Vegan Acne

AHHHHH! Help! I'm breaking out like a pre-teen! This is what I sounded like for about 2 weeks until I realized, it was not going away. I needed to find out what was going on with my once smooth, clear skin. I googled, "vegan acne" and found out it really does exist! It is against my instincts that I would break out now that I am vegan. I am eating so healthy and putting mostly fruits and vegetables in my body. According to different sites that I found, that could be part of the problem. Now that I am not eating toxins, my body is getting rid of the ones that are left. When they are exiting my body, they come out through my skin as pimples. Yuck!

Also, I found out that because I am no longer eating dairy and meat, my body is being deprived of the good bacteria that kills bad bacteria (like the kind that causes acne) in your body.

I took a trip to my local natural food store to find out what to do. I ended up with a probiotic, or good bacteria, that I take 2 times a day. I also started eating flax and evening primrose oil to hydrate my skin more. The result, the acne is gone! Yeah! I recomend visiting with a naturopath or health and beauty expert at a natural food store if you experience something similar. There are so many kinds of probiotics out there, I'm sure you can find the one that is best for you!

The good life

THE GOOD LIFE!

Becoming vegan is one of the best choices I have ever made. Since I have committed to this lifestyle change, great opportunities have come my way and good fortune has flooded my life.

First, my friend Andy just happens to work with author Sarah Taylor, Vegan in 30 days and invited me to her home for a fundraiser for WWEE. I showed up, met Sarah (she is totally awesome), got to taste some of her vegan meals (Yummy), and felt even more inspired that I can do it. I look forward to sharing ideas with her and I have told everyone to buy her book.

Second, I finally found all man-made sexy shoes that don’t cost a million dollars and are comfortable. Macy’s sells a brand called Rampage that has many styles to choose from. Also Nine West had two beautiful sexy high heel shoes that I purchased. Then, I hosted a fundraiser for the Tacoma Rescue Mission and Ellis (Staff person in charge of transitional housing) said that these families (mainly single women with small kids) get the basics but hardly get items that are individual or special to them. I asked him if any of this clients wore 8 ½ and liked Prada – he said yes. So, I ran upstairs to my closet pulled out all my Prada shoes (ok, so I left the pair that my dad bought me and my mother-in-law bought for me, love stuff) and other designer shoes (most look like new) and donated them all. Oh yes, I did!

I just felt moved by Ellis’s stories of these women and I thought that instead of consigning them or selling on E-Bay, these need to go to someone trying to get ahead in life. Now I am 90% leather free in the shoe department – Next department to clean out is my handbag collection. I think I will donated a bag for the NARAL Auction and give a few away at Christmas. I am more attached to my handbags then my shoes. I think that is because I see them as Art rather than style.

It didn’t stop there. I ran back up stairs and grabbed a Louis Vuitton handbag, diamond necklace, all my silver Tiffany pieces (I hate polishing them), and few other specialty items and donated them all.

What a release of energy I felt. Almost like cutting off my hair in Maui with Michelle. And since this transition, my life has improved.

Good things are happening!

Miso Mayo

I have discovered the tastiest vegan thing yet! It's called Miso Mayo. I get the spicy red pepper flavor, but there is also plain. It is made by the So Good Food Co. in Venice, CA and I found it at our local natural food store. I put it on sandwiches, mixed it with soy cream cheese to make a dip or spread. Most recently I added it to my tofu, vegetable stir fry. It is amazing! I love it!

I'm back on track with my veganess, after a bit of a side track to the mid-west. As I have mentioned before, traveling and socializing and being vegan are really hard. I was lucky to be vegetarian on my latest trip to Chicago. When I ordered a salad without the cheese and meat and with vinagrette dressing, I still got the cheese and ranch dressing. It was frustrating, but instead of freaking out, I just went with it. I was traveling with too many people (plus my 2 young boys) to sit in line and complain every time this happened.

I am back in control of my eating and loving it! I feel awesome and am more energized than ever to continue on this journey!

Struggling to be Vegan

This is so hard! It is next to impossible to have a social life and a strict diet like veganism. When going to a restaurant or to a friends house for a meal I am usually lucky enough to get my boys organized and out the door with their picky food choices in hand. I rarely have enough time and innovation for myself. Also, most of my vegan food consists of fresh veggies and fruits which don't keep unless in a cooler. I have this hilarious image of me dragging a cooler around with me every where I go! Not going to happen =).

