Gotta get out, get me some of those ra-aa-ays!

The weather has been gorgeous lately, and I felt it was time to take Pekoe out on her harness so she could get some fresh air and direct sunlight. Of course, she is always freaked a bit when we go outside - the outdoor sounds, smells and sights are so fascinating to a house cat! Since walking a cat is nearly impossible, we just sit in a sunny spot near the building, she climbs on my lap (a rarity!) and I get to comb out a bunch of her undercoat (also a rarity!). As I tossed the huge tufts of fur on the ground around us (hey - it's biodegradable!) a small bird flew down, grabbed some of the fur, and flew away with it! I told Pekoe, "Look! Your fur is being reused by the birdies!" She gets so distracted by the sensory overload that she doesn't even care about the outside birdies.

In other events of the day, earlier Claire, the boy, my mom, my sister and I took a trip to the annual Good Food Festival, where we snacked on samples, bought hot sauce, bread and parchment paper, and made my sister eat an olive.

Later in the day, the boy and I had a wonderful dinner with Julian, Christina and Wes. On the way to their condo, the air turned chilly so I put on my striped arms warmers. A few minutes later, a passing car slowed and the boys in the back seat yelled out to me in unison "Beetlejuice!" My reaction was a mix of wounded pride and amusement. The boy laughed his ass off. Thanks, boy.

That evening Christina and Julian made us such a great dinner - Bipimbop (a Korean dish made with rice, vegetables and a spicy sauce) with avocado rolls. With the boy being vegetarian, me being vegan, and Wes on a strict detox, the meal was made vegan, salt-free and almost sugar-free! And it was incredible - black rice topped with shredded carrots, cucumber, sprouts, spinach and a sweet chili sauce for the bipimbop, and avocado, lettuce, wheat wrappers, green mango, green apple and a dijon sauce for the wraps. So tasty, so light and so filling! I also tried Soursop for the first time. Even though it goes against my desire to eat more locally, I think I need to shop in Chinatown occasionally just to try new things.

Updated!!

I finally updated my shop! Thanks to VeganKnitting for giving me a little kick in the pants.

And, yes - That is a Facebook tab opened behind the Etsy Shop. Add me to the obsessed.

ETA: 1 necklace is spoken for already! Thanks, my friend Summer!

ETA#2: The Magnolia cluster necklace is sold! Thanks, Lindsay! You rock!

Food Log | April 28, 2007

brunch:

• coffee*
• leftover stew (aka "Freezer Food")
  

afternoon:

• 1 vegan muffin from Whole Foods bakery
• 1 coffee*
  

dinner:

• 3 tacos with:
• black beans mixed with TVP, spices, nutritional yeast, salba, and salsa
• 3 corn tortillas*
• chopped tomatoes, green peppers
• 1/2 avocado
• red wine
  

vitamins:

• b12/b6/folate
  

*organic

Food Log | April 27, 2007

breakfast:

• coffee*
  
• 1/2 cup of müsli with salba and ground flax, mixed with a little raspberry juice and water
  
• more coffee

lunch:

• big salad of:
• black kale*
• napa cabbage
• parsley
• quinoa and red lentils
  
• 1 avocado
• lime juice
• water
  

afternoon:

• 1 apple*
  

dinner:

• black beans mixed with salsa, a couple of handsful of blue corn tortilla chips*
• 3 dark beers
  

vitamins:

• b12/b6/folate
  

*organic

Challenge of the 1 Month Challenge + Food Log | April 25 & 26, 2007

There's been no exercising since Saturday, and today is Thursday. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings this week have been spent at meetings and events, with me returning home anytime between 9:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Hopefully tonight I can go for a run, after all the errands and cleaning I have to catch up on. If not, I'll aim to get myself up early tomorrow morning to start the first of my anticipated morning runs. And somehow I want to work in some upper body strengthening. AND I want to buy an exercise band as recommended by jen, but I haven't had the chance to get to a store to buy one.

