What's in Your Lunch Box - My Vegan Life

How many of you carry your lunch to work or school? Are you the one that eats out every day? I am not one to eats out a lot, maybe once a week and that's usually on Wednesdays when I have to go to class. But did you know that if you're trying to change your lifestyle, eating out could actually sabotage your efforts. If you are not ordering your food from a sit down restaurant where you have control of how the food is prepared you may be eating more sodium that you need or you could be eating food cooked in saturated cooking oil, and even covered with butter.

The only way to know what is actually in your food is to cook it yourself. It is easy to prepare your meals for the week on Sunday evening or which ever evening you have more time to prepare multiple meals. Tupperware is always a good way to store your foods, freezer bags are great as well. Preparing your food ahead of time will guarantee good healthy food in your lunch box. Not only will you have good healthy food in your lunch box, but you'll have some extra money in the bank or backyard. The average lunch meal will cost you between $7.00 to $10.00 a day depending on where you go. If you're spending $5.00 a day on lunch for 5 days that's $25 and that x 4 is $100. That's a pretty nice piece of change to put away in a month.

I personally carry my lunch to work and when I do not I regret it. Why, because I have to think about where I'm going to eat and that's when I find myself looking in the work refrigerator for the COMMUNITY FOOD....LOL. Usually that sweet tea and a piece of cake, which I refuse to eat. The safest place for me to eat out is Subway. I'll be like Jared and stick to Subway because I know the meal is healthy and I can control what is on it. Usually it's just bread with my salad... it's really called a Veggie Sandwich. All there is to it is vegetables between a bun with vinegar and sweet onion sauce... yummy to my tummy. But that's what works for me and it's $5.00 for a foot long. It's my modern day Now-N-Later.

I was surfing the internet for some new dishes to prepare as I continue in my Vegan Lifestyle change I cam across this link so I think I would share it with you. It is 27 different ideas for lunch box lunches. The food selections look really good, easy to prepare, and affordable.... stay tune and I'll let you know how some of my lunch box meals turn out.

Here's What I Know For Sure.... Think about this.....Are you driving your life or Is your life being driven. When you drive your life you are in control of your life, when you are being driven, your life is controlled by others. Be the driver or your life. Do not allow other people to define you or you feel you need to be validated by others. Know from way deep in your being that you deserve the best life has to offer. Know that not everyone wants to use you, take your gift and then throw you away. There are some people that are really in your corner and will be your biggest cheerleader. And when those that do not agree have good things to say, you let them know that you are the CEO of your decisions and you are on your way to success. Everyday do something that is taking you closer and closer to your dreams. Do not let a day go by that you don't look your dreams in the mirror and say, "Hold on, I'm Coming."



Find Peace Within,
Ms. Lisa

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelysanders/awesome-easy-work-lunches

The Why Not Philosophy

I guess you're asking yourself, what is Lisa talking about the "Why Not"  Philosophy". The Why Not Philosophy is - Asking your self the WHY NOT QUESTION TO FIND OUT WHY YOU'RE NOT..."

1.  You want to move to a new city or state? Why Not?

2.  Wanna be a mechanic? Why Not?

3.  Wanna climb a mountain to the top? Why Not?

4.  You want to drive your car at 100 MPH? Why Not? Be sure the cops aren't around and you know how to handle the wheels... :)

5.  You want to write a book? Why Not? This would be me

Just to name a few things....

Ask yourself this question, what's stopping me from doing my "WHY NOT"? I find myself stopping myself from doing my "WHY NOT ". Why, because I don't like to fail. I am an over achiever in most of the things I do. I work hard to learn a task and I try to perfect it. If I don't understand, I want stop until I've figured it out. I wake up determined to complete every task I assign myself to do. But what I've learned from my years doing my "WHY NOT, is, it's okay to try and fail. The Why Not Philosophy tells me that either I will or I won't, either I can or I can't. There is no trying...When you start something you start to complete the task! 

