Today was an absolutely fabulous day in terms of the taste of my food, but unfortunately I don’t think I hit the 50% raw target. I started this morning with a fruit salad and pancakes with maple syrup. I grabbed a few Grippos potato chips before heading to the gym in the mid-afternoon. For an early dinner I had Mongolian BBQ veggie stir fry with brown rice and fajitas. I also had by favorite cola, the sugar free Jones Black Cherry flavor. Late evening (visiting another friend) I had a baked potato with butter and pepper. I’ve found that by simply asking for what you want or need, people will be accommodating enough to provide it to you. That goes for green grapes, a baked potato, or a beverage. This generally only works for friends and family, but when at work you may want to keep your dietary needs private.

Here are my “Raw On The Road” tips for the day:

• Nutrition – Ensure your condiments are as high quality and whole as they can possibly be. Things like syrup and ketchup can make a big difference in your intake of HFCS for the day.
• Weight Loss – Checked in with your accountability partner lately. Have a set meeting time if it seems like you are letting yourself get lax.
• Workout – Utilize your local park trailway system and get in a few long walks or runs outdoors. Mileage markers should be easy to find along the trail or on a parks and recreation website.

Today started with me sipping on the left over Dr Pepper from last nights dinner while catching up on work. I made it to the airport at noon and had a strawberry banana smoothie with a scoop of protein powder from the Freshens stand. At 5pm I was still working and grabbed a Green Machine smoothie from the refrigerator. I finally finished working around 8pm (on a Friday, whoa!) and headed out. Around Around 10pm I had a bunch of green grapes from the refrigerator at a friends house party. I was so grateful that she had the grapes, they were absolutely delicious. By 12:30 I stopped at a local soul food restaurant and got a few sides: baked beans, greens, and yams. I ate most of the beans, but very little of the yams and greens. For whatever reason I was so busy today that I didn’t realize I was hungry until the day was done. I will need to focus more on getting my body nourished and feeding it on a consistent basis throughout the day. Looking back I realize that I ate very little, and that has to change if I want to keep my metabolism boosted.

Here are my “Raw On The Road” tips for the day:

• Nutrition – Don’t be afraid to ask your friends to make concessions for your dietary needs. More than likely they are interested in what you are doing and if they are a true friend they will be eager to support you.
• Weight Loss – Sometimes a schedule for eating may be as necessary as a schedule for working out. Depending on how busy you are it may help you to stay on track.
• Workout – If you have children try to incorporate them into your workouts. It’s great for the little ones to learn the importance of fitness at a young age.  

Today was another busy, high-stress, all day meeting and travel kind of day. I started off with a mini-bagel and sliced fruit (pineapple, grapes, and strawberries) from the meeting breakfast platter. I heated it for 10 seconds in the microwave and put some butter on it, which I know is not vegan but it’s better than the cream cheese that I really wanted. I need to investigate vegan cream cheese and how to get it while I’m on the road.  I really like bagels and cream cheese, comment if you have suggestions for good vegan substitutes. I had more of the fruit when mid-morning came around, along with a bottled mango smoothie. For lunch I had a croissant with lettuce and chips from the meeting lunch platter. Around 4:30 I had another two mini-bagels with butter and a packet of cocoa before leaving the office and heading to the airport. By 8:30pm I was considering whether or not to volunteer my seat on the flight home. I decided to volunteer in exchange for the hotel and a flight voucher on the airline. I had dinner at the hotel that the airline provided for me, luckily the room service had a really good organic vegetarian special menu. I had a grilled veggie gyro, yam fries and a Dr Pepper. In all, I had a lot of bread and starch today and I was not 99% vegan due to the butter. I was probably closer to 40% raw and 85% vegan.

Here are my “Raw On The Road” tips for the day:

• Nutrition – Continue to make healthy choices even when your choices are limited. Attend meetings and team events where food is provided, and stick to your limits.
• Weight Loss – Carbs are not always your friend. Try to minimize the processed carbs and get them from whole sources like fruits.
• Workout – Make sure you are exercising with proper form, failure to do so can lead to serious injuries. If you are not sure, ask the fitness club trainer or an experienced friend to help.

Today was extremely busy and I worked well into the night. I started breakfast with a Power C smoothie. For lunch I had hummus from my grocery stash, along with celery and carrot sticks from the office cafeteria. Around 7pm I had an apple from my grocery stash. By the time I left the office the only thing still open was Denny’s. I had two scrambled eggs, two pancakes and a sprite. It was gross. Denny’s IMHO is not a good place to eat for vegans because the ingredients are not high quality and to be honest I felt sick afterwards. I’m super tired and not feeling the best about work, my lack of good food, and my lack of a good workout today. Fortunately, even though all of that I managed to meet my 50% raw goal. This day is a testament to the fact that one can be raw and vegan while working in a high-burn, high-stress, 100% travel environment.

Here are my “Raw On The Road” tips for the day:

• Nutrition – Know where you will allow yourself to go and don’t exceed that. For example I allow myself some dairy in the form of eggs, but do not exceed that limit by eating items with cheese.
• Weight Loss – Cortisol (stress hormone) is powerful in keeping weight on you. When working in a high stress job try to keep your cortisol levels down by resting enough.
• Workout – Look for motivation every day to push yourself harder in your workouts. Copy pictures of your ideal physique to your phone and make sure you look at them every day…they will flash through your mind when you are considering skipping the last two reps.

Today was another extremely busy day. My mind was occupied with so many other things and making good food choices was not on the top of the list. However, because I have prepared myself with groceries for the week, I was not easily taken down too bad of a food path. I store my fruits and veggies in the office refrigerator because my hotel does not have a mini-fridge. I had two whole fruits yesterday, a banana for breakfast and an apple for an early evening snack. I also sipped a smoothie throughout the morning. For lunch I had a brownie, steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes with gravy. I’m sure the gravy wasn’t vegan, but it counts as my 99% and made the food taste better. For dinner I had edamame and Cantonese noodles with broccoli from the local Chinese takeout place. The noodles were very heavy, and I’ll keep that in mind when I go to the gym tomorrow because they will need to be worked off. Even though they were heavy, they were still very tasty. It usually comes with chicken but I asked for the chicken to be left out and for the cooks to add broccoli. It worked well and I’ll add it to my list of dinners to order, but only when I’m really hungry. I would approximate 40% raw and 90% vegan today. I’ll work tomorrow to get closer to my target.

Here are my “Raw On The Road” tips for the day:

• Nutrition – Use the refrigerator in your office if you are not able to store food in a hotel mini-fridge.
• Weight Loss – Set mini-goals along the way and reward yourself when you meet them.
• Workout – Check your shoes to make sure they are appropriate for the activity you are doing. If you aren’t sure, invest in a good pair of cross-trainers.

Today I started my long drive to work with a big bunch of green grapes for breakfast. By mid morning I was getting sleepy so I stopped for a coffee and a glazed donut. Although I know it wasn’t healthy, the sugar boost and caffeine helped me to finish the drive and be ready for work. I was really busy and skipped lunch (not a good idea) but did grab a Naked brand smoothie. In the afternoon I had a banana. By 6pm I was eating dinner at my favorite Thai place….yeah, I have a thing for Thai if you haven’t noticed by now! I had vegetable tom yum soup and tofu pad thai. I hit the gym around 9pm, and while I made it through the workout it was much harder on to do after eating a full meal. After the enjoyable Easter dinner I am happy to say I am back on track at 50% raw and 99% vegan.

Here are my “Raw On The Road” tips for the day:

• Nutrition – Prepare yourself by stopping at the grocery store before you start your work week. Having the right foods on hand and ready will help you to make good choices.
• Weight Loss – Have you taken your measurements lately. Sometimes inches will leave before the pounds do, so take stock in how your clothes fit or break out that measuring tape.
• Workout – If you are going to partner up, be sure to pick someone that is reliable and positive. Workout partners are great influencers and can help you to push yourself harder through the workout.

Happy Resurrection Sunday!! Today was a wonderful day in the Lord, Amen, Amen! In terms of my food, it was definitely not 50% raw nor 99% vegan. I started the day with a Naked brand Mango smoothie, and that was it for brunch. For dinner I had a traditional cooked Easter meal with my family after everyone got out of Church services. Since this is a vegan and raw food blog, I won’t get into the details of dinner, but I will say that it was d-e-licious! I had previously made the conscious decision to eat meat and cheese dishes at Easter dinner, and because of that I made sure to eat light for breakfast. I wanted to keep my caloric intake for the day at a minimum. I know that flies in the face of keeping my metabolism up by eating small meals often, but my family can COOK and I wanted to enjoy small portions of every dish that was prepared for this special day. While I did enjoy the food I ate today, I know there are probably other things I could have done to enjoy the holiday with my family. Things I have done in the past include preparing a few dishes that I could eat and others could share, and only sticking to the vegetable side dishes and fruit appetizers for my meal. Please comment if you have other strategies for getting through the holidays in a balanced, vegan and raw food way.

Here are my “Raw On The Road” tips for the day:

• Nutrition – Try to have a strategy for special events and holidays. You don’t want to become a hermit on the journey, just more healthy.
• Weight Loss – Every “diet” food out is not more healthy for you. Eat whole grains and a multitude of vegetables to rev up your metabolism.
• Workout – Continue to challenge your muscles by trying new exercises. If you can do 3 sets of 15 repetitions try to increase the weight you are lifting.

Yesterday was busy busy busy, not from work though. I had so many errands to run and personal work to do. I started the day with grapes and potato chips before leaving out, then grabbed an orange juice between errands from Starbucks when I realized that I was hungry. For dinner I had a Chipotle burrito. I stuffed it with black beans, rice, salsa, corn, lettuce, and guacamole. This is a huge feat for me, because I used to think that I would not like any Mexican food without cheese and sour cream…I was wrong, the burrito was satisfying with the guacamole only. Late into the evening I had two Shirley Temples from the club, and after the club (approx 3am) I stopped by White Castle to grab a hot chocolate. I’m noticing that beverages are my standby when I’m hungry and am out and about. I will need improve and bring more fresh fruits with me in a bag to offset the dependence on juices and drinks for nutrition. Today was definitely 50% raw and 99% vegan.

Here are my “Raw On The Road” tips for the day:

• Nutrition – Try to expand your palette, it will help you to bring variety into your food choices.
• Weight Loss – Don’t be fooled by those weight loss pill ads. There is no magic pill for becoming and staying healthy and fit.
• Workout – If the weather is nice where you are staying and you decide to workout outdoors, be sure that you feel safe and that someone else knows where you are. Also invest in a shoe tag for an extra measure of safety.

The beginning of the day started off slow in terms of food choices, but by the end of the day I was so full and so pleased with my vegan life. Breakfast was me drinking a glass of water and munching on potato chips while working. Bad choice, I know, but if you have ever had Grippos bbq potato chips you will understand my satisfaction with this breakfast. For lunch I had huge green pepper (cut into strips) and hummus, which was a great choice. Dinner was delicious. I shared a firepot of Tom Yum soup and veggie Pad Thai from a local restaurant that had good reviews on yelp. The reviews were well warranted, the food was delicious. I would skip the tofu and just get veggies if you are not a fan of medium firm, but definitely get the firepot. I’ve included a picture of our firepot for you to review…..so good, so good! I would say today was about 30% raw, but definitely 99% vegan!

Here are my “Raw On The Road” tips for the day:

• Nutrition – I have found that Asian foods are the best for regularly incorporating fresh veggies into their takeout and leaving out the dairy.
• Weight Loss – Support in any endeavor, including weight loss, is a powerful force. Find a trusted friend and allow them to be your cheerleader.
• Workout – You can get workout tips from a multitude of places. Fitness magazines may give you ideas for your next lifting series.

The morning started with a Naked brand juice. I have these all the time. Just in case anyone is not familiar with these, I have included a picture so you can find it in your local grocery store. They are usually kept in the refrigerated section by the produce, and sometimes they are by the bakery close to the cheese and hummus. I really like the Red Machine, Power C, Strawberry Banana, and Mighty Mango.

Like seriously, I could drink these all day and be cool. I actually did yesterday! My day started with a Power C….a full bottle is two servings, so it counted as my breakfast and morning snack. It will take you all morning to drink it also, because its just pure fruit puree. Its very thick so you can not drink it down like water. For lunch I had whole wheat pasta and tomato sauce, a chocolate brownie and water. I got on the road for my drive and had about 2 servings of cashews and a Red Machine Naked brand juice. Although I stayed up until around 2am, that was the last thing I ate at 6pm. I suppose my body was hungry, but my mind was occupied with work and other things so it didn’t register.  

Here are my “Raw On The Road” tips for the day:

• Nutrition – Be sure to eat at regular intervals. Your body does not like to be denied fuel and it can hurt your metabolism.
• Weight Loss – Just because you are making food choices with no meat or dairy does not mean that all of the food left out there is healthy. Stay away from chips, rich desserts, and other processed foods as much as possible.
• Workout – Wii fit is fun! While I would not allow it to replace my lifting routine, it does give you a good activity level and you might even break a sweat.