Weigh in- 109.6. Sadly its up from last week :( I think maybe it's because I've been working out so much and eating more because it makes me hungry. It's ok though. Just got to make sure it doesn't go up too much :)

Dee

So I've been playing with new recipes lately and made these 2:

Tricias all purpose cheese sauce:
2 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoon margarine
1 cup soy milk
4 to 8 oz. vegan cheddar cheese substitute
salt to taste

Melt margarine in a medium saucepan over med heat. Add flour until bubbly. Slowly add soymilk. Bring to a boil stirring constantly (a whisk works good) . Grate cheese and add slowly stirring until you get the consistency desired. Add salt to taste. Note: If the mixture doesn't get thick enough before you add the cheese, whisk in a tbs. flour.

Awesome Vegan Ranch Dressing
1/2 cup soy milk (Edensoy vanilla or regular flavour)
1/2 cup soy vegan mayonnaise[/color][/url] (Nasoya Nayonaise)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 - 3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dried or fresh parsley (finely chopped)
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in food processor. I use vanilla flavored soy milk. Sounds unusual,but tastes great. This recipe tastes totally like the regular Ranch dressings on shelves in supermarkets. Everybody loves it and they all want the recipe hearing that it is vegan and sooo much healthier for you. I use it on salads, brown rice, baked potatoes, steamed veggies and a little thicker (add a bit more Nayonaise) as a veggie dip for raw vegetables. For the vegetable dip I omit the vegan red wine vinegar.


And I don't know about these lol first of all the only fake cheese I like so far is the vegan cream cheese, otherwise they all are gross to me, and I know I can find vegan ranch dressing packets but for some reason they don't carry it at any of the stores in my town (Mccormick Ranch packets) so I tried to make my own "cheesy sauce" and "ranch dressing" blah. Now I have 2 bowls with these sauces and I don't like them lol

I did add a can of Rotel Salsa to the cheese sauce which helped some, and I might try to put it over noodles later to see if I CAN TRY! But I'm not sure.

As for the ranch I'm hoping sitting in the fridge will mysteriously help its taste. Has anyone had luck with either of these?

Erin, wow, that sounds fun (winning tickets). Keep us posted on ETL.

Jill, I don't know about the cheese sauce. But the ranch I think has a chance of being better the next day.

This is the best vegan ranch I've ever made, it's great for dipping carrots! recipe here

I keep some of this vegan "parm" around (link) all the time, it's easy to turn it into a queso dip or "cheesy" sauce for any use.

Nutritional yeast is apparently the key to all vegan "cheese"

Erin- I'm jealous about the tickets. Have a great time!

Shananigans- thanks for the cheese recipe. I'm going home soon and want to have something to show my family that there is still "cheese" you can eat while vegan.

Jill- I love your cooking adventures :) I love to cook and try new things all the time (sometimes they work, sometimes they don't)

Day 7 of 16- so after only one week of exercise I have improved tonight I ran 5k in less than 30 minutes (ok it wa 29 minutes and 55 seconds lol) but it motivated me so much I did 5.8 km and then lifted some. Hope I keep improving!

Dee

I was out of town yesterday and didn't get to weigh myself, but today I am just the same: 158.5. I am actually happy about it because usually when I travel I gain weight and this time I didn't. :)

Thanks to all who posted recipes. Yum!

o boy - well i overslept and didn't weigh today either, but I bet it's not pretty. I'm not doing too well... I need to get my determination back. Only one week till i go home and I want to at least have a week of healthy habits under my belt!

So it seems I can cut back on my internet time but I NEED to check in here - total piglet this past week. So new goal - still cut back on internet time but at least check in here daily! I'm not getting anywhere near the scales until I've "detoxed" for a few days - just don't need to do that to myself! I hope everyone is doing well, I'll go back and get caught up but have a ton planned today! Grocery shopping, need to buy a few giftmas gifts, a bit of work, dog park and then ice skating tonight. I may be in a cast next time I post =P

Ohh and I'm making Darby's Mexican chili/soup and some jalapeno-onion cornbread for dinner - nom nom!!

Fat Chick B Gone ... giftmas? :)

iriswhispers, that's something I didn't realize until I experienced it - how much a week of good habits changes how you feel, regardless of the scale.

