Monday, October 20, 2008

sweet tooth

I am becoming quite domestic as of late, scary stuff. Anyhow, I have been having a really bad sweet tooth. I could always reach for the Coconut Bliss ice cream, but I was feeling the need to experiment and create. I ended up concocting an almond cake with olive oil and an Asian pear topping with drizzled "caramel". Here's the recipe for anyone who is interested. Not too shabby for my first attempt at vegan cake.

Almond Cake with Olive Oil

*3 cups whole wheat flour
*1/3 cup olive oil
*1 cup vanilla rice milk
*1 T baking powder
*3/4 t salt
* 1 t almond extract
* 1 T vanilla extract
*1 & 1/3 cup unbleached cane sugar

Blend ingredients together in a bowl, pour into a greased 9x9 pan, and bake for 22-25 minutes at 350. To make the carmel drizzle, heat 1/4 cup vegan margarine, 2 T brown sugar, and 1/4 cup real maple syrup on low until the sugar melts completely and then bring to boil for one minute , then remove from heat. Enjoy!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Make new friends, and recycle the old...

In regards to i-pods of course! My nano died today. I am devastated. Before I go procure a new one, I would like to take a moment and give thanks to all that my nannner has done for me. It kept me company on my bike rides, it motivated me on runs and at the gym, it allowed me to sing along in the shower, it helped me cope with my emotions and times of heartache with emo tunes, it enabled me to ignore annoyances while on public transit... so thank you Crimson, for all the good times.

Update as of 11-03-2008: I have already acquired a new i-pod. I know, it seems too quick to move on, but my new nano and I are fast friends. He matches my Puegot almost perfectly. A nice little perk for those of you in the market: if you bring in your old i-pod to be recycled, the apple store will give you a 10% discount on your new one.


Monday, October 13, 2008

All'a that

Oh yes, this post is dedicated to all my fellow bootylicious gals.

My evening started out nicely with a relaxing couple hours of arts and crafts. Then my pal Crystal called and we dilly dallied around town until ending up at a local pub. Crystal and I were up at the bar, sharing the weeks nursing horror stories and generally minding our own business. Out of nowhere, there is this unfamiliar voice in my ear asking if I'm really a nurse. I turn to find a gangster type inches away from my face. "That depends" I reply "Are you having some sort of emergency that requires medical attention?" Said thug, shakes his head no, laughing. "Well then, yes, I am a nurse." I didn't even care to ask what prompted such a question, I don't encourage eaves dropping by strange men. That, however, didn't matter. The interaction continued to my great dismay. "Daaaammn girl," accompanied by some serious elevator eyes "how do you fit all'a that into your nurses uniform?"

What!?! Tears started welling up, and I proceeded to inform this stranger that nurses wear scrubs, scrubs that go up to size morbidly obese. The tears were now streaming, "as a matter of fact, I could fit my entire body into the leg of some of the scrubs bottoms stocked on the unit." He started back tracking, shaking his head violently "No, no, no, no, that is a compliment woman!" said the gangster. I stared at him blankly. How the hell any woman takes a man doubting her ability to fit into any outfit (especially scrubs) as a compliment, is truly beyond my comprehension.

In spirit of having a J-Lo ass, I am making "All'a that Soup" for dinner. It mostly consists of vegetable broth, navy beans, veggies galore, and a wee bit of vegan sausage. Clearly I need to lose a few pounds of my "juice" as my friend Brian lovingly calls it, and hopefully this soup will ward off further inquiries as to how I get "all'a that" squeezed into my work attire. I leave you with the pictures detailing my soup creation, as I am headed out for a run with Abe.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Going vegan for a month...

I have decided that tomorrow starts a month of eating a vegan diet. Absurd you say? What the hell is an Andina, Toro Bravo and cheese addict thinking switching to a vegan diet? I know, I know... I have my doubts as well, I'm only making a claim to TRY it, so calm down. Not that I am not making a whole-hearted effort here, because I absolutely am. In all honesty, I am hoping to make this a permanent lifestyle for health purposes, but I need to see the impact it will have on my diabetes before I commit. Tim's fabulous gourmet food pictures do not give me much faith of leaving it all behind, but here goes. Oh, Mom, I know when you read this you are going to begin a tailspin of worry. Stop. I have the go-ahead from my NP, and according to a study in a British nutrition journal, vegans have lower blood pressure, lower blood triglyceride levels, and lower fasting blood glucose levels related to the glycemic index of many staples in the diet as well as increased pancreatic beta-cell function. And, they live 15 years longer than meat-eaters. And, yes, I am still coming home for Thanksgiving.
Speaking of tailspins of worry, I'm a little anxious parting ways with egg whites. My two main diet staples of MorningStar sausage patties and Quorn chicken patties both include egg whites in their list of ingredients. That is unfortunate. You know what else is unfortunate? Meats; fish; dairy; unorganic veggies, fruits and legumes; even my beloved egg whites have traces of BHC, chlordane, dieldrin, heptachlor, and dioxin. All of these ingredients are pesticides that happen to be anywhere from 4-83 times more carcinogic than DDT- which was banned in the early 70's by the EPA. In other words, eating these things are not good for warding off cancer. My Physiology professor, Dr. Keyes, gave us all sorts of items to put on our list of things to avoid in life. I've tried hard to stick to the list, and cancer was in the top five. I have already had it once, so I'm going to try my best to keep it away.

I adore the taste of feta, gogonzola, brie, gouda. I'm also quite keen on cottage cheese and greek yogurt. Not so good news for this dairy loving gal: dairy products have been linked to acne, anemia, anxiety, arthritis, ADD/ADHD, breast cancer, Crohn's, diabetes, fibromyalgia, headaches, heart disease, IBS, obesity, osteoperosis, ovarian cancer, poor digestion, poor immunity, and prostate cancer. Who knows how much of this is founded by legitimate scientific research, but I can't knock it until I try it right?

Below is a spread of groceries I purchased to begin my journey. Any brilliant recipes or words of vegan wisdom would be appreciated if you feel the need. I will try to post ones that I fall in love with as I stumble upon them. Well, wish me luck (or call me names and doubt my fortitude if you want, really). Either way I will keep those who care updated. On that note, I am going to Nicholas to enjoy a vegan meza platter with my pal Crystal. Cheers!