the worlds fluffiest vegan pancakes*

hello everyone!

i rarely post on saturdays so what a surprise.

i'm up early for a day of hiking in palm springs where it is going to be sunny and 74 degrees today.  i wanted to share this great pancake recipe with you before i go. 

so while you are out running errands today you can get the ingredients and make them for your family on sunday morning.

i follow the recipe exactly.

i swiped the recipe from here.

they are so good and so easy.

they are truly fluffy.

they are truly yummy.

oh and btw, quite a few of you have asked about my wardrobe now that i've lost weight.

i'm cleaning out my closet and selling some things on ebay.

here is the link for that.

i'll be adding things all week.

don't hesitate to email me if you have questions about anything.

wishing you a most beautiful weekend.

*no animals were harmed making these delicious pancakes.

xo

janet

what i ate*

quite a few of you asked for a sample of what i eat each day.

so here is what a typical day of eating looks like for me.

steel cut oatmeal with...

apples

dried cranberries

walnuts

brown sugar

also, toast and tea

garden lettuces
oranges
avocados
kidney beans
chopped jalapeno
walnuts
trader joes goddess dressing

brown rice

trader joes baked tofu, sauteed in a tiny bit of vegetable oil - Absolutely Delish!

organic broccoli

organic mushrooms

for dessert i will usually have fresh fruit with some soy yogurt, a homemade cookie or dark chocolate.

i hope this helps those of you who asked.

thank you to everyone who commented on my last post.

i learn so much from you.

*no animals were harmed making any of these dishes.

xo
janet

how i lost 15 lbs

boy has this post been hard to write.
weight issues are so personal.
i was receiving a lot of emails asking if i had lost weight and so i decided to share this with you.

i know right off that a lot of you are going to say that i didn't need to lose weight.
but i thought i did...and so i did.
i emphasize that this is my story because i am not an expert on dieting, in fact this is the first time i have actually been on a restrictive diet.
but what i did worked for me and maybe it can work for you.




four years ago, when i turned 50, i was 5'6  and weighed 120 lbs.  i was a confirmed vegan and pretty much ate what i pleased and was not bothered by the fact that i had gained a pound or two.  fast forward to six months ago at my most recent check up i measured 5'5 and was now 130 lbs.  i was shrinking and growing at the same time.  i hated how i felt in my jeans.  skirts were hard to button and  tight and i was looking to size up again.  despite my vegan diet, my energy level was dropping and the dreaded middle age spread that everyone says is inevitable was upon me.  tabitha wrote a very interesting and funny post last month on the way women's waists have gotten larger over the last 60 years.  and you know what?  it was happening to me.   you can read her post here.

i really didn't want the middle age spread and so i took this as a challenge, and you know how i feel about challenges.

so the first thing i did was make up my mind to lose 5 lbs.  for 3 days straight i wrote down every single thing i ate and figured out just how many calories i was eating in a day.  this was a huge eye opener for me.  i had no idea that i was consuming so many empty calories.  remember oreos and potato chips are vegan.

  i had slipped into a pattern of eating when i was anxious, bored, breathing and maybe even sleeping.  

next i educated myself about calories.  you have to eat 3500 calories in order to gain 1 lb.  so i figured that if i could cut out just 500 calories a day, i could start losing a pound a week and that sounded sensible to me.  so i looked at my diet that i had written down and was able to see just what needed to be cut out.  i will tell you that the first week was awful.  i was starving!  i started substituting some low calorie snacks for when i was hungry but that wasn't enough.  i couldn't stop thinking about food, i was obsessed with it.  i had to get busy to take my mind off eating.  i started taking an afternoon walk and would even fabricate errands to run just to keep me busy.

i also wanted to keep my diet in alignment with my values of compassion, health and eating local.
  this little tool, sustainable table,
is invaluable for that.  all i have to do is enter the area of the country i'm in and bam...a whole list of vegetables and fruits that are in season in my area appear.  this made menu planning much easier and it continues to inspire me to want to eat fresh everyday.

another thing i needed to do was to slow down my eating.  by the time meal time came around i was pretty much starving and the urge to wolf down my food was overwhelming.  i started by concentrating on each bite and taking a drink of water between bites too.
i think this is called mindfulness.

oh and btw, i cut out all alcohol and switched to sparkling water at dinner.

