The black hole aka pantry

I’m sure you all have been in this kind of crisis that being the pantry death stare. The many moments in the day you have a staring contest with your pantry each of you willing the other to blink first and say uncle. Even when you just made the dutiful weekly grocery trip to once again fill your cupboards up. Although snacking is okay, but when is enough when do we tell ourselves enough is enough? This is something I’ve always struggled with in combination between sports and making it through school I was a never ending garbage disposal. As I got older my personal image came creeping back taking me back to my pre pubescent era that I hoped I’d never go back to. With instagram models and image overall being a huge factor in our society it’s easy to fall once again down the rabbit hole. So after eating my way through 28 Oreos in one seating. I wanted to brain storm the ways we can prevent over snacking and get that food coma of regret. So compiling a list that works for me so this isn’t for everyone; which is my one caviot.

For me distractions are always the best and I’m currently working on one of those ambassador programs and also finalizing photos from recent trips. Once again you would think those would prevent getting caught in the cookie jar.

Next is believe it or not getting some extra carbs in during your meals which vegans don’t really have an issue with but it gets you through most the evening. Most important though do not eat 3 hours before bed as you’re stiring a pot that you don’t need upset when you’re trying to sleep.

Lastly have someone to hold you accountable and also circled back to distractions. You are less likely to make the trip to the fridge, cupboard, and or pantry when you with someone.

This was a brief post in between getting my life together after work travels so stay tuned for something more in depth coming up.

Insert something Oreo related here..

Veg-No

You know I life there’s just some rabbit holes that are acceptable to go down and some that you should plainly should not. For example planning future trips to a faraway oasis is okay. Looking up both vegan and truth in the same sentence not a good idea. With this blog the hope is to focus the randomness information I have and also the burning questions that not only I have, but also everyone else’s.

I suppose keeping with the food theme from my last post. I will give a general idea of my morning/ general what I consume in a day list; since a lot of people dig that kind of thing.

4am: I typically don’t eat first thing in the morning partially due to the fact I’m still waking up and I’m not necessarily hungry enough to warrant eating such a heavy meal.

6am: I finally after 2 cups of iced coffee (don’t judge I’m a 20 something and yes I’m rounding down adult) I finally open up my premade smoothie bowl from the night before and I tend to be protein heavy here since I won’t eat until close to 11 or 12.

Protein Bowl:

Kale/ Arugula generous handful

Frozen mixed berries ehh nice shake?

2 frozen bananas

Scoop pea protein

Turmeric

Black pepper

12pm: lunch is fairly lite since I don’t want to be bogged down I stick to a salad and or sandwich of tahini and peanut butter and banana.

5pm: some Buddha with a lentil or wild rice base mixed greens and vegetables with black beans or chickpeas.

Night time snack of apples and peanut butter.

Honestly I wish I could say that’s everything I have in a day, but here’s the thing #cheatdayeveryday. When you work in environment where you are constantly surrounded by food and it’s part of your career things happen. Though I am not opposed to see what others do when they are around temptation everyday from that dreaded donut box in the office to serving pastries.

Until next time

The Vegan Truth

When I opened this chapter in my life I was finishing my bachelors, working three jobs and just swimming into the deep end of life. What everyone warned me about was how expensive it will be and just the overall question of “why?” In the overall grand scheme of things I can’t tell you why since it all goes hand in hand with ethical reason and personal ones of my own. But after going vegetarian for a minute then vegan and back to meat and riding that wave of destruction and not to mention the havoc it had on my body. I’ve now turned back a few pages and went back to veganism since that was the only part in my close past that I actually felt great. What none of the forms or websites really tell you is the balance and structure it takes and contrary to popular belief that in reality you aren’t spending nearly as much when you’re buying whole foods for a well rounded meal than when you are incorporating meat and other byproducts in your meals. So if you read that anywhere it’s a total lie. What I’ve found is taking to a budget because get real we aren’t the Kardashians and have to do more than just breath air to earn a living. Not that I’m hating on them since I do in fact enjoy the content they put out. So rewinding that sentence and back to budgeting you want to split that in half or even a 70/30 split and spend that 30% at your tradition store like TJ’s personal favorite and get your pantry items and then take the 70% remaining and head to your local farmers market and get your more essential items. if you’re lucky enough and have a farmers market that sells more than just flowers and produce you can also snag some beans and sauces too. Also check and see if they have produce that doesn’t look so great and you can usually get that at a discounted price since I’m a huge advocate on using everything even if it’s scratched or has a tiny bruise. That should be that for your spending umbrella to start. Next week I’ll talk more of staples and what I typically get when shopping and more!

attached is a link to an awesome place if you’re on the east coast I definitely recommend!