VB6: One month later

It's been one month since I decided to try the VB6 lifestyle (if you're totally lost, check my previous post for more details), and I have had "veebeesixcess" for three of those four weeks.

Eating vegetarian or vegan meals isn't totally new to me, as I've had periods of vegetarian eating in the past and I prepare vegan meals from time to time as well. I do find it important to do a week's worth of meal planning in advance, to be sure I have the right foods for breakfast, lunch and daytime snacks. Without advanced planning, my fallback option for lunch tends to be leftovers of the previous night's dinner, but for VB6, that doesn't often work.

So what do I eat for breakfast, lunch and snacks without including any animal products or byproducts? There are still a lot of options! Here are some of my favorite:

• Mixed greens salad with grilled tofu and vinaigrette dressing (prepare the tofu the night before)
• Hummus with veggies (cucumber, peppers, cauliflower), pita chips or crackers
• Banana or apple slices with peanut butter
• Avocado and banana slices (so good together!)
• Berries
• Walnuts
• Grape tomatoes
• Orange juice, coconut water and a scoop of Amazing Grass 
• Naked Juice Green Machine or protein smoothies
• Odwalla Green Smoothie
• Channa Masala or Alu Gobi with basmati rice (my co-op sells dishes from a great little Indian take-out restaurant nearby - perfect lunch-sized portions) 

I've noticed that in addition to excluding animal products and byproducts, I'm also excluding a lot of processed foods as a result. Eating mostly whole, unprocessed, and many raw foods is a whole different ballgame and it leaves you feeling much differently. I've lost about 3 pounds and my stomach is a little flatter (oh hey bikini season!) It's taught me a lot, too. Working 10-6, I've been finding myself becoming ravenously hungry around 4:30 p.m. If I haven't packed lunch and snacks well that day, I'm looking at stuffing any and everything in my face when I walk in the door after work - good and bad foods. So the lesson learned: it takes more raw and unprocessed foods to fill me up compared to, say, leftovers of last night's chicken parmesan.

I'm still making my way through reading VB6 and I'm learning quite a bit not only about what to and what not to eat, but about what our food actually is. I've realized when it comes to food, no matter if you've learned something once, a refresher is always good not only to help you make the right choices, but to keep you motivated to make those choices. If you're reading VB6 or have been making the transition to a better way of eating, feel free to share your stories below!      

Awesome Appetizers: Caprese "kabobs"

This appetizer really is awesome - 4 edible ingredients plus toothpicks, a recipe as easy as it gets and they are delicious. I found the inspiration here and adapted it slightly for my needs. I was headed to an afternoon birthday party but had to leave home early in the morning with my potluck contribution already prepared. The number of guests was unknown, and I needed something with little clean-up involved since the party would be outside.

What you need:
Fresh mozzarella (one large ball or mini mozzarella balls)
Cherry or grape tomatoes
Fresh basil
Extra virgin olive oil
Toothpicks or cake pop/kabob sticks

What you do:
-Rinse the tomatoes and cut them in half width-wise (to make two half spheres instead of two half ovals)
-Cut the fresh mozzarella into about 1/2 inch squares, or if using mini mozzarella balls, cut in half
-Rinse the fresh basil and pat dry, then cut into small squares (remember a small piece of fresh basil can have lots of flavor)
-Assemble the "kabob" on the toothpick as follows: tomato first, then basil, then mozzarella (if using mini mozzarella balls, assemble so that the half tomato and half mozzarella ball create a complete sphere like a cake pop)
-Lay the finished kabobs on a trap and drizzle or spray with olive oil

After about 30 minutes of prep and assembly time and less than $8 worth of ingredients, I had a tray of around 40-50 Caprese "kabobs." All I had to do when I got to the party was take the lid off the tray. No plates needed for these awesome appetizers - just enjoy and toss your toothpick in the trash or compost bin!

Currently Reading: VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health...For Good

"Currently Reading" is a new feature I'll be adding to Part of the Whole. I love stumbling across a good book - even better for me (and you!) when it's a book packed with information useful to my (and probably your) daily life. So, when I do pick up a book I think would be of interest to readers, I'll be sharing my review. Hunker down folks, this one might take awhile.  