I survived 6 days of camping with few slip ups thanks to a day and a half of baking and cooking meals and snacks to take along. One thing I know for sure, being vegan means planning ahead! On the 4th morning of our trip I completely cracked! My 16 month old had me up at 3am and despite driving the roads around camp to try and sooth him back to sleep, we were awake! I tried to find a diner that was open catering to truckers and fishermen with little luck. What I needed was some serious comfort food to make me feel better. I was brought to tears (literally) at the fact that I couldn't find any where to indulge in meat at this weak point in my vegan journey. When back at camp I asked my brother in law, a self proclaimed carnivore extreme, if I could borrow some sausage and eggs for breakfast. He said in a sorrowful voice, "We are all out." The tears started to flow again as I mixed my morning smoothie.

Socializing

This past week was the biggest test of my new vegan lifestyle. As I have previously acknowledged, being a stay at home vegan is so easy. You have complete control over ingredients. Going out, or even worse, to other people's houses is almost impossible without bringing a bag packed with snacks and meals for yourself! Unless you like starving...I don't!

So I find it hard to be rude and say no thank you to food someone presents to me. It is also a new thing for me so many friends and family don't know or think I am that serious about it. I guess you could say I instilled the idea of "love food" a bit this week.

I try hard not to talk about my vegan transition too much around people for a few reasons. One, I don't want to come across as preaching or a know it all. I don't want to judge those who choose not to educate themselves about the meat and dairy industries, just like I don't want them to judge me. THIS IS SO HARD! I want to scream, "Do you know what they are doing to your food?" But I refrain, after all I was one of them just a month ago.

Secondly, people are so opinionated! Inevitably the topic comes up when I am with a group. Maybe I told one person in the group and they shared or maybe the conversation went there some how. Regardless when I do divulge this personal and meaningful life decision to people, many don't support it. I have reactions from "Oh no." to just staring blankly at me. I have to give my mom some props here because she said, "Good for you!" It made me feel so good when she supported this major decision.

I am finding the move from strictly at home vegan to social vegan quite challenging. I am sure once it becomes more routine and a part of who I am I will feel more comfortable and so will my family and friends. *One lesson learned, if someone is having you over, offer to bring something to add to the party. I brought hummus and veggies to my friends this weekend. Everyone likes it and it is vegan so you won't starve if nothing else is!

Lara, it probably feels liberating to give things away, even in small chunks. I am impressed and empowered by your commitment toward full veganess (aka total vegan). I found some cute vegan and vegetarian shoes at http://www.zappos.com/. Of course what I need as a Kindergarten teacher and what you need as an attorney are a little different, but check it out.

I cooked all day yesterday to prepare vegan food for our family camping trip today. We will see how this goes...another major vegan challenge. Ryan's family loves meat!!! Thank you, Julie for the vegan cookie recipes from the Skinny Bitch In the Kitchen book. Mine turned out a little dry but still very tasty.

Nordstrom Sale

Nordstrom Sale: Friday was the first day of the Nordstrom Anniversary sale and I set out to buy non-animal made shoes. I did find one pair (Munro, a comfort shoe) of great looking boots but unfortunately they looked a little funny so I didn’t buy them. I asked the sales guy if he knew of any other shoes (for Fall, closed toe) that were not made out of leather. He said “Yes, I will bring you out a couple to try on.” I was excited! Finally, I was going to be able to replace some of my leather shoes. He came back with his arms full of boxes. As he flipped the lids off the boxes, I noticed that every single pair were made of suede. I informed him of this and he said that it was not leather nor, was it made of animal products – “These are suede,” he said. I smiled and kindly educated him what suede was made of. Too funny. No shoes for me on this shopping trip!

Michelle and I spoke this weekend and we both had desserts made of eggs and dairy, her an awesome brownie and me this amazing cookie. YUMMY! But we are trying and loving our new vegan lifestyle (even if we forget we are vegan for 10 minutes). We are miles ahead of how we used to eat so we are not being too hard on ourselves!

I am currently reading, The China Study and I feel more motivated than ever. Michelle – this book is a must read, when I am done I will give it to you. I did ask John to read it, I will let you know if he does.

So I googled Louise Hay and I could not find out if she is Vegan. I will keep looking. Also, I gave away three pairs of my leather shoes and one designer Burberry handbag. I feel good about it. On my way to see the movie Batman with my husband in a few minutes.

