Comments (39)

By kilax, March 2, 2013 10:37 am

In January Steven and I both had potlucks to go to on the same day. We decided to make one thing that we could both bring – vegan (soy-based) meatballs.*

Steven was taking his meatballs to a potluck for vegans. I was taking mine to a potluck for a book club, where the members had a myriad of diets – gluten-free, soy-free, vegetarian, vegan, and a bunch of others that I can’t recall. 

The day before the event, I went to the grocery store searching for BBQ sauce and grape jelly* that didn’t have sugar in it or any “natural flavors.” Steven was really concerned about making sure the meatballs were truly vegan – and most sugar isn’t because it is processed on bone char. Anyway, I found acceptable BBQ sauce and grape jelly, and we were able to share the truly vegan “meatballs.”

So what is the point of that story? Well, I want to share what kind of vegan I am. I am vegan for animals rights issues. Not for health, environment, and so on. Yes, those are nice benefits, but I don’t eat animal products because I have a deep love for animals, that honestly, the intensity of sometimes scares me.

But with all that being said. I am a “do the best I can” vegan. I am not going to sweat it if my sugar is not vegan. I try my hardest to eat vegan at home, and when I go out, but I am just going to assume that sometimes I will consume dairy/eggs by accident. Note: I would NOT be happy to find out someone tricked me in to eating animal flesh. Or for that matter, that someone told me something was vegan when they blatantly knew it wasn’t.

When I was in NYC, I went to a restaurant with a few vegan items on the menu. 

The food was so good, I was ordering a lot, and decided to try a vegan dessert the waitress recommended. 

When the chef came out to ask how the meal was I told her I was astonished she was able to make that dessert vegan. She told me it wasn’t vegan. The waitress had switched gluten-free with vegan, in her mind (I think).

Dammit.

But! Oh well. What can I do? No point in getting upset about it. 

Would that have upset you?

It’s not ideal, but what am I going to do? I take a risk of eating non-vegan things when I go out, and I don’t want to be a hermit, so I am going to eat out. 

The thing is, I know vegans have a reputation for being super pushy and for freaking out about things like this. We aren’t all that way (although, I have met many who are, unfortunately). 

*I was ASTONISHED to find out meatball sauce has grape jelly in it!!!

Comments (37)

By kilax, February 19, 2013 7:27 am

I love that Gina and Steve call us Aunt Kim and Uncle Steven around Luca. It makes me feel much more like a family member… or real aunt! Do your friends call you “aunt” or “uncle” around their kids, even if you aren’t really a blood relative?

Awhile ago, Gina started calling Steven Uncle “Slow Ass,”* because, well… Steven is not in any hurry. We’ll just leave that at that. Ha ha. 

So, I wanted a special name too! What did they come up with for me?! Aunt Nommy. As in, Aunt Nom Nom Nom GIVE ME ALL THE FOODZ!!!

How appropriate! I do tend to eat like a little piglet in NYC, because I LOVE the food here – and I am not much of a foodie (as in, I like to eat, but I don’t seek out special cuisine or pay much attention to food trends).

So in true Aunt Nommy fashion, here are some food porn pics from our trip this weekend! All photos were taken with Steven’s fancy schmancy camera… not my smart phone, ha ha!

BAGELZZZ

MORE CARBZZZ!!!

Food Cart!

Sweets

Don’t forget those veggies!

*Uncle Slow A, around Luca.

Comments (44)

By kilax, February 18, 2013 5:06 am

First race of the year!

The Cherry Tree 10 Miler in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, was my first race of the year last year too! Only last year, I ran the relay with Gina and her brother-in-law, Greg. Immediately when we finished the race last year, we said we should get together two teams for this year – the wives, their husbands, and their brothers. So, we had The Relayteds – Team A: Gina, her husband, Steve, and his brother, Greg, and The Relayteds – Team S: me, Steven and his brother, Andrew!

What a treat that all of us were able to run the race, and that Andrew was able to come out from Kansas City!

This was my first goal race of the year. I started speedwork in January and tried to eat a bit healthier to see what I could do at this race… as a gauge for my goal* 5K next Sunday! The course is interesting – a downhill, an uphill at mile 1.75, then a downhill finish.

