Chapter Eight: How I sea food.

Wow, shame on me for falling into my old ways! *slaps self on the wrist* Don't get me wrong, I love to write, but sometimes, I just lose track of time and don't prioritize writing into my day - which is horrible for someone who identifies herself as a writer. Lame. However, instead of rambling on about random crap that wouldn't interest you, I do have some material that may somewhat intrigue you. As always, these adventures involve food, because we all know that's why you're here.


In my absence from the blogger universe, I have been able to test out some new and fantastic food items that have given my taste buds reason to celebrate. No, I haven't have a chance to bust out the Isa Does It cookbook/food bible yet and create something fun from scratch, but I have had time to heat up, suit up and go on with the rest of my day without feeling guilty for indulging in a quick fix. Animal- and cruelty-free items are always prioritized in this busy lady's day, even when the time to write isn't. Thankfully, this always gives me something new to deliver to the table for all of you curious as to what I eat now that I have ditched the meat.

Chick'n, hemp waffles and mushroom sushi. Different kind of high included.

Next, my roomie and I purchased Gardein's Chick'n Sliders per the suggestion of our vegan mentor Christina, who usually enjoys those babies on Mondays. We dined on those bad boys this past Friday and - OH MY, why do they only come four to a package?? I am assuming it's because Gardein wants to discourage gluttony, even though it's a healthier kind of gluttony, but let's maintain the honesty ... if I could, I probably would have made sure Denise and I had our own boxes because these sliders are just that amazing. I added some kale and spinach leaves, as well as some veganaise and chipotle BBQ sauce and I just about died of a foodgasm. I definitely recommend these as they make a delicious little meal and you can customize the toppings to the whims of your tastebuds - so good!

Lastly, I have been craving some sushi and while I didn't have a chance this week to hit up local sushi spots in search of the perfect vegan roll options to sate my cravings, during our grocery trip I grabbed a pack of Trader Joe's brand teriyaki mushroom rolls, made with rice and quinoa. I am really enjoying my introduction to quinoa, as well as the addition of mushrooms into my diet. Their texture and odd, almost tasteless taste used to really creep me out, but they were perfect in this particular roll as they have a very eel-like texture. Yes, when I would eat meat I loved eel rolls; they were my go-to whenever we would go out for sushi. I am really happy that I have found something very similar without the eel. 

On that note, I must say that while I have yet to have any cravings for burgers or chicken, from time to time I do recall my love of seafood. I won't lie about that. I had not even considered vegan options for seafood when Denise came through the door last Thursday smiling and eager to show me breaded vegan shrimp from Sophie's Kitchen. It was a delightful surprise that instantly reminded me that going through with this transition is anything but limiting; the possibilities of creating and discovering new and delectable foods are endless, without the danger of monotony - unless it's by choice. So far, there are quite a few foods I intend to eat over and over again because they are anything but boring. Tonight's dinner was one of those soon-to-be instant replay dishes:

The ingredients for gluttonous success!

On our 100% vegan (yay!) shopping trip this afternoon, we decided to embark on a shrimpless shrimp journey where I fried up those yummy "shrimp" in Trader Joe's brand Island Soyaki, tossing that over quinoa infused with vegetable broth and green beans, cauliflower and broccoli. The end result was beyond bliss.

My shark is beyond happy that he was not a part of this deliciousness.

How I even have leftovers from this meal is beyond me, but at least I know that tomorrow's lunch is going to kick ass. Seriously. But the best part of this meal is not the taste; that's just a perk. The best part is that I get to indulge in a dish that is both animal- and cruelty-free - what could be better than that? That little known fact alone makes eating all the more fun and exciting, and it really inspires me to continue on this journey. Back when I used to eat meat, I always associated someone who identified as vegetarian as someone who only ate salads, and vegans - well, I didn't know what the hell vegan really was, but now that I am learning about these lifestyles and appreciating the small yet significant impact this change in me has made, I am beyond proud to say that I have made this choice. Hey, I get to learn how to cook, experiment with different ingredients and know that I am making this earth a better place for our animal brethren and the environment. It doesn't get much better than that!

Now, if only I could get my lazy butt outside for a jog ...    

Happy cooking adventures! Cheers!

Chapter Six: Scramble.

If I could describe my life in a simple picture, I suppose I could do so with this one:

Don't feel too sorry for me; this stuff is good.

