[NOTE: This BLOG was started almost a year ago and then sat waiting for me to put finishing touches on it - I decided not to edit so the times mentioned are off (take off points if you have to!).]
Will I be successful and become vegan? Will I have the "big one" and die before I make it? Will I become vegan but get run over by a car? Will I find recipes or make up new recipes that wow me and my readers? Will I find ways to eat out and stay vegan? Stay tuned!
Not sure if I mentioned it in an earlier post so sorry if I'm repeating myself - that's not a sign that my brain is starving from lack of animal flesh - I was forgetful and repetitive before I gave up animal contributed products! But two weeks before I decided to become vegan I found out that my job had been eliminated from the company I had worked for for 18 years. It was stressful to be "let go" during a period when the economy sucks and unemployment is running at an all time high but I had always wanted to consult when I hit fifty-nine and a half (I still chuckle that we "turn" twenty-one or thirty but we "hit" fifty and "make-it" to sixty but I digress). So the company just made my dream come true at an earlier age than I wanted it...
After a short panic period I started to work my network and started to get some pretty fun opportunities to consult with some established consultants and companies. About a month ago I went to Florida for my first consultant trip, first business trip as a vegetarian/vegan so my first test of veganism and was it ever a test!
I arrived in Florida and was taken to the hotel where the only food available was microwave stuff and snack foods - basically nothing I could eat so I had a vegan food bar (Kind Bar) that I had brought along for this exact situation. That evening I went to dinner with the lead consultant and we went to a seafood restaurant that is famous in the area. The waiter brought a chef's complimentary cocktail which had cream in it so I explained that I don't do dairy. For the salad course I asked for no cheese but the waiter brought it "on the side" so I could add as much or as little as I wanted! I explained again that I don't do dairy but that I appreciated the gesture!
For a main course I decided that fish would be the best I could do so I asked if I could get fish grilled with no butter or sauces and was told, "the sauce is really good and it's served on the side." I am a nice guy but at this point I started to be curt - well I wasn't as curt out loud as in my head but more curt than I usually am. When the meal arrived it looked great but the asparagus looked a little shiny so I asked, "These asparagus? Aren't they cooked with no embellishment?" The waiter said that they are indeed grilled over hickory chips with no sauces but they are "lightly brushed with clarified butter just before plating." You get the picture - I did send it back but being a person who avoids conflict it was pretty tiring for me.
In the weeks since I have gotten much more clear, assertive, and up front but it is still work. Here are some of the actual exchanges I have had...
Chinese restaurant in Mississippi
ME: All your dishes seem to have meat in them.
WAITPERSON: We can make any dish without the meat.
ME: So I can get any of these with tofu?
WP: We ain't got tofu but we can prepare any of the dishes without meat.
ME: Okay I'll take the Sesame Chicken...without the chicken.
Different Chinese restaurant in Texas
ME: Are the listings under vegetarian vegan or could they be made vegan?
WP: Sure.
ME: Sure they are vegan or sure they could be made vegan?
WP: Sure they all vegetarian. No meat.
ME: Fine. I'll take the Buddha's Delight.
(later)
ME: Excuse me, is the eggroll vegetarian?
WP: Sure. Vegetables with pork.
ME: :-/
ME: Just for your info that's not vegetarian - and this chicken wing here - not vegetarian either. Doesn't even have veggies inside like the egg roll does...
WP: Buddha's Delight vegetarian, all vegetables, no meat. Egg roll and wing come with all lunch orders.
ME: Okay, thanks!
Sustainable Food Restaurant Texas
ME: I'm vegan so I want to make sure there's no dairy on the veggie burger.
WP: Nope just veggies and a little mayo.
ME: See mayo has eggs in it so could you hold the mayo?
WP: No problem.
ME: There's no cheese in the vegetable patty is there?
WP: Actually there's no patty, it's a portabello mushroom grilled with some squash and onions.
ME: Excellent!
(later)
ME: Excuse me but is that cheese melted over the mushroom and veggies?
WP: Yep, Jack Cheese - comes on all burgers.
ME: I don't eat dairy. Could I get one without the cheese?
WP: Sure, no problem.
(later)
WP: That was the last mushroom today so chef wants to know if you want cheese so they'll be protein on the sandwich.
ME: No. I don't want cheese.
(later)
ME: Yum, this mayo is really spicy! I'm too hungry to send back again...
In Virginia at home of a fellow workshop participant
HER: I knew you wouldn't eat the potatoes au gratin so I baked you a potato.
ME: That is so sweet!
HER: Do you want butter or sour cream on it?
ME: Actually I don't do any dairy so neither.
HER: Well you can't eat it dry!
ME: I'll put some guacamole on it and a little salsa - it'll be great!
HER: Well put some butter on it before the guacamole.
ME: Thanks but I'll pass.
In Virginia at workshop
LEADER: We got this sausage for you - it's chicken instead of pork.
ME: Actually I'm vegan which starts with vegetarian and then eliminates dairy so I don't eat chicken.
LEADER: So you're just going to eat French Toast?
ME: See French Toast has milk and egg in it and I don't do dairy.
LEADER: What? That's crazy. I thought you weren't eating red meat but no dairy? That's not possible.
[That was all written a year ago - what follows was written March 2011]
The stories did not get better and as I started to travel more I gradually gave up my dream of being vegan and decided that vegetarian with occasional fish was what I would do. Every time I feel a little guilty about giving up on veganism I think, "I went from meat being part of every meal to no red meat in a year - pretty major!"
