{cherry} EVERYDAY

So let’s do this. After feasting on just about everything and anything during the holidays, I did my first Vegan Day of the year and returned to my old favorite place called Pipino. It must be done. I stepped on the scale but I never really checked or even glanced at my weight. I know I’ve gained weight. I don’t need any weighing scale to tell me what my already tight pants knew. Why i did that? Well, I just wanted to torture myself. Yeah, just like that. I haven’t really laid off the sweets or the carbs. It may take some time and getting used to again but I’m getting there…SLOWLY. In fact, too slowly.

Potato Leek Soup

Ginger Cucumber Cooler…I love this. It feels like you’re doing something good for your body with every sip.

This was lunch with my daughter before I dropped her off at school. Vegetarian Kare-Kare with vegetarian bagoong and Vegetable Fried Rice. My kid like the fried rice. She liked it so much that she was able to finish that big bowl.

Closer look at her new fave dish here.

Pipino’s Taro Chips. I didn’t know that Taro has so many health benefits aside from it being low-cal and low-fat.

So my vegan day this week was a Monday. After I dropped off my kid in school, I went straight to Blissful Belly along Xavierville Avenue. I had the whole place to myself. But don’t let this fool you. They have lots of customers who just call in for orders and have their drivers pick them up. I think I was the only one who had the time to eat there or the only one who has no driver. What the heck, I enjoy alone moments such as this one. Of course, I had other errands that day like I had my bag cleaned at Vintage Restore and I also bought superfeet insoles here. It was a busy day. Good thing I had sustenance to last me until I picked up MG from school.

The place sits about 15 people comfortably but I had the whole place to myself.

There’s no menu. The whole concept is carinderia or canteen style and most are Filipino dishes. There are several dishes to choose from and you can even opt to two viands plus rice. Everything is served with organic brown rice.

Must-try dishes are Kare-Kare, Sisig and Barbecue. They use vegemeat in place of red meat. I don’t know if it’s healthier but it’s nice to get a break from pork and beef once in awhile.  The dishes are close to the real thing and I promise you won’t miss the meat.

Even the bagoong is vegetarian.

Blissful Belly
Unit 215 Llanar Bldg, 77 Xavierville Ave
Loyola Heights, Quezon City
920-3487

I started doing Vegan Sundays a few months back, inspired by my dream to finally lose the excess poundage I’ve been lugging around my waist, thighs, back and arms for the past 6 or 7 years.  Yes, it’s that long and I can’t believe I waited that long to do something about my weight.  But you know me, I chickened out.  After a few weeks of going vegan, I finally threw in the towel and raised the white flag.  Why?  Because I wasn’t losing the weight.  But the reason for the failure may be attributed to the main purpose. Being vegan has to be more than the weight loss.  It’s about believing in something more meaningful and it’s not just about fats and muscles.  Although for an overweight person, it could already mean the whole world to them and the only reason for it.

But now I’ve been thinking about doing it again and like I said in my previous post, I won’t be as strict about it as before.  I don’t have to do it only on Sundays, I can do it any day and even twice or thrice a week.  It won’t matter just as long as I do it at least once a week.  So I’ll do a restart next week and see how it goes.  And one more thing, have you heard about this Nike Training Club app.  it’s the coolest thing in the world.  It’s very challenging but it will really test your limits.  It’s either you love it or you don’t.  Good thing I love it and I’ve been doing it for almost two weeks now.  Best of all, I think it’s working.  Try it for yourself.

Instead of boring you with a rundown of my Vegan food, I thought I might start you out with this.  A slice of cake (yet again) from  Meat Plus in Subic  and the yummiest butterscotch sauce from Stonewall Specialty foods.

Chocolate Cake from Meat Plus in Subic

Stonewall Spiced Rum Butterscotch Sauce…it’s to die for.  I find myself going to the fridge more than the usual just to take spoonfuls of this heaven in a jar.  Goodbye weight loss!

But my Vegan Sunday (which I did on Monday) was not at all boring.  I had the most flavorful lunch at Blissful Belly along Xavierville Avenue and had  Sun-dried Tomato Pasta for dinner.

Vegetarian Kare-Kare, Vegan Sisig and Red Rice

Vegan Bagoong

No Meat Sisig. But you won’t miss the taste of meat with this vegan sisig as it tastes just like our regular fare.

I’ve been a bit too tough on myself lately what with this whole Vegan Sunday thing. But I do think that little things matter. Giving up meat and dairy goes a long way towards achieving good health and besides it’s just one day a week. Well, that one day does matter. A lot, in fact. I plan to do Vegan Sundays for as long as I can. I believe that I may not change the world significantly towards being green and being healthy, I can only go as far as changing myself for the better. Eliminating meat, poultry, fish and dairy once a week and eating more vegetables and fresh produce are little things I do to keep healthy and counter the negative effects of industrial farming and other non-green practices.  I also shop for organic produce although they are hard to come by in groceries in our area.  It’s a good thing there are organic foods online, making them more accessible to everyone.

So what else can we do?  I know it’s not easy and I have a long way to go before anything I do becomes significant.  If food or red meat is not something you can live without perhaps you could stop drinking from water bottles and buying liquid soaps.  Imagine all the plastic that gets to fill the Earth.  Sooner than later, our world would be filled with plastic instead of plants, animals and people.  You can plan a day to do all your errands and avoid driving aimlessly.  On weekends, why not stay home and just read a book or catch up on your crafting project.  It’s the little things.  When they add up, they become big enough to change the world.