Food diary - Oct. 8

Breakfast - Oatmeal with peanut butter, seeds, almond milk
Lunch - Toast and chili
Snack - Potato chips
Supper - Salad with sprouts, seeds and vegetables, sweet potatoes, bun, carrots, beets, Black IPA, Rye IPA, Lenny's RIPA (Thanksgiving @ Josh and Josie's)
Snack - Crackers and hummus, banana

Beer Purchases!

I might have gone to a wine tasting, but I walked out with beer instead!  I got myself a 4-pack of Bittersweet Lenny's RIPA from Schmaltz, Imperial Stout and Hop Stoopid from Lagunitas, and Westmalle Tripel.  Hop Stoopid is the "lightest" beer, at a mere 8% ABV (and 102 IBU).  This will not help me lose weight, but beer is vegan...

Food diary - Oct. 7

Breakfast - Oatmeal with peanut butter, seeds and almond milk
Snack - Pear
Lunch - Wrap with veggies and hummus, raw vegetables, orange, watermelon
Snack - Apple, handful of potato chips
Supper - Chili pizza (pita, vegan chili, nutritional yeast), Black IPA
Snack - Wine tasting - a large selection of Pinot Noir, some slices of bread (avoided the cheeses and salmon with pinot sauce)
Later snack - Triscuits and hummus, pickle

Food diary - Oct. 6

Breakfast - Oatmeal with seeds and almond milk, piece of toast with peanut butter
Snack - Almonds
Lunch - Thai green curry with rice, plum, snap peas
Snack - Apple
Supper - Vegetable and tofu stir fry with peanut sauce, black rice
Snack - Popcorn, watermelon

Food diary - Oct. 5

Breakfast - Oatmeal with almond milk, peanut butter and seeds
Snack - Pear and almonds
Lunch - Raw vegetables, hummus and crackers
Snack - Apple
Supper - Indian buffet (mattar paneer definitely not vegan, other dishes may have had ghee or yogurt)
Beer club meeting - pint of Royal 100 from Wild Rose

Almond milk

First off, let me say that I really can't stand the taste of soy milk.  Never have, likely never will.  That is odd, since I do like tofu.  Not such a big deal, but soy milk is really the default non-dairy milk-substitute out there.  However, even my local Safeway has started realizing that milk-avoiders are shoppers too, and have started carrying different options.  I had tried rice milk before, and was underwhelmed.  This time I decided to try almond milk.  The taste is not offensive, although none of these substitutes really tastes like milk.  But really, they aren't supposed to taste like milk. 

Being a do-it-yourself kitchen kind of guy (I make my own beer and used to make yogurt), I figured I would see about making almond milk.  It is actually quite easy to do.  I soaked a cup of almonds in water for a few hours, then threw them in a blender with a few cups of water (I read that 3:1 is the proper water to almond ratio).  Put it in a blender, pour it through a nut bag (I actually prefer the term "nut sack", but realize that might be off-putting to some).  Squeeze your nut sack until all the white creamy liquid comes out and there you have it - almond milk.  The homemade tastes a bit different than the store-bought - I suspect the store-bought has some thickeners in it for texture that mine lacks, so mine is more watery.  Perhaps because mine is so fresh, it tastes nuttier and less 'fake'.  Quite good, actually.  Plus, a lot cheaper.  I will stick with the homemade, I believe.

I will have to break out the ice cream maker and try my luck with a chocolate peanut-butter almond ice 'cream'.  Maybe ginger as well.  Or a nice green tea almond ice.  Lots of options to replace the ice cream cravings.

I actually made myself a hot chocolate with cocoa and agave nectar tonight, and it was quite delicious.

Food diary - Oct. 4

Breakfast - Oatmeal with almond milk and seeds
Snack - Apple, handful of almonds
Lunch - Quinoa and bean burrito, salad, plum
Supper - Raw vegetables and hummus (cauliflower, peas, carrots, red pepper, cucumber), borscht, toast, pickles and olives, 1/2 piece sweet potato pecan pie
Snack - Hot chocolate made with almond milk, cocoa and agave syrup, pear

Food diary - Oct. 3

Breakfast:  Bowl of oatmeal with almond milk, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds
Snack:  2 slices toast with peanut butter, Tofu "yogurt" (that shit is disgusting)
Lunch:  Almonds, Borscht, Slice of bread
Snack:  Apple
Supper:  Falafel with hummus, lettuce, seeds, sprouts, peppers on a whole wheat pita, 3 pickles, piece of sweet potato and pecan pie
Snack:  Handful of peanuts

By the numbers

Ran my blood pressure 3 times today at work - came in at 124/80, 120/82, and 121/82.  Not low, but not high either.  Just around the normal range.  I think my highest was around 140/90, which was more concerning.  This gives me a baseline for BP.

