Aaron Visits Dallas

NOTE:  Want to see this in photo form?  Check out my instagram.

What a week of eating, sleeping and love.  Aaron came to visit me in Dallas for 8 days.  I'm trying to sell him on Texas and he's wooing me.  Those two things lead to a very wonderful week together.

SATURDAY, MAY 24TH:

He arrived on Saturday, May 24th.  Before he came to me, Dimple took me to Ascension Coffee in the Arts District.  It was a true Chai and a little bitter for my tastes, but definitely the most authentic Chai I have every tasted.  I drank it, but I wish I had added a little sweetener.  If you've ever met me, you know I love sweet.

We met him at the airport and then did a little shopping.  Dimple is my favorite shopping partner, hands down.  She's the friend that will tell you something looks awful, and encourage you to try on a fluffy homecoming dress for fun.  She's the best.  From there, Aaron and I got Taco Cabana as a snack because neither of us had eaten that day, but we were getting food later that night.  We went home and got ready, and headed out to meet Paul for sushi at Sushi Zushi under Dimple's recommendation.  Again, have I mentioned that Dimple is the best?

Sushi Zushi was delicious.  Aaron and I split some vegan sushi; a Tropical Roll, an avocado roll and one other roll that I can't remember the name of.  We also ordered Tofu Yakiudon.. Aaron loves udon.  It was delicious and even Paul said he would come back.  Paul rarely visits the same sushi place twice, so that is a huge compliment.

We attempted to go to Bowl Lounge, but they said it would be an hour and a half wait, and it was already 11pm.

SUNDAY, MAY 25TH:

We started our morning by sleeping way, way in.  It was wonderful.  Around 3pm we found ourselves at Cici's pizza, starving.  We inhaled some food and headed to Half Price Books so Aaron could see the flagship store.  I picked up a Cortana Pop! figure for my love, Lisa.  We went out that evening with Paul and saw X-Men: Days of Future Past at Studio Movie Grill on Royal.  The movie was great and the black bean burger at Studio Movie Grill was delicous.  I loved the sweet potato fries.

MONDAY, MAY 26TH THROUGH THURSDAY, MAY 29TH:

I had to work long shifts these days, so Aaron was very patient with my schedule and did some independent exploring, and hung out with Paul.  He also visited me on my lunches at work.  We ate the delicious Greenhouse Market at the mall, had Puciago for dessert, and a few times after work, we went to late night food options.  One night we visted Velvet Taco, which again, Dimple had told me about.  As always, it was amazing.  Another night, we visited a place he and Paul had found called Trinity Hall.  It was an Irish pub with vegan options.. heaven.  We even had vegan brownie cheesecake for dessert.  It was amazing.  Thursday, we got a vegan pizza from Whole Foods and I ate half of it and went into a carb coma.  Yes.. it was good.

FRIDAY, MAY 30TH:

Friday I was off!  We woke up late and went to work out.  We also wondered around looking for food, and ended up giving up and decided to see an earlier showing of Maleficent instead.  Paul joined us at Studio Movie Grill on Technology Blvd.  The theater was better, but the service was considerably worse.  It took us over an hour to get drinks.. that was after food, and with us asking three different servers to please bring them to us.  It was disappointing, but the movie was great.  Second Disney movie I've seen recently where the Princess isn't saved by a Prince.  I am loving the direction Disney has been going... exploring that there is more than the love between a man and a woman.

We went to Half Price Books again, but this time, Aaron and Paul wondered off to look at nerdy things while I looked at skincare books.  We got chai teas and Aaron was impressed.  I love their chai so much.

We came back to the house and opened the Cards Against Humanity and played that for a while before we headed to Lower Greeneville.  Caroline joined us just before leaving.  We went to Truck Yard for a few minutes, but it was honestly too packed to be pleasant, and we left as soon as Aaron finished his beer.  Paige and Prem met us at Truck Yard.  We headed to the Libertine and got food.  I had their seitan tacos in the past and they were great.. they've since changed them and they're just bland now.  They're served with just cabbage and hot sauce, and in order to get enough flavor and cut the dryness, you have to use too much hot sauce and the heat is too much.  I was disappointed, but Aaron liked them.  We bounced around Lower Greeneville a little longer, but then we decided to head back to the house and play more Cards.

SATURDAY, MAY 31ST:

Aaron deemed Saturday lazy day.  We slept in, ran a few errands, and got groceries for the day.  Paul joined us to play Cards, watch anime, and generally nerd out.  I made curry with cauliflower rice and it was delicious.  I also tried Nada Moo for the first time in the Chai flavor and it reminded me of Half Price Books / Black Forest Cafe's Chai.  So delicous!!  It was, overall, just a nice preview of the days to come when Aaron really gets to move here.