So the answer to the question posed in the title of this entry is "no, I can't." But let's talk results...
I got blood work a couple of weeks ago as part of my annual physical and here's what has happened...
Total Cholesterol = 149 (it was 350 when I had my cardiac episode 14 years ago!0
Triglycerides = 107 (first time in the acceptable range in 10 years)
HDL = 40 (First time in the acceptable range - just barely but still acceptable for first time ever)
LDL = 88 (Standard is below 100 so I'll take it!)
Risk Ratio = 2.19 (Anything less than 3.55 is acceptable)
For the first time since I moved to Austin in 1983 I have a CPL Blood Results report with EVERY number under the Lipid Panel in the "Within Range" column! The change in eating habits freakin' worked! Of course all these results are tempered a bit by the fact that I'm on one or two medications for every one of the lipid categories so my next goal is to start dropping medications (only if doctor approves!).
Just to be fair and balanced there were some negative outcomes in the blood results. I am low on Vitamin D cause I don't drink milk anymore so I'm doubling my Vitamin D supplement for six months to see if that will address it. My testosterone level was a shade over acceptable which the doctor wants to take a wait-and-see approach. How is that connected to vegetarianism? He isn't sure - thinks it may be connected to all the hormones that beef cattle and milk cattle get injected with - perhaps when you stop ingesting those hormones your body which has gotten used to producing testosterone to compensate takes a while to settle back to normal? No scientific studies just speculation on his part. I am resisting inserting a joke about vegetarians/pescatarians being more sexy but you can do your own!
I hope that it's not another year before I post again!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Sunday, July 4, 2010
How is Being Vegan Like Being Gay?
About twenty-two years ago I was at Disney World in Orlando with my godson who was about seven or eight at the time. We were there for a four day vacation and having a pretty spectacular time. I believe it was our second day in Orlando when this happened... My godson, Bo was ready to go find breakfast somewhere but I was still "in process." I suggested that Bo watch television and stop asking me questions if he planned to EVER get to breakfast. Bo's way of watching TV was to switch channels about every five to ten seconds so I was shaving while listening to five seconds of music, five seconds of commercial followed by five seconds of cartoon, etc. I wasn't even aware I was listening until he clicked past CNN or some other news channel and I heard the words, "...Homosexual activists chanted outside the Capitol..." then a baseball game. I ran into the room and asked Bo to switch back to the channel he just left and I watched the story about some legislation that was being discussed about hate crimes and whether homosexuals should be added. After the report I returned to the sink to finish shaving and then we left for breakfast. Bo wanted to go to IHOP (he had seen five seconds of a commercial and the seed was planted) so we were searching along Miracle Mile because I assumed there was one there somewhere. Out of the blue, with no segue Bo asked a question and I attempted an age appropriate truthful answer (his Mom and I had decided that he wasn't ready to know about my sexuality because he would probably get into fights at school to defend me if he knew but that we would never lie to him and would answer any questions as truthfully as possible.)
Bo: "Bill, what are homosexuals?"
Me: "A...well, you see...it's well...I want to...Let me explain this way..." Actually I probably was more befuddled sounding than that but you get the picture - I stalled trying to get my thoughts together...
Bo: "Bill?"
Me: "So, Bo. You know how you say that you hate girls and that girls are disgusting?"
Bo: "Girls! YUCK!" Then he made these spitting sounds I can't figure out how to spell.
Me: "Yeah, well you feel like that now but probably in a year or two you'll start to feel differently. You may start thinking that girls are kind of nice and like you want to hang out with them, maybe even more than you want to hang out with your guy friends."
Bo: "Not me! I hate girls, I'll never..."
Me: "Bo, just trust me for a minute - let's not talk about you specifically but some of your friends may start wanting to hang out with girls and even more they might want to hold girls' hands and maybe even kiss them."
Bo: Spitting noises again
Me: "And just like girls your age say that boys stink and are stupid? well in a few years they'll start wanting to hang out with boys and maybe even want to kiss them."
Bo: Strangely quiet. I think I may have lost him but then he looked back at me with wrinkled brow like maybe I had just said something inexplicable.
Me: "Okay, well about 90% of boys and girls like to hang out and be close friends with members of the other sex."
Bo: Giggling and covering his mouth "ooooo Bill you said 'sex.'"
Me: "Bo, those boys and girls are called 'heterosexuals' - hetero just means two different genders together."
Bo: "But what is 'homosexual.'"
Bill "well, 'homo' means the same so 'homosexual' means that those people like to be with members of their own group - boys with boys; girls with girls."
Bo: "Well that's me - I'd rather be with other boys."
Me: "Well by 'being with' I mean that they like to hold hands and maybe kiss each other. So homosexuals are guys who like to hold hands and kiss other guys or girls who like to hold hands and kiss other girls. They grow up and want to live together like your Mom and Dad live together. So when someone says 'homosexuals' that's what they are talking about..."
I admit that I was sweating and exhausted by the conversation but also felt a little proud of myself. So I bravely went forward...
Me: "Do you understand? Does that make sense? Any other questions?"
Bo: Turning his head to the side like he was pondering something that did not make sense, "But Bill, why do people hate them?"
My eyes filled with tears and I felt like I wasn't going to be able to answer. I was very emotional - I'm thinking things like "Great FUCKING question!" or "Because people are ASSHOLES?" or "Bo, I AM one!" or "them...them? No it's why do people hate ME about something over which I have no control!?" I took a couple of deep breaths and tried...