Today's and yesterday's logs:

breakfast:

• both days - coffee*
  
• yesterday - 1/3 cup of müsli
• both days - more coffee
• today - a VegeHut chickpea and potato spelt patty
  

lunch:

• yesterday - big salad made of black kale*, napa cabbage, chickpeas, green onions, tomato, tahini dressing; bowl of bulgur and chickpeas, cooked with bottled vegetable juice; water
  

• today - salad of black kale*, napa cabbage, cooked quinoa* & red lentils, 1/2 huge tomato, green onion
  

afternoon:

• yesterday - water only

• today - müsli, carrot sticks*
  

dinner:

• yesterday - 1 VegeHut spicy TVP patty

• today - Yoga Soup and a couple of handsful of blue corn tortilla chips*
  

vitamins:

• none yesterday. Today - b12/b6/folate
  

*organic

Happy Birthday, Sister!

(and don't hate me because of the photo!)

Food Log | April 24, 2007

breakfast:

• water, coffee*
  
• 1/3 cup of müsli
• more coffee
  

lunch:

• big salad made of:
• black kale*
• napa cabbage
• carrots*
• green onion
  
• tomato
• a drizzle of sesame oil and lime juice
  
• water
  

afternoon:

• 1 cup cooked bulgar cooked in 1/2 small bottle of vegetable juice
• 1/3 can of chickpeas
  

dinner:

• Hopefully the afternoon meal will tide me over until I get home from a meeting tonight and I won't have to eat anything else.
  

vitamins:

• sublingual B12 with B6 and folic acid
  

*organic

One of my new favourite photos

You can see the reflection of my mom on the left and me, taking the photo, on the right. Tomorrow my beloved little sister turns fifteen. FIFTEEN!

Food Log | April 23, 2007

breakfast:

• coffee*
  
• 1/3 cup of müsli
• more coffee
  

lunch:

• big salad made of:
• black kale*
• napa cabbage
• carrots*
• broccoli
• topped with a cumin tahini* dressing
  
• water
  

afternoon:

• 1/2 carrot*, 2 baby cucumbers
• water
• coffee
• cranberry juice (no sugar added, and watered down)
  

dinner:

• I hope to have an incredible Laila falafel since I'll be in the area and on-the-go tonight
  

vitamins:

• sublingual B12 with B6 and folic acid
  

*organic

new jewelleries!

Some photos of new necklaces I made last week. This week I'll get them up on my Etsy shop...









I'm happy with the styles, but I'm also really happy with how the photos turned out :)

Food Log | April 22, 2007

breakfast:

• coffee
  
• 1 fruit and nut bar, on the go
• 1 small bottle of OJ
  

lunch:

• Teriyaki stir fry with jasmine rice at Jack Astor's for my sister's "2 days before your birthday" lunch
• 2 club sodas

afternoon:

• peppermint tea
  

dinner:

• handful of blue corn tortilla chips*
  
• 1 1/2 bowls of throw-together stew:
• tomatoes, broth*, spices, broccoli, carrot*, a little peanut butter*, barley, quinoa*, red lentils, brown lentils and kale*
  
• water
  

vitamins:

• sublingual B12 with B6 and folic acid
  

exercise:

• just a little walking
  

*organic

The day of avocado

It was absolutely gorgeous today. 23 degrees, clear skies, no smog, sunshiney goodness. I got up this morning, had a little photoshoot with my newest necklaces, went for a run and spent the afternoon with an old friend who I am seeing too little of lately. This evening, the boy and I met friends at one of the best veg restaurants in the city. All in all, a great day!

Right after my run, before heading back home, I stopped at the Big Carrot Wholistic Dispensary to pick up a couple of things and came across some sample packets of Vega, and figured I'd give it a try. Developed by Ironman and vegan Brendan Brazier, Vega seems to be like a blend of protein drink, greens+ type of dealy and meal replacement. I'm not really one to do protein shakes and whatnot, but the list of nutrition facts on the back of the package was intriguing. There were 3 choices - chocolate flavoured, berry and plain. I tend to be more of a berry girl, so I bought the pack for about $2.50 and took it home. This is what it looked like, after mixing with water:



An unappealing thickish green sludge. But the tastiest thickish green sludge I've ever had! Yes, this avocado green swamp actually tasted like berry, with no hint of green or algae or weeds. Just yummy berriness! I didn't price the tubs of powder, but next time I'm in the area, I will definitely consider buying more Vega!


