Check it son

I know I know I've been gone for way too long! Sorry everyone,  I got super busy with work, school, and finally working out! So I hope since I've been trying to get lean, healthy and getting my learn on that you'll accept my excuse/apology for my absence. Haha Until my next "real" post I will leave u all with this snippet I found on pinterest. I apologize if it offends you, if u don't like profanity, steer clear of this picture. I, however found it quite funny... enjoy!

Good vibes and happy days.

-jess

Things I Didn't Know I Couldn't Eat, Til Now...

When I decided to make my lifestyle change, I did some research on what I could and could not eat; i.e. products or by-products that are animal derived that the general public does not know about. I came to find out that gelatin was out of the question. Gelatin, if unknown to you, is derived from animal parts. More closely, it can be comprised of ground hooves, bones, ligaments and tendons. Kinda gross huh? So when I learned about this I immediately equated gelatin to Jello and that was it. Dumb move. Turns out gelatin is used in a multitude of foods and products and it was definitely a reminder for me to read the product labels!

After learning this I went on a little hunt to see what popular items contained this animal product. Please feel free to double check this list ;) Alrighty, here it goes:

- Jello (sorry Bill Cosby)

- Gummy bears

- Gel capsules (gel vitamins, medicine/pills)

- M & M's (have read that they contain gelatin and also that it is kosher meaning it can't contain gelatin with a milk product?? so to be safe no more for me I guess) - (gonna miss eating the peanut m&ms with my popcorn tho :( )

- Skittles from the US (no more rainbow tasting for this gal)

- Poptarts (was craving those a while ago, luckily none were available to me haha)
   (it might just be the frosted poptarts, need to look into this further)

- Cool Mint Sugar Free Mentos (the fresh maker??)

- Rice Krispies treats (used to be one of my favs!)

- MARSHMALLOW (no more s'mores by the campfire)

- Goldfish crackers

- Cheese powder/ flavored products such as Doritos or Cheetos --> I have yet to find a definitive answer but the debate is whether or not these products contain beef or pork rennet, enzymes or fat.

Frito-Lay has provided a list of pork free products but not beef --->  Product List


Another item to watch out for is Stearic Acid  and Magnesium Stearate ( fatty acids )
 (these can be plant or animal derived so it is best to do your own research if you see this on any products you wish to eat or use.)


- Motrin (may contain beef fat)

- certain types of Tylenol may contain beef or pork fat

- Aleeve

- Sudafed

Here is a list of over the counter med's that may contain the above ingredients ---> Product List

* Again I encourage you to do your own research and to contact the manufacturer if you are or need to use any of these products ***



So that is what I found so far. At first I was a little bummed out about not being able to eat certain things, but the funny thing was I never really ate them on a regular basis anyway, yet since I "wasn't allowed" to eat them anymore, I wanted them that much more. I swear I haven't had so many chips shoved down my throat than I have in the past month!

People, often times get caught up with the word "can't". The thought process often occurs that when you can't do this or can't eat that we immediately pine over it, and feel we want it or need it that much more; this is normally why diets tend to fail. But the key is to switch the thought processes in your mind to your favor. An amazing tool I learned from the documentary "Hungry for Change" (I encourage you ALL to see!) was instead of thinking "I can't eat that," tell yourself "I can eat that but I choose not to."

It is so very simple but yet a very powerful message to tell yourself, to help you in the lifestyle changes you wish to achieve. The more you tell yourself this, the quicker it will be instilled into your sub conscience and the easier it will be to avoid the foods you no longer wish to eat.

I hope this has been helpful :D


Good vibes and happy days everyone!

- Jess <3

Green Cookin' - Calabasas!

I remember when I first embarked on this new lifestyle, one of the tips I read to help me with my change was to find a few staple recipes. At first it seemed like I was never going to find a substantial amount of recipes to help me get by; but FINALLY I have 2 recipes that I like to make and LOVE to eat over and over again.