So, flying, pushing, flying. Luckily, it was sunny out and there was no snow on the ground. Only 25+ mph winds! Ha ha ha!  And I only noticed them on the hill (<– of course)!

Steven ran the first leg and Andrew ran the second. Steven ended up running most of the race with Gina, and Andrew and Greg were really close too, so Steve and I took off together! Ahh! Close race!

Our team finished in 1:34:26 and the other team finished just a bit behind us! Great timing! Everyone was really pleased with their results – Steven got a great second wind (and after a week of being sick!) and Andrew’s last third of a mile was in the 8:00s!

My goal was an 8:00 average pace and I ran just a bit faster and felt great. I think I’m ready to push it at next week’s 5K!*

Have you run your first race of the year yet?

I love running in the winter and it feels a bit late to wait until February for my first race! But, the snowshoe race I wanted to run in January didn’t quite work… since there was no snow! Ha!

After the race we hit up Dun-Well Doughnuts. Sigh. Best doughnuts ever… and they’re vegan! Should I post some more food pics from NYC? I sure do have a lot! And they’re all fancy pants, since Steven’s been doing all the photo taking this trip. And how nice that is – it’s usually me taking all the shots! Who’s the photographer on your trips?

*It looks like the field will be more competitive this year so I won’t meet my 1st in AG goal. Maybe I’ll go for a course record? Not sure what my new goal should be!

Comments (60)

By kilax, February 11, 2013 6:21 am

As if eating less while eating out isn’t already hard enough…

ALSO, WARNING! Neurotic food-post ahead!!! Maybe you just want to skip and go see who won the giveaway…

There is a local Mexican restaurant* we used to go to a lot. And I always got the same thing – a Jarritos with a full vegetable fajita dinner. YUMMY!

**

We went on Friday night for the first time this year. I was trying not to eat as much***, so I skipped the Jarritos and ordered tacos instead of fajitas.

The waitress was shocked.

“No Jarritos? Why? No sugar?” 

“Um, yes, because I had two cookies before I came.”****

“No fajitas? New year, new meal?”

“Uhh, yes.”

Are there any restaurants you frequent so often the wait staff knows what you order (or even knows your name)?

Ha ha! I almost felt like I was disappointing the waitress! She’s actually really cool. And while she doesn’t know our names, she does ask me about Gina‘s son, Luca, every time we go there (because we brought them in in August and November last year).  The waitress is a sweetie.

Anyway. This whole situation made me think about how much I hate going to restaurants and trying to eat healthier/eat less. I hate only eating half my meal. I hate ordering less. I want to order a large plate and eat to reckless abandon. Ugh. I ate at a vegan Thai place with Anne a few weeks ago, and boxed up my food before Anne had made much of a dent in hers*****. Sigh. I HAVE TO PUT IT AWAY OR I WILL CONSUME IT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I actually went to Red Robin with Steven a few weeks ago, and asked for a box when my sandwich came out so I could cut my sandwich in half and put half in the box. The waiter probably thought something was wrong with me. 

And maybe there is something wrong with me! I feel like there is a very fine line between enjoying eating out while trying to still be mindful of what you are consuming… and then completely become anal about it. Ugh ugh ugh.  I am going to try not to think about which side of the line I am on… and hope that automatically makes me not on the anal side. 

*THAT WE LOVE!!!
**Interestingly, while looking for this photo, I went through many daily photo folders that showed pics of us eating out many times a week (oh, iPhone). I am so used to eating whatever I want when I want – not because of a great metabolism, but because that is what I do – that trying to eat less is a struggle for me.  
***I knew if I ordered the fajita dinner I would clear my plate, so I tried to order less food.
****This is true.
*****I eat too fast.  

The Knock Knock Giveaway winner is onelittlejill @ Finishing is Winning. Congrats, Jill! Please email me your mailing address and I will send the notebook your way!

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway! It’s been too long since I’ve done a giveaway, and I quite enjoy them, so I hope to come up with another one soon!

