Dinner

Rigatoni with Broccoli and Mushrooms:
Butter, Olive Oil, Garlic, chicken stock, lemon juice, lemon zest, mushrooms, salt, pepper, blanched broccoli, rigatoni, shaved parmesan.

Sweet Potato Mash:
Sweet Potatoes, butter, milk, cinnamon, maple syrup. My new favorite! Thanks for the inspiration, Mar!

Vietnatarian

So I got a huge hankering for some pho today. The fam and I hit up our local Pho join (Viet Crystal in Centreville) for dinner. They did have Veggie Pho, but was a bit scurred. I tried Veggie Sushi at Matsu and it was the biggest mistake. Wasn't going to make that mistake at Viet Crystal! So instead I opted for the safe bet: Vegetables and Tofu. Can't go wrong. It was good, yadda yadda yadda, but the best part of my meal was the conversation at the table next to us.

The scene: Your traditional Vietnamese restaurant. Mostly empty, with only three tables sat, including ours. We hear every conversation in the dining room. Table next to us is two fat gentlemen. Each about 275 easy. One looks like Newman from Seinfeld. The other looks like Penn from Penn and Teller. Both look like they work in IT (receding hairline, glasses, tucked in polos that are stretched beyond their limit at the belly section. Both have an apparent butt in the front (for girls, I call this a "gunt", but not sure what the male equivalent is).

(This is not verbatim, but pretty damn close)

Penn, eating stir fry something and a side of fried spring rolls: So my EKG tests weren't good. My cholesterol is off the charts, and doctor says I could be in some trouble. (Takes sip of his Cola, continues to eat)

Newman, with a very large bowl in front of him, drool or sauce glistens his chin: My doctor's been saying the same thing to me for years!

It wasn't really the conversation that shocked me. It was everything else. Now that I'm more informed about nutrition, I notice these kind of things. Or wait, it might be just common sense to be shocked. Newman was by far the worse of the two. I'm guessing he's not very skilled at using chopsticks, because several times he would reach in his bowl and eat with his bare hands. His lack of chopstick skills would also cause him to drop a massive amount of food directly on the table, sans placemat. He would then use his chopsticks to push the food from the fish sauce smelling table, on to his hands, and then shovel it into his mouth. Not a drop was wasted. I could hear the wood fibers from his chair start to splinter after every bite, and feel the threads in his pants start to tear.

As disgusting as I think they are...someone may have probably said the same thing about me not too long ago!

Random thoughts from a guy who's trying to be a little bit healthier

• So I went to donate blood today. I try to donate blood as often as I can because it's the very least I could do for our society. Is it bad to only think about, "I wonder how much weight I'll lose by giving blood! I should do this more often!"?
• So after giving blood, I went to Subway cuz I was famished. I got a veggie delight (still with cheese, but no may this time). It was delicious and I crushed it. So older, milfy looking gal in tight workout gear comes strolling in. She was very good looking for her age. She ordered a 6-inch roast beef, turkey, and cheese on wheat. All I could think to myself was "You're so killing yourself from the inside out!"
• So I think I got this vegetarian thing pretty much figured out (aside from the eggs and cheese. Leave me alone already!). I fluctuate losing between a total of 20-25 lbs. A pretty good accomplishment in my book. My next accomplishment: Speed up my metabolism! Of the two people who actually read this blog, any ideas of how to do this?
• So Kris has lost a total of 19 lbs and 5 inches off her waist! WOW...so mega proud of her!!! She can thank juicing, vegging, and her own determination for this awesome success! Keep it up!
• So this whole health thing is turning into a movement. On a weekly basis I hear people say that I've inspired them and they are starting to eat less meat and more veggies! However, the best comment came from Nikki. She said she tried to get Dino to start juicing. His reply was "it's illegal and it's weird!"
• The health movement is also rubbing off on my family. The people that I used to cook steak, fried chicken, pork chops, and cheeseburgers for are now starting to slowly head towards the healthier side. But it's not like they have any choice. Only two people cook: me and Grandma. And now Grandma wants to turn into a veggie, too! And she's asking for recipes!!!
• A couple of posts ago, I commented on becoming a vegan once I started to read Kimberly Snyder's book. Nope, can't do it. I love cheese too much...for now.
• Breakfast quesadillas: In a heavy pan crisp up potatoes, onions, green peppers, garlic, salt/pepper, cayenne. In another pan heat up a tortilla and melt some cheddar and american on top. Add the veggies. To die for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Beats any country fried steak! Wait...did I just really say that???
• So I saw Mar's blog where she did the crow pose. I knew I could do it also, so tried it this morning and Haley took a pic. I feel like I've outted myself in a gay light way too many occassions, so I'll just tell you about it and not post the pic.
• Any of you two know of any Vegetarian magazines worth subscribing to?
• Thinking of investing in a Vitamix...ain't no way in hell am I dropping 500 bones for a freakin blender!
• Final thought: give blood, do a good deed, set goals and beat them, and eating healthy is great but eating healthier still works!