Height - 5'10  Weight - 218 lbs (100 kg)

This is more of a problem.  I'm not surprised by my weight, as I can see that I'm heavy.  What is surprising is that I am officially obese.  My BMI comes in at 31.3, and anything over 30 is considered obese.  Great.

This means that I was on a path to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, increased likelihood of certain cancers, sexual dysfunction, arthritis and being nagged at by my wife everytime I decide to have a beer.  Fortunately, at this point in my life only the last point has come to pass.  Taking control of what I eat will help me avoid that shortened future.

Food diary - Oct. 2

Ate brunch at Diner Deluxe - coffee, 2 eggs (poached), toast, hash browns.
Supper - Salad, vegan borscht, artisan bread with sweet potato pie for dessert
Home brewed Black IPA @ 9:00 pm (for the B12 - honest!)

No dairy (except maybe in the pie), no fish, 2 eggs.

Comments:  it's my anniversary, what am I supposed to do?

A decision delayed by 12 years

I've always been uncomfortable about eating meat.

I remember as a kid choking back the roast beef or pork chops but eagerly eating all the vegetables on my plate.  In the summer, I would raid my dad's garden or peach trees and eat whatever I could find.  Fresh peas were my favourite, as well as fresh peaches and strawberries.  I remember one summer when my brother and dad were gone for a few weeks, and my mum and I lived pretty much on salads and raw vegetables.  I was a strange kid.

 It was in my 2nd year of university that I decided to become "vegetarian".  Nothing extreme, of course - I would still eat dairy and eggs.  I allowed fish in my diet as well, and I clearly remember the reason why.  I was out for lunch one day at the local food court, and there really wasn't any option other than a tuna fish sandwich.  So, I held my nose and ate the fish.  Instead of declaring it a "moment of weakness" to myself, I decided to make an exception for fish.

Soon after this, I started dating the woman who would eventually become my wife.  She didn't turn vegetarian right away (even by my rather loose definition of the word), but did come around after a few years.  We married a number of years later (12 years ago today).  By time we got married, the hypocrisy of my diet was starting to be obvious to me.  I made a decision that there would be no fish at our wedding reception, and to myself made the decision to start becoming vegan.  For whatever reason, that never happened.

Fast forward 12 years.  I had actually tried reintroducing meat into my diet - it didn't work, since I was totally disgusted about eating meat again.  I started reading about a vegan diet, and the health benefits associated with it.  Over the past few months, I have started cooking a more whole-food plant-based diet, and minimizing using refined or processed foods.  Still, I relied on fish, eggs and dairy more than I should be.

Yesterday, I saw the movie Forks Over Knives at a local showing.  There was nothing really eye-opening (to me) about the movie, but I have decided to give it a go.  Yes, I know it presents a lot of anecdotal evidence and only presents one side of the argument.  Still, there is some science behind the benefits of a vegan diet.  Really, I need to find out if it will benefit me.

I have decided that I will eat no more fish from here on in.  Fish has always been a crutch for me, and that ends now.  I will radically curtail my dairy intake, and will avoid eggs as well.  I will not be doctrinaire about it - for example, I recently made pesto that contains some parmesan, and I will continue to eat that.

The fact is, I am realizing that my health is not where it should be.  I refuse to accept that it is because I am "getting older".  I could stand to lose 40 or 50 lbs., my blood pressure is at a point where I need to watch it, and I feel tired all the time.  I get frequent headaches, and am starting to get what appears to be arthritis.  I suspect - and there is research behind this suspicion - that at least some of my woes are diet related.  Over the next few months, I will test that hypothesis.

I don't expect anyone to read this blog, but I will put it out there.  Partly because I believe in it, and hope to get some encouragement from others.  Also, I hope it will hold me accountable to myself.  If I write it, perhaps it will force me to live it.