Showing posts with label vegan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegan. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Bay's Dream Fund


Hey everyone! :) I am so excited right now. My love has figured out what she wants in her life. She has gone back and forth between a lot of ideas. 

After the past two months we have both been on the search for our inner calling. What is it that we REALLY want to do. I know that I would like to be a life coach and Bay figured out her dreams as well. You can read more about her below. Thanks for reading! xoxo



To help her reach her goal click on this link and donate: Bay's Dream Fund

"Hey there! My name is Bay Wallis Hall. I am a 36 year old, hard of hearing, woman that's living in the beautiful city of Portland, Oregon. I have a story and I'm ready to share it with the world. I need your help to get me there.

There are 2 things in my life that I'm passionate about and that are important to me- Photography and Raw/Vegan foods. 

I fell in love with photography when I was a little kid when my Granddad gave me my first camera. Photography is a way that I can fully express myself in a way that I cannot put into words. I am a very visual person, since I rely more on sight than sounds. I took some photography classes in college. I've had my photos published for: a movie poster, music CDs, and websites. Also, I've had solo photography shows which I sold my work. For many years, I never taken it to the next level. 

It's time. I'm ready. 

One of my goals is to set up a website with my photography portfolio and start expanding my business. 

Secondly, my love for Raw/Vegan food is my newest passion. In the past year I've made many changes within myself. I have worked very hard towards being a better person and feeling content with being me. I finally quit smoking. Then just last year, I was diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder. Kim and I researched natural ways to overcome Bipolar II and came across this article: How I Overcame Bipolar II (and saved my own life). At that time I was drinking two to three cups of coffee a day.  Kim and I knew after reading this article, what I ate and drank needed to change. We deleted sugar (refined sugar), caffeine and alcohol out of my diet as suggested. 

After six months of deleting sugar, caffeine and alcohol, we decided to take it to the next level. YumUniverse was doing a competition for a Vitamix. Kim joined the competition for eating only Plant Based foods meaning only fruit, nuts, legumes, and vegetables. We researched everything related to health and nutrition. She learned how to cook and taught me a few things too. We both stopped consuming any animal products and ate Raw/Vegan/Plant Based foods. I noticed my mood has changed to be more consistent on a daily basis. Being Raw/Vegan has changed my life.We both have been told we have a natural glow. haha. Sometimes Kim and I will have a drink or splurge and have something with sugar. We knew this wasn't a coincidence, we've have been vegan ever since. I now know how good, wholesome, food can benefit me in so many ways. Since I have changed what I consume and added daily exercise, I've been medicine free. 

My second goal is to start a Raw/Vegan food website and make this a part of my career. I will be certified in 4 different areas. I will be able to guide people, yes you, towards better health and my own health too. 

So how do both of my goals work together? 

With your help, I will be able to express myself with my photography and Vegan/Raw food delectables. My new camera (Sony Alpha NEX-7: $1250) will take pictures of my raw creations and pictures of new clientele projects.




I will learn how to make different Vegan/Plantbased foods through my Raw Food Certification ($500).
Lastly, my iPad ($599) will help me keep all of my pictures organized. I will be able to edit and upload to my websites easily, as well as more research as I complete the program. 


I still can't believe I am taking steps towards my dreams. Thank you so much for taking the time to learn more about me and my dreams. There will be more to come! I am so excited to start my journey. Care to join me? :) 

Love & Lavender
Bay W. Hall"

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Vita Mix update and the "why" to plant based foods.

I've been anxiously waiting for my Vita mix and it still has not arrived. I constantly look out my window to see if my package might be on its way. My building at the moment is locked, which means you need a key to enter. If anyone from the UPS comes to drop off a package and no one can let them in, I would get a notice saying they tried to drop off the package. Right now, I have received no note. *crosses fingers* Perhaps it's today?

I have received the "Vegucated" documentary and the Vega One mix in the mail. I would highly recommend watching Vegucated! I was crying the full two hours. It tells us the truth of behind the scenes of what a farm looks like- factory farms and independent farms. Netflix has it streaming too. I still can't believe the torture the animals go through to be on the dinner plate. Before watching this film, I knew I wouldn't be eating meat or dairy products in the future. I don't like the taste and I always feel awful afterwards. Seeing the animals in pain, was one of the worse feelings in the world and their was NOTHING I could do about it. It enrages me that the majority of America doesn't know the process of what we eat. If they do know how the meat or dairy product got to their plate, they say that can't or won't because they like the taste. sigh.