The first is Calabasitas or calabasas which is spanish for squash/ zucchini. I got this recipe off the ifood.tv vegetarian recipe app. The nice thing about this app is that most recipes will provide a video to show how the person cooked the dish step by step, along with the standard written instructions. I'm the type of cook who doesn't necessarily like to measure out my ingredients, I season and and taste as I go. However, I know there are some who like to "follow the rules" so I'll provide the recipe from the app here for you to use accordingly.

Ingredients

Dried crushed Oregano- 1/2 Teaspoon
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon juice - 1 Teaspoon
Summer squash/ zucchini of choice- 2 pounds diced
( I added  2 carrots diced)
Yellow Onion- 1 Large, diced
Garlic- 3 cloves minced
Green chiles- 4 ounces (i didn't have any so I left them out)
Corn kernels- 4 - 6 ounces
Fresh cilantro- 1/4 cup (4 tbs)
Olive oil- 4 Teaspoons
Cotija or queso fresco- 1 cup crumbled (i used cotija and not a full cup)


Preperation

1) Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the diced onion and saute for about 20 mins, once the onion is golden brown add the garlic and stir for a few more minutes caramelizing the onions and garlic.

2) Add the corn, green chiles, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir until all nicely combined and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

3) Add the lemon juice and the veggies and cook for about 10 minutes until almost tender, crumble the cheese over the veggies and stir.

4) Garnish with fresh cilantro.

by: Cooking with Rockin Robin

I served this over my green onion infused white rice and it was Delicioso!!!

Hope you get a chance to try it, you will not be disappointed :D


Good vibes and Happy days,

-Jess

A Beautiful World Awaits

Today we're gonna step away from the veggie adventure, health for the body and take a side step into the health of the spiritual soul and mind.

The other day one of my besties, whom I call my hammy and my spiritual guide (haha), posted about a deep sentiment she was feeling to her IG (instagram). As I read it, it moved me and strengthened my motivation (as she always does) into taking more action in doing the things that I enjoy to do that better myself as a positive and spiritual individual. Things like meditation, watching documentaries, yoga, researching and learning more about our subconscious and the power of energy, to name a 'few'. lol I hope those who read her words will be touched and will be encouraged to start acting on behalf of themselves and maybe even for us all for we are a collective body; one can always better themselves and this earth, our home. 

     "It's been awhile since I've posted about this topic but today the state of the world has weighed heavily on my heart and mind. PLEASE, take a moment to step out of your personal life. Forget about tomorrow's to-do list for a short while and LOOK at YOUR WORLD, as EARTH is ALL of ours to SHARE and our very means of EXPERIENCING life. 

Are you happy or satisfied with what you see? What would you change? VISUALIZE that world. 


Greed has taken a firm hold of our planet. It has robbed LIFE and LOVE of it's TRUEST VALUE. Our society has created a false ideal of success. Partly do to our economy's need to grow by consuming and spending. It has evolved an image that worships the idea that having more THINGS defines ones success and happiness. Life is too often being valued by its monetary worth as a commodity rather than being seen as a priceless gift. This cannot be the correct standard to judge what is so precious. 

So many slave away their lives, only to have more STUFF. As the rat race continues too gain momentum, too many forfeit freedom, love, creativity, and LIFE. This is all done in order to attempt to sustain such living. Sacrificing such INTEGRITY is a high price to pay, and an unnecessary one. Please understand, I am not at all insinuating that having or desiring material things is wrong but more suggesting at what cost will we continue to live this way? 


When will we wakeup to see how so many are suffering because of the lack of love for one another. It does not have to be this way! IMAGINE a world that is FREE from monetary constraints. One that allows people to be driven by creativity and bettering life for everyone and everything. 


So then the greatest question is...how do we change it?


There is no reason to feel hopeless about the world today. It is only our DUTY to REALIZE the current state we live in and make the necessary changes to EMBRACE a NEWWORLD. I BELIEVE a world that VALUES ALL LIFE EXISTS. KNOW that YOU are POWERFUL and you have a VOICE. Express love and integrity in all that you say, think, and do. If there is something you don't agree with, ask yourself what you can do to change it...and then act on it! Let OUR GENERATION bring HOPE and LOVE to the planet! Let us set the foundation for a WORLD living in PEACE and if we are lucky enough, maybe we will witness that day in our lifetime. 

