Hello to all of my readers and happy Wednesday! We are currently getting a little storm here which puts me in a fabulous mood 
I am excited so many of you are interested in my 6 week core challenge and let me tell you after completing day 1 my abs are feeling it! Don’t forget you can join at anytime just send me an email to sign up and do whatever works for you.I am simply using the challenge as a way to get everyone motivated as well as give you all some of my favorite moves! I will be checking back in next Wednesday with my times and reps (hopefully improved) and will be asking you to do the same! Also I did take a before picture which will be helpful so I can see any changes, I encourage you to do so as well! Moving on I have a delicious recipe to share with you for a quick and healthy dinner. Growing up before I became a vegetarian one of my favorite sandwiches was a BLT. Don’t ask me why but I loved the combination of sweet smoky bacon, creamy mayo and crunchy lettuce. Honestly I think it has been over 10 years since I have actually had one, but yesterday I was craving the smoky/creamy combination. As I was trying to decide what I could fix for dinner the idea of a blt salad using tempeh crossed my mind and I got to work in the kitchen. This salad has all of the delicious components and flavor of a BLT without the high fat animal products. Oh and here are a few of the fabulous health benefits of tempeh
Tempeh BLT Salad
adapted from Vegan YumYum
Ingredients:
salad:
4 C arugula
2 tomatoes
1 block tempeh
2 T prepared organic BBQ sauce
dressing:
1/4 Cup Vegenaise Mayo
1 tbp Dijon Mustard
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 lemon juiced
1tsp Agave Nectar
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Directions: Whisk the ingredients for the dressing together, set aside. Grill the tempeh on both sides and brush with bbq sauce heat through and slice. Lay tempeh on top of greens, drizzle with dressing and garnish with tomato. Serve!
Gather up your ingredients, follow the directions and in 15 minutes you have a delicious, healthy dinner!
Dutch absolutely LOVED this dinner, I think he mentioned “this is good” about 4 times while we were eating. Score! I also really enjoyed the creamy dressing with the sweet/savory tempeh, definitely a keeper.
Alright so I have been taking part in the Crazy Sexy Diet for 2 weeks now and I am loving every minute of it. I feel great, have tons of energy, have been sleeping better, and my digestion has definitely improved! The biggest change of course has been eliminating gluten from my diet which I plan to reintroduce slowly after next week. Animal products however I really don’t miss. I wanted to take some time to discuss vegan diets as I know there are several of you who follow a vegan diet and I would love some feedback! I have being going back and forth about a vegan diet for a few months now and although I hardly eat dairy and fish I do occasionally enjoy it. I have made a list of pros and cons but I would like to hear your opinions on the subject!
So here are a few of my ideas:
Pros:
feel better + more energy (HUGE PRO)
positive impact on the environment
forces me to become more creative in the kitchen
I dont really eat many animal products to begin with
Cons:
I don’t want to be high maintenance whenever I eat out or at a friends
I do love cheese although I rarely eat it because I don’t digest it well
I cook for Dutch who thinks he needs meat haha
it could get stressful when I eat out
I don’t want to be judged if I slip up or accidently consume something that is not vegan
I feel like some people (especially my teachers) have a negative opinion of the vegan diet
So that is just a little bit of what is on my mind, I will be discussing this topic a little more this week, but until then I would love any feedback/advice you all have to offer!
oh and don’t forget to do your abs workouts:)
Have a great night and i’ll see you all later!
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{ 21 comments }
you totally do not have to be high maintenance with friends- you can always create or find a vegan option and you dont have to fuss about it.. as for the cheese- i thought i would miss it toot when i went vegan but after a week i did not crave ANY dairy- it was just weird.. now i crave vegan foods my body just loves them! and imean you dnt have to be judged or anything- just dnt make a big deal out of it ya kno? gd luck on your decision!
Thanks! What made you decide to become vegan?
When I did the vegan diet for a week I loved the way i felt but honestly felt like i was on carb overload!!
I have 1/2 pack of tempeh in my fridge and I didn’t know what to do with it!! Now I have an idea
I was a vegan for 6 months and honestly, it wasn’t that different from how I ate before, and how I eat now, but it WAS a little harder when I went out to eat… other than that, pretty similar to my regular habits!
You can always try some of the vegan cheeses. They aren’t the same, but they are similar.
xoxo
Kathleen
I think it’s definitely a personal choice and if you slip up no one can judge you. My bf gave up red meat for a year and when he recently ate it no one said a word. You aren’t high maintenance, this is just something that people need to know and get use to. It’s hard for me to eat healthy foods because no one around me wants to. I feel weird ordering special foods and requesting a different order when everyone else is having the burger and fries but in the end my body knows what it wants. Gotta do what’s right for you
So true thanks !
I think being a vegan is definitely a stressful thing when eating out sometimes… I know my one girlfriend has totally not eaten lunch because she couldn’t find anything good and vegan friendly. I’d say just eating a mainly vegan diet without “labeling” yourself one is the best plan…that’s kinda what I do with meat (I only eat it like once a month!) but omg that tempeh salad recipe is SUCH A GOOD idea! I’m totally trying your vegan dressing, it sounds superb on big chunks of tempeh! Ahhh!!
Yeah I feel like a label only adds stress.
