Vegan Meals on Amtrak, and a Vegan's Confession!

First of all, it's kind of hard to concentrate on this blog post because I'm looking out my window on the 49th floor in downtown Los Angeles towards the San Gabriel Mountains, and seeing what I can only describe as a mushroom cloud. And it just keeps getting bigger. So prayers and best wishes to everyone fighting the fires today.

Let me get my confession out of the way: I fell from Vegan grace this past week. Sigh ... yes, I ate not one, not two, but THREE animal products.

First, on Friday, I added a can of Trader Joe's Tongol Tuna to our regular supper casserole. I don't know why, but I'd just been craving it all day. My rationalization was: it had already been purchased, long before I became a vegan. And it would be disrespectful to the fish to have put it through all that pain and suffering, and then just throw it away. Right? OK, so also, I really like tuna. So I ate that.

Then I went to Follow Your Heart in Canoga Park, which has primarily vegan stuff but also vegetarian. And I gave in to yet ANOTHER temptation and bought real cheese instead of the fake "Chreese"!! (Well, actually, I bought some Chreese too, 'cause I like it. But I digress!). Actually a tiny little container of Goat Cheese from France. I figured whatever they sell at FYH is probably OK as far as meeting basic humane standards.

And finally, last week when we took the Coast Starlight from Van Nuys, California to Olympia, Washington (a great trip, by the way!), I didn't get my order for Vegan meals in on time for the trip up. I was able to find suitable meals at breakfast and lunch, but for supper, I had the Vegetarian Pasta ... which contains cheese.

Sigh. Well, in my defense, I've said all along (and my husband can verify this) that I don't think it's intrinsically wrong to consume animal products, just to do so in any way that causes pain and suffering to the animal. And I'm going to continue to aim towards veganism.

However, once in a while I will probably indulge. You know why? Because I'm a human being, and human beings aren't perfect. (In case you hadn't noticed.) But I will at least do the best I can to find the most humane possible animal products available.

Now, about those Vegan meals on Amtrak ... I did manage to get them on the way back. They insisted on the phone that I select from three different styles - Moroccan, Chicken, and Veal (I made sure they meant FLAVORS, not actual Chicken and Veal!!!). So I picked one of each.

And guess what ... they all looked EXACTLY the same. (Sort of like that Simpsons episode where they show Duff, Duff Light and Duff Special Brew all coming out of the same tank!). Half the plate contains a big fake-meat cutlet which tastes sort of like chicken-fried steak, and the other half contains rice.

And that's IT. That's the "vegan option" on Amtrak! I had this exact same meal FOUR TIMES IN A ROW, and by the third time I was stealing salad from my husband's plate just to get some variety!

Hey Amtrak, guess what? There are all SORTS of Vegan meals you could provide which are easy, cheap, delicious and provide variety to your customers. For example, all your salads could have the option of being served without cheese. You could have the fake meat and rice, but dump some frozen veggies on top.

You could even have soup! In fact, next time I travel Amtrak, I'm going to skip the "vegan option" and just bring my own stuff. Because by the time the second dinner rolled around, I was ready to roll off the train at the next station and start eating the grass!!!


(P.S. - weigh-in 181.4 - up by 0.6 - not too shabby for two weeks' vacation!!)

On the Road Again!

Hi gang! No weigh-in this week - I'm in beautiful downtown Lacey, Washington, trying my best to write this week's entry on Steve's Netbook, which has a teeny tiny keyboard - actually it's 92% the size of a regular one, but that's JUST small enough that I keep hitting the wrong keys! At least I know where "backspace" is (nyuk nyuk)!

We have been visiting the Pacific Northwest, specifically the Lacey-Olympia-Tacoma-Seattle area, and today had a wonderful time on Vashon Island - among other things, Vashon was the home of the late great Betty MacDonald, author of "The Egg and I" as well as many other wonderful books. We visited her farm and I got some great photos, but we didn't stay long because (a) no one was there who really seemed interested in showing us around and (b) I really, really had to use the restroom!

So we sped back to Vashon (after I bought - on the honor system - two bars of soap labeled "Betty MacDonald Farm" as well as a jar of honey, which I don't know when/if I'll ever use as it's not really vegan - anyone want it?), hit the restrooms at the library, and spent about an hour just walking around and enjoying the ambience.

After that, we drove over to a really cool lighthouse (? Robinson Point? can't recall but Steve is looking it up on the map even as I write), then to an Orthodox monastery, which was nice except yours truly had to wear what basically amounted to a burkah in order not to scandalize the monks. Which I wouldn't have minded except it was really HOT! Muslim men should be really careful around their wives - they're probably seething with heat-induced rage under those things!!

(And it was Point Robinson - thanks, sweetie!)

So all in all a very nice vacation. Tomorrow morning we climb aboard the Coast Starlight and head back to good ol' Southern Cal.

And then ... there WILL be a weigh-in. (Shudder ... !!!)

Git along, little bloggie!

Dear Blog,

So sorry to give you so little attention this week! Especially since I had a LOSS - a big one, 3.4 pounds! Whoopee!

But you see, Steve P. and I are preparing for our Big! Summer! Vacation! And frankly, I'm kinda stressing out, what with running this way and that, trying to get all the little last-minute details worked out.

And not always succeeding. For example, I tried to arrange for a vegan meal on the train (we're taking the Coast Starlight up to Olympia, Washington - did I mention that? No? Sorry!). But unfortunately you're supposed to call them 72 hours before the train departs - and silly me, I waited till an unpardonably late 69 hours!

So on the trip up, I'll just have to forage for myself. I'm not really worried - a loaf of wheat bread, some peanut butter and jelly, some soup mix, and some powdered soy milk, and I'll be just fine. I figure they'll have fresh fruit at breakfast.

