No Reservations

Tuna. Yes please.

What is it about the simple pleasures of comfort food that makes us calm, happy, and smile? I’ve been craving good ole’ home grown tunafish sandwiches for ages! I haven’t quite pinpointed why, but I gotta say, in addition to embracing my foodie-girl-ness and eating at the most amazing eateries in Austin, I’m also gonna continue to find a way to make the comfort food I love even more awesome. Cheers.

PS, I’m currently on a No Reservations binge.

National Pastimes – “Take Me Out To the Surgeon…

…Take me out to him now. Buy me some plastic and bandage packs, I don’t care cause my fat won’t come back. Yes it’s root root root for the Botox, if these wrinkles come back it’s a shame. Cause it one, two, three tucks you’re out for the old-faced dame!) -song created by ME! Steal it and I’ll sue.

Hrmm. I don’t care how you slice it cosmetic surgery is a national pastime. I support it for being responsible for amazing transformations regarding cleft palates, burns, and gruesome wounds. Although some wounds are healed merely by a cosmetic change, a can help move people into healthier levels of esteem and rid themselves of some bagge. That being said… that’s not always what cosmetic surgery is used for. A friend brought it to my attention that cosmetic procedures might not be the way to go.

She’s from Connecticut.

Connecticut.

“What do you mean you don’t want plastic surgery?! It’s a birthright of your state heritage,” I say. If her mother is still alive when she reaches a certain age, she will be forced into Botox maintenance she acquiesces.

Friends, cyber-space, no one reading… are we YAY or NAY for the scalpel?

Manifest Destiny Expands

i’ve been focusing a lot lately on just food…in part because of my entry into veganism. but, we all know that that’s not the only thing that keeps us feeling good, keeps us mentally aware and healthy and happy. so, we’re expanding to include this! to refocus on our minds, our loves, and our bodies. now, you should never take anyone’s advice. just, look at it.

-signed

the manif-ista

The Trendy Vegan – the Gauche Consumer

I have been very good! Surprisingly good. I’ve stuck to my veganism quite well. In part because of the guilt that would consume me if I consumed something I couldn’t per me Lenten limitations, but in part because of a mind transformation that has occurred. I am quite proud and amused. I could see myself being a vegan for a long period of time. Or maybe part-time, you know off on Saturdays and holidays. The way I state it hear almost feels so wrong, as if it were just a trend. A choice. Which, I could argue, goes against everything that I believe vegans stand for. For many vegans, the non-animal by-product thing, although calling it a ‘thing’ seems quite guache, but this choice they’ve made is one that was birthed from very real, very legitimate beliefs. The way our food industry treats animals is down right deplorable. The animals aren’t given lives. They aren’t given a chance to exist as more than just things to be consumed. They are soulless. Without a soul, do they ever exist?

The Sunday morning brunch of many Americans would suggest, yes, they do exist. But what if we chose to treat them better, you know, by growing our own chickens and raising our own cattle and housing our own goats (I’ve seen people do it!)? What that make a difference? For some, perhaps. The inhumane nature of present would have fundamentally changed. But for others, killing is still killing is still killing and is still wrong.

Only makes me think of one small technicality-

Why is killing wrong when it comes to animals, but… not when it comes to plants? Is it a heart that makes the difference? And if it is, who got to decide that that was the line in the sand?

signed

the body manifista.

Vegan-Prep

Ash Wednesday is upon us which means that Veganism is upon us as well. I am looking forward to the journey despite the opinions of the many “nah… don’t-do-its.” I’m sure it’ll be hard and I’ll be hit in the face with some really bad withdrawal (mmmm chicken tenders…. mmm oatmeal with milk and honey… why am I doing this again?)

Because I want to. And I can.

So… i’m getting all the prep and help I need to make this successful. Things I know to be true.

1. You CAN gain weight on the Daniel Fast or undergoing a vegan diet. If you overcompensate your desire for meat with a desire to carbo load.
2. Good planning is the key to achieving any goal
3. Supplements are about to become my best friend.

A good friend/co-worker of mine from the past recently went vegan and I asked him to give me some tips and tell me about what he experienced. For your reading pleasure.

“…Going vegan RULES! I don’t miss meat or cheese or eggs or anything like that. Sometimes when I’m out with friends it can be hard to find something to eat. But if I’m at a bar and super hungry, I can always fall back on fries… I make a mean vegan chili and I this a vegetable curry dish that I’m always putting different types of veggies in. Also I have a great tomato rice soup that I put lentils in and that makes it like a stew. Here’s what you need to know: You’re going to need a B-complex vitamin supplement. That is the one thing that humans can only get from animals. On top of that, I take a calcium/magnesium/ Vitaman D supplement (usually found in one pill), I take an iron supplement, and I take an iodine supplement derived from kelp. If you go to whole foods…there is a great brand called Veganlife that has all of these. Other things I’ve started incorporating is Flax Oil for Omega-3s, and I eat a lot of Quinoa. Quinoa is the only grain with a full protein. I like it plain (you cook it like rice). But there is also Quinoa bread, Quinoa pasta, or you use it like rice in a stew or with steamed veggies over it. It’s awesome! Hey, I hope you do it as it has made me healthier and happier… and as a side bonus it made me, like, way skinnier….“

I’m excited!

