Cook With Music

As many of you know I'm a new Vegan, its been about 3+ months now, and I'm loving it.
I still consider myself a "n00b" and I learn something new with every gathering I have with fellow vegans. Going into this experience I knew that I was going to learn to cook. Something I had not done well in the past, I must admit, the first few attempts were definitely a learning experience for me. But now I have a favorite dish which I make, its a cooked Kale with a Peanut Butter sauce that I make. The PB Sauce is a recipe similar to a Sudanese dish my mother used to me when I were lived back in Sudan, it gets better every time.

Not everyone has that "spark" to cook, some flat out don't enjoy it. I cooked out of necessity when I needed, either I cooked a can of whatever, or I would be hungry that evening. So when I spoke with fellow Vegans before I joined the Vegan Living Program, "cooking" was pretty much "Step 2", after deciding to be a vegan.

For a while, that alone kind of scared me of making the switch. I couldn't cook rice in a rice cooker, and that actually happened. So in my mind, if I had to cook for my self, then being a vegan is basically culinary suicide for me. Needless to say, I was not a fan of "cooking", it just wasn't a talent I possessed. But I had to find a way to make it enjoyable, and I don't care who you are, "music" can make any task enjoyable.

Now, one of the main ingredient of any complicated dish I make, is a killer playlist. I have little speaker in the kitchen, so all I do is plug them into my phone, choose an album, an artist, a playlist, or put the whole damn thing on shuffle, and hit play.
I would recommend choosing a particular album you like, or create a playlist of tunes you really enjoy.
This helps in two ways in my opinion:
1- Time will seems to slip by as you are cutting up your vegetables, or boiling your water. A little hip shaking can go a long way :)

2- Since you are listening to music you enjoy, your brain will associate that joy with your activity. There fore positively enforcing "happy" with "cooking", voila.

I am no scientist, but I have done this myself, I now look forward to choosing an album and making my dishes, it really works.

Try it out some time, the worst thats going to happen is that you will have a good time making your dinner :)
I'll blog you later.


Much Love
Mosno Al-Moseeki
www.mosno.net | The mosBLOG | Insta/Tweet: @mosno_music

Vegan + Boot Camp = Raw Strength

Mosno here,
 Yesterday I experienced my 1st day of Boot Camp, exercise Boot Camp that is, courtesy of The Boot Camp Girl Stephanie Dignan :), who ALSO happens to be a fellow Vegan.

It was quite an experience, and I loved it.
The community of people there are very kind and supportive of each other. They were giving me tips, and hints to help me through out the work out. You are never competing with others, you are only competing with YOUR self, to get better, and stronger. 

I've lost a lot of weight since being Vegan, and that has allowed me to have MORE energy, which makes sense. Since the food that I'm eating is healthy, and doesn't contain chemicals and animal products, my body is able to process it faster, and with less energy, which then leaves you with all the energy you get from the food it just processed, hence the extra energy.

One cool think I enjoyed about my 1st day at Boot Camp, is that we exercised OUTSIDE! You read you read that right. The weather was nice, so we as a team decided to take advantage of this and do the workout out side. I got to run my 1st mile, EVER. it took me about 13+ minutes. It was tough, because I'm not a runner, but I'm determined shave that number down, and Boot Camp will help.

Stephanie actually sat down with me and we spoke about what it is that I am looking to accomplish, that way she can help me cater to those needs. Another cool thing about this Boot Camp, is that they have these workouts at different locations, and with different instructors..this means you can go to any of them (or all of them) 7 days a week, and with each instructor you will get a different work out. So no boring routine, which is brilliant. :)

I wanted to thank the Vegan Living Program, for bringing Stephani to talk to us, and I wanted to thank Stephani for the raffle which I WON for a free 2 week boot camp with The Boot Camp Girl. You can actually win a FREE MONTH, so visit their site www.TheBootCampGirl.com and enter to win

I'm a little sore, but I will be going to a 6am workout TOMORROW, after I rock out a gig TONIGHT.
Is it crazy, maybe, but I won't get MY results drinking soda and watching TV.
Lets DO this! :D

More posts at my Vegan Musez Blog
Much Love
Mosno :)

New Vegan Checking In and Going Strong!