Ha! Over the past month, people have asked me what I am eating and why. They then ask me a series of questions such as, do you eat meat, dairy, honey, etc. I do eat honey. One my co-workers got really excited to say,"Oh you're not vegan!" Isn't it weird that people who consume dairy and meat products get so excited to try to say, "hey, you are just like us." It sickens me. No, I am not just like you or anyone close. Are people so ashamed they are meat and dairy eaters- but refuse to stop? Am I making these people feel bad because I am health conscious, environment conscious, and animal cruelty conscious? I don't know. I will tell you that I have never seen anyone ask if some one eats meat or dairy and that person jumps up and down with excitement. 

Going back, this co-worker did explain how bee's make almonds and also are exhausted after making honey.  I also know that various chemicals people are using to get rid of bugs are killing bees. Bees touch 30% of what we eat as seen here. I will research what the co-worker said, see if it is true, and make a decision in the future. If the rumors are true about honey, I will use maple syrup or dates instead. No, I won't be using agave. If you would like to know why I say no to agave read my earlier post here. 

Multiple people try to tell me what I should eat and how it's wrong. Oh, you need more protein! I've told these very people that protein is in vegetables (as seen here). They freeze, look perplexed, and walk away. Some people stick around then ask what do I eat. ahah. Lauren explains it best here; she has really good recipes too! I don't tell people what they should eat, nor do I feel anyone should advise me on what I should eat either. If they ask my opinion about something, I will tell them how I feel, what research I have done, and the decisions I have made. I would hope everyone would do the same.

Last year when I went to the doctor, I was told that I am borderline Diabetes two. Yes, you read right, diabetes two. Everyone always looks at me and laughs because they don't believe me. Because "I'm a skinny bitch." lol. I used to eat meat, dairy, tons of sugar, and drink caffeine and alcohol. In six months, I deleted all processed sugars, caffeine and seldom drank alcohol. I replaced meat and dairy with legumes, nuts, fruits and vegetables. My results were astonishing! I was no where near diabetes two. The woman with my lab results, on the phone was comparing this years and last years numbers and couldn't figure out why the numbers were so different. I explained to her my process and she was silent for a minute. And replied, "huh." I still have my results and stare at them from time to time. I almost had to put insalin in my body. I HATE shots. I usually will pass out when I go to the doctor. Ha! Can you imagine?

Yes, I feel great. Yes, I have lost fat weight and gained that weight back into muscle. No, I won't indulge in dairy or meat in the future, as you know why. When you feel this great, why settle for anything less? I didn't realize how crappy I felt until after my transformation. I am not the same person as last year, nor am I obsessing over the past. Now, I look forward to the endless possibilities.  It makes me smile. I have so much more energy and am more motivated to do things. I used to make tons of excuses. Ha! I remember it was always preached to us, "eat healthy, drink water and exercise." Now, I know what that truly means. One step at a time for better health and well being. 

Okay, enough with my ranting. Now to start going through my apartment, less than a month Bay and I will be moving. * squeals* In that very week of the move, I will also be testing for the QE. Oh May, how busy I'll be. ahha. Hmm... what to get rid of? This will be the question of the month.

Delicious recipes.

We had Homemade Dairy Free Blackberry Thyme Ice Cream:
http://www.yumuniverse.com/2012/08/06/dairy-free-blackberry-thyme-ice-cream/

The ice cream was pretty easy to make. I chose the coconut milk option. I used my blender and put it in the freezer. I think I over blended it because it too a really long time to freeze. Perhaps my freezer is really weak. Needless to say, it took longer than two hours to freeze. I would highly recommend using parchment paper in your freezer container and then pouring your mixture in. It was really hard to scoop out the ice cream. It tastes really good. I'm shocked this is vegan!


We made homemade Empanadas (image left). I added more lemon to the recipe and replaced the macadamia nuts with walnuts. It tasted so good! Definately add to pieces of rainbow chard to one wrap. This will make it so the filling doesn't easily fall out. I highly recommend making this. It is super easy and yes it takes less than ten minutes to make.






