Q&A About My Recent Weight Loss: Part 2 of 2

(...continued from yesterday. If you haven't read that, I would start there. Here is the link: Q&A About My Recent Weight Loss: Part 1 of 2.)

What is a typical day of eating for you? How do you make it work for the whole family? Any favorite tips, kitchen essentials, recipes.

Again, this inspired the posts about 'What I've Been Eating Since Becoming Vegan' and yesterday's 'Meal Compromises to Please Everybody'.

A recent typical day of eating:

Breakfast: Banana, Grape Nuts with blueberries, flaxseed, and soy milk
Lunch: Steel cut oats with soy milk, cocoa powder, dried cranberries, vegan chocolate chips, chia seeds, and pumpkin seeds.
Snack: fruit or a handful of olives
Dinner: Whole wheat pizza crust with tomato paste, homemade vegan mozzarella, caramelized onions and garlic, and pieces of pan-fried tofu.
Snack: Smucker's Natural peanut butter (I just eat this with a spoon!)

As far as kitchen essentials, I use my blender ALL THE TIME. I can't even remember the last time I used a blender before becoming vegan, though! Now I use it to make cashew cream, "cheese" sauces for pasta, vegan mozzarella for pizza, and even chocolate pudding. I had to get a new blender, and now I kind of wish I'd spent the extra money to get a Vitamix. They're super expensive, but I had no idea at the time just how much I would use it. (The one I have is great, and it gets the cashew cream perfectly creamy, but I have to run it through 3-4 cycles.)

I also use mason jars for all sorts of things: prepping my oatmeal, storing spices that won't fit in the small spice jars, mixing ingredients for sauces, etc. I use mason jars for one thing or another just about every day.

Finally, my tofu press! I was hesitant to spend money on something I could do with items at home (you can wrap tofu in paper towels, top with a plate and something heavy on top--essentially, you're trying to squeeze the water out of it).

This thing is MUCH more convenient and well worth paying for. I actually should buy another, because sometimes I need to press two blocks at the same time. Here is the Amazon (affiliate) link for the one I have: Tofutures Tofu Press. (When I linked it just now, I noticed it's on sale for Amazon's Early Access deal that is only on the 11th and 12th. So, I just bought a second one.)

Do you have a theory of why eating vegan has helped with your chronic pain?

I honestly don't know how eating vegan has helped my chronic pain. When I was seeing a rheumatologist last year and she diagnosed fibromyalgia, she said that two of the most effective things I could do to help with the symptoms were 1) get enough sleep; and 2) eat a plant-based diet.

I immediately dismissed the plant-based diet, because I "knew" I could "never do it". And as for sleep--I have chronic insomnia, and I have for as long as I can remember. I would *love* to get enough sleep! But my body just doesn't want to. So I felt kind of hopeless. I was crying all the time because I was in so much pain and there was nothing that I could do about it.

I didn't become vegan in order to try to fix the fibromyalgia symptoms, but I realized one day, probably 6-8 weeks after eating vegan, that I got out of bed without hurting. Then I thought about it and I couldn't remember the last time I was in so much pain in the morning that I couldn't really function for at least an hour. I started checking in with my body: Does this hurt? Does this hurt? How about this? (All of the things that used to cause so much pain.) And it was gone!

Was it from the vegan diet? I can't say for sure, but I believe that's what helped my pain. I'd tried SO many therapies and medications and I was just sick of it. It would be quite the coincidence if the pain went away shortly after becoming vegan. My dad has chronic pain, too, and I have been trying to get him to try a plant-based diet for just a month to see if it helps--but so far, no luck!

I am currently plant-based but am a terrible cook and I overthink everything, so just coming up with something simple to eat that also tastes good seems to be so difficult for me. I'd love to hear some of the meals you like to make and if you've got any good meal prep or just food/ingredient prep ideas that have made eating easier/simpler/a no-brainer.

This is very similar to the question below, so I'll go into (far too much) detail there. This question really inspired a couple of recent posts, however, which you can find here: Meal Compromises to Please Everybody. Also, I recently wrote a post with a TON of food ideas (seriously, there are about a billion pictures). You can find that here: What I've Been Eating Since Becoming Vegan.

My husband and experimented with vegan for about 8 weeks once. The thing that killed me wasn’t the food, it was all the food prep, three times a day. How do you streamline this, especially with kids!

That is one of the reasons I always said, "I could never do that!" when referring to a plant-based diet. It seemed like SO much work. After becoming vegan for ethical reasons, I knew I was going to have to find a way to make it work.

Some things that I do now to make it easy:

*I always have some sort of grain in the fridge--barley, rice, farro, etc. I cook a batch of something every few days and that way it's ready for a super quick meal.

*I keep some single serving sauces in the freezer (see yesterday's post). When I want to eat in a hurry, I grab the grain from the fridge, a can of chickpeas from the pantry, and a sauce cup from the freezer. I put it in a pot on the stove to heat up (and thicken the sauce) and add a couple of handfuls of either fresh or frozen veggies (broccoli is easy and goes with a lot of different meals).

*Tofu is my go-to for protein now--I love it! I buy several blocks of it when I grocery shop, then I put all of them in the freezer when I get home. I always make sure to have a thawed one in the fridge, too, so whenever I use one, I replace it with one from the freezer. After a lot of experimenting, I perfected the way my family likes it prepared, so it's a no-brainer when I am ready to cook. We never have leftover tofu in my house, so I'm not sure how it reheats!

*When I'm exhausted and don't even want to turn on the stove, I'll grab a couple of slices of Dave's Killer Bread (SO good!) from the fridge, and make a an old-fashioned peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I add a cup of applesauce on the side, and dinner is ready in less than three minutes.

*I have several seasoning mixes in the pantry and ready to use--my favorite is a "cheese" powder that can make macaroni and cheese super fast and easy. If I have cooked pasta in the fridge, it's even faster. I just have to heat the noodles, add some soy milk and a couple of tablespoons of the "cheese" powder and microwave. It makes a delicious macaroni and "cheese"! (The recipe can be found on It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken)

*I keep silken tofu in the pantry because it has a long shelf life and it's SO FAST to make a tofu scramble. If you mix a larger batch of the seasoning, you can keep it in the pantry and use as needed. I just put some bread in the toaster while I cook the tofu, incorporating the seasoning. I like to have a side of roasted veggies, but if I don't have those on hand, a piece of fruit works too. (Even for people who aren't vegan--scrambled eggs are SO fast and easy!)

