My 3-Day Kaeng Raeng Raw Vegan Cleanse!

If you're a reader of Alicia Silverstone's website, The Kind Life, then I'm sure you've seen her rave about the Kaeng Raeng system numerous times. Well, I am happy to say that, I was the winner of the last giveaway on her site, so I got to try the 3-Day Cleanse for free! Now, I'd been wanting to try this for a long time, but I'm wary of cleanses, mainly because so many of them are terribly unhealthy and very hard on your body. Upon receiving my system in the mail, I read all of the nutritional info, and was SHOCKED at how absolutely full of vitamins and nutrients this program was....to be honest, it was probably more nutritionally "full" than my daily diet is!

The packets were clearly labelled and you drank 3 a day, and could incorporate raw fruits and veggies into it as well. You could also mix the packets with non-dairy milks or juices for different tastes and such, which made this not feel like a "fast" or any other "cleanse" I'd ever been on. So, I stocked up on fruits and veggies, got my juicer ready to make some pure orange and apple juices to blend my mixes with.




Day 1:
I started my morning in a bit of a rush, so I wasn't able to juice. I mixed my first packet, which was the blueberry one, with ice and water and a banana and tossed it in the blender quick. Maybe it's my slight aversion to blueberries, but I was not a fan...HOWEVER, it did keep me extremely full...in fact, by the time lunchtime rolled around, I still had about a quarter of it left and I was STUFFED!

Lunchtime, I had the Mango Peach Pineapple pack, once again just mixed with ice and water. Now this one, I could get into! As full as I was from breakfast, I wanted the full effect of this so I really guzzled my 32 ounces down. I loved the fact that there were chunks of real fruit floating in my drink...it made it feel much more wholesome!

Dinner: For dinner, I had the raspberry and strawberry pack, and I blended it with some fresh strawberries, ice and water for a delicious, almost dessert-like, dinner. I went to bed completely full and not feeling like I was lacking a thing, and I didn't even have to supplement with additional foods, aside from the banana and strawberries!

Day 2:
I got through the blueberry smoothie much easier this morning after blending it with fresh orange juice. It is still my least favorite, which is why I continued to drink it in the morning, so I could "get it over with" essentially! I blended my lunch drink with orange juice as well for something a little different as well.

This day, I did get the munchies between lunch and dinner...probably more out of the need to "chew" on something, so I snacked on an apple and some carrots in between.

Dinner, I threw a banana into the mix and it was super delicious as well.

Day 3:
Day 3 was the hardest, as it was the day before my birthday, and I started dreaming of birthday cake...hahaha. But, I successfully made it through, with a banana, apple and carrot snack in between each "meal" and all blended with homemade OJ.

I woke up on day four feeling so much...cleaner, clear-headed, and rested...and the 4.6 pounds lost wasn't bad either! The great thing about it was the weight lost wasn't just "water weight" but it was all the toxic junk that was stored up in my body, because once I started eating again I didn't gain it back like you do with water weight. It stayed off and really did help me jump-start my weight loss!

Overall, I give the Kaeng Raeng 3-Day cleanse an A-, and the minus is only for the fact that I'm picky and didn't really care for the blueberry drink mix! I HIGHLY suggest this cleanse to anybody out there looking for something to detox their system with...so jump over to their website *here* and give it a shot!

Spicy Buffalo Tempeh Salad with "Bacon-Ranch" Dressing

So last week, the sun was finally shining, the snow was finally melting, and it was really beginning to feel like Spring. Today is not one of those days, but I thought I’d share a yummy recipe that is delicious on a warm spring or summer day with you all!


Now I don’t know about you, but I crave different things depending on the weather. I made stew last night because it was cold and snowy, but when it’s warm and sunny, I crave cold things, like salads. I threw this salad together using some of my favorite Lightlife products, and a tempeh recipe from my favorite cookbook, Appetite for Reduction. I really like also that the author gives you all of the nutritional information on the food. This salad is not only delicious, but each serving comes in at just under 300 calories….when have you EVER had a salad with Ranch Dressing, Bacon, and Buffalo Protein that came in at so little?! Never! So give this one a shot, you won’t be disappointed. Here we go!


