Vegan Momma

This week is starting off well regarding my gym workouts. Currently I’m hanging out in my daughter’s room; legs are sore. Yesterday was leg day. I worked out with D (which is always great) we push each other and the time passes by quickly. We spent a lot of time with hack squats. My goal is to lift as much as I was lifting with hack squats as I did when I was in my twenties. I have about 150 pounds to go before I get to that point. My goal is to get there by the end of next month. It’s definitely doable. I really don’t work my legs hard they are very strong. Since I have someone that I work out with consistently I’m starting to focus on getting back to a point I’m comfortable with.

The ice packs came out yesterday something I always have handy for the times I work my muscles harder or do different exercises. Cardio is something I do daily. I have a very active five-year old remember? A lot of our time is spent outdoors.

The song above is Straight to Video by Mindless Self Indulgence. It’s something I downloaded into iTunes. I originally heard it on YouTube while checking out a WOW video made by a player who was deleting his epic geared level 70 toons. I’ll be uploading the song to my iPod nano later this evening so I can have when I work out tomorrow. I’m not stuck into one genre of music so you’ll find a variety of music in my collection. If I like, something I’ll listen to it.

If you are an iTunes you can download a cool feature that shows you the lyrics of the songs you listen to It’s called Sing that iTune. Of course you have to be on a Mac. I’m sure they have similar apps for Windows computers.

Mindless Self Indulgence - Straight To Video
All aboard
Hit the road
All the bullshit
Can’t be ignored

It’s hard to place
In my face
No emotion

All the problems
Make me wanna go
Like a bad girl
Straight to video

Little darling
Welcome to the show
You’re a failure
Played in stereo

Hiedi ho
Here we go
No solution
Strong undertow

Quite unfair
Quite a pair
No box office

All the problems
Make me wanna go
Like a bad girl
Straight to video

Little darling
Welcome to the show
You’re a failure
Played in stereo

I never noticed
No, never noticed
You’re so amazing
So amazing

I never noticed
No, never noticed
You’re so amazing
So amazing

All aboard
Hit the road
All aboard
Here we go

All the problems
Make me wanna go
Like a bad girl
Straight to video

Little darling
Welcome to the show
You’re a failure
Played in stereo

I never noticed
No, never noticed
You’re so amazing
So amazing

I never said it
No, never said
You’re suffocating
Suffocating

I never noticed
No, never noticed
You’re beauty’s fading
Fading

[tags]exercise, fitness, Straight to Video, Mindless Self Indulgence[/tags]

• Leave a comment... (48)

I finally got around to making hummus yesterday. Remember those beans, well I used the leftover ones in this dish. I’ll write more about the topic when I post the recipe on The Raw and The Cooked.

Trust me, it’s almost complete. I just need to snap a photo and upload it to accompany the delightfully tasty recipe. Actually, there are two versions a fat free version and a version that I’ve added healthy fats (sunflower seed cheese, it’s actually quite tasty.) Sunflower seeds is an excellent source of vitamin E, magnesium, and selenium.

I didn’t use bread for the dip as shown in the picture, veggies were used for the dip along with raw vegetable chips (My diet is at least 80% raw foods) a healthier alternative and a delightful change. The recipe is simple and definitely ebook worthy so it’s going into both additions of my ebook the free version along with the paid version. I haven’t decided on when I’ll be releasing it, but it’s coming. I’ll also be releasing an ebook that focuses on natural remedies that you can make at home.

Changes are here, and more to come…
The past few months have been extremely busy for myself. I’m behind the scenes working to complete the goals I’ve set out for myself on my personal websites. Some of the changes I imagine are starting to be noticed here on Vegan Momma. It’s evident in the new readers I’m picking up and the websites that have been linking here.

I’ve always wanted to come back to writing about health, nutrition, and exercise on this website and I do a lot of that already. There is still a lot of misinformation out there about health, nutrition, fitness, it’s too much a part of my life not to. Food politics (that don’t necessarily have to do with veganism) is a topic I’m passionate about and you’ll see me write about it here a lot more. Yes, I’ll be writing about veganism.

My stats show me that I still have a lot of readers that land here searching for information about the subject so I’ll try to do my part to educate those who land on my website. I’m definitely not ashamed of being Vegan although I haven’t talked about it as much as I used to in the early days of Vegan Momma. I definitely don’t want to be “preaching to the choir” and have a vegan only website. There that focus solely on veganism and do it very well.

Although I do my best not to make feel uncomfortable (it’s definitely not what I’m about) The website is headed in a different direction, so it might not appeal to everyone and I’m fine with that. I cannot please everyone all the time. However I’ll be writing more about topics I love. It will be interesting to see what goes on here over the next few months. I’ve enjoyed the interaction that I’ve had with the many I’ve met on this website, through email, and many other websites.

A lot of people have been instrumental in making me get off my butt and move into the direction I’ve been fighting for over a year and I’ll be mentioning them in another post. I’ll be writing that later this week.

[tags]vegan, food politics, ebook, The Raw and The Cooked, raw food, food politics[/tags]

• Leave a comment... (34)

Although I like series posting I only do it on a few of my websites. I haven’t done them too much here on Vegan Momma, as I’ve mentioned a few times before I receive a lot of email from my readers as I was checking the email that came in for my various websites I found one for Vegan Momma. The reader asked whether I would consider doing a series on something health related.

Actually, I have done some health related series but I tend to hold off because of the time that usually goes into the series I do on other websites; however, I have been thinking of doing a few series focused on Where do Vegans get their protein?

The past few months I’ve been thinking of a fitness series focused on people who don’t want to go to the gym, and another one focused on Eating for Beauty (guess what you don’t have to be female to benefit from the series) the beauty I’m talking about is related to the foods you eat and the effect they have on your body.