*I am not a huge fan of raw veggies, so I like to roast a big batch at one time and then reheat them when I want to eat. My favorites: broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and green beans. I find that those reheat the best. I just add some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then roast in the oven until they are just barely fork tender.

*I think the thing that has helped the most with food prep is that I eat the same breakfast and lunch every day. I know that not many people would prefer that, so I would maybe try to narrow it down to 2-3 different ones that you rotate. It helps a lot to have all of the ingredients on hand all the time--which is hard if you're having seven different breakfasts and seven different lunches each week.

I prep all of my oatmeal for the week at one time--I just portion it all out into mason jars and put them in the pantry until I need them. My breakfast is a very simple one: Grape Nuts with blueberries (I use frozen ones for convenience), a little flaxseed, and soy milk. I like not having to think about breakfast or lunch!

It seems that you have dropped a lot of weight in the last few weeks. Is this because of your vegan diet?

This has actually really surprised me--I have never dropped weight like I have in the past six weeks or so! When I first became vegan (late January), I didn't start losing weight very quickly. I had been going up and down with a few pounds for a couple of months, and my weight was very slowly creeping downward in an overall trend. And I was fine with that--from experience, I knew that the smaller I am, the harder it is to lose weight and it comes off more slowly.

In mid-August, however, it just started falling off really quickly. I was extremely overwhelmed at the time--trying so hard to keep up with way too much that was going on in my personal life, and I kind of lost interest in food. I was still going through the motions of eating, but I stopped eating junk food completely (simply because I didn't even think about it--I was too overwhelmed with other stuff). I assumed that the weight loss was due to stress and the loss of appetite. 

I still feel overwhelmed, and I expect it to last at least until the end of October, but my appetite has definitely come back in the last couple of weeks. Maybe I'll even gain a little (which I'm fine with). My "goal weight" has always been 133, but I got down to 125 pretty quickly. I don't want to lose more, but I'll see what my body has in store for me--who knows?!

Is there a food you were surprised to like?

There have been a lot of foods that have surprised me! While I was losing weight last year, I was eating the same foods I was used to eating my whole life. When I started eating vegan this year, I discovered just how many ingredients I'd never tried or even imagined I would like.

I used to picture vegans eating nothing but salad, sprouts, and tofu. I have only had one salad since becoming vegan and I've experimented with sprouts, but I'm still not crazy about them. But tofu? THAT is the food that surprised me the most! This meme explains in perfectly:

It's completely true! When I first decided to try tofu, all I could imagine was that top photo. Once I started cooking with it, I couldn't believe how versatile it is. I was equally surprised when it became one of Jerry's favorite foods, too! (Even when he was still eating meat)

Another food that surprised me: cashew cream (I had no idea that raw cashews could be used to make a creamy base for LOTS of dishes!). I buy raw cashews in a huge bag on Amazon and keep them in the refrigerator. I use them all the time to make vegan mozzarella for our homemade pizzas.

---

Okay, I realize a lot of these questions are about vegan food rather than simple weight loss, but eating vegan has been my lifestyle for the past nine months, so it hard to even remember what it was like before. Counting calories definitely worked for weight loss--vegan or not. That's how I lost weight in the past, and even last year when I started losing weight in May.

In a nutshell, I think the *biggest* contributor to my weight loss has been eating so much fiber. I immediately noticed a difference (within a week) regarding my food intake. I was focused on eating fiber and not so much on my calories, but I realized that my calories decreased naturally while eating high-fiber foods. (Here is a post that goes into more detail.)

My favorite foods that have a lot of fiber: barley (I started using this instead of rice wherever I could); chia seeds; Grape Nuts; black beans and red beans; peas; lentils; and fruits like pears and blueberries. My cravings for sweets went way down once I added in the fiber, and then after becoming vegan, I very rarely eat sweets anymore. It's so weird that those cravings went away entirely.

Interestingly, I bought some grapes recently and discovered that I found them sickeningly sweet. You all know how much I loved grapes! People used to troll me about my "excessive" grape-eating. I don't think there is anything wrong with eating a ton of grapes and I would happily do so now, but I didn't like them very much because they were so sweet that they hurt my teeth.

I always swore I would never sound like a food snob, so I hope it doesn't come across that way. I've really enjoyed all the new-to-me food I've tried this year! And I'm amazed at my weight loss. I don't think it's really even registered in my brain yet. I've been more focused on food than I have on my weight.

Hopefully this helped answer some questions! If you have others, feel free to ask :)

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Q&A About My Recent Weight Loss: Part 1 of 2

I've been working on this post for way too long, and I'm sure I'm overthinking everything. I really need to just post it now before I drone on and on! I'm actually splitting this into two posts because it got very, very long--even for me. And you know I am wordy as it is.

A quick recap: In May of 2021, I reached my highest weight since losing 125 pounds in 2009-2010. I gained quite a bit in 2018 and it steadily climbed (aside from some weight loss attempts that didn't last long) until I saw that I was nearly 200 pounds again. I was shocked to see 197 on the scale and I immediately decided that this was it--I was done. I was going to do something about it.

I didn't even care if I got back down to my desired/goal weight of 133; I would have been happy if I'd gotten back down to 170 or so at that point. I started counting calories and the weight began to come off. I lost steadily at first, and then I was in a pattern of lose a little, lose a little, gain a little... repeat for months. In January 2022, I became vegan (for ethical reasons, not for weight loss or health). My weight was still moving slowly downward, and a year after I started losing weight, I had lost about 50 pounds.

For some reason, toward the middle of August, my weight started to drop really quickly. I honestly have no idea why! I went from 140-ish to 125 in less than two months. I hadn't really changed anything about my diet, but I had a TON going on in my personal life and I felt extremely overwhelmed. I can only guess that the stress had something to do with it, but I'm not sure. Or maybe my body was just trying to catch up to the changes I'd made when I started eating a vegan diet.

Anyway, I've been asked a lot of questions about my recent weight loss, and while I don't think I have anything profound to respond with, I put together this Q&A post to hopefully answer the questions.

How did you make the change? All at once or a little bit at a time?

I'm assuming this is referring to my current diet (note: when I reference "diet", I'm talking about my day to day eating habits--not a weight loss diet or program).

