update

  So maybe your wondering how is this advegture going? I have made some great progress and I am stumbling in others. This is a huge learning curve for me and a big lifestyle change.In one week I have been at this for 5 months.I am VERY proud of myself and I know this is the right fit for me.

    So what is working:

  Not one piece of chicken, red meat or fish in 5 months.I can honestly say I still don't miss it.I was wondering if it might happen but, nope there is no desire.I have had moments where the smell of certain things makes me pause but, I keep on going.It really helps that veggie food is wonderfully fast.Thank goodness!

  I NEVER in a million years thought I would look forward to a salad.I can EAT THEM AS MEALS.Who would have thought of it??? Eat a salad as your main meal..before I would have thought LOCO.

  Frozen Gardein meals...I Love these new Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers.They are so easy when I get home late.

  My new treadmill~ It lets me run a bit and I am smitten.It  is so nice to be able to do something consistently.

  Yoga~ what am amazing difference.I am craving the flexibility it is giving me but it also is teaching me to calm down and breathe.I need to do that alot.I use the time after to sit and meditate for 5 minutes. I will be increasing the time slowly.

  Learning to go without and make changes.I CAN have pizza but, it has veggies and no dairy.It is really good.No I can't have food at ALMOST ALL fast food places.(Which is not a bad thing) I can find places where I can get some things.If I can't I go home.

 My skin looks way better,my digestion system is in heaven I NEVER have stomach problems anymore.My energy is the most consistent it has been in 6 years.My blood pressure has not gone above normal.I tend to react with less intensity than I would have in the past...I don't get as wound up. These are some of the big things for me and they are why I continue on this journey.

  Some of my challenges:

  Motivation~ Right now it is motivation to make some new and exciting recipes.(hence no pictures lately)My food has been processed and fast way too much. This I have to get back on track.

   Vacation~ it's going to be hard.I HAVE to plan snacks and come up with some great road trip solutions.Then maybe research some restaurant ideas for myself.At least some vegetarian ideas.Then feel as confident about my choices away from home.Yikes!! I will share some of my thoughts and ideas in a travel post before I go.

  I have been indulging in dairy, bits and pieces here and there.I know that to keep my veins and heart healthy this has to go.This is my next step.I will tackle that one when we come home.It will be the second half of my year goal.

  This one most people will relate too.Stop doing the things that drive me crazy.Those habits that we beat ourselves up for and can't conquer.I CAN CONQUER ANYTHING!!!! I have left the meat in the dust now it's time to be brave and get rid on some of the things that control my world.Sugar and coffee.That's right it is time to say bye bye and hello new world.There are SO MANY different food and drinks that are way better for me.Hello herb teas,H2O and fruit.So starting tomorrow I will be blogging and crying about my brave new world.

  Well I'm off to the Blog world to do some catching up.So I hope everyone is well and trying one meat free meal a week!! Chow for now!!

Some of my favorite things

  Look out Oprah here I come!!!( If you could hear right now~ their would be evil laughter).So I promised in my previous post to share some fun and interesting finds from the past few weeks.

                         It was fast (but cooked a bit slower so the whole thing heats right through...see I'm learning) I liked the taste and I just had it with some rice.These meals are great in a pinch.

  Now these are dangerous.My sister said to try them.These are super delicious!!! I have to portion them or I could get carried away...okay I did get carried away.So next time I won't bring the whole bag with me.

  This was such a great pizza.The caramelized onion.Super good!!

  Basil..oh how I love thee!!! This little beauty has been in alot of recipes lately and I am in love!!!

 This was worth the $7.00 I paid.I would never have known that this was not dairy.It's tiny and mighty!!!

 Cinnamon-I have just added this to my shakes.I learned from hol-fit blog that 1 tsp of this beauty adds 1.4 grams of fibre and iron and calcium.(I KNOW-CRAZY!!) It's an amazing antioxidant and keeps the blood sugars under control.On hol-fit blog she also taught me the fire hydrant push up.Wow- it's effective.She has a great blog and lots of information.

I am going to end with -hopefully-attaching a YouTube presentation of Colleen Patrick-Goudrue making bacon tempeh.I thought it was great and I will be making that soon.

  So these are just a few things that I have recently added to my life.I have enjoyed them! I was really glad to find a ice cream replacement it was one of the few dairy product I was really missing.I am learning with so many blogs out there that people really want to share.So seek out the information and someone will let you know what they think or what their experience has been.
  
  In one week I have been eating darn close to Vegan for 3 months.So next week I am going to post my "How it's going so far".I am so excited!!

New product I tried

  So I gave these Gardein beefless tips a try. They were okay.I made some mistakes so I will try the rest of the bag this week.The oil was to hot when I put them in.I had to take them off before they were dark crispy blobs.(that's a nice word to use:)So they were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.I didn't care for that.I am thinking of making them thinner and most definitely frying them slower.
  My parents were away for six long months(lots of long hugs and just about tears) and we had dinner at there place last night.They were so sweet,my mom made a huge salad,chicken pot pie(I didn't have any) and made vegetarian rolls(just for me).I thought that was so nice.I love my family!!
  I am going out tonight with my girlfriends.One of them is turning 50 and looks frigging fabulous.I hope to look like her at 50.Actually this group of friends makes getting older seem like a walk in the park.They all look great and would give any 30 year old a run for there money.We are going to order Indian food,drink wine and laugh off butts off.Seriously they always make me laugh.
  Two examples of family and friends accepting what I am doing and still loving me for it.I am very blessed.

A few of my favorite new things!

These are out of this world!

yummy kale!

this is such a fantastic butter replacement

Delicious

eye opening

 So I have been trying some new things since I started eating more veggie.I thought I would tell you about a few:
    Gardein Marinara meat free chicken- sounds weird but,these are so good.They are super fast to make.They have worked in a pinch because John has been having separate meat meals.I think they would be pricey for a family,you get two in a bag for around $5.So $2.50 a piece.It was very filling for one.I would buy these again in a heartbeat.They have so many other products and I am looking forward to trying them all.They have a fabulous website http://gardein.com if you want to check it out.

    Kale-I never had this vegetable before and it is easily going to become a staple.("Kale,it's the new spinach" that's from my favorite show Modern family.lol)It's gone into my stuffed peppers and my spaghetti a couple of times and I want to make Kale chips.Vegetarian times has a recipe I want to try.I will try it this week and let you know how it goes.Josh and I can make it together.

  Earth Balance butter-you would never know that this is not butter.Its soy oil and canola oil.It tastes just like the real thing.It supports healthy cholesterol levels,it's rich in Omega 3's,free of GMO's,hydrogenated oils and no artificial ingredients.It spreads really well,you can bake,cook,fry and saute with it.Seriously it's so good.

  David's Tea toasted Almond-I did discover this in the winter but, I had to put it in.As far as green tea goes it's the bomb!! I am TRYING to get rid of coffee and this has been a great substitute.

  Food Inc- I just watched it last week.It just made what I am trying more solid.Now it is American but,our Canadian meat is 95% factory farmed.Chemically what we are consuming is scary.Just putting it in here if you want to check it out for yourself.

   So these are a few of my favorite things I am really happy with right now.Hopefully you see them and want to try.Anyone out there doing something fun with kale? I am getting my book that I have been waiting for from the library today.The China Study it is highly recommended on alot of the sites.Former President Bill Clinton talks about the author when he was interviewed for his plant based diet.I am so excited.