My vegan experience so far

Ok so on Saturday, I drove 2 hours to a Whole Foods Co-op and bought an assortment of vegan cheese items to try figuring that once I know what I like I can venture out and stock up on the items I enjoy.I must say I dont care for the vegan cheeses. So far I tried a hickory cheddar cheese spread that I put both on my buns for my veggie burger and on some crackers. Thankfully on the burger there was no after taste but I'd rather save the money and just eat a plain veggie burger with some lettuce and onions. On the crackers I loved the hickory flavor but the after taste was dreadful.It made the thought of eating it again very unpleasant. I also had some shredded cheddar on my salad. That was "OK". I would probably eat it on my salad again but is it really worth $5 for a tiny bag? I don't think so. I bought some vegan parmesan which I also tried on salad but to me there seemed to be no flavor really and I'd rather save the money and not have parmesan on my salad at all. Cheese is the main reason I am not vegan yet. I bought the powdered egg replacer and have already been using other items to replace eggs like applesauce. I enjoy soy and rice milk. I enjoy the Rice Dream frozen treats so it seems the only problem is the cheese. What will I do without pizza, lasagna and cheese filled raviolis? I am slowly going to cut cheese out of my diet and have to live without my favorite dishes. So sad. :(

The joy of animal rescue

I can honestly say that one of the most rewarding things I have done is rescue animals. I have met some pretty amazing animals and have also added members to my family this way. I do not understand how a person could abuse or mistreat an animal in anyway. I have rescued animals from the side of the road that were about to get run over, bottle fed a baby wild bunny when a dog carried it away from it's mother, took in animals that were starving and had been abused.
Currently we have a dog named Tippy. She is approximately 4 years old and she looks like a doberman mix. She is gorgeous. She was found on the side of a highway in a wooded area. We adopted her from the animal shelter and my daughter called her Tippy. She loves to swim and go for walks. She is very vocal and "talks" to us every morning. She is very sweet and loveable.
We have a cat named Cowboy. We were just going to bed late the night of the 4th of July. Our fireworks were rained out by a huge thunderstorm. We heard a cat crying and got up to look out the window. We couldn't see anything so my wife went outside and found him. He was still a kitten and he was soaked and terrified. He was also very hungry. We didn't plan to keep him but he spent that night cuddled up with me in my bed. He is the most well behaved cat I have ever had and he is a sweetheart. How anyone could leave him outside in a thunderstorm on one of the busiest streets in town I will never understand it.
We also have a cat named Henry. He is still just a baby. My mom lives out in the country and is surrounded by woods on all sides. One day she heard a cat crying and found Henry. He looked about 6 weeks old and how he stumbled on her house out there I will never know. She asked me to take care of him and find him a home. Again, we didn't plan to keep him but it's really hard not to fall in love with a tiny kitten you bottle feed. He was so tiny and his little ribs were sticking out. Someone must have dropped a litter of kittens in the wood because her neighbor that lives down the road found 2 more kittens and took them in. Henry is so sweet and he loves to cuddle. He wants me to hold him all the time just like a baby. He jumps up and lays against my chest as if to say "Hold me, Mama." He closes his eyes and purrs.
Now how could anyone not love animals? How could anyone hurt these precious creatures?

Veganized Blueberry Muffins Recipe

This is my favorite blueberry muffin recipe veganized.  

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk (replace with soy, rice or almond milk)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar (replace with half a cup of Truvia or agave nectar)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (replace with a pinch of sea salt)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten (replace with 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce and 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil  (replace with 1/4 cup organic extra virgin olive oil)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (change to 2 cups)

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix milk and lemon juice; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. Add applesauce and oil to milk mixture; mix well. Gently stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.
3. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees F at 22-24 minutes or until center of muffin springs back when lightly touched.