In words, my life tends to be a scramble. And before you begin the typical "Ugh, I'm so over Cassandra being emo all of the time" eye roll, I mean that my life is a scramble in a positive way. 

Of course, scrambles don't always look pleasing to the eye. Perhaps if you were to walk past this picture and not give it much of a glance, you may just see an ugly brown blob with some white cubes. Random. It probably wouldn't even cross your mind as being edible. But when you look a bit closer and see what actually composes the scramble, that's were the blob becomes more intricate and it all begins to make some sense. Unfortunately, I tend to have a more walk-past-mindlessly approach, which is why life has been getting to me a lot lately.

I have a handful of foods/fruits/vegetables that have always made me shudder. I tend to be a very open minded - and mouthed - person when it comes to food, but like every Superman, I also have my kryptonite, even if it's a kryptonite whose affects I've never actually tested. I have never been partial to tomatoes, mushrooms or kiwis, and I have lived in fear of what a brussels sprout may do to my very soul. Going vegetarian has brought me to that point where I will now have to face my fears, suck it up and start expanding my palette beyond the purposely set limits of my foodie imagination. While I am not running head-on into the danger zone, I have slowly started to incorporate at least one of the aforementioned items into my diet. 

I'm sure at this point, you are through rolling your eyes and have moved onto a more befuddled expression: what does this have to do with your life besides you ditching meat? Well, I guess my musings regarding scrambles started last night when the manfriend and I met up with some of my high school friends at a local Thai restaurant called Lotus of Siam (which is really an amazing spot to dine - you should check them out). My friend Yurika and her boyfriend Shoji ventured to Las Vegas yesterday for a vacation and I had the lovely opportunity to do a bit of catching up with them as well as enjoy some tofu pad-see-ew, a dish I would marry if I was not already in a committed relationship.

The conversation carried on in the usual way as Yurika and I chatted about our friends back home in Torrance. We exchanged a blanket I accidentally left at our annual Christmas party and a watch our other friend Erica left in the backseat of our car from our annual Laughlin trip. Rey, my hubby, also gave them some off-the-strip must-see advice because we "locals" tend to beckon our visiting friends away from the confines of a typical Las Vegas schedule. I definitely enjoyed the food and the effervescent company, but what really stuck in my brain since last night was the remark Yurika made as we embraced in our leave. She said to me in similar words, "you must get a lot of visitors from home because you're the closest of the extended group." In that moment I didn't think much of it; I just grinned and thought, "yeah, Liz is in Florida and Jen is going to be moving out of the country soon ... I suppose I am the closest of the extended friend-family."

Then today and all of work's drama ensued, and as I sat in my car on the drive home, my mind, though tired, focused on Yurika's words again. I wanted to dwell on the fact that 2014, even with the big, positive changes that have come to pass in my personal life, was still a big scramble of mess. But Yurika's words really got me thinking that despite it all, my 2014 has been pretty fricken good in terms of the awesome people I have in my life. Since moving to Las Vegas, I have missed out on birthdays and other fun events. But I got to spend time with a group of people (that keeps growing!) that I have known for what seems like forever over Christmas. I have had Dulce, Robin and Duane visit, and I have seen my friend Chammarra and her family on their vacation out here. I am beyond excited that Liz will be coming over from Florida in February and that we are going to have a week to hang out, catch up and make new memories.

I know that to most of you these are faceless names. To me, these are people I have known since middle school - and some even earlier. Moreover, these humans are like my family as they were there for me in times when even my own family wasn't completely present. I survived a great deal of bad history because of these people and the fact that they all still are very much present in my life is one of the greatest blessings I could ever have. Most people leave high school and never see each other again. Me and my friends have no intention of going to our high school reunions because the people we cared about most a decade ago are still active in our lives today. It's a beautifully mind-boggling fact. 

