Two weeks in.... Not bad, not bad at all

Infinityface here coming back for another post.

I completely missed a week but I am back!  I am two weeks in with my decision on going vegan, and I said it before and I'll say it again, it's not as hard as I thought it would be!!!  But from this day on I guess you can call me the "Cheap Vegan"!  I have been on two shopping trips to Whole Foods and I even checked out Trader Joes and I haven't spent as nearly as I thought I would. I have friends that are vegan and they told me that they have about 500 dollars set aside for their grocery bill!!  Wait.... What?  He'll no!  My bill has been $265 for the month!  Let me be honest with myself, 265 dollars a month for groceries is more than I usually budget for because I was a junk food junkie.   I was convinced that I was too busy to prepare meals at home because there wasn't enough time in the day.  So my out food budget was about ummmmm..... Another $300!! (Cringe) don't judge me.  So I guess I can't be to blown away by my friends budget cause I was spending the same amount.  BUT!  I no longer eat out- per se and I made whole meals for these past few weeks and I'm spending less than ever!  Ok let's break this down:

My first shopping bill at Whole Foods was $105 but if u take away the protein powder-$22, the virgin olive oil-$12 and the African Black soap-$7 I'm left with a $64 grocery bill that lasted two weeks! I bought spaghetti sauce, spaghetti, 2 bags of meatless crumble, tofu sour cream, tofu shredded cheese, bag of potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, bulk of red beans, onions, green peppers, almond milk, vegan butter, non dairy yogurt, 2 vegetable broths, 2 avocados and corn tortillas.  With that I made smothered potatoes (sometimes with a side of tofu cheese and sour cream), spaghetti with meaty meatless spaghetti sauce, and I made tacos!  I made enough to last for a bit.  I also spent another 30 dollars on fruit, oatmeal and ground flax seeds at the local grocery store.  I have a friends from Ghana and Senegal and two weeks ago my friend from Ghana made me a stew they call Tomato stew. Usually they add goat meat or beef to the stew but my friend made mine meatless.  The ingredients and seasonings are all natural and no meat by product that I know of was used.  Man, man, man....
Tomato stew is soooooo good when eaten over rice.  So all that came up to $104 of grocery or food
that I've eaten for the last two weeks.

This weekend I went shopping again and spent a total of  $150 for the next two weeks at Whole Foods and Trader Joes!  Now, this week I admit that I was being super lazy and thought about simple meals to prepare.  I discovered some very tasty delicious cereal  that are gluten free-and some that are not gluten free but organic-that taste very good with my almond milk.  So I bought 2 boxes of Cascadian Farm organic honey nut O's and a box of  Natures Path Sunrise Crunchy Maple, almond milk, 2 vegan lemon tarts, bag of jasmine rice, organic raw blue agave, soy ginger sauce, gluten free hot oatmeal, 1bean and rice burrito (to try) and 3 large bottles of coconut water at Whole Foods. This came to $75.
I actually went to Trader Joes first because I never been there before either.  I was hoping I would have the same magical experience I had going to Whole Foods for the first time - I didn't.  To start, I picked the wrong day to go as there was high traffic in the area where Trader Joes was because a
liquor store opened up next to the store!  I think it's a Trader Joes type liquor store but still... Really?  All this traffic for liquor?  I guess.  Anyways, as soon as I walked in Trader Joes immediately I noticed that it was smaller than Whole Foods.   It's funny because compared to the big named grocery stores, I thought Whole Foods was tight. But small is an understatement on the square footage of Trader Joes.  But... Ok! No big deal.  I was relieved that there wasn't a lot of people in the store based on the fiasco in their parking lot.  So, at Trader Joes I bought 3 types of pre cut fruit, 2 bags of fresh veggies, organic hummus, super spinach salad,  stir fry veggies, and marinated tofu. Honestly, there wasn't really much else.  I was considering getting almond butter but the price of it said "nahhh.... Peanut butter is the dopest!" Lol!  So I spent a total of $55

I don't know if I was half distracted cause I was on the phone while shopping, but I wasn't really seeing anything that fit my needs at Traders.  I'm a little bummed because I hear so many positive things about Trader Joes and I had high hopes for this store, but Whole Foods stole my heart.  I can say that Traders is a little bit cheaper than WF and I can pick up a 2buck chuck in the same trip! I will try them again though, give them a second chance.

I also received some more African dishes from my friends so i also have more Tomato stew and my
friends from Liberia hooked me up on some peanut butter soup!  So I'll be eating on that for a few days!  I looooove African dishes!  They are so tasty and well seasoned with all types of peppers and spices.  I'm soooo sorry I don't have pictures so you can visualize the scrumptiousness of he meals that I've been eating.  I'm still new this blogging thing and I haven't figured out how to do that yet.