Laundry Detergent Recipe

I make my own laundry detergent because it is better for the environment. I like this recipe because my clothes come clean, it costs less, it uses less and there are no extra added chemicals. I also started using dryer balls and totally cut out dryer sheets. My clothes come out smelling fresh. This is good for me because I don't like smelling really strong scents on clothes. This is good for people who are sensitive to smells and also with sensitive skin. It smells clean without being overpowered by a strong scent. Try it out! I have been using it for several months now and I will never buy store bought laundry detergent or dryer sheets again.

                1 bar castile soap
                1 cup washing or baking soda
                1 cup borax
1. Grate one bar castile soap into fluffy flakes. (I personally like Kirk's Original which is $2.99 for 3 bars at my local SuperOne Foods store.)
2. Mix in 1 cup washing or baking soda (I prefer baking soda because I can buy in bulk and use in baking) and 1 cup borax with the soap flakes.
3. Add one or two TBSP to laundry.

An update- lots have changed

Ok so I haven't been blogging in months! My total weight loss so far is 38 lbs! I have become a vegetarian and working my way to becoming vegan. I married my girlfriend who is now my wife. We had a wonderful "gay" wedding in Iowa! :) I have totally changed my life. I intend now to blog way more often. Keep checking back.

Eco Friendly Me

Ok so I've read a lot about the chemicals in the products we use every day. These chemicals are not only so harmful to the environment but they also harmful to us. If I had hours I could list all the bad things these chemicals can and will do to us, however I simply do not have the time. So just trust me. Chemicals are BAD! Anywho, my girlfriend has started calling me her "little extremist". I don't think I am an extremist but I really don't mind if you call me one. So for starters, I bought the stuff to make my own laundry detergent that is both eco friendly and safe for humans. I have not yet tried it myself since I am waiting for my chemical laden laundry detergent to be gone. I do however, have a friend who has tried it and she said it works great, cleans her clothes and smells good. Its using grated castile bar soap flakes, borax and baking soda. I will post the recipe after I have tried it myself. I also started brushing my teeth with baking soda. Actually when I was a teenager I did the same and my teeth were very white and healthy. I stopped when I met my ex husband since it wasn't so convenient for me. Since I have started using only baking soda to brush my teeth, they appear whiter and my bad breath has disappeared. Using baking soda to brush your teeth is so simple. I keep mine in a little baggy and I simply wet my toothbrush and lightly stick my brush into the baking soda careful not to cover it. That stuff tastes really salty so unless you want a mouthful of what tastes like snot or something worse.... (you know what I'm talking about) you might want to rinse a little of the excess off before brushing. Once a week you can dip your toothbrush in peroxide before the baking soda instead of water. This should only be done once a week or less often to prevent your teeth from becoming to sensitive.
Today I washed my hair with baking soda which made it feel nice and soft. I also followed with an apple cider vinegar rinse. My hair actually smells pretty good. I will post more about this after I've tried it for awhile. But so far short term it seems to be pretty good.

27 lbs and 11 inches

I lost another pound as of yesterday. My total weight loss so far is 27 lbs and I also did my measurements today. I found that I have lost another inch off of my waist, bringing the total inches lost from my waist to 11. Wow... I have lost 11 inches from my waist. That is amazing and I had no idea!
Yesterday I got a new pair of running shoes. If it stops raining I may go break them in. I am excited. I got them on sale and now I will be able to go jogging again. I need to get alot of practice in so Im ready for my fitness exam in 2 months.