I am good at organizing, I am good at making people feel good about themselves, I am good at listening, I am good at paying attention to detail, I am good at bringing people together to complete a task, I am good at writing and I am good at yard work... had to throw that one in

Now there are some things I just don't do well and I'm okay with that. for instance, I cannot cook for a large group of people. Five is about as many as I can cook for. I don't even have pots in my kitchen that can hold that much food. SMH -  Shameful I know, right? Why, because I have never had more than 6 people to cook for at one time. I'm  not good at asking for money, so, I don't need a position that's going to require me to do so. And finally, I don't look good with long hair anymore, so I wont be growing my hair out even though I like long hair and it's easier to manage. 

So, What's the "Why Not Philosophy?" The gifts are in the questions. You'll learn what you're good at when you go through the "Why Not" - You will not spend time doing things that don't work for you.  Doing the "Why Not" gets you closer to what does work and what is good for you.

What I know for sure:  When you ask the "Why Not" question you'll find out the "Why Not" answer. That's when you find out what's good for you and you won't spend time doing what isn't. Then and only then will you begin to make an impact on the world.

Find Peace Within
Lisa

Sometimes It Just Doesn't Happen - My Vegan Life

What a week....wheeeee.. Can you say thank God for the weekend. :). This week brought about many challenges for me in the eating department. So what does a Vegan do when there is no time to go to the grocery store to pick up ALL the items needed to prepare any new recipes? Well you just have to learn how to work with what you have. My week--- Sunday ministering at Independence Park, Monday choirc rehearsal, Tuesday tutoring, Wednesday school, Thursday late night at the office, Friday spent more time at Home Depot than I planned. (Yes shopping for my Saturday yard work was more important than shopping for grocery). So, what did I do for food.  For breakfast I had Tofu veggie wraps, Kale and Shakeology Smoothies,  Raising Brains, Vegetable sandwiches from Subway, Peanut Butter sandwiches on Ezekiel Bread, and even some Veggie Pizza , Fish and Broccoli, finally Stir Fry Vegetables, and Oatmeal from McDonald's.

What was my lesson for this week?, "Sometimes it just doesn't happen" and you know what??? IT'S OKAY. :). I am a creature of habit and not often do I try new things, but this journey of being a Vegan has helped me get out of what I know. I'm not sure if I can credit my journey to living a Vegan lifestyle to the excitement I have with eating and cooking, but what I do know, my grocery bill has gone down because I am not buying high price salmon and chicken breast every week. Tofu cost close to $2.50, I usually takes me 3 days to finish one box of Tofu, then there is the fish, I get 5 individual packets in one bag, and the vegetables... well the Asian store has all the vegetables I need and at a very affordable price. Big bags of Kale, Cabbage, Onions, Red Peppers, Green Peppers, Yellow Peppers and Broccoli. I hear all the time the stories about how expensive it cost to eat healthy, no, not really. It is about finding the right place to shop and knowing how to prepare your meals. Trader Joe's is a great place to shop but not all of us can afford to shop at Trader Joe's... it is a specialty shop and I'm not knocking it, but I pretty much stick to places where my money can stretch and I still can maintain my healthy lifestyle journey, feed my family and save.

What I know for sure: Sometimes it just doesn't happen because "LIFE HAPPENS". So what do you do, you learn to walk where you are and work with what you have until you have time and resources to get where you want to be and what you need to continue in your journey.

Find Peace Within,
Lisa

Mashed Kidney Beans Turned Vegan Burger - My Vegan Life

This Vegan Journey has taken me on many excursion and discoveries, many I didn't enjoy and some I will visit again. Last week I shared  how I had to make a change in my Vegan journey as I discovered I was not as strong as I was prior to going Vegan. Sometimes you just have to go back to what you know. With that in mind, I added one day where I eat fish. I think it's called Pescatarian...Never heard of it... have you? I was talking with one of my many fitness friends Charleszetta, and she mentioned Pescatarian, that's what she practices. Where the only meat they eat is fish. Now I must say, cooking the fish was easier because it didn't require a lot of time, Mrs Dash and 8 minutes in the skillet for both sides and you're done. The 5 oz.'s of fish had 21 grams of protein in it. Just what I needed and I worked out that day and l could tell the difference in my performance. I didn't give out after my 3rd set of 15's. I even increased it to 15 pounds on the last set and was able to complete the entire circuit without dropping my weights. So, what was the lesson here... Do what works for your body.