Edamame pic of the day

When will the madness end???

OK, add another item to the "Roel is a massive flamer" list. So you know me, I'll read anything if you put the book in front of me. After Maricel HIGHLY recommended a health book by Kimberly Snyder, I finally bought it on my iPad.

First of all, it's a complete chick book, BUT it's super highly informative on living a healthier lifestyle and how you can literally change your body by changing your diet. I'm only 10% through the book and I'm already contemplating on becoming a full fledged vegan!!!

Ugh, am I really gonna give up eggs and cheese???? The more I become informed, the more I get sold on the idea of purifying my body. I'm even pushing DJ to read this!

Semi-Vegetarian Alphabet Soup

So Haley loves alphabet soup. But I figured why serve her the canned version that's filled with preservatives and sodium when I could just make my own with more organic ingredients! The title says Semi-Vegetarian, only because I used organic chicken stock (so effing sue me!). Aside from chicken stock, I used organic vegetable stock, organic vegetable juice (think V8). Threw in a bunch of fresh veggies and alphabet pasta, then you're good to go! Top with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese and you're golden. Too bad I didn't have any bread to make a grilled cheese sandwich!

DJ and I loved it, especially when I made mine extra spicy! Unfortunately, Haley has the taste buds that love generic, canned food. She prefers the Campbell's version :(

Guess you can't win them all...

The Loving Hut

So Mar gave me the 411 on this restaurant last week. It's a Vietnamese Vegan restaurant in Falls Church that got killer ratings on yelp and by word of mouth. So Liza and I decided to check it out today (so sorry Kimberly! Completely forgot to call you!!!).

All your favorite Vietnamese dishes turned vegan style! Plus the prices are pretty easy on your wallet, as well. It has a small market section in the front where you can get your daily needs of vegan bacon, vegan tuna spread, and vegan ham rolls. They also sell a very questionable vegan jerky and vegan meat fluff. All of the previously mentioned did NOT look appetizing at all! Luckily their trained chefs can throw all of that into a beautifully presented meal!

Cheap tables and chairs, and you can see the make-shift office in the back corner. The place sure as hell could use some decorating upgrades, but we didn't go for the atmosphere. Bring on the food!

We started off with fried dumplings that's filled with mushrooms and some soy protein. The ginger sauce that it came with was pretty weak, but we spiced it up with their hot sauce (which wasn't really that hot) and some Bragg liquid aminos (which I guess is their substitute for soy sauce). It was pretty damn good, and most people prolly wouldn't be able to tell it was vegan.

I ordered a huge bowl of vermicelli noodles that came with grilled vegan meat-less substance and some vegan cha gio (side note, going to stop saying "vegan" in this post because I think everyone gets the hint). Liza got the banh mi sammich. Mine was filled with veggies, noodles, and other goodies. After drowning my dish with a ton of different sauces, it was really effing good! But I gotta say that Liza's banh mi was even better! There's a slight textural thing that you gotta get used to when eating vegan. But aside from that, everything was awesome.

