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Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
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Mike Driver
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$LAYYYTER
Keni
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trying on a metaphor
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Xuebing Du
I'd rather be in outer space 🛸
EXPECTATIONS
The Stonewall Inn
Aqua Utopia｜海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
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wallacepolsom
One Nice Bug Per Day
ojovivo
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@seanesmiley-blog
Quinoa. Say it with me "keen wa". Nicely done. This stuff is everywhere now. And that's a good thing cuz it's delicious and nutritious. I found a heap of it on my salad today. Tricky little grain. Pea and kale soup on the side, sans quinoa.
Green chile stuffed portobello mushrooms, asparagus and a small salad. Oh, and whiskey. Definitely can't leave out the whiskey.
I wasn't sure if I would find many vegan options at Breckenridge Ski Resort, aside from potato chips. The chili was vegan, but I wasn't sure about the role, so left it on the side. It was tasty. Expensive ($12), but tasty.
I'm baaaaaaack. It's vegan month again. Vegan green chile. Pinto and black beans. Onion. Green chiles (obviously). Pablano peppers. Potato. Corn. Rice. Tomatoes all topped with avocado and cilantro. Slow cooked for 6 hours. Came out amazing. But I'm biased. Slightly. Let the veganventure begin.
My last official night of my Veganventure. Shhhhhhh. While my wife was away, I took a gorgeous young blonde on a date. My daughter. A strong and curious supporter of my vegan journey. She very much enjoyed her favorite restaurant and the fettuccine alfredo with chicken (as she should) followed by bananas foster and ice cream. My meal was a scrumptious (who still uses that word?) vegetable medley pasta with marinara. My priorities are my family and that was never more clear than tonight. Like a blast of reality. Supportive, loving and fun. I am truly lucky. Thank you Genevieve for being my date. Your father loves you more than his own life. You are my driving force to be a better man and father. What will our next adventure be...??
The results are in!
One month ago. 31 days. I had my body fat tested. See one of my first posts on this blog to read the details, but in short I was 13.66% body fat before starting my Veganventure.
Today I registered at 10.4% body fat.
That’s a 31% drop in body fat in one month! Dropping from “Moderately Lean” to “Lean” category.
My weight 31 days ago was 197lbs. Today I am 186.8lbs. About a 10lb drop.
While I am really excited about these results, the SUPER competitive side of me wants to reach the 8% body fat level of “Ultra Lean”. I figure this will be a good overall goal to reach for the remainder of 2015.
Have I shriveled away this month? No. In fact, I feel very, very healthy. Leaner, more energy during the day. Still a bit tired at night, but overall feeling great.
Special shout out to my vegan protein shake every morning. It actually tastes good and is packed with the amino acids most vegans lack in their daily diet. http://www.amazon.com/PlantFusion-Protein-Vanilla-Bean-2lb/dp/B0021FEMZG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438367415&sr=8-1&keywords=vegan+protein+powder
Say what?!?!? Edamame pasta with mushroom marinara and a side of sliced avocado and homemade pickles. Yes. You read that correctly. It's random. But it's exactly what I felt like eating tonight. Best part...it's all delicious. Oh, and vegan.
Vegan Guilt
What is it? Is it real?
When I started this journey, I told myself it would be about a challenge. Something different. Later I discovered it was really about control and gaining some of it back in my crazy, sometimes out-of-control life. Exploring the vegan world for the challenge and control has proven to be a tremendous learning experience that I will forever cherish, but something else has changed in me.
Nearing a month of being vegan I am gaining a better understanding of what I am calling Vegan Guilt. Today especially this became very clear to me and I want to explore what I think it is, and why it is. Why it sucks.
At a company lunch today, I sat with my staff and ate my salad in peace, but not 5 minutes into the meal the questions started coming, again. As they have every time I have eaten with not just my staff, but my friends and family too. Why are you doing this? Doesn't it suck? When are you going to go back to “normal”? And on and on... 30 minutes of answering these questions and a complete distraction to the purpose of the company lunch, I felt like maybe I wasn't normal.
Wait a minute? Since when am I not normal? Why do I have to eat meat, dairy and eggs to be “normal”? Some would even question my manhood, because somehow I am less of one by choosing not to eat a type of food. How have we come so far in some ways in our society, but still be so behind in others, like social stereotypes of what makes a man or someone normal when it comes to food?
At times I feel guilty being vegan because the people around me, closest to me say things like “I look forward to when we can eat normal together again”. Like I am somehow making them uncomfortable to be around me, especially during a meal. I do not have an airborne virus. It’s still me. I think I am still funny and somewhat interesting. Why is my company not enough? Are my jokes funnier and my smile more interesting when a bloody steak is below it?
If you have a food allergy, I will not like you less or make you feel guilty for it. It’s who you are. I get it. Let’s eat together and enjoy what we want or can consume.
Whether I choose to stay vegan or not, is my choice. I assure you I am still a man. Protective and supportive of all around me. Much more so than many of my carnivorous male friends. I may even still be fun to be around. People who do not know I am vegan still seem to enjoy my company just fine. The influence of others and society in general should not/will not dictate my dietary decisions.
So, here I am. Sean Smiley. Male. Happy. Healthy. Adventurous. Ambitious. Vegan.
Love me, support me, or leave me alone to my salad.