What an incredible journey! What set out to be 6-weeks has absolutely changed my life and the lives of those around me. For three of my six weeks, my daughter, her fiancee and the kids ALL became vegan! Although I'd exposed them to some of the information that I've learned along the way - they found compassion and sympathy for the animals they could relate to and removed pigs, cows and chickens from their diets for what they say is forever, still no dairy BUT have opted to eat fish. I picked my battle and decided more livestock free from slaughter is better than nothing, I'll keep trying.

My friends and family all respect my lifestyle, they've stopped questioning me and now just call me "The Vegan!"

What I find most bizarre is how my cravings have changed, hangovers used to require some greasy dead fried animal (not that I'm hungover often - Wink! Wink! ) but now, I crave strawberries and bananas and boom headache gone!

Speaking of headaches, I've suffered from migraines all of my adult life, doctors have associated it with my menstrual cycle and told me for years it was hormonal and I basically had to deal with 4 days of brain squeezing pain EVERY month, I haven't had a migraine since my diet changed, I'm thinking dairy played a role. WOW!

I woke this morning at 3AM and wanted a baked potato (really baked and not microwaved, thanks to Brenda, I haven't used a microwave, since she told us about the health issues associated with those machines!) and I wanted a LOADED one, sooooo black beans, corn, rice, broccoli, Earth Balance Vegan Butter, sea salt and black pepper and YUM!

New Vegan Checking in and going strong! 

Second Nature : Journal

Hey everyone, Mosno here,
It has been at least a couple of Weeks since I gradutaed from the Vegan Living Program, and I'm still going strong with regrets.

I'm proud to say that I have become accustom to finding vegan options in places, even thinking on the spot how to veganize certain dishes on any restaurant's menu with ease.

It has become second nature to me to go to Giant to grab lunch instead of a Burger place. I'm fond of snacking on Peanut Butter topped Rice Cakes with a side of fruit or a feeshly made smoothie. It doesn't feel like a "chore", it actually feels good, it feels...right.

Many of my friends know that I'm a vegan now, and they respect my choice, and I love them for that.

I was talking to a friend of mine at an open mic the other night, and when I told him that I'm now vegan, he asked me how difficult it was. I proudly shared the knowledge I've learned, and went the extra step of picking up the menu of where we are and showed him all the vegan options under his nose.
I have to say, I was a bit impressed with my self hahaha.

I'm sure my adventures have only begun, I can't wait.

Much love.
I'll blog you later

Mosno Al-Moseeki

Breakfast Conversation

Hey everyone, Mosno here,
 Last weekend I visited my family, and informed them that I am now a Vegan. It was hilarious, and I got asked a LOT of questions. But one question my Mom asked me was "What do you have for breakfast?", many things were suggested, including Oatmeal, Peanut Butter sandwiches, and cereal.
I never really thought much about it, because I'm not a "breakfast" kind of person. Of course I was brought up with the "knowledge" that Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I was also taught that Milk does a body good. I'm learning that NOT everything I've been told has been quite true.

Today however, I woke up, and was a bit hungry, so I wanted "breakfast". In the morning, I'm a very light eater, so I needed to find something light & delicious to go with my morning tea. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at my quick vegan breakfast options at the Giant food store.

I found crunchy granola & seed bars with chocolate chip chia from "Kashi", which are totally Vegan. I read the ingredient AND used the "Is It Vegan" app, and it said "DEFINITELY Vegan". Brilliant.
I know they have other products that contain milk & honey, but I was very happy to find a sweet vegan option. Woho. I'm now having that with my spiced chai tea, with a little bit of vanilla coconut milk.