Spicy Buffalo Tempeh Salad with “Bacon-Ranch” Dressing

For the Tempeh:


1/2 cup Organic Vegetable Broth
1/2 cup Red Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce (I used Franks Hot Sauce)
6 Cloves of Garlic
2 tsp Dried Oregano
8 oz Tempeh (I used Lightlife’s awesome tempeh)



Cut tempeh into smaller pieces (cookbook suggests 8 wedges).



Steam tempeh for 5 minutes.

Mix together the marinade ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.

When tempeh is done, immediately transfer to marinade for 10 - 60 minutes.

Preheat large skillet over medium-high heat. Spray the pan with a bit of non-stick cooking spray. Add tempeh and reserve marinade. Cook the tempeh for 10 minutes, flipping often, until it has browned a bit.
Add the remaining sauce and turn up the heat to high. Let the liquid boil and cook down for about 5 minutes.



For the Bacon:

4 strips of Lightlife Smart Bacon
Oil or spray for the pan
Liquid Smoke

Lightly oil or spray a small skillet and let it heat up a bit. Lay down the bacon strips and give each strip a few shakes of liquid smoke. After a few minutes, flip your bacon, and give the other side a few shakes of the liquid smoke. Cook until crispy. Allow to cool, then break apart into tiny pieces.


Now, I added the “Bacon Bits” to my own “Ranch” dressing, and shook it up so the bacon mixed in well. I tossed a salad of romaine, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, and fried onions with the dressing, then topped with my buffalo tempeh. I really wish I had a picture of it, but I was so excited at how good it looked and smelled that I dug right in without even thinking about taking a shot! BUT, if you want to see how good it looked, make it for yourself, and see how awesome it looks/tastes/smells. The recipe looks like a ton of steps, but it’s really simple, so don’t be too overwhelmed by the amount of steps!

Back from the *almost* Dead

Hello? Heellllooo??? HEELLLOOOOO?! Anybody out there?? I know it’s been a while, but I’m going to attempt to get this back up and running. I apologize for bolting like I did, but I had to deal with a series of unfortunate events and needed to really scale back on everything in my life and literally focus on one thing at a time so as not to go completely out of my mind. I hope everyone had a pleasant holiday season (I had some amazing vegan dishes, ate at some great vegan places and had lovely vegan treats…but unfortunately lost all my photos due to a tech glitch…damnit!) and I hope you all have high hopes for this New Year. I’m trying, too.



Anyway, I saw this recipe the other day on the Gardein website, and just knew I had to try it…it looked so simple, so hearty, healthy and just plain delicious. Plus, with all the snow and cold, a good soup is always the way to go. Now, you can use canned beans and tomatoes like it calls for and this soup will literally be done in a flash (I believe it said like, 10 minutes!) or you can go old school like me since I try to avoid canned anything and used dried beans and whole fresh tomatoes. I soaked my beans overnight, then cooked them for about 6 hours on low in the slow cooker while I was at work before draining and adding to the soup. For the tomatoes, I just drizzled the tiniest amount of olive oil on them and threw them under the broiler until they were blackened, mushed them up a bit, and added them to the soup. Delish! Also, I only used half a package of the Scallopini instead of the entire package like it calls for, and it still worked great. Please click here to be directed to Gardein’s recipe for this amazing Gardein Chik’n and White Bean Soup!

Seitan-Worshipper Eggplant Stirfry

Well, it’s nearing the end of the week when the pantry is a little thin and the veggies are holding on to their last bits of life. Last night when I went to cook dinner, I noticed we had some vegetables that more than likely were not going to make it until today, and we do everything possible not to throw food out, so I did one of my favorite things…stir-fry! To me, this is the absolute easiest way to use up those veggies before having to send them to the compost graveyard. I looked at the veggies that needed to be used, and although I didn’t really know how they’d do in a stir-fry together, I gave it a shot anyway, and the man and I were more than impressed at the flavor combination we created! Here is what was in my end-of-the-road stir-fry:


*Eggplant
*Summer Squash
*Green Beans
*Edamame
*Peas
*Leftover Seitan


Throw these in a wok with a little bit of olive oil, shoyu, a splash of white wine, minced garlic and crushed red pepper, toss it over some brown rice, and you have a delicious meal…AND you didn’t waste those precious veggies! I had never actually put eggplant in a stir-fry before, but it was actually really good and gave a nice texture to the mix. What are YOUR favorite veggie-stir-fry combinations??