And now for today's food log:

early afternoon:

• water, coffee
• 1/2 cup of Vega* (actually only 1/3 of a full serving)
• 1 whole wheat pita spread with hummus
  

late afternoon:

• snack samples at St Lawrence Market - tofu chunks*, 1 small bit of bread dipped in oil, 1 chip with great smokey salsa
• the Big Salad at Juice for Life:
• avocado (1), marinated tofu cubes, cucumber, carrot, tahini dressing, on spring mix
  
• 1 beer
  

evening:

• Dinner at Vegetarian Haven:
• 2 pot stickers
• 1/2 bowl of mushroom and avocado (2) soup, shared with the boy
• 2 puff pastry rolls stuffed with avocado (3)/horseradish mixture, carrots and grilled tempeh, purple rice, spring mix salad with 1/4 avocado (4)
• coffee*
• small bites of friend's German chocolate cake

That's right - I ate avocado 4 times today. And it was gooo-oood!

vitamins:

• sublingual B12 with B6 and folate
  

exercise:

• running (about 20 minutes), walking (about 2 hours), and a few arm weights.
  

*organic

Blah blah exercise blah food blah blah crafting blah food log

My ankle seems to have healed, though I am still not feeling motivated to exercise. I'm not sure there is there is one thing I love to do and can stick to, other than walking. And a good amount of walking takes time I don't really have, which is why I took up running. It's getting lighter in the morning, and warmer, so maybe I'll feel the urge to get up earlier to run then.

I don't want to waste this 1 Month Challenge thing, but I'm not sure how to do what I know I need to. The diet part seems to have become easier - as someone who isn't happy until my mouth feels as though I've eaten a lot, eating a lot of low-calorie food really helps me feel content. And after listening to the Vegan Freak Vegan Health Show podcast, I am more motivated than ever to improve my eating habits.

Enough about that and on to crafting. This week I sat down and made 4 new, beautiful necklaces which I will photograph and get up on my etsy shop very soon. Seems I let the items up for sale all expire, so the shop is empty! Yipes! I also have a whole whack of earrings, but I'm waiting to be able to shoot them in natural light. Of course, I'll post the photos here as well. Check back soon!


Today's food log...

breakfast:

• spiced chai with soy creamer, coffee at work
  
• 1/2 cup of müsli with flax and salba. I added some barley and rye flakes to the oatmeal this time - it's really good!
  

afternoon:

• a form of tabbouleh:
• parsley* and kale
• tomato* and cucumber
  
• bulgar
• sunflower sprouts*
• garlic powder and lemon juice
  
• water

snack:

• strawberries*

dinner:

• it was a late night at work, so I ate a can of chickpeas straight from the can. mmmm.
• 1 mixed drink - Crown Royal, club soda, raspberry juice
  

*organic

Raw vegetable soup

I made my first raw meal tonight, besides salad, for the Vegan Cook-a-long - a raw vegetable soup! Raw! Not cooked! It was really surprisingly tasty. Read more here!

Food Log | April 18, 2007

breakfast:

• spiced chai with soy creamer, coffee at work
  
• 1/2 cup of müsli with 2 strawberries, ground flax and salba (includes almonds, walnuts, pepitas, and sunflower seeds)
  

afternoon:

• salad with cucumber, quinoa*, carrots*, celery, pea sprouts*, hummus, kale, radishes, lemon juice
  
• water

snack:

• a few strawberries
• 1 slice of cheeseless pizza
• water
  

dinner:

• raw vegetable soup
  

vitamins:

• sublingual B12
  

*organic

Effed ankle, crankiness and Food Log | April 17, 2007

Last night, the plan was to go for a run. But somehow, over the weekend, I effed up my ankle. It feels a bit twisted and it goes away and comes back unpredictably. So, I ended up doing some mat exercises this morning along with some arm strengthening. At the moment, I'm using only 5 lb dumbells but 5 lbs is plenty for my weak office worker arms.

