Saturday, August 30, 2008

Surf's up!

So today I had my first surfing lesson, and I have to say it was a little scary at first. I didn't know you were supposed to jump off the board before you get to shore, and I rode all the way to the sand on my knees instead of standing on the board (which I later learned is a big no-no). Yea I think I almost died. (Not really, but I almost got hit in the head with my board.) But seriously...it's kind of scary because once you're on that wave, you're at it's mercy. I have a great respect for the ocean because it's actually pretty dangerous when you stop and think about it.

Once I got over my near-death experience, I was able to get back on it. I fell down a bunch of times, but it was fun and I definitely want to try again.

On the way back to the surf shop, we were dragging our boards along the coast, and I stepped on something that hurt my foot. At first I thought it was a rock or something, but when I looked down guess what I saw....a BEE! First of all, wtf is a BEE doing on the ocean coast? Bees don't belong on the beach! Secondly, out of that whole huge beach with all of those people there, how did I manage to be the one who stepped on it?

After we returned our gear, Cristina and I walked a few blocks to The Stand. It's a cute little vegan restaurant that I heard about from a coworker last week. It's funny that this place has apparently been in business since the 70's, but I didn't find it when I did an online search for "vegetarian restaurants" in Laguna (they don't have a website or even an online menu). It must be a good place if they are able to survive that long without advertising. I guess word of mouth can work in some cases. We had a hummus and guacamole pita with a salad that had romaine lettuce and about 3 different kinds of sprouts. The lemon herb vinaigrette was pretty tasty. We got a strawberry/kiwi shake made with almond milk (though it tasted more like bananas to me). Everything was fresh and good. I would like to go back and try something else next time.

Have I mentioned that I love living here?

Friday, August 29, 2008

Messy Mikes

So here is my first meal post. I made some Messy Mikes (Sloppy Joes) for dinner tonight. I got the recipe from chooseveg.com, but I believe it was originally from "Vegan Vittles." It's basically tempeh and onions sauteed in olive oil with some Bragg's Aminos, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, and mustard. I put it on some 7 grain sprouted bread (toasted) with brown mustard, pickles and sprinkled with ground flax seed for good measure.

I ate my Messy Mike with some kettle chips, carrots, celery, and some ranch dip that I made from silken tofu.

Everything turned out pretty tasty and Cristina agreed. I will definitely make this again because it was quick and easy to prepare. I probably won't put as much Braggs in it though, because it was a little too salty for my taste.

For dessert, I added some nectarine to plain Greek style yogurt with ground flax seed.

A fresh start

I've been addicted to reading vegan and bento blogs lately, and I figured that I'd try my hand at a little blog of my own. So here's the thing, I'm not a vegan, but I have been a vegetarian for 3 years now. I don't eat any meat or meat products (gelatin, lard, etc), and when I buy eggs or milk, I make sure to get the free range, vegetarian-fed, organic products whenever possible. I've toyed with the idea of transitioning into hardcore veganism, but I'm not sure if ready for that. I love dairy and eggs, so I don't think it’ll be easy to completely give them up yet. Being vegan is hard, and I feel like I need to do some research in order to be able to healthfully get all of the required protein and nutrients into my diet. With that said, all of these vegan blogs I’ve been reading make everything look so wonderful, so I’d like to add more vegan meals into my diet. I've decided to create this blog to help motivate myself in this quest. I will be uploading the vegetarian/vegan things I eat/cook (veg) as well as my random musings and things going on in my life (stuff).


I've also just ordered one of these nifty lunch boxes from Lunchsense.com. It's not like those cute little Japanese style bento boxes, but the containers it comes with are BPA free and I feel more comfortable using those if I need to go with plastic. I'm trying to find some of the same type of containers in glass for when I pack something that requires microwaving. I do really like the way the containers divide so you can separate out different types of food in their own individual compartments. The set was a bit pricey, but it seemed like the best choice for my purposes. I'm excited to get started!