I like to make goals each year and one of my goals for 2022 was to focus on adding fiber to my diet. I didn't want to eat fiber just for the sake of fiber, though. Fibrous foods are generally much more nutritious, so I thought that could help me to eat healthier without focusing on eliminating food groups or getting rid of things that I enjoy.

I continued to count calories, but I switched up foods wherever I could in order to add fiber. (I only eat fiber from whole foods, though; I wasn't looking at eating Fiber One bars or anything like that. I'm not even sure if those are still a thing!)

This is something I ate frequently: barley with chickpeas and broccoli with stir fry sauce. It has nearly 19 grams of fiber--that's 70% of the recommended dietary intake!

I wrote a whole post about how fiber has changed my eating habits, which may be helpful.

I had absolutely no intention of becoming vegan; it wasn't even something I was interested in experimenting with. I thought I could never do it because I have a husband and two boys and I wouldn't want them to have to eat the way I did. And besides, I ate a LOT of dairy. I couldn't even imagine giving up milk, cheese or eggs, because those ingredients are in everything! (Or so I thought.)

Becoming vegan actually had nothing to do with weight loss. I was just up late one evening down the YouTube rabbit hole, and came across a documentary called Dominion, which is about the consequences of factory farming on animals and the environment. I was only able to watch about 30 minutes of it before I had to turn it off. I didn't have a "one last hurrah" meal or anything. I just haven't eaten any animal products since then.

I think it was the fact that I became vegan for reasons *other than* weight loss that made the change almost too easy for me. It wasn't like a weight loss diet, where the reasons were always about myself and my body; this was about the animals. Because my reasons were focused on that, I never had that battle in my head about whether I should eat something or not. If it was made out of animal products, I just didn't want it.

This picture is at least a decade old! But I had no idea what photo to use here, haha.

Something that really helped when I first became vegan was that I was already eating a ton of fiber--including lots of whole grains, beans, lentils, and I started adding more vegetables where I could. As a vegan now, the bulk of my diet comes from those kinds of foods.

In a nutshell, the dietary change for my weight loss over the past 17 months was pretty simple: 1) Count calories from May 2021 until early spring 2022; 2) Add more fiber; 3) Vegan for ethical reasons.

How long are you intending to eat vegan? Do you feel this is sustainable year round? 

I can't see myself ever eating animal products again. I don't like to say "never", because I can't predict the future, but I have every intention of eating vegan forever. If I was doing it for health reasons, I don't think I would have lasted even a week, let alone a year ;)  I believe it's definitely sustainable year-round--but of course, that could be completely different for other people.

You mention you eat the same breakfast and lunch. Can you link to your post where you have the recipes for those? Also any plans of changing it up?

Breakfast: I have always loved Grape Nuts cereal (or any kind of cereal, really), so I started eating that for breakfast. I added blueberries for more fiber. And at the time, I used dairy milk (I switched to almond milk when I became vegan, and now I like soy milk). Cereal is super convenient and I will never get sick of it!

Lunch: Oatmeal has always been a favorite food of mine (well, since I started losing weight 13 years ago), and I really like cold oats soaked in milk for lunch. I have a basic recipe with a bunch of different combinations on this post: 10 Summertime Mason Jar Oatmeal Recipes. Again, I love the convenience. I make a bunch of jars of the oats (just the dry ingredients) and keep them in the pantry. Every couple of days, I'll take some out and add the milk (I use soy milk now), then put them in the fridge.

So when I want to eat lunch, I just grab one from the fridge. I usually have a piece of fruit, too. It doesn't sound like a filling meal, but it's actually about 500 calories. It keeps me full all afternoon.

I've tried switching this up a bit and eating other things for lunch, but I always get hungry afterward. The oatmeal is satisfying all afternoon and I don't get hungry again until dinner. I'm not married to these meals, though! If I get tired of them, I'll switch to something else. But I really like them--they have a ton of nutrition (including nearly a whole day's worth of fiber), they are super convenient, and they're tasty!

Do you do any type of intermittent fasting?

I don't do any intermittent fasting. Actually, I recently started eating more frequently--I usually eat a banana right when I wake up, then breakfast an hour or so later. I also eat something in the late afternoon if I have cross country practice, and then dinner when I get home.

I find going out to eat is the hardest. Or when kids are busy and I just wanna order pizza or get drive thru. How do you manage those days?

I'm probably abnormal in this situation because I don't really like to eat out. I used to love it! But when the pandemic started, the restaurants were closed for a while and I got used to eating at home. I can actually count on one hand the number of times I've eaten out in the last 2-1/2 years. I started keeping convenient foods at home--like frozen pizzas--for days that we were busy.

Now, we still have busy days--even busier, actually--but I try to keep some convenient food on hand. I think it helps to have one particular go-to meal and always have the ingredients for it on hand. One of our favorites is quesadillas--we always have flour tortillas in the pantry. I keep cooked taco meat in the freezer for the kids, so I just have to microwave a small portion of it for the quesadillas.

I lay a tortilla flat on a skillet on medium-low heat (dry skillet--no oil), sprinkle on the taco meat and cheese, then top with another tortilla. When the bottom tortilla is browned, I flip it over and cook for another couple of minutes until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are nicely browned. (For my vegan version, I use black beans, corn, and vegan cheese). We use salsa for dipping (and sour cream for the boys). It's super fast and easy, and everybody loves them.

I make them when my kids have friends over, too, and teenagers love them. Below is taco meat and cheese, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream.

If you think of a meal or two that you really like and keep the ingredients on hand, it's that much easier to throw together. You can even freeze cooked pasta or rice or other things that you normally have to wait for water to boil. Then just pull them out when you want to make something quickly.

I know you use to count calories. Did you stop since you became vegan, or just because you hit maintenance?

I stopped counting calories about a month or two after becoming vegan. I didn't do it on purpose; I realized I'd stopped logging anything past breakfast and lunch. I was making a lot of new-to-me food and I didn't take the time to input the recipes on the food tracker, so it was basically out of laziness that I stopped tracking. I was very surprised (and excited) when I discovered I could still lose weight without tracking my food! I'd never been able to do that before.

You haven’t mentioned bingeing in a long time. Is the urge to do that just gone?

