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!