Me: "Bo, for some reason a lot of people hate what they don't understand or anything that is 'different.' You remember how we were talking with your Mom and Dad that time about how some White people used to hate Black people and some Black people hated White people? It's kind of the same thing. When you think about it it's kind of stupid for someone to hate someone who they don't even know but it happens sometimes."
Bo: "Bill, can I get the Grand Slam at IHOP?"
and so we left it...why do people hate them...us...and the point of this blog...why do people hate Vegans?
I know that being Vegan is a choice - but similar to my sexuality, what the HELL difference does it make to anyone else if I don't eat products from animals? I mean by my not eating meat I'm not saying you shouldn't eat meat - I have nothing against meat eaters, until recently I was one! Some of my best friends are carnivores. My food choices have as little to do with meat eaters' food choices as my relationship has to do with straight relationships or marriage for that matter. Next thing you know there'll be a constitutional amendment to ban Vegans in Texas and it will be called the "Defense of Meat Eaters Amendment."
You think I'm paranoid? Here's my evidence that Vegans are hated...
1. When I posted on Facebook that I was going to become a Vegan I got a load of grief from friends - some good natured but much of it very negative. Like, "Indians had a name for vegetarians - 'bad hunters.'" Or, "Bill, Bill Bill, why? What's wrong with you?" Lots of people tried to convince me that I wouldn't get enough protein or told me about doctors saying that vegetarians get sick because people are "supposed" to eat meat."
2. Here is a quote from the July GQ magazine, an article called, "Eat No Evil,"
I don't romanticize vegetables. I don't believe in their nobility, nor have I been convinced by those who claim plants have feelings and scream silently when tossed into a pan. (I wouldn't mind if that were true, since it would require vegans to starve themselves to death.)
Really? REALLY? WTF? This guy is writing about ethical eating and he takes a cheap shot at Vegans - why? I don't get it.
3. In a local vegetarian restaurant I saw a card on the bulletin board advertising a support group for Vegans that meets weekly - it was titled "Trying to Be Vegan - We Can Help." Someone had written on it, "Be a Man - Eat Meat, No Support Group Needed." So if you're a Vegan you're not a man? Doesn't it sound like the same shit that gets thrown at Gay men?
4. Just today I was watching a documentary about Dr. Kevorkian and there was an interview with an inmate who got to know Dr. Death in prison. The inmate who admitted that he premeditated murder talked about Dr. K's eating habits like this, "He hardly ever ate meat, he was close to being a vegetarian or as we call them in prison, 'a grazer.'" So even murderers feel comfortable name-calling vegans.
So what is a vegan? Someone who chooses to eat a plant based diet avoiding all animal contributed food. So why do people hate them (us)? I don't know!
Bo: "Bill, what are homosexuals?"
Me: "A...well, you see...it's well...I want to...Let me explain this way..." Actually I probably was more befuddled sounding than that but you get the picture - I stalled trying to get my thoughts together...
Bo: "Bill?"
Me: "So, Bo. You know how you say that you hate girls and that girls are disgusting?"
Bo: "Girls! YUCK!" Then he made these spitting sounds I can't figure out how to spell.
Me: "Yeah, well you feel like that now but probably in a year or two you'll start to feel differently. You may start thinking that girls are kind of nice and like you want to hang out with them, maybe even more than you want to hang out with your guy friends."
Bo: "Not me! I hate girls, I'll never..."
Me: "Bo, just trust me for a minute - let's not talk about you specifically but some of your friends may start wanting to hang out with girls and even more they might want to hold girls' hands and maybe even kiss them."
Bo: Spitting noises again
Me: "And just like girls your age say that boys stink and are stupid? well in a few years they'll start wanting to hang out with boys and maybe even want to kiss them."
Bo: Strangely quiet. I think I may have lost him but then he looked back at me with wrinkled brow like maybe I had just said something inexplicable.
Me: "Okay, well about 90% of boys and girls like to hang out and be close friends with members of the other sex."
Bo: Giggling and covering his mouth "ooooo Bill you said 'sex.'"
Me: "Bo, those boys and girls are called 'heterosexuals' - hetero just means two different genders together."
Bo: "But what is 'homosexual.'"
Bill "well, 'homo' means the same so 'homosexual' means that those people like to be with members of their own group - boys with boys; girls with girls."
Bo: "Well that's me - I'd rather be with other boys."
Me: "Well by 'being with' I mean that they like to hold hands and maybe kiss each other. So homosexuals are guys who like to hold hands and kiss other guys or girls who like to hold hands and kiss other girls. They grow up and want to live together like your Mom and Dad live together. So when someone says 'homosexuals' that's what they are talking about..."
I admit that I was sweating and exhausted by the conversation but also felt a little proud of myself. So I bravely went forward...
Me: "Do you understand? Does that make sense? Any other questions?"
Bo: Turning his head to the side like he was pondering something that did not make sense, "But Bill, why do people hate them?"
My eyes filled with tears and I felt like I wasn't going to be able to answer. I was very emotional - I'm thinking things like "Great FUCKING question!" or "Because people are ASSHOLES?" or "Bo, I AM one!" or "them...them? No it's why do people hate ME about something over which I have no control!?" I took a couple of deep breaths and tried...
Me: "Bo, for some reason a lot of people hate what they don't understand or anything that is 'different.' You remember how we were talking with your Mom and Dad that time about how some White people used to hate Black people and some Black people hated White people? It's kind of the same thing. When you think about it it's kind of stupid for someone to hate someone who they don't even know but it happens sometimes."