In March, I had the opportunity to attend a Mark Bittman lecture (maybe you've read his food-centric NY Times column or have one of his cookbooks). Just a few days before, Bittman tweeted an offer for his followers to respond via tweet or email for a free, pre-publication copy of his latest book, VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health...For Good (see the Kindle version here). This, his latest book, will be released on April 30, 2013. Perfect timing! The lecture was enjoyable and a good reminder of many topics I'd become familiar with through watching loads of food and farming documentaries and reading other literature on the topics. Bittman introduced the VB6 concept, touching on the conversation with his doctor and the condition of his health that led to his decision to eat a vegan diet before 6 p.m.

Finally, a few weeks later, I'm able to spend some time reading VB6. The concept is simple. I should say that I've done my own informal research on the wide array of specialty "diets" out there (I like how Bittman brings to light the way the use of the word "diet" has become warped so that its general connotation is a short term way of eating for quick results, rather than long-term) - paleo, Whole30, raw, vegetarian, vegan, etc. Obviously, for those of us who are considering changing our (long-term) diet, we are starting at Point A and aiming to settle into the eating habits at Point B. Often, this means saying farewell to certain foods - possibly dairy, gluten, sugar or meat. My educated guess tells me that the initial shock of "I have to give up ____?!" is where some people jump ship before even putting in the effort. Others happily accept the challenge and push on. VB6 seems to be a nice little compromise somewhere between Point A and Point B, wavering throughout the day but generally landing you much closer to Point B than Point A.

Here's the premise of VB6: from the time you wake up until the time you eat dinner, you adopt a vegan diet. You exclude all animal products and byproducts (meat, eggs, butter, cheese, etc.) from your meals and snacks - an extra thumbs up for also restricting your intake of highly processed, nutrient-poor and sugary foods (white bread, pasta, candy...you get the idea). But at dinner time and for any evening snacks, feel free to enjoy those foods you excluded earlier in the day (mainly the animal products and byproducts - it would still be wise to limit or restrict your intake of the highly processed, nutrient-poor and sugary foods). Bittman's reason for the dinnertime allowances makes a lot of sense - this is when we tend to eat out, socialize, have large meals and maybe dessert, a glass of wine or a beer. I'd dare to say that this is when people on a typical diet tend to "slip" - not to say that going from vegan back to your typical eating habits at dinnertime is a built-in "cheat," it just allows for flexibility. And as with just about anything, room for flexibility will likely lead to longevity and success. Also, as Bittman explains in his book, there's no required counting of calories, tallying of points or any other such keep-tracks (unless of course you have some other reason that you want to).

As I was getting ready for bed last night (and I was nowhere near finished with the book by that point), I thought about VB6 and how I should just go ahead and do it. It's really not that hard. Sure I like cheese. I like some chocolate now and then, and a beer on a sunny day. Oh yeah and a good pulled pork sandwich. But will waiting until dinner time to enjoy these foods kill me? I highly doubt it. If anything, it might make me savor and appreciate them a bit more. Luckily, I'd just done a quick grocery shopping trip and was planning on eating vegetarian lunches for the rest of the week, so I was pretty much all set.

So, as I dove into my first attempt at a VB6 day, here's what I ate before dinner:

Breakfast: Grapes, walnuts and black coffee with a little sugar in the raw (the black coffee was a fluke - we were out of half-and-half at work...I wasn't going to budge on the half-and-half and was going to adapt VB6 to "VB6 but after my morning cup o' joe")

Lunch: A honeycrisp apple with extra crunchy peanut butter, Wheat Thins with roasted garlic hummus, more walnuts and water

Guess what? I survived.

On Sunday I run in my first ever 5K - and let me tell you - I am not a runner. That being said, I've learned to enjoy the workouts and the training schedule, and I'd like to sign up for another 5K sometime this summer or fall. I'm looking forward to using VB6 to guide me back to better eating choices as I prepare for round two.

Disclaimers

Always consult your physician before beginning a new diet or fitness plan.