This is one aspect of Veganism no one told me about, the sheer joy when you unexpectedly find Vegan options for what ever it is you want! it really does brighten your day :)

Have a lovely rest of your day.
I'll blog you later.
[Vegan Musez]

Much Love
Mosno

Graduation : Journal

I am SO excited and feel SO empowered right now. Yesterday (April/19/2014), I officially completed my 6 week pledge of being a Vegan. It was a lovely afternoon, my fellow Pledgers & I got to walk the stage as we were handed out certificates & our coaches cheered for us, it really was a lovely ceremony.

Many of us talked with each other, and spoke of our life transforming experience, and many asked "What now?" which is a very legitimate question.
Lucikly, Brenda has a monthly Meet-Up called the Veganism Support Group, in which each month she would organize a Pot-Lock event, in which Vegans & The Vegan Curious could get together, network, and discuss which ever topic is chosen for that meet up.
I do believe being connected to the community directly is important. My awesome coach Ben, and his lovely wife have extended their support to me, and we are thinking of having a little Vegan Game Night in the near future, sweet.

As for me, I have decided to STAY Vegan. I feel healthier, more energetic, and all the other Vegans I have met have been nothing but amazing, and kind people. In fact, I have already decided that next year, I WILL be a coach with VLP. I'm also going to continue writing the Vegan Musez blog, to document my experience, at least for the 1st year. I'm sure I will eventually find a more direct way to connect my Veganism to Music, and once that happens, watch out world :)

Today I'm going to be visiting my family, who are of course Middle-Eastern, I will be dropping the Vegan Bomb on them. I'm not sure how they will take it, I'm pretty sure I will be getting the "side eye" from everyone, I wouldn't be surprised if I become the central topic of many jokes, but I take comfort in that. I never did do things "normally", my moto for life has always been "Be a prototype, Not a stereotype". If they want to live in their little comfort bubble, that is their choice, but just like they make their own choices, I also make my OWN.

I feel like my experience hasn't ended, from this point on, it will only extend because now my Vegan choices aren't to simply honor the program, but it is to honor my self, and my fellow Earthlings.
From this point on, I am conscious, present, and Vegan.

I can not thank Erin, Brenda, & Alli enough for this life changing experience, you gals & the lovely VLP coaches are truly angels, and be warned, you have created a Vegan Monster!
Thank you Vegan Living Program Team :)

Much Love to you all, and my experience will continue on the Vegan Musez Blog
Sincely, The Plant-Based Sudanese 3rd World Rock Star,
Mosno Al-Moseeki :)

Ut Oh - I sound like a Vegan!

Many found it bizarre or even found a reason to question my intent when I posted last regarding finding my passion.  We've heard time and time again that we've all taken on these 6-weeks for different reasons. 

My "why" was simply, let me see if I can do this for 6-weeks? In the process, I've met some amazing people, learned a priceless amount of information, tried new and interesting alternatives to my previous meat-eating diet AND found my "why!" 

Brenda did a kick-ass presentation last week, no fact particularly more profound than another for the exception of the image of the fried chicken leg, next to an ummmm....CHICKEN! Yuck! 

I've eaten lunch in seafood restaurants, opting for the fried green tomatoes, making certain that there was no dairy and no animal products, no chef, i'm sorry I do not trust your breading, so he brought me a label, no eggs, no milk, wheat/soy product. I'll take TWO! 

At work, they set out donuts for them and Oreo's for "The Vegan." 

Calling animals what they are and not the "label" helps, they are cows, pigs and birds...beef, pork and chicken just sounds better!  I rode by a Popeye's Fried Chicken Restaurant and instead of yum, yum good - I could only think of bloody, dead chickens, why would I want to eat that? 

Something happened last week. Something happened that made eating animal flesh very unattractive and inhumane. My earlier posts compared me to a lion, a lion that eats a gazelle. I am not a savage, flesh eating animal. I am not superior over another living, breathing being. My desire is to share the place we've been given to dwell together in harmony. I work hard to maintain my level of fitness and athleticism, why then would I not want ONLY the best to enter my body, the best being what I was intended to eat since creation fruits, vegetables, grains and beans... ut oh - I sound like a Vegan! 