I haven't binged in a very long time. I really can't remember the last time! The urge became far less frequent when I was diagnosed with bipolar and started a mood stabilizer, which makes me think that my binge eating was related to my moods/compulsive behavior. Now that my mood is stabilized, the urges are few and far between. (I still have periods of depression and hypomania, but nothing like they used to be.)

Would you say it's your running regime or the going vegan that has had the most impact on recent weight loss?

I can say with 100% certainty that it's from my diet and not from running. Why am I so sure? Because I've been terrible at sticking with a running routine! I was doing good with it last year and here and there this year--I want to run, and I always plan to run, but I just haven't made it the priority like it used to be. After the excitement of racing wore off, I've a hard time pushing myself to run.

From the very beginning in 2009, though, it's always been my diet rather than exercise that helped me lose weight. I started exercising because I know it's good for my body (and then I got hooked on races for several years). My weight went up and down based on what I was eating and not if or how much I was running.

June 2021 - one of my first runs when I got back to running last year

Has eating vegan increased your food costs?

Actually, it's been quite the opposite! The grocery bill is much lower than it used to be. Some of the foods or ingredients I enjoy now are kind of expensive and it was hard to justify at first; but when I saw the total amount spent on groceries overall, it was the meat and dairy that made the bill so high.

A few days ago, I made a couple of dinners for my friend who just had a baby, and they aren't vegetarian or vegan. As much as I didn't want to buy meat or dairy, I chose to do so for her family. The two dinners added up to $40--I was stunned. I can make several vegan meals for that much.

I’ve been struggling with IBS crap (pun intended) for a long time and I know that my offenders are fructans and fructose. I’m considering giving up gluten to cut down on my fructan consumption. But my husband is the one who primarily does the cooking. Any suggestions on how to navigate that if I don’t want to force him and my son to be gluten free also?

I wrote a post recently about meals ideas that can make everyone happy (when people have different preferences or restrictions). While I don't pay any attention to gluten, I imagine you can come up with some meals that are naturally gluten free and wouldn't be considered an alternative.

You could also cook any ingredients with gluten separately and, after you've taken your portion, add the gluten ingredient(s) to the portions for your husband and son. I do this with meat and/or dairy--I make meals where most ingredients are vegan, but if my kids want meat or dairy, I keep it separate from mine and Jerry's. Yesterday's post has several examples of how I do this. So I'm guessing it could work in your situation!

...to be continued tomorrow...

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Meal Compromises to Please Everybody

I just posted a ton of food ideas last week (you can find that post here), but I don't think this is redundant. When I started working on a questions and answers post about my recent weight loss (I promise to get it done soon), there were several responses I wrote that referred to meal prepping and planning and executing--I realized it could probably be a post of its own.

When I became vegan in January, I was kind of clueless how I was going to be able to do it while still making meals for my (meat- and dairy-eating) family. I didn't want to force my lifestyle on them, so I tried to find compromises that would make cooking dinner more convenient.

As time went on, I tweaked things here and there to make it simpler and more stream-lined. I feel like we have a pretty good system down now, so I thought I'd share some ideas that have really helped us.

First, a little background on why I hate meal planning so much:

Eli (meat-eating) - Extremely picky and wants to live on practically nothing but junk food. Also eats at work frequently (he works at Qdoba). A lot of his shifts are last-minute, so it's hard to count on whether he'll be here for dinner.

Jerry (meat-eating until August, now entirely plant-based) - Will eat anything I make and even if he's not crazy about it, he never complains. He's honest about his thoughts on a new recipe, which is helpful. He'll eat vegetables, but only if they are there in front of him; he never requests them and I know he doesn't love them. He takes leftovers to work for his lunch, so I try to plan meals based on his schedule as well.

Noah (meat-eating, but very open to plant-based meals) - Willing to try anything I make, but rarely cooks for himself. He doesn't like cereal or sandwiches or other no-cook things for breakfast and lunch, so he makes a lot of ramen. He likes junk food, but is very good about eating only a little at a time. The big issues? He doesn't like Mexican or Indian spices and he is grossed out at the thought of reheating leftovers. (There are a couple of Mexican-inspired things he will eat, though)

My first time experimenting with making vegan cheese. My nachos with vegan nacho cheese versus Noah's very, very sad nachos with cheddar. I think vegan wins on this one, haha.

Me (vegan) - Willing to try anything and everything that doesn't contain animal products. Even if I tried it before, I'll try it over and over again to see if I like it. There are foods I love and foods that are just "eh". I'm definitely not a salad eater, though! I'm not anti-salad, and I'm always willing to try it, but I really don't like it.

My kids are 16 and 18, and Jerry is obviously an adult, so I don't really *have* to try to please the whole family. But I want to! I want to make meals that everybody will like. And unfortunately, I overthink everything--which just causes me to get frustrated when trying to plan dinner.

Here are some go-to meals that are easy to please a wide variety of tastes. These are things I make frequently because all four of us can tailor them how we want. And they are so versatile! 

Personal Homemade Pizzas

Whole wheat crust, tomato paste, vegan mozzarella, peppers, broccoli, olives

This is the most convenient, easiest-to-please dinner ever! I make a batch of whole wheat pizza dough (my recipe is here). It takes next to zero times. I divide it into four portions (we like thin crust, but if you like thicker crust or you're making more than four, I'd multiply the recipe). You could even just use pita bread if you don't want to make crust.

I have some mini pizza pans, so I just spray those with some non-stick spray and dust with flour, then press the dough out to the edges of each one. I pre-bake the crusts at 450 F for about 6-8 minutes and then I can put them in the fridge for each of us to prep our own pizzas when we want to eat (if we're not eating together).

We each use whatever toppings we like (vegan or meat-eating): Italian-style tomato paste (I like this much better than pizza sauce), mozzarella or homemade vegan mozzarella, pepperoni, Bac'n Buds (the Kroger brand is vegan, and I think several other brands are, too; Jerry loves them), whatever vegetables I have on hand, caramelized onions, roasted garlic, etc.

Then we just bake them until they are done--at 450 F for about another 10 minutes. This is super easy to prep ahead of time (keeping a bunch of crusts in the fridge or freezer) and easy for "kids"--even if they are grown--to make whenever they want.

Burritos/Burrito Bowls

This is my go-to when I want to please a crowd of people. It takes quite a bit of prep work, but it's easy to do a little at a time rather than cooking everything at once. I prepare all of the ingredients/items/toppings and put them into separate bowls, then everyone can simply make up a bowl with what they like.