Comments (39)

By kilax, February 5, 2013 7:17 am

When it was announced last year that my company was going to add more work-from-home days, one of my first thoughts was, “Ooo, I bet I will eat more healthy at home and lose some weight.”

Ha ha. Not quite. Emotional eating does not depend on location! If I want to binge, I’ll do it at work or home.

However, I do think it is a little easier to eat healthier at home – because I have access to a lot of healthy options in my kitchen, and am not close to any restaurants/vending machines. I can make huge salads for lunch, or cook something new. I’m not stuck with whatever I bring in to the office – or run out to get. I don’t have to worry about getting hungry and not having a healthy snack option.

Favorite coworker said she actually feels the opposite – she eats healthier in the office because she does eat exactly what she brings, and is not tempted by yummy snacks in her home. Interesting! I do have to admit, I am more likely to keep a bag of Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos in my pantry at home, than at work, and they become very tempting at 3:00 pm… ha ha.

Do you think where you are working (in the office vs home or elsewhere) has an effect on how healthy you eat? Or where you are, in general, whether or not you’re working?

brekkie, lunch and snacks

One thing is for sure – it’s nice not to have to prep a ton of food every night, and haul it in to the office. I look like a freakin’ pack mule when I do!

And the other thing… even if I don’t always eat healthier at home, at least when I do work from home, I have three extra hours in my day (that aren’t lost to the commute) and am more likely to get a workout in!

Comments (30)

By kilax, February 4, 2013 5:48 am

We didn’t watch the football game yesterday* but we did make party food – loaded vegan nachos!

Includes: tortilla chips, Teese nacho vegan sauce, Dixie Diners’ Club Beef Not, pinto beans. jalapeños, black olives, green onion and cilantro

We started dreaming up the nachos on Thursday***, spent time discussing them on Saturday, and got the ingredients on Sunday. Ha ha ha. We were kind of obsessed with the idea of them. And they did not disappoint! I could have that for dinner any night… that would be super healthy, no?

Party food is so fun. What is your favorite party food? Or the most creative party food item you’ve seen?

My friend Courtney created this 7-layer dip yesterday! So cool!

And someone super creative made this for the Chicago Running Bloggers Holiday Party in December! Who was it?! I wanted to tell them how clever I thought it was!

I think it would be fun to host an Oscars Viewing Party and see what people bring. Maybe items that were puns on the nominated top pictures, or little golden Oscars. Or maybe pick something from a nominated actor’s specific**** diet. Hee hee. 

Oh gosh. Why a post on food so early in the day! Now your comments will be making me hungry all day! I know it! Maybe you’ll give me some creative ideas for lunch… we do have the leftovers for all the nacho items. Hmm…

*Except the half time show – ahhh! My inner high schooler** was so happy to see the Destiny’s Child reunion!
**Don’t really have one – I hate who I was in high school.
***I even emailed my girlfriends about them on Friday.
****Aren’t they all on one?!  

Comments (48)

By kilax, January 31, 2013 6:29 am

• Check out this Vegan “Chicken” Noodle Soup how-to video that Steven made for FakeMeats.com (share it from our facebook page if you’d like)! This is one of our favorite recipes to make, and is super simple. All you need is water, Seitenbacher Vegetable Broth and Seasoning, veggies, noodles and soy curls (oh, and salt and pepper if you want it)! Also, see the image below the video for a behind-the-scenes look at the filming process. 

• We went to the movies last night…

• Steven just figured out we can watch Downton Abbey season 3 on Demand through our cable provider! Hells yes! We just have to finish the rewatching the last two episodes of season 2 then we can start!!!
• Steven’s been loving his new camera. He just got a new lens (50 1.8) and hood that really blurs out the background. He’ll mostly use it for taking food pics, but here are some examples of Data (click to see larger). And don’t worry guys. I will continue to take crappy iPhone pics for the blog. I won’t get all fancy pants on ya. 

• I made one of those images as the background for my phone and it dissected Data! Scary!!! Sorry, Data!

• Awhile ago I wanted to see how many blogs I typically comment on in a day so I started keeping track on a notepad. YES, I am that lame. The first day, it was over 50. It seems to average between 20-30 a day though. How many blogs do you think you comment on in a day?