Happy Vegan MoFo!!

Low-Cal Super Stuffed Peppers

The other day I had mentioned that I was going to make stuffed peppers, but was then overcome with the urge to “stuff” something else. Well, my craving for stuffed peppers was back, so here we go! Now, the actual process of these is much less complicated than it seems…it’s really just cooking the rice and the SmartGrounds, and popping them in a pepper, but follow along for a delicious meal! (FYI, the amount of rice and “beef” that this makes is enough for 6-8 peppers. It is just the two of us, so we use 2 peppers and then have the “beef” and rice left over to make other yummy stuff through the week with!)

At only 1.5 grams of fat and 230 calories, this is Mexican food at it's finest, folks!

You’ll Need:

Red or Green Bell Peppers (2-8, depending on how many people you’re feeding)
1 cup of brown rice
Spices – I used cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder
½ a small can of green chilis…about 4 ounces
2 tomatoes
½ onion
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1 package of Lightlife SmartGrounds, Mexican Style or other vegan ground beef substitute
Your Favorite Smooth Tequila (not for the peppers, but for the cook!)

Bring 2 ½ cups of water to a rolling boil and pour in 1 cup of rice. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, and chili powder to your liking (I’m a spice fiend, so the amount I use is probably way more than you’ll want to use!). While that is cooking, sautee ½ a diced onion and tablespoons of minced garlic until garlic is golden brown and onions are transparent. Add these to the cooking rice. Dice 2 tomatoes and add these along with 4 ounces of canned green chiles when there is about 5 minutes left of cooking time for the rice.

When the rice is almost finished, heat up your SmartGrounds (I prefer the Mexican style). I add about 3 tablespoons of hot sauce to this while it’s cooking and about 2 teaspoons of onion powder just for some more flavor. The SmartGrounds only take a few minutes to heat.

Cut the tops off of your peppers, so they are like deep bowls. Seed and rinse out the inside of the peppers and place in a pot of boiling water for 4-5 minutes, until slightly soft. Remove from boiling water and submerge in cold water for a few minutes.

Once your peppers are cool enough to handle, prop them upright and begin layering. I do a spoonful of the SmartGrounds, a spoonful of the rice, and so on and so forth until the pepper is full. I then top this with a couple sliced olives. Put these in a very lightly oiled baking dish, and pop in the oven for about 10 minutes. Top off with some salsa and enjoy!



Buen Provecho!

"Rock Me, Baby" Stuffed Squash

The other day I wanted to make some stuffed peppers for a quick and fun lunch, but being a dual-minded Gemini, by the time that I rinsed my beautiful peppers, I had completely changed my mind! I wanted to "stuff" something still, but I just didn't know what. So, I got a little creative, yanked some squash out of the fridge, and decided to "stuff" them as best as possible! Because the "Freaking Amazing Cheese Sauce" is now a junk-food-alternative staple in our house, and super simple to whip up, I splooged that into some hollowed out squash, popped it in the oven, and topped with some fresh diced tomatoes in the end...and now I'm pretty sure that this will be a staple from this day forward in our house!

Rock Me Baby Stuffed Squash

2 Summer Squash, halved and hollowed out with a spoon
1 Medium-sized tomato, diced
"Freaking Amazing Cheese Sauce" (recipe below)

Freaking Amazing Cheese Sauce¼ cup Nutritional Yeast
¼ cup flour
1 cup water
2 tblsp. Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper (if you're not so much into wreaking havok on your taste buds as I am, this can be reduced/omitted completely)
1 can of RoTel Diced Tomatoes and green chiles, drained

Put nutritional yeast, flour, salt, garlic, and pepper in a saucepan. Add in water and stir constantly over medium heat until mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add vegan butter. Stir until melted. Add tomatoes/salsa and lime juice and return to heat, stirring until tomatoes are warm.