and i made sure that we used our small dinner plates that measure 8" across instead of the newer 11" dinner plates.  this way the plates looked super full instead of skimpy, which believe it or not was comforting.

by the 4th week my system was adjusting and my energy was beginning to return.  that's when i decided to really get crazy and ramp up my exercise routine that had served me pretty well in the past that was obviously inadequate now.  so i threw in an extra mile in my morning walk, bringing that to 3, and added a strenuous 2 mile hike in the afternoon and i just generally became more active.  i started becoming aware of just how much i was sitting, so i'd grab a rake and go rake up leaves or sweep down the driveway. 

i'd do anything to keep moving. 

i learned a lot of these tips from
my calorie counter
i signed up online and they send me all kinds of great tips and information.

so it's 6 months later and i'm still 5'5 but now i weigh 115 lbs instead of 130 lbs.  i never, ever thought i'd weigh this again.  it feels great and being lighter makes all the sports i play a lot more fun and a lot easier.  we just got back from vacation and i skied 7 days straight.  i couldn't even do that in my 20's.

clothes fit better and i honestly feel younger.

and with all the extra physical activity, i'm sleeping a lot better too, which is an amazing benefit.

so in a nutshell i...

found out exactly how much i was eating

figured out how to cut 500 calories a day

stepped up my exercise program and activities

ate local, fresh vegan foods

slowed down my eating

ate off smaller plates

as you can see, nothing is revolutionary here.
i ate less and moved more.



lovingkindness to you all.

xo
janet






xo

janet

old things

so here are a bunch of old things.

1.  me

2.  my pendleton

3.  the belt

4.  the boots

5.  the handbag

 

a few of you wanted to know about this bag.

i got it at a junk store in the desert.

a super good looking version of ralph lauren sold it to me.

really, you should see him.

it's a genuine gucci with loads of patina and style

it was $40.

also, here is my old hair.

you can see it is getting pretty gray.

those are ralph lauren collection sunglasses.

alex gave them to me.

it pays to have people in the right places.

next post...my weight loss, if you are interested.

this weekend just may be fabulous.

xo

janet



$10 outfit challenge #6

hello everyone.

i'm feeling that heavenly combination of physical exhaustion and being so refreshed.  that happens after skiing 7 days straight.

i had very little internet access so i'm way behind in my blog reading.

i'm going to try and catch up today.

i know you asked quite a few questions in my last post and i promise to answer them this week.

but first...

on my way to the market to load up on fresh veggies and tofu i stopped at a yardsale and broke out of my ralph lauren self, channeled vix and bought this beautiful, maxi dress from the 60's or early 70's for $1.

i fell in love with it the minute i saw it.  i had a bikini in a similar print when dinosaurs roamed the earth or when i was about 14. 

the lady i bought it from couldn't believe i wanted it.

i'm fairly certain i have a split personality when it comes to style.

on one hand i adore my herringbone jackets and on the other i have a hard time resisting bright, cheerful kate spade-like colors.

dress - $1
sunglasses - .99
total - $1.99



i wish you all a wonderful week.  i plan to be my best.  you in?

xo
janet

fast and furious

i'm away skiing and have limited internet access so i have to type fast and i'm probably not going to make much sense.  but here it goes anyway.

#1

first of all happy new year to you.  you are all an amazing group of people and this blog would not exist without you.  long story short...i love you all.

#2

ok, yesterday while in the market at this ski resort i noticed the most beautiful, older woman shopping.  she stood out because most people here dress in puffy parkas and uggs which makes sense b/c it is cold.  anyway, around the corner comes this gorgeous woman wearing the most beautiful long cardigan.  i wound up following her down a few aisles checking her out.  i finally went up to her and asked who made her cardigan thinking for sure it was something like prada or some other high end nonsense and she smiled and said...forever 21. 

so here it is for $45.

so if you want to look elegant and attract stalkers in the market, order one.

#3

my new years resolutions.

1.  stop sneaking into movies.

those are two movie tickets in larry's hand.

it was hard to do but i did it.

2.  stop cursing.  no grandmother should curse as much as i do.

this is going to be way hard for me.

#4

whoever said giving sweaters is a bad idea for christmas gifts was wrong b/c i got this leopard sweater for christmas and i love it.

ok so while i'm connected i'm going to catch up on as many blogs as i can.

see you soon and i hope this made sense b/c i'm not going to waste time and proofread it.

xo

janet