So my next discovery was Vegan Burgers. I have been looking for a recipe for Vegan Burgers that didn't require a lot of ingredients and guess what I have it. I didn't find it though. One of my dear friends Michelle Coleman saw the link and hit me on face book with the link. I told her I would try it this weekend and I did. A WINNER for sure!!! :). And it wasn't hard to mix nor expensive to buy. I am one of those persons that don't think too hard about stuff...my motto "Analyzes Paralyzes"  I just dive in. So, that's what I did here. On Saturday I stopped by Food Lion and got my ingredients: 2 cans of Kidney Beans (I got the light skinned ones) 1 can of Hunt's Tomato Paste. I already had the other ingredients. I was soooo excited about preparing the meal. Now I look forward to cooking. This is what you'll need:

1.  2 cans of Kidney Beans
2.  1 cup Brown Rice (cooked)
3.  1 cup rolled oats (I used Whole Grain Steel Cut Oats -Aldi Bran)
4   1/4 cup Tomato Paste (spaghetti sauce)
5/  1/2 tsp garlic powder
6.  1/2 tsp onion powder
7.  1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash

If you don't like getting your hands dirty in the kitchen then I recommend you put on gloves. First you will cook your rice. Drain the Kidney Beans ( I rinsed mine to get the sodium off). Place the beans in a bowl and mash the beans like you do mash potatoes or sweet potatoes for your sweet potato pie. Leave a few chunks of beans just because... then add in your brown rice, oats, tomato paste and seasonings. Pat the burgers into hamburger patties and let them sit in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. I let mine stay in for about 2.5 hours while I worked in the yard. I cooked mine in olive oil. You'll need a little oil since the ingredients do not contain oil To prepare them, grill them or cook on the stove. I topped mine with some BBQ sauce for flavor. I also put some red peppers on top because I like spicy stuff. There you have it my Vegan Burger Steak..I call it a steak since I didn't eat it with any bread. I must say it was really good. I will certainly put this one in rotation.

My Vegan Life- this new life has not only changed the way I eat but it's changed the way I look at food I never thought of eating Kidney Beans differently. As a child, my grandmother cooked Kidney Beans all the time but never did she mash them up to make burgers. Innovative thinking is what we would call today... but grandma would call it stretching a dollar....$$$$$

 I am coping the link to the original poster. Can't be caught plagiarizing. http://en.paperblog.com/jeff-novick-bean-burgers-917190

What I know for sure: Food that has been around for years has taken on a new form. There are many new foods on the market but some foods you will have with you always... Mashed Kidney Beans turned Vegan Burger.. who would have thunk it. Maybe it was someone just STRETCHING A DOLLAR.


Be blessed
Remember Life is about Living and Giving
Find yourself something doing it.
Ms. Lisa

A Lesson in the Change - My Vegan Life

As I transition from eating meat and dairy products to eating Vegan, I discovered something very important this week. There are lessons in the changes we make. Yes, change is good and it keeps the brain fresh and the feet moving but sometimes, that change will stop you in your tracks and cause you to PAUSE and take notice. My Pastor often says, "Inspect what you expect" (Michael A.Stevens). I had to do that this week.

There have been some really nice discoveries such as Plantains, Tofu scrambled eggs, even Tofu Smoothie, but I wasn't prepared for what I found out Thursday while in an ABS class. Many of you know that I love to lift weights and as a former body builder weight lifting and muscle mass is so important to our physic. Well this past Thursday I was challenged with lifting 10 pounds... yes, 10 pounds. Now, I'm the chic that can curl press 25 pounds 3 sets of 10 with no problems while squatting, but Thursday it was a challenge for me to squat, jump and press those 10 pounds for 60 seconds. Yes, Jillian Michaels has been kicking my butt with those 4 am Kettle Bell workouts and the 1 hour No More Trouble Spots workouts in the afternoons but those workouts didn't require me to lift anything over 5-8 lbs. And being the competitive one that I am, I wanted to hang with the class.. but what I found out was... I couldn't hang...I had lost muscle mass while going through the CHANGE. and not just menopause... through my VEGAN lifestyle CHANGE.

