A Foodies Life

Vegetarian Thoughts-Week 3

Can you believe it's been three weeks since I've eaten meat?  I can't.  I have to say that I do feel much better, lighter, healthier etc.  Notice that I titled this vegetarian thoughts and not vegan thoughts.  I don't feel like I can call myself a complete vegan because I'm having a very hard time cutting the dairy out of my diet.  It's mainly because of the pressure that I succumb to when I'm at work.  The muffins, scones, macadamia nut cookies still get the best of me.  It's to the point though that the thought of eating meat kind of makes me sick.  

The hardest part about the last three weeks has been the response that I get from people.  I try to not put myself in situations where it's going to be an issue.  On Friday night I went to play pool with a group of friends, they were cooking ribs and wanted me to come over for dinner.  I said I wouldn't eat the ribs but they had macaroni salad and asparagus so I ate that.  They kept egging me on but I didn't succumb to the pressure.  I have to say they smelled delicious.  

The hardest part about the whole thing is when people make you feel like there is something wrong with you because you refuse to eat meat.  What's really sad to me is how what we put in our bodies is so driven by money, that includes medication.  If people would just focus on what they put in their body in the beginning they wouldn't need the medication.

You know that saying that goes you should walk in someone else's shoes before you judge someone?  Well I have to say that I feel like a little bit of a hypocrite.  When I was younger I worked at a theater company in Massachusetts.  I had a friend who was a vegan and I remember thinking how weird.  I just couldn't imagine it.  I felt bad for her and I judged her a little bit.  I don't think I ever did it to her face but I remember having the thoughts.  This past three weeks of being vegetarian has made me realize how wrong I was to judge her.  So in some terms just trying this out has made me a better more understanding human being.  

Temptation

You would think that a temptation would come in the form of an apple pie, fried chicken, steak, or even a lobster but tonight my temptation came in the form of a beautiful piece of brown sugar glazed salmon.  My favorite salmon recipe in the entire world.  Today seemed to be one of those crazy Monday's.  I went to work at seven planning on leaving early so that I could go on a run but things actually slipped away from me very quickly.  The time ended up flying and next thing I knew it was five o'clock and I needed to try to be back at work by six.  I desperately wanted to get a run in before, what the always accurate weather men say might be two days of rain.  So I rushed home, suited up, put a load of laundry in the washing machine and went on a quick 40 minute jog.  While I was craving getting on the road and running today when it actually came time I was lethargic and wanted to walk the whole way.  I survived and did what my nike plus system said was three miles, although I don't believe it.  I came home, changed laundry, took a quick shower and was back to work at 6:15.  

I knew Dad was making his salmon and thought about having it but then decided I would stick with the veggie burger and a salad.  When I got home from work the salmon was cooked and it looked wonderful.  I took a bite out of the extra piece in the pan. It was wonderful.  The veggie burger was warming in the microwave, bread all ready in the toaster.  I thought about just eating the salmon but decided against it.  I've done so good why quit now?  Granted I know it wouldn't be quitting just a slight misstep.  I ate my salad with beans, lettuce, cherry tomatoes and a dairy free honey vinaigrette.  I was starving still.  I thought well I could do it but the salmon wasn't going to beat me.  I warmed up half of the acorn squash that was left over from last night.  I was still hungry.  I ate two pieces of bread with earth balance butter and a mango chutney.  

I'm half a pound from being under the 200 hundred mark and I'm sure I'll hit it this week.  I'm still a little hungry but the salmon didn't win!

 

The Kind Diet

There's a new book on the market as of a few weeks ago called The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone.  Ms. Silverstone has been a Vegan for the past ten years and outlines her journey and reasons in her new book.  What is different about this book is how well it outlines changing your life to be healthier for the planet and yourself.  

I've often thought about eating less meat but thought it would be impossible to change because of being a chef.  Part of my job is to taste everything that I cook, it is what makes you a good chef.  In the book Alicia gives her readers a challenge to not eat meat or dairy for a month and see how it goes.  So last Saturday I decided I would give it a try.  

I have been meat free for over a week now and it has changed my life for the better I believe.  If anything it's made me more creative in the kitchen.  There have been some challenges as well.  On Wednesday evening I came into the house tired to two steaks sitting on the kitchen counter.  Instead of succumbing to the pressure I got on the treadmill and ran for 30 minutes and then had a veggie burger for dinner.  There also has been a little scrutiny from other people.  The hardest thing to deal with is making my own meals and not eating what everyone else eats at the table.  

The good part of the whole thing is that it has launched my weight loss again.  Just in the past week I've lost about six lbs.  I feel lighter, it's easier to run etc.  

So welcome to the new me.  Expect to see more veggie things on the website for a little while.  I suggest you pick up the book and get it a shot!

Roasted Acorn Squash with Baby Bok Choy

Lots of fun and exciting changes have been going on in my life the past couple of days. I'll write more about them when I'm closer to a computer but wanted to pass this on.

On Monday night I made a roasted acorn squash with some roasted baby bok choy.