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly spray/oil a glass oven dish and lay the squash in, hollowed sides up. Fill squash with Freaking Amazing Cheese Sauce and enjoy the leftovers with some carrots and pita while this cooks in the oven for about 20 minutes, until squash is tender. Remove from oven, top with diced tomatoes, and enjoy!

Now THAT's what I call a tasty freaking lunch!


How perfect is this tomato?!


Squash Boats!


Still trying to figure out if these are organic? I know they are vegan, and they sell them at Whole Foods, so does that label them organic automatically?? They're tasty regardless!


Right before heading to the hot and toasty oven!



Quick photo before they were devoured in record time!


And don't forget, every ad that you click on this page will be a donation to a local Madison animal rescue! That's it! All you have to do is click them! Easy as that!

Rosemary-Infused Spaghetti Squash

This weekend, while I was at the grocery store, I couldn’t help but get giddy when walking through the produce section…all the squashes, apples, and all my favorite fall things were in abundance!! One thing I have discovered about grocery stores in Wisconsin which is unlike grocery stores in California, is that they try to have as much local and seasonal produce as possible, which is awesome, but I do start to miss certain things when they aren’t in season and aren’t being sold. So you can imagine my excitement when I was there on Saturday and saw an entire box of organic spaghetti squash!!! Woohooo!!!! My life was complete once again! I picked up a couple of these bad boys and immediately started planning in my head what I wanted to do with them. I used the first one last night, in celebration of Autumn, and couldn’t have been more satisfied! AND, at only 112 calories per serving, this was by far a low-cal and hearty meal that kept me full the remainder of the night! For those of you watching your waistline, this is definitely a recipe to add to your kitchen repertoire!

Rosemary-Roasted Spaghetti Squash

1 Spaghetti Squash, about 3-5 pounds, cut in half and seeded
1 ½ cups of Vegetable broth
2 large sprigs of Rosemary
2 large sprigs of Sage
2 Tblsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tblsp Parsley
2 Cups chopped broccoli florets
1 diced tomato
S&P to taste


Preheat oven to 375. Pour broth into a 9- x 13-inch baking dish. Bruise rosemary and sage sprigs with the back of a knife and toss into broth. Arrange squash in dish, hollow sides down, and roast until rind gives easily when pressed and flesh is just tender, 35 to 45 minutes. (Be careful not to overcook squash since it will become too soft and soggy.) While squash is in the oven, lightly steam the broccoli. Set aside. Transfer squash to a large plate, hollow sides up, and set aside until cool enough to handle.

Using a fork, scrape squash out of rinds and transfer to a large bowl. Add oil, parsley, broccoli, tomatoes, salt and pepper and toss gently. Serve immediately.

The hint of rosemary that the squash soaks up is seriously perfect, and I don’t think I’ll ever cook spaghetti squash without it now!

Recipe Blast from the 21-Day Kickstart!

Today marks day 5 of PCRM’s 21-Day Vegan Kickstart…and I’m LOVING it!! Every single recipe, even the ones that I honestly thought I’d hate (especially never particularly enjoying Black Eyed Peas) have all been fabulous! Now, some people do the program to get into veganism for the first time, and others do it for new recipe ideas but not to really follow the plan. I’m doing this to see if this plan really does “kickstart” my weight loss as I have heard that it can. Well, I haven’t done a weigh-in yet, but I did slide my “skinny” jeans on with ease today…and to think, I haven’t even been able to pull them over my ass for over a year now! It’s like going shopping in my own closet! So anyway, I’m linking to all of the fabulous recipes that I’ve tried so far this week so you can all give them a shot. Also, if you want to have the recipes sent to you, it’s not too late to join up on the PCRM website!!


Cous Cous Confetti Salad
I'm not a fan of raw veggies in a hot dish like this calls for, but this was suprisingly delicious! As I type this, I'm currently eating the last of it in a hot pita for lunch...yummm....


Hoppin' John Salad
I was hesitant to try this one, considering I've always had an aversion to black eyed peas...but it was really good as well! And super filling! I couldn't even finish one serving size!