That workout caused me to INSPECT WHAT I EXPECT. You see I expected to continue to lift heavy like I did when I was eating 4 to 6 oz's. of grilled chicken or salmon and 6 eggs whites and whole grain toast but what I found out was I could not lift the same way I did when I was eating grilled chicken and salmon and eggs. No, No, No, I have not gone back to eating meat... well not today, I did eat a bowl of spaghetti Friday because I was tooo tired to cook and it was 7:30 when I got home. And YES, it had ground beef in it... :(. it wasn't that much that it set me back. What I had to do was research not just meals for VEGANS but for meals for VEGAN Body Builders... and guess what I FOUND IT... YES I DID. yea!... I am serious about my new life style so I made it a priority to find out how I could continue with this new lifestyle and remain a Vegan. The website is http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler53.htm  GET BIG AND STRONG You can Get Strong And Have a Muscular Body on a Vegan Diet... This website has great information for anyone that workouts and is interested in going VEGAN.I realized I cannot live off TOFU alone..:). I have to put some healthy fats in my diet, things like flax-seed oil, olive oil, almonds, and avocado's and a variety of proteins like black beans, quinoa, almond butter, green peas, and rice protein/soy milk shakes.

What I know for sure: RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH. When ever you decide to make a change, inspect what you expect and be ready for the lessons in the change. Be ready to change paths while taking your journey. Don't be afraid to admit you messed up and need some extra guidance. Vegan diets are not made equal, so find out what works for you... I DID and now I'm back on my journey.

Sending Smiles,
Ms. Lisa

My Vegan Life

This week I discovered Plantains were not Bananas and that Plantains could be frozen and used in my smoothies. I saw a bag of frozen Plantains at the Atlantic Market on Eastway Drive for $4.89 and I almost purchased them. But I said to myself, "self why pay $5.00 for a bag when you can buy 3 for $1.99 and freeze them yourself ." So that's what I did..... good idea! There are sweet just like bananas, get black just like bananas. They are thicker than bananas and can be cooked many ways, including fried and boiled. My Jamaican friends have given me some tips on how to prepare Plantains. Take the good take the bad. Nutritional Info for Plantains - 232 calories, 62g carbs :( 23g sugar :(, 2g protein. This delicious fruit should only be eaten in the AM so you can burn off ALLLLLL that sugar....

I went out to eat last night with some of my dear friends and they asked me what was I going to eat at K&W Cafeteria, since I'm Vegan now, well I got a bowl of navy beans, brown rice, green beans, and a bowl of fruit. After that we went to McDonald's to get coffee and I ate 2 apple pies... okay, okay, okay, I feel off but who doesn't from time to time. Then headed to Starbucks to talk about what matters to us.   FAMILY. The thing is this...I cannot tell you the last time I had an apple pie from McDonald's. It was good though.... LOL.

Now to answer the question I've been asked many times since going Vegan How Do I Get My Protein...

The answer is simple, FOOD... LOL. Nah, seriously the answer is simple. The internet has everything to help you understand what you need to do and how to do it to get the recommended daily intake of protein. Here is a link I found on line that has helped me tremendously. It has everything on here you need to know to help you make the right protein food choices as a Vegan.  http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.php.
I'm using this to make sure I get the right amount of protein for my body.

Now, I have fallen in love with Tofu, which makes it one of my main sources of protein. I try to get at least one serving of Tofu in everyday. I drink Almond Soy Milk with my Kale, Frozen Plantains or Strawberries and Shakeology smoothie, I also put some Fax Seed Oil in my smoothie. I eat trail mix throughout the day which consist of Almonds, Cashews, Pecans and I throw some dried Raisins and Pomegranate in the mix to give me some fiber. You know it helps to keep things regular... very important...

I like beans, however, I have not tried any of the bean recipes, but it's coming. I think I'll make a black bean and sweet potato wrap with corn and of course Tofu... :). I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks Oneika for the recipe.

What I know for sure: Since changing to a Vegan lifestyle, I have broaden my food repertoire the way I have the songs I sing and I sing many songs. Never say you don't like a particular food until you've taste it at least once. I know for sure I don't like beats... yuck..... You'll be surprised at the hidden flavors that come from the ground.  :).


