Posts by folkharpist

1. What is your favorite soup? I adore all soups... potato leek is a definite favorite. But then there's good ol' tomato! Or vegetable! Or onion!
2. You are snowed in. Would you rather have hot cocoa, tea, or coffee? I also love all those drinks... It really depends on the mood, you know? In the chilly morning: coffee. Staying home on account of rain: hot cocoa. Snuggly movie night: tea. (I love winter!!)
3. What kind of hot chocolate do you get? I can't really order it out anymore, because I'm vegan, but I love to make it with JUST unsweetened cocoa powder in silk vanilla soy. SO dark and delicious.
4. What is your favorite seasonal product (candy, starbucks drink, etc)? Pumpkin spice lattes. Good god.
5. Favorite Christmas cookie? Those rolls of premade dough that you let children slice and there is  a picture in the center. So delicious!
6. What’s the main dish for your Christmas dinner (turkey, ham, lamb)? A delectable grain/nut loaf.
7. Pumpkin or pecan pie? Pumpkin, always.
8. Favorite thing to throw in your oatmeal? Canned pumpkin and spices!
9. How do you like your chili? Spicy, mild, or medium? Medium, I'd say.
10. Your favorite cold weather comfort food? Cold weather comfort food would have to be mac and cheese, I think. Or soup, obviously.
11. Do you still eat ice cream or smoothies in the winter? Yes, I live in So Cal. We just pretend it's winter.
12. Egg nog or apple cider? Who could choose?! Silk nog is pretty delish... but I can only handle a shot of it.

I don't know if you're from America, but this culture is SO against open sexuality and sexual expression that it makes something as natural and organic as breast feeding into something "shameful" and "repulsive" in most people's eyes. It think it's absolute rubbish!

Whenever I see a woman breast feeding, especially if she is exposed, I am taken aback for a moment (due to my American underexposure) and then my immediate feminist, natural reaction is hell yeah, that's awesome! How beautiful and inspiring!

Our culture puts so much guilt onto sexual expression of any kind, and nudity unfortunately falls under the category, in all cases.

So I say, breast feed away! People need to be exposed to it for their addled opinions to change. Women are amazing and beautiful creations. We can feed children from our own bodies... it is a magical process. Show it off! Do not let our suppressive culture intimidate you, ladies.  

We are incredible!

If you could lose weight anywhere on your body where would it be: My ARMS, ughh. I am living proof that you just simply can't control weight loss on certain parts of your body. Even when I was a little underweight, my upper arms were still big. I'm trying to tone them! Frustrates the hell out of me though. 

What is your favorite weight loss breakfast: Fresh fruit, or oatmeal.

What is your favorite weight loss lunch: Really good salad w/ sprouts, tofu, onions, beans and apple.

What is your favorite weight loss dinner: Steamed veggies and tofu.

What is your weight loss dessert: Frozen banana w/ 1 sq. melted dark chocolate.

What are your snacks and how many do you eat (times a day): I love popcorn, fruit and Larabars. I eat about 5-6 times a day, which I love.

What is your indulgent dessert: Coconut milk ice cream or cookies.

What are the few things that you avoid: I avoid mexican food, fast food and pasta.

What is your favorite workout: Running a 5k distance w/ music.

How do you stay motivated: I think of how good I feel when I'm fit, but I always try and remember how beautiful I am now, so I don't get run down.

I like to challenge myself often with completing a run without music. I use the time for personal reflection, or clearing my mind altogether. I often repeat yoga mantras in my mind - one, "So hum" where the so is on the inhale and hum is on the exhale. It helps with breath control and relaxation... it also makes time pass extremely quickly, sometimes! As is meditation, you often lose track of time and come into yourself - same with running. I like to mesh the two. 

I dislike cilantro, bad regular tomatoes, frozen papaya, oily vegetables and fried food.

I hate meat. And milk. And eggs.

I adore apples, bananas, young coconuts, popcorn, tofu, all squash, black beans, avocado, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, soy yogurt, dark chocolate, white peaches/nectarines, holiday flavors and any kind of oatmeal.

