March WDW trip - a bit late

I was able to go to WDW in March for a work conference and stayed at Coronado Springs. I was a little surprised at the difficulty I had finding vegan food there. I was able to eat a few things at the resort, although I had a lot of water, fruit, and coffee. I did get a black bean burrito for lunch one day that was pretty tasty. I had much better luck at Downtown Disney, where once again (actually twice) I visited Babycakes NYC and partook of the wonderful baked goods there. Also, I had great assistance at Pollo Campero, where the greeter, cooks, and cashier all helped make sure I had a fantastic vegan dinner.

I'm getting more comfortable know what to ask for at WDW and I was surprised at one particular interaction I had at, of all places, Pop Century's food court. I asked a couple of managers to see the ingredients for something at one of the stations. They insisted on getting the head chef to come out and talk with me. Chef Jose spent several minutes going over options and finally, we had a meal planned out. After a few minutes, he came back to tell me that there was an ingredient that had dairy in it that couldn't be taken out. He then said that he would grill some vegetables for me and bring it out. What he created is above. That's eggplant, zucchini, red onions and hummus with strawberries. To me, even though I know the chefs at WDW will accommodate special dietary requests, this was above and behind. It was delicious and, frankly, not something I expected from Pop Century.

I have a new post over at The Mouse and More that updates how my weight is doing, as well as my training for the increasing number of half- and full marathons I'm doing this year, but overall, I feel great and I'm looking forward to the fresh veggies and fruit that summer provides.

Further thoughts on vegan eating at Walt Disney World

I was in Walt Disney World for Marathon Weekend from Jan 5-12. As in October, I ate just fine, although I tried a couple of new places to eat. Tangerine Cafe at the Morocco Pavilion was a big success. The vegetable platter is awesome and I had it twice while we were there. Honestly, I'd have it every day if we are in Epcot.

The Sci-Fi Dine-In restaurant at Hollywood Studios, however, not so great. There is a marinated tofu with rice and veggies dish that is okay. I'm not fan of tofu, so that is part of my "eh" reaction, although the rice and veggie were good. I do like the theming and the film loop of cheesy Sci Fi movies and drive-in promos, but the food is not the best.

I also found out that the Lighthouse sandwich at Columbia Harbor House in the Magic Kingdom is vegan. I asked to check the ingredients of the broccoli slaw and bread and they were fine. This sandwich is the aforementioned slaw with hummus and tomatoes. Very tasty and not too filling, a good alternative to the veggie wrap at the Golden Outpost in Frontierland if you're not in that area of the park when it's time to eat.

Last, but definitely not least, Babycakes NYC at Downtown Disney. This is a vegan bakery that has delicious cupcakes, cookies, and brownies. Yum! I tried several different treats, all of which were very tasty. I will make this place a must-do stop from now on.


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Holidays vegan-style

I am happy with my ability to make it through the holidays without many issues related to my vegan lifestyle. I am a bit surprised how little I missed foods I used to chow down in large quantities in previous years. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, cookies, hot chocolate, Christmas candy, etc. all used to be on the menu.

This year, I basically ate the same things I've been eating the last few months. Italian sausage seitan with sautéd orange and yellow peppers, mushrooms, and diced tomatoes in brown and wild rice or small servings of spaghetti is my current mainstay meal. I also started having small vats of salad with black beans, corn, and pineapple with a touch of balsamic vinigrette. I've been finding more variety in my lunches and dinners, which has really helped hone my palate and get me thinking about other ways to prepare simple meals. I'm excited to see what else I can create in the new year.


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Thanksgiving Day post

Happy Thanksgiving! I have a post over at The Mouse and More for your reading pleasure.

Vegan at Walt Disney World - not easy, but not hard either

My family went to Walt Disney World last week, my first extended trip away from home after I became vegan. I'd read up on what WDW could offer vegans and it's more than you'd think. The week before we left, the Disney Food Blog had post about vegan dining at WDW, which helped reinforce what I had already read or heard. Many resorts have grab-and-go areas of their food courts or quick serve restaurants. At Pop Century, the resort we stayed at, I found hummus, Silk Soy Milk, Divvies cookies and caramel corn, and corn flakes. At Epcot, the Sunshine Seasons food court in The Land pavilion of Future World had vegan black bean soup, which I had three times in the week we were there! They also had veggie sushi rolls and hummus, so I was very happy to eat there as often as we did. We celebrated our wedding anniversary while we were down, eating at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom. A chef came out to our table and walked me through the buffet tables, telling me what was and what wasn't vegan; if a dish wasn't vegan, he offered to make a similar dish that would be! I had a great meal there. I've heard that Boma, a buffet restaurant at Animal Kingdom Lodge is also a good option, so I may have to try that next time we're down.

Overall, I had no real problems eating as a vegan while I was at WDW, although a few times, I had to look carefully at what was included in a dish or read labels to make sure I would be okay eating something. I do miss, a bit, having a Dole Whip, but I'm sure that, if pressed, the chefs at the restaurants would whip up something equally delicious. I knew that I wouldn't have too much trouble, but I'm glad that I have now experienced being vegan at Walt Disney World for myself.

Doing better with portions, but still...

Over at my other blog, The Mouse and More, I just posted an entry about why I run. I thought I'd do the same thing here about why I became vegan, but I explain it somewhat at the other site. If interested, feel free to read it. I'll wait.

Ok, so, instead, what I thought I'd do with this entry is briefly describe how I'm trying to restart the weight loss I'd experienced earlier this year as I became vegan. I've cut down on the vegan junk food (yes, as far as I can tell, there is such a thing - at least there's no animal-based products in what I was eating). For example, coconut milk frozen dessert is yummy, but if you eat most of a pint, with a crapton of blueberries and cashews on top of it, that's not necessarily a good thing, weight loss or health-wise. Neither is doing that every night. That's not what a treat should be. Once a week or so, that's a treat.

Vegan burritos nuked and covered in salsa three or four times a week isn't necessarily "bad", but without anything else on the plate, especially anything in the vegetable family (salsa from a jar doesn't really count) is less than optimal in my mind. Now the last couple of months have been tough with some extended family issues, but still, a salad is just as easy as a burrito. Change is coming as I get back into the cooking habit again. I've come to enjoy cooking again and even though I'm still making two or three different meals each night (depending on if my wife and son each the same thing), I'm learning how to prep ingredients quicker, how to combine things for different meals and how to finish off a dish with a different twist each time. I've moved beyond relying on tofu so much, too. Seitan is great and very versatile. I've done a little with tempeh and plan to do more as we get to the time of the year for comfort food (at here in Minnesota when it getting chillier).

So, I'm doing much better about what I'm eating (still all vegan) and how much (the bigger issue) and hopefully, I can reach my weight loss goals and be a better and healthier runner.

Food choices good, but amounts? not so much

I've been doing really well lately catching hidden non-vegan ingredients and finding vegan alternatives when eating out, but in the last few weeks, I've had a hard time with how much I'm eating. I can attribute much of the problem to being injured and not running as much as I had been. Not only was my exercise cut way down, but I was not in the best of spirits for the last few weeks. I haven't gorged myself or anything like that, but I have found myself eating more than I need to whenI'm feeling stressed or bored.

A bad habit I've had for years, this pattern can be overcome with some determination and, now that I can start getting back into running again, a strong desire to continue my journey toward more mindful food choices. It's not easy sometimes and we've had some family stresses lately that have not helped being planful about preparing good meals, but there's light at the end of that tunnel, too. As I get more comfortable with what I can eat, I'll get better at figuring out how to eat.