Real Men Can Be Vegans!

Wow, it has been forever since I updated my blog. Too much going on with life but no excuses :)  A couple of highlights and lowlights since my last blog about 6 months ago. Let's start with some lowlights:

• My cholesterol is at an all time high of 260! Why is it that I can never spell cholesterol?
• Too much good food has added a few extra pounds and I am at an all time high as of the first of July - 160lbs. This is definitely borderline overweight
• I confessed to my wife that my guilty pleasure had been getting a double order of fatty roast pork once a week at Uwajimaya grocery store in Bellevue. I guess it's better than cheating on something else!
• I had the worse meals possible during our trip to Kauai in June - daily spam masubi (you can get them fresh in the 7/11 store), saimen, and my favorite at the Hawaiian BBQ dive at the Honolulu airport: Loco Moco!  If you never had a loco moco before it's literally a heart attack on a plate. It's 2 servings of white rice, 2 large hamburger patties, 2 eggs sunnyside up, and loads of greasy gravy.
• Excercise - is that something that you do with the remote?
• I have snacking almost every night in front of the computer eating spam; sodium loaded canned soups; egg & rice; ice cream; sugar loaded iced tea; buttered popcorn; and way too much top ramen.

Looking back at the list one can only wonder if anything has changed. One thing has not changed is my love for cooking. In the last 6 months the dinner parties are still going strong both at my house and my friend's house in Bellevue. I'm still cooking multi-course meals experimenting with yummy ingredients and I even had the pleasure of cooking wild boar one night!  I even purchased a pressure cooker and made the absolutely best pot roast ever. I'll leave this for a different blog. 

So has anything else changed?  The answer is yes which is one of the main reasons why I'm writing this blog. After my wife and I left Hawaii we flew to Anchoarage, AK for a few days and then to Kodiak Island to stay with my wife's friends Angie and Jeff. They are absolutely the nicest couple we've met. Angie was telling me about how she went on a oil-free vegan diet based on a book called the Engine 2 Diet. I don't believe in diets since I've tried many over the years. She gave me the book and I read it.  During the 5 days Angie educated me about the diet and told me how her chloresterol had dropped 100 after 28 days. On our last day, I told her that I might give it a try but maybe do it halfway. My friends that know me well can tell you that I LOVE my meats, fats, and other badness.  There was no way I was going to do this or even stick with it.

Fast track 30 days later, I'm actually doing this diet 99.9% for the last 30 days. Yes, I cheated with nibbles of meats once in awhile. Here are some highlights:

• Exercise - I now run 2.5 miles 3 to 4 times a week! 
• Jeans that I bought 5 years ago that didn't fit before now fits! I need to purchase a new belt.
• I don't do portion control when I eat. I eat as much as I like consisting of great vegan foods like brown rice, whole grains, lots of veggies and fruits, tofu for protein, flax seed, soups with asian vegetables and noodles, and beans! Keep in mind that I hated black beans and brown rice before until I visited Trader Joes.
• I still snack at nights but it's always fresh fruits or a bowl of vegan soup
• I've learned that Trader Joe's is one of the best places to buy great food at a decent price.
• I don't snore anymore since starting the diet 30 days ago
• I lost 14lbs in 30 days!!!
• Vegan hot dogs are nasty but vegan corn dogs from Trader Joes rocks!

Don't get me wrong, I still cook lots of meats for my family and friends. I just don't eat it :)  It is tempting at time but I still love to cook. The last 30 days I made a couple of fabulous traditional paella, learn to cook pulled pork, brisket, smoked chicken, and smoked turkey on my friend's green egg, made yummy pot roast, and still eating vegan!  Real men can be vegan :)

I will continue on with the is blog with some great pressure cooker recipes and with awesome vegan recipes that I have discovered.