Tofurkey & Kale Dish : Video

Hey everyone, Mosno here,
 I just wanted to say thank you to all the lovely people at the Vegan Living Program for inspiring me to keep doing this, and to all my fellow pledgers who came up to me and told me how much they enjoyed my videos on my Vegan Musez Blog, I hope you enjoy this one.
Its another simple dish that I think anyone can make.

The Ingredients
-Kale
-Spinach
-Tofurkey
-Spices (mine were: All-Purpose, Soy Sauce, & Lemon Juice)

Here is the video of the dish.
Enjoy :)




I'll blog you later
Much Love

Mosno

Hardest Week EVER!

I'd love to be able to post that all is well and this challenge is going over well, without temptation or desire to revert back to my former pescaterian diet. It's actually been so bad that the thought of eating meat has crossed my mind a time or TEN! The struggle is real.

I attempted to watch Earthlings as any good new vegan should, hoping to be moved, convicted, freed from my evil meat eating ways, instead...

15 minutes in, I texted my coach and asked "Why is it ok, for a lion to kill and eat a gazelle and I not be able to do the same, consume meat, I am an animal, right?" The lion certainly does not kill this gazelle in a "humane" way, neither does the shark to the sea lion, or the fox to the sheep, or any other meat eating carnivore ANIMAL. Earthlings effected me the total opposite way that it was intended, I continued to watch and the room began to clear, no one could tolerate watching but me. Because I am searching and seeking and trying desperatley to find my passion, the passion that I believe is necessary to live this lifestyle to practice this diet to feel convicted in such a way that it disturbs you to participate in anything, any practice, any wrong doing, any activity that would cause harm to an animal. I desperately need my IT.

I am certain that I continue eating tofurky and the likes because of my competitive nature to not be defeated by a challenge more than that passion that tells me that by not participating in any form or fashion, demonstrated by eating animal flesh or the like, that I'm making a difference. Am I really making a difference? Where is my passion? and can it be found, if it genuinely, sincerely does not reside inside of me?

Two weeks to go...

The Vegan Magic Box

Hey everyone, Mosno here,
Yesterday I received one of the coolest packages I have received this year! :)
I like to call it The Vegan Magic Box, but in actuality it is called "The Vegan Starter Kit" by Vegan Cuts.
This box ladies and gentlemen, blew my mind. It was JAM PACKED with so much awesome stuff. Food, material, coupons, and even some CANDY.

In this box I found so much hope and inspiration for my journey, it was like the Vegan universe was sending you a big care package saying "Thank you and welcome to our world". Did you know that there is Vegan Gelatin-Free, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Gummy Candy? Are you Serious? that is AMAZING.
I don't care if I sound like a 5 year old, I LOVE Gummy Candy, so this is a HUGE win for Team Vegan hahaha!

One random, but cool object in there was a Glass straw, that is actually genius, if we all had our own glass straws, then that is less plastic to be used for straws, there for less waist, there for help the environment. Its all about these little big steps.

Also in there is the "Vegucated" award winning documentary DVD, which I am excited to see. Also there are some natural energy bars, and a nice collection of snacks.
Its awesome, it really is .. I recommend it for New Vegans because it will be like opening a gift on Christmas day, and I would recommend it to Pro Vegans because it will just put a big smile on your face, just like it did to me :D <-- see?

All of this for just $25! TOTALLY worth it, if you were to buy all these awesome things on their own, it would cost easily $50 if not more, so I say go for it, you will not regret it :)

I hope your having a lovely day.
I'll blog you later

Much Love
Mosno

Realization : Journal

I'm performing tonight at an event which is being catered by several places. As we are all setting up, different aromas are slowly embracing the air.
I sot here, and notice that I am unphased. I'm not longing for any of these dishes, infact, I'm thinking of what my next vegan dish will be.

This is when I realized, that for me, being vegan is not just about a "diet", not at all. It's about a new creative outlet for me, which assures me that this is not a "phase" or an "experiment", and that makes me very happy :). I take joy in making up these dishes and being creative with my smoothies, its just..fun!