I CHALLENGE YOU to make a difference no matter how great or small. Today, tomorrow, and everyday after. BE CONSCIENCE and AWARE of the individual difference you make to the greater whole. There is a beautiful world waiting to be unveiled ❤ ☺" - Jessica S.



I hope you've enjoyed this post, for I greatly enjoyed sharing it with you. Please, if you have positive feedback for her please, please, please comment below! :D For instant positive boosts on the go, you may follow her on IG - JaySaylors. NO creepers please, she's taken.

Good vibes and happy days everyone.

- Jess

This Little Piggy Went to...

So I have a good, valid excuse for taking so long in posting to my blog. I've had this story ready in my mind but had no time to write it all down. And well, I took a few tumbles down the snow packed mountain while snowboarding and ended up with a neck sprain and mild concussion; yay muscle relaxers! NOT. So please excuse if this posting is not up to par with my previous ones, for I'm still a bit hazy and its hard to concentrate on this computer screen haha

I am the absolute worst when it comes to cooking after a long day at work. Since I decided to make the veggie switch, the hub has been super duper helpful in making dinner more often ( well mostly his meals and part of mine, the man doesn't know how to work with tofu just yet). Its very nice actually, it takes me back to our first year of marriage where we would share the kitchen, and cook together side by side. Before my switch, it was as if we were playing dinner tag; first one home and less tired "is it" -cooks for the day. 

Well my past week of work was a bit on the hectic side. I pretty much worked open to close almost every day and I was working 7 days straight. Not to mention I was hopped up on Aleve (3x day) (patellofemoral syndrome in right knee, overstretched ankle in left leg- I'm all F*@$ed up lol) so I was feeling a bit off towards the end of the days. On this particular day, I pulled into our driveway and saw that the hub was already home doing his thang in the kitchen. I hopped out of the truck (literally I'm only 5'1") and was immediately smacked in the face by a delectable aroma. Whatever the hubby was making in the oven was so delicious the house couldn't contain the smell. I then knew right away that I was going to be making some bad decisions. I mean, Come On SERIOUSLY?! Whatever is making the house smell that amazing that I can smell it from the drive way is going to end up 'in and around my mouth!' 

I went inside my home and sure enough it was RIBS inside the oven. Remember my last post about me craving the ribs and munching down on Jaques and his friends instead? Well just because I scarfed some shrimpies down doesn't mean it curved my craving for some delicious BBQ ribs. It also did not help that I was dead tired and starving. The hub tried to persuade me to eat something else but there was no use; I had already made my decision before I ever knew what he was making. I also tried to avoid my own guilt trip in telling myself "this is your one and last time, take advantage of it". I wish I would've told myself "remember how sick and gross you felt when you ate that steak?!" (from 4 day glutton post) instead. So there we were, on the couch enjoying our dinner. Me, savoring every bite as long as I could. Man let me tell you they were delicious! BUT, so not worth it. My stomach was in such a mess I could not sleep. I felt like at any moment I was gonna end up in my bathroom blowing chunks! Luckily, it did not come to that but boy I was hurting. 

To top it all off, if I wasn't feeling bad enough, my sub conscience decided to play a little trick on me while I was sleeping. I ended up having this ludicrous dream about a young girl and her pet pig. The girl loved her piggy and he loved her back and all the while they were trying to escape the hands of the butcher or farm man who was trying to capture the pig. Twice the pig was captured, on the second time the rescuing took longer and the poor pig was forcefully fed and fattened up to make the the evil mans new pork pies. When I first woke up I didn't connect the dots. After a while or so I put two and two together and realized that I had eaten pig/pork the night before. I said to myself "well played sub conscious, well played." I guess I learned my lesson on indulging in food that I have already tried in my lifetime; I definitely don't want to be having any more piggy, cow, or chicken dreams.

'Til next time, Good Vibes and happy days everyone.

-Jess