Ms. Lisa

My Vegan Life

I started my Vegan Life Style Journey 6 weeks ago and I must say I am very surprised at the way I feel. When I first started this journey it was because of my classmate Michael. Michael and his wife started living a Vegan Lifestyle 2 months prior to me starting. He would share how he felt, how much weight he lost, and the many creative ways he and his wife learned to cook. The information he shared was very interesting so I thought, why not try it. And I did. The first thing I had to do was look up what it meant to be Vegan. Well to be Vegan means you give up food that is not produced from the ground. That means, no animal or meat products. No meat and no dairy.... no milk no chicken, no fish, no eggs... Oh my what was I about to get into. As I often do when I start new things, I go head first, I don't think about what I have to give up, all I think about are the benefits I will get from doing what it is I'm about to do.

So, I looked on line and found this website, 53 Healthy Tofu Recipes. Tofu... yes Tofu... Tofu is a great source of protein and since I'm a weight lifter it is very important that I get my protein. I headed to Harris-Teeter looking for Tofu, I didn't know where it was as I don't shop at Harris-Teeter nor have I ever purchased Tofu....but I found it after asking for assistance. Ezekiel Bread ($5.00 a loaf) Tofu (Firm, Extra Firm, Silk, Medium ... I didn't know there were so many choices), Cilantro, Tomato, Bean Sprouts, Cabbage, and Onion was all I knew to get from Harris Teeter. So I headed to the Asian store, Atlantic Farmers Market. Talking about being in another country in your own country. I couldn't read the labels because most of the writing was in Japanese or some other foreign language I couldn't understand. Most of the people working there didn't speak English, so I was on my own.  But some how, I knew what Soy Sauce was, Ginger Root, Noodles, Garlic, Hot Chili Sauce and Black Beans. I walked out of that store with 2 bags of WHAT.... foreign food that I had to use recipes to prepare. I've had to go back to the Atlantic Farmers Market to get seasonings I couldn't pronounce, I took pictures to be sure I got the right thing. Once you get your seasonings, you have everything you need to prepare Vegan meals. Frozen Stir Fry, Noodles, Cilantro's and of course Tofu, sweet potato, oh yell, you know that thing that looks like a Banana but its no and it starts with a "P"... yelp bought some of those too and avocado.. never had that before.... 

After 5 weeks of preparing Vegan meals I must confess that I am now a Vegan. I have not had one piece of meat in my mouth. I drink Soy Milk instead of 1% or Skim. I have not had eggs nor bacon... and I love bacon. No fish, no chicken. I now get Veggie Burgers from Subway on flat bread instead of the Black Forest Ham I so loved every Wednesday before class. The biggest thing that has changed for me is how I prepare my food. I never used recipes for cooking anything other than my grandma's pound cake. Now, I use recipes to cook everything. And the flavors are amazing. All the seasonings I love, hot and spicy and sweet. and Wasabi (that green stuff that opens your sinuses) with everything...

My family has not converted to the Vegan lifestyle and probably want, but I'm okay with that. Eating healthy is a choice and you don't want to force people into doing anything they aren't ready to do. And my family doesn't talk about me because I choose to eat this way. This is my BRAND. People that know me knows I'm all about health and fitness. Living my best life and taking care of myself. 

You only get 1 Body 2 Build. So take care of that body. Do everything you know to do to be better in your body. Live life with smiles, Live life by showing up everyday, Live life by showing Love everyday,  Live life by succeeding at something everyday. Even if that means you succeed at failing today at least you succeeded at learning a lesson. Our lives are filled with many challenges, take those challenges and apply them to the places in your life that will make you better. Recognize when you've had enough and shut it off. Since starting my Vegan journey I may have watched TV a total of 3 hours and I have not watched the news in 2 months. What I realize from shouting myself off from technology is... I'VE NOT MISSED A THING... THE WORLD WENT ON WITHOUT ME... AND I'M OKAY WITH THAT.

What I know for sure, Today will never come, tomorrow isn't promise and the future is not ours to see... so live in the moment, it's the only that that's present.

Ms. Lisa D.