Bo: "Bill, can I get the Grand Slam at IHOP?"
and so we left it...why do people hate them...us...and the point of this blog...why do people hate Vegans?
I know that being Vegan is a choice - but similar to my sexuality, what the HELL difference does it make to anyone else if I don't eat products from animals? I mean by my not eating meat I'm not saying you shouldn't eat meat - I have nothing against meat eaters, until recently I was one! Some of my best friends are carnivores. My food choices have as little to do with meat eaters' food choices as my relationship has to do with straight relationships or marriage for that matter. Next thing you know there'll be a constitutional amendment to ban Vegans in Texas and it will be called the "Defense of Meat Eaters Amendment."
You think I'm paranoid? Here's my evidence that Vegans are hated...
1. When I posted on Facebook that I was going to become a Vegan I got a load of grief from friends - some good natured but much of it very negative. Like, "Indians had a name for vegetarians - 'bad hunters.'" Or, "Bill, Bill Bill, why? What's wrong with you?" Lots of people tried to convince me that I wouldn't get enough protein or told me about doctors saying that vegetarians get sick because people are "supposed" to eat meat."
2. Here is a quote from the July GQ magazine, an article called, "Eat No Evil,"
I don't romanticize vegetables. I don't believe in their nobility, nor have I been convinced by those who claim plants have feelings and scream silently when tossed into a pan. (I wouldn't mind if that were true, since it would require vegans to starve themselves to death.)
Really? REALLY? WTF? This guy is writing about ethical eating and he takes a cheap shot at Vegans - why? I don't get it.
3. In a local vegetarian restaurant I saw a card on the bulletin board advertising a support group for Vegans that meets weekly - it was titled "Trying to Be Vegan - We Can Help." Someone had written on it, "Be a Man - Eat Meat, No Support Group Needed." So if you're a Vegan you're not a man? Doesn't it sound like the same shit that gets thrown at Gay men?
4. Just today I was watching a documentary about Dr. Kevorkian and there was an interview with an inmate who got to know Dr. Death in prison. The inmate who admitted that he premeditated murder talked about Dr. K's eating habits like this, "He hardly ever ate meat, he was close to being a vegetarian or as we call them in prison, 'a grazer.'" So even murderers feel comfortable name-calling vegans.
So what is a vegan? Someone who chooses to eat a plant based diet avoiding all animal contributed food. So why do people hate them (us)? I don't know!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Steak to the Heart! How to Kill a Vegetarian/Vegan Not a Vampire!
Will I be successful and become vegan? Will I have the "big one" and die before I make it? Will I become vegan but get run over by a car? Will I find recipes or make up new recipes that wow me and my readers? Will I find ways to eat out and stay vegan? Stay tuned!
This morning at Cardiac Rehab I was planning to get my cholesterol results back from the test done last Friday. I've been almost vegan for a month - by "almost" I mean that I will occasionally have dairy products IF I can have a non-fat (low fat will not do) version. I may have written this before but I cannot give up Greek Gods Yogurt ! It's like eating ice cream or frozen yogurt - it is impossible to believe that something this creamy and spectacular is non-fat but it is! When I read Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Esselstyn, I initially committed to the "Vegan plus" diet that he requires. It's Vegan AND no nuts, no avocado, and no added oil - not even olive oil! I was thinking that I could do it to save my life - no eggs, no more meat, no dairy - wait, that means no Greek Gods Yogurt! I was discouraged but then I read that with his first group of "subjects" he allowed dairy IF it was non-fat but he changed his mind later when some enzyme in milk was connected with cancer - well not that I want to spit in cancer's face but I figure I'm much more likely to go from cardiac problems than cancer so I'm on the ORIGINAL Esselstyn Diet - the one that saved so many people's lives! Got to have the yogurt.
But I digress (I do that sometimes - go off on a tangent and forget where I was going! This morning I read a recommendation for a new book called When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead and I thought, "Damn, I wish I had come up with that title - it could be my autobiography!") Oh my God! I digressed from my digression...now what was I talking about? Oh, I was set to get my blood test results this morning in Cardiac Rehab. I checked in - we have to weigh in and record our weight and then get a heart monitor and hook ourselves up to the leads and make sure that it's working and we can see the familiar little squiggly line on the EKG screen (one of the nurses told us that if we see a flatline we'll know that we're dead - hospital humor...what would we do without it?) before a nurse approaches and takes our blood pressure and asks us several personal questions where everyone can hear our answers!
My weight stayed the same which is the first time I didn't post a loss of a pound or two at weigh-in - not great but I know all the ways to explain it (I was a Weight Watchers Leader a long time ago - all the reasons they taught us still apply - except that monthly weight thing for women that I never mentioned anyway cause it just seemed odd to bring up! - Sorry digressing again...) I'm all set to start on the treadmill and I asked, "are my cholesterol results back?" I was told to start exercising and they would pull a copy for me. SO I did as I was told and forty-five minutes later they escorted me into a "counseling room" to give me my results.
After a month of borderline vegan food and exercising five times a week my results were....
HDL - that's the good one - DOWN - that's the wrong direction!
LDL - that's the bad one - UP - wrong direction again!
Triglycerides - bad stuff - UP - wrong direction!
Risk Ratio - want that lower - UP - wrong damn direction!
