Vegan potuluck, and how to get more sleep!

/hihi Can you believe that fresh strawberries are cheap in Florida right now?  Its the middle of winter and they in every health food store and supermarket. I made this delicious whole wheat strawberry waffle before hitting up the trails on the weekend (where I saw a BISON- not kidding- pics to come in my next post!!)

In my last post I laid out my resolutions for the year. There is something else I want to try out for a few weeks and see if it changes anything- more sleep. Or specifically:

 9 hours of sleep a night.

 Most work nights I only get 6-7 max and Im drinking waaaaay to much green tea and even the occasional soda (not good- not after last years battle to wean myself off the stuff!)

This website http://helpguide.org/life/sleeping.htm suggests 7.5 to 9 hours, and I think 9 is a safe number to shoot for so that I know I will at least get 8.5 hours by the time I actually fall asleep (it can take me a while sometimes)

This is going to mean timing my workouts earlier (I like to go at 7 or 8 p.m when the gym isnt crowded) Its going to be really weird going to bed at 9:30p.m. but I want to try it out, and see if I feel like a whole new person :D

The website says this about sleep deprivation (I will highlight in purple the ones I feel really apply to myself)

The effects of sleep deprivation and chronic lack of sleep

• Fatigue, lethargy, and lack of motivation
• Moodiness and irritability
• Reduced creativity and problem-solving skills
• Inability to cope with stress
• Reduced immunity; frequent colds and infections
• Concentration and memory problems

• Weight gain
• Impaired motor skills and increased risk of accidents
• Difficulty making decisions
• Increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems

I bet I will feel more creative, optimistic and passionate about life rather than snarky and bored and clamoring for a nap if I have more sleep under my belt :)

How do you know if you are sleep deprived? Well, according to the website:

You may be sleep deprived if you...

• Need an alarm clock in order to wake up on time
• Rely on the snooze button
• Have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning
• Feel sluggish in the afternoon
• Get sleepy in meetings, lectures, or warm rooms
• Get drowsy after heavy meals or when driving

• Need to nap to get through the day
• Fall asleep while watching TV or relaxing in the evening
• Feel the need to sleep in on weekends
• Fall asleep within five minutes of going to bed

I got 9 hours a night over the weekend- easy right!!?

On Sunday night I was aiming for 9 but got 8 instead by the time I finally got to bed. I lost my wallet somewhere in the house and it took forever to find it and threw off my schedule (which again, is why 9 is a good number to shoot for cos at LEAST you get in 8 by the time you've dealt with all the random things you remember you need to do before bed!

The website http://helpguide.org/life/sleeping.htm suggests creating a ritual before bed. I've been having a cup of hot Sleepytime tea which has natural sleep herbs in it,

and a hot shower + making sure I dont use bright electronics right before bed + making my room dark to promote melatonin (sleep hormone), and so I easily fell asleep before 10:30 :) This morning I don't feel as tired as I usually would


In other news- I went to a Vegan Potluck this weekend! There is a local group that meets on the first Saturday of every month and everybody brings a vegan/vegetarian dish. http://veg4lifegainesville.com/ It was great! Check out their website for recipes.

These are some pics from their site:

There were about 40 people, and tons of yummy food including desserts! The crowd was mainly older people but there were about 5 people in their 20s there too. It seemed like the elder people were quite excited to see us, I think they really want to pass on their wisdom to the new generation! I made vegan mac and cheese from Ohsheglows.com (which garnered quite a few compliments!) Ty made a dip with corn chips and one of our very pregnant friends came along too (here due date is tomorrow!!), she loved the food as well.

There were lots of conversations about eco-friendly and sustainable ways of eating, as well as a speech from a vegan dietitian about how to eliminate gluten in your diet.

 I dont have any gluten issues, but it did make me think that it might be cool to eliminate various things from my diet for a week at a time and see how I feel. Who knows- maybe I'd feel great after a week without gluten or milk etc? I dont know what if mildly intolerant of certain things or not, without testing! I know a few people who feel congested if they have milk products or get headaches. I'm trying to be more aware of how what I eat affects my skin, hair, energy, mood etc.

With work and school keeping me so busy my community involvement has been kind of lacking, but this is the kind of group I can definitely support and be a part of in the new year!

Pumpkin pancakes and vegan mac and cheese

On Friday night I made Angela from "Oh She Glows" (see her link in my blogs I follow list, you can find the recipe on her site) Vegan mac&cheese- it was scrape the pot good!! 




yummy sauce!!



 

 I really liked the fact that the sauce was tasty without having a ton of calories like normal mac and cheese sauce, and that it had pumpkin in it (because I often neglect vegetables in my life, yes I could probably use a mom telling me to eat my broccoli lol...)

Ty also loved it and has requested I make it again :) And he used to be a huge cheese addict!

On Saturday morning Ty was on shift at the firestation which sucks because we usually cook together on Saturday and make a nice breakfast. :( I decided to make a yummy breakfast anyway and made pumpkin pancakes! (I'm on a bit of a pumpkin kick I guess!!)

They were delicious, and the house smelled so good for hours after I made them! They also fueld me through an hour and a half long workout later and kept me full until about 4pm!

I basically used one cup Hogdson Mill's whole wheat baking mix, 1 cup of pumpkin,  1 tablesppon of molasses, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil,1 tablespoon of fat free sour cream as my 'egg', 1 teaspoon of allspice, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and about a cup of almond milk (as much as needed to get it to a batter consistency) Mix all of that together, plop dollops of it in a lightly oiled nonstick pan until browned on both sides and then drizzle raw organic honey on top..mmmM!!

If you dont have ready mix you could follow this recipe:

 1/2 cups milk

1 and a half cups pumpkin puree

1 tablesppon sour cream as 'egg'
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar (or molasses- I used molasses

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger ( I didnt have any but it would add to the flavor!)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, sour cream, oil. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

Spray your griddle or frying pan with non stick and put it on a medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Really good with hot chocolate too.... :D

Reading Tina's blog post  from "Carrots and Cake" reminded me of our visit to Swamphead brewery! Ty and I were in local brewery withdrawal after our trip to the awesome city of Asheville, and decided to go visit Gainesville's one and only local Swamp Head Brewery. http://www.swamphead.com/

 I wanted to try the cask of pink beer they are tapping every Wednesday night and selling snifters of for breast cancer awareness month but it was gone already :( Their other beer was wondeful though, made right on site- we stood around with friends amdist huge containers filled with brews.



A pic I stole off Google

The brewery has a tasting room with all their beers on tap, and I got to meet one of the owners/creators :) Swamp Head has a variety of brews, my favorite was Wild Night Honey Cream Ale wich adds tupelo honey from Apalachicola, the area northwest of Gainesville that's the only place in the world tupelo honey is commercially made. The brewery is sustainable, and their spent grain feeds local cattle, isn't that neat?

You can also buy a 'Growler' (yes this is Gator country!) of beer, basically a little barrel of it for $18, a great gift for the men in your life!