Category: Uncategorized

Ideally vs. Reality

Published on by ashley@vegvibes3 Comments

I’m currently on Day 11 of a 30 Day Yoga Challenge and this evening, as I was in savasana, my mind relentless wondered. As it always does… I have a serious case of monkey mind and it aggressively flares up when I’m supposed to be in total relaxation, concentrating only on my breathing.

Innnn through the nose, ouuuut through the nose. Innnn through the nose, ouuuut through the nose.

Meanwhile, I’m just on the floor, palms ups, thinking about mundane things like what I am going to have for dinner tomorrow, remembering times I had in college, and trying to bring myself back to my breathe every time my wandering brain swings to another branch.

This got me thinking. Specifically about the way I sometimes wish my life were and the way it actually is.  For example, ideally, I would get up every morning and do yoga after enjoying a nice cup of hot water with lemon, in my organic herb garden. My reality is, I go to sleep every night thinking about giant Americano I am going to make in the morning, with my generous splash of half and half. My reality is, I have a black thumb that can’t grow a damn thing. My reality is, I mostly do yoga after a long day when my guilt gets the better of me and I roll out my mat. (Or, when I’m on vacation like this past weekend, I take to the mat after a hot toddy or two…side note: I was pleasantly surprised at my tipsy balancing skills.)

Ideally, I would have kept up with my Meatless March goals and would be transitioning into trying out more vegan fare. My reality is, I had wings this weekend.

I guess all I can do is hope my ideals and my reality get closer and closer to finding each other, falling in love, and becoming one. Until then, I’m going to try really hard to eat less meat (again) and write more blog posts. 

Namaste.

Stay tuned and great your greens.

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

Restoration after Regression

Published on by ashley@vegvibesLeave a comment

Friday: Pig red-checkmark

Saturday: Chicken red-checkmark

Sunday: Cow red-checkmark

This weekend, I failed pretty hard on my no-meat out resolution. I’m sure if you’ve been following along you’re getting tired of ready that!

On Friday, Mike & I met with a good friend for pizza and I couldn’t resist the antipasto appetizer they  I ordered. I had a few slices of salami, house made mozzarella, olives, and artichoke hearts. This slip up was more because of hunger than temptation.

On Saturday, we went to lunch at one of my favorite cafes in Los Gatos, The Purple Onion. I love this cafe but the only veg salad they offer was the side salad. Uh, no. I know I could have ordered multiple sides, as I mention in this post,  to get a more well-balanced meal but on top of their lacking veggie options… they are a $$$ so, a Chinese Chicken Salad it was.

Sunday was a friend’s birthday, who is vegan, so the morning started right with Bellini’s and vegan donuts. Then lunch time hit and Chipotle was cheap, on the way to Trader Joe’s, and my third and last offender of the weekend. I got a steak burrito bowl that honestly, I would have been just as satisfied if I stuck to beans for protein.

I think it’s safe to say I regressed this weekend. However, today, I am resorting my pledge to the project and going a step further to make it a completely meatless day. For breakfast I had peanut butter puffins and strawberries with a coffee. Lunch was a salad with mushrooms, apples, carrots and a side of cucumbers with hummus. I had a snack of 2.5 Crazy Bread bread sticks. Mike is making a veggie pasta dish for dinner tonight.

In other news, Mike and I have been talking about trying the $29 Food Stamp Challenge that GP infamously attempted last week. Pro: Meat is expensive so I will most likely eat less of it than I am right now (when I’m not regressing…………). Con: The project feels a little …uninformed to me. Almost like hey, let’s take a week, try to live the way some people have to everyday, realize how shitty it is and then go back to our lives as normal.