Disappointed - uh YES! I had prepared myself for bad news you know like the levels stayed the same or changed in the right direction but not by much. But every measure in the wrong direction after a month of no meat -not a happy camper. I didn't say anything for a minute just trying to let it soak in and then I clarified, "After a month of completely changing my diet and exercise practices, every measure went in the wrong direction?"
She tried to come up with some reassuring suggestions -
"really the numbers are not up THAT much! You could almost interpret these as staying the same."
"probably within the margin of error. Sometimes it takes three months to have measurable impact on your lipid profile."
Seeing I was not convinced but struck silent (a condition anyone who knows me knows is rare), she started trying to make sure I wasn't going to do anything rash! "You're not going to go out and binge on steak are you?" And then, I'm wasn't sure why in the moment but I cracked up laughing! She looked at me like maybe something had snapped and her expression made me laugh harder. When I saw how worried she looked I started to laugh so hard I thought that I might pass out - I glanced through the glass pane in the door and saw two of the nurses looking at my EKG monitor and the thought of it going all screwy cause I was laughing so hard, barely able to get a breath, just made it seem that much funnier. Tears were rolling down my cheeks and I started thinking that I might really cause myself to have the big one but I was beyond control. I finally settled down and told her that it started in my head when she suggested that a steak to my heart would kill me and I thought of vampires but that's not spelled the same and then I thought about suicide by steak and I don't know it was early in the morning it just seemed funny in an English minor geeky sort of way...maybe you had to be there?
For my first meal after the bad news I had a delicious Bueno Burger and salad at Mother's Cafe & Garden - it was vegan so I am not losing control BUT in two months when I get my blood tested again if my numbers are worse - well, stay tuned...
This morning at Cardiac Rehab I was planning to get my cholesterol results back from the test done last Friday. I've been almost vegan for a month - by "almost" I mean that I will occasionally have dairy products IF I can have a non-fat (low fat will not do) version. I may have written this before but I cannot give up Greek Gods Yogurt ! It's like eating ice cream or frozen yogurt - it is impossible to believe that something this creamy and spectacular is non-fat but it is! When I read Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Esselstyn, I initially committed to the "Vegan plus" diet that he requires. It's Vegan AND no nuts, no avocado, and no added oil - not even olive oil! I was thinking that I could do it to save my life - no eggs, no more meat, no dairy - wait, that means no Greek Gods Yogurt! I was discouraged but then I read that with his first group of "subjects" he allowed dairy IF it was non-fat but he changed his mind later when some enzyme in milk was connected with cancer - well not that I want to spit in cancer's face but I figure I'm much more likely to go from cardiac problems than cancer so I'm on the ORIGINAL Esselstyn Diet - the one that saved so many people's lives! Got to have the yogurt.
But I digress (I do that sometimes - go off on a tangent and forget where I was going! This morning I read a recommendation for a new book called When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead and I thought, "Damn, I wish I had come up with that title - it could be my autobiography!") Oh my God! I digressed from my digression...now what was I talking about? Oh, I was set to get my blood test results this morning in Cardiac Rehab. I checked in - we have to weigh in and record our weight and then get a heart monitor and hook ourselves up to the leads and make sure that it's working and we can see the familiar little squiggly line on the EKG screen (one of the nurses told us that if we see a flatline we'll know that we're dead - hospital humor...what would we do without it?) before a nurse approaches and takes our blood pressure and asks us several personal questions where everyone can hear our answers!
My weight stayed the same which is the first time I didn't post a loss of a pound or two at weigh-in - not great but I know all the ways to explain it (I was a Weight Watchers Leader a long time ago - all the reasons they taught us still apply - except that monthly weight thing for women that I never mentioned anyway cause it just seemed odd to bring up! - Sorry digressing again...) I'm all set to start on the treadmill and I asked, "are my cholesterol results back?" I was told to start exercising and they would pull a copy for me. SO I did as I was told and forty-five minutes later they escorted me into a "counseling room" to give me my results.
After a month of borderline vegan food and exercising five times a week my results were....
HDL - that's the good one - DOWN - that's the wrong direction!
LDL - that's the bad one - UP - wrong direction again!
Triglycerides - bad stuff - UP - wrong direction!
Risk Ratio - want that lower - UP - wrong damn direction!
Disappointed - uh YES! I had prepared myself for bad news you know like the levels stayed the same or changed in the right direction but not by much. But every measure in the wrong direction after a month of no meat -not a happy camper. I didn't say anything for a minute just trying to let it soak in and then I clarified, "After a month of completely changing my diet and exercise practices, every measure went in the wrong direction?"
She tried to come up with some reassuring suggestions -
"really the numbers are not up THAT much! You could almost interpret these as staying the same."
"probably within the margin of error. Sometimes it takes three months to have measurable impact on your lipid profile."
Seeing I was not convinced but struck silent (a condition anyone who knows me knows is rare), she started trying to make sure I wasn't going to do anything rash! "You're not going to go out and binge on steak are you?" And then, I'm wasn't sure why in the moment but I cracked up laughing! She looked at me like maybe something had snapped and her expression made me laugh harder. When I saw how worried she looked I started to laugh so hard I thought that I might pass out - I glanced through the glass pane in the door and saw two of the nurses looking at my EKG monitor and the thought of it going all screwy cause I was laughing so hard, barely able to get a breath, just made it seem that much funnier. Tears were rolling down my cheeks and I started thinking that I might really cause myself to have the big one but I was beyond control. I finally settled down and told her that it started in my head when she suggested that a steak to my heart would kill me and I thought of vampires but that's not spelled the same and then I thought about suicide by steak and I don't know it was early in the morning it just seemed funny in an English minor geeky sort of way...maybe you had to be there?