Sunday I went to Claire's for brunch, and had 2 carrot muffins, 2 tea biscuits (from How it all Vegan), veg bacon, a crepe stuffed with fruit, pan-fried potatoes, 2 mimosas and a small amount of popcorn. Later that night, I had a tiny bowl of leftover stirfry with peanut sauce and chips and hummus. A little more raw green would have been good, but I didn't feel I ate too terribly.

I weighed myself yesterday and the past couple of weeks have been better than I thought. I weigh about 147, down from almost 150, which means my ideal weight is only 12 lbs away. At 5'2, 135 lbs has a BMI of 24.7 (just below their almost silly number for being overweight - 25) and is a very reasonable and healthy weight for me. I know people throw around the "big-boned" argument, but I truly am. I have large ankles and wrists and look sickly at 125 lbs. A sickly looking mishka is not a pleasant mishka.

The rainy weather and heavy air is making me a wee cranky. I'm hoping the blahs pass in time for my TVA meeting tonight!


breakfast:

• spiced chai with soy creamer, coffee at work
  
• müsli with 2 strawberries, ground flax and salba
  

afternoon:

• salad with romaine lettuce, quinoa*, carrots*, celery, pea sprouts*, hummus, kale
• water
• about 10 french fries, leftover from the boy's Taco Bell lunch
  

snack:

• sliced mini cucumber and strawberries
  

dinner:

• at 5:00: 2 slices of cheeseless pizza
• green tea
  
• 4 hours later: 1 cup of quinoa topped with leftover tomato sauce and nutritional yeast
  

exercise:

• morning: 20 minutes of mat exercises, stretching and arm weights

vitamins:

• b12, b6, calcium, iron
  

*organic

Food Log | April 14, 2007

breakfast:

• coffee*
  
• Indian buffet brunch:
• channa masala, aloo gobi, basmati rice, 3 papadum, 5 small onion bajia, cantaloupe, grapes, blood orange slices, dal
  

afternoon:

• 5 pieces of Lindt 70% cocoa chocolate while watching To Kill a Mockingbird
  

dinner:

• Smaller than usual serving of stir fry with peanut sauce:
• bok choy, broccoli, snap peas, sprouts, carrots, peppers, mushrooms
  
• 2 beers*
  

exercise:

• morning: 20 minutes running. I find I run much better in the morning - I have more energy and I can run for longer spurts.
• afternoon: walking around the city - about 1.5 hours
  

*organic

My wimpy heart's a-pounding, and a food log.

Our upstairs neighbour has this incredibly annoying habit of hammering stuff on the weekends, before 9 a.m. In the bedroom, right above our heads. I have tried ignoring it, pounding on the ceiling, and just laying in bed complaining, just to avoid confrontation. But my sister is visiting this weekend and sleeping in the bed with me while the hacky coughy boy sleeps propped up on the couch (he's at the walk-in clinic now seeing about this cough he's had for 3 weeks) and I could not stand it anymore. I brushed my teeth, threw on a cardigan and marched upstairs. I took a deep breath, my heart pounding, and knocked on the door. No answer. I could hear a TV, but I could not hear any of the hammering that I heard less than 60 seconds before. I guess they finished. I cowardly slunk back downstairs, grateful for not having to confront this person, and now I'm awake and jonesing for a coffee. I think I'll have the coffee and go for a run. My sister is still asleep and it'll be nice to work in some exercise today.

Later today, we are introducing her to Indian food. I've decided that each time she visits, she'll 1) be exposed to a new type of cuisine and 2) learn something new, typically in film form. Her last visit she tried Ethiopian food and I showed her Bowling For Columbine. This weekend, Indian and Sharkwater. Maybe next time, Buddhist Chinese Vegetarian and some sort of rally to shake things up a bit. But right now, I'm really looking forward to introducing her to some pakoras...


