Now this is passion!

      I have one last topic to blog about for the blog challenge that I started a while ago. I have been putting this last post off for some time now knowing it is going to be a long one. The topic I am supposed to write about is something I am passionate about. I have been told many times that when I get into something I really get into it! This means that when I say I am passionate about something I am unbelievably ardent about it. The topic I have chosen is probably not a surprise to most that know me. I chose the topic of food.

food·i.e. [foo-dee]
noun Slang.

a person keenly interested in food, especially in eating or cooking.

Thats me.

      I have chosen this topic not only because I love [good] food and I eat too much, but because of everything that comes along with it. The topic of food brings up so many more discussions like health, our earth, animals, chemicals, beliefs, etc. 

      If you don't know already, I am vegan. I have only been vegan for about nine or ten months now but I can honestly say that it is one of the best choices I have ever made. But first of all, I must say, I am not writing this post to get people to realize that they should be vegan too, or believe what I believe. I could care less what you do. Actually, thats not true. I care a lot about what you do. Too much actually. But I just need to stress before I go on that I am not trying to start an argument or give my opinion to the world because I think everyone needs to hear it. No way! I simply am writing a post about what I am passionate about, and this topic happens to have me absolutely smitten. I could go on forever about how much I care about this earth and every single being I share it with. I do not think non vegans are evil or uneducated. I know everyone has their own beliefs and that it fine by me. This is mine.

      I was vegetarian on and off and on for a few years but mostly to be healthy. I have never been the kind of person to eat much meat anyway, I never liked it. I guess I should specify, I was actually pescitarian. This is a person who does not eat meat with the exception of fish and all other sea creatures. I did feel a lot healthier not eating meat but I had no idea how much I was actually effecting our earth by choosing not to eat meat. It wasn't until just a year ago I really started learning about veganism and everything behind it. It wasn't just about being healthy and not eating animal products because we aren't meant to..it was about our planet and all our friends living here with us. I became obsessed with educating myself all about it, reading and watching every documentary I could. I have mentioned my favorite one in a past blog post called Vegucated. It's very informative and more of an experiment so it's fun to watch even if you are not vegetarian.

      After watching this documentary I made up my mind then and there, I declared myself a vegan. I remember I was at home watching it on a laptop and as soon as it ended I texted my boyfriend who was at work and said,  "I've decided to be vegan." His response was "Ok, I'll be vegan with you." Seriously? How amazing is he! Not only do I have a boyfriend who supports me and has the same beliefs, but also cares as much and has as soft of a side as I do! (Don't get me wrong, he is very manly and tough..) But that definitely made the transition from vegetarian to vegan a whole lot easier with him doing this with me. He had actually even been vegetarian a lot longer than me prior to being vegan so this wasn't a complete change of heart for him either. 

      When we first decided to become vegan we thought that we would just be..simple vegans..I don't know how else to put it. Like, we would eat mostly vegan, but I knew I had leather things I would not even think about getting rid of, and I figured I used products every day that had been tested on animals. We even figured we would cheat every now and then and sneak some cheese. This was our mind set in the beginning. After being vegan for a couple of months we did cheat, we went out and got a vegetarian meal with cheese. We had a stomach ache for days after this. I then decided I would stick to a strict vegan diet. I found myself later not even being able to touch the things I owned made of leather, and I'd cringe at the sight of things made with real fur. I ended up going through my closet and getting rid of everything I had that was made from animals. Now I even find myself checking the bottles of my shampoo and and researching every other product I use to make sure it is not tested on animals. I thought being vegan was going to be really hard, but once I had this mind set and completely believed in it with all of my heart, it is the easiest and greatest thing I have ever done! I may be a little over the top at times. When I see someone post a picture of a deer's head they hunted and killed I may or may not burst into tears, I just can't help it. Even seeing road kill breaks my heart. I think I annoy Burt sometimes with how extreme I have become.

      Now I am one of those typical vegan people who volunteer at the sanctuary farm and have friends who are the leaders of the Salt Lake City PETA group. I have become a part of this vegan community here in Salt Lake. I even attend fund raisers and get invited to protest. (Which I haven't done yet..) And please, meat eaters (or whoever) don't take that whole spiel the wrong way. Like I said before, I am not trying to preach, just giving you insight on my beliefs. Thats all.

      Enough of that, this brings me to another topic regarding food. Health! The main reason I chose to become vegan in the first place. I have always been extremely health conscious. I have fallen off that ladder at times and have been awful, I am human. I grew up with a family that never went out to eat! I remember the first time I ate a cheeseburger at Carls Jr. My mom actually took pictures of me eating it to document this rare occasion! My mom did not cook every day either. She'd cook once or twice a week, and we would live off of left overs the rest of the week. Or, if I wanted something else, I had to make it myself. And my mom never bought stuff like frozen meals you could just put in the microwave or fruit snacks and chips I could just grab to eat. No. We had flour, baking powder, butter, dried pasta, oil, eggs, bags of dried beans..ingredients! Oh, and we had a giant garden out back. I even had my own little section where I strictly grew eggplants. I babied those things. At age 14 I was making home made eggplant parmesan from scratch. (Must be the Italian side of me.)

      My mom didn't even let us eat sugar cereal. The only cereal we had was oatmeal, Raisin Bran, Cheerios, and granola she would make herself. I remember once for my birthday I got my own box of Lucky Charms..yeah, the entire box was gone later that day! I am so thankful I was raised this way though. Because of this I do not like fast food, and I hate sugar cereal and soda. And if cookies are made from pre made dough..they are not real cookies! So mom, thank you, seriously!

      All my friends know I am this way also. I have a friend that whenever she feels like eating healthy she will ask me if I want to go grab some lunch because she knows I will go somewhere good. I even get random people asking me for advise or what I think about certain things. Even my boyfriend has said that since he has been living with me he has learned so much about food. This makes me feel so good!

      Being vegan I get so many people asking me the weirdest questions like, 'What do you eat?' (Uhm..food.) I have even had people ask me what the inside of my fridge looks like. Or what does my daily intake of food consist of? And don't even get me started with how many lectures I hear about where I should be getting my protein or calcium from. Seriously, I can't even start..But I just need to say..Why people care so much about what I put in my mouth and shit out later is beyond me! I have heard the lectures and have tried over and over to give my two cents, but people believe what they believe. I love everyone no matter what. If you have questions for me about what I eat and believe, ask! But do not bring it up to me or make vegan jokes to try to prove me wrong, start an argument or make me feel stupid. I am human like you and I have feelings. Making fun of veganism hurts me as much as me making fun of your god. It's mocking my beliefs and so not cool. I don't know a ton of vegan people and my closest friends are meat lovers and I love them all just the same. You could be like my mom and tell me why we are supposed to eat meat and leather is better than man made materials, thats fine! When people want to tell me what they believe I listen and respect them, just because I believe differently does not mean I need to argue or make fun.

      Since this drastic lifestyle change I have found that I am so much happier. Not only did I lose 10 pounds, (even though I eat more then EVER! Ask my boyfriend, I can eat!) but I feel amazing, my skin is softer, my hair and nails grow like they are on steroids, and I have tons more energy. I have also found that foods I have never liked in the past now taste different, like I can taste how they really are supposed to taste or something, and I love them! I can't think of one fruit or vegetable that I do not like. I have learned to listen to my body as well. My body will crave the most odd things, but I know it's what I need and I listen to what my body tells me. I feel like I even look at life a little differently now as well. It's a lot lighter feeling, like life is just easy, even in the most stressful situations. I think it's because I have suddenly become thankful for so much more and my mind is clear.

      I have been cooking more and more lately. I love trying new things and choosing a recipe from a book and making it my own. Just for this blog I have even been taking photos of my meals. I know, lame! But I really want to show people that just because I am vegan doesn't mean I live off of lettuce and beans. You can go out anywhere and find vegan options. Even Red Iguana! Mmm..they have this vegan chimichanga to die for! (See what I mean when I say I am passionate about food?) Anything can be made vegan, really. It may not be the healthiest, but it can be done! I have always been an absolute lover of sour cream, and thank goodness they have vegan sour cream! Just like they have vegan cheese, vegan butter, milk, egg replacement, and even vegan meat! I can still make all the recipes I have always loved. I try to steer clear of the soy based products and all that artificial stuff as much as I can but it's good that it is there still as an option. 

      Since I have been asked, here is what the inside of my fridge typically looks like..

 

Nothing fancy. It's food. I try to always have lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. I may be a little addicted to almond milk. Lots of condiments..(Burt looove his condiments!) 

So, there you go. My fridge.

My typical breakfast.

Smooooothies! I do love smoothies. And all summer that is all my body craved. My favorite ingredient I put in my smoothies is goji berries. They are SO good for you! They don't taste that great, thats why I dilute them with a million other kind of berries, but boy, are they just packed with everything great mother nature has to offer! 

Another thing about me that shows my passion for food is when I find a new food that I love, or start craving something random like avocados or walnuts, I look up and read everything their is to know about that particular item. I learn a lot this way and I find these things extremely interesting!

This brings me to my new favorite snack!

Walnuts! One of the most nutritious and delicious tree nuts.

Avocado is also one of my most favorite snacks! It goes with anything and is natures natural energy bar. And lately I have been craving lentils. I love this dish of lentils with sliced avocados, lemon pepper and balsamic vinegar. One of my favorites and super filling.

One of my favorite things to do with eggplant is slice, salt and fry! You can eat these as chips or put them in a sandwich.

Grilled cheese. Always a good choice. (Even better with avocados)

Vegan pizza is better then any other pizza I have ever had in my life. It doesn't matter what kind of vegan pizza, it's all amazing!

Home made potato chips. Burt actually made these. I think one of my most favorite foods not this earth are potatoes. I don't know what it is about them but I love them in any shape or form.

I also love brussels sprouts! I normally like to cut and fry them in olive oil, add a little bit of garlic, balsamic vinegar and lemon pepper, but on this particular day I wanted to try something new. My sweet tooth was craving something sweet, but healthy. So, I cut some brussels sprouts, fried them with peanuts in a tiny bit of olive oil and honey. Delish!

This kind of brings up another topic I have had on my mind. I'm vegan, I eat honey. I know vegans who don't and other who do. I would love to be more educated about this topic. I'm scared though, because I love honey. I do buy raw honey so it's not the regular crap from the store, but is it really bad for the bees if I eat honey? 

This is my favorite soup! Spinach and lentil. I love this because its so filling but it made entirely of spinach, lintels, water, a little onion, lemon juice and a dash of garlic. This particular time, however, I added some extra butternut squash I had. Sometimes I also like to add mushrooms as well. It's nice to change things up a bit.

Since fall has hit hard here in Utah, I have decided to eat all the fall and winter veggies I can find! I have never really tried much squash but decided that this year I wanted to try every kind I knew of. Even pumpkin. I had never really eaten pumpkin before, I never really thought to. I knew it was food, but only thought of them to carve or paint. I decided to peel, cut and fry some pumpkin with some other veggies and garlic. It turns out that pumpkin is one of my most favorite foods!

I also tried the same thing with butternut squash. I decided that butternut squash and pumpkin have a very similar taste. Burt likes the butternut the best.

Acorn squash makes an awesome sweet dessert! Here I cut it in half then diced the centers. I rubbed some raw coconut oil on the tops, put a little bit of brown sugar in the middle and drizzled some real maple syrup on the tops, baked, then voila! A tasty treat!

I also made spaghetti squash, but I have had that many times before so I didn't even think to take a photo of it. The spaghetti squash was all new and odd to Burt though. I think it is so neat to scoop out the center and see that it somehow just grew into these perfect noodles. 

Amazing.

Some things I use when I cook pretty much anything are..

Laziz makes all sorts of spreads. Everything they make is amazing! And I'm not just saying that because the guys who invented this stuff happen to be my good friends, they really know what they are doing when it comes to food! 

This garlic condiment is good for everything! I use it when frying, baking, or even just a little bit on my  bread for sandwiches. Be aware that if you ever use this stuff it is extremely strong! The first time I opened it Burt thought it was hummus (I don't think he knew Laziz made anything else) and he took a pita chip, scooped it in this jar and shoved a whole glob into his mouth! It probably was equivalent to about 5 whole garlic cloves. He learned his lesson.

I also love, love, love olive oil and vinegar. This place, Olive Oil Co., have a location on Park City main street and Gateway mall. You can go in their store and sample every little thing they have. They have a million different kinds of olive oils and vinegar. It's so fun to go try all the different flavors. Also, if you buy a bottle you can always take your bottle back to the store and get a refill for real cheap!

      I also have to add that since learning more and more about all these things people put in and on their bodies I have come to disagree with most. I have never been the kind of person to take medicine or go to the doctor unless I really need to. Yes, I agree with lots of things, but if something is going on that I can take care of myself with something completely natural from the earth, I prefer it. I always have essential oils on hand. My favorite is my lavender mixed with peppermint oil. I love this because it seems like lavender and peppermint can be the cure for pretty much everything! And on the plus side, lavender smells amazing and peppermint is so soothing. I use this so much that Burt tells me all the time that I always smell like lavender. It may be because I use this along with my organic lavender lotions and organic lavender soap. But seriously, this oil has saved my life more then once.

       When I say 'saved my life' I mean it! I have a mosquito bite diving me crazy, or a headache I can't get rid of, cramps that are killing me, thats all nothing a few drops of lavender-peppermint oil can't take care of!

      I'm sure there is so much more I could go off about because of how passionate I am about all of this, but if I keep going I may never be able to stop. 

      Thank goodness I am finally finished with that blog challenge I started months ago that was only supposed to take 30 days. I am awful. I'm sure I will keep posting though! I have come to love blogging and reading others blogs. I think I really love learning about people. If you have a blog let me know so I can follow you!

I'll go first.

      I have finally decided to take a chance and follow my dreams..I told my job to not schedule me after December, I will be doing photography full time as of next year. It's a very bitter sweet feeling. I don't doubt I can do this, but I feel as though I am jumping into a deep pit blindfolded. The thing about photography is (and maybe this is just a Utah thing) people book only a few weeks in advance for photo shoots. Even weddings will be booked only a couple months in advance. So as of right now my schedule is booked throughout December but slows down in January. If things go normally I should be booked for January by the end of November/beginning December. It's just a scary thought.
      I have applied for this group called BNI. It's a business networking group, so I am hoping this will help a lot. I just need to stop stressing! This is something I have always wanted to do and I honestly feel that right now is a good time. I am in a steady relationship with a man who supports anything I decide to do. I am, for the most part, out of debt so I don't have many bills to pay each month. And if not now then when?
      Every year I make this goal for myself to be a full time photographer but it just hasn't happened. It's like what they say about having a baby, you are never ready. You just have to let things happen and deal with them as they come. I am a firm believer that if you are happy and a regular 'do-gooder' things will work out. They always have for me. I have been through the absolute worst downs, you can't even imagine, and I make it though because I stay positive. A huge support system also helps. I have the most amazing friends and family! They keep my spirits up big time.

      I can do this! I can! It's happening. I can't go back now..I'll be fine..

      I signed up a long time ago to receive inspirational e-mails from the universe every morning and I have found myself really looking forward to reading them every day. I know anyone who signs up for them receives the same e-mail, but it's still amazing because it can pertain to each person in their own way and help them with their individual struggles they may be going through. I woke up this morning really feeling worried about all of this, then I read what the universe had to say.



Jadie, if you go first and reach for the fruit; I'll shake the tree.

Do a little dance; I'll add some music.

Move in the direction of your dreams, even though at first nothing seems to happen; I'll align the stars, butter your bread, connect the dots, trim the hedge, move some mountains, float the boat, and see you at the ball.

Metaphorically. Except for seeing you at the ball.

If you go first, 
    The Universe

Was that not exactly what I needed to hear?!

      It doesn't help that I really am my own worst enemy. I put myself down like none other. I tell myself 'you are not a good photographer, what are you doing?' 'You are screwing yourself over.' I also tell myself I am an idiot, ugly, fat, blah, blah, blah. I know, it's awful. No one would guess because I am always smiling, but I am that girl with the low self esteem. It doesn't mean I am not happy, because I am! So, so happy! Because I have learned to not let anything get to me. The worst can happen and I will be fine. It's almost like I am numb to certain feelings.

      So, I have decided that in order to not just help my own confidence but my business as well, I need to really work on myself. I have been reading about meditation a lot lately and want to start meditating on a daily basis. I also am going to get back into yoga and my workout routine. I used to be this crazy fit health freak, some people still think I am, but I fell far off that track a year ago. It's about time to get my shit together!

.Here I go.

Goals

      Finally! I am almost done with this monthly challenge! (Not that I really have kept up on it anyway.) I have two more things I have to write about to be completely finished. The first one is my goals for the next 30 days. Thats actually a big one because I have so many goals right now! It all has to do with my photography business. I am hoping by January I will be completely self employed. I have no doubt that will happen. Winter is always the slowest season when it comes to photography, but this particular winter is decently booked for me. I also just applied to be part of a group called BNI. It's a business networking group. I was going to join this group a year ago but ended up having to go through a divorce and all that fun stuff, so it didn't happen. Now, I am finally ready and in a great spot in my life to really concentrate and give lots of time to my business. 

      So, my big goal for the next 30 days is just to concentrate on my business and get it to grow even more. I would also like to work as much as possible at the pediatricians office up until January to have extra money to save up, just in case. That won't be hard because the winter season is so busy at the Dr.'s office, so there are always shifts to pick up. I want to make sure I have time on top of my job and photography sessions to do at least one photo shoot a week for myself. No of myself, but for myself. This means my ideas, choice of location, maybe working with other photographers. Even if I have no time to collaborate with someone to model for me or with another photographer, I will go outside on a walk and take photos of random things. Or bring my camera along when going to friends houses. Anything! Just as long as it is for fun, and for me to learn and practice. 

      I always find myself in some kind of photo rut when the season gets cold. Especially after the leaves have fallen and everything looks dead and gross. I'm hoping that if I take the opportunity to learn during that time that I won't get in that big of a rut this year. 

      Last year when the season started to get cold I wasn't doing photography at all! It was because my camera had broke so it was in the shop for the entire month of October being fixed, and on top of all that I was going through a divorce and had to do everything to concentrate on myself and figuring out life a little more. I had no time for photography. Not photographing really made my creativity kind of disappear, I guess. I wasn't doing anything, not drawing, painting, photos, nothing. Thats not like me, and it really got me feeling awful about myself. Because of that I didn't know if I was even going to continue photography at all anymore and thought of just quitting. Photos slowly started to become meaningless to me. It was hard to get back into the groove of things once the season warmed up and my camera was good as new, but I am glad I never quit! 

      I feel like when I started doing photography again after that bad of a rut I had lost some skill. I felt as though I forgot everything I have learned from the years prior of practice and I was starting all over again. This really discouraged me! If it weren't for my friends that inspire me I honestly don't know if I would of continued trying at all. It's weird to think about how awful I thought I was then and looking at my work now, I feel as though my work has gotten drastically better since then. Thinking of that makes me feel much better. I can see myself in another year writing on this blog about how much I have improved and learned within the past year, and every year after that it'll hopefully be the same. I'm excited to see where I will be in a year with my business!

      The last thing I am supposed to blog about is something I am passionate about. Well, thats an easy one. If you know me, you know what I would choose..FOOD! And talking about food opens up so many more discussions about so many different things..so this topic I will save for next time..It's going to be a looong one!