My usual set-up (when serving a crowd; I cut back when it's just my family):

-cilantro-lime rice (I just cook rice, then add salt, lime juice, and chopped cilantro to taste after it's cooked)
-black beans (from a can, drained and rinsed)
-pinto beans (same)
-corn (from a can, drained)
-chipotle chicken (I make the marinade and freeze it, then take it out when I'm ready to marinate the chicken--about 24 hours ahead of time. You could also make the chipotle chicken and freeze it, as well.)
-taco-seasoned ground meat
-vegan taco "meat"
-shredded lettuce
-salsa or fresh pico de gallo
-sour cream
-guacamole
-tortilla chips and/or tortillas if making burritos
-pickled jalapeño slices
-cheese

For my vegan bowl, I love the rice, black beans, pinto beans, corn, lettuce, pico de gallo, crushed tortilla chips, guacamole, and pickled jalapeño slices. Yum!

This is a great meal when cooking for a crowd of people, too. Who doesn't love a burrito bowl? Here are my recipes for the chicken marinade and pico de gallo:

Chipotle Chicken Marinade

2 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. flavorless oil
2 Tbsp. adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Add all ingredients to a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and seal it. Then mash it around with your fingers to combine (it saves having to use a bowl to mix it, haha). The marinade will be thick, like a paste. Pound out about 1.5-2 pounds of chicken breasts very thin, and then put them in the bag with the marinade. You'll have to use your hands to mix it all together and make sure the chicken is coated well. I marinate them for about 24 hours. To cook, I like to grill them on the stove top (they cook quickly), then chop into strips or bite-sized pieces.

Pico de Gallo

1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1 cup roma tomatoes, diced (the roma tomatoes are perfect for this because it's easy to remove the seeds and the tomatoes hold their shape well)
1 bunch cilantro (just the tops), chopped
1 jalapeño, minced
juice of one lime
salt and pepper to taste

Just mix together in a bowl! (I make this right before serving, because if it sits too long, it gets very watery.)

Here is a document with the burrito bowl recipes and ideas.

Stir-Fry, General Tso's Chicken/Tofu, Sweet & Sour Chicken/Tofu, and other Asian-inspired dishes

Asian food is so versatile! Thankfully, everybody in my family likes the basic flavor profile. I make a lot of dishes that consist of a protein (chicken for meat, tofu for vegan), vegetables, and a sauce (basic stir-fry sauce, peanut sauce, orange sauce, sweet and sour sauce, General Tso's, etc.). All of the sauces can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge until cooking the stir-fry. I like to put the sauce ingredients in a mason jar with a lid, shake it up, and put it in the fridge for that evening's dinner. The sauces that I make are all vegan (not on purpose--they just happen to be vegan).

When making stir-fry, I cook the meat (usually chicken), as well as the tofu, separately. Eli likes chicken, Jerry and I like tofu, and Noah can go either way. The sauces that I make are super fast to throw together. I just put the ingredients into a mason jar with a lid, then shake it until I'm ready to pour it in. I like to make the sauce early in the day so I don't have to measure things out while cooking, since stir-fry cooks so quickly.

I put some basmati rice in the rice cooker and while that's cooking, I heat a little oil on the stove. I add whatever veggies we like (sometimes I just use frozen medleys) and cook until the desired texture. Then I pour in the sauce and cook another minute or so until the sauce thickens and coats the vegetables. I separate the stir-fry into two batches, then add the tofu to one and chicken to the other.

When the rice (or any other grain) is done, we just help ourselves to rice, then top with the tofu or chicken variations. 

Since I was the only one eating vegan at first and I was kind of clueless how to do it with my family still eating meat, I made a bunch of sauces and poured them into these cupcake molds--then put them in the freezer.

When I made dinner for the family and I didn't want to adapt it to a vegan version for me, I could simply take one of these out of the freezer and put it in a small pot on the stove, add half a can of chickpeas and some broccoli, and cook until thickened. Then pour it all over barley or rice or other grain. So easy! It took a few hours to do all of the sauces, but I was able to use them for a long time out of the freezer. It's just as convenient as a frozen dinner.

Here are my go-to sauce recipes (you may want to double the recipe, depending on how saucy you want it):

General Tso's

1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 Tbsp. corn starch
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (use less if you don't want it to be as spicy)

Spicy Peanut Sauce

4 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
3 Tbsp. peanut butter
1-1/2 Tbsp. maple syrup
2-4 tsp. sriracha (less if you don't like it spicy)
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/8-1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (less if you don't like it spicy)
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Sesame Sauce

2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. water
1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1-1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1-1/2 Tbsp. corn starch

Simple Stir-Fry Sauce

2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sriracha
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch


Sweet & Sour Sauce

1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 can (about 15 oz.) pineapple tidbits, with juice
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp cold water

Here is a printable document with the sauce recipes!

Chili

While making an entirely plant-based chili to please everyone is definitely feasible, I've made it several times for feeding a group of people who are vegetarian/vegan as well as meat-eating. I basically make a big batch of vegan chili, and then separate it into separate pots. To the vegan chili, I usually add a couple of extra cans of beans or textured vegetable protein (like in the photo below).

And for the meat-eaters chili, I can cook up some ground meat to add to it. Toppings are always helpful when making food to please everybody, too--for the chili, I like to offer cheese, chopped onions, sour cream, jalapeño slices). That way, I'm not cooking entirely separate dishes but everybody is happy!

I've used lots of different chili recipes, but a very simple starter recipe (that is easy to adjust and add things) is here on my blog. This makes four servings, so you'll want to double it if making a larger batch.

Vegan on the left, and meat on the right:

Spaghetti Sauce

I do the same for spaghetti sauce as I do for the chili. I prepare one sauce, then divide into two pots. To one pot, I add ground meat; and to the other, I will either leave it as a marinara or add TVP (textured vegetable protein). The TVP requires no prep--just a little extra liquid to rehydrate it. Since I'm the only one in my family that likes mushrooms, I usually pan fry some mushrooms on the side to top my sauce.

I don't have a particular recipe for spaghetti sauce. If I come across San Marzano tomatoes--the "real" ones, that are DOP certified--I'll buy 3-4 cans and save them for a good marinara (just onions, garlic, tomatoes, salt, and a little sugar if needed). Otherwise, I use any canned crushed tomatoes + diced tomatoes, or even a vegan jarred spaghetti sauce.

