What am I gonna eat now?

I wanted my first blog and vlog of the New Year to be a good one. So, what was the problem? Nothing. I do think this one is gonna be a good one. I mean, seriously, look at the category! VEGAN. It's going to be about VEGAN stuff. I mean, vegan food, vegan clothes, vegan shoes, vegan hair... just kidding. No, but seriously, I'm thinking about returning to a vegan lifestyle again. I stopped The Vegan Writer site when I returned to eating eggs, shrimp and dairy and still, giving all that up would be like a challenge that would require a TON of motivation. 

So far the only motivation I have is the Blend Tec machine I bought over the holidays. I got it on sale, etc. Despite the fact that I do not do religious holidays, I do enjoy the heathen aspect of them in that I utilize the days off work to the fullest and I shop like mad!

Yes, I believe in family and all that but why must I relegate the best shopping days of the year to my family when I can spend any other days of the year I want with them!

Still, after all is said and done, I still want/need - a sea foam / light turquoise wool jacket I saw, an apricot colored one, and this awesome navy blue one to make my over the knee high slouch boots. I also want a faux fur for my 55 anniversary of life outside of my mother.

By the way, my mother’s health is improving – OR she’s lying about it… either way, her medical test won’t lie so… there ya go Mz Marg… you are so busted!!!

Writing… yes, I am urged to try getting a novel out this year. My fear is that it won’t sell, and my other fear is that it WILL sell and I won’t get paid. That’s like my ‘writer’ nightmare – the one that wakes me screaming because I just took a gun and run around shooting up publishing houses … and publishers. Hmmm – fine plot … actually.

Ahem

Okay, so back to my Blend Tec… what do I hope to accomplish this year – with it. Considering how much I paid, I’m hoping to have it learn to drive my truck and pick up fresh produce for me without me having to leave my house – bbbbuuut chances are it’s just not equipped with that many control buttons, albeit a few nice ones. It makes smoothies, grinds oats and nuts for butters and flour (lending itself to healthy cooking). You do realize that if you are eating REAL FOOD you don’t have to count calories, carbs, or any of that other stuff because you don’t eat as much as you have more energy to work out so in the end it all balances… you realize that right?

Soooo, yes I cringed and almost spit it out in the sink when I realized my move favorite green smoothie had like 70 carbs! I was sipping it – oooing and awing at the wonderfulness of it and then looked again at the recipe and started choking! OMGAAAD! But, after I drank it was ready to leap a small building in a single bound… or at least finish Zumba class.

At 55 … which I will be in August, I want to be the same lean trim younger looking and feeling women that I became at 51 – only this time, incorporate the gym. It’s easy to lose weight by just NOT eating Carbs, or JUST cutting calories or something like that but in the long run – it’s not a diet or lifestyle change that is long term. This Blend Tec has an 8 year warranty which means, if nothing else, I can get my smoothie on for 8 years… after that… I’m talking senior discounts in many places!!!

Just cleaning up my “eating act” from 2013 – ugh do I need to confess my sins… okay I will: Donuts, Alcohol (the sweet high calorie sissy girl drinks and make you really fat), Donuts (oh yeah that’s worth repeating), Processed Foods, Frozen Foods, Eating Out, Store bought Pizza, Donuts (dang it), and even thought I kept up my gym, it slowed way down from 11 hours a week to barely 3. I know I worked a TON more and tried to make sure I stayed moving on the job but it’s not the same… I didn’t get my sweat on regularly – I know that works for me. I have to sweat.

Sweating and cute clothes… stop it Michelle – this is not a topic!

Okay then Sweating and cute hair… No stop it…

This year I must buy a bicycle! I need an Ipod too but for LIFE I need wheels that I propel forward with my legs, feet and gluteus. I have a helmet, and pads and all that – cuz I KNOW I’m going to fall. I falling… heck I fell in my CHAIR the other day… just slipped right out onto the floor…

Partners… yes! I want to get into a group of others who go to the gym, walk and life… I mean, NO I don’t want to pay for all this FANCY stuff… my goodness I already bought a BLEND TEC I can do NO MORE… so I would like to hook up with some holistic folks who are more green-grass-start-up-get-up-get-moving-let’s-just-get-er-done kinda folks.