Hey everyone! I am SO glad this thread is back. It really used to help me, to have somewhere to post my meals. I have weird eating habits, struggling with ED cycles... just trying to get on some sort of track.

Breakfast: Oats and Flax Oatmeal

Snack: Soy latte

Light lunch: Apple, really dense, yummy strawberry oat bar

Snack: Tea w/ soy milk and honey, one cucumber

Dinner: I went with a friend to this really upscale vegetarian place, where they create the menu new everyday, based on what's fresh at the farmer's market. It is to die for!)

So every thing was share-style. We had:

Fruit sangria

A beautifully marinated beet and heirloom tomato salad

Vegetarian fried rice 

Roasted winter vegetables and fennel mashed purple potatoes

Dessert: A little bit of homemade pumpkin coconut milk ice cream, and about 4 tbsp. of this specialty mexican chocolate almond butter that we bought at the restaurant.

Snack: More tea w/ soy milk and honey, another cucumber

Hi everyone! :) I genuinely want to get this all on track. I'm willing to give and receive any support available.

Fresh fruit, dry cereal, granola, soy/coconut milk yogurts...

there are so many other non-dairy milk substitutes, take your pick! Almond milk, hemp milk, oat milk, hazelnut milk, rice milk...

smoothies! Oatmeal! Two breakfasts that are fun and especially easy to spice up and change around in so many ways. 

Non-dairy breakfasts are a chinch. You just have to get creative! If you want something easy, they even have non-dairy toaster waffles and things. Toast, on that note! Put something nutritious on it, like nut butter or avocado!

So many options :) Happy breakfasting.

Homemade cinnamon kettle corn:

• Drizzle on 1 tsp of agave nectar (honey would work too, but agave is better)
• Sprinkle on some kosher salt to taste
• Sprinkle on cinnamon to taste
• Shake it all together

Childhood:

1. First solid food: no idea

2. Favorite homemade childhood food: Banana bread

3. Favorite processed/packaged childhood food: Mother's Taffy Sandwich Cookies

4. Favorite childhood food in general: Kielbasa stew/dad's meatloaf

5. Least favorite food to receive in your lunch box: String cheese - it melted every time!

6. Favorite food to recieve in your lunch box: Cookies

Favorites:

6. Favorite bread: Homemade by my Italian great-grandmother, warm out of the oven

7. Favorite birthday dessert: Really good white cake, homemade

8. Favorite candy: Assorted fancy chocolates

9. Favorite baked food: Homemade chocolate chip cookies

10. Favorite fruit: White summer fruits, like nectarines, melons and peaches - or bananas all year round :) Apples too.

11. Favorite veggie: Right now, winter squashes. Also cauliflower and broccoli.

12. Favorite cereal: Kashi GLC

13. Favorite jello flavor: Jello is disgusting, but I used to love lime.

14. Favorite type of cuisine: Indian

15. Favorite cheese: I used to love goat cheese.

16. Favorite yogurt: So Delicious cultured coconut milk yogurt - I love it over all yogurts, dairy or not, that I've EVER had.

17. Favorite sandwich spread: Whatever nut butter I happen to be into.

18. Favorite fast food item: In N Out fries

19. Favorite kind of cake: White, with some fruit filling, like banana or mango or raspberry

20. Favorite kind of ice cream: Cookie dough or mint chocolate chip

How do you take...?

21. Your cereal: Dry, usually.

22. Your ice cream: Non-dairy, just as is.

23. Your hamburger: Boca patty, lettuce, vegenaise, onions, ketchup and avocado.

24. Your toast: With nut butter, or plain.

25. Your yogurt: Plain, or with granola mixed in, YUM!

26: Your potatoes: Baked with scallions, vegenaise, ketchup, salt and pepper

27. Your eggs: I used to love them boiled, dipped in ranch.

28. Your coffee: With soy milk.

29. Your Subway sandwich: No thanks.

This or that:

30. Do you cook veggies/eggs in oil or butter: Oil, if I have to.

31. Does whole wheat or white taste better (forget health): whole wheat all the way!

32. Sandwiches hot or cold: cold

33. French fries, tater tots, or onion rings: tater tots

34. Vanilla or chocolate: usually chocolate

35. Do you like tomato sauce or pesto better on pizza: tomato sauce

36. Yogurt or cottage cheese: Yogurt!

37. Coca-Cola or Dr Pepper: Dr Pepper

38: Coffee or tea: tea

Other:

39. Last food you ate: Stove-popped popcorn.

40. Weirdest food combo: Pizza crust and diet coke (childhood)

41. What are you craving right now: Nothing much, I feel ill today. Maybe a frozen banana?

42. What food do you hate that everyone else seems to love: Cilantro.

43. If it were up to you, what would you have for dinner tonight: It is up to me, and I'm having more of the homemade acorn squash soup that I made. But if it's more of a question of what would I have if nutrition weren't in question, I'd have some good macaroni and cheese.

44. If you had to eliminate a color from your diet, what would it be: Purple

45. One food other people eat that annoys you: Processed garbage.

It's your last day alive. What do you want for...?

46. Breakfast: Potato pancakes with sour cream, applesauce and scallions

47. Lunch: Macaroni and cheese.

48. Snack: A fruit salad of apple, banana, white peach, white nectarine and a some of my mom's homemade banana bread and monkey bread.

49. Dinner: Chicken pot pie

50. Dessert: A giant homemade chocolate chip cookie with coconut milk ice cream

1. Kielbasa stew
2. Homemade banana bread
3. Cinnamon toast
4. Egg sandwiches
5. Pickled eggs

www.fatfreevegan.com

If you ever want to watch your weight and eat vegan, this website will make you giddy! Even just in general, her recipes are AMAZING, they just happen to be really healthy and low cal/fat.

If you just want to explore vegan cooking for the fun and deliciousness of it, here are some other AWESOME food blogs:

www.theppk.com (Get her cookbook!)

www.veganlunchbox.blogspot.com

And this program from that website allows you to almost instantly create a recipe for vegan "meatloaf". It has become one of my dietary staples. Absolutely delish, lasts for days and days and it's nutritionally off the charts! Every combo I've tried is amazing.

http://www.veganlunchbox.com/loaf_studio.html

Good luck, and I urge you to experiment and cook for yourself. Vegan cooking is so creative and fun! :)

I have been vegan for 8 months now, and it's been a huge learning experience. My family is not exactly sold on it either. Mostly I get called obsessive and impractical... it upsets me a lot more than I let it show.

And, as you'll probably remember, people ask you all the time WHY? Why, why, why... this is the response I've come up with, and I'm behind it 100%. 

I choose to eat a vegan diet because for me, personally, I feel better on both a health and moral level. I believe that one's diet should be as their religion... it should be a completely solitary, personal choice. Each person is so unique, that only he/she knows what makes him/her happy each day. What makes you feel totally comfortable eating is exactly what you should be eating. It is only YOUR business what food goes in and out of your body, and you do not owe an explanation to anyone.

If you put the effort in, and it does take a lot of extra effort if it's new (It's been 8 months and I still feel like I'll be learning for years!) do your reading/research, make sure you're getting everything you need to stay healthy... then a vegan diet can be extremely wonderful, fun and beneficial. If you really want to be vegan, go for it. Don't do it for anyone but you.

Good luck!

Follow Your Heart is the vegan cheese winner in my books. They get closest to the texture and taste of each kind. It will be worth your money to try a block of their brand. Mozzerella is the best I've had!

I have noticed that on these forums, the ones who are most unsupportive to eating-disordered situations are the ones who have been in the exact same position as you once before. These posters are jaded and are basically yelling at their old selves. I understand what triggers are and I understand being upset that there are so many individuals around the world who are being affected by such an awful thing, but when compassion is replaced with trolling around the forums, looking for people to reprimand with the same old unhelpful, "YOU ARE STUPID, EAT SOMETHING", that same response that they themselves hated to hear, and the one that really, really doesn't help at all, well, I think it's time to get off the internet and bring the focus back to themselves and their situation, as there are anger issues obviously in play.

