Posts by fuzzys

I have known people who have died from it.  That is why I would not recommend it.  You were lucky.

You're lucky!  I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, though!!

I didn't snort coke, drop acid or smoke anything as a teenager, and I didn't miss out on anything.  Frying your brain and risking death on an OD each time you do something stupid doesn't have to be part of growing up. 

Unfortunately there are no regulations on free range eggs so unless you have personally visited the farm (we do have a local farm here that you can visit) there is no way to know if the farm is promoting cruelty or not.  Just because the label says free range means little to nothing.  Fortunately there are plenty of great substitutes for meat, dairy and eggs - some natural, some not so much.  :)

Definitely call ahead. You might be surprised that the restaurant is able to accomodate you.   

I got a $100 gift certificate to a STEAKhouse as a present last year.  I was considering selling it on ebay or something then I thought, what the heck, let me call them and see what they say. I thought they might laugh at me, but to my surprise, they said they had had vegetarians in before and the chef would be able to prepare an entirely vegan entree of assorted grilled veggies.  It was a HUGE platter, very delicious and very cheap compared to everything else on the menu, which allowed us to splurge on wine and dessert!

Zucchini is green - kinda looks like a cucumber - and squash is usually yellow, although there are also other varieties of summer squash.

I posted this in another forum, but here you go.

Look at restaurant menus and get ideas from some of your favorite dishes.  Cobb salad, Caesar (I think they make a veg version?), etc. are pretty common.  Experiment with different ingredients and dressings.  Also, these are some of my favorites:

• Grilled/roasted vegetable salad (grill or roast in the oven whatever assortment of veggies you like, such as zucchini, asparagus, onions, peppers, mushrooms, eggplant, etc.) served on a bed of lettuce with a balsamic vinagrette.  Seeds and sliced almonds are a nice addition, too.
• Mexican salad - romaine lettuce, tomatoes, black beans, corn, cilantro, peppers, green onions, and for dressing I will mash up avocado and mix with salsa and lime juice and pour over.  Top with crushed up whole grain tortilla chips.
• Caribbean salad - use the Mexican salad above but take out black beans, avocado and salsa.  Add pico de gallo and chunks of pineapples and mangos or other tropical fruits, and use a teriyaki/lime dressing. 
• Asian salad - lettuce, water chesnuts, baby corn, shredded carrot, red cabbage, bean sprouts, pea pods or edamame, and chunks of tofu (optional) topped with a ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and rice vinegar dressing.  Throw in some chow mein, toasted sesame seeds or chopped peanuts for a little crunch. 
• Thai salad - use the above ingredients for Asian salad but use a little peanut sauce in place of the dressing.
• Wilted salad -  For almost any salad, but especially good in the Asian salad, use spinach intead of lettuce and heat the dressing and pour over to make a "wilted" salad.  Or heat up V8 juice and pour it over the spinach in place of traditional dressing.
• Greek salad - lettuce, red onions, banana peppers (or pepperoncinis), cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, cucumbers, chickpeas, artichokes, and red/green bell peppers, tossed with a white wine, garlic and oregano vinagrette topped with feta and/or parmesan cheese.  Or sometimes in place of the dressing I will pour over a little bit of the juice from the olive jar...  Yet another variation on this is to thin out hummus with water/vinegar/lime juice to the consistency of dressing and use that in place of the vinagrette.
• Curry salad - lettuce, strawberries, red onions, and chopped walnuts or pecans with a balsamic vinagrette whisked with curry powder and a little honey or agave nectar.  Sweet and spicy!
• Honey mustard salad - lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sliced pears, chopped walnuts or pecans with crumbled blue cheese and a honey mustard dressing.  Also good topped with strips of grilled or fried chik'n.
• Beet salad - wrap  beets in foil and bake 1-2 hours till tender.  Allow them to cool enough to handle then remove the skin and cut into chunks.  For the dressing, mix up olive oil, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, chopped green onions, and salt/pepper to taste.  Mix and pour over the beets, and top with feta cheese.  Serve warm.
• Chilean tomato salad - slice up red onions and soak in water or vinegar for about an hour.  Slice ripe tomatoes and top with a lot of cilantro, feta cheese, and the soaked onions.  Add salt/pepper to taste and a balsamic vinagrette. 
• Cucumber salad - You can also make a similar salad to the above Chilean salad using cucumbers instead of or in addition to the tomatoes.
• Tomato/mozzarrella salad - slice ripe tomatoes and place in a serving dish, alternating with slices of fresh mozzarella.  Top with about a 1/2 cup of fresh chopped basil and a balsamic vinagrette.
• Avocado salad - scoop out the inside of the avocado and leave the shells.  Mix the avocado with cilantro, lime, chopped tomatoes, a little mayo and Worchestershire sauce (and chopped cooked shrimp if you eat seafood) then put the mixture back into the shells and serve.
• Mushroom salad - thinly slice a bunch of mushrooms and serve over a bed of lettuce or baby spinach with a red wine vinagrette.
• Wedge salad - (not the best nutritional value but soooo tasty!) Cut a head of iceberg lettuce into wedges.  Drizzle with blue cheese dressing and add chunks of blue cheese and chopped tomatoes.  Commonly served with bacon, but you can use vegetarian bacon flavored bits.
• Coleslaw - thinly slice cabbage, red bell peppers and some granny smith apples and combine in a serving bowl.  For the dressing, combine sour cream, mayo, hot sauce, and red wine vinegar.  Pour over and toss, then add crumbled blue, goat, or feta cheese.