Drinking my champagne and Merlot – well I’m hoping to cut both habits (these habits I have more medical more than party reasons) in half due to the digestive elements I am incorporating into the smoothies. Already I have had no wine (sparkling or otherwise) since New Year’s Eve (I KNOW I was slipped a mickie – but that’s another convo right there).

Well, I’m about to make a dash to Costco, and not just to fool around… okay partially to fool around but mostly to stock up on produce. You know you’re getting ‘mature when…” yeah you go to COSTCO to buy spinach hahaha.

I can hear my mother now, “…that’s too healthy! I don’t want that! Get that out of my face it’s too healthy, it’s gonna make me sick.” Yes, she indeed said the latter. I laughed so hard!

Okay, this vegetarian writer is about out of antidotes for a moment. No, I’m not going to promise to blog / vlog more than once a month … it’s one of those when the mood hits me kinds of things from here on out I’m sure… well unless I’m getting paid then it’s all about… you want me to do it when? Sure, I’ve got time haha.

Have a great day and hopefully all your healthy eating dreams will come true.

FreeTress Equal Gail

Eating for LOVE and LIFE

I went vegetarian in l996 after a stomach bout that nearly put took me to ER. It had been happening for years and I even had surgery which I hoped had fixed the situation and for many years I thought it had. But in l996 I had a bout that just about threw me under the truck. I didn’t look at the stress I was under just at the fact that I had eaten meat and gotten sick…

I had eaten meat AGAIN and gotten sick. I’m no mathematician but it had added up… meat made me sick so I stopped eating it. Over the few months that followed I slowly added fish and dairy back in and became a vegetarian.

My brother who I admire a lot was vegetarian and so I figured, I’d follow in his footsteps. If he’s doing it, it must be a healthy way to go. I lost weight (180 back to 170) for a while and then just started figuring that the weight gain over the next few years (170-190) was due to my getting older. I accepted it and didn’t worry about it.

In 2008 I found myself 220 pounds and just figured that was the way of life for me. I walked regularly and felt I was active … enuff. But guess what, fish was making me SICK… dairy products were making me sick. Now I’m saying fish and dairy to include the few products that indeed make my GERD worse… along with some fruits, veggies and RAW things, popcorn and potato chips. SO out the window everything went and I went VEGAN. I quickly lost 15 pounds and felt I was on to something… well I found myself ON the FLOOR and realize I was not getting the nutrition I needed eating a potato and a salad each day… it wasn’t enuff.

So I decided to do some reading and figure out how to be a vegan… well, carb lover that I am, I didn’t give up anything that involved a HIGH carb food item or anything SWEET I could get my hands on so by Summer 2009 I was up to 240 pounds the most I’d weight in my entire life. Still walking 3 to 5 miles two or three times a week and even going to the gym now and then it wasn’t enough to BUDGE that weight gain past 20 pounds. I was still at a threat for diabetes which was surely waiting to kill me.

Finally a friend said, try ATKINS. My answer… ATKINS kills… she said, well cutting carbs works… but I thought… yeah in a fad diet everything ‘works’ for a minute… but after thinking it over, I knew I had to do something. Again, I was walking, dancing, trying to be active and NOTHING was budging the weight. I still had stomach pain and GERD really bad… so I took the ATKINS plan, crossed it with Richard Simmons Deal a Meal, threw in a little Weight Watchers Point counting and of course my favorite plan CLINC D which proportions food in a way where it burns on itself… and I got more active… VOLA September first I started and within 6 months I had dropped 50 pounds and counting.

In May 2010 I weighed 172 pounds I felt like a dream had come true! I was in love and happy and well … that just meant, I was EATING again… mindlessly and without regard. Sure I was ‘watching my carbs’ but I was watching myself eating them again. WHY… because I was cooking for a meat eater and my food just didn’t smell as good or taste as good as what I was cooking LOOKED and frankly I was losing my happiness with what tasted like ‘DIET’ food.