I am trying to think of a way I can participate in this challenge while doing some good…

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

I’ll have a double scoop of organic chocolate ice cream, please? to deal with being an adult

Published on by ashley@vegvibesLeave a comment

In college when most of my friends were rushing to join sororities and eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the cafeteria instead of at home, I was still hung up on high school. I mourned my freshmen through senior year far longer than just the summer before college. (And far longer than any of my friends seemed to!) Granted, while the majority of my core group of friends in high school traveled to Southern California for college, I stayed at home. I didn’t have the change in scenery they did to distract me from missing the days when I got to see them everyday in class and in between classes and after school and on the weekends. A part of me felt I was still stuck in the past, longing for something I would never get back.

It was like everyone was moving on with their lives and, for some reason, I didn’t get the memo.

Of course, a ton has changed since my lonely first months in college. I eventually met new friends and developed a new rhythm to my life. However, infuriatingly, I’ve also figured out I’m prone to realizing what a good time I was having after the fact.

Somehow, it wasn’t until I could reminisce on the memories that I realized how good it all really was. Tell me this happens to other people too!

Now I’m 25 years old, working full-time at a job I like, living with a man I love, and overall enjoying my life …but still feeling that nagging nostalgia for the past from time to time. Except, instead of friends going off to college, they are getting married, having babies, and moving to different states. …While I’m still here, just wishing everyone could get together for a Because of Nothing BBQ.

Ah, such is life, I guess… All we can do is try our hardest to remain in the present, instead of the dwelling on the past or dreaming about the future.

And what’s better than a big bowl of ice cream to tie you to the now. 😉

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

Beauty Product Show Down

Published on by ashley@vegvibes2 Comments

I said I was going to “share” this new blog with people after a month of posting. That would have been last month…. As of now, I still haven’t really told anyone (let alone given anyone the link!) about this blog-baby because I’m pretty nervous I’ll drop the ball and stop posting.

& I really don’t need another blog collecting cyber dust…

So, instead of strictly sticking to my Veg Voyage, I will also be incorporating other aspects of my life. Hopefully, continuing with the theme of compassionate living but who knows? there may be some random posts here and there.

To start, I’m breaking down the products I use on a daily basis. I am by no means an expert on good vs. bad products to use but it’s a goal of mine to learn more about this topic. If you have any insight, please leave a comment!

Beauty Product Show Down – AM edition:

  • In the morning, I run a washcloth after hot water, ring it out, and press the whole thing over my face. I learned this from my great grandma when I was little and have kept it a part of my beauty routine for years. Doing this, wakes me up and removes any sleepiness from my eyes.
  • Next, I slather Olay CC cream on my face. I love this because it moisturizes and adds a touch of foundation all in one step. The only down side is it doesn’t have sunscreen.
  • My sister introduced me to Voluminous Volume Mascara when I was 14 and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. It is the BEST mascara and I pretty much wear it every day. (I really hope they don’t test this on animals….)
  • Eye brow powder is my other obsession and is the one thing I will NOT leave the house without applying. I’ve been know to take this camping with me and “put on my eyebrows” it in the middle of the woods.
  • Lastly, time permitting, I’ll brush some bronzer on so I actually look like I live in California.

Beauty Product Show Down – PM edition:

  • I shower at night and only wash my hair every other day.
  • Lately, I’ve been using soap I’ve taken from stays at hotels because my collection of the mini irresistible goods was getting out of control.
  • I use Cetaphil to wash my face
  • After I shower, I usually use hemp body lotion
  • I use Aquaphor as chap stick at night (by my bedside) and Trader Joe’s Head to Toe balm on my heels (there is a running joke between me & my dad that we have HEELS OF STEEL; we both really need that nightly lotion.)

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

Don’t be a chicken

Published on by ashley@vegvibesLeave a comment

Weekends always tend to be a little more …indulgent than weekdays for me and this weekend was no different!

Pad Thai, burgers (from organic beef and made at  home!), chips and guac, blueberry waffles, a “French breakfast,” and a chicken bacon wrap were just some of my splurges from Friday to Sunday.

