vegan update

well two months later and we're still going strong. i've been meaning to do an update for a while now. we've lost about 30 pounds between the two of us (not that, that was the goal) and we're feeling great. you know that feeling you get after a meal when you just feel sick/gross (even if it was a delicious meal)? we haven't felt that in two months. social situations are definitely the hardest time to stick with it. we don't really have any cravings, unless we can smell something delicious that's off limits.

some changes/things we've learned along the way:
1. being oil free on top of being vegan is so hard! everything has oil in it! being vegan seems like it would be a cinch compared to this.
2. people can be so sweet and accommodating! it always makes me feel so good inside (and a little guilty) when people go out of their way to make sure there's food that we can eat at an event.
3. your taste buds adjust. when i first started eating my plain oatmeal with my unsweetened apple sauce i thought it was gross since i was used to dumping on the brown sugar. now i looove my plain oatmeal. i actually forgot my breakfast one morning and had to eat an apple cinnamon oatmeal packet that my dad had and i thought it was gross. how crazy.
4. i feel like stuff gets stuck in my teeth more often. spinach, black beans, spices... that may just be me though.
5. oh the fiber! nough said.
6. salads and veggies can be so filling (see number 5) without any calories. so now instead of making sure i'm under my calorie limit, i'm always making sure i'm up to my calorie limit.
7. remember when i did this post about loseit.com? how silly i was back then, only looking at the number of calories instead of where they were coming from. now that i'm actually tracking my nutrients to make sure i get enough protein and don't load up on carbs, i feel like i'm using that website in a much more beneficial way for my body and it's been soo helpful.
8. try new things (especially new veggies) and combinations of things. we've been doing this as we pack as many veggies as we can into everything. i would never have put mushrooms on stuff before or used corn in pasta sauce, but the more veggies the better!
9. without butter, sour cream, and cheese you really have to get creative with flavoring. no salt mrs. dash is where it's at.
10. make sure you've got the right tools. we got a food processor and a new blender because our old one couldn't handle ice anymore. of course brett chose an expensive, high powered blender (tim the tool man taylor grunts included) and buckled it in like his little baby for the drive home.

here are some of the foods we eat on average. we go through whole wheat pitas, hummus (homemade without oil and tahini), and black beans like it's our job.