And coffee. I could probably live for 36 hours on a steady stream of coffee!

Anyway, Blog, as I said, sorry about the short entry. Next week will probably be a little sparse as well, since we'll still be on the road. But Steve's taking his Netbook, so I may be able to post some nifty photos!

Take care, little Blog (and all the millions of readers thereof) - have a great week!

Love,

The Curvy Catholic

No fat Vegans? Who told you that???

OK, so a few weeks ago I became a Vegan, which means I no longer eat anything with animal products in it, if I can avoid it.

Occasionally I use the "non-dairy" creamer at work, which does have casein in it - derived from milk, which makes me wonder how they can get away with calling it "non-dairy".

But I digress! The point of this blog post is, I somehow got the idea that just "going vegan" would automatically result in a fantastic weight loss.

Instead, I've GAINED almost a total of 5 pounds! (Including this past Saturday's weight gain of 2.4 pounds!!!)

However, after sitting down and reflecting on it, I've FINALLY realized where I went wrong.

Turns out it is, after all, quite possible to "go vegan" and still lose weight. See, I'd stopped counting my "Weight Watchers POINTS" every day, and once I did, I was shocked to find out just how much fat I'd been eating.

The Tofurky sandwich on sprouted whole wheat bread was fine - till I added the Vegenaise! Fat City!

And the vanilla soy milk? Terrific! Till I started chugging two or three bottles a day!

The good news is that I made a couple of resolution - to track my POINTS every day this week, and to get on the treadmill at least 3 times this week - and so far I've stuck to them.

And this morning's UNOFFICIAL weigh-in on our bathroom scales shows that it's working!

If I can just sustain my resolutions the rest of the week, I am pretty sure - not 100%, but, let's say 85.5% sure - that next Saturday I'll finally see a fairly dramatic loss, once again.

Up Oh!

Since my husband loves my puns – or at least CLAIMS to – this week's blog title is just for him.

Because – whoops – somehow I managed to go back UP two pounds – back at 182. OH no! (Up Oh! Get it? Wink, nudge, smirk. Don't make me explain it!)

Oh well, I'm not really worried. The nice thing about doing a weekly weigh-in is that I almost always have a pretty good idea of what's going on and what needs to be fixed.

Last week I didn't really exercise enough. So this week I will hit the treadmill (in the evenings, rather than early mornings) and see if that makes the difference. I predict a loss of AT LEAST 3 pounds next week.

If not – well, worst-case scenario, I'll have to come up with another pun!

And I KNOW you don't want THAT to happen – right? (Nyuk nyuk!)

On a lighter note, we went to yet another great vegan restaurant yesterday - Bodhi Tree in Huntington Beach. We were visiting Steve's brother Joe and his wife Deb.

The four of us enjoyed a great lunch (I had the sweet & sour "pork" – mmm!) and had a great time meandering up to the end of the pier and back afterwards. If you're ever in Southern California, I highly recommend it – it's a lot of fun!



And the weather cooperated by being only in the 80's. Gorgeous!

This morning hasn't been too shabby either. There was a beautiful sunrise this morning – lots of high, fluffy clouds turning various shades of pink, orange and read. Almost made it worth getting up to go to work.

(ALMOST!)

Whew - that was a close one!

OK, whew! After last week's devastating gain of almost 3 pounds, I re-lost 1.8 pounds this week.

So I'm feeling better now.

But I think most people who've lost a substantial amount of weight have this fear, deep in their hearts, that one morning they're going to wake up after a really good night's sleep and WHOMP! All the weight came back, and brought its little friends.

But that hasn't happened (yet!). And one of the reasons I continue going to Weight Watchers every week, same time, same place, is that I really believe the "accountability factor" (i.e., paying someone else to weigh me so I can't cheat) makes me psychologically less likely to slack off and go back to binge eating.

In other news:

1. Following the sad demise of "It Figures" (the better-than-Curves gym in Sherman Oaks which went under almost immediately after I'd joined ... just a coincidence, I'm sure!), I snagged one of their treadmills at the RIDICULOUSLY low price of $200.00. Seriously, this is a QUALITY piece of equipment! It's out in our backyard and Steve and I are both putting it to good use.

And Princess likes to sleep on it when it's unplugged, so it's fun for the whole family (nyuk nyuk!)

2. Don't know why I didn't mention this in the blog before this, but a few weeks ago I joined ! I've already given the first two speeches out of the Competent Communicator Manual.

In Speech #1, the "Ice Breaker", I described and contrasted the four major changes going on in my life recently - the impending job loss and the premenopause (negative) and the weight loss and switch to veganism (positive).

In Speech #2, "Organize Your Speech", I described the "Three Tools for Permanent Weight Loss" (in case you're interested, they're Exercise, Healthy Foods, and .Accountability).

Both times I came home with the "Best Speech" ribbon! (Of course, the second time, I was the only actual speech maker. But hey, I'll take what I can get!)

I've already started doing research for Speech #3, "Get to the Point" - tentative subject is Internet Scams and how to recognize them.

So if any aspiring scam artists out there would like to give me some real-life examples, just leave them in the Comments section. I usually erase them, but this time I'll leave them there and mock you for them next week! So go nuts!

Whoops! Almost forgot to blog today!

Maybe that's because I had a GAIN this week - 2.8 pounds!!!!

Whoa, yeah, that's kinda my reaction too.

Almost 3 pounds? Where the h-e-double-toothpicks did THAT come from?

Honestly, I have absolutely no idea.

Flora, the Weight Watchers leader who weighed me in, said I was probably "retaining fluids". I must have retained a whole koi pond or something, because that's quite a chunk o' fluids!

Oh well, I'm sticking to my plan and lifestyle choices anyway! So there, body!! (nyahh!!)