Carrot and Red Pepper Soup
I didn't take a picture because well...it just looked like a bowl of tomato soup...and we all know what that looks like! This soup was so yummy and warmed me to the core...did just the job a soup was supposed to do. It was a perfect pairing with the Confetti Cous Cous, too!

Southern Beans and Greens
I made this recipe with the leftover Hoppin' John Salad (just threw it all in!), Kidney Beans and Navy Beans. It was perfect! The perfect savory dish on a day that seemed all too chilly for early September!

All in all, I highly recommend all the recipes so far...give them a try, and let me know how you like them!

Kick-Start Your Life...Do It Now!!!

I do have a few recipes that I am excited to share with you, but at the moment, I have some super cool news that I think would be totally awesome to get some of you involved in! Whether you’re a long-time vegan, a vegan “flirt”, or not vegan at all and just come here to cyber stalk me or for alternative recipes, this is something that we can all get up on and involved in! It’s called the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart, and vegans and non-vegans alike can definitely learn some things and get some crazy awesome advice from this!

Now, what is it?

The 21-Day Vegan Kickstart is a program that was started by the PCRM (the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine). Now what it is, is a 21-day program (duh!) that is completely health-based. I have heard success stories from longtime vegans who have done this, and have lost up to 15 pounds in three weeks, just by following the meal plan! I’m an email buddy with someone who did this last time they offered the program who is not vegan and she lost 25 pounds in the three-week program through the plan that has been created by some of the top medical doctors and nutritionists in the business. Now, if that doesn’t say something for this program, then I don’t know what will! From those who I know have done this before, they all say that the recipes are super easy, super fast, super filling, super delicious, and super inexpensive! It’s not like one of those plans that make you buy obscenely expensive processed foods and crap like that. And for you omnivores out there, from what I have heard, you won’t miss meat at all on this plan.

Now, the best part…IT’S COMPLETELY FREE!!! How is that even possible, you ask? Simple. This is a program that was created to help counteract the Obesity Epidemic that has struck this country. Nobody is trying to make a profit off of this, because it is about education and educating people on how good food decisions can also taste good and be good for your waistline and overall health.

Now, they only do the kickstart a few times a year, and the next one is starting next week on September 6, so you should sign up for it now! Even if you don’t want to follow it exactly, it’s an opportunity to get some awesome recipes sent to you daily. I plan on following it for the 21 days, and I’ll be sharing my opinions on it, but I’d love to hear from you guys as well! So head on over to the PCRM website and sign up now! Do it!

Ninja Turtle Super Juice!!

I have a new obsession…



…Juicing!!!

I’ve always been a smoothie-kind of girl, but I had been seeing on a couple of other blogs, bloggers talking about all these yummy juices they make with all kinds of stuff I had never thought about putting in liquid form! I must confess, as much as I hate admitting to it, that I tend to “overstock” my vegetables, and it does happen more often than not, that we buy more than two people can realistically get through before it goes bad. I hate composting things that are not “used” so it was getting quite frustrating, but I always felt that if we bought less, than we wouldn’t have enough! Well, we went out and bought this lovely Waring Juicer on sale at Target a couple weekends ago, and the poor thing hasn’t gotten much rest since then! And, we haven’t had any produce go to waste, either! When something looks like it’s getting “close” to not being edible, in the juicer it goes! I’m having so much fun with it, I’m getting way more veggies in my diet, and so far, I haven’t made anything that hasn’t tasted good!


My beautiful new toy!


Another thing that I like about juicing is that you get this really great fiber/pulp leftover stuff in the juicer. It’s super great to pop in the compost…and I’m super excited to use my compost for a nice balcony garden next year…by then I should have lots of good stuff to use!


So, for one of my favorite recipes that I have come up with in the juicer. It’s really quite simple, and super tasty. Also, it’s GREEN!! You can’t go wrong with Ninja Turtle-green juice! Okay, so the Ninja Turtles were soaked in green “ooze”, but it made them big and strong and I think that this juice can do the same!