We also made some delicious homemade soup from Life As a Strawberry. We added leeks to the recipe too (image right). It was DELICIOUS!! We made some cashew cheese to go with it and added some fresh basil and thyme for garnish. 


 




Today I decided to clean my spices. They were a gift three years ago. You know the spices that come in a package? I'm not sure how old the spices were before I received them. Bay and I decided to start new beginnings with fresh, organic, spices. Mmmm... I can't wait to write with our black crayon on the top to identify each spice. Yes!! I love new beginnings.

Oh and here are some amazing websites to eat plant based- vegan foods here. 

Monday, March 4, 2013

Chill Monday.

March, 3, 2013
Bay-Bay:

"a rough morning. but nothing like good work out at the gym and a fresh juice can't cure! :) carrot, pink lady apple, cucumber, meyer lemon, ginger, spirulina power and bee pollen. happy monday!! xo" (image left)

This morning I made the Chia breakfast and a smoothie. For the Chia breakfast, I didn't have any dates so I added raisins and cranberries along with everything else in the recipe (image left bottom, imagine this in a mason jar and that's what my breakfast looked like.) My smoothie was really good and I made it up myself. It included: frozen: pineapple, black berries, blue berries, a cup of water, two bananas, a huge handful of frozen kale, and a little bit of honey. I also brought along two avocado's that were ripe.

I practiced a lot of interpreting and transliteration today. I felt like something clicked. I was able to convey meaning through my signing. Success! That is always an interpreters goal. Ah! I love interpreting.

Also, today I've been going over the past month's accomplishments and trying to figure out what to say for the YU 30 challenge video. I have two minutes or less explaining everything I've done. Ha! It's like my own mini commercial. I think I have figured out what to say. Now I just need to video myself and edit it. Bam! Don't worry, I'll keep you posted.

For dinner I had left over Jerk Wrap mix with Ranch dressing. It's my bed time. Off to catch some zzz's cheers! xoxo


Sunday, March 3, 2013

sunday. sunday. sunday.

March, 2, 2013

Hello all!

Bay & I have continued our challenge. That's right. Our thirty days is continuing. Why stop when we feel this great? This morning I brought my leftover BLT sandwich and Torte to work with me. I of course had everyone working try it. The all hesitated when they heard the words"vegan and plant based." Ha! Once they tried it, they all wanted more. That's right, healthy and delicious.

When I got back home, Bay made a delicious smoothie off the top of her head. The smoothie is called Sweet Tooth Smoothie: peach, banana, blackberry and local honey (image left.) We ventured off to get our taxes by our friend Amy. I can't wait for our refunds. For Spring break, we are going to go to Washington D.C. Sqweee!

After going to the Alberta coop to pick up some quinoa and soy curls, we made more BLT sandwich mix (so good) and Black Quinoa Sweet Potato Kale Cakes. After eating the BLT made into a salad we were both full. We made the mixture for the Black Quinoa but, felt we should make it tomorrow. Plus we are ready for bed. I can't wait to cook them up tomorrow!

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

YU 30, Day 27

Wednesday, February, 27th
What a day. What a day. 

After practicing voice interpreting at school, I ventured home to make some delicious grub. But, first I went to my favorite food coop People's (image of basket left). Yes! I asked the very friendly and informative coworker 20 questions. ahah. I bought some BPA free one cup bags. This way I can cook beans, measure them, and freeze them. I also bought for the first time unbleached parchment paper. Oh and they had Jerk powder! I went to a coop near my house yesterday and they didn't have jerk powder. 

Breakfast:
I tossed in: a handful of kale, 1 cup blueberries, some fresh pineapple chunks, 1 frozen banana, 1 cup coconut water, 1 tbsp hemp powder and blend.

I had a smoothie. Ha! I bet you would have never guessed that. :) *remember when freezing the banana's to cut off the brown part at the end. 

Lunch: 
I had my leftover salad with the ranch dressing sauce. YUM! I just figured out what the soy free gluten free ranch tastes like. Ready? Ready? You know the "Hidden Valley" Ranch packets you get from the store? THAT! I paired it with my delicious vitamin water. 