For my first meal after the bad news I had a delicious Bueno Burger and salad at Mother's Cafe & Garden - it was vegan so I am not losing control BUT in two months when I get my blood tested again if my numbers are worse - well, stay tuned...
Monday, April 12, 2010
Meatless Loaf
Will I be successful and become vegan? Will I have the "big one" and die before I make it? Will I become vegan but get run over by a car? Will I find recipes or make up new recipes that wow me and my readers? Will I find ways to eat out and stay vegan? Stay tuned!
When I announced to my best buddy that I was going to "go vegan" he told me that he would bring a Vegan Meatloaf by that weekend - he and his partner have been vegetarians for awhile now and he said that this recipe was easy and "really good." So that weekend I looked forward to his call to tell me when I could plan on having this great meal. He didn't call but I wasn't terribly surprised because that is his way - I'm used to it - nobody's perfect and he has a lot of other great characteristics that make him a great friend - follow through, not one of his best traits UNLESS it involves some new electronic gadgetry that I've bought and can't figure out how to install or get to work - THEN he's there in a nano-second!
When he did call he was asking how my weekend was and I said (somewhat passive-aggressively but with a hint of humor), "Well we were really hungry cause we had counted on having a Vegan "Meatloaf" but it never showed up...or called!" He said, "Do you want me to make one cause I will, it's easy, or you could just get the recipe, it's in that Engine 2 book."
To which I replied, "Well duh! I can look up lots of recipes! I thought you offered to make it for me and bring it by." (That passive aggressive thing is hard to avoid sometimes!) So long story short I bought the book and made it! The recipe is called "Lynn's Meatloaf (Vegetarian)" which sounds like a contradiction to me so we dubbed it "Meatless Loaf" and I don't know why but every time we said that we were having meatless loaf for dinner we giggled like children so the name stuck! You cand find it here Lynn's Meatloaf (Vegetarian)
Just like with "meatloaf," I wanted mashed potatoes with it (the meatless loaf - hehehe) but I still had the South Beach mindset going from my last diet and thought that I shouldn't eat potatoes. This actually wasn't thought out - I was going from muscle memory when I thought that we could have Faux Mashed Potatoes from the South Beach Diet Book. This is the recipe made by steaming cauliflower until it's soft and then throwing it into the food processor with a little fat free half&half and processing until it's the consistency of mashed potatoes then spraying it with a little buttery flavored spray like "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter." I substituted Soy Half&Half but other than that made the South Beach Recipe. And of course I HAVE to have English Peas when I have mashed potatoes (for which I might add there is NO substitute!). So that was our meal. It was fantastic - even if I do say so myself. The photo below doesn't do it justice - it tasted more like meat than it looks! The newly named "Meatless Loaf" will become a regular at our house - I may even invite my friend over to enjoy it with us (not is a passive aggressive way of course!).
When I announced to my best buddy that I was going to "go vegan" he told me that he would bring a Vegan Meatloaf by that weekend - he and his partner have been vegetarians for awhile now and he said that this recipe was easy and "really good." So that weekend I looked forward to his call to tell me when I could plan on having this great meal. He didn't call but I wasn't terribly surprised because that is his way - I'm used to it - nobody's perfect and he has a lot of other great characteristics that make him a great friend - follow through, not one of his best traits UNLESS it involves some new electronic gadgetry that I've bought and can't figure out how to install or get to work - THEN he's there in a nano-second!
When he did call he was asking how my weekend was and I said (somewhat passive-aggressively but with a hint of humor), "Well we were really hungry cause we had counted on having a Vegan "Meatloaf" but it never showed up...or called!" He said, "Do you want me to make one cause I will, it's easy, or you could just get the recipe, it's in that Engine 2 book."
To which I replied, "Well duh! I can look up lots of recipes! I thought you offered to make it for me and bring it by." (That passive aggressive thing is hard to avoid sometimes!) So long story short I bought the book and made it! The recipe is called "Lynn's Meatloaf (Vegetarian)" which sounds like a contradiction to me so we dubbed it "Meatless Loaf" and I don't know why but every time we said that we were having meatless loaf for dinner we giggled like children so the name stuck! You cand find it here Lynn's Meatloaf (Vegetarian)
Just like with "meatloaf," I wanted mashed potatoes with it (the meatless loaf - hehehe) but I still had the South Beach mindset going from my last diet and thought that I shouldn't eat potatoes. This actually wasn't thought out - I was going from muscle memory when I thought that we could have Faux Mashed Potatoes from the South Beach Diet Book. This is the recipe made by steaming cauliflower until it's soft and then throwing it into the food processor with a little fat free half&half and processing until it's the consistency of mashed potatoes then spraying it with a little buttery flavored spray like "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter." I substituted Soy Half&Half but other than that made the South Beach Recipe. And of course I HAVE to have English Peas when I have mashed potatoes (for which I might add there is NO substitute!). So that was our meal. It was fantastic - even if I do say so myself. The photo below doesn't do it justice - it tasted more like meat than it looks! The newly named "Meatless Loaf" will become a regular at our house - I may even invite my friend over to enjoy it with us (not is a passive aggressive way of course!).
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Bacon
Will I be successful and become vegan? Will I have the "big one" and die before I make it? Will I become vegan but get run over by a car? Will I find recipes or make up new recipes that wow me and my readers? Will I find ways to eat out and stay vegan? Stay tuned!