Vegans might have one as a pet but they would not use the products they produce.  A vegetarian might!

I don't have anything to add to what has alraedy been said - I guess when I lost weight my self confidence returned by itself.  That and I started noticing guys checking me out more, which gave me a real boost!  :)

With that said I just wanted to say, from an old married lady, you are really cute and you were really cute even before you lost the weight!!  You should be able to get most any girl you want!  ;)

I would probably go with the stir fry but you might ask what is in the sauce.  It could be loaded with oil! 

I am jealous, though!  This places sounds great!  There isn't a restaurant in my city that even offers tempeh!

And I have never met a vegan who was one for any reason other than ethics, personally. I know lots of "health-only" vegetarians, but no vegans, they're all ethical types (guess it depends on the vegan!). And I must admit, watching them navigate this world while being true to their ethics, at great personal cost, is impressive and I give them a tip of my hat.

Well I call myself a vegetarian but I do eat vegan at home.  I will occasionally eat cheese if I go out to eat since there are no cheese substitutes available at any restaurants in this city.  And I am vegan 90% for health reasons.  Actually people who read the China Study and Eat to Live only read about the health benefits of a vegan diet (dairy is actually just as detrimental as meat) and nothing about animal rights.  I do buy agave nectar instead of honey, but I don't really care that much about bees.  I feel bad that they are dying off, but more because of the impact this may have on crops, etc. than any feeling of empathy for an insect that wants to sting me.   I don't think there is an health difference between consuming agave nectar, honey, or just plain sugar.

By the way, being vegan doesn't take "great personal cost"!  Most of us really enjoy our lifestyle/diet!  My diet is much more varied and I enjoy the subtle flavors of food soooo much more now!

personally, I love squash and I wonder where you got all of theese lovely ones from - I bought a manky butternut squash in the UK which had to be thrown away!

I signed up for a local organic food delivery service that collects locally grown produce from area farms and delivers it to people in the city once per week.  Apparently squash is in season here as I have loads of it!!

The real question is, does the belt have a really long tail that he tucks back under?  That's really fashionable!  LOL!

No, I don't have them for my insurance, but I used to work there.  Progressive has always been cheaper for us for whatever reason, so we've had them for years.  I did have an accident where a guy rear-ended me, and his insurance was Geico.  The claim went fine and they paid up.

Frankly the agent thing is overrated and a thing of the past.  Most agents are clueless about the policies they sell (I've worked for several insurance companies over the years and that has been my experience across the board) and besides if you have a claim they aren't the ones who handle it - the claim will get assigned to an adjuster, who will be far more knowledgeable about your claim and what is covered than the agent is.  Also your agent will not be available 24/7 like a customer service/claims 800 number would be.

I am all for the cheapest carrier.  You can always switch to another if you don't like their service.

CD - your mom's insurance policy would have covered your sister unless she specifically got an endorsement that excluded your sister from being able to drive her vehicle.  If that had been the case, her insurance would not have increased.  If another insurance carrier was lower, it is either because they didn't know your sister lived there, or they put the excluded driver endorsement on your mom's policy.  Nothing to do with Geico whatsoever.

Becca do you buy your pants/jeans to fit your waist or to fit your butt/thighs?  Us pears have to find pants big enough to fit their butt and thighs and then the pants that fit there are huge around the waist, whereas I guess apples would be the opposite.