2 Handfuls of Spinach
1 Handful of Purple Kale (I’m sure green would be fine, too, but I buy the purple because it’s pretty!)
2 Green apples
1 Carrot (you get more juice out of the carrot if it’s at room temperature, fyi)
4 Pineapple cubes
Pop it all in the juicer and enjoy!!

Waistline-Friendly Lentil Burgers

So it’s summer, and sometimes, vegan or not, you just want a nice, summer-y burger to throw on the grill. Well, I’m not a huge fan of buying pre-packaged food, especially veggie burgers (unless they’re Sunshine Burgers, but I digress), so I took a look through the cabinets, and made my own veggie burgers. Now, these things are absolutely amazing! They held together really well, were super filling, and VERY nutritious! Not only that, but you could pretty much add anything to the patty to add your own personal flavor. The recipe makes a lot, so it’s good for when you have friends over, or to store. I like putting the leftovers in individual freezer containers, so I can grab one and pop it in my lunch bag before work, or have something to throw on the grill on those nights you just don’t have time to cook. Sure, they look a little odd…but don’t most veggie burgers?! So anyway, here’s the recipe for my super hearty, filling, and super nutritious…

Waistline-Friendly Lentil Burgers
(Makes 8-12 patties, depending on size you make them)

•1 c. uncooked lentils, rinsed (you can probably get away with any lentils, I used green)
•1 c. uncooked brown rice
•1-1/2 c. uncooked oats
•2 seeded and diced jalapenos*
•1 large carrot, diced*
•1 white onion, diced*
•Whatever spices you like (I used Mrs. Dash onion spices, Garlic Powder, Vegan “Burger” spice by McCormick, Chile Limon powder, and some cayenne for the extra kick)

*Vegetables are optional, or you can use whatever veggies diced that you like to incorporate into the patty.

Put lentils and rice into a pot with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat to low, cover, and let cook for 45 minutes. Let cool.
Once lentil and rice mixture is cool, pour mixture onto a cook board or counter top. Combine all other ingredients with your hands into the rice and lentil mixture. Mix and squish well with your hands, until it feels really sticky. Taste and add more seasoning to your liking. Once the mixture is properly mixed and seasoned, form it into patties. Throw these patties on an oiled skillet or on a hot grill and cook, about 5 to 8 minutes on each side. Any remaining patties can be frozen for a later use.


I put these patties on a toasted whole grain onion bun from Whole Foods with some habanero hummus, leftover Galaxy Cheese from the "Hardcore Jalapeno Tomato Cream Pasta" recipe I posted a few days ago, some pickles, and I was in heaven. THIS is what summertime food is all about!!

Recipe Recommendation: Masoor Daal

Photo from the amazing blog of Spicy Habibty.



I love lentils. They’re little protein-packed bursts of goodness that can really be built into any meal. Unfortunately, I have a man in the house that is not a lentil fan.

Well, when he went out of town a while back, I made this amazing lentil dish for myself from a dear friend’s blog, Spicy Habibty. It’s a Pakistani dish called Masoor Daal, which is a Red Lentil Soup that I make really thick and pour over a bed of rice…not exactly a breakfast dish, but as I write about this at nine in the morning I instantly crave it! Now each and every bite of this dish is an incredible flavorful experience that your palate will thank you for, I promise! I enjoyed it so much that I just KNEW I could make this for Julian, whether he’d like it or not! So, the other night, he seemed distracted enough with the television for me to begin cooking this dish like a stealthy little ninja. Little did he know that those amazing smells coming from the kitchen would be his new favorite dish…a lentil dish, at that!

Not only is this dish amazing, but seriously, it’s one of the cheapest, yet most filling meals you could possibly make! I don’t know what prices are everywhere, but where I’m at in Madison, a 25-pound bag will run you $20…that’s it! And believe me, 25 pounds can last you a LOOONNNNGGG time! All of the spices are super cheap, and ones that I’m sure most people have in their pantry’s already, so if you have a family to feed on a budget, than this is the perfect meal. My math skills, dividing the price of the lentils with how much I used, with the rice and spices comes to about three pennies per person for this meal, so it’s definitely budget friendly. So anyway, I’d like to direct you to the amazing and incredible blog of Spicy Habibty to check out this amazing dish!!