When life gives you vegan, make veganade. Or something like that. Almond milk coffee is hot. So is my almond butter and raspberry jam toast. Strawberries and banana slices to garnish. This is how you eat a healthy vegan breakfast. As I near the end of my July Veganventure, I sometimes catch myself thinking about continuing on as vegan. It has become a way of life and I can honestly say I do feel healthy. The meat craving monster does still rear his head every once in a while, but less often and can be quickly tamed with a snack. Vegan 4 life?
Vegan in Italian Beef City, aka Deep Dish Pizza Town, aka Pickle, Cheese and Peppers on your Hot Dog Metropolis, aka Chicago.
The smells are overwhelming. Signs on every corner of meats and cheeses. I’m constantly rehydrating to replace fluids from salivating. Can you be vegan in Chicago? You can. It’s hard, but you can.
Want Italian? Politely ask the waiter to challenge the chef with a vegan dish. Maybe egg free pasta with grilled mushrooms and a sweet marinara sauce. Yep. That’s a winner.
Want Mexican? How about a quinoa, tofu, avocado, rice and salsa burrito? Tasty, filling and healthy. That’s a trifecta. Or a simple but delicious potato and onion soft taco with guacamole and salsa to top it off. A beautiful Chicago night doesn’t hurt.
Salads, or mustard drenched French fries always make a great light snack and of course a craft beer and smoky mezcal margarita distract well when the smells of everything non vegan in Chicago waft it’s way up your nostrils.
Lab grown meat. Is it "vegan"? Is it healthy? Is it tasty? After reading some pretty disgusting articles about how meat can now be grown in a laboratory, it is my belief that this is not Vegan. Granted the animal cruelty issue may go away, but using stem cells and chemicals and, well, a laboratory just doesn't feel "vegan". This brings up an interesting question. What is "vegan"? And are there different types of vegan? My interpretation is anything meat, egg and dairy related is out. Lab grown meat is still, meat. I'm not a "save the animals" vegan. My category would be "vegan curious" as the title of this blog implies. If it's the animals you want to save, yet you still can't deny your cravings to chew their flesh, then I sincerely hope lab meat is tasty.
My acid reflux is pretty bad to begin with, but one of the biggest health changes I've noticed since going vegan is how absolutely out of control my acid reflux is now. Even my 9 year old daughter was diagnosed with acid reflux as a direct effect of my new eating habit. That's not true. I've been fibbing a lot lately. Vegan makes you lie too? Now I'm stretching and way off point. The point is, eating higher acidic level type foods to replace more smoothing and coating milk and cheese in particular is very painful and I am actually thinking about doubling my Prilosec dosage. Yikes!
Lil Vegan
Yo, yo, yo.
Mic check. Mic check. 1, 2, 3...
Uh, yeah. Uh, yeah. Feelin it. Turn my mic up. Sheeeet.
Once upon a time I was meat eatin
Got a crazy idea to go straight vegan
Homies be frontin, like bro you must be crazy
Everything delicious from your menu gone, your mind is hazy
Now I’m two weeks in and I have to say
My yummy meat cravings are starting to fade
Tofu, tempeh and seitan
Quinoa, mushrooms started off bland
Spice rack full of fresh new seasoning
Taste buds responding with a signal that’s pleasing
Month of July was a bit ambitious
August will be full of meat, cheese, eggs and everything delicious.
There was a bbq I was at a few months ago and someone brought Morningstar Veggie Burgers to grill. I thought “what kind of hippie shit head brings veggie burgers to a bbq?”
Knowing I was going to be grilling burgers, hot dogs and anything else delicious and previously breathing, I requested these veggie burgers get procured for my sanity to actually grill something with the rest at today's hosted bbq.
Review: They are outstanding. Like, really, really good. Part of me wonders if I actually think they taste amazing, or if I’m so deprived of deliciousness I could eat grilled pine cones and find them surprisingly pleasant.
You always want what you can’t have. I want meat. Fake meat will just have to do for now to survive. It’s not forever and I take some sick comfort in knowing its temporary.
Redemption Spinach leaf salad with bell pepper, tomato and cucumber. Barilla protein pasta with sun dried tomatoes, asparagus, crimini mushrooms, toasted pine nuts, garlic, basil and red pepper olive oil. Mood better now. Success!
Carbtastic! That’s how I would summarize being vegan. You just can’t help it.
I eat a lot of nuts and fruits every day to keep from starving. After some research, I discovered these two things are frickin loaded with carbs. My body is responding to the high carb and sugar intake by swinging my mood all over the place. I’m tired one moment, then jittery and anxious the next. My poor daughter. A pregnant stepmom with hormones and a vegan dad with mood swings. This kid needs a break from us. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
Attached photo was a meal I had to ask a ghetto Mexican restaurant to throw together for me so I could eat with the family. Black bean burrito. Black bean and white rice taco and a guacamole tostada. Chips and salsa to start and a margarita to wash it down. The carbohydrate numbers of this meal is incalculable.
Co hosting a massive block party tomorrow. Burgers, dogs, chicken. Fuck.
My vegan dinner tonight. Honestly I could find a way to live off Diet Coke alone. Which doesn't make calorie sense. Today is the first time I've had a soda since starting the vegan diet. So, I had two. Question: Does the amount of fruit I've been consuming raise the acid exposure to my teeth, therefor harming them? I should look into this.