For dessert we both split a key lime cheesecake and a oreo cream filled donut. Definitely get the donut, but please stay away from the cheesecake. The cheesecake was very hard. Like the top layer resembled the skin from ketchup when it sits out for too long. But the donut was absolutely money.

Our total tab for an app, two entrees, and two desserts was $30 total, including tax/tip. Considering I've only been to two vegan restaurants, I give this a 9 out of 10. Sunflower is more gourmet while Loving Hut is more comfort, plus Sunflower looks a lot nicer so I'd give them 10 out of 10. But then again, I'm new at this game!

GO THERE! IT'S CHEAP AND YUMMY!

WhoNu?

Thanks to Tim for showing me the ways to a much happier diet!

These cookies are guilt free pleasures to help curb that sweet tooth. It's kinda like the "Eat this, not that" type of food. Although, not necessarily good for you, they sure are a lot healthier than your average run of the mill cookie...plus they taste awesome!

3 cookies are 150 calories but also contain:

• As much fiber as a bowl of oatmeal
• As much calcium and vitamin D as an 8oz glass of milk
• As much vitamin C as a cup of blueberries
• As much iron as a cup of spinach
• As much vitamin E as two cups of carrot juice
• As much vitamin B12 as a cup of cottage cheese and fruit
• As much vitamin A as an 8oz glass of tomato juice

Finally, a cookie worth reaching for...make that THREE cookies!

Wheatgrass is a no-go

Alrighty! What a waste of money! I was so stoked to juice some wheatgrass this morning. I cut half of the lawn and threw it in the juicer. I heard a big WHOOMPH and ALL the grass got spit out into the collection bin. I cut the other half and threw it in with a cucumber and the same result! Basically, I might as well just have thrown the wheatgrass container away! ZERO juice!

So I googled it and found out that centrifugal juicers (like mine) spit anything out that's under 1/8". Like when you juice a carrot, it'll juice just fine, but then it'll spit out the last 1/8". Since wheatgrass is all under that size, it just spits EVERYTHING out! What a crock! MUST GET A MASTICATOR!

Drinking my lawn

Saw this at my Harris Teeter so decided to pick it up after hearing some pretty amazing facts from Liza today. I always knew it was healthy, but never knew how healthy it was. I've only tried this once at Robek's and it was freakin $5 for a 2oz shot! It tasted like straight up John Deere, Kentucky Bluegrass, backyard lawn! Supposedly a 1oz shot of Wheatgrass is equivalent to 2.5 POUNDS of other green veggies! Tastes like ass, but if it's good for me, I'll give it a shot!

Ain't gonna lie

I'm on day 2 of another juice fast and I'm freakin starving! Nobody said this was easy. If it was really easy, then everyone would do it! For the past 8 hours I've been thinking about Haley's Easter basket filled with chocolate, the batch of Easter cookies that DJ made, and worst of all a cheeseburger!!!

Seriously, those seaweed snacks that are like crack...is it really going to affect my juice fast THAT much? I know the first couple days of a fast are the hardest, but this is pretty rediculous.

I haven't had solid food since Sunday and I got convinced by coworkers to head down to McCormick's for a beer at around 2pm today. Needless to say, I was buzzing my ass off from a single beer! I headed back to work and seriously contemplated on walking to Italian Gardens for a gyro. I was buzzing so hard that I couldn't feel my feet! I figured a single beer was safe cuz it's not solid food, but I felt mega guilty for putting all those toxins in my body. God, I don't even know myself anymore!!!

OK, going to sleep before I raid the fridge. It'll be good to sleep knowing that I'll wake up and my fast is going to be much easier on day 3!

Bubbye Cholesterol Meds

I've been on cholesterol meds for over 10 years. I've had high cholesterol for as long as I can remember. Doctors have always said, "You're too young to have high cholesterol". And I have my parents genes, along with their cooking habits to thank for that. I've lived 36 years of bacon, sausage, steak, fried chicken, burgers, pork chops, and other unhealthy animal products.