I totally know what you mean about being judged. I would like to follow more of a vegetarian diet and I feel like I am constantly being judged even for that. I need to remember that I need to make myself happy though and do what makes my body feel good. My boyfriend thinks he needs meat as well so it is definitely tough at times to cook things for both of us because he isn’t really into trying new things like tofu, tempeh, etc.
i think the most important thing is listening to your body and just going with your heart. you want cheese? then eat it. if you want to go without, then do. it is your life, your health, and YOU know yourself better than anyone. and i’m sure we will all support you
Hey you don’t have an Acme in Lexington, you took my mustard!
hahahah you gave it to me like forever ago, pretty sure its expired
We just had BLTs earlier this week! So yummy!
So glad you are enjoying the crazy sexy diet so far!
Hi Kate!
I’ve done veganism – about 2 months. I’ve done vegetarianism – about 6 years. No matter what, we get judged. We get judged by our meat-eating friends for being crazy. We get judged by vegans for not being vegan enough and having honey, or eggs, or a cheesecake on your birthday. We get judged by vegetarians when we decide to have animal protein because our body is telling us innately there is something in it we need. So I don’t think there is way around that, but I think we should all be able to choose how we want to eat, whenever and wherever.
I’ll say, having experienced both ends, that I was so pro-veganism/vegetarianism for so long, I really didn’t think humans needed meat at all, and perhaps they don’t. Physiologically, there is equal amounts of proof to date that humans are meant to eat meat, and not meant to eat meat – read Anne-Marie Colbin’s Food and Healing for more on this. But, sociologically speaking, only two tribes in all of human history have ever, apparently, lived a vegetarian lifestyle. As I am currently doing more research into the Paleolithic diet, I am seeing how harmful legumes and grains are to long-term health. Even in my training to become a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, we are taught that for true health, grains are contraindicated. Grains and legumes have only become a part of our diet for the past 10,000 years, or 5% of homo sapiens existence, or 0.002% of our entire evolutionary existence. Specialists in MS (my mother has MS) recommend avoiding grains and legumes too, which got me thinking, and spurred my research into Paleo eating. Yes, they contain SO many nutrients, that is true. Apples contain so many nutrients, but a Panda is supposed to eat Bamboo. Likewise, the homo sapiens diet is not Supposed to include grains, or legumes, or soy. I’m sure we can – I’m sure we can force our bodies to do so, hell, we have been surviving for centuries now on eating shit and developing chronic diseases, but we’re still here and procreating. But I truly don’t think that it is a long-term diet that allows us to THRIVE.. Believe me, being a Brendan Brasier/Vega advocate for soo long, you would never believe I’d turn around and say what I’m saying right now.
That all being mentioned, without legumes or grains, that leaves us with either the Raw Foodist diet of nuts, seeds, sprouts, fruits, and vegetables, or the Paleolithic diet of raw or cooked fruits, vegetables, sprouts, and raw nuts and seeds.
All the research out there shows animal products, in excess, are correlated to disease, this is true, but are there compounding variables? What about a diet with NO grains or legumes or sugar – what about an entirely natural diet of limited meat, with lots of vegetables, some fruit, nuts and seeds? I’d like to see that.
Just some things to potentially think about as you navigate the ever-changing world of science-supported health. I choose not to subscribe wholeheartedly to any one theory, so am always open to feedback and commentary, especially research-based and evidence-based medicine. However I have to say, 3 weeks into Paleolithic eating, having lost 8lbs, and finally no longer feeling the nagging symptoms of IBS, it’s currently working for me, right now. Who’s to say what will work for you but whatever it is – take it on! Judgment is inevitable, our resolve will see us through.
Wow thank you for all the information I need to read that book on the paleolithic diet it sounds interesting!
I think diet is a very personal thing. For me, I find vegetarianism works best, although I do eat vegan 90% of the time. You need to consider how big of a deal the cons are… but I think you should scrap the ‘being judged’ one right away! I wrote a post the other day about ‘slipping up’ and eating something processed/unhealthy. I, too, was worried about being judged, but the comments I recieved have reassured me that I shouldn’t worry!
The BLT is one of my favorite sandwiches of all time, but your salad looks incredible!!!
I fluctuate between vegetarian, vegan, and raw fooder but what I have finally decided and realized is that I do not care what people want to label me…or judge me for…people will always find a reason to judge or criticize!! I am not a perfect human being and never claim to be…I go around and speak to other moms about how to incorporate healthier foods into their diets and I always tell them that it is not about being “perfect” its about adding as many healthy things in your diet as possible…if a piece of pizza sneaks in once in awhile then don’t beat yourself up over it…just move on….health is a journey not a destination!!!!!
I completely agree!
Whether you go vegan or decide to eat only meat and cheese for the rest of YOUR life is YOUR decision and do not let anyone take that away from you. When I decided to become gluten-free I had the same fears. What will my friends think when I start eating differently? Will it be hard to go out to eat? What if I accidentally consume something that someone else knows is GF but I don’t and I eat it anyway…does that make me a hypocrite? It took me a while to be comfortable in my own skin about my decision. But, now, it is no sweat. I let my friends and family know my goals and what I intend to put (or not put) in my body – and they are cool with it either way. To be quite honest, it was all in my head.
I was making it a bigger deal than it was. I mean, it was a big deal to me, but not to the whole world (surprise, surprise! 
)
It seems like you have a great support system with your family/friends/blog and you know what you want, so go for it! That is one of my fave things about the blog community — the support system!
I look forward to reading about your vegan journey! Or not! You know, whatever YOU choose.
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