Finally, I COOKED, yes you read that correctly. I COOKED! I am very proud of myself. I cooked for almost 2 hours yesterday and fed my mom, my niece Julia, and daughter a very healthy dinner.

Tea anyone?

Following post from Julianne (not Lara!)

"Sorry ladies all I have left are gluten-free, dairy-free crepes." – PERFECT. It was that kind of day. Lara and I decided to head down to the farmers market for the first time today, which has been going on for the past two months and is conveniently only two blocks away from our office! Why it isn’t a ritual every week? I have no idea, but it should be. It was a great mix of everything!

There were first time sellers trying to market their products. We found a delicious riesling hummus. All ingredients locally grown (except the lemon juice)! There were beautiful bouquets of flowers in every direction you glanced, and veggie’s looking as natural as can be. However, we got there a little late, and all the food stands started to close. It did not look very promising that we were going to find something to eat, the odds of half the market closing with someone having a vegan meal were slim. A Budapest crepe stand was the only one left with their grill still on, except they only had gluten-free, dairy-free crepes! How perfect. After we enjoyed our vegan fruit crepes we started to walk back to the office. On our way Lara noticed Mad Hat Tea, it was a tea store she recognized from one of the billion books she reads. Tobin (the owner) opened our eyes to TEA! Tea in a bag? No way that’s not environmental friendly! Leaf tea is the way to go. You are creating less waste, it is reusable, way cheaper, and it tastes so much better. I feel like we have been living behind a rock and should have known about the wonders of tea. You must try leaf tea if you haven’t already.

Whoa Sister!

Ok sister, you need to be easier on yourself! Yes, you have consumed and purchased non-vegan things in the past. You have a great handbag and shoe collection that are mostly made of leather, but selling or donating those things will not necessarily be good for the environment. If you get rid of the things you use, you will have to replace them. Whatever you replace these things with will need to be manufactured and delivered, all which have effects on the environment. Using old things and not consuming more is good for the environment too! Maybe just hold off buying any more until what you already have in your collections runs out. And of course, if it makes you feel good to down size what you have, by all means do it!

But really, Lara, you are my inspiration for this whole journey and I'm sure for many others out there as well. Think of all the animals we are saving from this point forward. We are doing great things. Yes, we have a long way to go to be TV(total vegans). Keeping things you love that were made with leather will not lessen the positive impact you will have on our world. I found a vegan blogger from Seattle you should check out. She makes all kinds of vegan ice creams and one of her postings put it all into perspective. Visit http://www.veganicecream.blogspot.com/ and visit her post A Very Bad Vegan.

About composting...yes, Portland has yard debris pick-up every other week which includes composting. Also, we have a regional government called Metro where you can get a compost bin and learn all you ever wanted to know about worms and composting. Visit www.oregonmetro.gov to see more. We have a Metro bin in our backyard that has gone unused for the 2 years we have lived here, until now that is. Since my fruit and vegetable consumption has quadrupled in the past few weeks I have started using it. Actually, it is quite simple. I have a bowl on my counter with a towel over it. Every time I have something that can be composted I put it in the bowl. The towel just deters pesky fruit flies from gathering. At the end of the day, I take the bowl to the compost pile and drop it in. We have so much less garbage that we are thinking of changing to a smaller can!

composting!

Well, here I sit, typing away thinking about what to say… My mind first goes to how can I type this without admitting that I am wearing this lovely cream Ella Moss high neck blouse (MADE OF SILK!) and my new Taryn Rose silver comfort heels (MADE OF LEATHER!) for our fundraising event here at work tonight. And I have decided to change my top but not because I am vegan but because it is all wrinkled now (however, my new shirt is not made from animal products).

I just could not feel good about talking about being a vegan without you all knowing that I have a long way to go before I can call myself a total vegan!

Since becoming a transitional vegan, I have thinking about the ways in which I consume things. Not just food. I have also been thinking about all the food I waste that is rotting in my garbage. About six months ago, I was with my friend Laura and she showed me her compost pile at her home and I was very impressed – however, not enough to start my own until maybe now. So I am thinking, “just” thinking about starting my own – if my husband is reading this, don’t freak out! Composting is great for the environment and I need to do it. I just am not sure about having my own compost pile. The City of Tacoma should pick up compost piles like they do in Portland (right, Michelle, didn’t you say Portland does that?)