I keep these lentils stored in jars after I open the large bag to keep them fresh.

I'm a Big Loser...weight, that is!!

So I haven’t really been updating this week. Quite frankly, after the birthday celebrating and all that, I needed to get my body back to a more neutral place. Very basic foods this week…green salads, lots of plain brown rice and quinoa and beans. Nothing to really write home about, but I know my body needed some help getting back to a neutral state. Anyway, I wanted to tell you all about a new program I have started that can really rock your ass off that couch cushion!!

For my birthday, my amazing man got me the Biggest Loser game for our Wii Fit. I have wanted this game for a while, since I have heard that it is pretty killer. Not only that, but the two trainers (Jillian and Bob) are super hot, super inspiring, and one of them is even a veg-head!! Yes, Bob Harper has to promote “Jennie-O Turkey” and “Milk” on the tv show, but these things were written into his contract before he became vegan a few years ago. It’s unfortunate, but if you follow his Twitter and Blogs, he explains the situation he’s bound to. But regardless…if people think that vegans are just skeletons walking around with skin stretched around their frames from lack of nutrients, all they have to do is look at his amazingly hot body, to realize that yes, vegans can be buff, too!!


So, I got home from work yesterday and set the game up. You build a program for yourself and it helps you in setting realistic and attainable goals, and then gives you the tools to achieve those. Then, you start your first workout with Bob and Jillian. Let me just say, that I was pouring sweat, and we were not even done with the 6-minute warm-up yet! I knew I was in for some trouble at that point! Well, the circuit kicked my ass (although I did start at intermediate instead of beginner), and as soon as I was about to collapse on the floor in a puddle of my own sweat, Evil Jillian tells me that we’re doing the circuit…AGAIN!!! Awww hell no! I honestly didn’t think I could do it, and I was shocked that a video game was really pushing me this hard, but it was! And incredibly enough, I was able to get through the circuit the second time around! I knew I was going to be sore, so I ended with one of the cool-down options, which was 18 minutes of “light” yoga, which was really quite refreshing after the drills I had just been through. Needless to say, I’m feeling every single squat and every single speed-punch today, that’s for damn sure!! And yet, I’m super excited to do it again tonight! Call me fuckin’ nuts, but I actually want to impress my little virtual Bob and Jillian! Hahaha…okay, yeah, that does sound pretty nuts, but it’s true! It’s like I don’t want to let them down!

America's Hottest Trainers...ooooowww!!!

But seriously, if you are looking for a good workout, and want to support a fellow veg-head (and I’ve heard rumors that Bob is beginning to pull Jillian to the “plant side”…let’s hope!), then definitely buy this workout game! I KNOW for certain that if I do this at least 5 times a week, then I’m going to be seeing a different silhouette pretty soon!!

Simple Seitan Stir Fry!

Check out those beautiful vegetables!!

So for all of you calorie-counter’s out there, I created this delicious, and super filling masterpiece last night! It’s quick, simple, colorful, and everyone will love it! And if they don’t, well, then it’s more for you!! I use a rice cooker to cook the brown rice, but if you don’t have one, just follow directions to cook basic brown rice.

Seitan Stir Fry (approx. 3 servings)
1 cup brown rice
1 yellow summer squash, chopped
1 roma tomato, chopped
1 ½ cups chopped broccoli
1 ½ cups green beans
1 cup sliced bell pepper (I used red, yellow and green)
2 cloves garlic
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 cup shoyu or soy sauce
1 package West Soy (or your favorite brand) Seitan (the “strips” work best)

Cook rice according to your rice cooker. When rice has approximately 15 minutes of cooking time left, combine all remaining ingredients in a large wok. Cook over medium high to high heat until seitan browns and veggies are cooked through. Put over rice, and enjoy!

Okay, so that is one of the easiest dishes you can make. The best part about it is it is so simple and fast to make, extremely filling and satisfying and it’s really low-cal! One serving is only 290 calories! Eating healthy never tasted so good!


"Diet" food at it's very best!