Day 5 under 200 lbs

Wow! So it's real. I've been under 200 lbs for 5 days now. I am really liking this. I feel accomplished. Being under 200, especially for 5 whole days in a row makes my weight loss seem more real now. I can't wait to lose more weight and I know I will. I am still trying to eat healthy foods. I am trying to cook most foods from scratch with natural ingredients... although those Golden Oreos get the best of me sometimes. This week I got signed up for school. I have been accepted into the Law Enforcement program and I am all registered for classes. I know with my daily practicing of situps and running the 1.5 miles I will lose weight faster... hopefully. For the fitness entrance exam for law enforcement I have to do 26 situps in 1 minute.... I got that down. I have to run 1.5 miles in in 15 minutes. I can walk 1 mile in 15 minutes so running 1.5 should be simple. I will find out sometime this weekend how fast I can run 1.5 miles. Once I am timed I will know if I need to work harder at it or not. Don't get me wrong, I am still gonna push myself because I want this weight loss. Plus the more I lose before I start school, the better I will feel and the more confidence I will have. I also have to be able to sit and reach 13.5 inches for the flexibility test. I have no clue how far I am reaching because I dont have one of those little boxes to practice on but the last time I did it I believe I reached 17 inches but I was also skinny and didn't have a belly in my way. So even more reason to lose this belly before school starts. I also have to do 14 line steps in a minute but I am still not quite sure how to do a line step. That I will have to figure out but if I can do all the rest I should be able to do it. Ha. Hopefully my next post is to announce that I have lost more weight! :) Wish me luck.

Under 200

Yesterday I weighed in at 199 lbs. I was so excited. Finally, after 4 years of being over 200 lbs, I am now under 200 lbs. It's not close to where I want to be yet but I did achieve a mini goal. Under 200, it's amazing! I can say I weigh 100 something now. I feel good. I feel happy. I feel like I have achieved something. Things seem to be looking up and up. I do believe that with a little bit of hard work and a positive attitude we can achieve the things we really want. I am also going back to school this fall. I am going into the law enforcement program. I am so excited about this. I am going to be a DNR conservation officer. 2 years from now I will graduate. I just feel a little on top of the world right now and hopefully things only get better and better for me. :)

My progress so far

I haven't been writing but I have decided to start posting regularly. I am now down to 200 lbs. Things are going quite well. I try to walk at least 5 miles a day and ride my bike as often as I can. Yesterday I walked 10 miles and rode my bike 6.25 miles. Today I only made it 5 miles but I did get other things done too. I planted some green onions. I also got everything figured out for school. I am planning to take a couple classes this fall to get my financial aide reinstated. Then I will take a full course load next spring. Next fall I will take my fitness test and hopefully be accepted into the law enforcement program. I stopped seeing my therapist and took my life into my own hands. I now feel like my depression is almost non existent and I don't even have to take drugs. I just eat better and get exercise. It really is the best medicine. That is all for now. I will post more when I can.

My goals

I am trying to make my life more enjoyable and to make myself a better person. I want my life to be simpler, happier and healthier. First of all I need to lose weight. My starting weight was 220 lbs. I am down to 208. I had lost 15 pounds then gained 4 back and then lost 1 more. So here I am at 208 lbs. My goal is to get down to somewhere around 130 lbs but I will be extremely happy if I can get anywhere even close to that. I am also working on my depression and seeing a therapist. I almost feel like I am doing more for myself on my own than my therapist actually is but I will see how it goes.
I signed my divorce papers on Friday and my divorce should be final soon. I have mixed feelings. In a way it is like a relief. It is finally over after being broken up since November of 2009 and my husband was doing anything in his power to stop the divorce from happening but he has finally agreed. But I am also feeling sad because I do love him.... and it sucks that it had to end in divorce. I am thankful we are getting along and right now I have to focus on my life and making my daughter into a good happy healthy person. I am dating Sandy who is a girl and we are doing pretty good right now. We had some problems in the past and most of our problems right now are just lack of trust. I am confident we can get through this but when I make goals and plans for my life they need to be for ME and my daughter not anyone else. I was so low and felt like nothing good could happen to me. I am 26 about to be 27 years old and I have felt like I wasted my life and now I can never have anything I want(ed). I was wrong. I CAN do this.  I just need to get a place to live and get a job for now. Most of my bad credit will be falling off soon and once I get everything figured out I will start paying off the newest stuff. Eventually in a few years I should be at a situation where I can buy a house in the country it will be great. I have alot more to say and I will say it later because I have to go.