Food log from yesterday:

breakfast:

• water
• usual müsli
• coffee*
  

lunch:

• leftover tempeh salad
• 1/3 can of chickpeas
• celery, carrots*
• hummus
• water
  

afternoon:

• 1 nut and dried fruit bar
• coffee
  

dinner:

• an order of curry pad thai
• 1 dark ale*
  

No vitamins, no exercise.


*organic

The end of indulgence.

I promised I will buy no more shoes for a while. That is, until we start hiking. I'll need a good pair of decent vegan hikers ;)

I've only worn them around the apartment, but they feel pretty comfy. The upper material is very soft and I don't expect any blisters. And they're a pretty red :)

For more prettiness, have a look over here. Thee images near the end of the post are just so beautiful.

Food Log | April 12, 2007

Seems it doesn't take too long to give in to temptation. I brought a nice salad for lunch and planned to tell the person ordering pizza for a good-bye lunch that I didn't want one this time. The co-worker I usually share the cheeseless pizza with was not here today. So, the pizza came and my lunch got stored for tomorrow...


breakfast:

• 1 glass of water first thing in the morning
  
• 1 extra spicy soy veg patty
  
• coffee at home*, and at work
  

lunch:

• 5 slices of cheeseless pizza with artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, green olives, mushrooms. Yes, 5.
  
• 1 diet coke
  

afternoon:

• 2 more slices of pizza. The rest went into the freezer.
• water

dinner:

• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 1 cup canned tomato sauce with
• mushrooms
• peppers
• zucchini
• carrot
• garlic
• kale

• soda water
  

vitamins:

• none
  

exercise:

• morning: 10 minutes of arm weight exercises
• evening: 20 minutes run/walk intervals: run until tired, walk for a minute or two, run more, etc.
  

*organic

Official Shoe Hussy

It is increasingly difficult to find basic vegan Mary Janes. Those of you who know me well, know that I don't venture far from the Mary Jane style, so this lack of availability has been driving me crazy. My cheapo Payless shoes always crack at the sole and the last pair I had were leaking water inside. Not fun in these last chilly days of winter-spring. And the new dainty, small, very flat shoes that are popular these days just don't fly with me.

I sent plea to the Shoe Hussies at VRF, and Devin found me a pair of basic black MJs at Ragazzi Vegan! They are relatively inexpensive ($45 US) so I bought these and a pair of red sandals (they're still at work. photos to follow.). However, Ragazzi Vegan does not have the ability to accept international orders through their website yet and their 1800 phone number was not working when I tried it but, if you write them a very desperate sounding email (actually, I wrote 3. I was determined.) they'll get back to you and take your order. They ship through UPS, so customs is a bit ouchy, but if the shoes last for more than a year, I'm one happy vegan-footed gal. If you do order, keep in mind that the shoes seem to run about 1/2 a size large. I ordered a 7.5 and I probably could have ordered a size 7. Nothing a nice comfy insole can't fix!

Food Log | April 11, 2007

breakfast:

• 1 glass of water first thing in the morning
  
• 1/3 cup of homemade müsli:
• rolled large flake oats mixed with dried cranberries, walnuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds, almonds*, and moistened with water and a drop of lemon juice
  
• 2 tbsp ground flax/salba blend
  
• coffee at home*, and at work
  

lunch:

• salad of:
• about 1.5 cups of raw chopped green kale
• 1/2 can of chickpeas
• 1 chopped carrot*
• sprinkle of ground cumin, garlic powder and a drizzle of lemon juice
  
• water (0.6 L SIGG bottle)

afternoon:

• 1 celery stalk
  
• 1 tbsp natural peanut butter*
• water
• 1 double (2 small rounds of hot fried dough, sandwiching curried chickpeas *drool*)
  

dinner:

• Dinner at Vegetarian Haven during a TVA Comm Committee meeting:
• 4 Potstickers on a bed of sauteed cabbage
  
• 1/2 an order of tempeh salad (tempeh, mixed beens, beets, greens, carrots, tahini dressing. I'll take the rest for lunch tomorrow.)
• 2 glasses of water
• 1 coffee
  

vitamins:

• iron (veg capsule), calcium, B12 pill, B6, folic acid
  

exercise:

• morning: 10 minutes of simple mat exercises and stretching
  

*organic

I'm such a joiner

In an effort to whip myself into shape, I have joined the 1 Month Challenge. I don't yet have a plan, but I'll work on that today. My goal is to increase my current level of fitness (measurable results TBD), tone my body (results measured by my mirror), and lose about 15 lbs* of fat.