A Little Humor for the Day...

"The standard diet of a meat-eater is blood, flesh, veins, muscles, tendons, cow secretions, hen periods and bee vomit.
And once a year during a certain holiday in November, meat-eaters use the hollowed-out rectum of a dead bird as a pressure cooker for stuffing.
And people think vegans are weird because we eat tofu?"

~Vegan bodybuilder Robert Cheeke

The Spanish Diet

In front of one of many beautiful castles in the Spanish Countryside (I'm in the green zip-up...haha)




In 2005, I studied for a semester in Madrid, Spain. To say it was one of the greatest times of my entire life would be an understatement, to say the least! Anyway, when I was there, I came to a very quick realization – there was not a single overweight person. Seriously! And ironically (and sadly) enough, when I saw an overweight family (after about three weeks of living there) it turned out that they were American (or Canadian…they spoke English w/o a British Accent) tourists…and not really from there. I hate to say this, but I couldn’t help but stare. It had been so long since I had seen anyone that was even slightly overweight that I realized how much it really stood out. Now, I’m not saying that I’m perfect by any means, or that there is no such thing as an overweight vegan, but I did realize a lot of things about their culture that I’m certain had a lot of influence on their physiques and overall health.

1. The Spaniards (at least in the city) literally walk everywhere! I can honestly say that I’ve never walked that much in my entire life as I did when I was living there! The walk to school each day was a little over a mile, and I would walk to school, home for lunch/siesta, back to school, and home again five days a week. Not to mention the walking I’d also do going to different shops and just generally exploring. A few miles a day really add up!

2. Meal portions. The first few times that I went out to eat with fellow students (as well as eating what my host “mom” would cook), I felt like I was getting ripped off. Turns out, they just don’t eat out of control portions like we do here! Yes, even vegetarians and vegans are culprit to over-eating at times. This was probably one of the most important dietary lessons I learned there, which was HOW to eat:
•Small breakfast, just enough to get your system started (apple and slice of bread/toast)
•Lunch: soup, small sandwich on fresh bread
•Dinner: soup, grains and vegetables
Now, I discovered a common denominator between eating at home, eating out, and what everyone else was being served at their host homes…soup! These people ate soup at least two times a day, and would eat it before their main meal. Not only is it super yummy and simple, but it fills you up, leaving less room in that growling tummy to be filled up by huge portions and such. This past week, as soon as I began incorporating soup back into my diet 2x/day, I ended up losing 4 pounds. Coincidence? I don’t think so!

3. Rest. It may seem simple enough, but I truly believe that Americans just don’t sleep enough! Every day, the entire city of Madrid literally seemed to shut down between noon and 3:00pm. Stores would close, schools closed, everything closed! People would go home, eat, and “siesta” for a few hours before returning to work! At first, my roommate and I tried to do this, but felt absolutely absurd taking a ‘nap’ in the middle of the day when we could be out exploring! Well, after a few days of finding nothing to do (since everything was closed) we really began enjoying our siesta time. Not only that, but people really value their sleep at night…you won’t find a television in anyone’s bedroom in Spain! And getting enough rest is absolutely imperative in maintaining a healthy weight!


So anyway, these were just a few keys that I discovered while living there that I really try to value each and every day, especially being back in America. Not only this, but these should really be keys to anyone’s life, vegan, vegetarian, or not! These small changes in how we do things can really make huge impacts on our lives!

And, if anyone was wondering what kind of delicious soup I’d made this week, well, here ya go!

Navy Bean Soup

2 cups Navy Beans, soaked overnight
6 cups water
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup V8 vegetable juice
8 oz. frozen green beans
1 cup shredded carrots
4 tblsp. Minced garlic
½ onion, chopped
½ tsp. sea salt
Seasonings/herbs to taste

Pop all these ingredients into a slow cooker for 8 hours on low. Enjoy!



Can be kept in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, and can also be frozen! I like to keep some out to have at lunch and dinner before my meal, or even as my main meal, and when I run out, I’ll thaw a batch out to have for the next 2 days or so! It’s super simple, super delicious, and your digestive system will LOVE you!