• Also, speaking of blogging, I have been trying to reply to comments here more often, rather than all at once. I think it encourages more conversation. Do you care/notice when I reply to your comments?
• How’s your memory recall? I am excellent at remembering dates, when people tell me what their favorite flavor of ice cream is, where they are from… all those little personal facts. But I don’t have much of a memory recall of things I was supposed to learn in school, like the real name of the collar bone (clavicle). Steven, however, has excellent recall for that sort of thing.  

Other Random Thoughts Thursday Posts: XXX, XXIX, XVIII, XXVII, XXVI, XXV, XXIV, XXIII, XXII, XXI, XX, XIX, XVIII, XVII, XVI, XV, XIV, XIII, XII, XI, X, IX, VIII, VII, VI, V, IV, III, II, I.

Comments (37)

By kilax, January 17, 2013 6:27 am

• No matter what cheerful ringtone I put on my work phone, I still feel anxious to answer it when it rings unexpectedly. 
• I had the chance to stock up on some items at Whole Foods on Sunday. Before he said anything else to me, the cashier asked, “How long have you been vegan?” Am I that obvious? Ha ha, with a cart full of Teese, vegan ice cream, vegan yogurt, vegan chocolate… you get the idea… I think I am quite obvious. What does your cart say about you?
• I have been anxious to try vegan yogurt! I bought a vanilla flavored one made with almond milk and quite like it. I don’t think I will make a point of having it in the house though (but it’s a fun treat).

• I like tea, but damn, do I ever think tea bags look gross. Even when I have a nice little holder to put them in. Eww. Does anyone else think this?

• I am going to make a bold assumption and say that a white button down shirt is probably a staple clothing item in both men and women’s closets. So, then why is the one I have all floppy and weird? Ugh… 

Other Random Thoughts Thursday Posts: XXIX, XVIII, XXVII, XXVI, XXV, XXIV, XXIII, XXII, XXI, XX, XIX, XVIII, XVII, XVI, XV, XIV, XIII, XII, XI, X, IX, VIII, VII, VI, V, IV, III, II, I.

Comments (26)

By kilax, December 6, 2012 5:09 am

It’s been one year since Steven started FakeMeats.com – an online store for vegan and vegetarian meats and treats! It’s amazing – one year ago, we were excited to get a few orders every day or so… and now, we have sold to almost every state in the US, several US military bases, and we’re even shipping Fake Meats to Canada! The store that started out with a few of our favorite jerkies has grown immensely to include a huge variety of meat substitutes, condiments, seasonings, gelatin-free candy, and much more. I am so proud of Steven and the work he has put in to this company.

One of Steven’s Fake Meats dreams was to start a meal pack program – a subscription service that provides the customer with the fake meats, seasonings, recipes for every Monday of the month. The meals would be great for a vegan/vegetarian looking for some new recipes, someone looking to have meatless meal one night a week, or someone just looking for the convenience of a planned meal!

Well, after months of testing recipes developed in the Fake Meats test kitchen (ours, hee hee) and several months working with a test group (including meat eaters, vegetarians, and vegans, from across the US) the Fake Meats Meal Packs are officially launching in January! The program offers a variety of recipes that use Soy Curls, Heartline Meatless Meats, vegan and vegetarian seasonings, and much more.

One of my favorite things about the recipe testing phase (besides eating all the yummy food) was the community aspect of the program. The test group has been posting pictures and thoughts on the Facebook page, sharing their unique changes to the recipes, and we even did a few Skype dates with the testers to get their live reactions! The group liked the community aspect so much, that we realized this is another unique and beneficial aspect of the Meal Pack program.  We’re promoting the Facebook interaction for new customers and even thinking of doing some google hangouts to meet everyone!  Stop by the Fake Meats Facebook page to see some of the Meal Pack meals people have been cooking.

People have been signing up for a few weeks now, and the response has been great!  The deadline to join the inaugural January Meal Pack program is December 9th (this Sunday).  If you’re interested in the Fake Meats Meal Pack program, you can find more information about it here.

Would you be interested in a program like this? Any ideas for Fake Meats recipes we should develop in the test kitchen?