The results will be posted here, tagged as "1monthchallenge".

Anyone else a joiner?


*ETA: Thanks to jen for pointing out that 15 lbs is a bit high for a 1 month goal. I completely agree and actually meant to indicate that 15 lbs is a longer term goal. I hope that whatever I accomplish during this 1 month challenge will put me on the right path, and will help me to lose those 15 lbs by mid-summer. That's about 3 months away and 1.25 lbs a week. Still a definite challenge for me.

Our shame.

Below are some links to petitions and info on the disgusting display that take place this time every year. Please take a few moments of your time to take some action against the Canadian Seal Hunt.

seashepherd.org
getactive.peta.org/campaign/p2sealhuntpetition
savecanadianseals.org/action.html
thepetitionsite.com
stopthesealhunt.com
harpseals.org

Not soon enough for me.

After spending about 6 hours traveling to, waiting for, and being on GO Buses on what was the longest but shortest long weekend I've ever had, I cannot wait until we get our taxes back so we can finally. buy. our. car. already.

We test drove the Honda Fit in Georgetown this weekend (where we were cat sitting the boy's mom's cats. My cats stayed at home... they're self-sufficient), and it was great! Small, comfy yet roomy, peppy and good on gas, we're about 99% certain that we'll be getting the Fit within the next month or so.

Not only was the weekend stupid with buses - traveling from Toronto to Georgetown to Bramalea and back to Toronto, about 126 kms in total - but it was really bad for eating as well. We ate no raw vegetables and ate way too much bread - lasagna, pie, toast, pizza, stir-fry with rice noodles and peanut sauce, more pie, ice cream (vegan for me), even more pie, tortilla chips, salsa, hummus, pita (mom: the pita, chips, salsa and hummus were tasty as heck. thanks!) and more lasagna. And wine and rye & diet pepsi. No salads, very little water, no flax/salba for 3 days. And my body can feel it. As I said to Carla today, last night I was "a lump of grump on the couch" and I blame the lack of fresh vegetables and water. Um, and my period.

So far, my food log for today is almost identical to Friday's.


breakfast:

• 1 glass of water first thing in the morning
  
• 2/3 cup of homemade müsli (with water), 2 tbsp ground flax/salba blend
  
• coffee at home* and work
  

lunch:

• bento bowl filled with:
• quinoa* cooked with red lentils and non-fat broth
• thawed frozen broccoli
  
• radish sprouts*, sprouted by me
• 3 large radishes
• cucumber slices
• 1 carrot, shredded*
  
• 1 whole avocado
  
• 8 olives - a mix of green, black and not-so-black
  
• squirt of bottled lemon juice
• 2 tbsp of the best hummus ever - Sunflower Kitchen Roasted Garlic & Onion
  
• water
  

dinner:

• Yoga Soup, with only 3 dumplings and no yummy oils (chili oil and sesame oil)
• 1/2 a green salad (some organic ingredients) with a dollop of hummus. The rest was packed up for Tuesday's lunch.
• water
  

*organic

Pumpkin Hat

My first baby knit project, I made this hat a few weeks ago for my friend Tara's baby, Vincent. I used a pattern I found on the internet and it knit up really quickly. Definitely a quick satisfaction type of project.



It looks so teeny tiny, but it stretches really nicely.




Ready to be plucked from the pumpkin patch.




Overhead view. I love the texture that the purl columns created - how the knit columns balloon out like a real pumpkin.