SUNDAY, JUNE 1ST:

We slept in, we cuddled, and we said good bye.  I don't want to say goodbye.  Let's say.. see you soon.

Book Review: the Top 100 Immunity Boosters by Charlotte Haigh

the Top 100 Immunity Boosters:
100 Recipes to Keep Your Immune System Fighting Fit

The good:
This book was a random Half Price Books find, as well as a Harvard written nutrition book and an actual nutrition textbook.. and my usual addiction; three plus vegan cookbooks.  I liked that it was small and quick, more of a quick digest than a full on nutrition book; but definitely great for anyone who cares less about the technical side of diet and nutrition and is solely looking for easy, breezy information on adding healthier foods into their diet.  This book is even better for people who are looking for specific nutrients, as each are listed with each item, or those looking to eat for a certain condition, as the index in the back shows.  I didn't think I'd learn a lot from this book, but the fun little pop up tips and facts were varied and mostly new information to me.

The bad:
In contrast, if you're looking for an in depth book about nutrition and the chemical reactions and things of that nature, this isn't the book for you.  If you're looking to change to better eating habits and don't have a nutrition background, this book could be a little overwhelming the first or second time you flip through.  To anyone with very basic knowledge on healthy eating and smart food choices, this book will be a fantastic addition to your collection and a quick tool to pull out for recipes and shopping ideas.

Here's an example of the page layout for most of the foods.

The layout:The layout in this book is simple and easy to follow.  It talks about each item, what makes it a immunity boosting food, gives a short list of ingredients, and provides a recipe in a colored box.  Most items are summarized on one page, but certain superfoods are given two pages.  It's cohesive and easy to follow, and the uniform pattern keeps it very fluid.  The items are given a number, as well as the page numbers, would could be confusing to some, but shows that you are literally counting through 100 items.  The recipes range from simple to fun and complex.  Several foods note when they are still beneficial cooked.  I would assume most nutrient dense foods are best raw or mostly raw, except where noted otherwise.

Worth it?
Yes.  I got it for just pennies under $5, and know you can find it used for a similar prices on Amazon.  Even at full price at $9.95, it's a steal for the amount of information and recipes you're getting in a sleek, full color book.  The the recipes seem entirely simple on first glance, some of them are more detailed than you think.  The glossary and ailment directory are also valuable add-ons in the book.

Let's shift focus.

This blog got abandoned because I hate counting calories.  In fact, I hate it so much, I have an app for it on my phone.  As such, I will no longer be posting the caloric information of my daily foods.  If you're interested in this, I will link out to that in the sidebar.

Moving on.

Today I had no time to get ready because I slept in because I'm a loser.

Breakfast:
Starbuck Venti Iced Chai Latte with Vanilla, Soymilk and two shots of espresso

Lunch:
Trader Joe's Peach Soy Yogurt
Coke Zero

Dinner:
Trader Joe's Power to the Greens Mix
Trader Joe's Hummus Salad Dressing
Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Couscous
Trader Joe's Punjab Choley

Snacks:
Trader Joe's Roasted Seaweed Snacks
Trader Joe's 12 Grain Mini Snack Crackers

You guys are going to start seeing a lot of probiotic and soluble fiber foods in my diet as I attempt to deal with my Crohn's Disease.  I've come to a head with my digestive issues, and I don't care what my family doctor says, one test ten years ago can't determine if I have Crohn's disease or not.  I have had lifelong chronic digestive issues, and you will not wave it off as "stress related IBS".  I have fantastic coping mechanisms, it is NOT due to stress.  I wasn't stressed out in the second grade and I'm not stressed out now.

As such, there will be a new part to this blog.  I won't get into graphic details with it, because no one wants to hear all of that and frankly I don't want to tell you, but I will be adding:
Symptoms:  Abdominal cramping in the morning, subsided by late afternoon.  Level zero*.

*As far as other, ahem, symptoms, I will refer to those as a level issue and it will be based on a scale known only to me.  That's not really something I feel like sharing with you guys.

Welcome!

This is intended to answer the frequently asked question, "So.. what do you eat?"  Well, as you'll see here, I eat a LOT, haha.  I have a serious love/love relationship with food and an overly zealous approach to it that is (unproudly) displayed on my waist line.  This is an issue that I struggle with regularly, and would like to see go away.

This blog will have my daily food journal, as well as recipes, cooking videos, grocery hauls/shopping lists, and whatever else floats my boat.

By the way, did I mention I'm a vegan?  Cause.. I am.  =]

To kick things off right, here is a haul video of some Trader Joe's goodies from yesterday.