For the squash I cut it in strips and then rubbed it in olive oil and seasoned both sides with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I roasted them in the oven until they were tender and it was amazing!

For the bok choy I sauteed in the pan with salt and pepper and finished them in the oven with a dairy free honey Dijon vinaigrette by Cindy's Kitchen that I bought at Fresh Market.

I was suprised at how good it was and how full I felt after eating! Have a great day!

New Jersey running!!!!

In the past three days I've run 11 miles! Friday was a rough day, only able to go 2.6 miles and walked most of the time. Yesterday I went on a run at a lake house I was staying at in New Jersey. It was the perfect weather and I used a method I heard about from friends called the 'galloway method'. You run for a little bit and then walk, continually rotating that way. Moat people say to run 5 or 7 minutes and walk a minute. I ran ten minutes and walked one. I ended up doing a little over 4 miles and it was fine. I think I will use that method from now on.

I'm now in the car on the way back to Boston. I'll be seeing friends from high school tonight and then flying home early tomorrow morning. Hope you all are having a great weekend. It's cold but beautiful in the northeast. I'm attaching a picture from the run yesterday.

L'Andana Grill- Burlington, Ma

In less than an hour from when I arrived in the Boston area yesterday I had running shoes on and was starting a 4.5 mile challenge with my twin brother.  An hour after that I was panting but made it back to the house and not too far behind.  While my brother is a big guy, he has run his entire life.  Three weeks ago I couldn't run a mile.  Now I'm not going to lie, I didn't run the whole thing but I didn't walk too much either. 

 

Our reward was dinner at a great restaurant called L'Andana Grill in Burlington, Ma.  The restaurant is chic and stylish with very comfortable seating.  I was worried that we were seated too close to the table next to us but once conversation flowed and food arrived you forgot you were so close.  The menu has an Italian flair but is highlighted by the wood fired grill.  As an appetizer we ordered Carpaccio and a four cheese Fonduta.  The Carpaccio consisted of shaved parmesan, sirloin, buttery croutons and a black truffle aioli.  When all the ingredients were put on the fork it consisted of the perfect bite.  In my opinion it was topped by the gooey, yummy four cheese Fonduta.  My brother had been before and knew to ask for more of the tasty garlic bread that you get prior to your meal as dipping bread.  The bread that came with the Fonduta was wonderful but the garlic bread just added to it.  The best part of the Fonduta was the big chunks of roasted garlic and the salty sopressata. 

 

For entree's my brother decided on the swordfish and I decided on the Scottish salmon.  I just had some of the swordfish for lunch and while it was wonderful nothing could have beaten the perfectly cooked salmon.  Underneath the salmon was a sweet, delicious pile of lentils.  I haven't eaten lentils that good in a long time.  In the lentils were cranberries that popped in your mouth and the tartness was a wonderful surprise.

 

The dessert menu looked delightful but we were so full on the appetizers that we ended up bringing most of our meal home.  I would recommend this restaurant to anyone in the Burlington, Ma area. 

 

While I was successful at the run last night I was woken up by a knock on the door at 5:45am and told it was time for another run.  I felt like one of those whiny teenagers on a episode of MTV's Made.  I only made it 2.7 miles and at the end I could barely feel my legs.  So while I'm reminded that I have a lot of work left to do I'm happy with what I've done so far. 

 

Stuffed Butternut Squash

I looked in the cabinet this morning for something good for breakfast and realized we were out of cereal. So I opened up the fridge and found a stuffed butternut squash from the other night. Delicious. So I choose that instead of steak. The recipe I use is based on a recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook.

I get a butternut squash, cut in half and lightly oil. The bake with flesh side down in oven until done.

Meanwhile I sauté some onions, mushrooms and apples until just cooked. I add it to a bowl with cottage cheese and cinnamon. I then added some breadcrumbs until it firmed up. And seasoned to taste.

When the squash are done I take them out abd stuff them. Then bake in oven at 350 for about 20 minutes.

It's very filling and great as a meal on it's own.

Run Fat Man Run

I was coming around the corner, chest pounding, feeling the swoosh of each step on the hard pavement.  I thought I would be safe from embarrassment in the pre dawn hours then I saw a truck of landscape artists.  As they move past I looked at each of their faces and saw them smirking.  I presume they were laughing at the fat man running.  I'm having flashbacks to a certain mardi gras parade where I was wearing a jester costume running beside the golf cart where my colleague was yelling 'run fat man run.'  While I have to admit that it was hysterical it was also extremely embarrassing.  

I started running a couple of weeks ago and slowly I am getting better.  I can run a mile and a quarter comfortably now, which I don't think I could ever do before.  I have visions of macho gym teachers making us run around that stupid track four times and me never completing it.  Now I know I can.  Yesterday I ran/walked 4 miles in 58 minutes (according to my nike+).  That's pretty amazing for me.  And you know what it felt great!  