On the 21st Day of Thanks: Series End

This has been such a fun series to feature. Having to ask so many people about what they love and think about how they answer it has definitely been interesting. From the perceptions of what men and women think about how the other sex thinks about bodies, to seeing how people like to talk about their bodies, I’ve certainly learned a lot (excuse the grammar in this sentence.) But what I really appreciated was that everyone had something to contribute. Not everyone is perfect, but everyone has something about them that they like, and that’s perfect to me. So… 

What do I love about my body?

I like my shape. I like my smile. I like what curves I was given. Granted, sometimes I think I could get rid of some curves and could smile less brightly or more evenly, or even have a better shape, but I do like myself. More importantly, I like that I know my body. I like knowing how to dress it, how to care for it when it needs to be pampered, what it can take… how to push it. I also kinda dig my battle scars. My badge of honor if you will. I mean there are so many things and I could go on and on, some of which would include several TMI’s but I gotta say, this body of mine, I do love. …Oh, I also LOVE my laugh.

…how will I show it appreciation? Pedicure? New shoes? 

-Manifesta

21 Days Until Thanks

I need it. I need it to kick my butt into gear and to remind myself of the good things when I do slip. No one’s perfect. Least of all me. But beating myself up about it wont’ bring me any closer to love the ‘manif-ista’ within.

So, for this season of thanks and of giving, along with being thankful to those around me who constantly give to me, I will also think myself, mind, body, and soul for, quite literally, being there and being wonderful.

My present: I will give my body, mind, and soul the birthday present of increased health.

Introducing the 21 Love Letters and Haikus of Health. Each day we’ll discuss what we love about our bodies and one thing we will do to show ourselves that love. At the end we’ll have a wonderful collection of words and actions that say “dear me, I love you.”

What do you love about your body?

Indulge This!

No one likes invisible calories but just like a boyfriend you can get rid of that creeps back into your system, sometimes it’s hard to avoid them? But what’s a person to do when they just magically appear? Struggle?

Well there are two approaches that work for different types of people. And even then, it can vary depending on the season, the month, the day, and a whole host of other influences that are often hard to forsee and thus control. One is the cold turkey route. And although I have moods where I can definitely attack whatever goal I have with this plan, it doesn’t always work for me. The other is to indulge myself from time to time.

And then there’s the third way in which making a compromise of both plans somehow makes me feel guilty. It’s quite a difficult line to teeter. But as they say “life is too short to be taken seriously and to serious to be taken lightly.” Do what works for you! You can’t be ‘on’ all the time and being ‘off’ is not how you create a long life of health. It may be short… but I want to enjoy it to the max.

In conclusion…

You can have the cocktail…. just hit the track too.

Signed, the inhousenonbooser.

From the Diary to the Front Page

I’ve hit a road block. I tend to have an ‘all-or-nothing’ approach with some things and when it comes to health it occurs tenfold. Example: if I eat one too many pieces of Halloween candy or an extra handful of crackers, I consider my eating for the day a bust and I have an off day. And too many days like this in a row can be disheartening. Any suggestions on how to overcome them? I often tell myself that one should ‘never let a lapse turn into a collapse’ but it’s hard.

Things I’m thinking out. Planning my daily workout and meal plans for the rest of November up until Thanksgiving. I get so annoyed with that amount of planning but I think it may be the only thing to get me through the month. Ack.

In the meantime, my body is sore from working out and that’s always good.

There’s Drama Honey

I was really proud of myself for having found a ‘secret’ to consuming sweetness when I have a bowl of oatmeal or cream of wheat.

Wrong. wrong. wrong. I just found out that honey may be just as bad as table sugar.

The glitch is twofold. First, it’s better to use honey that is pure, or unheated is the way I believe how some of the articles I’ve found have put it but most honey is of course, not. And second, due to how concentrated the sugars are, it’s found that people generally need to use less honey to sweeten their food options and THAT’S the only reason you may consume less refined sugar. Sad sad moment for the mani-fista.

And here’s where embracing our differences comes in to play. Different things work for different people. Some people prefer running while others like long walks. Some people like working during the day while others find the night-time particularly stimulating. And even more so within my own family some of us like eggs, and some of us don’t. This all goes to say that you should use what works for you. I’m still probably going to drop a little or honey or a little sugar into my oatmeal when I’m eating. Complete abstinence is not a good thing. Go without too much for too long and you may be bound to react with a huge binge. Do what works for you, but keep your (hot) body and health in mind.

And for my honey, like Chaka Khan once sang in her song “Sweet Thing”…  “I will love you anyway…”

PS. On second thought, does anyone know of a secret healthy sweetener option?