Ok so fitness. Uh, yeah. Ummm..... Ok see, what had happened was I live in Minneapolis and winter has begun here about a month early so needless to say, I can't get out of bed.  Now, because it's hard to get out of bed, I don't be having the time to be packing clothes for the gym AND lunch because I wait till the last minute to get up.  However I did pull my DVDs out and placed them next to the tv annnnd I spoke to my personal trainer to get a schedule set up for us to begin.   I'm really excited as my trainer trained me for about 6 months and he did one hell of a job on my body!  However, it's
been about a year since we trained together needless to say, my pythons are GONE! My back fat that was going away now waves at me when I look at them in the mirror and the zippers on my knee high boots are screaming.  I didn't let myself completely go in the year but there is definitely a before, after and after after.  I promise that I would have completed at least one workout by next Sunday.  Cross my heart.  Ugh, I actually dread my first workout.

I have been keeping up with the positive affirmations with Pinch Me Living. I actually like it! It does keep me positive and I do get this renewed feeling of self accomplishment and motivation to do and be better.  I've also programmed alerts in my phone calendar to send me reminders to pray.  I try to get in about 5 prayers a day.  In these past two weeks I've also completed the book Art of War by Sun Tzu.  I kept hearing about this book and how people say they live by the war tactics and apply it to real life.  I think I need to read it again though, possibly study it cause I didn't quite see how it can be applied to my own life -yet.

Now, as far as my appearance, I am struggling honey.  Now I did buy some new organic soaps and the organic coconut oil for my skin and hair.   I then pulled out old natural fragrance oils to use.  I can say im proud of myself that I'm actually getting dressed one step above what I normally do. But this cold is making me want to just throw on anything and head out the door.  I did go to MAC and pick up some natural mineralized skin finish, love joy blush and verve lipstick as my everyday face.  So...... Maybe I'm doing better than I thought.  But I know I can do better.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Lol.  Again my apologies for not having any pictures.  I'll figure that out later. I also apologize for being a week behind.  I will also try my best to upload a vlog but I'm having problems finding a good area to film. Don't nobody wanna wanna see a chewed up video so I'm taking my time to figure this stuff out so I can get a vid I'm fine with.


To Infinity and beyooooooood.....Face!!!!!

Sayonara McDonalds, I's Vegan Nah!!

To Infinity and beyoooond.......FACE!


So it is Sunday night and I have official been one week in on my new journey.   I've started meditating, I've been to Ulta, I've dusted off old workout DVDs, and as of today I've been on my first Whole Foods shopping trip!

Now I must make sure that I add that I haven't started the actual vegan eating and I haven't actually started working out -Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I promise.   You know, you gotta ease into this.....

As I stated, today was my first shopping trip at Whole Foods and I must say I was intrigued by the atmosphere there.  The very first thing i noticed about this store is that it is compact.  There really wasn't a lot of cart room to navigate.  But at the same time the people you were literally rubbing shoulders with were extremely friendly.  One lady helped me when I was super lost at how to buy my beans in bulk.  She showed me where the paper and plastic bags where to hold my beans and showed me the pen where I write down the PLU number on the bag so the cashier can ring  me up correctly.
After walking around the store in awe for about 15 minutes, this guy named Jaime doing demos showed me pretty much everything I was looking for a suggested much more!  Girl, let me tell you....  Going vegan ain't gone be as hard as I thought!  There are soooo many substitutes for all my favorite meals!  So I bought all the things I needed for spaghetti, tacos, red beans and rice, and smothered potatoes.  

My plan is to start off small and work my way into veganism and make meals to last for about two weeks of meal planning.  One of the misconceptions i personally had about being a vegan that stalled me from converting was the fact that I would be in the kitchen for hours to make meals!  So far that theory is NOT TRUE!  I made meaty meatless spaghetti in under 30 minutes (YouTube vlog to


come). So I'll eat on spaghetti for a few days.  I even bought all the things i needed for tacos!!!  I got meatless ground beef, corn tortillas, tofu like sour cream and tofu like shredded cheese!  Like for real though??  Tacos?  Yup!
Another misconception I also had about being vegan and by the Instagram posts is that once I walked into Whole Foods I'll walk out with a loaf of bread and yogurt for $700! Totally not true!  Now I will say this.... I ain't buying no fruits there!  Nuh uh!  But I did get all i needed for about $65. Now my bill did come out to be $106 and some change but that is because I got some one time big ticket items like protein that was $21.99, coconut oil that was 7.99, and African black soap shampoo that was 8.99 (my mama was gonna cook my food for me and do my hair and I forgot my shampoo at home).  Then I went to Cub Foods for my fruit.  So I must say about $120 every two weeks in groceries is suffice.
Man I can't wait to let you know how my first week will go!  I'm super excited about this.  Slowly but surely I'll expand my palette.  This has been a long time coming..



