A Camping We Will Go

Matt and I are packing to head camping this weekend. We're going to Lamoine and visiting Bar Harbor. It is supposed to be a beautiful weekend and we are avoiding the crowds of the folk festival, so I'm happy.

I have been spending a TON of time working on my classroom, trying to get it ready for students in less than 2 weeks. It is starting to come together, but for everything I finish, it feels like I have 3 more things to do. I'm planning on working there tomorrow before packing up the car and heading to the coast.

We ate out tonight at Pepino's because we were both so exhausted after work. When I am tired, it is very hard to convince myself to prepare a healthy meal. I had a bean burrito and salad, so I didn't eat too unhealthily. Camping menu brings veggie burgers and granola bars for the sake of convenience. I stayed at my mom's house last weekend and had to bring two large bags filled with groceries. Camping shouldn't have to be that complicated. We already tote creature comforts such as an air mattress, folding chairs, and fire starters (since Matt doesn't do well with campfires), there's no need to add soy products to our already full car.

Enjoy the weekend and make your way outside to experience the lovely weather.

Cooking Up a Storm

Did not have any animal products today. Made coconut pie pancakes for breakfast. They were ok, but not great. Matt even tried them! I think that the texture will take some getting used to since I had to use bananas to replace eggs.

Matt and I went to the Orono Farmer's Market this morning. He was looking forward to getting some fresh tomatoes since ours aren't ripe yet. When we walked up to the first stall, he picked several out and was excited about buying them...until he looked at the next stall over and saw that their tomatoes were redder and better looking overall. I told him that the lesson here is to not buy the first thing you see, shop around! We also got some fresh basil, onions, green beans (my plants have stopped producing), and Matt got some chicken.

We then went to the Natural Living Center where I picked up some tofu and vegan pepperoni. Matt even said he would try the pepperoni on the pizzas we are planning to make this coming week! I am so proud of him for being open minded about new foods.

Matt and I are going to my mom's house to have a BBQ with my family, so I had to prepare some extra food for me since I will be staying with them until Tuesday. I made lentil and brown rice casserole for dinner and the following for the BBQ/next couple of days: lentil dip, pasta and bean salad, sweet potato cajun fries, potato and leek soup, sesame asparagus, and cinnamon donut holes. All the food I made is very healthy and vegan. YUM!

Matt tried to convince me to order out pizza from Pizza Hut tonight instead of eating my lentil and brown rice casserole, but I stood strong and we ate at home! That is a major accomplishment for us.

Too bad the dishes that come along with cooking at home are so overwhelming. I think between the two of us, we washed every dish we own three times today!

Back From the Dead

Hello there!

I was thinking about creating another blog in the attempts to get back into writing, but then I remembered that there was one here. In the spirit of trying not to waste what I already have, I decided to return to this blog I started more than three years ago.

I have been experimenting with food recently in an attempt to eat healthier. I decided to become a vegetarian after listening to a provocative podcast called "Vegetarian Food For Thought" which pushed me into action. The podcast mentioned several times that becoming vegetarian can be a freeing experience because you can finally feel like you are living your life to match the way you feel inside. That is exactly how I feel. I have loved animals since I was a kid and I always hated to think about where meat came from, but I continued to eat it. I briefly abstained from meat after watching the movie "Fast Food Nation" where they show cows being butchered. It was horrifying and it made me sick to think about. Eating meat was more convenient for me because my husband, Matt loves it. I eventually got over the images from the movie and went back to my old lifestyle. Looking back it feels like I was denying who I really am.

I recently purchased several books about Veganism which have been very interesting and enlightening. We recently returned from a vacation to Memphis, TN and upon my return, I made a trip to the local health food store and revamped our cupboards. Matt has been very supportive (which is hard since I flip flop my mind a lot when it comes to food). I have been trying new recipes and he has been trying them (a great feat for him).

Last night we had burritos (his with meat, mine without) and a yummy coconut and banana pudding that I made from scratch. Tonight I made eggplant parmesan with pasta and for dessert I made coconut and carob cookies. Matt liked the cookies a lot and even continued eating them after I told him that I had added flax seeds for added fiber! The eggplant parm was delicious and I even made the sauce from scratch! It is a lot of fun for me to make food that I know is healthy for me and Matt.

Hopefully I will be able to keep up with this healthy lifestyle.