I am going to see Laura tonight at the event and am going to tell her I think I am ready to really start thinking about doing this!

The weather is so beautiful today!

OMG - all my shoes are leather!

OMG…Every single shoe I own is made of leather (except my $2.50 flip flops from Old Navy)! OMG… All of my fabulous handbags (Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Mulberry) are made with leather! Not to mention all the things that I own that are made of silk, wool, and other animal products!

As Michelle said in Maui when we were looking for earrings for her, “Pearls, not VEGAN!” “OMG!” I said.. She is right, no pearls for us! I own the most beautiful pearl jewelry, so not VEGAN! We have to shop differently now.

Everywhere I look in my home (not just in my kitchen) there is something made out of animal products. I feel very clear that from this moment forward I will not buy anything that is made from an animal for myself.

But the problem now is what to do with the murdered or tortured animal-stuff I own. Do I say, “Hey, this is grandfathered in and I can use it.” Then enjoy and honor the murdered animal’s flesh simply for my fashion impulses or do I say, I will not promote this practice and then sell/give away my lovely Prada 4 inch pumps that cost me over $600.00 bucks! That includes my Bottega Veneta classic leather handbag (and wallet of course) that my husband bought me. Can I justify keeping my LV handbag collection because only the straps are leather? Yikes – big decisions.

What about my car? My husband and I went looking for a new car last night and luxury cars do not offer non-leather interiors… This is not going to be an easy transition but hey, why take the easy way when you can take the right way! Michelle and I are up for the challenge!

First, hear me out. I believe there are three stages to becoming a Total Vegan (TV).

THE THINKING VEGAN!

The first stage is to become a Thinking Vegan (TV) What this means is that you agree becoming a Vegan is the right thing to do and you “wish,” you could become a vegan but for some reason you can not make the commitment yet. This was me for the past couple years until my vacation with Michelle in Maui. A Thinking Vegan is conscious of the horrible practices of the dairy industry yet they still need their morning non-fat latte.

THE TRANSITIONAL VEGAN! (Michelle and Lara)

The second stage is called the transitional vegan. This means you have decided to make the commitment and do everything in your own control not to eat or use animal products yet, somehow you can’t totally be vegan. For example, your husband gets dessert and you can’t resist the fork coming toward your mouth with a perfect little bite of chocolate cake! Or, you are invited to your friends or families home for a meal and it is made with animal products and you eat it (then you momentarily fall back to a Thinking Vegan) My legal assistant Jessie calls this LOVE FOOD. She says that when someone makes a meal with so much love, the negative energy of the slaughtered/tortured animal disappears and you can enjoy the meal and not make your host feel uncomfortable. A transitional vegan keeps her LV handbags and Prada shoe collection, but is thinking about how to “let go,” of them so that she can transition into a total vegan.

THE TOTAL VEGAN!

100% no animal products in your body, on your body, in your home or car, and tells everyone they are Vegan! Just That Simple (JTS)!

****
So now, how do Michelle and I transition from Stage 2 to Stage 3? We both want to be a total vegan so this is our everyday journey to become a total vegan! We are excited about this adventure and have no doubt we will succeed!

Stay at Home Vegan

There is no question that eating at home is the easiest way to go vegan. You have control over ingredients and can make dishes more creative than a salad with vinagrette dressing. I am lucky to be a half time teacher. Since it is summer, I can get into a good vegan routine here at home before venturing back to work this fall. Lara, on the other hand, I totally sympathize with. She has a very busy work schedule which forces her to eat out for client meetings and social events. How many times can you order the same salad? I went to the beach the other day at the last minute with my sister and her kids and I totally freaked out...what am I going to eat? Traditionally I would pack a turkey sandwich with cheese, bring some yogurt and string cheese along for snacks. Thank goodness for PB&J and Larabar. They saved the day! Although I have to divulge that I made a stop with all the kids in the local ice cream parlor. Becoming vegan is still a work in progress!

I am also thankful that I have a husband, while not vegan or vegetarian himself, works in the natural food industry and has for the past 17 years. He has a lot of good ideas for me in terms of getting appropriate protein and variety into my diet. If you don't have the luxury of staying home for most meals or having a husband who is an expert in natural foods and often find yourself eating out, you should check out the site http://www.happycow.net/. It is a world wide vegetarian website that has lots of resources. My favorite feature of the site is the ability to search for vegetarian restaurants in your area. In fact, you can search world-wide for veggie friendly restaurants so if you travel to another place you might not have to compromise your palate!