Food Log | April 5, 2007

breakfast:

• 1 glass of water first thing in the morning
  
• 1 mug of mint green tea
• 2/3 cup of homemade müsli (with water), 2 tbsp ground flax/salba blend
  
• coffee at work
  

lunch:

• bento bowl filled with:
• quinoa* cooked with red lentils and non-fat broth
• thawed frozen broccoli
  
• radish sprouts*, sprouted by me
• 8 olives - a mix of green, black and not-so-black
  
• squirt of bottled lemon juice
• cucumber slices
• 1/2 chopped green onion
• 2 tbsp of the best hummus ever - Sunflower Kitchen Roasted Garlic & Onion
  
• water (0.6 L SIGG bottle)

afternoon:

• coffee
• 1 carrot*
• small apple*
• 6 small stale sesame bread sticks
  

dinner:

• Lick's Nature Burger combo
• Nature burger on a whole wheat bun - ketchup, mustard, pickles, onions, hot peppers
• medium fries
• regular Diet Coke

• a couple of mixed drinks
• Grapefruit Frizzante, Club Soda and Crown Royal
• ginger ale and Crown Royal
  

• evening snack: about 15 blue corn tortilla chips and several generous dunks into the best hummus ever.
  

vitamins:

• none yet
  

exercise:

• morning: 10 minutes of arm conditioning
• evening: piddly little 20 minute walk
  

I've kind of missed out on the green leafies today - we used up the rest of the lettuce last night. Hopefully the broccoli and sprouts helped a bit.


*organic

The hottest stockings evah!

Knit Skull Lace Stockings.

One day. One day, you'll be mine!

.

Henry Miller and a Food Log | April 4, 2007

I have a magnet at my desk that is a quote from Henry Miller. Not because I'm this big Henry Miller fan. I've only ever attempted to read Tropic of Capricorn, and I didn't finish it. No, my boss gave me this magnet because it reminded her of my attitude towards life. Sadly, this attitude often gets suppressed by the daily activities of life, but it is something I subscribe to in my heart:

"The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly. serenely, divinely aware."

The comma between "aware" and "joyously" annoys me. Should it be something else? Is it correct? I dunno.


A couple of events have inspired me to continue with my food logs. As my readers, I'd like to know what you think of their appearance in my blog - do you enjoy them, dislike them, or are you indifferent to them?

I've stated my reasons for wanting to keep track before, but I'll just briefly explain again. I'd like to keep track of my calorie and fat intake for weight loss reasons, and my nutritional intake for health reasons. By making my log public, I become a bit more accountable to people who are interested in following my progress, plus I develop a responsibilty to represent veganism - show the naysayers that we can have a varied, tasty and healthy diet. Lastly, keeping this log reminds me of important things that often slip my mind - taking vitamins, exercising (new addition to my log) and making a point of drinking water.

I'd really like too know what you think of food logs. Not so much the content, but their regular appearance.



breakfast:

• 1 glass of water, first thing
  
• 3 slices of cheeseless pizza, thin crust, with green olives, mushrooms and sundried tomatoes
• 1 mug of jasmine green tea
  
• coffee

lunch:

• bento bowl filled with:
• romaine lettuce
• quinoa* cooked with red lentils and non-fat broth
• thawed frozen broccoli
  
• radish sprouts*, sprouted by me
• 1 shredded carrot*
• 8 olives - a mix of green, black and not-so-black
  
• squirt of bottled lemon juice
• 1 high fibre whole wheat pita
  
• water (0.6 L SIGG bottle)

afternoon:

• coffee
• 1 small sesame breadstick
• teeny handful of mini choco chips
  

dinner:

• Yoga Soup with:
• yellow thai curry paste
• ramen noodles
• edamame*
• 5 pot stickers
• broccoli
• ginger and garlic*
• shredded carrot*
• topped with lime juice, hot pepper oil and sesame oil

• water, 3 tall glasses throughout the evening
  

vitamins:

• B12, iron, calcium/vitamin D, B6
  

exercise:

• morning: 20 minutes of various mat exercises - basic yoga, stretches, leg lifts, arm weights
• evening: 25 minutes walk/run intervals in the freezing cold
  

*organic

Craft Magazine

Does anyone in Toronto know where they sell Craft Magazine? I've checked my local international magazine shop and Book City (which we affectionately call "Boo City") but I have not seen it. Is it possible that they don't distribute up here?