Of course the enviromental, health, and humanitarian reasons are also pretty good. But I'm glad that at the core of it, I'm able to relate to it on a personal, and creative level.

Find your core reason, I think that will make all the difference :)

Have a lovely Friday.
I'll blog you later

Much love
Mosno :)

Lentel Broccoli Dish

Hey everyone, Mosno Here,
 Sorry this isn't a vLog, but I was hungry hahaha.

This is a quick dish that I put together for my dinner this evening, this can be easily customized which ever way you like, but this how I did it :)

#1: Put some olive oil in a pan
#2: Put in some Broccoli and stirred it a bit
#3: Added a little bit of Soy Sauce to the Broccoli and stirred some more
#4: Added a can of pre-cooked Lentils with Vegetables
#5: Added Spices (Garlic Pepper, Crushed Red Pepper, & Paprika)
#6: Added a few Green Olives (because I freakin love olives)
#7: Stirred and I let it simmer for a bit (While I made some tea)
*I tend to like to have something crunchy next to my meal, so I'm also having a Rice Cake.

That's it.
It was actually pretty quick to make, took me less than 20 minutes and is tastes really good :)
I hope you enjoyed it.

I'll blog you later
Mosno

Is that corn I smell?

Soooooo, my cravings are changing! This has been a bizarre transition. Yesterday i had an overwhelming yearning for...CORN! Not cakes, or cookies, not lobster or crab, not ice cream...CORN!

I'm still patting myself on the back each night, going "that a girl, not one single slip up, ya new vegan, you!" I've incorporated many suggestions, yielding me a slip up proof day. I had a full day event yesterday, where lunch and snacks were served, knowing this before hand, I packed, almonds, 2 bananas and a bean burger, with kale. I watched as everyone snacked on the junk food provided and wasn't moved. Yeah, me! Go Ericka! Go Ericka!

Went out to dinner with a friend and she had sushi, there were vegetarian option on the menu, not vegan, so I was very careful in my selection, however found myself salivating and wanted to leap across the table and lick her chopsticks! Urgh.  I had the vegetables and bean curd and made certain there was no meat stock or fish stock used to prepare my food. I ate my veggies, watch her sushi, ate my veggies, watched her sushi and didn't lick her chopsticks!

Got home around midnight and had CORN! Life is good, all is well, still vegan!

Seitan & Side Dish : vLog

Today I got a bit zealous and decided to make use a new ingredient for me "Seitan" AND to make a side-dish for it as well. The result was beyond what I expected. I LOVED it..and my housemates liked it as well, so its not just me tooting my own horn :)

The Ingredients for the dish:
-Baked Seitan
-Canned diced tomatoes



The lemon sauce:
-Lemon juice
-All purpose spice
-Paprika
-Garlic Powder
-Crushed Red Peppers

The side dish:
-Small golden potatoes
-Broccoli
-Vegan cream cheese

Here is the vLog of how I made it.
Enjoy :)




Much Love
Mosno

No, I'm sorry, I can't have that, I'm vegan!

Day #4! What an amazing 24 hours. I've learned so much more in such a short time. This group is full of resources, a wealth of Vegan information and I'm sitting back, soaking it up and enjoying the ride!

Date nite with a meat eating man...not so bad because I read earlier in the day of all the wonderful places with vegan options and couldn't wait to try one. HomeSlyce, ummm, can you say...YUM! I had the vegan pizza, topped with vegan cheese, sausage and mushrooms, so good it felt like I was cheating! Amazing, each day another myth dies in the light, vegan food is tasty and I don't miss a thing from my former diet, nothing and that folks, is AWESOME!

I had already made it through the day 100% Vegan, no slip ups, no cravings, just vegan! Surprisingly I went to Trader Joes and the vegan selection was more limited than my neighborhood Giant, but I purchased almonds (great for snacking during the day), vegan cheddar cheese, Meatless beef strips, and chicken strips, Tofurkey Italian Sausage, a few bean burgers, bananas and a vegan frozen pizza. The key to my success is making certain i have enough food on hand and a recipe to keep me busy. It works.