I totally forgot that I purchased INSANITY about 4 years ago!  Girl it's time to push these tables to the side hunty!  Another DVD I blew dust off of that I actually really liked was Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown.  My plan is to do the yoga in the morning because here in Minneapolis it's getting a bit nippy and I'm not yet dedicated to my fitness like that to look forward to freezing my ass off outside. NOPE!  Then Ill do Insanity when I get home after work.  I do have a gym at my place of work and I'm thinking that if I miss my morning or if I know I'm not gonna do my night workout ill jump on the treadmill there.  This is my primary worry... I don't like working out.  Ugh!  I loathe the thought that I have to wake up earlier than I have to Just to workout.  Hell, That's why I got dreads!  Like, who really likes getting up early to do hair and exercise? Who does that??  Damn!  Y'all pray for me.

Ok, so as far as meditating, I really don't know what I am doing.  I'm just trying some stuff.  I know
you are supposed to sit with your legs crossed and hands resting on your knees palms facing up.  I
also know that you have to keep your body relaxed as possible and try to clear your mind.  I was  strolling through YouTube and discovered a meditation channel named Pinch Me Living.  This
channel has different affirmations you listen to while you meditate so that it goes into your self
conscience.  I've begun listening to these  affirmations, primarily 400+ Powerfully Positive Affirmations.  As I listen tho, I find myself drifting off to other things.  I'm not sure if I'm supposed to focus on what is being said or not but I kinda get distracted by the lady speaking.  I'm not sure of her accent but she pronounces all her "e's" long vowel. It's weird cause as I'm listening I have to decipher what she is actually saying.  For example, she will say something like "I am the best at everything I do".  But it sounds like: I am the beast at eevrything I do.  But yeah, I listen to her affirmations daily. I try to, anyway... Per her suggestion I will listen for the next 30 days to see how that turns out.  I say my own prayers to my Lord Jesus Christ to stay focused while listening because if I just sit there my mind will be all over the place and I won't stay focused.  However, I get a little iffy because i sometimes get these images in my head of church mothers throwing bibles at my head and body
slamming me on the altar!  Lol!  Mama noooooo.....

It's all about finding the balance.  I truly believe that my inner peace comes solely from The Lord.  The Bible even tells me that  He will give me peace that surpasses all understanding. So my
meditations are combined with prayer.  But I can say that I like that I am working towards staying, acting, thinking and speaking positive with the affirmations I listen to daily.

So on Friday I visited Ulta.  I stocked up on some things i needed and I bought some things I wanted to try.  I bought a face mask by Freeman called Golden Brightening Mask that hydrates and brightens.  I'm excited about using it.  I also bought African Black Soap body wash and Shea Butter soap by Shea Moisture. On my outing to Whole Foods I also bought coconut oil for my body and hair.    As a woman who is a self proclaimed "girly-girl" I am embarrassed to confess that I get overwhelmed in stores like Sephora and Ulta.  There is soooooo much stuff that I want there!!!  Oh my Gaaawd. Who told them to put all this stuff in one store??
I seriously get overwhelmed. My thinking when I stand outside of Ulta is "girl, you are here to get this and that cause (insert fav YouTube vlogger here) says it's pretty good and it looks great on her!"  But as soon as I step into the store I immediately begin thinking "OMGee... Look at all this stuff I need!!  I need this and this and this- ooh look!  Girl you need this too!"  I swear Ulta is crack for me....

So yeah, one week down and week two to go!

Positivity in your environment is crucial.  I am soooo thankful for the people in my life that support my change in my lifestyle.  My mama #2 worked with me, helped me find recipes that are fast and easy for me to make on my own and she cooked all my main dishes for the next two weeks so that I won't get discouraged.  I would like to believe that when I told mama #1 that I am turning vegan that she started talking about how she is now doing tai chi at her senior apartment building and her church is starting up beginners yoga and she is super excited to go!  I'm encouraged to buy her a yoga mat so that she will stay motivated to keep going.  My older sister was helpful with trying to find substitutes for soul food.  We are working on how to make cornbread dressing without milk and eggs for the cornbread and we are still trying to figure out what is the cream in cream of celery and cream of chicken to see if it can be subbed.  My bestie is super encouraging.  She calls every morning to make sure Im up to workout and asks what I ate during the day.  This is needed.  I really appreciate the support I am receiving from my family and friend.  It makes it easier but at the same time it's intimidating because now.... All eyes are on me.  Lol!  That's fine though because I can now say this in confidence that I'm not doing it for them- I'm doing it for me! And only me.   Another thing that I experienced as self appreciation is I snuck to White Castle for the last time to eat those shit burgers one more time but the whole experience was horrible!  I'm soooo done with bad customer service and bad food at fast food restaurants.  As I drove away I became  disgusted that I paid someone to treat me like shit and kill me slowly with unhealthy fake food..  Ugh!

Let the transformation begin......