I’m going to kick off the series this week and write about Eating for Beauty. I’m not sure how long the series will last. It’s a subject I truly enjoy talking and writing about. In the real world I’m involved in various events where I’m asked to speak on the topic, and I’m always willing to talk with people who want to know more about nutrition. Currently I’m thinking of ways I can tie in Healing Yourself Naturally and The Raw and The Cooked into the discussion so my readers there will benefit also. Ok, I know how I can accomplish it; however, it means a lot more work for myself. Time, is a definite factor.

I’m always amazed at the huge disconnect that many people have with food and how it affects their bodies. You would think I would get used to it after all these years, but it still surprises me. We’re not helpless we have control of a lot of the conditions that happen within our bodies. If we continue to feed our bodies junk why in the world do we expect to receive peak performance, sorry (in most cases) it’s not going to happen. Remember GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) yeah that applies to our eating habits also.

Change can be hard, and I know that some people don’t want to admit that what they are eating directly affects their health because in doing so they will admit they should be making changes. I talk with these people often. In working with people who are trying to change their eating habits I give them a challenge stick with a certain way of eating for x amount of time and tell me whether you feel different. All of them have noticed a change for the better. More on that in a later post, or perhaps a series? ;-)

[tags]eating for beauty, series, protein, vegan, vegan momma, healing yourself naturally, the raw and the cooked[/tags]

• Leave a comment... (21)

“You mean they weren’t doing this already?” My aunt asked me this question when I mentioned that the USDA is finally going to mention stores that sell recalled meats and poultry products.

According to what I’ve been reading restaurants, distributions centers, and institutions are exempt. Why? here is what the FSIS has to say…

FSIS will not identify distribution centers, institutions or restaurants, since they prepare food for immediate consumption without packaging that is identifiable or available to consumers.

This past February over 143 million pounds of beef was recalled by the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. in Shino, California; however, you wouldn’t know what stores carried this recalled meat? Why? It’s classified as a “Class II” which means it doesn’t have to be reported.

A Class I recall is one that involves a reasonable probability of serious health consequences or death for those with weakened immune systems.

Of course, the Agriculture department has been opposed to this. The Food Safety and Inspection Service have been trying to get this past for two years. What truly is interesting is that both Agriculture Secretary Edward Schafer and Food Safety Undersecretary Richard Raymond say they will try to limit the disclosure to only Class I meats.

What that means is people who want to see whether the stores they shop at purchase the “Class II” recalled meats won’t be able to see that information since officials claim that Class II meats damage is minimal. It sort of makes you wonder why it was recalled in the first place if the risk was “minimal,” right?

The interesting thing is I had been telling my aunt this for years. She knows I’m vegan and keep up-to-date about all sorts of nutrition info. Not only does she asks I questions abut veganism she asks questions about animal processing. I was raised with farm animals, been to a few slaughter houses, and I do read a lot of information (pro and con) on the subject.

My aunt (mothers sister) is no stranger to farm animals. They grew up on a farm so she is familiar with raising them, caring for them, and killing them for food. However, they didn’t eat animals that were sick. When they died they were buried. Not so in the farming industry many downed animals are passed on to unsuspecting consumers.

The sad thing is this news isn’t new this type of madness has been going on in years.

You can read more about recalled meats at the USDA website…

Is the U.S. the only country where this sort of things goes on? This type of stuff really annoys me; it always has, because consumers should have the right to know whether stores are selling tainted meat. In fact, I think it should be labeled. However since we know that isn’t going to happen it’s best to stay informed (as much as possible) about what you are consuming. The Food Safety and Inspection Service will be listing the retail stores that sell the tainted meat (I’m not sure when) so if you do consume animal products it would be a good idea to bookmark it.

[tags]tainted meat, USDA, recalled meat, The Food Safety and Inspection Service[/tags]

• Leave a comment... (23)

Remember those beans I soaked overnight? Well my daughter and I just got finished eating this meal. It was delicious the pink beans (also known as Habichuelas Rosadas or chili beans) have a meaty texture and are a truly delightful companion for this dish of produce that came from the garden. What’s included yellow onion, tomato, and yellow squash. The vegetables were picked from the garden this morning.

This was a simple recipe and eventually I’ll add to The Raw & The Cooked. Once the dry beans had been cooked this meal was ready in less than ten minutes. When I don’t have time to prepare dry beans I make a huge pot of them and freeze the cooked beans to use in a variety of dishes at a later date.

Where do vegans get their protein? Beans are one way that we receive protein. It gives you about 15g per 8 oz. serving I usually add qunioa (considered a grain, and a relative to spinach it’s a amino acid rich potein) to this dish but I decided not to.

Two new categories
I’ve created two new categories What’s for lunch? and Where do vegans get their protein? Although TTLOVE218 doesn’t know it, she inspired me to create the latter. TTLOVE218, is vegan, and commented on the subject of protein in my post Who needs the gym when you…

Here is a list of beans and their source of proteins taken from the USDA nutrition database. Beans aren’t the only source of protein for vegans and to be honest I don’t always eat them on a weekly basis. There are so many other options. More to follow on the subject of protein in later posts.

Protein is a topic I really don’t write about. I know my needs are being met as a vegan and a bodybuilder (upcoming figure competitor.) No, I don’t need an excessive amount to receive muscle gains. My protein needs are being met as a whole food vegan; however, there is still a lot of misinformation out there. I’ll make an effort to post more about this topic and others related to veganism.

Thanks for the inspiration, TTLOVE218.

[tags]vegans, protein, recipe, Habichuelas Rosadas, pink beans [/tags]

• Leave a comment... (16)