Today, I visited The Land Of Kush  where I purchased, the lentil burgers in gravy, with spicy kale and rice, I plan to go back and give Naijha a kiss for the recommendation, everything was delicious. The Land Of Kush, HomeSlyce and other places that offer vegan options eliminate the awful feeling of being annoying I get from asking:

Is this vegan?
Is there meat in this?
Dairy?
What was used to season it?
Are you sure?

The most surprising thing about the past 24 hrs was, the feeling of absolute nausea when I smelled someone's italian sausage they were eating, huh? the smell of meat making me sick? in 4 days? No way! yes, way! And as if that weren't enough, I tried to make myself want to eat crab, i though hard and long about it, tried to remember the taste that I used to love and the thought was not pleasant. It's official "they" got me - those vegan folks, got me. Today, just day 4, I proudly say, "No, I'm sorry, I can't have that, I'm vegan!"

Vegan Tech

Hey everyone, Mosno here,
 I am a techie, I love gadgets and I love finding new and exciting ways to use them usefully and/or creatively.
Since I started in VLP I've read the emails being sent out and did some digging, and I have found some very helpful Phone Apps for this Vegan journey I'm taking, so lets get to it.

Here are 3 free Apps for Vegans:
Is It Vegan? (Android & iPhone)
This app takes getting used to, it allows you to search the name of a product (or even scan its bar-code) and it tells you if the product is Vegan or not..but its not THAT precise, so in a way it can tell you if its Vegan or Vegan-iesh .. still helpful though :)

HealthyOut Healthy Meal (Android & iPhone)
This one is cool, you have different ways of searching for places to eat (including Vegan), it can tell you not only the name of the restaurant, but the actual Dishes they make, which is super helpful.

Vegan Yum Yum (Android & iPhone)
Based on the popular VYY Blog, this app is great to look up Vegan recipes to try out. I'm sure this will be very handy to us newbies to the cooking field :)

If you want more apps, here is an article I found that lists 11 Must Have Apps for Vegans, but not all of them are free :)

I hope enjoyed the post.
I'll blog you soon.

Much Love
Mosno

The 2014 VLP Is Off to an Amazing Start!

The 2014 Vegan Living Program has been such a whirlwind that this is the first time I've had a chance to sit down and blog about it. I have to admit that when I came onboard as an organizer of the program I had no idea how massive the response would be this year. Being a vegan who was raised in a port city, I've gotten used to the "I could never give up my seafood" response from so many of the people I meet. Seafood is so entrenched in the very identity of Baltimore, that there have been times as a vegan activist when I've considered just throwing up my hands and doing my outreach in another city. Don't get me wrong, I'm not normally a quitter, but trying to convince Baltimoreans to give up crabs seemed like a losing battle.

Imagine my shock when the flood of Vegan Pledge registrations started pouring in. And then they kept pouring in and pouring in and pouring in! We went from organizing a program that could accommodate thirty pledges to having a room packed with more than 150 people! I wouldn't have dared to hope that we would have such a massive response to a vegan educational program and even now as I look at the photos from the first session I'm still amazed. So, people in Baltimore have spoken and they’ve expressed that they're sick and tired of being sick and tired. They want to learn more about the environmental impact of their lifestyle on the planet. They're shocked and outraged about the undercover footage coming out of animal farms and slaughterhouses. They're ready to try something different.

What an enormous and awe-inspiring responsibility to have placed in your hands – to have a packed room full of people putting that kind of trust in you. Knowing that what you say to them could literally help to change the world. That justice could be served, wrongs could be righted, imbalances could be corrected, pain and illness could be alleviated -- and all those things can start right there within the hearts and minds of this group of people who signed up to be Vegan Pledges. Just thinking about the power that we, as humans, have to change this world for the better brings tears to my eyes and looking out at the diverse crowd, with people from all different generations, cultures and belief systems, I couldn't help but be moved by the magnitude of it all.