The worst offender (based on my Veg Voyage standards) being the chicken bacon wrap that I had for lunch on Sunday. Mike and I ate at a restaurant we frequent often, Aqui, and I usually get a veg option (even before I started on my voyage) but yesterday, I was seriously craving MEAT! Like, I hadn’t even been satisfied all weekend from the Pad Thai w/prawns or the ridiculous amount of comforting carbohydrates I had with my French breakfast. I needed animal style protein and I needed it then! So, I ate meat. Again. Granted, Aqui does do a pretty good job at incorporating natural ingredients into their menu and says they use free-range chicken, they don’t guarantee it is used in everything…

10606479_10155332581390414_6276787301331311_n
My French Breakfast on Saturday was one third of a fresh baguette with butter and jam (and an Americano)

I’ll just say it now: this voyage is harder than I thought it was going to be.

When I got home, I was actually considering cutting it short and adding it to the (long) list of ideas I had far too much enthusiasm for and too little follow through. Besides, at this point, I haven’t actually shared The Veg Voyage with anyone…

Then I saw this video and knew my voyage was not done yet! I decided not to chicken out, write this post about my slip up, and carry on.

I still have a lot more learning to do about commonly used words/phrases in order to decipher what they actually mean and how animals are actually treated; and I need to figure out more interesting things to post about (because, really, who just wants to read about my slip-ups and weekend splurges?) but, I’m going to continue documenting my efforts for a more compassionate diet.

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

Meatless Meals at Home

Published on by ashley@vegvibesLeave a comment

So, my first step on the Veg Voyage is to only eat meat at home (or when I know where it is from) to ensure it is organic, grass fed, and preferably locally sourced. Admittedly, I have been a little shaky on the exact guidelines here (I ate meat that wasn’t organic but was locally sourced on a vacation to Tahoe and threw all caution with the wind with my hot chicken in Nashville) but I figure… it’s a process.

More often than not, I have eliminated meat when dining out.

But what about at home? Before I started this I wondered if I would go absolutely meat crazy at home because I couldn’t really eat it anywhere else. So far, that hasn’t been the case at all. I still do buy meat but typically we only have a ‘meat dinner’ once or twice during the week. Below I’ve shared 2 incredibly delicious veggie meals I’ve made this week.

**Disclaimer: I rarely actually use a recipe to make anything. Instead, I scroll through a couple different recipes for what I have in mind and alter them here and there to my liking.

Indian Lentils with Naan 

IMG_20150317_184614

I’ve had these green lentils in my cabinet for months so it was nice to finally use the rest of them up in this recipe!

I chopped 1/2 an onion, a full red bell pepper, and 3 cloves on garlic, sautéed them in some olive oil and then blended them almost into a paste.

I added the ‘paste’ to a one can of fire roasted tomatoes, 2/3 c. coconut milk*, and 1 Tsp of Trader Joe’s curry powder, brought to a boil and added 1 1/2 c. of green lentils

I let this simmer for about 30 minutes and added a chopped up zucchini for the last 15. Then I served about a bit of brown rice and a side of naan. So good and pretty easy!

*I froze the rest of the coconut milk in ice cube trays for smoothies later

Cream of Mushroom Soup

20150318_121538

This soup was so easy with only 6 ingredients!

I roughly sliced 1/2 yellow onion and 3 c. of mushrooms, sauteed them in a bit of butter and then blended them until smooth.

I added the mushroom puree to 3 c. veggie broth mixed with about 5 Tsp of whole wheat flour and brought to a boil and then added 1 c. of half and half, let it simmer for 15 minutes and viola! Lunch for the rest of the week!

Both of these recipes are vegetarian, hearty and satisfying. I hope you enjoy them!

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

Nashville, TN

Published on by ashley@vegvibes2 Comments

This past weekend I went to visit my friend Leslie, who is attending business school in Nashville. Honestly, I was a little nervous about trying not to eat meat in the south. Was it going to be possible?

To my surprise, it was very possible! Read on about what I ate during my southern adventure.