Lipitor and Zocor almost put me in the hospital by nearly destroying my liver and kidneys. Simvastatin finally worked well for me, but it's a constant daily pill to keep me from serious danger. Add high blood pressure to my cholesterol problem and you got a recipe for a heart attack

Let me tell you how good it felt today when my doctor called me up and said that I'm finally off of cholesterol meds! I ate meat all my life and had high cholesterol all my life. I gave up meat for less than 3 months and cholesterol is something I don't have to worry about again!

Forget all the naysayers that say vegetarianism is too extreme. I'm living proof!

The results are in!

So I talked to a nurse today regarding my bloodwork that was taken last week. After about a month of not using my cholesterol pills, and about 3 months of not eating meat, here are the results:

Cholesterol
Now 167 (normal). At my highest, I was well over 250.

HDL (good Cholesterol)
Now 39 (high risk). I've always been really bad at my good cholesterol. Must find a way to increase this.

LDL (bad Cholesterol)
Now 110 (good). At my highest, I was about 180.

Triglycerides (Blood fat)
Now 89 (normal). At my highest I was well over 350!!!

Had to leave a voice mail with the doc to see if I have to continue with my cholesterol meds! Wish me luck!

Quote of the day

"Despite the apparent success of the dietary approach, some critics say eating this way (whole foods, plant based diet) is extreme.

Now, with the Western diet, this guarantees there are going to be what? A half a million people in this country this year who will have to have the front half of their body divided, their heart exposed, then veins taken from their leg, and sewen on to their heart. Some people would call that extreme."

 - Forks Over Knives

Have you had your juice this moring?

With the Easter weekend just ending, my blood pressure shot up to a shocking 140/100 :( Looks like it's back to the blood pressure meds! I killed my diet this past weekend due to 3 pieces of cake, 2 pieces of brownies, a cupcake, and a cookie. Damn them sweets!

But it's Monday now. Hopefully Kris, Ed, Liza, and Rodney fired up their juicers this morning for their start of a new and healthy life! I juiced enough for breakfast and lunch...and will do the same for dinner, and the rest of my meals for the next 10 days! Good luck to all!

Splurge Day

It's Friday so I get to splurge today! ABC Juice from Robeks. Very nutritious, very tasty, very expensive. Freakin $8 for juice? Ya kidding me??? 

Crack for Asians

 

First tried these seaweed snacks at Trader Joes a while back after seeing it on Mar's blog. Fell in love, and Haley loves them too! If your hungry for some snacks during the day, please don't reach for the Cheetos. Instead grab a pack of these. Super yummy, great for vitamin C, and only 60 calories per pack! Beats out chips, pretzels, and popcorn! And now Costco has them! Score!

Doctor Visit

So as most of you know, I have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Part of that blame is on my parents as it's hereditary and both my parents love blood pressure and cholesterol. The other part was of my shameful past of Five Guys burgers and Popeyes Fried Chicken.

I have actually been without meds for about 3 weeks, which is completely stupid of me to do...no need to lecture me. My blood pressure was always around 150/110. On meds it calms down to a very normal 120/80. My cholesterol was always around 240. On meds, it calms down to about 160, which is still kinda high. My triglycerides hovered in the 350 range. On meds, it gets to about 180.

So without taking meds for 3 weeks, I knew I had to re-up. Found out that without meds, my blood pressure is at about 120/90. Damn my parents!!! Still have to be on BP meds :( Hopefully if I drop to 160, then we'll see if my BP drops also! I'm going to get some blood work done tomorrow morning and hopefully in a week, my doctor will tell me that I won't have to be on cholesterol meds any more! Here's to wishful thinking.

