for three weeks. Three weeks?! Yes, three whole weeks. No animal products, a diet full of simple whole foods.

My only concern: pizza. Oooh how I love pizza. I can survive 21 days without pizza, right?? When I start getting the detox pizza sweats and shakes, then I'll start to worry. Eek.

I am not going to rely on those vegan trick foods (tofurkey, vegenaise, cheese alternatives) either. Totally cheating, plus they are really expensive. I'm sure being vegan will cost a bit more than my usual diet, but without the cost of milk and eggs it will probably even out.

A healthy me, a healthy planet.
Wish me luck!

broken heart.

Knowing our body is the most important thing to living successfully. Having the ability to know when something is wrong will save your life. A lesson I thankfully learned this week.

My dad wasn't feeling right on Monday, and he had a triple bypass on Thursday. He didn't have a heart attack or stroke, he just felt...off. I cannot thank him enough for listening to his body, he saved his own life.  I'm trying not to cry while I write this, but THANK YOU DADDY! You are the smartest/funniest/most awesome-ist person I know and I love you with all my heart.

Doctors aren't mind readers, so taking care of our bodies is all on us. Prevention with a healthly diet is probably number one. I honestly believe that everything can be healed with diet. Well sure, hereditary diseases or defects are bound to show in some, but a lot of people die from silly things that could have been prevented.

*cough*smoking*cough* (puns intended)

I now know that heart problems are a thing on my dads side. So, am I going to start eating tons of fried chicken and french fries? Not so much. I've cut meat out (which I'm learning is pretty awful for your body anyway - I'll get into that some other time), I eat more vegetables and whole grains, I'm a cardio machine. All these things are good for my heart, and knowing this at 26 is extremely valuable. I don't want to be old and hunched over, going to the doctor every week.
Live healthy now, so you can live healthy later.

The more you know.


Classic Dick Marshall. Fort Meigs Monument in Perrysburg, Ohio.

Get well soon PanPaw!