When I'm driving home at the end of the day, especially on those days when life seems especially hard, I need to remember the best parts of the scramble of life. I made a scramble tonight for dinner for me and Denise, and it consisted of soyrizo, tofu and potatoes. I also added mushrooms. No, I was not happy about it because mushrooms have an awkward texture and an awkward almost tasteless-taste which weirds me out beyond reason (much like my dislike towards boba balls - I mean, really, what are you?!) but I figured that mushrooms are healthy and good for me and something that I need to start incorporating into my diet for all of their positive benefits. So while the scramble may appear to be just that, a mess, it's the individual ingredients that come together to create something that actually does kind of make sense. Yes, tofu and soyrizo are yummy. Potatoes are also good but are also starchy. And mushrooms are still kind of terrifying, but in the long run, I know that mushrooms and I will end up being cordial at the very least. I just need to start seeing their benefits instead of dwelling on that awkwardness they possess, in the humble opinion of my taste buds. At this point, I need to accept that life will always have its messy, unintelligible moments, but it is in those moments that we search and find those gems that make the messy times easier to get through. I am blessed by my support here in Vegas with me, Denise and Rey and his family. But I also have those crazy humans from Torrance and Florida and everywhere in-between that help me to find the fun within the scramble. 

It is in appreciating the creativity of it all that we find the artistic side of life; we discover new tastes, new ways to do things, and new fun in old traditions by being bold, not backing down and understanding that with all the bad there is also all of the good in a perfect balance of chaotic mess that, someday, will make sense - even if it is left to individual interpretation.

Well kiddos, I am done trying to be all philosophical for tonight. It is time for bed. I leave you with a simple expression of thanks for all of the tofus and mushrooms, old and new, in my life; you are all weird and awkward but ultimately good for me, so I thank you - seriously, I do. You make this scramble delicious.

Cheers!            

Chapter Four: Monday, Monday.

Hello, Monday. I never thought we could be so cordial, but it is pleasant to know that even we can be respectful to each other, even when you suck.

Okay, so my Monday did not actually suck. Yay! I hope yours didn't either. The older I get the more I dread Mondays, and often that dread seeps into Sunday nights which sucks as well. Again, I am trying to be more positive and thankful for my job, but hey, baby steps right? I wasn't necessarily dreading Monday, however, I wasn't thrilled that my Monday at work was going to start at ... *breath* ... 6:30am (unfortunately by my own accord). I still ended my day at my normal time and while I was slightly afraid that I might drop my face onto the desk from utter exhaustion, I survived the longer than usual day as though it were any other. I definitely applaud my change in diet as well as the super yummy smoothies I have been happily consuming as the source of my endurance. The work day seems to fly by and my wings have not been tired at all. It is fascinating. 

As I stated in Chapter Three, today was the day that I started adding exercising to my diet change. I am thankful to live in a complex where we have access to a decent size gym that has a few good options in terms of weight machines, an elliptical, two treadmills and 5,000 spin bikes. Now, back in my more fit days, I would spend a good hour in this little gym bouncing from machine to machine. Today, I decided not to push the envelope too heavily. Now that my lifestyle has changed, I want to take every step not necessarily gingerly but with some consideration for the changes happening in my body. Denise joined me and we did some cardio on the treadmills, testing the incline function and speed until we broke a sweat. I also played with the dumbbells because who wants a pair of Arnold thighs with flabby arms? I can't help but have nightmares about my underarms melting down to the floor like some kind of Dahli painting - yowza! The visuals! 

I didn't do anything core-specific this time around because I want to re-introduce my body into moving at a pace faster and more efficient than the slobbish zombie-sprint I generally do en route to the couch. My body didn't put up too much of a resistance today, but as it is only day one, we shall see what tomorrow holds. I am just excited that when I came home from work my attitude didn't turn into "meeeehhhhhh, do I really want to change and not take this God-forsaken bra off, and then walk in the cold to the gym, and then make myself move faster than normal to force myself to sweat" as it usually does. 

I won't lie, though; my mind was focused on the prize the entire time. That's right - food, glorious dinner. Denise made some rice and corn with ground "meat," mixed into some tomato sauce, tomatoes, onions and green beans. 

How I managed to only chow down on one bowl-full is beyond me.

Denise and I love bowl meals. Throwing a bunch of random stuff into a bowl is easy and yummy and leaves so much room for creativity. As I stated above, I did only have one serving of this hot mess. Even better than the surprise of my odd self-control, for dessert I only consumed three squares of this decadent beauty:

If the Golden Ticket tastes anything like the bar itself, I'm swallowing it.