IMG_20150312_160931
My soup and salad during my layover

My trip started off rocky with a canceled flight and then a four hour layover in Saint Louis. I had a banana, a poppy seed muffin, and earl gray tea while still in San Francisco. While in Saint Louis, I found a California Pizza Kitchen in the airport and ordered the split pea soup and a $9 salad with mixed greens, two slices of onions and like, 5 cranberries. Ugh! Luckily, my soup was nom and was so filling that I was able to save my salad for dinner when I (finally) arrived at Leslie’s house. For dinner, I added some organic chicken (because Leslie is also a health nut) to my salad and paired it with a tortilla and hummus. Carbo loading before the bars is a must, people!

20150313_012144
Bar bathroom mirror pics! #basic

The next morning we got brunch and coffee. I ordered a breakfast wrap without the sausage and the best latte I’ve had in a while. (I think milk in my coffee would be the hardest thing to give up if I ever try veganism….)

20150313_123641
One of the best lattes I’ve ever had!

For dinner, we went to a place called Adele’s to celebrate a birthday! Leslie and I split the salmon, risotto with shrimp, and a side of sauteed spinach. A lot of food before a night out at the Honky Tonks!

After some barhopping, we ended the night with slices of veggie pizza (at 3:30am, which is later than I’ve stayed out for at least 2 years).

The next morning we went for another coffee run at The Frothy Monkey and then headed to The Loveless Cafe for a seriously southern breakfast. The Loveless Cafe is a major tourist spot with a wait of TWO HOURS! This was my last day in Nashville and we had places to be and things to see (!) so we ordered our food to go and ate cheese grits and biscuits and gravy in Les’ car. (Pure class!) Disclaimer: I’m pretty sure the gravy was not vegetarian. Oops!

IMG_20150314_131452
The Loveless Cafe. Nashville, TN

And then it was time for dinner and HOT CHICKEN, which Nashville is famous for. Being from California, I sufficiently embarrassed Leslie and ordered my chicken grilled instead of fried…!

20150314_203718
Les and her HOT CHICKEN

Overall, Nashville was an all around good time filled with good music, good food (even if it wasn’t all vegetarian…), and the best company!

Added bonus: if you’re a fan of the show Nashville, like I am, the Blue Bird Cafe is just like it is shown of the show. …Expect a lot smaller and right next to a McDonald’s…

20150314_143134
A must see in Nashville!

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

Veggie Vacay

Published on by ashley@vegvibes5 Comments

This past weekend my guy and I went on a mini weekend get away to one of our favorite spots in Tahoe, Resort at Squaw Creek. This was the first time I vacationed with my new vegetarian lifestyle change and it was a bit of an adjustment but also offered some good learning lessons!

We stopped at Panera for dinner on the drive there and my options were plentiful here …if all I wanted was a salad. Which is normally fine except it was dinner and I was going to be in a car for the next 4 -5 hours so I wanted a little more. I settled on cheese tortellini and a chocolate chip cookie. Hello to all of the carbs and ZERO veggies…

I did better as the weekend progressed, I promise.

The next day we went to Chili’s for lunch. I’m not usually the biggest fan of chain restaurants but I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised with lunch. I ordered the black bean burger (open faced) and it was amazing! There is a possibility my taste buds were swayed because I was still having some major guac cravings, which were satisfied on top of my BBburger, but most likely, it was just really good. And guacamole counts as a vegetable(fruit?) serving, right?!

Dinner was a little more difficult simply because the restaurant we went to in the resort didn’t have many vegetarian options. I think my only option was a portobello wrap and portobello is one mushroom I just cannot get behind…

Soooooo I turned to sides! (Side note: side dishes are my secret weapons when it comes to menus. Pair 2 or 3 together and you have yourself a meal when nothing on the menu looks good or you have dietary restrictions.) I ordered a side of veggies (I told you I got better;) and mini pretzels with a side of jalapeno cheese dip. This was not only a pretty delicious vegetarian dinner for me but also a learning lesson on portion control…

Honestly, when my tiny bowl of veggies and like, 6 mini pretzels came out, in my head I quit right there. I was HUNGRY and this was all I got to eat for DINNER?! Oh, well. I thought, at there is always potato chips…? But, it turns out, I wasn’t hungry after I ate my food (and a few bites of Mike’s mash potatoes….). I was completely satisfied and didn’t overeat simply because there happened to be more food on my plate. Most of the time, serving sizes are out of control at restaurants but it’s what we get used to.