KindyMom - that's another thing I didn't expect - ever being happy to maintain!

tigger175 - you are doing fabulous. My 5K is a little over 38 minutes! I'm running another for New Years, and I think (know!) it will be better, but I'm trying not to second guess by how much :dizzy:

shananigans - I haven't tried any of the nut-based sauces yet, but I sure want to.

Iris- after 8 days I feel much better about my body, am sleeping better, and am more energized, so in a week you can really change how you feel and see your body. I'll be here supporting you!

Today was day 8 of 16 half way yay! I went grocery shopping this morning which was a 2 mile walk to the store and a 2 mile walk home with the groceries in my back pack. It was actually nice to get out for a walk though and I enjoyed in. Then tonight I went to the gym and ran 5.9 km I ran the first 5 k in 29:28 so more improvement (although I know there will be days when I take longer).

I'm off the shower and make black bean veggie stir-fry, which is my new favorite food :)

Dee

We're not Christians but still get together on Christmas and exchange gifts so it's really more of a giftmas celebration ;) I'm not a fan of the rampant consumerism that goes on during this time so a bit tongue in cheek also :D

Darby - I really liked that chili as did omniboy. I added a green pepper and a few jalapenos and didn't get the ranch because all I could find had buttermilk in it. I tossed in some chili powder and some hot sauce also. If you have veagonomicon make the skillet cornbread (I did the jalapeno/onion version) the next time you have chili - omg so good.

So ice skating was totally fun and a great workout also! My right hip area hurts like a mofo today though due to wipe out caused by punk *** kid not paying attention but other then that no injuries! I really want to go roller skating next!

Day 9 of 16: Wasn't really feeling too inspired at the gym today. I'm starting to get nervous for my finals and started packing to go home so my emotions are all over the place. While I was studying today I kept on having an urge to eat, and even though I knew I wasn't hungry I ate some more :( But at least I ran 2.5 km and lifted some weights. I'll do better tomorrow.

Dee

Hiii everyone!!!

I'm sorry i haven't been here in a while...i havent been on the comp...been tooo busy lately. Anyway I'm down to 144:carrot:Finally broke out of 145! and honestly its because i havnt picked in between that much because i havent been in the kitchen.. U all are doing great.. :D

Thanks for the Ranch recipe!! :) I'll definitely try that next time! As for the 'cheese', I have tried to find Nutritional Yeast and just can't find it at the store!

Here is Split Pea Soup I made over the weekend! IT IS SOOOOOOO GOOD!!! Like restaurant goood.... mmmmmmm....

Thick, Flavorful, Hearty, Split Pea Soup!

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 bag (2 cups) split peas, no presoaking necessary
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups water
1 vegetable bullion cube
2 largish potatoes, peeled
2 stalks celery
1 medium carrot
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
1 leek
2 bay leaves
2 Tablespoons parsley
1 Tablespoon basil
1 teaspoon rosemary

Directions:
Chop all vegetables into small pieces. not microscopic, not bite-sized, but somewhere in between. The carrots can probably be a little bigger because they're there for taste/color, not consistency.

Combine all ingredients in large pot, stir around a bit, cover and gently simmer for about an hour.

Use a potato masher to thoroughly mash everything up. There shouldn't really be major chunks of anything floating around. The potatoes and split peas mashed together will make a nice thick puree. (If you don't have a potato masher, use a large fork, egg beater, whatever you have and beat it vigorously for a few minutes. it'll be fine.)

Cover and gently simmer for about 30 more minutes. throughout the entire simmering process, be sure to add water if needed so that the whole thing isn't sputtering loudly like a stew would. It needs to look watery and soupy, not stewy while it's simmering so that it won't burn. Do not boil!!

Uncover and simmer until enough water has evaporated to desired thickness (make sure to stir it around to get a better idea because all the gloop will sink to the bottom and make the soup look more watery than it actually is). Remove bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste, enjoy!

Serves: 4 HUGE bowls

Preparation time: 20 minutes

(Ok this took me about an hour longer than the recipe said it would take, I also did not use Rosemary, and added a little more of the other herbs & spices)

Yay CHICKpea!

I'll try to remember to post later a recipe I made last week for a red potato, chickpea and spinach soup w saffron. It was really good with some Tofurkey Italian sausage added - I won't make it without the sausage again, it went so well!

This week I'm going to try it again, but with curry for the saffron, and broccoli for the spinach.