So had a long convo with my doc. She's very impressed with the weight loss and I told her that I'm striving to get off all meds. She assigned me some homework. The very first thing she wrote down was, "Watch Forks Over Knives". I immediately told her that I watched it and it completely changed my life! Told her that I was an aspiring vegetarian. She said that of all her patients with lipid problems, she always tells them to become a vegetarian, that humans aren't meant to eat meat, and the fastest way to cure lipid problems is to stop eating meat! She said that about 99% of them don't listen to her. They continue their ways, and continue to have cholesterol probs.

So blood work is tomorrow. PRAYING that my cholesterol and triglyceride levels are in check! If not, I'm blaming my parents!!! Wish me luck!

How I did it: The Skinny

1) Weight loss competition at work kicked started the weight loss. That, and plus I was at the fattest I've ever been in my entire life!
2) Watch "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead", think to yourself, "damn, is it really that simple?"
3) Get a 20% off Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupon, buy the $150 juicer by Breville, load up on veggies at your local grocery store.
4) Go on a juice fast to cleanse your system
5) Watch "Forks over Knives", realize that animal based proteins were invented by Hitler, Satan, and the owners of Outback Steakhouse
6) Decide that you want to never get sick, never get cancer, and live for forever. Do this by becoming a vegetarian.
7) Read, watch documentaries, surf the web - Become more informed on your health
8) Drop $88 and invest in a fitbit ultra from Amazon.com. Sign up for fitbit.com and loseit.com. TRACK EVERYTHING.
9) Set goals, beat them, up your goals
10) Park far when you get to work, take the stairs, walk to lunch.

It's trending

So since I put up that before/after pic of me on Facebook, it seems that Kris, Edward, and Rodney are all buying juicers! WOOHOO! I even told Rodney that I'd go on a juice fast with him! The juice fast starts on Monday if anyone else wants to join!

Remember guys: Take a "before" picture!

fitbit!

There are many things that helped me lose my weight. One of them is the fitbit that was introduced to me by the Biggest Loser winner, Bill Kolodny. It's basically a pedometer on steroids. It's not as fancy as the Nike Fuelband that Maricel pimps, but it does the job and only $88 on Amazon! It tracks how many steps you've made, miles, calories burned, stairs climbed, and even does a sleep study.

And if you can "friend" people on fitbit, there's a leaderboard that ranks your progress compared to your friends. You can also track your food/calorie intake and also your exercise activities! LOVE IT!

Biggest Loser!

Motivation comes from everywhere. Weight loss competitions at work, being healthy for your family, getting positive words of encouragement from facebook regarding the picture above. I treated myself out today since the Biggest Loser competition is over. Since I ate about 400 calories total over the past two days, I decided that food was going to be a big part of my day. I had an egg and cheese croissant for breakfast, a veggie hummus pita and chips for lunch, I even had a giant oatmeal raisin cookie for dessert. But after getting all the positive feedback from friends and family on facebook today, I'm going to get back in the groove after today. My goal is 160, and like Pat said, that last 17 lbs is going to be a lot harder than the first 22!

I finished 2nd place at work and dropped from 199lbs to 177lbs since January 9. That's 22 lbs of artery clogging fat that used to make me tired whenever I did something as simple as putting on my socks (OK, that might be a slight exaggeration). Big props to Bill Kolodny who lost an amazing 31 lbs...10 of those pounds were in the last week!

Want to give a ton of thanks to those who helped me get this far. Without you guys, I couldn't have done this. Andrew who gave me the idea of juicing. Liza who took juicing to a whole new level, introducing me to vegetarianism, and continuously prodding me to live a healthier life. Bill Kolodny who introduced me to the fitbit and was a great competitor when this was still a competition. Fitbit and loseit.com - seriously, do this! Joe Cross/Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead/Forks over Knives - thanks for opening my eyes. DJ/Haley/Max - you guys are the real reason I wanted to lose weight. I don't ever want you to worry about my health and I want to live long enough to see my great grandkids (provided they are spawned from marriage, and not from a one night stand!).

22 down, 17 to go.