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Well, those are some of our favorites! I hate all things having to do with cooking (except tasting, of course) so I always try to keep prep work minimal or something I can do in stages (like prepping the sauce or cutting the vegetables in the morning, marinating overnight, etc.). I've also found that meals where people can put together their own (like the burrito bowls and pizza) are perfect for when everybody has different tastes or has to eat at different times.

It took a little while to get the hang of being vegan in a meat-eating family, but once Jerry started trying all of the vegan recipes I made, he decided to eat challenge himself to eat entirely plant-based for a month. At the end of the month, he liked it so much and said it was much easier than he ever thought, so he's continued the lifestyle as well! I'm not going to push my kids (or anyone else) to make the switch, but of course I would love it if they even started eating less meat and more veggies--they don't have to go all in.

If you have ideas for eating with dietary restrictions in a family who doesn't have those restrictions, please share!

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VEGAN RECIPE REVIEW: Pot Pie Casserole

Spoiler: HOLY COW this was so good!

I resisted making this recipe for a long time, even though I'd printed it out and flagged it with a Post-It. I wasn't ready to buy a bag of soy curls when I wasn't sure if they would just go to waste. Soy curls are basically the same thing as textured vegetable protein (TVP), but they are chunkier pieces instead of crumbles.

Here is a comparison:

What the heck is TVP? It's just made of soy flour (after the fat is removed from soybeans), and then somehow they are shaped into these airy crumbles or, which this recipe calls for, curls (or chunks). If it sounds really weird, but you're about my age, you may have even eaten it before! I learned this only as an adult, but I used to love those rectangular cafeteria pizzas--they came in plain cheese or with "meat".

The meat, I always assumed, was very finely ground beef. It was always under the cheese. Sneaky! It was actually textured vegetable protein. When I learned that fun fact, I bought some of the crumbles to try at home (long before I became vegan) and they were exactly as I remembered. There is something nostalgic about them.

Anyway, I finally decided to buy a bag of the soy curls. (And naturally, when I was going to link to the ones I bought, they are no longer available on Amazon. They are the Anthony's brand. But there are a lot of different brands on Amazon.)

After they arrived, I still resisted making this recipe because it involved so many steps. It calls for homemade cream of "chicken" cream soup (like the condensed cream of chicken soup you buy in a can). That requires cooking some ingredients together and then blending them into a very creamy soup. 

The recipe also calls for vegetable bouillon powder, and naturally, there is a link to that recipe as well. I've used the bouillon powder before in other recipes, and I have to say, it's REALLY good. Thankfully, I already had a batch of that in the pantry.

Once you have the cream of "chicken" soup and the bouillon powder, you can move on to the pot pie recipe.

Well, I'm a very-little-prep-and-only-one-pot kind of girl. But I bought the soy curls and the weather today (cool, crisp air, a little breezy) made me think that today was a good day for a pot pie casserole. The recipe can be found on Plant Power Couple (I'll link to it again at the end of the post).

I gathered the ingredients for the cream of "chicken" soup and for the pot pie...

Water, red lentils, cashews, vegetable bouillon powder, puff pastry, potatoes, frozen mixed vegetables, soy curls, salt, pepper, and onion powder.

The vegetable bouillon powder can be found on the same site here. Even if you have no interest in making this pot pie, or even if you aren't vegan or vegetarian, this is definitely worth making. Because the cream of "chicken" soup that I'm about to describe calls for it. And THAT is something that I could eat from a bowl and lick clean. It made the house smell amazing, and the boys came into the kitchen to ask what I was making. I hadn't even gotten to the pot pie yet!

Even if you are not vegan or vegetarian, you have got to try this alternative to condensed cream of chicken soup. (Recipe here.) Absolutely worth the hassle. And it literally tastes amazing on its own. To make it, you simply combine the water, red lentils, cashews, veggie bouillon powder, and sea salt in a pot. Then you bring it to a boil on the stove, reduce the heat, and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Then you pour it into the blender and blend until smooth. This is the point when the kids came to the kitchen, asking what smells so good. I took one taste, and almost just called off the whole pot pie. I was ready to eat the entire batch of this!

You're supposed to refrigerate it so that it thickens up, but I was planning to make the pot pie filling right away and let it rest for a little while before pouring it into the crust to bake. (Just trying to time dinner.)

Finally... ready to make the pot pie. I took the pastry out of the freezer to thaw when I started making the soup. I'd never used puff pastry before, but I was familiar with what it is. Most store bought brands are vegan (using oil instead of butter), but if you're looking for a vegan one, just check the ingredients. This Pepperidge Farm brand is vegan.

The recipe calls for "two large potatoes, peeled and small diced"--since 'large' and 'small' are all relative, I just guessed. I used Yukon Gold potatoes, because that's our favorite and I always have some on hand. I didn't peel them, because the skins are so thin, but I cut them into pieces about the size of frozen hash brown potatoes. (In retrospect, I'd cut them a little larger next time-like the size of dice.)

This recipe was specific about the amount of water you use to boil the potatoes, which I thought was odd, but it doesn't say to drain the potatoes before adding the other ingredients. So I hoped that was correct!

Once the potatoes have simmered, you add the frozen veggies, the cream of "chicken" soup, the salt, pepper, onion powder, and soy curls. This is the reason I'm not a food blogger--I take photos of the "ugly" parts of cooking.

I have to say, I was very hesitant to add the full amount of salt (2 tsp); between that and the salt in the bouillon powder and the salt in the soup, I was thinking about how this was definitely going to bring my blood pressure out of the "low" range, haha.

It thickened up quite a bit after I turned off the heat.

I thought the pastry would be the size of a 9x13 pan, but it was probably 9x9 square. I didn't realize I had to roll it out. I hate rolling out any sort of dough because I have to clean the counter really well, and then just make a huge mess on it again. Then I realized how handy these silicone baking sheets are! They are finally getting some use.

I lifted it into a 9x13 casserole dish, poked a million holes with a fork, and then baked for 15 minutes (just the bottom crust).

Then I poured the filling on top. I was going to take a picture but the lighting was way too dark, so I picked up the dish to move to the island--and totally forgot I'd just pulled it out of the oven. I'm pretty sure I no longer have fingerprints on my thumbs.