Before I started my journey to avoid a heart attack or bypass surgery I would have to say that one of my favorite food flavors was (is) bacon. As a matter of fact I found this recipe online when I was looking for something new and original with bacon involved that I was actually going to try sometime! Check it out... http://www.bbqaddicts.com/blog/recipes/bacon-explosion/ I mean really, what could be better than sausage rolled around cooked bacon then covered with weaved bacon slices and bar-be-qued? Of course now I cannot allow myself to think about this because I'm pretty sure that even a tiny slice of this concoction would complete the clogging of my arteries - I would probably die with a smile but I'm not really ready for that yet!
So why the heck would I write about bacon when this is my blog about becoming vegan? I'm trying to be honest about the struggle AND I just used a vegan product that brings bacon flavor back!! It's kind like that Justin Timberlake song, "I'm bringing bacon back, them m#@her*#@kers don't know how to act...take it to the chorus!" :-) Bacon flavor that's vegan? I was surprised too - so here's the story.
My partner - the guy with whom I reside and with whom I am forbidden to marry (sorry - wrong blog see "I Am A Dangerous Man" at this link if you want that story... http://gardnerlive2learn.blogspot.com Okay, where was I - oh yeah my partner who I affectionately and with no irony refer to as BPOE (Best Partner on Earth) and I decided to try a recipe out of The Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn (it's sometimes referred to as "The Austin Fireman's Diet"). It's a diet based on his father's earlier book that I talked about in my "Why I'm Blogging" entry - like father, like son, it's vegan. So we thought we would check out his recipe for Migas Especiales for brunch today.
In the book he suggests serving the dish with a side of rice and vegetarian low-fat refried beans. I don't like full-fat refried beans so I decided to try some vegetarian/vegan black beans I bought yesterday at Sprouts. As I was cooking I tasted the beans and they were BLAND! I thought about adding onions or salsa or something but I looked in my spice cabinet and discovered something I bought more than a year ago but had not used. It was Bacon Salt and it's vegan! http://www.baconsalt.com/ I added the bacon salt to the beans and they were tasty. As a matter of fact the black beans flavored with Bacon Salt would have been my favorite part of the breakfast but BPOE made some fantastic Mimosas so...but the beans were certainly my favorite FOOD. The migas were okay - not great but okay. I'll probably try the recipe again but even if I don't I will certainly continue to spice up beans and other veggies with Bacon Salt - I grew up in Mississippi - vegetables are supposed to taste like bacon!
Before I started my journey to avoid a heart attack or bypass surgery I would have to say that one of my favorite food flavors was (is) bacon. As a matter of fact I found this recipe online when I was looking for something new and original with bacon involved that I was actually going to try sometime! Check it out... http://www.bbqaddicts.com/blog/recipes/bacon-explosion/ I mean really, what could be better than sausage rolled around cooked bacon then covered with weaved bacon slices and bar-be-qued? Of course now I cannot allow myself to think about this because I'm pretty sure that even a tiny slice of this concoction would complete the clogging of my arteries - I would probably die with a smile but I'm not really ready for that yet!
So why the heck would I write about bacon when this is my blog about becoming vegan? I'm trying to be honest about the struggle AND I just used a vegan product that brings bacon flavor back!! It's kind like that Justin Timberlake song, "I'm bringing bacon back, them m#@her*#@kers don't know how to act...take it to the chorus!" :-) Bacon flavor that's vegan? I was surprised too - so here's the story.
My partner - the guy with whom I reside and with whom I am forbidden to marry (sorry - wrong blog see "I Am A Dangerous Man" at this link if you want that story... http://gardnerlive2learn.blogspot.com Okay, where was I - oh yeah my partner who I affectionately and with no irony refer to as BPOE (Best Partner on Earth) and I decided to try a recipe out of The Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn (it's sometimes referred to as "The Austin Fireman's Diet"). It's a diet based on his father's earlier book that I talked about in my "Why I'm Blogging" entry - like father, like son, it's vegan. So we thought we would check out his recipe for Migas Especiales for brunch today.
In the book he suggests serving the dish with a side of rice and vegetarian low-fat refried beans. I don't like full-fat refried beans so I decided to try some vegetarian/vegan black beans I bought yesterday at Sprouts. As I was cooking I tasted the beans and they were BLAND! I thought about adding onions or salsa or something but I looked in my spice cabinet and discovered something I bought more than a year ago but had not used. It was Bacon Salt and it's vegan! http://www.baconsalt.com/ I added the bacon salt to the beans and they were tasty. As a matter of fact the black beans flavored with Bacon Salt would have been my favorite part of the breakfast but BPOE made some fantastic Mimosas so...but the beans were certainly my favorite FOOD. The migas were okay - not great but okay. I'll probably try the recipe again but even if I don't I will certainly continue to spice up beans and other veggies with Bacon Salt - I grew up in Mississippi - vegetables are supposed to taste like bacon!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Ridiculously Easy Vegan Meal - Vegan Sloppy Joe's
Will I be successful and become vegan? Will I have the "big one" and die before I make it? Will I become vegan but get run over by a car? Will I find recipes or make up new recipes that wow me and my readers? Will I find ways to eat out and stay vegan? Stay tuned!
I can't bring myself to call this a recipe but I've been asked to publish some "recipes" for good meals that I create that are vegetarian or vegan so here is the first one. I don't really measure so my ingredient list is a guess at quantity.