My goal, train for a marathon.  The family has challenged me to a half marathon on Christmas, don't know if that will happen but I'm going to try.  I'm going to keep you all updated on my progress as much as possible.  I'm also changing my eating and trying to get more into veggies and less into meat.  I will post my exercise for the day on here everyday.  

Hopefully at next years mardi gras parade my co worker will be able to yell 'run skinny man run'.  

Amy Grant- Peachtree City, Ga

It's been along time since I've written on this blog.  Have no fear though the diet is still going on strong.  What you don't know is that last week I was on vacation from work.  I had plans of grandeur.  I was going to drive my car up the east coast visiting just about everyone I knew along the way.  Then the day before I was to leave I took my car to the shop to get an oil change.  The oil change ended up costing $700 and changes in the plan had to be made.  I was extremely depressed cause I was so looking forward to the time away and seeing friends that I haven't seen in a long time.  The one thing that kind of made it better was that Amy Grant was performing a concert south of Atlanta in a town called Peachtree City.  I have tried numerous times to get people to go to concerts with me to no avail so I thought instead of going through that frustration I would just book it and go by myself.  I found 1 seat in the second row and I booked my hotel room.  

On Friday morning I got up realizing I didn't have any cash on me I went to the bank and tried to take some money out.  It was 8:15 in the morning and while I was taking $60 out I turned my head for a brief moment.  I was checking to make sure I had my registration and proof of insurance in the glove compartment.  The money came and went before I grabbed it.  I couldn't believe it.  I called my house and my roommates, ok parents, said I could borrow some money so I came back home to get it.  While I was home my mother asked me to find some keys that I had used but not put back in the correct spot.  The search ended up being forever.  I finally found them but was frustrated because I didn't think I was going to make the 3:30 cut off for the sound check, I am of course a member of the fan club.  I got in the car reminding myself to stay calm it's not that big of a deal at least you can see the concert.  The GPS in the car said that I would get there at 3:37 and I knew that I could shave a few minutes off of that.  So I would have to stop as quickly and possible to eat and go to the bathroom. 

 I stopped once, didn't eat, but I made it to The Fred Amphitheater by 3:35pm.  I was relieved when I saw other people arriving.  We all went to will call and gathered up our passes and went to the entrance.  We were lead into the outdoor theater, with a slight drizzle coming down.  We sat in the first two rows and Amy and crew came out to rehearse.  I found sound check fascinating.  I hadn't been to a sound check in a long time.  Basically all it was about was getting the levels correct in their ear pieces so they could hear each other play.  I've always wondered what it would be like to be onstage with the music blaring.  I would have been interesting to put ear pieces on and listen to what they hear but maybe that will be next time.  Amy sang a few songs, even at one point asking our small audience if any one knew the lyrics to the third verse of a song.  After wards when Amy came down to chat with us a group next to me reminded Amy of the lyrics.  They joked after Amy left that they would put the lyrics on some poster board for her.  

Amy came over and chatted with me for a few minutes.  I clammed up again for some reason I didn't quite know what to say.  She asked me 'is life good?"  Of course my dear readers I said 'yes.'  It would have taken too long to explain what life is really like at this point.  What I haven't told you all is that I've been sick all summer long.  I'm not going to go into the details but test after test and doctor's haven't figured out what is wrong yet.  I have more tests in a couple of weeks.  I also feel like I'm at a crossroads in my life, but I always feel like that.  That's why this trip was very important to me.  I needed time to be by myself and just think.  Some how Amy's music and personality brings that out in me.  

After checking into the hotel and having some dinner at Carrabas I went back to the theater. I had time to kill so I walked around, spoke to friends on the phone etc.  Being September 11th, there was a patriotic tribute.  The color guard came out and did their thing, a young lady came out and sang the national anthem and then a barber shop group came out and sang.  Since I consider myself a New Yorker or at least from the northeast, it was nice to see how the whole country embraces September 11th.  Then a band called Open Door came out.  They were a very upbeat christian band.  

Then Amy came out at about 8:45 or so.  She sang for a little over an hour and a half.  She sang a mix of old songs and new songs.  The old favorites were there, Baby Baby, Love of Another Kind, Lucky One, Saved By Love etc.  When the song that she didn't know the lyrics to the 3rd verse came up the group that was at the sound check put their poster board up, made for a laugh.  Amy was calm, confident and looked like she was just having fun.  She even joked "I'm feeling a little slow today so I don't imagine you will be coming away from this overstimulated."  Amy always misses a few chords and starts over again at her concerts.  The way she does it makes you like her even more.  It almost gives the appearance of 'hey I'm human', then she fixes it and it sounds wonderful.  

I'm glad I made the journey.  It was a stretch to drive almost 300 miles to go to a concert by myself but I feel a little more clear headed and know what I have to do to make the changes in my life that I want.  Sometimes it just Takes A Little Time.  

Voodoo Donuts

Ok so RENT, the musical has been on tour for about a year now and one of the cast members is doing video blogs about interesting food places.  I just found this and thought you'd get a kick out of it!  

Take a look at this video!