I received my copy of Mark Bittman's VB6: Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health...For Good for free from Clarkson Potterson/Publishers through a promotion by Mark Bittman via his Twitter account. Although I did not purchase this book, the review is my uninfluenced opinion and the choice to try the VB6 diet is my own educated decision.   

Love some seitan!

Seitan stir fry - on new dishes! 

Clean plate club!

Super Sides: Mexican Rice

Forget Taco Tuesday. I am down for Mexican night any night of the week. Given my love of that South of the Border flavor, you are almost always guaranteed to find salsa in my fridge and taco seasoning in my spice cabinet. There is also always a healthy supply of Basmati rice, too. Put the three together and you get a Super Side: Mexican Rice. I found this recipe on Pinterest, originally from The Tidy Nest.

This recipe is incredibly easy and requires ingredients that, like me, you probably already have in your fridge or cabinets.

What you need:
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups chicken broth (or water with bouillon added)
1 tablespoon butter or cooking oil
1/2 cup salsa
1 teaspoon powdered garlic
1 teaspoon taco seasoning

What you do:
Toast the dry rice in the pot on low heat for about 4 minutes before adding any ingredients - this opens the pores of the rice grains and allows it to become fluffy when cooked.

After you've toasted the rice, add all of the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, then turn heat to low, put a lid on the pot and let cook until all of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is fully cooked.

So easy, right? I used mild salsa and taco season and admittedly, the flavor of the rice was a little lacking. To give it a boost, I added a few splashes of Tapatío hot sauce. To me, this sauce has a lot of heat, so a splash or two goes a long way.

Quick, easy, healthy work lunch:

Packing lunches for work can sometimes be a total drag. Every now and then you luck out with leftovers from last night's dinner, but other times you're on your own and starting from scratch. I always seem to find myself without decent options, but last week I did think about lunch (instead of just dinner) before I went grocery shopping, and ended up with some decent options.

At home while I was getting ready for work, I boiled water and made a serving of pasta:

Then at work, I microwaved steam-in-bag veggies I found on sale at the grocery store:

I mixed the two together, put back in the microwave for a minute with shaved parmesan cheese, and enjoyed a delicious lunch!

This would also make an easy dinner-for-two with a baked chicken breast added to the mix. 

I purchased a few of these Green Giant veggie mixes, and was sure to read the nutrition facts before making my selections (since some of them contained seasonings or in this case, a butter sauce). My body reacts pretty harshly to excess sodium (think pudgy hands), but I was happy to see that this particular mix only contained 9% daily value of sodium per serving (entire package was two servings). I think I may need to go back to the store and stock up! Shhh...  

Fun Fact: I took these pictures using the Instagram app on my iPhone. 

My Favorite Dinner

Mmm...seitan and veggie stir fry! I was introduced to seitan by the wonderful, health-conscious mother of the kids in my neighborhood who I used to babysit. Part of the family ate a vegetarian diet and part ate meat, so seitan was a popular item in their house. Thank goodness for that, because it's one of my favorite meat substitutes, now!

I went for seasonal veggies to add to my stir fry - thin asparagus stalks, carrots and a summer squash from my garden. As you can see in the photo, I also used onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and of course, the seitan. Not pictured are the olive oil and rice.

The process is simple and uses one pan and one pot, at most. In a large frying pan, pour enough olive oil in the bottom to almost cover the the surface. Start with your peeled and slice carrots and seitan (I pull it apart into smaller pieces). Let them simmer a couple minutes on their own, and then add the minced garlic, ginger (I love the zing it adds, so I use about a teaspoon) and chopped onion (this was a small, yellow onion - I used half). The reason why I don't add the onion and garlic immediately is because they have a tendency to burn when heated the entire time. Next, add the squash, followed by the asparagus (washed and cut, of course). Finally, add the teriyaki and soy sauces in whatever amounts suit your taste.

As you can tell, I add my ingredients to the frying pan based on the length of time I want that particular ingredient to cook. The carrots and seitan need much longer to cook than the asparagus. I lucked out and already had a large portion of basmati rice leftover from dinner two nights prior, so I put it right into the frying pan and stirred it up with the seitan, veggies and sauces until it was completely heated. Talk about an an easy meal! This is one of my absolute favorites...now if I could just get Ashley to eat veggies...