I LOVE DARK CHOCOLATE. I also LOVE truffle. Put them together and I die. Simple as that. Don't get me roses, manfriend; get me a thick hunk of dark chocolate and truffle! This was my first time trying the Trader Joe's brand of chocolate and it was anything but a disappointment. It's the little things that really make the day :)

Anywho, tomorrow brings a new day and a new smoothie. Denise has prepared for us the Purple Power smoothie, comprised of two cups kale, a crap-ton of blueberries, two bananas and she added two tablespoons of flaxseed. I know I generally show off the post-warfare of the Ninja, but tonight I will give you the creation prior to it getting the karate chop.

Pre-massacre. Kind of.

Alas, I am sure you are done reading my ramblings for tonight. At 9pm, I am happy to say that I am ready for bed feeling content with all I have accomplished today. I am looking forward to my Purple Power smoothie for breakfast. Here's to a powerful Tuesday! 

Cheers!

Chapter Three: Food, Glorious Food!

Well kiddos, it is Sunday night and I have been sincerely spoiled by my food intake as of recent. You see, my bestie and roommate, Denise, willingly signed up to participate in the Simple Green Smoothie challenge. The point of the challenge is to try a new smoothie every day for a month (30 days), and the recipes for a week's worth of smoothies are sent via e-mail to the lucky person doing the challenge.Denise was very excited about this, especially if it meant being able to take her Ninja blender on an adventure. Now, each recipe makes enough for two smoothies and, lucky me, I have been carried along on this challenge by default. I won't lie, these smoothies are not necessarily pretty to look at, unless you love every hue of green, but they taste fantastic! My use of the italicize function is not me coming off sarcastic when I say they taste fantastic. They really do. And the best part is that each smoothie is jam-packed with vitamins and minerals from the use of spinach and kale, but flavored with the yummy sweetness of bananas, strawberries, mangoes, and every other fruit the recipes call for. Having a smoothie is an excellent way to start the day.

Mm, mm, Hulk-y!

So berry good.

 Denise and I have been successful thus far with having our morning smoothies. I really am proud of us considering we have not strayed in our way of eating, not even on the weekends. We have also started taking vitamins. That is probably the worst part since leaving meat behind. Not only am I terrible with taking tiny headache pills, I have the most sensitive gag reflex in the world. I now face five horse-sized pills every morning. They stare up at me tauntingly from the GNC packing, smirking as I gulp in fear. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for them and I know my body is (my body has never registered the word "vitamin" let alone actually taking them), but this is the part that has been the hardest. My vitamin-taking ritual in the mornings is probably hilarious to the passerby because I seriously have to mentally prepare myself before gulping down each pill individually. Again, no sarcasm with the italicized emphasis. I am really just a crazy person.

Beyond the vitamins, Denise, the manfriend and I have started a little tradition of venturing to Red Robin for lunch after church. I know that nothing healthy can come from a trip to Red Robin, however, their Garden Burger is to die for - my opinion, of course. I especially love the Bonzai Garden Burger because what's the point of grabbing a bite of a Garden Burger and not slapping some pineapples and unhealthy teriyaki sauce on it? We love them so much that we even picked some up at the grocery store today, minus the pineapple slices and teriykai sauce. The next time we go to Red Robin I intend to try their vegan burger. For now, though, I will dream of a Garden Burger smothered in all that is unhealthy...

Yeah. You might have to clean the sheets tomorrow.

 Okay, so not every meal can be as decadent as what is pictured above. Denise and I have been trying out some of the frozen products we picked up at Whole Foods. We tried their four-cheese gnocchi for lunch on Saturday. We added some meatless "chicken" bites as well as a variety of veggies, and viola! A happy little lunch was born!

I like it when my peas a-pop.

 So far, I have really enjoyed trying out all of these meatless products, as well as the smoothies. We have had to increase our trips to the grocery store to about once a week, but it is nice to have fresh produce in the house on a weekly basis. Beyond that, my palate has had a blast trying all of the new textures and flavors that I am being introduced to. I am really proud of Denise for being consistent with making the smoothies and sharing their deliciousness with me. I am proud that the both of us have kept to our promise to make some changes in ourselves and for this world. 

Tomorrow is the day we begin the exercise portion of this diet change, so wish me luck. I have not been on a steady exercise regime since July, and I can already foresee me having a tumble on the treadmill. Or a heart attack. Either way, I'm hoping for the best.

On that note, it is off to bed. Sweet dreams!

Denise says: Don't forget to puree tomorrow's smoothie!