Dinner:
Woah! I tackled a lot for dinner. For some of you, you may not know what my cooking situation looks like (image left.) Two hot plates (far left), counter (middle space), and sink (far right-filled with dishes.) That's where the magic happens. If you are thinking, "oh I can't" or any other gamut of excuses... Look at the picture again. ahah. If I can, believe me, you can too!!

Any who, I made Buckwheat, Chickpea & Sweet Potato Jamaican Jerk Wrap (or Salad). I posted poned on the Authentic 1-Day Ethiopian Injera: Gluten-Free 100% Teff Flatbread because I was really tired and it didn't look like the picture- the brain. I let it ferment longer than 24 hours. The cheese cloth accidentally fell into the mixture. Whoops! I am not sure how long it was in there. I'll make it tomorrow and it was be delicious. I can feel it. I ate the Buckwheat- Chickpea dish as a salad and added ranch. Yum!

The Buckwheat was so easy to make. They look like cute little hearts before they are soaked and cooked. When I made chickpeas for the first time, I used the rice cooker which was super fast. This time I wanted to see if I could make it on the hot plates. Success!! I was paranoid that I was going to burn one of the chickpeas and ruin it. Paranoia went out the window. Comparing the rice cooker to the hot plate, the ricer cooker was faster but the chickpeas were really dense and hard (perfect for hummus since you blend the chickpeas), and the hot plate was perfection. Oh! The chickpeas made popping noises too while it cooked. My guess is the skins were popping off, but I am not really sure.

I didn't have a steamer for the kale and sweet potato so I used a strainer instead. Ha! My first time steaming vegetables and it wasn't too hard. Except, Bay told me next time I should use the bigger pot next time and the process will be faster. Doh!


Dessert:
What, I made dessert too? Oh, yes I did. And I made a few mistakes in this recipe Blueberry Pie Chia Pudding (to the left, to the left.) 

I blended all of the ingredients together and added the chia seeds and put it in the refrigerator as I was working on the dinner. 
After about thirty minutes,  I had a feeling it would be finished. I ventured over to the fridge and all the chia seeds didn't expand. I was very perplexed onto why this would happen. Then I scooped out some seeds and sure enough they were not chia seeds. They were quinoa seeds! HA! Luckily,  I was making extra ranch dressing. I already had cashews, soaked and ready. 


Today, I was looking at Facebook and found a cool, all natural, cleaner - recipe seen here. I can't wait to make this (image above, left). Now my cat won't be digesting any chemicals while I clean; he is everywhere in my studio.  Also I found a cool way to have a garden without a raised bed here (image above, right.) The only problem is the metal leaking into your food. So I thought, why not get heavy duty BPA free plastic and line it. I am going to try to convince my dad to help me make it. 



Tuesday, February 26, 2013

YU 30, Day 26

Tuesday, February, 26th

Hello all! Today was a very interesting day. I had a lot of energy. While on the bus I received notification that my teacher is sick and class was canceled. I hopped off the bus to transfer back home and found out I have a group meeting at school. Doh! I am still not used to my iphone calendar. 

Last night before I went to bed I prepared this...


Kim's Homemade Vitamin Water: 

Water filled up in a mason jar with a handful of frozen: blackberries, raspberries, strawberries & rhubarb, with one thinly sliced: lemon, zucchini (it was supposed to be cucumber. but still tastes delicious.) & kiwi. 
Put the mason jar in the refrigerator overnight or 4-6 hours (add ice for shorter time.)

Even though my jar is large, this is a lot of fruit. You can definitely do less fruit. I was so excited to put everything together, I got a little overzealous. Homemade vitamin water without all of the added sugars and other "natural" *cough, cough* ingredients. Bam!!

I also tried to get rid of my black circles under my eyes. I tend to rub my eyes, a lot, out of habit. I tried the remedy with honey and almond oil found here.  Maybe I need to lather more of the mixture while I sleep. This morning I didn't see a difference in color. I think next I will try the remedy of tea bags on eyes.

Breakfast: 
Smoothie: frozen strawberry (1 cup) & banana (when freezing banana's break them in half. they blend better.), Maca powder (1 tbsp) with homemade almond milk (1 cup) - blend.

Lunch:  
Leftover buckwheat pancakes. I had my friends try it at school. They looked terrified of this round, brown, food item. They took one look at it and made an instinctual decision to not like it. After they had a bite, there faces lit up and with an unanimous response of "that's delicious. what's in it again?"


