It's been a busy month! Lots of events both near and far! It was a greattttt summer. I mean really great. I can't believe its already fall! 2017 is flying by; I swear when you are a kid summer feels like forever but as an adult its flies by. No summers off I suppose... But I am not complaining its been a great year and I am looking forward to a lot of things in 2018 so I will just be grateful for the season!
I guess I am in a nostalgic mood lately. Hence the title of the blog post... I re-watched The Wire series and it is one of the quotes I always remember from character Marlo...
This scene came to mind when I was sitting in the Weight Watchers meeting after a .2 gain. I just knewwww I lost weight after my trip to Jamaica. I usually do. So when the WW leader who checked me in asked me how my week was I told her not bad I was on vacation in Jamaica and so she said "Wooowww really well you only went up .2 so you'll have to tell us how you did that!"
My jaws were tight! I gave a half smile and sat down. So for the non Wire fans... or those who may have forgotten... In the scene Marlo a ruthless drug dealer really drug lord... (he was running an entire multi million dollar operation not sitting on the corner) goes into a store and steals two 10 cent lollipops in full view of the security guard. The security guard completely annoyed, obviously knowing who Marlo is, follows him out and confronts him; albeit respectfully. Spoiler alert: Respect doesn't save him though. During the exchange Marlo tells him over and over "You want it to be one way..." Finally exasperated the guard basically says what are you talking about and Marlo's response "You want it to be one way….But it's the other way." Marlo walks to his waiting car and orders the murder of the security guard.
So what resonated with me was the fact that the security guard knew who Marlo was and what he was capable of doing to him. Those were facts. But the security guard confronted him anyway. Now some may consider that brave others foolish. No matter how you see it, the results were the same; the security guard ends up in the vacants (in the empty row homes in Baltimore with 21 other victims by the season's end).
Now the parallel for me: I didn't track what I ate. I did not restrict myself (aside from my Vegan commitment). I didn't plan my meals. I didn't even cook my meals. YET I want it the OTHER way. I thanked the WW leader during the meeting because my jaws were tight but I can't be mad and in fact .2 says a lot positive about my ability to go away be forced to eat out every day for over a week and deal with unlimited buffets and alcohol and come back with such a minuscule increase.
Granted I didn't drink a drop of water or eat a thing before weigh in and I wore a feather light dress so I went in as ready as possible but... see I want it to be one way but it's the other way. For me weight loss means it's the other way... I don't lose by accident; its the other way... I have to plan, track, exercise, drink water and go to meetings. It's the other way. I have this internal battle more often than I should... but this quote will be a good reminder for me. I'll use that quote as an anchor.
I think that's a good segue into my Vegan lifestyle update. Well I am over two months in now! Celebrated while in Jamaica and I must say it is wayyy easier than anyone could imagine. Easy to find things to eat not easy to control what one eats. At least not easy for me because I like to eat lol there's an ongoing debate about being vegan vs plant based. There are lots of junk food vegans; not eating meat or dairy leaves a ton of other things besides fruits and veggies to eat and plenty of it not healthy and not healthy in large quantities. That's why Weight Watchers is important for my goals. I ma down over 10 pounds in the two months and I am committing to being physically active every day until the end of the year... 146 days straight. I'm over 50 days in and making it happen BUT I need to get back to my trainer to make bugger strides. I want to lose 12 pounds by the 31st! I can do it! That's 13 weeks so less than a pound a week! DONE!!!!
Anywayyyyyy I promised to do a blog post about my Vegan Shopping List! I'm no expert but I have definitely researched a lot and tasted a lot lol so I can stand behind my reviews! So here we go!
I ball on a budget so most of my shopping has been done at Wegman's, Trader Joe's and my new bae Aldi's! All three have great prices. I will be honest I spend a lot of money and I can sometimes be wasteful so better to spend less and still get good quality!
My fave is Trader Joe's so we will start with them. I found a great list via a group on Facebook of Vegan items from Trader Joe's it was so helpful! https://www.peta2.com/vegan-life/vegan-trader-joes-options/
First must haves: SPICES! I already have garlic, curry, black pepper, sea salt but these are some other great ones to have on hand! Less than $2 a bottle!
Other staples: Rice I try to mix up my types and cauliflower rice is a great option! Less calories but still great! These were about $1.99
Frozen fruit and veggies are helpful and save $$$ I kept buying strawberries but they kept spoiling so I bought some frozen one. The tri-peppers are great for soups and chili! The coconut "yogurt" was realllyyyyy great but 9 WW Smart points! Yikes! Sttill have the portabella fries and Somasa to try
The flaxseed I have added to oatmeal, dairy free yogurt and apple sauce. The Ancient Grains are great its basically an oatmeal. The toasted coconut granola is good although my husband devoured it so I can't recall it exactly lol I guess I'll buy two next time.
More staples: Lara bars, red onions, a hugeee eggplant, beets, Almond butter, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, cherry tomatoes, bread thins which were great but not fully cut so be veryyyy careful slicing, blue corn tortilla, ginger, Goddess dressing which is de-lish and only needs a splash and lastly canned Jackfruit! All of this was less than $30
Some new items I really liked: Dr. Prager's veggie burgers were sooo good. My husband didn't love them but I do. I really do not crave meat so the fact that it does not look like a beef burger is appealing to me. The Meatless Meatballs are great! The cook up very easily. The Falafels are good. High in points though but I had a salad with one and figured I could re-create it at home for half the price! The veggie spring rolls are soooo good. The beef-less ground was good although I added the Trader Joe's soy chirizo for additional flavor and it turned out nicely. The roasted plantain chips a fave and are perfect with guacamole or hummus. The tempeh I still have not tried yet! So stayed tuned. More frozen fruit for smoothies and oatmeal!
Lastly from Trader Joe's broccoli, almond milk, steel cut oats, maple syrup, vegan spread, peaches and red potatoes.
NEXT UP ALDI'S
Their prices can't be beat even better than Farmer's markets and produce markets for the most part!
Ok Whewwww that was a lot and for some reason now I have fall allergies and the meds are kicking in so I will do part 2 with Wegman's and recipes next week!