Vegan Sloppy Joe's
1 small yellow onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1/3 cup olive oil
1 pound veggie meat substitute (I use Gimme Lean brand)
2/3 cup ketchup
2/3 cup yellow mustard
1 cup brown sugar
Mix the ketchup, sugar and mustard together and heat over low temp in a sauce pan until brown sugar blends into the liquid.
In a skillet add chopped onions and minced garlic to the olive oil and cook until the onions are soft.
Crumble the meat substitute into the skillet and mix well together turning until the meat substitute is heated throughout.
Pour sauce over and stir just enough to cover completely.
If you serve over rice it's vegan! And how easy is that?
I can't bring myself to call this a recipe but I've been asked to publish some "recipes" for good meals that I create that are vegetarian or vegan so here is the first one. I don't really measure so my ingredient list is a guess at quantity.
Vegan Sloppy Joe's
1 small yellow onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1/3 cup olive oil
1 pound veggie meat substitute (I use Gimme Lean brand)
2/3 cup ketchup
2/3 cup yellow mustard
1 cup brown sugar
Mix the ketchup, sugar and mustard together and heat over low temp in a sauce pan until brown sugar blends into the liquid.
In a skillet add chopped onions and minced garlic to the olive oil and cook until the onions are soft.
Crumble the meat substitute into the skillet and mix well together turning until the meat substitute is heated throughout.
Pour sauce over and stir just enough to cover completely.
If you serve over rice it's vegan! And how easy is that?
SWAD - Southern Indian Vegetarian Food
Will I be successful and become vegan? Will I have the "big one" and die before I make it? Will I become vegan but get run over by a car? Will I find recipes or make up new recipes that wow me and my readers? Will I find ways to eat out and stay vegan? Stay tuned!
Thursday I met a friend at SWAD Vegetarian for Southern Indian food. The online reviews for the restaurant are great - even the bad one was good (some yahoo said that it was obvious that the owner did not care about "American" customers because everyone in there was from India and the food was just too spicy for him or "the average American diner"). :-) Even though I spent two weeks in India several years ago I'm not very sophisticated about Indian food (of course I had Delhi-belly most of the time there and was sick as a dog). I did know that Southern Indian food is nothing like Southern US food (brilliant right?)so I was ready for an adventure.
The menu is not very helpful unless you are actually from India because even though it's in English it's not interpreted, for example, Pani Poori is described as "seven poori served with mint..." so if you don't know what poori is...
My friend Keith asked the woman at the cash register, "We've never been here so what would you suggest? Not too spicy." We were a little nervous about the spiciness cause every table gets a big plastic pitcher of ice water. She smiled knowingly and pointed at the special. Called the Thali Special and defined as Poori (4) or Roti (4), Vegetables, Rice, Raita, Pickle, Dal, Papad, Salad & Sweet. I noticed that the special was the most expensive item on the lunch menu at $9.95 but what the heck - we were there for the adventure!
You probably know that Poori and Roti are types of bread so we enjoyed that - I remembered when it was delivered to the table because back in India when I was so sick it was bread and rice that sustained me! Of course we could pick out the salad and the rice but after that it was "the yellow one" "the one with peas in it" "the yogurty one" etc. It all gets a thumbs up EXCEPT for the smallest bowl which had something dark and medicinal tasting in it. I wish I had read this review before I went
I probably would have ordered the same thing but I would have known what I was eating!
Will I return to SWAD? Yes! But before I go next time I will Google the items on the menu so I know what the heck I'm ordering. The four people at the table next to us had what looked like a big spinach quiche and they were moaning and groaning about how great it was.
Gotta love Austin if you are vegetarian aspiring to be vegan!
Thursday I met a friend at SWAD Vegetarian for Southern Indian food. The online reviews for the restaurant are great - even the bad one was good (some yahoo said that it was obvious that the owner did not care about "American" customers because everyone in there was from India and the food was just too spicy for him or "the average American diner"). :-) Even though I spent two weeks in India several years ago I'm not very sophisticated about Indian food (of course I had Delhi-belly most of the time there and was sick as a dog). I did know that Southern Indian food is nothing like Southern US food (brilliant right?)so I was ready for an adventure.
The menu is not very helpful unless you are actually from India because even though it's in English it's not interpreted, for example, Pani Poori is described as "seven poori served with mint..." so if you don't know what poori is...
My friend Keith asked the woman at the cash register, "We've never been here so what would you suggest? Not too spicy." We were a little nervous about the spiciness cause every table gets a big plastic pitcher of ice water. She smiled knowingly and pointed at the special. Called the Thali Special and defined as Poori (4) or Roti (4), Vegetables, Rice, Raita, Pickle, Dal, Papad, Salad & Sweet. I noticed that the special was the most expensive item on the lunch menu at $9.95 but what the heck - we were there for the adventure!
You probably know that Poori and Roti are types of bread so we enjoyed that - I remembered when it was delivered to the table because back in India when I was so sick it was bread and rice that sustained me! Of course we could pick out the salad and the rice but after that it was "the yellow one" "the one with peas in it" "the yogurty one" etc. It all gets a thumbs up EXCEPT for the smallest bowl which had something dark and medicinal tasting in it. I wish I had read this review before I went
I probably would have ordered the same thing but I would have known what I was eating!
Will I return to SWAD? Yes! But before I go next time I will Google the items on the menu so I know what the heck I'm ordering. The four people at the table next to us had what looked like a big spinach quiche and they were moaning and groaning about how great it was.
Gotta love Austin if you are vegetarian aspiring to be vegan!
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