Dinner: 
Salad which entails:  chopped: lettuce, mixed greens & purple onion, two tomatoes, one large orange pepper, almonds diced 1/4 cup, topped with homemade Ranch dressing(middle image.) The ranch dressing is soooooo good!! It tastes just like the packet from the store. Trust. 

Tonight I am soaking a lot of different things. In the last image, I am soaking cashews (sm. round jar), cashews & sunflower seeds (sm. square jar), chick peas (metal bowl), buckwheat whole grain (blue bowl), and teff flour (cheese cloth). Tomorrow I am going to tackle these three recipes: Buckwheat, Chickpea & Sweet Potato Jamaican Jerk Wrap (or Salad), Blueberry Pie Chai Pudding and Authentic 1-Day Ethiopian Injera: Gluten-Free 100% Teff Flatbread, which requires soaked legumes, nuts and flour.

*Random fact: Did you know that a peanut is not a nut? It is a legume.*


After going to the coop today, I've decided that I am going to start bringing my measuring utensils with me. It's really hard to guess how much a cup of flour is versus beans. The volume of each food item makes the weight and quantity different. 

Anything I buy from a coop, I am going to  make a list of the different bulk items. Eventually I will have a full list of legumes and nuts tera weights. Making my shopping easier and more cost efficient. 


Saturday, February 23, 2013

YU 30, Day 23

Saturday, February, 23rd

Kim: Today my day was off to a really good start! I was on my way to work and sprung out of bed. I got my smoothie ready to blend at work. Their is nothing I can drink there. I arrived to my bus stop early and waited for the bus. I was sitting there for a good ten minutes and saw a taxi cab drive by. I had a gut instinct I should take that cab. I call Trimet and my bus wasn't going to arrive for another 15  min. *shakes fist* Luckily, I have Bay Cab. ahah! Bay drove me to work and I arrived on time.


Something I have noticed about myself is that when I am hungry I feel shaky.  I am curious if anyone else has this problem? I think part of it might be that I started my period today too. But, the shaking been happening for the past few days. I've noticed when I eat food the shaking will stop within 20 minutes. It's as though I have a built in timer and instead of a ding, I vibrate. Lol. 



Bay: "day 5 of 7. today's flavor is: the pink maca smoothie (banana, strawberry, maca root, almond butter, almond milk, dates- image left) and wheatgrass shots (image right) from my favorite juice cart. Sip Portland." 


For dinner we made another new recipe called Thai Chili Coconut Noodles. This dish was so easy to make! We used our mandoline to slice the zucchini. We substituted a carrot with tomato and sliced both the tomato and peppers with a knife in small pieces. 



Something I would suggest to people who want to try this recipe is to make sure the sauce is thicker. We let our zucchini noodles marinate in the sauce for a good hour. We noticed the water from the vegetables make the sauce super thin. Either way, sauce thick or thin, delicious! I, Kim, love tasting the sauce as we go along. Also, we didn't have any coconut butter so we substituted raw coconut flakes to make the sauce thicker. I definitely got my Thai craving fixed!



Tonight we tried the new Dandy Blueberry Green Smoothie from YU (image below). It is a beautiful purple color and tastes heavenly. It feels a little intoxicating. It feels like we're drinking grape juice. We changed the recipe slightly. We had a handful of spinach instead of sweet pea shoots. This is our first time trying Dandelions. I thought we had to go to a park and hunt for Dandelions for our smoothie. Bay told me, "no, it's a green leaf." Ha! I learn something new everyday. We also found the excellent health benefits from Dandelions too. 

My lovely, model Bay-Bay, showing off this delicious beverage. She takes 95% of the photo's posted. My little artist. ;)

Today Bay and I played the game of what is different about our bodies. She showed me and I was SHOCKED! She has lost over four lb. in the past five days and 14 lbs thus far. She is looking good let me tell you. I used to be a breast girl but her butt, calves, arms, and hands are scrumptious. You can see the fat and muscle separate as two separate entities! I kept telling Bay, "now show me your butt again." ahaha. 