I woke up this morning to an email from Michelle saying that she created this blog and I was super excited! How cool that she created this blog so that we can share with you all our journey to become Northwest Vegan Sisters (NWVS). Michelle and I made the decision to become vegan when we were in Maui on vacation together a couple weeks ago. We quickly learned that being a vegetarian was easy, but becoming a vegan was much more difficult. Cutting out dairy (my god, no more non-fat, extra hot, lattes!!) and eggs was going to be much more of a challenge.

Why am I choosing to become a Vegan? First to ease the suffering of animals – that simple. I encourage you all to become a member of PETA and watch “Meet your Meat.” The second reason I am a Vegan (ok, I am not fully Vegan yet… I am leaning into it, you might call me a Transitional Vegan (TV), aspiring to become a Total Vegan (TV) - is to help end the suffering of our environment. The farming of animals is one of the greatest environmental pollutants only second to our mass consumption of oil. A Vegan lifestyle will help radically decrease one’s carbon footprint on the environment. The third reason I am Vegan is for better health. Being Vegan forces me to eat more vegetable, fruit, nuts, and grains.

Yesterday I was watching an old Tivo show on Oprah and Louise Hay (author of one of my favorite books, “You Can Heal Your Life,”) was one of the guests talking about the law of attraction. She said that to have great health one must focus on our thoughts and what we eat. I have never heard her talk about food before, perhaps now that I am Vegan I am more aware then ever. She did not explain this comment but I know she is talking about being Vegan. I bet you she is Vegan, I just know it. I am going to try to find out and will report back on what I learn.

I am impressed that Michelle is cooking vegan meals! She even sent me her vegan meal plan for the week. Go Michelle! If we lived in the same city I would totally be eating her home cooked vegan meals, Yummy! I have yet to cook anything from a recipe. I usually have a protein fruit smoothie in the morning. Then oatmeal or a Larabar for mid-morning snack then for lunch I go out to eat. The only problem with going out to eat is that I usually have to drive to get to a healthy restaurant (I am planning on walking to work more so eating out for lunch will not work for much longer). Then for dinner I don’t have a plan and usually end up eating a fast food vegan meal (no animal products but also nothing really healthy) For example, I had a pj sandwich and some chips – not healthy. So my goal for next week is to create a meal plan like Michelle! What I know for sure is that to be a happy, healthy vegan I MUST cook!

Much to my surprise and delight, three people in my office just read “Skinny Bitch,” and they also are TV’s – Transitional Vegans! In fact, Julianne made a couple recipes out of the book “Skinny Bitch in the Kitchen,” and she brings them to the office to taste, so far so good!

As Michelle said, we live in different cities and our husbands are not Vegan. My husband hates that I am vegan and thinks it is totally dumb and that this is just another silly idea and that I will not be able to truly transition into a vegan for life. I do know that once you become aware of what the farming industry is doing to animals, you will never eat another bite of meat without knowing the suffering the animal endured, and that it is causing harm to our planet! That alone is enough for me to commit to being a Vegan.

Gung Ho Vegan!

First two weeks of eating veganly have been fun. I have searched the web and found awesome vegan blogs and have tried 6 or more delicious vegan recipes. I am not going to starve eating mostly fruits and vegetables!

Realization: most recipes feed more than just one. Since my husband and kids are not going vegan with me and mostly crinkle their noses at my creations I have been sharing the excess food I make with neighbors and family. I have decided, for the sake of our grocery budget, to start freezing meals that make more than I want in one week. I have also halved a few recipes, although this sometimes still makes too much.

I pre-cut pineapple, papaya and mango for smoothies and stuck those in the freezer as well. I don't have to stress about it going bad if I don't use it fast enough and it makes my smoothies cold and refreshing. Also, when I have leftover smoothie, I put it in a tupperware container in the freezer for an after dinner snack.

No, I am not only eating smoothies now that I am eating veganly. I have eaten exciting dishes like eggplant curry with brown rice, black bean salad, brown rice pasta with eggplant, mushroom sauce, tofu stir fry with lots of veggies and a great vegan stew. I even baked some vegan banana chocolate chip muffins that my 1 year old LOVES. Ok, I have tripled the amount of eggplant that I have ever eaten in a year in two weeks, but it is filling, tasty and good for you too!