Now vegan food is NOT diet food it’s a life style but if you are not a progressive Vegan you’ll find that not much what you find in stores--prefabricated--is meant for everyday consumption as much of it is a GMO… or otherwise in layman’s terms… NOT REAL FOOD. Much of it is designed for periodic consumption… true VEGANS eat basically RAW… well I knew that was OUT for me so I daily consumed a fair share of high protein GMO… which unfortunately doesn’t do in the body what you’d want it to do .. all the time.

Now it’s 2011 and I find myself… HUNGRY. I feel malnourished and weighing 185 pounds. I dance between 182 and 188… UGH… it’s scary because 200 pounds is right there.. ready to jump back on my body bringing a HOST of health issues with it… and why… why would I just wait for that to happen?

So I had to stop, drop and think… why and who where and when, did the rules on my life and my eating get made… and why do I insist on trying to FIT my life into ready-made molds… well that’s another discussion I’m sure… designed for someone with a degree and a ‘couch’ and an expensive HOUR of time set aside just for me… hahaha but just as I had to combine many ‘diet’ plans to lose weight, I need to put together many EATING plans to keep it off…

So I decided to look over YEARS of eating and exercise to see what WORKED for me. YES and I found that on all levels there is something about EACH type of eating that works for me. Seeing as how I have a delicate constitution I needed to personalize my eating and not ‘worry’ if it looks a little OFF to those who ‘in my world or mind or whatever’ seem to care.

It was s imple solution… Michelle… eat what doesn’t make you sick!

WOW... what an epiphany… so simple it was like… shocking… wow.

Now that you know that makes you FAT… cut that out and eat what doesn’t… wow.

I thought I would feel guiltier biting into that tuna sandwich after three years of it being on my TABOO list, but I felt great. So great, my daughter thought I was high… my eyes glazed over my face just glowed. That was over 4 hours ago and still no belly ache. Nothing. But then again, Tuna has NEVER made me sick. I stopped eating it because it wasn’t VEGAN.

Now I did eat it with some vegan ingredients but nonetheless it worked for me… a zero carb tuna treat and wow… that’s all I can say. I had forgotten how good it could be. Now with all I’ve learned about nutrition and my body and my body on carbs… I can say that I think I’m onto something wonderful. I’ll keep you posted.

I officially start my NON-Vegan—NON-Vegetarian—NON-titled eating Feb first… I’m nervous, I’m feeling guilty a little bit, and in a way I feel kinda like I failed at something major… yet at the same time, excited to have succeeded at something even bigger… freeing myself to make my own rules and my own way in my own life regarding my own health and well being…

I keep waiting for that person that goes… so you’re not a vegan anymore… wow… that’s too bad. And when that happens I hope it doesn't make me cry. I hope it doesn’t make me feel like a failure or worse… make me do something psychotic or cause food to start suddenly and inexplicably making me sick… crazy huh… but it could happen.

I remember when my uncle who was a totally orthodox vegan went back to eating meat. He had married late in life to a much younger woman and for whatever reasons became a meat eater again and on until the day he died… many many years later of a UN MEAT related cause… but I remember thinking… Ugh she’s gonna kill him! I was wrong and well… I was wrong.

Not just because I’ve chosen to change back… but just because and the term BACK is even reflective of shame. I’ve decided to Adjust and adapt… and develop a eating life style that fits ME… and is HEALTHY for me… select proteins from all TYPES of eating groups. More Beans and oooh yeah Quinoa (the perfect food prepared with something really tasty like ‘real’ fish) and Edamame (with something like… hey… real cheese—like BRE … oh yum) … okay, so the recipes are like OVER flowing my brain… gotta go to bed and dream of grilled lean pork strips …. Yeah I said PORK…
Pork never made me sick and it’s NOT from the devil.

Today was a good day and I’m ready for tomorrow... and the RESTART of my healthy weight loss efforts.

Love ya,
Michelle McGriff
The NON-Vegan Writer...