I've noticed for my body that my underwear I just bought are fitting me better. When I first bought them they were really tight. You know the quad butt? It looks like you have four butt cheeks, that! Now I've noticed my underwear lays on my butt instead of suffocate it. I also noticed this about my pants that are normally stretched to the max are a relaxed fit. Everyone keeps telling me I don't need to loose anymore weight. However, I am not loosing weight actually. I have lost toxins and fat and replaced it with muscle. I have eaten enough to keep a consistant weight this whole time by making sure that I eat until I am full. It's mind boggling to think this whole time my body was clinging onto toxins with fat and I had no idea. It's still weird to feel good all of the time, not going to lie. I have dealt with eating awful, processed, chemically based, "that is even called food?" for 26 years. For almost a month, I have been treating my body right and in return "I'm glowing" as our friend Kara says. 

            What I Love About My Cat:

Usually I will, sign EAT in American Sign Language (ASL) to Cheddar and purr, in hopes he will purr if he wants food. Today we had a break through. I signed FOOD and he purred loudly to me. He is one smart feline!

The picture to the left is Ched rubbing his scent and sitting on, Bay's "Lucky Hat."

Have a good night! Cheers.
XO
Kim, Bay & Cheddar


Saturday, February 16, 2013

YU 30, Day 16

Sunday, February, 16th

Breakfast:

A couple of cuties. 

We are holding off for our date night. Bay and I typically don't really see each other during the week. We have complete opposite schedules. She has the night shift and I go to school in the afternoons. That makes date night extra special.


Lunch/Dinner: 

Posted post valentines day dinner! We dressed up for our fancy date. I tried to get us reservations but it was full. I gave them my number to contact me. We went across the street to get a drink because the wait time was an hour and forty-five minutes. I know! Right after we ordered our drink my phone rang. A cancelation had occured and we were next up. We chugged our drinks and walked over to Portobello.

Portobello was AMAZING. We ordered so much food! We ordered the cheese plate. I inhaled mine, so no pictures. We couldn't wait. ahaha. It was so, so, so good. It was all worth it. 


I ordered the Beet burger with cashew cheese with a glass of chardoney. Bay ordered the new Asparagus Pizza with a cocktail. Lastly, we ordered the the Autumnal Sundae. This is one of our favorite plant based resturants in Portland thus far.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

YU 30, Day 10

Sunday, February, 10th


Singing, "It’s my birthday and I can cry if I want to. Cry if I want to, cry if I want to, you would cry too if it happened to you..." Yes, I am still sick! Gah. I want this sinus infection to go away. My love gave me flowers today (image left.)


After that she treated me to a massage from our awesome friend tate. The massage was amazing!! Tatum Seldomridge (Tate) does deep tissue massage at BodyAware Massage. It always feel so relaxing and little high afterwards. haha.

I walked towards the car and noticed Bay wasn’t waiting for me. I panicked. I text messaged her and she told me she was in Mash Tun Brew Pub. Ut-oh. Did she plan me a surprise party? Yes she did! Lol. I knew something was up. It was really nice to be out of the house and see all of my friends, my family. Ahhh. I feel so loved. xo


Breakfast: She also made me some delicious breakfast called Mushroom, Onion & Purslane Scramble. I love breakfast in bed.

Lunch:
I had some vegan food from called the Tempeh things. It includes Fried organic tempeh, served buffalo or barbecue style with kale.

Dinner:
Bay made a delicious Maya's Chocolate Covered Cherry Superfood Smoothie. I know it’s a weird dinner but nothing really tasted good to the both of us. This sounded like it might hit the spot. We learned about what maca powder was today! Whoza. We had no idea that it would pump up your sex drive. Guess we learn something new everyday! Lol. Tmi? Sorry hehe.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

YU 30, Day 7

Thursday, February, 7th

Message to Bay-Bay (signed above): "I still feel awful. My throat hurts and my stomach hurts as well. I keep coughing repeatedly. I am eating soup. Ugh. I miss you. I love you. Come here and snuggle with me. Yeah."

My precious love is sick too! ;/ Sad panda. Bay got sick in the process too. She got a sinus infection and two ear infections too. Boo to being sick! All of our days kind of run together.
I went to the doctor to find out I have a sinus infection too.


Breakfast: 
skipped- slept right through it.


Lunch:

Vita cafe we ordered two large, vegan, Thai coconut soups with their gluten free bread.


Dinner: 

We finished our leftover soup, snuggled and watched television.