So as I contemplate how best to move forward as an organizer of the VLP, I have to constantly remind myself that this program is all about the pledges. It's not necessary for me to take on the weight of the entire world, but to be content in the knowledge that I'm doing everything I can to try to make this world better. The people looking back at me from the crowd, the ones who have stepped up and pledged to live vegan for the duration of the program, they are the reason I get up before the sun and go to bed exhausted every night. The pledges' enthusiasm, passion and determination are what make all the hard work of putting together the Vegan Living Program worthwhile. Because, when it gets right down to it, real lasting change will only come when every single one of us stands up and does our own part to change this world. I am truly honored to be a part of that change.

-- Brenda

   

Learning and Loving this new LIFE!

I mentally prepared myself for about 90 days and did a countdown of sorts to make it to the first meeting and officially took the challenge. My hope is at the end of the 6-week challenge that I've incorporated the food, prep, recipes, information, thought process and all that goes with this challenge so deeply that it would be ridiculous for me to return to my seafood eating ways. Woosah.

The initial meeting put all of my major concerns to rest, my ONLY major concern was "what will i eat?" and "will everything taste like tree bark?" What a fantastic job with the cooking demos and samples, I was sold, I told my coach Lauren.. I CAN DO THIS!  I left the meeting with my binder in tow and the 1000 little pieces of paper I'd jotted notes on and headed straight to the grocery store and purchased my essentials - I needed to make my own seitan immediately and BBQ it, yum!

One of the best lessons learned was spices and how we could make it all taste great, so on day one, first dinner, I prepared seitan, with fresh garlic, mushrooms and onions, sauteed in sesame oil, over rice and decided YES! I CAN DO THIS!!!

Day 2, I saved money because I didn't buy lunch at work, instead I took the cocunut curry beans i prepared in my CROCK POT the night before. My apartment smelled like a carribean happy place and they were delicious. I went to a party that evening that had a full spread of EVERYTHING and I had green beans, rice and salad.... Caesar salad, first fail. My brain didn't for a moment comprehend, dairy as I was so focused on NO MEAT. Picked myself up and tried again.

Day 3, I want fried chicken. Huh? I don't eat fried chicken. But again I heard a voice say, I WANT FRIED CHICKEN, so I Googled, vegan fried chicken and VOILA a recipe, I love these vegan folks! I'd already purchased everything I needed to make it AND had already placed all of my tofu in the freezer, thanks Brenda! last nite for dinner I had....

You can find the recipe here Tofu Fried Chicken? No way, YES way!

So...this new vegan is learning and loving this new LIFE! I'm so excited about the journey and I feel amazing! Til next time...

Grocery Shopping Tips

Hi all, and first off, congrats on making the vegan pledge!! I promise that as difficult as it may seem in the beginning, it gets MUCH easier. so hang in there!
I want to start off quickly introducing myself; my name is Katie, and I've been vegan for a bit over 2 years, and was vegetarian for several years before that. I was a vegan coach last year so I'm familiar with the program, but wasn't able to fit it into my schedule this year since we're expecting our first little plant-based baby in just a few weeks :) I wanted to remain a resource though, so feel free to contact me with any questions you may have!

I'll try not to make this too wordy, but I want to be thorough, so stick with me!

I saw that a lot of you were struggling with grocery shopping, which I completely understand, so I wanted to hopefully help out a bit with that. It would be so much easier if there was an all-vegan grocery store, or even just aisle, so you could turn a blind eye to all of the other things that no longer fit your lifestyle choices, but if you go in with a good game plan then it can have some of the same effect. While it can be fun to wander a grocery store and explore once in awhile, the nest advice I can give you is that when you're there to actually buy, PLAN AHEAD! Know what you need, have an idea of where to find it, and ignore everything else; vegan or not, it's not on your list. This is also key if you're on a budget.
We've found that Wegmans makes this incredibly easy. Not only do they have some of the best prices for healthy/organic options, as well as a wide selection, they also label their store brand products that are vegan with a 'V', which makes life so much easier, especially in the beginning when label-reading is a daunting and exhausting task! Even better, if you go online to their website, you can add products to your shopping list online, complete with price and the ability to read ingredients and reviews ahead of time. You can then print out your completed list or pull it up on your phone when you go to the store, and it even divides the list according to the aisle the products are in so that you can get in and out with minimal distraction. Discovering this tool was a complete game changer for our family, both budget and time wise. No one wants to spend 10 minutes reading a single label in a crowded grocery store just to discover 'whey' as the last ingredient.
(Side note: Sometimes I'd find myself laboring through a label, and when I finally got to the end I'd discover it was vegan, but that left me thinking- if there are that many unfamiliar ingredients do I really want to put this in my body anyway? So this can help encourage you to stick to products with fewer, more familiar ingredients that may actually nourish your body!)