The Power of Pie

Eating for comfort can’t be the worst possible thing a person can do. I mean, I can think of several ‘worse’ things. Shooting for comfort, bludgeoning for comfort, cussing and spitting for comfort—so you know what I’m saying, eating for comfort is not the worst thing a person can do. BuT… eating the wrong thing for comfort can make it bad for the person and those around them.

Let’s take a look at those who eat sweets for comfort. It’s easy to just grab an old piece of chocolate from the bottom of the stash bag, shove it in one’s mouth and call it comfort, but no… just the mere word—comfort, evokes an emotion that requires so much more effort, energy and love.

Today, I needed comfort—not like bad, but, still, I knew if I didn’t take care of this at this stage it was only going to get worse, so I had some mints in my purse—instead of grabbing them and tossing them in my chops one by one, I pondered first—is this what I really want—need, and will it give me the comfort I'm shoot'n for. What level is my cry for comfort… green, yellow, orange red! Okay, so after deciding I was only at a yellow alert, I opted to hold off for the ultimate comfort food… PIE. And not just any pie… Cherry pie.

Now I chose cherry for a couple of reasons. As you all know, I’m watching my health. Just like the other week, I went out for drinks with friends and well I definitely, and without hesitation chose the Pomegranate Cadillac –that’s a pomegranate Margie with a shot of smooth high end rum in a single or double shot glass sitting off to the side that you pour on yourself for that extra… something. But see it was the pomegranates that made the drink worth it… antioxidants… yup. And I drank that drink… and you know what… I swear I was feeling better within in seconds…

Okay so back to the pie. So, during the holidays, I saw pies that were 2fer one… 9.99 each and I talked myself out of it. No one needs 2 pies… not for a mere yellow alert… sheesh. So I passed it up. But now, I find that I’ve yet to go back to a green so, I think I need to get the pie before I move forward to a (oh my gosh) RED. And not just any RED... a DIVA RED. I go back to the store and of course the pies are no longer on sale… they are ONE for 6.99… But it’s a deep dish Sara Lee… hmmm. Now I’m pretty broke right now. Sure my book just released but what you all have to understand is… well, suffice it to say… that don’t mean anything in the pocket area of literary life! It just means WHOHOOO!... my book is out… people can read it… buy it and review it… and well, it keeps me out there in the industry I love. It’ll be a while before I start seeing the fruits of my labor… so ummm yeah, buy the book!....

Okay so, back to the pie! I fondle the pie, read the ingredients to make sure a veggie/veganite can eat it… and snap!!! I can. Sooo it’s on like donkey kong… right… wrong… I have only 15 bucks on me so if I buy this pie, I’ma have to forgo something else—like my bottled water, or maybe even my pomegranate tea… oh neva that. Soooo, I slide the pie back in the freezer section and decide, okay I’ll just go next door to McD’s they have those little pies 2 for a dollar… yuck. But I’m thinking… you know if I want to keep this alert to a yellow I need to get going on this comfort thing pretty quick here.

But I hold off, and sure enough my ride comes before I make the trek over there. It’s my friends hubby so of course I’m too embarrassed to say, Mike can you take me to McD’s to buy a comfort pie… he’d be like… ComFoRT… girl you need to just stop whining and get yourself a job or … whatever he feels is the reason I’m needing comfort right… go to the gym, or stop thinking about him, or walk yourself back home… having me out here picking your butt up… but anyway… so I just grinned got in the car and went back to the house.

NOW… it’s been a couple of hours and DANG… I wish I had that pie. I’ve counted my pennies and guess what… I could easily afford that pie! They say if you want something walk away from it for 20 minutes and if you still want it… then get it… eat it! Ohhh and I still want that pie. I do. I want to get it, eat it… put on some lingerie and climb up in my bed with it and… oh cuse me, I digress… but anyway, I’m gonna go back to that Safeway market… even if I have to walk in the dark! (oh I’ll have to tell ya’ll about my stun gun purchase decision later) ....

The pie shall soon be mine!!!!! Alllll miiiineeee muuuuaaah ah ahhhhh. Comfort is coming soon… I can feel it.....