Finally, I topped it with the second layer of pastry and cut some slits in the center for steam to escape. 

The recipe said to bake for another 20 minutes, but I took it out after 35--it still looked raw in the center after 20 minutes.

By this point, the whole house smelled amazing--I couldn't wait to eat. HO-LY MOTHER. It was delicious! I was bummed the kids weren't here to try it and tell us what they thought, but hopefully they'll try the leftovers. I am thinking that the puff pastry won't do so well when reheating, which is a bummer. Next time, I'll probably halve the recipe unless the kids will want to eat it too.

Overall, this recipe was definitely a winner for both Jerry and me. And it's kind of a three-in-one (the bouillon powder, the cream of 'chicken' soup, and the pot pie). All three of the recipes are amazing!

The recipe for the Pot Pie can be found on Plant Power Couple. (That post links to the bouillon and soup recipes as well)

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Friday Night Photos #86

This week has been super busy--after not coaching from 2020-2021, I didn't remember just how much time is spent on cross country stuff. I love coaching and I've certainly missed it--but wow, my days (and weeks) feel so short. And the season is almost over already! I feel like we just started.

I had a few appointments this week--I went to the lab for blood work (just my yearly lipid profile for insurance stuff, plus a few others that I requested: iron, ferritin, vitamin D, calcium, B-12, and some others I can't remember off the top of my head). 

Remember how I mentioned how calming the waiting room was when I had my mammogram? Well, the lab is in the same building. On Tuesday, I had a therapy appointment just down the road from the lab at 10:00 AM, so I deliberately left my house early enough in order to have an hour between my lab work and my therapy appointment. Why? So I could read my book in the waiting room, HAHAHA. It just feels so much calmer and quieter than my house.

The book I'm reading is one of the YA dystopian novels in the series I mentioned (The Cure Chronicles). The books are very out there--unrealistic and a little cheesy--but I can't stop without finishing the series. I'm almost done with the fourth book and there are five total.

The waiting room was so cozy again... except for the fact that they had music playing this time. And I've had Whitney Houston in my head ever since. Ahh! I hate getting songs stuck in my head because they sit there for DAYS, and sometimes even longer.

On the way home from my doctor's appointment today (yearly wellness visit), Google Maps routed me in a way that I don't normally take. I stopped at a little store that I used to go to with my mom when I was a kid. We called it "the fruit market" but it was basically a little market that had local produce and several hard-to-find items. And everything was so cheap! 

When I stopped there today, it's definitely changed--there are a lot more packaged items--but I was able to get a few things for much cheaper than Kroger. The bulk mushrooms were $3.49 a pound at the market, and they are regularly $5.99-ish a pound for a package of not-so-fresh looking mushrooms at Kroger. These ones looked really good.

I also love green onions, and the last time I was grocery shopping, I was picking through them to find a batch that wasn't limp and soggy. I didn't end up buying any. The market had some great looking ones, though.

I wanted to get the kids something fun and/or unique, and I picked out these mini buckeyes. When I got home, I was feeling a bit creative, so rather than just leave the package on the counter, I put some into empty spice jars. And then I wrote each of them a card (a "love note" from their mom, haha).

As they get older, I have really been feeling time slipping away and I've been trying to do more little things for or with them. While I was at the market, I also bought four big pumpkins for us to carve. Jerry is off work this weekend, so I think we'll carve them tonight or tomorrow.

Speaking of Jerry, remember on his "deep thoughts" post when he said his favorite outdoor activity is camping, which I NEVER KNEW? I felt so bad that we haven't gone camping in at least a decade (I'm not a camping-person) and I told him he should try to make plans with our friend Jack, who loves camping as well. They both play disc golf, so they went to a campground near three disc golf courses. I was so glad that Jerry got to go camping (and with great weather!) and I didn't have to ;)  

I *love* Asian pears and I hadn't had one in probably 2-3 years (I think). I'm always on the lookout for them, but I haven't had any luck (even at the huge farmer's market in Detroit). My mom happened to find some at Walmart of all places, but they were really expensive. She knew how much I love them, though, so she got me one.

It was tiny, but it was SO delicious. And I even gave Noah a couple of slices because he loves them too. Then he started shopping online for a tree--the one we have is huge now but we don't get any fruit from it. I'm hoping if we get a second one, they can cross-pollinate and we'll finally get some fruit.

Chick is SO funny--he loves getting his armpits rubbed. When Noah picks him up, he sprawls out and reaches his arms above his head so Noah will rub under them, haha. And he just lies there on his back, totally content.

Noah sent me this picture and asked me if I could make him this costume for Halloween. I think it would be pretty easy except for the shoulder part. I'm thinking paper mache would probably look the best, but it's so time consuming and I have never done it before. So if anyone has ideas of how I could make it, please let me know!

Drywall dust EVERYWHERE. This was when I finished sanding. My brother would tell me that if I would perfect my drywall knife skills, I wouldn't have to sand so much. *eye roll*  I've gotten pretty good at it, but definitely far from being able to sand minimally. Besides, drywall dust makes the BEST dry shampoo! (I'm actually not kidding--my hair felt SO thick after that)

On Tuesday, Jerry spent the afternoon removing our old fire pit. It was HUGE in the backyard and it just seemed to be getting bigger over the years. He had to move a ton of huge rocks, then shovel out all of the old ashes. We still want to be able to have fires, though, so we just replaced it with a ring and bricks around the outside (which you can't see in the picture).

It looks so much smaller, but I like it because we can actually hear each other without yelling across the pit, haha. We had a fire on Tuesday night and the boys came outside with us for a little bit. It was nice to spend some time with them. (Now that everybody has different schedules--work, school, cross country--it's rare that all four of us are home at once.)

I used some of the jalapeño jam I bought at Eastern Market in Detroit. It's called "Sweet Jesus!" jalapeño jam, and I was surprised that it was actually pretty spicy (I love spicy food). I put it on a grilled "cheese" sandwich (I used a vegan nacho cheese recipe from a cookbook for the cheese). It was so good! For a few bites. But the sweetness of the jam got old very quickly; it was hard to even finish eating it. I loved the jalapeño flavor, though, so I'm going to make sure to add jalapeños to my next grilled cheese. 

We had our second cross country meet last weekend and it was such a nice day! We had all 17 kids show up, too. Tomorrow is our next meet and Renee isn't going to be able to make it. One of the moms is going to help, though, thankfully! It's hard when the boys and girls run separately and there is only one coach. 

