Philadelphia Freedom

I can't believe it's been almost two months since my last post. Since then, I've been less "year-of-living-veganly" and more "year-of-living-mainly-meatless." I am not too proud of that fact. You see, being a vegan can be kind of hard work. It takes time to plan and prepare vegan meals. Most restaurants don't have too many vegan options, if any. So, for someone like me - someone who has eaten meat her entire life - falling off the wagon is easy. It's the hanging on that's hard work. But last week, I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Among other awesome things, it means that my body is insulin-resistant, making it harder for me to lose weight. As part of my treatment/management, it is suggested that I follow a whole-foods diet. Well, my brand of veganism certainly seems to apply! So, here I am - back on the wagon! I spent most of this week in Philadelphia for a conference. I was bound and determined to be good on my diet and in working out. I am happy to report that I was both of those things! In the four days I was there, I ate entirely vegan AND stayed within my WW points. I also exercised every day I was there, walking a total of 19 miles and earning 28 Activity Points! I also discovered that the City of Brotherly Love is surprisingly vegan-friendly. Check out this amazing-looking Philly Cheesesteak I devoured from Basic 4 Vegetarian Snack Bar in the Reading Terminal Market: Also on my plate this week:

• Rockin' fungi-and-truffle-oil pizza from Blackbird Pizzeria


• African roasted sweet potato pattie from Mi-Lah Vegetarian (completely cravable!)


• Grilled seitan in tamarind sauce from Mi-Lah (less cravable, but still pretty good)


• Miso soup and vegetable sushi from Raw Sushi Lounge (pretty standard fare, but a good little place with reasonable prices)

I'm definitely going to try to re-create the cheesesteak, pizza, and sweet potato pattie. Also, putting Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz on my "must-have" cookbooks list to buy before Congress shuts me out of my job next week.

Snowpocalypse Continues

Day Eleven. The ice is worse than before. Chris and I walked about a mile to get dinner last night and, on the way back, I fell and banged my head on the ice. There's a nice knot on my noggin now. Ouch.

Have been trying to eat up everything that I made over the weekend. But we went out last night to a local bar. The veg-friendly options were really limited. I ended up having an argula salad with pecans and apples, and hummus with french bread and carrot sticks. Honestly, I could have (and have) made better hummus myself. They didn't even really have any side dishes that I could have turned into a better dinner. Live and learn, I guess.

On another note, I have been Diet Coke-free for eleven days as well. I have also decided to give up alcohol for the remainder of the month, at least. I tend to make bad food choices when I drink.

Hoth-lanta

Day Eight. It snowed about 3 inches in intown Atlanta last night. My work is closed for the day. The frozen rain started at 8:00 a.m. this morning Chris and I took Kayla (our dog) for a 4.5-mile walk around town to survey the situation. After that, we dropped her off, and headed back out on foot to meet up with some friends for drinks and lunch at a local burger/beer joint. I figured a veggie burger and salad would be a safe choice. I asked for no mayo on my burger, and no cheese on my salad. Sadly, the kindly cooks did not get the message about the mayo, and slathered it on my burger anyway. I don't like mayo on my burger in any case, and especially not as a vegan. I was annoyed, but way too hungry to send it back. Foiled again!

We finished up there, then walked another 2 miles down the road to our local pub to watch the BCS National Championship. They weren't serving any food (remember: at this point, there is about an inch of ice covering all the roads in Atlanta), so a friend walked to the only pizza place nearby to get pizzas. I was starving at this point, and had partook in a few adult beverages. So with fuzzy judgment and hungry belly, I had a piece of vegetable pizza. Drats. Cheese wins again.

Chris and I left the pub at halftime of the game and trekked the 3 miles back to our house. I figure that, in all, we walked almost 9 miles in snow and ice. I'm going to be sore tomorrow!

"We Might Be Snowed in for a Few Days - Better Go Out Tonight!"

Day Six, continued. I un-Christmas-ed the house today. I always hate how bare and boring it looks after we take the tree down. I have a really crazy tree with colored lights and ornaments we've collected from our travels. I love it. And now it's back in storage for another 11 months. I'm sad.

The news is still calling for a major snow storm to start Sunday night. I had planned to make Indian tonight - red lentil and cauliflower curry with garlic naan and basmati rice. But considering that we'll likely be stuck at the house for at least a day (things shut down here in the Dirty South when it snows, unlike where I used to live - Colorado, Minnesota, and central NY), Chris and I decided to go out. Besides, it IS Saturday night.

We decided to go see "The Social Network" at the Plaza Theatre. I was pretty hungry beforehand, so we went to the Righteous Room for a pitcher of beer and some snacks. Salt and vinegar potato wedges - yum. "The Social Network" wasn't bad, just not all it had been hyped up to be. None of the characters were particularly likeable, so I didn't really find myself rooting for anyone to succeed. Afterward, we grabbed some Indian at Desi Spice. Like the movie, not bad, but not quite as good as it smelled when we walked in. We split a vegetarian dinner with garlic naan, vegetable curry, dal, aloo gobi (potatoes and cauliflower), and saag paneer. Okay, I know that the saag paneer totally has cheese and cream in it, but I ate some anyway. Again, no judging.

"It's My F*@!'n Birthday!"

Day Four. Woke up with a ton of energy. Work was completely crazy, but I did manage to wolf down lunch of a sweet potato with maple syrup and pecans, and steamed zucchini and yellow squash during a working lunch. I never did manage to get to the hummus and red peppers that I packed for my mid-afternoon snack, so by the time I got home, I was famished.

Day Four was also Chris' birthday. We had originally intended to celebrate on Friday, so I had planned to do a stirfry, but that didn't feel at all festive enough for a birthday meal. He agreed. When I got back to the house, he was of the complete mindset that he wanted to go out to our favorite pub for dinner and a beer. He just kept saying, "But it's my f-ing birthday!" What kind of wife would I be if I didn't play along?

As luck would have it, our pub changed its menu yesterday (it isn't typically the most veggie-friendly place). I ended up finding something I could eat and still stay on my diet: a black bean burger with grilled pineapple and jalapenos, with a side salad with balsamic vinaigrette (holding the cheese and bacon that usually come with the salad). And they were actually really delicious!