GinaKina

I do bananas all the time, and I have never heard of figs...I must try it on the next super warm day we have!

We have a little gym in the basement of our apartment building, sometimes I will use that. We used to go to LA Fitness, but hated it, and now we go to a local place. I always like the local places the most...its 100 times nicer and we got an awesome deal.

I just ate a gigantic bowl of soy (tofu scramble = yum), so I don't avoid it. I do try to practice moderation however, for instance, since I know I eat a fair amount of soy, I buy rice/gemma protein powder. My cats love soy too. The one loves Earth Balance, and soymilk, the other loves those plus Soyatoo (the soy whipped cream), and he had some of my tofu this morning. He's a funny little guy, he eats vegetables too. But they have soy in moderation also.

Good luck to you. I recently quit a job with no job in sight, but was very lucky to get a new one quickly. It is definitely a rough time for job seekers, especially if you are looking for like-minded coworkers. But if you are determined and this isn't working for you (I personally couldn't imagine working in a place like that myself), I'm sure you'll find something that will, or is at least a step in the right direction

That's awesome! Best of luck getting started!

Personally, on the veg burger question, it depends on the brand. I have a few brands that I microwave. But if your friend says the kind at your store is gross, I wouldn't get them. Although they really don't take much time at all to "cook".

I need to try another black bean brownie recipe, more like this. I tried one awhile ago, and they're still in my freezer. Wasn't a big fan, but that's because they had bananas in them and they were more banana-y than chocolate-y.

Ooooh...probably not what you're looking for, but there is a vegan cupcake shop in that area. That's the only place I've been so I don't have suggestions, but there are a lot of veg places in the area!

I was thinking of making this for breakfast this morning, but I had a question. 3 apples? Like, 3 whole apples, chopped up? That's a lot of apple!!

Sounds good!

I am not an expert. Just coming at you as another woman. It sounds like you've been working out for awhile, at a fairly intense level, and have been doing fine with your macronutrients. If you aren't looking to bulk up, just want a little bit of definition, I wouldn't change anything. If you find yourself hungry all the time, or tired, then maybe add in some more calories, and then, try to do it in the form of protein. But in the past, when I've followed a specific diet guideline, moving away from something that has been working for me just fine, I end up much unhappier, and usually heavier too. Good luck

I think its great that you've done this. Any way to get the word out that vegans can be strong and healthy is a step in the right direction as far as I am concerned!

Ummm....parsnips? Who knows, they could be next!

I like the leg extension machine. Its actually the leg curl machine that hurts my knees, although probably not in the same way. I also use it as a finisher to my workout sometimes.

That's awesome! Good looking dog I'm sure you're both really happy!

My cat is also a nooch fan.

Oh...I have a lot of vegan cookbooks. I love Vegan with a Vengeance and Vegan Brunch. Oddly, Veganomicon never really got under my skin. Love Vegan Table. I've also never really used JoVB too much. I like Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, even though its a short one. And I know we're just talking vegan, but Ani's Raw Food Kitchen is one of my favorite books.

I really really like tofu. Beans, to me, are just okay. I agree that beans are more of a whole food, and that is definitely beneficial but I think I eat healthy enough that I can afford to have tofu fairly frequently.

How funny, I made some really similar cookies today without even seeing this! They're good, and I agree...they're cookies, not a meal replacement. I'd rather have a cookie made of almonds than a cookie made of white flour....and no cookies just isn't an option for me

I would be very wary of letting a declawed cat outside. I do understand where you are coming from, and what is really terrible is that it was declawed in the first place. While I don't want to downplay any animal's intelligence, I don't necessarily know that a cat would know what to do in order to defend itself once we had taken away its claws. I hear your argument, and I guess I don't really have a strong opposing argument, but I don't think it is unreasonable to try and protect another creature that may not be able to protect itself.

I guess it is mostly a matter of personal choice. However, whole foods are largely touted as being better for you than shakes because if all you are consuming is shakes, you are missing out on a lot of nutrients. Of course, you can try and remedy that by further supplementing with vitamins but...wouldn't it just be easier to eat real food? Sure protein shakes have their place, they're fast, they're convenient, and they sure do have a lot of protein. But make sure you're not taking so many of them that you are depriving yourself of other nutrients you need.

Ooh, I still get carded for R-rated movies sometimes (I'm 25). I know..."I'll appreciate it when I'm older", I know. Let's just hope it lasts Whenever someone tells me that, I feel like they're cursing me to wake up when I'm 30 and suddenly look like I'm 10 years older.

How much are you eating? How long have you been working out at this consistency? There's always a chance that you just aren't eating enough to sustain the workouts that you're doing, so your body is holding on to what it has. I would add in some weight training, but nothing you're doing really looks bad to me

No soy? Because you think its bad or because you don't want processed foods like tofu? Just because edamame are pretty high in protein, and they're soy, but not processed. And while it is still processed to an extent, tempeh is much less processed than tofu, and its also fermented, so people who have soy sensitivities tend to not react to it nearly as much (if at all). Are you open to using wheat gluten flour? I know its a flour, so yes it is processed, but its really high in protein, and you can make a whole lot more stuff with it. Oh, pumpkin seeds have a decent amount of protein (and magnesium)! I love them. So do soynuts...but again, if you aren't doing soy, they'd be out of the picture. Hemp seeds have a decent amount of protein. Peas are pretty high in protein as far as veggies go...which is why they make good protein powder, I guess. Also, you don't have to just eat chickpeas and black beans, how boring. There are tons of other kinds of beans out there. While you already have some grains listed, if you get bored you can always branch out to things like oat bran, amaranth, millet, etc. You don't have nuts listed at all, are you trying to avoid them? Almonds have the most protein. Good luck on reaching your goal numbers. It might be difficult if you are only eating fruits, veg, nuts, and grains, but nothing is impossible. I'm sure if you keep seeking out high protein vegan foodstuffs you'll get a good base of high protein things that you like and you'll be able to make it work.

I'm going to go with "other". I'm not really a fan of that mindset