It's a race I've never done with the kids before (I think they started doing it in 2020, the year I stopped coaching) so I'm looking forward to it. I'm familiar with the park because my boys played baseball there for years, and I think it looks like a fun course. The temp is going to be in the 40s--perfect running weather!

And that's all I've got. Have a great weekend! xo

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Three Things Thursday

It's already 8:00 PM and I haven't had a single moment to write a post today--it's been one of those days that just feels non-stop busy. I just got home from cross country practice and I wanted to write a post before I finally eat dinner. On the way home from practice, I was trying to come up with something to write that wouldn't take me forever, and for some reason, "Three Things Thursday" popped into my head. I don't know if that's even a thing, but I like alliteration and it sounded good to me, haha.

I'm just completely winging this post...

Three things that make me feel happy:

1. Hearing Noah and Eli laugh together about something. They have very different personalities and they don't hang out together often, so when they do, it warms my heart. And when they laugh together? Well, I could die happy knowing they are having fun together. (As I write this, they are working out together at the rec center)

This picture was actually a year ago. I need some new ones of the two of them!

2. When I wake up and realize I just slept for more than a few hours. It's rare!

3. Reading a good book that sucks me right in from the beginning.

Three things that make me feel calm:

1. A clean and quiet house. I don't know why it is, but I cannot fully relax unless my house is clean. Maybe that's why I have so much anxiety all the time, haha. I should clean more ;)

2. Having a whole day with nothing on the calendar.

3. A long, easy run. When I was trying to come up with a third response, I surprised myself with this one! When I think about it, running at a very easy pace while listening to a podcast is calming to me. As long as I don't have an agenda as far as heart rate, distance, or time--just an easy run. (Remind me of this next week when I say that I haven't run, despite my intentions!)

Three things that make me feel annoyed:

1. Being interrupted when I'm writing. Just ask my family!

2. When people look at their phone notifications or other stuff on their phone while trying to have a conversation.

3. When the kids explode their food in the microwave and don't clean it up. 

Three things that make me feel confident:

1. When I get dressed in "real" clothes and do my hair and make-up.

2. Talking about running.

3. Solving logic problems.

Three things that make me feel stressed:

1. Trying to figure out what to make for dinner.

2. Trying to figure out what to write about on my blog.

3. Thinking about catching up on email.

Three things that make me feel nostalgic:

1. Looking at pictures of my kids from when they were little.

2. The smell of Curve (Jerry wore this cologne when we first started dating, and even though he's tried switching it up through the years, I will always want him to wear Curve.)

3. Talking with friends about the days before social media. I miss the late 90s and early 2000s!

Three things that make me feel old:

1. When my kids tell Jerry and I that we are "five-years-ago-cool". HAHAHA.

2. Candid photos of me. There is something that always makes me think, "Is that really me?!"

3. When I see the signs for the legal drinking age saying "You must be born after 20XX" to buy alcohol. I was born in 1982!

Okay, I could keep going on forever... this turned out to be a fun post to write! There are a million "emotion" words to choose from, so maybe I'll do this on the regular. A good writing prompt, if nothing else!

Well, I have a pizza crust and vegan mozzarella in the fridge calling my name, so I'm going to make some dinner and maybe get to finish my book before bed :)

(And naturally, after choosing a few photos for this post and getting them ready to upload, Blogger appears to be broken or something...? It won't let me post photos! I'm going to try again after I eat. If not, hopefully it'll be fixed tomorrow--because I have no idea how to fix it. Edit: Well, I was able to add a picture this morning, so it's working now.)

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Wednesday Weigh-In: Week 71

As you can see in the photo, the bathroom still isn't done. I finally finished with the mudding and sanding of the drywall (except for around the shower). I also rebuilt the wall between the bedroom and bathroom. The wall directly behind my phone in the photo is new--I built a closet where the old shower used to be, so that's the corner of the closet. I will post photos of the bathroom once we make more progress--it's just going extremely slowly!

Jerry is going to do the bathroom flooring soon (it looks like a patchwork mess right now). The flooring in the bedroom is done, though, so it's nice not to see plywood in there! There are a ton of tools and stuff (and drywall dust) everywhere, but I shoved everything out of the way and hung the mirror back up for now. I'm just really glad to have the drywall and closet part done. I'm saving painting and other cosmetic stuff for last.

Yesterday, I spent so much time working on my blog post and then I forgot to click "publish" when I was done. So the two posts will likely show up in my RSS feed (and email updates) together tonight. Yesterday's post was basically a bajillion pictures of things I've been eating since I became vegan.

Despite being super busy, this week seems to have gone by so slowly. It feels like ages ago since my last Wednesday Weigh-In. Despite adding more food to my daily diet, my weight was down again this week:

I was at 125.8 this morning (excuse the drywall dust; it's on everything!). I can't believe I'm still losing weight! I'm not actively trying to; in fact, I would prefer to be closer to 130. My clothes feel too big and I have been having such a hard time finding clothes at thrift stores lately (I think the pandemic changed a lot of things as far as donations and sales). I'm not even close to being *under*weight, though, so maybe my body is still figuring things out.

I never, ever thought I'd say that I'd like to gain a few pounds! It's so hard to find the right balance. I'm used to cutting back on calories rather than adding them, so it feels counterintuitive to me. And a part of me keeps thinking this weight loss is only temporary; I'll gain all the weight back soon enough. That's another reason I don't want to have to buy new clothes and why I am having a hard time getting rid of clothes that are too big. My mind and body feel somewhat disconnected in that way.

Something feels different about this weight loss, though. I haven't been counting calories for a long time (at least 6-7 months; I can't remember when I stopped tracking) and I've been eating all sorts of new things, which you can see on yesterday's post. Since becoming vegan wasn't about weight loss at all, I don't link the two things in my mind. And I think that's a good thing! I'm eating so much healthier but it's because I want to and not for the purpose of losing weight. Hopefully that makes sense.

I haven't been running since I took my "Wordless Week" break to destress a bit. I'd like to get back to it this week before I lose all of my fitness, even if it's just a couple of times a week. When cross country is over (three more weeks), I'll have more time and it'll be easier. Still, I know I can carve out 45 minutes a few times a week to run. I just need to motivate myself to do it!

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