To the OP, sometimes what you need is a wake-up call, but not all people respond well to those sort of methods right? Maybe what you need is some compassion. I think reaching out for help in any way is very brave, and the internet may be the only place you felt comfortable with at the time. This situation you're in is a really scary one, where you thought you were recovered, but feel like you're about to relapse. My advice is also to get off the scale, as hard as it may be. Start working out now, rather than waiting until you are at a certain weight. It will start the muscle building process, aid in losing weight, and the endorphins will improve your mood and body image more than you can believe! 

I do think you know what undereating will do to you, so be smart and don't trick yourself, because you know nothing good will come of it; just stop now before it gets worse. I also think we get hung up on daily numbers, so don't set yourself up to eat less. You know what calorie dense foods are I'm sure. Eat more of those! Nuts, nut butters, dried fruits, natural food bars, etc.. To add an extra 2-300 calories onto a day is really easy to do, and with very nutritious foods as well! You will be doing your body a huge favor by feeding it these things, and providing it with the fuel it needs.

Good luck to you, and don't be afraid to come asking for help again. Hopefully there will always be at least ONE person who won't try and make you feel bad right away.

Best wishes, 

Kelsea

Hi everyone!

I just started working for Whole Foods, and feel I must defend it a little bit. Each Whole Foods is different and unique, and there are some that feel snooty but others (like my store) where you feel totally welcomed and like part of the family. 

Most of our items are indeed more expensive than conventional products, but this is the case with all organic products. Production costs a little bit more to make and certify something organic, therefore the items themselves cost more. No one is required to buy them, but some people feel it is a good trade off to pay a little extra so that they can feel more comfortable about the food the are eating. True, organic does not always mean healthy or safe, but a lot of the time it does, and the quality of our products is always guaranteed. The thing I LOVE about our store is that, if a customer doesn't like something, for whatever reason, even if you opened the box and ate over half of the product, he/she can bring it back for a full refund. You might think people would abuse this system, and they do, but the abusers make up such a small percentage, and Whole Foods is willing to lose that tiny amount of money in order to create a fair and helpful atmosphere for the customers that really deserve it. Whole Foods is dedicated to customer service.

Also, if you are hesitant about buying a product, maybe because you think the price will not be worth the product, and it is something you never tried... ask a Whole Foods Team Member and they will open it up for you! We are allowed to open anything for you and let you try it! Have you ever heard of a grocery store that does that? I just think it's really awesome.

And one other thing that I love about my place of work is the amount of good we do for the environment and the community. We no longer use any plastic bags, except for those available for bulk and produce, and a HUGE percentage of our customers bring in their reusable grocery bags when they come shopping. Every time you bring your own bag, you get a bag refund of 5 cents on your purchase. It's not much, but it is a little incentive, and it helps the environment so much. We also have these things called 5% days where we choose a local organization whose views fit in with Whole Foods', and we donate 5% of our entire sales that day to said organization. It's just awesome. We also participate in Micro Loans for under privileged women in third world countries, the Feed 100 program for starving children and countless other charities and helpful programs. We also support local farms and small local family businesses! 

So, on the financial front, I hear ya'. The only reason I can afford to shop there now is because I have a discount card. But in Whole Foods' defense, I can say that we really are a unique company, dedicated to the highest quality products and customer service. I see a lot of you CCers looking to eat "cleaner" and less processed foods. Well, at Whole Foods you can shop without worry because we sell nothing with any additives, artificial ingredients or chemicals. There is a loooong list of the ingredients we do not approve of, and each product is checked against that list to assure that you are eating the safest possible foods.

If you need something that we don't have we can find it for you. If you have an idea of how to improve our store or help the world, you can tell us and we'll try our best to incorporate it. It might sound like I'm some high up manager, the way I'm babbling on, but I am a 19 year-old cashier who has been employed at Whole Foods for a little over a month. But when I go to work, I feel like it's more than just a job. I feel like I'm helping people eat better, and that I'm helping the world in small but significant ways while I'm at it. I apologize if some of you have had bad experiences at other Whole Foods... if you are ever in San Diego, come to the Hillcrest location. We will treat you like family! :)