The next 2 days were a little different because, well, I ate meat. But this wasn’t like the nachos incident. I ate meat because Squaw Valley is this awesome place that only uses locally sourced meat. And while the lines and definitions for things like locally sourced and organic fed can be blurry, I still had half of a steak on Saturday night and had bacon in my salad on Sunday. (BTW, bacon is not MY LIFE like most carnivores so my salad was just a salad with some bacon on it. Sorry bacon lovers!)

Overall, I learned the following things on my first Veg Voyage vacation:

  1. There are vegetarian options almost everywhere – even if they don’t seem apparent at first (sides! remember?)
  2. Meat does not have to be the default. A black bean burger at Chili’s is as good and satisfying as a cow burger.
  3. It is possible to be satisfied on a lot less food than I am used to.
  4. I still have A LOT to learn about compassionate eating and what things like locally sourced actually mean…

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

PS. I will actually take pictures of my veg noms on my next vacation… This weekend in Nashville!

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

A rocky start to my meatless March

Published on by ashley@vegvibes2 Comments

It is March 2nd and my goal for being a public vegetarian has already been shattered. Why? Two words: carnitas nachos.

Growing up and living in California, delicious Mexican food has always been available to me. I am obsessed with all things beans, cheese, and tortilla. Enchiladas, tacos, burritos, quesadillas. Let’s.go.

And nachos? NACHOS! I can’t resist them even if I tried… the light and perfect-crunch fried tortilla chips smothered with melted cheese and beans? the creamy avocado and flavorful pico de gallo sprinkled on top? I CAN’T SAY NO! With or without a side of animal on top okay!?

So, today, when a friend/co-worker asked if I wanted the rest of her carnitas nachos (key word: NACHOS), I grabbed some of her napkins and didn’t breathe again until all of the ooey gooey goodness was gone. Granted, I probably only ate about 5 chips with meat on them, I still ate meat. I still failed.

Hopefully this is my only slip up for the month week but we’ll see… Did I mention I’m going Nashville in 2 weeks? Is it possible to survive in the south without meat…?

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

No More Sausage

Published on by ashley@vegvibesLeave a comment

It is the week before the start of my Veg Voyage – starting with public vegetarianism – and I have one package of Trader Joe’s sausages in the freezer. This particular sausage isn’t worst on the market, by far. However, I’m not so sure about the quality of the chickens they used to make them and how they were treated (!!!!) so, based on my last post, I won’t be buying them again. For now.

I can’t help but wonder about the social impact my new lifestyle will have on my life outside of my house. For example, this past weekend I went to a wedding and ate pork, bacon and steak. (Oh, my!)

In perpetration for March, I thought it would be helpful to breakdown the options offered and what I will still be able to eat once I give up meat in the public sector.

For appetizers, I sampled a mini caprese salad on a toothpick (word to the wise, don’t plop the whole thing in your mouth at once… not cute.), seared tuna on crackers, a small potato pancake with a dollop of cream cheese, and tiny pulled pork sliders.

Then dinner came which consisted of a nice green salad followed by filet, mashed potatoes, and asparagus.

Dessert was made-to-order crepes with Nutella and whip cream.

Next up were homemade empanadas – that I am assuming had meat – with a side of chips and guac.

So? say this wedding was next month. What would I have been able to eat? Being vegetarian the following items would be have still been okay to eat:

  • mini caprese salad
  • small potato pancake with a dollop of cream cheese
  • green salad and whatever the veg option was (I believe it was pasta)
  • crepes with Nutella and whip cream
  • chips and guac

Still plenty of delicious options that I think would/will be totally doable but we’ll see how March goes…

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **