A Vegan on STAGE

MY LIFE AS A ROCKETTE

2010-01-14T09:01:00.000-08:00

(im the third from the left)

Well food is always exciting... but the main reason I took a break form this blog for such a long time was becuase I (as most of you know) am a Radio City Rockette.

This season was especially exciting for me because it was my fi

rst time performing on the great stage at Ra

dio City Music Hall. (in past years I did the national tour of the show)

So... I wanted to share some of the exciting events that I experienced during my season

Well this year I was lucky enough to be chosen to promote the show on what we call a media tour. I got to travel to Baltimore, Washington DC, and Virginia to spread the word about the show (the tour was going to hit all three of these places) by doing television, radio, and print interviews.. as well as making appearences and meeting as many people as we could.

Here we are at the Washington Monument with a war veteran...(there were hundreds of them there and they all had fabulous stories to share)

Im the second girl in from the right :)

Here I am at our nations capital!We caused quite a comotion here heheh but its a cute picture

Here we are in Baltimore at an adorable old fashioned ice cream parlor

Here we are in DC at an underprivelaged childrens school.. they were so excited to have us there and they asked the most hillarious questions :)Here I am (im the one in all black) teaching a class to a bunch of kids on Long Island (where im from!)

I know these are a lot of pictuers.. but here are some of my favs from rehearsal to stage!

This is our ragdoll number... its fun because we get to be silly... it ends with a jump split... and yes.. jump splits hurt haha

This number is called "Shine" the costumes are covored in Swarovski crystals... absolutely beautiful... you cant really see my face.. but our kicks look real good :)

rehearsing the "bus" part of new york at christmas.. im on the bottom.. third from the rightSome of my friends and I during a rehearsal at the music hallthis is the beginning of "Shine" think its hard to find me huh... ok look at the top.. no the VERY TOP.. ya thats me... and let me tell you its REALLY HIGH!!here we are practicing our famous fall of the wooden soldiers.... its hard to spot me.. but im the one thats mid fall... if you count from the beginning of the picture, im the 8th one in!

OKKKK i know that was a million pictures!!!

So anyway today at the gym was fantastic... i took an interval class..

average heart rate: 147

High heart rate: 201

Calories burned:700

Time lapsed: 1 hour

ok back to food tomorrow!!!!

(so glad to hear from you all)

Syn xox*

HELLO OUT THERE!!!

2010-01-13T19:13:00.000-08:00

HELLO OUT THERE!!!! Remember me? I hope you do!

I've decided, after a long hiatus, to start up Vegan

on Stage once again.

Ive really missed connecting with you all. Not only is it nice to be able to post my feelings and thoughts about my food choices, but it also keeps me focused on my goals.

During my recent Rockette season, I reintroduced some dairy products into my diet... Mostly just greek yogurt, and cheese here and there. I found it really difficult to find foods that would fill me, without making me feel full right before a show (if that makes sense) I was eating a lot of greek yogurt, and although it is ridiculously yummy, I

have decided that it isnt right for my body.

So once again, I am going to use my blog to get myself back on track!

For Christmas, my mom got me a Polar Heart rate monitor!

Im absolutely obsessed with it. Not only is it cute and green, but it really helps me keep track of what I'm burning and what my heart rate is.

Today I took a spin class with my mom, and then did an upper body lift.

Average Heart Rate:147

High Heart Rate: 170

Calories burned:750

Time lapsed: 2 hrs

Ok with all of that working out... it was time for dinner...and what better way to celebrate my re-entry into the blogosphere than:

The Best Black Bean Burgers Youll Ever Have

1 small onion peeled and quartered

1 LARGE clove of garlic (or two small)

1 can of black beans

1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1 teaspoon Chilie powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 tspn salt

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/8 cup whole wheat flour.

preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Put onion and garlic into my boyfriend (foodprocessor) and chop.

rinse beans and put them into a medium sized bowl and mash.(le

ave slightly chunky.. a little chunkier than refried beans)

add onion mixture and stirr.

add the remaining ingredients and Stir well.

Spray a nonstick cookie sheet with pam or lightly oil

make about 6 patties and spread accordingly on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes (or until crispy and brown). take out and turn

...cook for another 15 minutes.

ok friends!!!! thats all for now :)

xoxo Syn*

Dreams really do come true

2009-06-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

once again.. i know its been a while...and this isnt about food.. or being vegan.. this is about dreams coming true.

Most of you know that I have been a Rockette for the last 2 years...My first year I performed in Phoenix arizona and Costa Mesa California.... last year I was on the First National Arena tour...

I found out today that a dream came true...I am going to be performing in New York City this christmas season in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular!!!!

Ive wanted to dance on that stage for as long as I can remember... and I honestly cant think of anything more exciting than being a Rockette in New York during Christmas. Im especially excited because my friends and family will get to see the show.. and I will be able to spend the holidays with the people i love!!!!

just goes to show that you can never give up your dreams. because sometimes they really do come true!!!!

Gluten Free Gourmet

2009-06-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

a couple of weeks ago I received a package from a girl named Julia. Julia is the creator of "Gluten Free Gourmet", a completely gluten free, vegan independent business venture! She sent me a cute little package of samples from her line of products. Since I have a severe nut allergy she sent me some nut free samples to try! Super exciting (especially when the package came when I was having a SERIOUS chocolate craving)

Raspberry Corn Muffins:

SO YUMMY!!! the taste of corn wasn't too over powering, but the sweetness of the raspberries were delightful. I also loved the texture. They were soft and fluffy.. not over cooked... perfection :)

Molasses Maple Cookies with Date Glaze:

These cookies were sweet with a delightful texture. My favorite part was the date glaze. It reminded me of that terrible for you sugary icing, (haha cant help it I used to love the stuff) but this glaze was super healthy and super sweet!!!

Cocoa Carob Cookies:

HOLY GOOD GOD. Julia sent me the other pictures but didn't send me a pic of this delightful decadence. So here is my terrible photo that does it NO justice. All I can say is WOW. This cookie was amazing. I am all about texture (i mentioned it a lot) And it reminded me of a fresh out of the oven cookie (soft and wonderfully fresh) It is wonderfully chocolaty, but not too rich. I hate overly sweet things and this cookie was definitely not that. Ah wonderful!

Ok guys.. so let be real, we all spend way too much money on our gluten free/nut free/ soy free/ vegan etc. products. Here is a girl who is trying to start up a company who need our support! If you are love baked goods that are healthy and made of mostly organic products check out her site... Gluten Free Gourmet.

*Lets help out a fellow vegan who is trying to provide a wonderful product!!!*

<3>

Pure

2009-05-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

As Vegans and Vegetarians we have made a noted choice to keep our bodies healthy and clean. We nourish our bodies with wonderful foods, vitamins, minerals, and exercise daily.

After we exercise we....

Take a shower.

Well duh.. doesn't everyone. Sure we have learned since we were infants that it is important to bathe ourselves.... but what are you cleaning yourself with? Store bought products with chemicals, alcohol, parabans, artificial dyes and animal cruelty??? Why would we health nuts do such a thing?! We take sure pride in our bodies and work so hard to keep the bad stuff out... well its a shame to be putting those gross nasty things on your skin, hair and teeth.

Through out the past few months I have been trying to purge my stock of chemical rich products (shampoo, body wash, moisturizer, deodorant, tooth paste etc.) and replace it with organic, nutrient rich, cruelty free products.

I admit it is really difficult when money is tight and you have a full bottle of shampoo to use, but perhaps consider, once that bottle has run out, to go out to a store and purchase an organic product.

Today I purchased a new shampoo and conditioner from Pure Life Soap Co... They have tons of different fragrances.. I especially loved the Wild Indigo..smells beautiful!!! (price range around 10.00)

I also love Desert Essence Organics. These products can be found at whole foods.

I have the coconut body lotion. Love it because it reminds me of summer :) (Price range about 8.99)

I think my favorite product is my facial cleanser from Eminence Organic Skin Care.

These products have seriously changed my skin. I never had bad bad break outs, but once in a while, after dancing or working out, and especially sweating in my show make up, I would get a terrible painful break out. These products are amazinggg.

In the mornings I use the Citrus Exfoliate, and at night I use the Stone Crop Gel Wash.

(Price range about 11.00)

These are just some of the products that are out there. There are truly a number of amazing options. I am still in the process of completely switching over. Next move is my deodorant and tooth paste!

Now, once you have changed over to an organic life, why not treat yourself to an organic facial or body scrub. I know i know This is PRICEY. But your worth it. I do it twice a year (mom gets me one for Christmas, and I treat myself to one after the summer. It is amazing to get all of those dirty dead skin cells off your skin. It detoxifies you, and leaves your skin glowing and revitalized. Not to mention you feel completely energized (and your boyfriend will notice that you are glowing too he he)

<3>

Dancing with a Star!!!!

2009-05-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

Well as I've made it quite obvious with my lack of posting, I havent been very inspired... and then I figured out why.I havent been making anything exciting!!!

I usually leave my house at 11:00 am and dont get home until 11:45 pm.. (two show days and a long ass break in between). That leaves no time for fun cooking!!!! (thes

e crazy hours arent every day.. but atleast 3)... On days that I have time I have been enjoying the weather, reading going to the gym, spending time with friends etc.

WELL... Although this isnt a food post, I have some cool fun news to tell you all.

On Tuesday I was asked to take part in a PR event for Radio City.. celebrating The Indie 500 Winner Helio. He won Dancing with the stars two seasons ago.. I LOVE the show.. so I was a tad star struck. He was as nice/sweet/funny as he seems on TV too. :)

Heres some shots I found on a website...

(I'm the middle girl on the right side)

(Right on the end)

(Right on the end... kickin for ET! )

Well other than that nothin too crazy is going on. I cant believe its summer!!!! HORRAY FINALLY!!!

<3>

ps.. i like posting again.. i think ill do it again real soon :)

im the worst

2009-05-16T05:38:00.001-07:00

Hi guys... i know Ive said this time and time again. But Im so sorry I havent been around.. i cant believe its been over 2 weeks since i've posted!!! I cant blame it on being too busy...I have just been uninspired.

I even considered shutting down VOS for a short while. But... my mom talked me out of it. I have such a strong network of people in the blog world.. its silly to give it up.

I plan on posting something asap.. !!! Ill be back!!

food for thought: Who is as obsessed with the Biggest Loser as I am?!?!?

-Syn

Smoothie Queen..

2009-04-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

Well first I'll start with some cute new clothes that I've bought myself (For my birthday)... This isnt all of them.. but its all good

Halter Dress from Urban Outfitters (sale for 20$!) <3>

Vintage high wasted skirt from American Apparel (vintage collection)

High wasted linen Pants (H+M)

70's Vintage dress... i auctioned for it online.. I <3>

New Tank top the I got for my birthday from the gym... how cool is the back :)

and in other news.....

On April 24.. I turned 23.... Yuck

Now I know this isnt old.. but this is definitely the first year Im not PUMPED about getting another year older... oh well...Not much I can do about it. I did wake up to a beautiful little treat. Mom bought me a rice dream carob covored ice cream (rice dream of course) there was graham cracker in it too...YUMMY.. and 100% vegan (so said the label)

I got lots of fun things for my birthday... A new yoga mat, a new tank top, a new GPS!!! (my dad is amazing.. i need it to get to the theatre this summer)

But the best of all......

A VITA MIX!!!!!!!!!

My amazing mother got it for me and I am SOSOSO excited. I havent used it yet ( I want to wait so me and mom can try it together) But I'm so excited.. Now my smoothies are going to be incredible!!!!!

So i find many bloggers have a "thing". CCV has her chocolate, Ruby Red Vegan has her amazing breakfasts, and Vegan Crunk is the queen of all things southern... I think I may have found my "Thing"...

SMOOTHIES!!!

I make a smoothie EVERY morning

And I usually make a different flavor every morning as well :)

Here are some recent ones:

Here is a tropical green smoothie. I enjoyed this bad boy when it was about 80 degrees out and sweltering!

-frozen mango

-frozen pineapple

-frozen papaya

-spinach

-Raw Honey (or agave)

-Mango ZICO coconut water

This Ruby Beauty is a Chocolate Covored Cherry Smoothie

-1 Banana

-Frozen Cherries

-3 tsp Cacao powder

-Cacao nibs

-1 tsp artisan Cacao bliss (Optional)

-Rice Milk

-Agave

Creamy Papaya

-One Frozen Banana

-Artisan Coconut Butter (AMAZING) (Optional)

-Frozen papaya

-Young thai coconut (Meat and water)

-quarter of an avocado

-Raw honey

-Khale

THIS NEXT ONE IS MY ABSOLUTE NEW OBSESSION...

PB+J smoothie

-2 frozen bananas

-frozen Blueberries

-2 and a half TBS Sunbutter (or for everyone else peanutbutter)

-tsp vanilla

-Rice Milk

Im going to make a link with all of my smoothies soon... To Be continued...

sorry I havent been posting or commenting as much... I try to read everyones blogs during intermissions and it doesnt leave me much time to leave comments.. but know that im reading and loving them!!!!!

IM SO SORRY!!

2009-04-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

HEY GUYS!! sorry I have been so MIA lately.. i actually lost my comp charger for a while so I was down a lap top! Thankfully I found it..

I do have an amazing post coming up.. full of Spring/summer fashion... and AMAZING birthday presents...

lets just say its a vegans dream gift.. hehehehe

till then!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

2009-04-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

Nope its not my REAL Birthday... (although that is next week!!...April 24.. save the date hehe)

ITS MY 1 year VEGAN ANNIVERSARY!!!!!!

I first decided to go vegan because of weight issues. Being a dancer is hard when you are constantly struggling with weight. Since going vegan, I have lost 15 lbs (in about a year) and feel better and healthier than I ever have! I know its not for everyone.. but anyone who is even considering becomming vegan should serisouly go for it. It has changed my life for the better.

SO ANYWAY....

When I was reading a great post over at the Brocco li Hut the other day, I stumbled upon an amazing looking product!!!!

SO-DELICIOUS coconut milk yogurt!! HORRAY!!! I havent had yogurt in over a year! I used to love it with fiber one, bananas, or other fruit in it.. so I am super excited to have my very first one during intermission at our next show (right now writing this between shows.. we already had one this morning!)

The other day at our local health food store I found these bad boys..RICE PROTEIN veggie burgers!! SOY AND GLUTEN FREE (my stupid finger is covering that it says Soy, gluten and nut free!!)!!! HORRAY!!! (the vegan gods have been thinking of me lately i swear) I have yet to try them, but the girl at the store said they were amazing so I took her word for it.

And now... for my new favorite smoothie....

PUMPKIN PIE SMOOTHIE!!!!!

OMG ITS AMAZING!! I found the recipe on Goneraw.com

2 Carrots

4 mejool dates

1/2 tspn ground Cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg

1 frozen banana

1 tbs agave

ice and water

I swear it tastes like pumpkin pie.. its really delish... It will definitely be a reoccurring theme in my daily eats!

Well thats all for today...

thanks for stopping by :)

Intermission!

2009-04-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

ITS INTERMISSION!!!

and since I havent posted lately I thought it was time!!!

The show is going really well... my cast is amazing.. and Im really learning a lot. The majority has been on Broadway.. (more than once)...they are all so humble... yea i guess you can say im sort of star struck by it all :)

Ive been eating really well lately actually. I have found that eating tons of small meals a day really helps. I seriously eat every 2 hours.. Nothing too big... usually fruit vegetables etc.

I dont really know wat to say about my food lately.. but here are tons of pics of my past week and a half!

First I wanna start with :

My new favorite Smoothie!!!!!!...Young coconut, mango and spinach... so simple and so delish...thinking of which im gunna make this tomorrow morning for breakfast!!!

One day when I got home from the show I found these leftoovers... roasted root veggies and white beans.... SOOOO freakin good!

Babaganoush with sliced veggies

A BUNCH of synless bars!!! (starting with the chocolate one going clockwise) Cacao Nib, Apple Pie, Coconut cream pie, Pistachio, Banana bread... I just went to the lara bar site and used the ingredients... and of course modified them.

Champaign Mango, and unripe papaya (ive learned that I dont like it ripe... way better green :)

Fresh Squeezed OJ! thanks mom :)

This green guy was delish!!! He had Raspberries, spinach, ice, coconut water, and raw honey...YUMMM!!!!

MY VERY FIRST BLOOD ORANGE!!!! it was pretty yummy!

Three bean salad with field greens,pickles (i love them!) and vegan coleslaw... Butternut squash soup...and blue corn chips with salsa

Blended Buckwheat Groats...i threw an apple in there (blended that too) chopped apricot kernels, sliced banana, shredded coconut and raisins!!! YUMMMM

Sliced apple, flax seed crackers (i dehydrated) and 2 tbs of sunbutter... for some reason it always spreads and looks like so much!

Butternut squash soup... its low sodium... dairy free...and soy free.!!! its so yummy... i think its pacific brand but ill check when I get home :)

well friends... there we have it.. my eats.. I dont have much exciting news... accept I have been shopping up a storm..its really a problem!!! ill post all of my new purchases tomorrow!!!!

think: two pairs of adorable sandals, a pair of shorts, linnen pants, a skirt... and and and AHHH!H!!!!!!

isnt this a recession?!?!

Spinning spinning!!!

2009-04-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hi friends!!!!

Wanted to post this picture.. i havent shown you guys my short hair :)

well I cant find my camera.. eek... hopefully it turns up because my parents might kill me for losing it (it was a gift!)

the show is going really well.. I love performing so much...its truly the light of my life and brings me so much joy :)

I wanted to thank everyone for their wonderful posts! I love all of the support I get from my bloggies and all of your kind words really make me feel at ease when I take a couple of weeks off from blogging myself! so THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

Usually I dont have shows until 1:00 so I have been getting up early to go spinning! I really miss running...It stinks that my hips are acting up, but spinning definitely is an amazing work out and I know that I am doing a good thing for my body by not pounding...like my mom always says:

"Your body is your career...and your paycheck!!!" gotta take care of it at all costs :)

Well I have been drinking lots of smoothies lately (of course.. what else is new I know)

I took a couple of pics with my computer...

(excuse the frightening hair...just got home from the gym in this one!)

This bad boy was amazing!!

-2 frozen bananas

-3 persimmons (I bought some not so great ones at the asian market, but figured they would be perfect for a smoothie!)

-1 young coconut (meat and water)

-3 kale leaves

-agave

-ice

and presto!!

Believe it or not this bad boy is a green smoothie!!!

-2 frozen bananas

-3 kale leaves

-Frozen Blueberries

-3 scoups of Manitoba harvest hemp protein powder

-dash of vanilla extract

-Ice

SO YUMMY... its like blueberry vanilla goodness :)

So on another note.. I am putting together a week long food plan for one of the girls in my cast.. i figure Ill post it here as well... still a work in progress.. but it will be up tonight :)

Hope all is well!!! <3>

FUNNY GIRL :)

2009-03-29T13:03:00.001-07:00

Hey guys!!! I miss you all so much!!!

Nicole from Bites of the day friended me on Facebook and I realized how much I miss you all!!

I have been working for 15 days non stop... I was also SUPER

DUPER sick all last week...some sort of cough/resp. infection... pretty much hell.. but thank god im feeling better now!!!

The show is going wonderfully!!! Considering the economy we are selling pretty well... we're still in previews though so once we officially open we will see how it all goes....

I have just been enjoying my usual salads, smoothies, dried fruits and fresh fruit lately.. nothing too crazy... im not sure if its because I was sick or I just havent been snacking as much... but I dropped some weight which Im pretty happy about...nothing too crazy but I feel good.. and thats what is important.

Since I have no fun food pics to show you Ill share some pics from the show :)

enjoy!

PLEASE DONT FORGET ABOUT ME... Ill be back regularly soon!!!

HORRAY!!!!

2009-03-18T19:49:00.001-07:00

HEY GUYS!!!!

This is a quick post.. but Im so excited I could burst!!!

THIS SUMMER I WILL BE PLAYING "Maggie" in A CHORUS LINE at the merry go round play house...!!! Its such a great role and I am super pumped!!!

I will also be performing in No No Nanette!

rehearsals are going well right now...just lots of stress.... we open in a week and only get ten rehearsal days.. AHHH!!!!!

<3>

REHEARSAL!!!!

2009-03-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

Hey friends!

Im so sorry I've been MIA lately... I started rehearsal and Im completely wiped.. once my crazy ten days is up ill be back as normal.

Westchester Broadway Theatre heres the website.. come check it out if you are in the area :)

till later..

ps im still reading all of your blogs I promise!!!

<3>

DEHYDRATED!

2009-03-12T19:33:00.001-07:00

No guys... im drinking plenty of water... but tonight I did have my first experience with a dehydrator!!!

My next door neighbor happened to have an extra one (he is one of those people who just happens to have EVERYTHING) and he happily gave it to me! Im not sure how great it works but I guess we'll find out.

I have been craving crackers/chips lately... but whenever I reach for some of the baked ones in the closet I dont like them... maybe its because of all of the fresh clean foods I've been eating??

3 seed crakers

1/3 cup Flax seeds (WHOLE... i used the golden kind)

1/3 cup sesame seeds

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

soak overnight (its pretty crazy.. but the next day the s

eeds take up the entire jar.. they really do absorb the water!)

Spread the mixture on teflaxx paper or Parchment paper (thats what i used)... and dehydrate till dry!

Im gunna let these bad boys go overnight.. hopefully I dont ruin them!

So like My friend CCV (Katie!) I LOVE CHOCOLATE!! Since I have been trying to eat a little more Raw lately, I decided to order this off of Raw Food World.

Seriously... even if you dont do a high raw diet... THIS IS AMAZING! I find myself taking little spoon fulls of it.. and being totally chocolate satisfied. A serving is 2 tbs... but I never need that much.. its just so freaking good.

I've also been making lots of green smoothies.. .every morning in fact!

Green Smoothie (Syn Style!)

3 large kale leaves

frozen mango or frozen peaches (or both why not)

3 tbs Manatoba harvest Vanilla Hemp Protein Powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large bananas (or two small.. usually frozen)

Blend up and VUALA.. you cant even taste the kale.. and this is so danm good for you.. keeps me full for hours!

*I dunno why I have been making them in jars... but hey why not... theyre bigger than glasses!*

Here was dinner tonight... I was having a chocolate fix (as per usual)

Its got:

2 bananas

1 mejool date

3 tsp cacao powder

1 tbs Cacao Bliss Butter

Agave

Vanilla extract

Coconut sprinkled on top!

YUMMM.. I love my smoothies but this definitely is my favorite!!!

Here are some of my snacks the past few days:

*Mandalin Orange (never had one of these... it was amazing!)

*Fresh fruit plate: Organic pears, strawberries and orange (all organic!)

*sliced apple and carrot sticks with 2tbs Sunbutter*

Well friends.. thats all for now... Ill let ya know what I decided on making for my friends party tomorrow :)

THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE SUGGESTIONS!!!!! <3>

::CALLING ALL BLOGGERS CALLING ALL BLOGGERS!!!!::

2009-03-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

AHHH!!!!

So I am attending a party this weekend.. (A surprise... I dont think she reads my blog but just incase I will keep it a secret!)

And I have been chosen to bring a vegan dish to the Pot luck!!! I'm pretty super pumped... Ive never made anything for multiple people...and I want to bring something amazing... I also want to make a dessert (As well). Im not sure how many people will be there... but I'm assuming maybe 15/20???

THIS IS WHERE YOU ALL COME IN!!!

I need some suggestions!!! (NUT FREE OF COURSE)

((On a side note...I made an amazing Trader Joe's/ Whole Foods Run with the boy this weekend. I will post pictures later (Im sitting at his house.. on his computer.. while he plays video games... oh well. boys will be boys!) I got so many NEW fruits and veggies (Many fruits ive never even tried! HORRAY!

So... HELPPPPPP

CRAZZYYYY for COCONUT!

2009-03-06T06:01:00.000-08:00

Well... right now as I am writing this, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the temp. is rising to 60 degrees...didnt we just have a blizzard last week??? GLOBAL WARMING PEOPLE!!! its really scary.

Well these past few days have been great! My hip is feeling a little bit better...And even though I probably shouldnt have... I went running (i took a day off) and I felt pretty good! Probably because of these bad boys:

I was the LUCKY winner of an Onlineshoes.com gift certificate from the lovely Lisa from Vegan Snorkeler! I never win anything so I was superrrrr excited! I chose these running sneakers because I liked the colors, but WOW are they supportive!!! I've never had a sneaker with shock absorbers and I dont think I will ever go back. I felt extremely supported and strong! I LOVE THEM <3...>

So as I said, I am trying to incorporate more raw foods into my diet. I think by not depriving myself completely of my favorite cooked foods, this will be easier for me. I dont want to make it a diet, I want to make it a lifestyle change, therefore I don think that limiting myself is a wise decision.

Wednesdays breakfast was Groat cereal! I had never had groats but danm was it delish!!! Groats are a raw "grain" which I actually learned are considered to be a fruit!!

Here is:

Apple Banana Groats:

1 whole apple (cut around the core)

1 entire banana (sliced)

1/4 cup soaked groats (over night)

Blend them all up...you may need to add some water for consistency, and VUALA!

I topped my breakfast cereal off with some goji berries dried cranberries, and shredded coconut, and some cinnamon... (add agave for sweetness)

SO SATISFYING!!!

I made the entire thing and couldnt even eat half.. it was so filling!!! so I saved the rest for the next morning!

These I topped with Apricot Kernels!!! They are considered the "poor mans almonds". I find them to be really tasty! I topped these groats with chopped apricot kernels and raisins.

For yesterdays lunch I had my FAVORITE Choconana smoothie

Yesterday consisted of laying around and getting some important things done... a swim and a run.

After my swim, I wasnt hungry for solid food so I made an amazing smoothie.

I bought this young coconut at whole foods the other day and was completely confused by it. I asked my moms trusty trainer and she said they are amazing in smoothies...

HOLY GOD SHE WASNT WRONG!!

I blended a banana, mango (both frozen) and young coconut meat and all of the coconut water and PRESTO... probably one of the most satisfying smoothies ive ever had!

It was creamy and coconutty and amazing

So one of my best friends works for ZICO coconut water... and was amazing enough to give me some free... FOUR BOXES OF THE STUFF!!! I really love coconut water because its so high in potassium and electrolytes... its an amazing alternative to those yucky sports drinks (like gatorade) and is perfect after a hard work out (I used to drink one after every show!)

I decided to use one in a GREEN smoothie today! I have never had a green smoothie.. probably because every time my mom makes green JUICE i think its gross and smells like dirt haha.

This little green guy has a frozen banana and mango (i use them a lot I know) 3 kale leaves, some mango flavored coconut water and about a teaspoon vanilla extract!

YUMMMM I LOVED IT! the vanilla really came through and I couldnt even taste the Kale.

Horray for trying new things!!!

Ok that was a long post.. have a great day everyone!

It was bound to happen

2009-03-03T18:28:00.000-08:00

It was bound to happen. I have been running every day... well 5/6 days a week. I was doing three miles and last week I pumped it up to four miles per run... and I felt great! I have been seeing changes in my body, my stamina has increased considerably, and I just feel great....

Well yesterday while I was completing my last mile, my hip started to hurt. Im not really sure why... its a weird pain... I feel like its on the side of my hip.. which is strange because any pain ive ever had is in the joint/flexor... im nervous that its a stress related bone issue. Ok ok i know im being crazy and jumping to conclusions... but using my body is my means of income... without it IM SCREWED... so im nervous.

Today I started to run again.. got through two miles and had to stop... it was really painful. I am just so frustrated because I hate when I am unable to do something (physically)

I went for a long swim tonight to vent my frustrations (70 laps...one lap is one way there)...which made me feel great! but im still annoyed..

I guess this was bound to happen... my body has been taking to running so smoothly.. which has never happened... bahh.. (im a ball full of negativity right now clearly)

CHANGE OF SUBJECT!!!

So I have decided to up my raw food intake. When I did my raw week I felt amazing.. I had more energy, and I saw a difference in my body in only one week! I think that if I up my raw intake I can get back to a place where I want to be.

ON AN EXCITING NOTE:

Every season of Rockettes there is a LIST. This list contains names of girls who DO NOT have to audition for the next season and get offered a job again automatically..(I wont go into it too much) BUT.....

I MADE THE LIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOWEE!!!!! This means that I will DEFINITELY be going back on tour... or possibly New York? I dunno but I will be a Rockette again for the 2009-2010 season :) Im super proud of myself. Its a huge honor and shows that I worked hard and did a good job :) yay for me!!!

OK so now that I've gotten through my rants for the day... heres some FOOD!!!

My wonderful, beautiful, amazing mother whipped this tasty veggie soup for me. I had been craving something warm and lights and thats exactly what I needed.

Here are some chocolaty SUNBUTTER cups!!! I lined some SMALL cupcake pans with wax paper, filled them half with melted vegan chocolate chips, added a Dollop of SUNBUTTER and then topped it with more chocolate. Let them refrigerate overnight and BAM... amazing

So this is a salad of salads.. literally!!! I topped a bed of mixed greens with vegan coleslaw, bean salad, dolmas salad, avocado and crunchy sprout salad. I ended up eating half and giving the rest to my mom... we love the exact same foods so it works well :)

Today I had this... a vanilla hemp shake. I blended a banana, frozen peaches, 2 tbs hemp powder, vanilla extract and some rice milk.

OMG IM OBSESSED!!!!

(Im not sure if hemp protein powder is raw.. but im going to keep having it... along with rice milk)

and this was my dinner tonight... just a green salad with random veggies, sprouts, and sun flower seeds...

YUM YUM :)

Dont you love avocado..?? I cant live without it!

Ok.. tomorrow I'm going into the city for a voice lesson, a swim, and dinner with a friend I havent seen in forever!!!...and were going to a vegan restaurant!!! HORRAYYYY

a vegan ON STAGE

2009-03-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

Veganism is not only a way of eating, it has become a way of life. For some reason, I identify with these choices and I truly love calling myself a passionate vegan. Although this blog is dedicated to my daily eats and food choices, I feel like I want to get back to the root of myself with this post... and that is THE STAGE.

As most of you know, I have been passionate about "The stage" and performing for my whole life. I truly feel as though the space in which we perform is a sacred space, and until you are completely sure of yourself, and you respect the work that you are doing...only then can you reap the benefits of it.

I have recently received some questions about what it is like to do what I do... such as "What is an audition like" "What is it like being a Rockette" "How do go into an audition with confidence"...etc etc etc...I know your not all performers (Thank god for that or I would have some stiff competition with all of you talented bloggers out there!!!) But I've decided to give you all a bit of a sneak peek into my world!!!

If your not interested in this stuff...i totally understand and im sorry!!!!! I promise to come back tomorrow with a post about food working out and vegan goodies...:)

Here are the four questions I am going to be answering

1) What is it like going into an audition

2)What is it like being a Rockette

3)Do you deal with body image issues as a dancer?

4)What sort of work out do you do to keep in dancer shape?

Q: What is it like going into an audition?

A: SCARY AS HELL! There are usually a ton of people there...and half of them are trying to intimidate you. You just have to remember that your there to get a job...not to impress any of your fellow auditioners. I also like to remember that the people behind the table (Producers, directors, musical directors choreographers etc) WANT YOU TO BE THE ONE! They want you to go in there and wow them.. it just makes their lives easier!!

Q: What is it like being a Rockette?

A: Honestly.. its a dream come true. Its easily the coolest job in the world. I completely love being a part of the tradition, and I KNOW that I am really lucky to be able to be...but I also have to remember that as fun as it is... ITS MY JOB (during the season at least)...and it has to be taken very seriously. Actually...every performing job has to be taken seriously. Its a lot of work, and it requires a great deal of dedication... but once ya got all that down its pretty amazing!

Q: Do you deal with body image issues as a dancer?

A: Well I want to start off with this... as a dancer, you are constantly scrutinizing your body. I have... like many of you... and many other dancers...been in a constant battle with my image and accepting it for what it is. It is so important to be able to get past that.. and then you will be able to accomplish great things.

Being a dancer is hard because :

**We walk into class..and BAM Mirrors are right in front of us.

**Not only are we looking at our bodies and picking ourselves apart, but we are forced to look at those around us..inevitably comparing ourselves.

For a long time, I had trouble concentrating in classes because all I could think about it "Wow I look like crap" or "This part of my body is...."....now.. i say SCREW IT!!!

I would rather dance beautifully, gracefully, and with confidence....once you get that down, the body and its image follows :)

Q: What sorts of activities do you do to keep in dancers shape?

A: I think that everyone is different...and that everyone needs to nourish their bodies with THEIR correct foods. I also dont think that an exercise method that works for me may work for everyone... but here are my personal activities

-RUNNING---I have recently gotten very into running. I try to run 3 or 4 miles atleast 5 days a week. I have notice that it increases my stamina so that if I am doing an incredibly long number, I am not as winded. I also find that it is a FULL body work out!( DUH haha). It has also increased my balance (core) and strength (ex: extension... which means i can hold my leg out and up for longer)

-SWIMMING--- Before my Last Rockette season, I went swimming EVERY SINGLE day. I would do about 60 laps. I found this to be AMAZING. I love swimming because it is also a full body work out, but you dont ever get over heated. I am one of those people who gets REALLY SUPER HOT. I sweat like a man (gross I know) and I dont just get hot.. but I feel like I Burn sometimes. (weird?) Swimming helped me be able to completely concentrate on the activity without those little voices in my head saying "HOLY #*&% I am going to explode!"

-STRETCHING---I know that stretching isnt a work out...but it is so important to keep your body stretched before and after performing ANY sort of activity. This prevents injury, and keeps your muscles from becoming over stressed.

If you have any questions about stretches that I do for certain muscles feel free to ask :)

***I really want to say that I HOPE THAT DIDNT SOUND ARROGANT! The last thing i want this to sound like is ME ME ME ME...***

If you guys have any questions about ANYTHING I would love to answer them :)

On that note... Enjoy your Sunday :) :)

What have you done today??

2009-02-25T19:20:00.000-08:00

Sorry its been so long since I've posted!!

...its probably because my eats havent been all that exciting...

accept this weekend :)

Anthony and I went to this great market called "John's Market". The

y have tons of fresh produce... at a really great price!!!

We got

3 Artichokes- 1 dollar!

1 Butternut squash- 50 cents!

1 Huge container of Shitaki mushrooms- 2 Dollars!

and that funny little guy in the back is a Yucca root!!- 50 cents!!

We ended up making Broiled Artichokes, and sauteed Mushrooms

(anthony made himself fish)

..and I made this great Israili Cous Cous from Vegan Express (of course with my own twist)

A yummy home made meal :)

For lunch today

Today for lunch I made a sort of sandwich. I melted some rice cheese on a half of a gluten free wrap...it was super crunchy and yummy... and I topped it with avocado spread, sprouts, tomato, artichoke, and lettuce...

I LOVED IT!!!

Ok so now onto my title...

Ask yourself... What have you done today?

Ok clearly Im obsessed with THE BIGGEST LOSER! I swear to god that this show inspires me to work hard during my work outs...

These people are severely over weight. There are women on the show that are 5'4 and weigh over 300 lbs. That is a serious problem. Over time,... and with the help of their trainers the drop an amazing amount of weight. So when I work out... I ask myself... if someone more than twice my size can run three miles... why shouldn't I... and then I do.

Today I really pushed myself at the gym and I was happy. I have been running 3 miles at least 5 days a week... and today I pushed it to 4. I know it doesnt sound like all that much.. but to me it was an accomplishment. I also spent an hour on my arms...and 15 minutes on my abs and gave myself a great 10 minute stretch.

It is so easy to say.. "oh I'm tired"... "i just commuted from the city for an hour and a half and I want to relax.".."I spent my whole day at work...i deserve to take a nap"..."I have so much work to do"... "I have to.. I have to... I have to.." How many times have you said these exact things to yourself...Next time.. say "I deserve to spend some time on myself... to better the person I am.. and to help myself stay healthy."

...So... "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TODAY... TO MAKE YOU FEEL PROUD?"

A little bit of this... a Little bit of that...

2009-02-18T16:17:00.000-08:00

Well I am going to start this post by saying THAT IM A WINNER!!!

Ok ok... dont get upset... we're all winners!.. but seriously I won something!

Vegan Snorkeler's Lisa was having an Online shoe contest. All you had to do was leave a comment on her blog and you entered to win a 50$ gift certificate to Onlineshoes.com.

Shoes... YES PLEASE... and guess who's name got chosen! WAHOO!

Thank you so much Lisa!!!! ( i cant tell you how pumped I am for this!)

Second order of business... I had a wonderful audition today!!! I felt like I did really well and they seemed genuinely Impressed. I went in to sing for Val in A Chorus Line.... Chorus Line=One of my DREAM SHOWS!!!! "GOD I HOPE I GET IT... I HOPE I GET IT!!!!!!!"

Ok Ok Ill spare your the cheesy Musical Theatre stuff

As For EATS... Nothing too exciting lately. I whipped this together the other day. Homemade vegan Coleslaw, fresh greens, sprouts and avocado... definitely yummy :)

Here are some leftovers that I had for lunch this week (from Valentines day) Marsala Seitan over Israeli cous cous and broccoli raab. :)

This morning I was craving oatmeal for some reason. I topped it with fresh strawberries, blueberries, dried cranberries, coconut and some vegan chocolate chi

ps (god i love them!!!)

It def lasted me all day... but I think Im more of a fan of my smoothies in the morning... but hey it was cold and a warm bowl of oatmeal always does the trick :)

Here is a new product that I am a HUGE fan of.. Glutino Pretzels.. they are AWESOMEEEE theyre light and crunchy... just salted enough and gluten free! Def recommend them :)

I like eating them with sunbutter or Mustard.

I dont know about you all.. but sometimes i just crave SAUCE. Not pasta... not ravioli.. but plain old good eatin sauce!!!

Tonight was one of those nights!!! I cooked myself up some spaghetti Squash, steamed some veggies...and topped it with some rice cheese and you guessed it.. a but load of sauce!!!

I couldnt finish it all... common i mean thats a huge portion.. but damn was it yummy

well friends... thats about all.. sorry i dont have anything more exciting to share!!!

till next time :)

Horray Horrah!

2009-02-15T06:32:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends!!!

First thanks for all of the congrats!!! It makes me feel so great :)

Raw food week went well I think.

The verdict??

I crave smoothies in the morning... by lunch time I am pretty hungry, but really am not in the mood for solid food yet. On friday I tried to have a salad... got full after a few bites.. and then whipped myself up another smoothie! My raw food week was cut short by a "We have to go out and celebrate!" From the boyfriend. But its all good I suppose :)

We went to a sushi place where I ordered 4 different veggie sushi rolls :) YUM YUM YUM!

All in all, by the end of my week I feel great. My weight keeps fluctuating.. but it does every day so watever.. Does anyone elses weight fluctuate like crazy???

So the sad news is I had to drop my personal training course. The even worse news was that I still had to finish the anatomy portion of it... so I sat in a class room from 930-330 on valentines day!!!

For lunch I rode over to Chipotle for my favorite salad! Usually I can eat the whole thing.. today?? couldnt even eat half... verdict.. did my raw food affect my eating habbits???

Ok OK...so last night anthony and I went out to one of my favorite restaurants Tuals Kitchen. If you live on LI you have to go there!!!! I had Seitan Marsala over Israeli cous cous and brocclarabe. (I cant spell).... :)---(no picture because It was crowded and I was sort of embarrassed!)

WELL In other news I was given an award from the beautiful Lauren at Ginger is the

New Pink!!! I'm so honored :)!!! So in Honor of this award I have to post 7 things that I love

HERE GOES

1) I love my parents:

I know this is kind of cliche... but I am lucky to have the most supportive parents out there.

They are my biggest supporters. They love me unconditionally and push me to be my very best.

2)I Love my boyfriend:

Ok another cliche. He is just so wonderful. I know I talk about him all the time on my blog, but he really is my best friend in the whole wide world. He knows me better than anyone, and is always the first person to say..."suck it up and go for it"

3)I love performing:

Ok ok i know..."vegan on stage" you all could figure

this out. But it really is my true passion. There is truly no feeling like getting on stage and giving your all. my other favorite part of it is during Rockettes.. when a little girl comes up to me after the show and says "I want to be just like you when I grow up." ....its humbling.

(Thats me in the middle of the pic)

4)I Love my friends:

Duh... doesnt everyone? But me and my friends are more like family. We really do everything together.. we have been friends since freshman year of high school.. which is crazy to think its almost 9 years....! Im really lucky to have them

(These are two of my best friends...Cristy and Kate)

5) I love the beach:

I grew up on the water. I live around the corner from the bay, and we always had a boat when I was growing up. There is nothing quite as calming as sitting on the beach... at say 4:00... when its still warm out, but theres a strong breeze.. and the sun is lower in the sky...it really is my sanctuary

6) I Love my dog:

My dog Cody is the closest thing I have to a br

other. Seriously, my dad treats him like he is human..(heck we all do) hes 10.. but hes got the personality of a puppy and I just love love love him.

i mean common how could you not love that cute face!!!

7)I Love living a healthy life:

Health is such a huge part of my life. I thrive on the endorphins I get from exercising or dancing. I look foward to creating healthy meals... and there really is nothing that makes me feel much better than passing on the knowledge I have gained to others. If I can influence someone else to be vegan then it was a good day!!!

So Now I have to nominate 7 people! sheesh this is tough!

I nominate:

Erin from Vegan and the City

Evey from Vegan Nurse

Natalie from Talieworld

Lauren from Vegan Gal

Kristie from Lighter Portions

Julz from Simple and Devine

Katie from Chocolate Covered Vegan

Honestly I just went through my google reader and was like WOW I really do have connections with most if not all of the people on here...

I think we're all really lucky to have this network of people :)

Happy valentines day!!!!

EMPLOYED!!!!

2009-02-13T12:37:00.001-08:00

So this will be a short post... and ill post more about raw food later... blah blah

I GOT A JOB!!!!

I will be performing in the cast of "Funny Girl" at the Westchester Broadway Theatre from the End of March to Mid June.

Im so excited because its only an hour away from home, and its 5 days a week, so I have two days a week to myself which is awesome :)

and.. I GET MY EQUITY CARD!!! for those of you who may be performers this is aweomse. It puts me in the Actors Union.. I have access to more auditions, and will get payed more! Its pretty hard to get your card so im excited and happy happy happy :)

HORRAY FOR BEING AN EMPLOYED ACTOR/DANCER!!!!!!!!

Day 3 and 4!

2009-02-12T16:00:00.000-08:00

Hey Bloggies... sorry I didn't get to post yesterday...I had class all night and was wiped by the time I got home. I am absolutely LOVING my personal training course. We are only on Anatomy and Physiology, but I am so incredibly intrigued with the human body!

Ok ok, I wont rant and rave I know you all want to know how the last two days of Raw week went.

DAY 3

Well I woke up yesterday and enjoyed a "Choconana" Smoothie. I really love the chocolaty goodness of this drink and it truly fills me up!

This beauty contains

1 frozen banana

1 cup rice milk (i know its not raw but I have to make do)

1 mejool date

3 tsp raw cacao powder

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

dash of nutmeg

a squirt of agave nectar

and a handful of ice

Blend and ENJOY!

I love this smoothy so much. I cant tell you all enough.. YOU HAVE TO MAKE THIS!!! (if you like chocolaty things!)

After breakfast I sat down for a few hours to study... and then went to the gym!

I wasnt sure how I would feel (still sick) but it actually helped me feel better! After running my third mile I felt as though I had "sweat out" some of my gross sickness :)

I'm not sure what the weather was like by everyone else, but yesterday was Sunny and beautiful! I was significantly comfortable in My north face and sweat pants!!! When the weather is nice like that, I want nothing more than a slushy strawberry smoothy....or lemonade....so why not put them together??

I decided to make a strawberry lemonade smoothy :)

Strawberry Lemonade smoothy

Frozen strawberries (i didnt measure)

juice of 2 fresh lemons

squirt of agave

tbs of raw honey

This reminded me of a strawberry daquery :) I also paired this with a fresh naval orange...

sheesh it was so refreshing!!

HOW AM I FEELING?

Now... it may seem like I'm only drinking smoothies, but honestly I am just not as hungry!

The first two days I was pretty much constantly hungry, but by day three I honestly felt rejuvenated, and full after each meal. I also am finding that I feel more rested. I woke up at 7am all on my own... I NEVER do that! Maybe this raw food thing isnt so bad?

For dinner I decided to make some spring rolls. I know that rice paper isnt raw...(or I dont think) but I figured it would be ok... as I said I was doing MOSTLY raw.. it is hard because of allergies for me to be completely raw, and I didnt want to go out and go shopping for anything. I had used up all of my big leaves of cabbage so settled with rice paper (ok now that I have explained myself! haha)

When I woke up, I sliced some button mushrooms REALLY thin and marinated them in:

1 tbs nama shoyu (raw soy sauce)

1 stp raw tahini

3 tbsp honey

3 tbsp apple cider viniger

1 clove garlic

dash of orange juice

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cumin

(this recipe is Day Seven of One week raw)

I let the mushrooms sit ALL day (in the fridge)

I soaked the rice paper, and topped it with Baby spinach leaves, marinated mushrooms, avocado, carrots (i used a peeler) and some cilantro (i ended up cutting off the gross stringy part of it!) here is one of them before i rolled it!

WEIGHT: so As for my weight yesterday morning... it remained the same. I think It didnt change because I didnt do any working out the day before... oh well..

DAY 4

Well This morning I woke up craving the same smoothy!!! (go figure)

So I enjoyed once again my Choconana smoothie once again

After breakfast Mom and I went to both Trader Joes and Whole Foods. I seriously love going to the grocery store. I love finding new fun things to get!

We got mostly produce...but hey you cant beat fresh fruits and veggies :)

After we got back, I had the remainder of the GREEN Smoothy I made on day 2, and headed to the gym.

I came back, showered, and got ready to prepare dinner! (after doing an array of other things of course)

At Candle Cafe, they have my favorite salad ever... the Living Crunchy Sprout Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing. When we were at Whole Foods I saw the crunchy sprouts at the salad bar, filled an entire brown box with them, and knew what I was having for dinner.

(The jar contains the dressing)

I Threw together some mixed greens, baby Arugula, Mung Bean sprouts, Alfafa Sprouts, avocado, sunflower seeds, crunchy sprout mix (from whole foods) Raisins, and Sunflower Seeds...Crunchy and delightful!!!

Carrot Ginger Dressing

2 1/2 cups chopped carrots

3 tbs fresh ginger

2 tbs agave nevtar

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 clove garlic

1/4 olive oil

drizzle of sesame oil

dash of cumin and coriander

Blend and VUALA (this dressing is seriously fantastic)

WEIGHT:

As for weight today... I woke up, got on the scale and...

Was TWO lbs lighter. ( I guess my run made a difference?)

I wasnt surprised to see a lower number. I feel lighter...and I feel it in my face (does anyone else get like that too?)

Ok.. Ill stop Blabing... time to head over to the boyfriends for a movie :)

One Week Raw... DAY TWO

2009-02-10T19:08:00.000-08:00

I know I already posted this morning, but I was a little behind and I wanted to share my day 2 progress.

Well although I am still sick... I feel a lot better! It is now 10pm... my fever is gone, my head ache is gone, my throat doesnt hurt as bad... I wonder if it is all of the wholesome food that I have been eating?? perhaps.

Well I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was get on the scale. Although I dont feel comfortable sharing my starting weight with you all, I am comfortable to inform you of any weight loss (I am not by any means over weight.. I know this... but hey its still an uncomfortable thing to share!)

I am excited to see that after just one day of raw eating I lost exactly 1 lb! (Mind you this is without working out too... I needed to give my sick body a break from the gym today and yesterday).

Ok so now onto the food.

Breakfast consisted of three dehydrated crackers (made by moms trainer) topped with raw Pistachio butter. Also I enjoyed a side of sliced banana and strawberries!

(I lost the pic in my camera for some reason! BoOOOO)

Lunch was a "green Smoothy"...well kind of

It consisted of banana, strawberry, peaches (all frozen)a scoop of chia seeds, flax seeds, and a scoop of spirulina. I never usually like green smoothies, but I enjoyed this. I hate how spirulina tastes but it was masked by the fruits :) YUMM and had so many great entities to boost my immune system and to kick this cold!!!

I was pretty hungry all day (Surprisingly because yesterday I wasnt at all). Probably because I laid around all day studying and watching tv and letting my belly say FEED ME!!!

of course I listened! I snacked on 3 mejool dates, some celery sticks, an apple, raw pistachios, and a few sips of my left over smoothy ( i made about two serving

By Dinner I WAS READY for a HUGE salad.... when I say huge.. i dont mean big.. i mean GINORMOUS!!

This bad boy was piled high with mixed greens, green cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber, sundried tomatoes, strawberries, olives (which im not sure are raw but its ok i suppose) avocado, mushroom, and some dried cranberries. I topped it with a little balsamic and olive oil and yummmm It filled me up!

I also made some raw mashed "potatoes". I used some cauliflower, green onion, garlic, water, pine nuts, salt and pepper to taste. It wasn't terrible... but it made me feel a little nauseous. I think its because to me, it was supposed to be warm... actually, if it

was warmed up I bed it would taste great... i think I added too much green onion... oopss!

I ended my eating day with a whole mango. It was a little old, but still good :)

all in all, Im ending today still hungry and not completely satisfied. I think that I am going to have to eat a better breakfast that will last me all day, so that what I eat through out the day will last me.

till tomorrow :)

One Week Raw

2009-02-10T08:53:00.000-08:00

So as I said in my last post, I did a sort of winter cleaning.

Well I ate raw for two days and felt amazing.... and then the weekend hit. It was the boy's birthday so we went out to dinner at "Craft" in the city. This is Tom Colicchio's restaurant (the judge from Top Chef). Anthony and I are obsessed with the show, so it was only fitting that we go there! Although they didn't have ANY entree options that were vegan, I decided to get 4 sides of different yummy vegetables. They were delish... but definitely NOT raw. The waiter assured me that none of them were cooked in butter but you never know I guess.

As a dessert, Anthony ordered a sampling of cheeses. They were beautiful... and he begged me to try some... and I did. And honestly, I didnt like it much. I loved cheese way back when, but the taste is way too thick and rich for me to enjoy it. but all in all I did have it.

The next day I decided to go back to some raw food. I enjoyed some RAWsome Pancakes (previously posted) which of course held me ALL day. By the time dinner came I was starving, and knew that when we went out that night with all of our friends I would be having a few drinks (I never ever drink, but decided since it was Anthony's birthday I would CELEBRATE with him and our friends). I decided to have something with more substance and enjoy one of the black bean burgers that I made this week... my moms request. It was definitely Yummy... but once again not raw... so I had given up on my Winter cleaning, but it was ok because I had done it for two days and thats longer than my usual monthly raw day!

WELL that night, I ended up DRINKING.... I had 4 vodka sodas, and was pretty... well.. giggly..:) We had a great time. I sent out a facebook message about two weeks ago telling over 30 people that we were going out to celebrate anthonys birthday... and believe it or not around 30 showed up!!! It was SOSOSO much fun to catch up with friends we havent seen in a long time, and we stayed out until 3:30am!!! I havent done that since college! So i was definitely feeling it the day after.

I GOT SICK! no not hung over sick... a head ache, sore throat, stuffy nose sick!!!

UGH I havent been sick since i went vegan about a year ago, so I am really pissed. I guess this is my bodies way of telling me "Ha ha told ya so". Oh well

Sorry about all of the babble... it is leading up to my main topic FOR THE WEEK!

One of my favorite blogs...Ginger is the New Pink is a high raw vegan and is a part of that e-cook book i talked about in my last post. She has inspired me not only to do a day or two here or there raw, but to try one full week raw!! (or MOSTLY raw) So here is the beginning of my journey... hopefully this Motivates some others to do a week cleanse!!!

DAY ONE: Beginning weight (I get weird about numbers, but I will update you with weight loss)

I started breakfast with a "bananas in pajamas" SYNless bar.

For lunch I choose a beautiful smoothy with frozen mango, frozen pineapple, frozen banana, and fresh papaya.

It was SOOOOO delish! Surprisingly, it held me until dinner!

For dinner I decided to hit the ECook Book and make the Dolmas Salad

It was FANTASTIC!!!! Super Creamy and filling!

I had to modify the ingredients a bit.. substitute one of the nuts with pumpkin seeds and the other nut with pistachios, but all in all it came out great!!! def try it out!

(Clearly i topped mine with raw cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber, and some olives.. YUM YUM YUM!!!

I also had my first day of class (personal training/nutrition) ...well the anatomy portion of it any way... I LOVE IT!!!

After I got home from class, I snacked on some raisins and dried mango.

so technically this is day two of my week of raw food. I had breakfast already today and am about to make some lunch... I also weighed myself... (did I lose weight... am I the same weight?) You will just have to wait and find out friends!!!

TILL LATER!!!

Winter cleaning???

2009-02-06T07:38:00.000-08:00

Well... time to state the obvious... ITS FREEZING! I wish it would just warm up so I could spend some time outside.

Well this week has been fabulous so far!!!

On Monday I decided to go outside of my comfort zone and take a HIP HOP CLASS!! hahah I love hip hop... but I dont feel as confident as I do in my theatre, jazz or lyrical (etc) classes. It was really fun... we did a sexy little number with lots of attitude... hahaha i actually did pretty well considering i NEVER do this style.

Tuesday I went into the city with my mom...And of course, there was a

freakin blizzard!!! We got like 6 inches of snow on Long Island. Of course

it was worse in the city because everything just gets soaked. I was wearing Uggs.. because I always slip when I wear my regular boots, and they got so wet.. my feet were soaking and my blister that I had on my foot was throbbing... ew so gross i know sorry for that.

BUT OTHER THAN THAT I had a great day!!! Mom, me, and my

two crazy aunts (well my moms best friends) went to Candle Cafe! I wish I had my camera.. i was so mad that I didnt.

I ordered something from the specials menu... it consisted of black beans,

guaca

mole, quinua, collard greens, and cajun seitan... YUMMMM

Mom got a bowl of their thick and hearty chili with corn bread. Wow it looked amazing.

The only thing i hate about going to these restaurants is that I am so limited to what i can have. I am allergic to so much that its hard to find something different that I can eat. I usually order the same thing but luckily there was something on the specials that I could have.. and it was AWESOME!!! I also hate that I cant have any of their deserts as they

ALL contain some sort of soy or nut product.. oh well... i can

always make my own :)

After dinner, mom and I went to see "South Pacific". It was probably the best show I have ever seen... and I've seen lots of shows. It was so so so so beautiful a

nd classic and AHHH!! it was amazing! We sat in the fro

nt row which I usually hate, but I loved it this time! I actually felt like I was part of the show...:)

On Wednesday I went on an audition. It was for Funny Girl at the Westchester Broadway Theatre... I got through all of the cuts... I read... I sang... I danced two combos... i felt really good about it... so Hopefully I hear something back from them. Its so hard in this bus

iness because you can never tell what they are thinking...of course I pick a career full of uncertainty.

Ok...so now some explanation for my title. Yesterday, followed by my morning run, I was lucky enough to have a body treatment and a facial (both organic). I had my entire body exfoliated, scrubbed, detoxified..they literally wrapped me in this plastic stuff, and covered me with three layers of heavy blankets... one heated and one that keeps heat in..! After both treatments my skin was so so so soft and totally clean. It was awesome!

I decided that since I was having a "Winter Cleaning" of my body, I might as well do a raw food detox! I usually do these one day a month, but i decided to try to do it for a week (minus tonight because its Anthony's birthday and I have reservations at a really nice restaurant)...so here are my eats from yesterday!

Breakfast: I woke up and decided to have a super awesome smoothie

This beauty contained a frozen banana, half a frozen mango, and some fresh papaya...it was so yum and delish!!! it actually held me over through my run, and my facial/body treatment.

By three I was STARVING.. I came home... cleansed and feeling wonderful, and whipped myself up this beauty...

doesnt it look great!!! it tasted even better than it looked.

Baby field greens, sliced avocado, papaya, mango and celery topped with a little bit of pomegranate balsamic...YUMYUM YUM... it had such a clean and refreshing taste... i loved it so much!

Dinner

was from One Week Raw... she has a great free e-cook book that you can download... i made the Mango Lettuice wraps... (from day 7). I cant follow the cleanse completely because of all of the nuts used, but I can pick the ones that look good to me and try them out!!

The lettuce wraps were amazing. The marinade was to die for...I soaked the veggies in it for about a half hour and they became soft...it seemed like they were cooked

I will definitely be making them again!!!

I took a cabbage leaf, or a romaine lettuce leaf, spread a thin letter of avo spread, and topped that with the vegetables....Im such a fan!!!!

This morning I had some Raw pancakes (last post)...and now I'm about to hit the gym!!!

till next time :)

stay warm!!

RAWsome Pancakes

2009-02-01T19:44:00.001-08:00

I have never been much of a runner. I usually would rather swim, or take some sort of spin or dance class. My knees are rather pesky, so sometimes when i run on a treadmill, or even get on an elliptical they hurt.

Well lately, I have been running on the treadmill completely free of pain! I dont think I have ever gotten a runners high.. and lately I have been! I actually have fun while I run and its an awesome feeling. Today I ran three miles at a 7.8. Im working up to five.. this week ill increase to four. Its hard for me because I get nervous about my knees but until they tell me to stop I am going to keep going ;)

Breakfast is always my favorite meal of the day. I honestly wake up... still sleepy eyed, probably still dreaming and walk into my kitchen to decide what to have for breakfast.

Well the other day, my mom's personal trainer told me about these raw pancakes that she enjoys as a treat on weekends. Well I tried them and HOLY GOOD RAW GOD are they unbelievable. They are made primarily of flax seeds... when I heard this I couldnt figure out how something like this could actually taste so good but wow it was. It reminds me of raw cookie dough.. something always welcome to my taste buds.

here is the recipe (im not sure where she got it so i guess i

ts ok to post :) )

Raw Coconut Pancakes

2.5 cups ground flax seed (flax meal)

2 tbs coconut oil

1/2 cup agave nectar or maple syrup (i used agave)

1/2 tspn sea salt

1/4 cup water

Put the flax meal, coconut oil, agave salt and water into a large bowl and mix well. (I used my hands)

Form four or five balls with the mixture.

Flatten them and VUALA

Top them with some shredded coconut, nuts, dried fruit, banana, maple syrup... watever you want!!!

(Pic of the pancakes pre flattening)

I enjoyed these on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday was topped with coco powder, coconut, sliced banana and maple syrup. Out of the three I prepared for myself, I was only able to eat one an a half. THEY ARE SO FILLING! and i swear I wasnt hungry again until like 3 (I ate at around 9:30 am)

This morning (Sunday) I topped them with Pistachios, coconut, Banana, a shake of coco powder, Maple syrup, and a added a Tbs of Sunbutter on the side of my plate to throw into the mix.(not pictured).

AMAZING!!

Well on Friday ( i know i know im jumping around quite a bit) mom and I hit both Whole Foods and Trader Joes. We got loads and loads of yummy treats! some of my favorites included a Papaya, dried papaya, mango, a new cereal, dried peaches, naval oranges, Rice Dream Chocolate Chi...(which is soo so sos os oso so good!... i cant wait to have it hot) and those dark little banana like things that I have never tried and dont know the name of (i just have always wanted to try one so why not)

**does anyone know how to tell if they're ripe or not?**

Well this week should be pretty great, I have a couple of auditions that I'm gunna go on, lots of gym/swimming/running/ dance classes, going to see "South Pacific" with my mom :)!!! Going to a great vegan restaurant (not decided where though) with mom that same night, Getting an organic facial and massage (a christmas present from my parents!!) and then I'm taking Anthony out to dinner for his birthday on friday, going out with a bunch of friends to celebrate on Saturday, and Monday starting my personal training course!

whew!! that sounds like a lot!! better get some sleep!!

Good night <3

Its Chilly... time for CHILI!!!!

2009-01-27T11:50:00.000-08:00

HELLO friends!!!

well I have honestly not been up to a whole lot la

tely. Auditions are slim, and my toe is still bothering me.. hence I havent taken any class (dance). I have gone swimming which is just about the only thing that is keepin me going right now. I dont mean to rant, but it is so weird to go from constantly working working working to having nothing going on at all...at least I start my Personal Training course in two weeks!

Well the past few days have been yummy I suppose. On Saturday morning I woke up

and made myself some yummy yummy oatmeal.. with SUNBUTTER IN IT! I always see my fellow bloggies posting oatmeal with peanutbutter in it and I decided that i was my turn!

I used a half cup of oatmeal, 1 tbs sunbutter, sprinkle of coconut, some vegan chocolate chips and sliced banana......SO YUMMY!!! and it held me over all day!

i seriously wasnt hungry till much later, and I wanted something sweet ... I decided on a massive bowl of fruit!

I piled this bad boy high with apple, mango,pear, kiwi, and some dried cranberries... it was absolutely divine and totally hit the spot

Yesterday my mom made an outrageous soup! Im not sure of the recipe... but how amazing does it look (it tasted wonderful... im not a great photographer though)

We paired the soup with a beautiful salad topped with roasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds. (this white is cauliflower not cheese!)

Well since I haven't been doing much but sitting around (bah) I decided to cook today!!! I have been in the mood for thick soups... something that is warm and will raise my freezing body temp in this cold weather!!! I decided on CHILI!!!

Syn's Thick and Hearty vegan bean Chili

2 cans black beans

2 cans pinto beans

1 tbs olive oil

3 cloves minced garlic

1 large onion (chopped)

1 red bell peppper (chopped)

2 stalks celery chopped

1 sweet potato (chopped)

1 zucchini (chopped)

1-2 cups frozen corn

2 cans diced tomatoes (or crushed)

1/4 cup sucanat

2 tbs cili powder

1 tspn salt to taste (remember:less is always more!!!)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon coriander

1 squeezed lime

depending on how spicy you want it.. add cayenne pepper (i added way to much and had to add more beans to my chili so be careful!)

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

(This makes a whole lot of chili my friends,,, if you dont want to store it half the recipe)

Drain beans

In a large pot, saute garlic, onion, celery, bell pepper, sweet potato and zucchini in olive oil for approx 4 minutes. Add the drained beans, diced tomatoes (DONT DRAIN) and corn. Stir all together. Add the rest of the ingredients Accept cilantro.

Bring to a boil and continue to stir from time to time.

Once the pot is brought to a consistent boil turn off the heat and cover.

Let the chili sit for an hour with a lid covering it.

Stir in the cilantro and serve :)

its totally yummy but be careful about the cayenne pepper.

If you make it too spicy try adding a can of refried beans or a can of pinto beans. It will even out the spice. You could also add some agave nectar but the beans should work.

Well those are my exciting eats for the past few days!

On an exciting note, Since the rockettes are owned by Cablevision, I get free cable!!! I never realized that I got this so i didnt send in for it last year, but they called yesterday to say that they are giving me a gold package free.. i have all of these awesome movie channels now!! WOOP WOOP!!

so right now... THE LAND BEFORE TIME IS ON!! remember that movie :) I like duckie the best he he

till next time <3

OUCHY:(

2009-01-23T08:05:00.000-08:00

So I think my toe is broken. Or else severely jammed... OUCHHHHH!!!!

I was running yesterday on the treadmill and i felt it CRACK. It has been bothering me for the past couple of days but today I can barley walk on it. Oh well... i guess that gives me an excuse to sit on my couch and catch up on all of your blogs!!

My mom and I like to go to Whole Foods in the morning right after they have put out all of their fresh produce... So thats exactly what we did today. We got to whole foods at 9am and got all of our shopping done for the week!! Horray!!!!

Well this week I went on my first audition since I've been back home. It was for 42nd street at the Goodspeed theatre in CT. I got kept through the dance audition and then I sang. I think it went pretty well...but you never can tell what the casting people are thinking. Oh well.. I'll keep you all updated on my auditions!

In more exciting news I registered for my personal training course and I start on Feb. 9th!!! IM SO PUMPED!

ON TO THE FOOD!

This week I was craving two things... Pizza and Soup. WHY? I have no idea. I think I wanted the warmth of the soup and the saucy goodness of the pizza.

Tuesday night was an incredible salad with black beans, sprouts, artichokes, avocado, celery, cucumber, pumpkin seeds, and a piece of "Quorn" Chick'n. With a cup of YOU GOT IT... SOUP! Butternut Squash Soup of course :) SOOOO AMAZINGLY YUMMY. (My mom made it from scratch.. not sure of the recipe though)

And here is my Wednesday Night pizza!! Its made on a Brown Rice Wrap and piled with Hunts tomato sauce, broccoli, tomato, onion,artichoke and Rice cheese...AMAZINGGGGGG

Thursday Night was by far the best. My mom made a killer three bean salad from VegNews...heres a picture of the beans before they were added to the other ingredients.. i just

thought they looked so pretty!

For dinner.. i paired the bean salad with some sauteed Kale, sweet potato

fries (baked) and some more Butternut squash soup.

Well Friends... nothing too exciting in my life right now....so now its time for me to read and comment on all of your blogs!!!

TILL NEXT TIME :)

A Time for Change

2009-01-20T15:41:00.000-08:00

I sit here with tears in my eyes... coming to terms with the fact that we as a nation have just taken a huge step. We have taken a step towards change, equality, and prosperity. We have just witnessed history.

God Bless America

Oh the weather outside is frightful

2009-01-19T08:46:00.001-08:00

But my dear its so delightful!!!!

Usually I cant stand snow...because I am always in Manhattan. Snow in the city kind of sucks. It gets dirty, makes it difficult to walk around and makes the subways cold wet and sometimes late. Being home on LI is amazing. The snow is untouched and covering the trees... just how I like it :)

So lately I have been extremely excited about getting into my kitchen. I feel so at home there and I love opening my fridge to fresh veggies, fruits, grai

ns, and delish vegan goodies!

Thursday night I made my favorite Black Bean Burgers

I topped this amazing burger with Rice cheese, avocado, lots of pickles lettu

ce vegenaise and ketsup and paired it with some sweet potato fries (bakes of course) sprinkled with season salt, paprika, salt and peper!

YUMMMMM

On Friday, I decided to be adventurous and delve into one of Susan's from (Fat Free Vegan Kitchen) New Recipes. I decided to make Black bean and Pumpkin Casserole.

At first I didn't like it... I used butternut squash and it was still hard in the middle after cooking it for the alloted time. My mom told me that it tasted better the second day after reheating it and making the squash completely soft and the ingredients blending together

Im sure Susan's was better than mine, but hey you cant like everything you make!

On Saturday, Anthony was going to play Basketball at CW Post (college) with the guys and informed me that there was a beautiful pool there available to the public. I LOVE swimming so I went with him and swam while he played. I got an hour of constant swimming in. If you are someone who cant always

be on the treadmill due to bad knees or hips (ME ME ME ME) Swimming twice a week is a good alternative to your work out routine. Consider it :)

When we got back he made me dinner! He made Ratatouille for me (and him) and he got some meat and steamed muscles for him (and my dad)

It turned out beautiful and totally yummy.. i never make Ratatouille... I forgot how much I like it. Actually now that I think of it, perhaps I should make it again and then sit down to watch the movie!!!-------->Heres a pic of the boy cooking :)

Well this morning I woke up and wasnt hungry but was in the mood to make some more Syn-less Bars! I made more Elphie (pistachio) Carob Bliss (chocolate) and then I decided to create two new fantastic flavors!!!

Bananas in Pajamas!

1/4 cup Mejool dates (Chopped)

1/4 cup Raisins (Chopped)

1/3 cup coconut

1/4 cup dried bananas (Chopped)

pinch of cinnamon

(Follow the same directions on the Syn-less link!!)

Jimmy Buffets Paradise Blast

(he he he I like this name)

1/4 cup dried mango (Chopped)

1/3 cup gojii berries (Chopped)

3 mejool dated (you guessed it.. chopped)

1/3 cup dried bananas (chopped)

1/3 cup coconut

(if there is too much dry mixture add some chopped dried cranberries or raisins.. it will add more "glue" for the ingredients to mix together)

these are totally delish.. I cant wait to create more madness!!

(After I made these I was hungry! so I decided to have a naval orange and a part of the pistachio bar)

Ok so thats all fun and well.. now to talk about something that is directly effecting my life and career (other than food!)

The performing arts industry is hurting. 15 shows are scheduled to close on Broadway in the next 6 weeks. That is a massive amount of people out of work and money lost. The arts are so important. They expose people to a different type of entertainment. I love the movies and certain television, but I truly feel like there is nothing like live theatre. It provides so many jobs as well. Not only is the great white way (broadway) hurting, but hundreds of regional theatres are in the pit as well. If you cant get to NYC to see a show, try and support the arts by going to a local theatre. Although they arent in New York, many are still professional caliber. They higher performers with amazing credits (even I worked at a regional theatre this summer!) So if you can, buy a ticket to a show.. you might even find that it inspires you in a way you didnt know was possible.

well I am going to get ready to head into Manhattan to take a dance class with my favorite favorite dance teacher! IM PUMPED!!!

RAWRRRRRRRRRRRR

2009-01-15T17:53:00.000-08:00

Ya know when you have one of those weekends? A weekend where you may have slipped and eaten some dairy... a weekend where you may have had oh i dont know 4 glasses of wine...Where you may have been celebrating your return home with your boyfriend and had two mojitos at dinner... yea that would be me.

After this weekend... i felt (as I can only describe) as contaminated. I really try to feed my body with healthy and clensed foods. I never drink, I dont eat dairy (or any animal products for that matter) but sometimes when I am out celebrating a special occasion, I will slip and allow myself to have some dairy or a drink (i know Im not the first "vegan" to do so, but I hate that I do once in a blue moon. After starting my week feeling gross, I decided to have

a raw cleansing day.

Whenever I do a raw day, I feel so so so so much better the following day. I feel more energized, less bloated, and I even feel like my

sense of taste is heightened.

Ok ill stop blabbing and fill you in on what I ate yesterday :)

For breakfast I woke up ready for some juicy fruit! Mango, sweet apple, banana and shredded coconut

I also squeezed some fresh

orange juice with an old juicer that

I stumbled upon

As a mid day snack I had a Syn-less (hehe i love them) Elphie (pistachio/coconut) bar

As usual on a raw food day I am pretty consistently hungry... I munched on some celery sticks and carrot before I broke down and made a "crunchy" salad.

It had Pistachios, sunflower seeds, pumpkin

seeds, pine nuts, tomatoes, celery, pickles, avocado, artichokes, and romaine lettuce...yum yum :)

SO...For Christmas, I got my mom a Champion Juicer... since I was gone when it arrived,

mom was waiting for me to get home to use it. Yesterday seemed like the perfect day to open it up and give it a try.

The first picture is during the juicing process.. the poop looking stuff coming out of the spout is the pulp.. the juice falls in the clear container. It was actually really fun :)

We made cucumber, apple, celery juice. I wasnt a huge fan of it.. it was to vegetably (yea i made up a word) for me.. i like my juices to be sweet... but i cant wait to make a tropical blend!!

For a snack I had some sliced banana drizzled with raw honey (i know eating honey isnt "vegan" but I love it and haven't given it up,.. but i rarely eat it so i guess its ok)

I also had some organic green tea

For dinner I was inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, Bianca from Vegan Crunk In her recent raw food day, she made spring rolls with cabbage. I LOVE spring rolls. But I didnt have any cabbage on hand, what I did have was rice paper.

I decided to make some home made vegan sushi! It is so easy and so amazingly great

Easy Spring roll sushi

what youll need

Rice paper

flat sheets of dried sea weed

avocado

carrots

cucumber

lettuce

sun dried tomatoes (optional)

soak rice paper (i fill a plate with water and drench the paper that way)

sheer carrots with a peeler

slice cucumber (extremely thin.. julienne if you will (not sure i spelt that right)

slice avocado thin

slice sun dried tomatoes into strips

take the hard end off of the lettuce and fold it in half

take rice paper and place seaweed on top. Lay each ingredient next to each other. and roll tightly. slice large roll into small servings and vuala.... SUSHI my friends SUSHI

I had some salad (my mom made an amazing tahini/kimchi dressing) and a dehydrated cracker that her personal trainer makes from the recycled pulp form her juicer.

Well.. I will say that I woke up this morning feeling rejuvenated, refreshed, and excited for my puffins cereal :)

oh I almost forgot... last night while I was enjoying my raw vegan day

... mister Anthony came over and brought h

is own food...

ha ha Were so opposite...but hey thats probably why we work so well and probably why i love him so much :)

until tomorrow <3>

A "Syn"-less suprise :)

2009-01-13T21:22:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the title... but I couldnt resist :)

So right now it is 12:30 am.. I'm sitting in my bed.. and I cant sleep.

why you ask? Because I am catching up on all of the wonderful blogs that I've missed while I was gone!

I really love blogging and reading everyones blogs.. so the fact that I can now read.. and actually TRY out some of these great recipes has me just about peeing my pants (dont worry... I am properly potty trained and promise not to wet the bed)

But truly I have been very inspired lately...which leads me to my Syn-less suprise!

Now If you have ever read my blog before (and if anyone new is reading this.. that makes me super excited :) ) You know that I have a very terrible, horrible, no good, very bad allergy to nuts (all accept pistachios and pine nuts) Now.. as every good vegan should, I try and do my research on healthy energy boosting snacks (vegan of course). I am always seeing "Lara Bars" . I always hear how healthy and delish they are.. but this poor vegan cant try them because they are CHOCK FULL OF NUTS!!!

Well... after doing so more research and looking at ingredients I thought to myself.. why the hell cant I make my own danm lara bars!!

After this realization (of course with a cute little light bulb over my head) I rummaged through my pantry and happily found a huge container of mejool dates, pistachios, coconut, dried blue berries, apricots, cranberries, raisins and more HORRAY!!!

So my friends.. I have created three types of Syn-less bars. All containing mejool dates, and only one containing any nuts. I used seeds and carob chips to get that desired crunch. If you are allergic to nuts like I am, but are jealous of all of those foodies out there who eat these amazing bars... consider some Synless bars :)

Elphie bar (In honor of Elphaba-the lead role in Wicked-and a role I hope to some day play :)

1/4 cup chopped mejool dates

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup raw pistachios (before chopping)

1/4cup coconut

pinch of cinnamon

*Chop mejool dates into 1/4 cup. Add dates and cranberries to a food processor. Process until it makes a gooey paste (mine sort of rolled up into a gooey ball)

*Transfer into a medium sized bowl.

*Add cinnamon, pistachios and coconut into the bowl and mix them all together with your hands. YES YOUR HANDS! Its gooey and messy but totally fun and it gets the job completely done.

once they are totally mixed together, press the concoction into a flat bar

... cut down the middle and VUALA... PISTACHIO GOODNESS.

sorry about the pictures... i am no photographer.. but I tried ;)

my next bar was,...

SMURF BAR (In honor of one of my favorite cartoons when I was growing up)

1/4 cup mejool dates (chopped)

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup dried blue berries

1/3 cup coconut

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (i know this sounds weird in the mix.. but it adds a nice crunch and its actually very complimentary to the blueberry taste i think)

just follow the same instructions

and last...

(and my personal favorite)

Carob Bliss bar (I couldnt think of anything clever oops)

1/4 cup chopped mejool dates

1/4 cup raisins

1/3 cup coconut

1/3 cup chopped carob chips

1/3 cup coco powder

1/8 tspn vanilla

Im just guestimating these measurements. the truth is I like mine super chocolaty...so I added more carob and coco powder. I also threw in some extra coconut. I did a tiny taste test... but its kind of up to you how chocolaty you wanna make it.

I plan on making more.. im thinking something with dried banana, and another with apples... ahh the possibilities are endless.

ok well now thats its 1:15am.. I guess I can say its time for bed.

<3>

Home Sweet Home

2009-01-12T11:45:00.000-08:00

Well i want to start this post with thanking everyone for your kind words. I had a really rough "terrible horible no good very bad day" and it helps to know that people really care.

I ended up being alright (thank god) and IM HOME!!!

I love the comforts of home. My amazing bed, my full stocked pantry and fridge, my gym membership, my closet full of clothes, my favorite grocery

stores, WHOLE FOODS, my mom, dad boyfriend and beautiful friends, my puppy! We truly take so many things for granted when we are home. Being away made me realize how much I appreciate all that I have and love here at home.

Well now that I'm home, I have to figure out what my next move is. It is pretty scary being unemployed (I know that I just had an amazing job for almost 5 months, and i worked my butt off, but I still hate not having something RIGHT now)

Since the economy is so bad right now over 15 Broadway shows are closing... which mean all of those veterans who have amazing resumes are out of work... which means theyre going to go for the things I normally would be going for. This makes my life

DIFFICULT.

There are lots of tours auditioning, but Im not sure that I want to go back out so soon... i love being home, and I dont know if I can deal with living out of a suit case so soon.

I have been super interested in nutrition, health, and exercise for as long as I can remember. I was talking to my moms personal trainer about it and decided that I am going to take a course in Personal training/ nutrition. The class is super well rounded, incorporates anatomy, the business aspects of training, nutrition, creating a well balanced di

et for a client, disease and precautions while training etc. It will be a great way to make money on my off time, I can make my own hours and still audition.

Im super excited about this because I feel like its a different direction that I can move in, yet I can still persue my dream. So I will keep you all updated with how I like it and if I decide if this is for me.

Well speaking of the gym. I have been there quite a bit. Ive been spinning, running, lifting stretching.. and I LOVE IT. I really missed working out.

Here is one of my post work out meals.

Thing sliced whole wheat toast with 2 tbs of sun butter.. some carob chips, 2 medjool dates and a couple of apricot kernels.

ALSO my favorite mango, banana, peach smoothie with rice milk and agave nectar.

I LOVE BEING HOME!!!

im going to be making something yummy tonight for dinner.. probably something inspired by one of your fabulous blogs!!!

HORRAY HORRAYYYYYY

A Terrible Horrible no good Very Bad day

2008-12-31T05:43:00.000-08:00

I have had lots of bad days. Sometimes you wake up in the morning and well everything goes wrong. Your late for school, your favorite cafe is out of your salad, you miss the only subway that will get you to the train on time. Stuff like that. Well, for me yesterday was nothing like that.

It was my day off from the show. I was going to rest my body, do some shopping and enjoy the day. I woke up at around 12:30 (which I never ever do) and laid in bed and watched a movie.

I realized that I was hungry, so I decided to go to Austin's famed 2nd and Congress. There are lots of cute boutiques and also some healthy restaurant options.. I WAS PUMPED!

The First thing I did when I got down there was find some food! I walked into a little cafe called "Jo's". They had about 5 vegan/vegetarian options! I decided on the veggie burger, but before I ordered I made sure to ask them if there was soy in it. She said she highly doubted it since it would have said it on the board under the burgers ingredients. All it said was Black beans, Whole wheat rice, onion, garlic, red pepper, and portobello mushrooms. It sounded like something I even make at home, so I figured I was safe.

Well, I'm not gunna lie, I scarfed the thing down. I hadnt had much of an appetite lately and was starving. I finished my burger and walked into the shop next door to look for a cute new years dress. And then it started.....

I started to feel burning and itchiness in the back of my throat. Sometimes that happens if a small trace of soy is in something I eat, but I usually can deal with it without having to take anything. When it started to get worse I realized I needed to take some benadryl... and I didnt have any with me.

Luckily there was a CVS near by where i opened the package and took two doses right in the isle. Usually that will stop any reactions I am going to have, but it will make me super drowsy so i knew I had to head back to my hotel room.

As I was walking back, my symptoms not only worsened they plummeted. I felt nauseous, I was sweating, and now my eyes, scalp, and hands were itching. I know those are weird places to feel severe itch, but thats when I know that I'm about to go into anaphylactic shock.. and soon.

I started throwing up the second I got back to my room, and then I called my mom. I was pretty frantic, and having her being thousands of miles away back in New York was even harder. I felt completely alone and scared, and I didnt know if I would have to take my epi pen or not. Well, when I looked in the mirror and realized that my eyes were swelling shut, I knew I had to.

I opened my pen, jammed it in my thigh, ran down stairs to the lobby so I wouldn't be alone, and called an ambulance.

Everything after that is a big blur. They got there, checked my vital signs, got me in the ambulance and rushed me to the hospital. The entire way there I was throwing up, sweating, I couldn't focus on anything, and I kept passing out. I was terrified.

A company manager met me at the hospital so that at least someone I knew would be with me. They gave me an IV with benadryl (because I had thrown everything I took up) and lots of fluid because I was so severely dehydrated, and within an hour I was fine. Its incredible what epinephrin can do for someone who is going into shock.

I stayed in the hospital for a couple of hours until they discharged me and told me to go home and get some rest.

Today I feel fine, well as fine as one can be after feeling like they got hit by a ton of bricks. Im just glad that i was able to handle the situation on my own. But this goes to show that restaurants are very insensitive to allergies. When someone asks a question about what the ingredients are, they have to be positive about their response. I know its my own fault for not being more careful, and just assuming that the waitress understood the severity of my allergy. It isnt her problem, nor her responsibility to make sure that I keep myself safe, but with accurate information, the whole situation could have been avoided.

well now that you have all heard my story, I hope that you had a better day than I did!!!

on a brighter note, I WILL BE HOME IN 5 days!! HORRAY!!!

until next time Syn*

Christmas time is here.. and gone... and still Rocketteing

2008-12-29T20:45:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas was alright. I really missed my family, but it was great to be able to be surrounded by friends.

In the morning I woke up and ordered room service with 6 of the girls. It was really fun. We just gossiped, ate, and enjoyed each others company. It was really hard being away from my family, but it helped to keep busy.

After breakfast, we headed over to the homeless shelter. When we arrived, they asked if anyone sang. Our santa (who plays piano beautifully) was there along with myself and one other Rockette who sings. We went into their chapel and sang charols while the people were entering the church. They LOVED IT!!! it was so rewarding to be able to lend my talents to make people who are so much less fortunate than I happy.

After our singing, we served dinner. I really cant explain how wonderful it felt to be able to provide help to these people. There were men dressed in fancy suits, clearly coming from a day at the office.. who also clearly had nothing.. and had to resort to a food kitchen on christmas eve. It is incredibly suprising to disover the people who are so desperatly in need. It could be the person walking next to you on the street... looking completely at ease with his life, but on the inside wondering how he is going to feed his children that night. I was sooo glad I was able to help. They were truly all so grateful for our help that night. That is the best kind of Christmas figt.

The next morning, I woke up and read the paper... and w

hat was there but an article... AND A PICTURE OF ME!!

READ THE ARTICLE :)

It was awesome to see that our services did not go unnoticed...

I truly felt the spirit of giving.

Well... we're in TEXAS right now! and I only have one more city until i get to come home!! HORRAYYYY!!!!

till next time... VOS out :)

12 Days of Christmas!

2008-12-23T08:52:00.000-08:00

Well friends... I have 12 days left of my contract! Which means 12 days till I get to be with my family... 12 days until i see my wonderful boyfriend, and 12 days until I HAVE MY KITCHEN BACK AND I CAN GO FOOD SHOPPING AND COOK!!!!I am sososoo excited to be done. I LOVE my job.. dont get me wrong. I want to do it every year... it is so completely rewarding and amazing and I am lucky... BUT MY BODY IS KILLING ME!!!

I have tendon itis in my hips, and I pulled a muscle in my back. Other than that I'm alright, but my body needs a rest.

Well although my food has been boring. (still rice and beans, lots of salad, assorted steamed vegetables, pasta, and oat meal) I have gotten to do some really cool things.

In Baltimore, my parents came to see the show and spend some time with me. There is a huge aquarium there... I loved the beautiful colors, exotic animals, and positive messages that they represented.

i love this quote too..

"If were to be responsible we must accept the fact that we owe a massive debt to our environment. It wont be settled in a matter of months, and it wont be forgiven us"

Not only did I get to see this beautiful marine life, but I was able to see my beautiful friends and family!!!! Here are some pictures of their visit!

Here is Anthony and I <3

my aunt uncle, mother, and my aunts two friends, my dad is taking the picture :)

4 of my best friends :) Kristina, cristy, amanda and kate

On a sad note, I will be alone on Christmas :( Anthony was going to come, but it didnt make sense financially since he has to work and I'm only in Tulsa (Where I will be for Christmas) for three days. I'm ok with it i suppose. It is going to be hard and lonely to have NO one I love on christmas, but I am lucky to have lots of great friends here on tour with me.. (there are lots of Christmas orphans as we like to call it)

Lots of the girls are volunteering at a Food kitchen on Christmas evening. I feel like this is going to be soooo rewarding so I'm excited to give back to people less fortunate than I.

My cast is also donating a bunch of tickets to a local orphanage that could'nt other wise afford to come. These kids are considered "un-adoptable" which is a terrible label, but they are 8-18 and are considered undesirable for adoption. Hopefully we can bring them some holiday job and allow them to experience a real christmas.

well sorry for the novel, I know I havent written very often. I will be home soon and back to my regular blogging ways.. cooking,.. food shopping...and being with friends and family :)

till later

xoxo and Happy Holidays!

The Rockettes- Finally

2008-12-02T09:58:00.001-08:00

Hey guys!!! I wanted to post this video. Its of us doing our closing number called "Shine".

*On the stairs im on the bottom step second girl in
*During the dance im the second girl in the front row
*On the Runway im the last girl to step down on the right.

ENJOY :)