Wegmans is our go-to for the majority of our shopping, but we do also frequent Aldi and Trader Joe's. I'm sure most of you have been in a Trader Joe's by now, so I won't spend a lot of time on them, but if you've never been to Aldi or you feel like there's a stigma attached to it, I want to stop you right there! Aldi has cleaned up a lot in the past few years from what I've heard some used to be like, and a lot of the items are the same brand as Trader Joe's, just a different cheaper label. I don't know how we kept ourselves in produce before discovering Aldi. Every Wednesday, they announce new produce specials for the week, and the prices are looooow. Since becoming pregnant I've tried to steer more towards organic produce, but sometimes their specials do include organic and locally grown produce as well as conventionally grown. There aren't a lot of options in Aldi stores, there's usually one brand choice for each food, but that can also help keep you from becoming overwhelmed.

We keep running lists of the items we buy at each store and the prices, to make grocery planning easier for us. (We don't do this for Wegmans since it's all online anyway). I wanted to share some of these with you to give you an idea of what you can find at these stores, and how much you can expect to spend.

Aldi: **their produce prices change constantly so most aren't included

·         Frozen organic blueberries: $2.99

·         Frozen organic strawberries: $2.69

·         1/2 gallon Almond Milk: $2.49

·         14.5 oz Diced tomatoes: $0.59

·         Pumpkin puree: $0.89

·         Tomato sauce: $0.25

·         Natural peanut butter: $1.69

·         Organic salsa: $1.99

·         Cauliflower: $2.29

·         Yellow onions: $1.79

·         Limes: $0.25/ each

·         Onion powder/ all spices: $0.99

·         Pure maple syrup: $3.99

·         Nature's Path Love Crunch granola: $2.99

·         Oats: $2.29

·         Pita chips: $1.99

·         Mangoes: $0.99

·         Organic baby spinach/ spring mix: $2.49

Trader Joes:

·         Bananas: $0.19/ each

·         Medjool dates: $4.49

·         Tempeh: $1.99

·         Vegan mozzarella: $3.49

·         Pizza dough: $1.19

·         Ciabatta rolls (4 pack): $1.99

·         French Baguette: $1.59

·         Dark chocolate bars (3 pack): $1.79

·         Ridge cut chips: $2.99

·         Soy ice cream: $3.29

·         Cream 'cheese': $2.49

·         Cultured coconut milk (yogurt): $1.49

·         Hash browns: $1.99

·         Soy creamer: $1.49

·         Whole grain tortillas: $2.29

·         D'Anjou pears: $0.69/ each

·         4 count Avocados: $2.99

·         Tomatoes on the vine: $2.29

·         Organic tomatoes on the vine: $3.99

·         2 lb Clementines: $3.29

·         3 lb Fuji: $2.79

·         Mandarin Chk'n: $2.99

·         Frozen Waffles: $1.99

·         Coconut chips: $1.99

·         Whole grain pretzel sticks: $1.99

·         Whole wheat fiber bread: $2.99

·         Kale (10 oz): $1.99

·         Organic whole wheat fusilli pasta: $1.39

 I know this was a long post, so if you have any additional questions please don't hesitate to ask! We are one of those weird families that enjoys grocery shopping, and loves to talk about it :)