Vegan + Bootcamp = Raw Strength : Journal

Mosno here,
 Yesterday I experienced my 1st day of Boot Camp, exercise Boot Camp that is, courtesy of The Boot Camp Girl Stephanie Dignan :), who ALSO happens to be a fellow Vegan.

It was quite an experience, and I loved it.
The community of people there are very kind and supportive of each other. They were giving me tips, and hints to help me through out the work out. You are never competing with others, you are only competing with YOUR self, to get better, and stronger. 

I've lost a lot of weight since being Vegan, and that has allowed me to have MORE energy, which makes sense. Since the food that I'm eating is healthy, and doesn't contain chemicals and animal products, my body is able to process it faster, and with less energy, which then leaves you with all the energy you get from the food it just processed, hence the extra energy.

One cool think I enjoyed about my 1st day at Boot Camp, is that we exercised OUTSIDE! You read you read that right. The weather was nice, so we as a team decided to take advantage of this and do the workout out side. I got to run my 1st mile, EVER. it took me about 13+ minutes. It was tough, because I'm not a runner, but I'm determined shave that number down, and Boot Camp will help.

Stephanie actually sat down with me and we spoke about what it is that I am looking to accomplish, that way she can help me cater to those needs. Another cool thing about this Boot Camp, is that they have these workouts at different locations, and with different instructors..this means you can go to any of them (or all of them) 7 days a week, and with each instructor you will get a different work out. So no boring routine, which is brilliant. :)

I wanted to thank the Vegan Living Program, for bringing Stephani to talk to us, and I wanted to thank Stephani for the raffle which I WON for a free 2 week boot camp with The Boot Camp Girl. You can actually win a FREE MONTH, so visit their site www.TheBootCampGirl.com and enter to win

I'm a little sore, but I will be going to a 6am workout TOMORROW, after I rock out a gig TONIGHT.
Is it crazy, maybe, but I won't get MY results drinking soda and watching TV.
Lets DO this! :D

I'll blog you later.
Much Love
Mosno :)

Second Nature : Journal

Mosno here,
It has been at least a couple of Weeks since I gradutaed from the Vegan Living Program, and I'm still going strong with regrets.

I'm proud to say that I have become accustom to finding vegan options in places, even thinking on the spot how to veganize certain dishes on any restaurant's menu with ease.

It has become second nature to me to go to Giant to grab lunch instead of a Burger place. I'm fond of snacking on Peanut Butter topped Rice Cakes with a side of fruit or a feeshly made smoothie. It doesn't feel like a "chore", it actually feels good, it feels...right.

Many of my friends know that I'm a vegan now, and they respect my choice, and I love them for that.

I was talking to a friend of mine at an open mic the other night, and when I told him that I'm now vegan, he asked me how difficult it was. I proudly shared the knowledge I've learned, and went the extra step of picking up the menu of where we are and showed him all the vegan options under his nose.
I have to say, I was a bit impressed with my self hahaha.

I'm sure my adventures have only begun, I can't wait.
Much love.
I'll blog you later

Mosno Al-Moseeki

Breakfast Conversation : Journal

Hey everyone, Mosno here,
 Last weekend I visited my family, and informed them that I am now a Vegan. It was hilarious, and I got asked a LOT of questions. But one question my Mom asked me was "What do you have for breakfast?", many things were suggested, including Oatmeal, Peanut Butter sandwiches, and cereal.
I never really thought much about it, because I'm not a "breakfast" kind of person. Of course I was brought up with the "knowledge" that Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I was also taught that Milk does a body good. I'm learning that NOT everything I've been told has been quite true.

Today however, I woke up, and was a bit hungry, so I wanted "breakfast". In the morning, I'm a very light eater, so I needed to find something light & delicious to go with my morning tea. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at my quick vegan breakfast options at the Giant food store.

I found crunchy granola & seed bars with chocolate chip chia from "Kashi", which are totally Vegan. I read the ingredient AND used the "Is It Vegan" app, and it said "DEFINITELY Vegan". Brilliant.
I know they have other products that contain milk & honey, but I was very happy to find a sweet vegan option. Woho. I'm now having that with my spiced chai tea, with a little bit of vanilla coconut milk.

This is one aspect of Veganism no one told me about, the sheer joy when you unexpectedly find Vegan options for what ever it is you want! it really does brighten your day :)

Have a lovely rest of your day.
I'll blog you later.

Much Love
Mosno

Graduation : Journal

I am SO excited and feel SO empowered right now. Yesterday (April/19/2014), I officially completed my 6 week pledge of being a Vegan. It was a lovely afternoon, my fellow Pledgers & I got to walk the stage as we were handed out certificates & our coaches cheered for us, it really was a lovely ceremony.

Many of us talked with each other, and spoke of our life transforming experience, and many asked "What now?" which is a very legitimate question.
Lucikly, Brenda has a monthly Meet-Up called the Veganism Support Group, in which each month she would organize a Pot-Lock event, in which Vegans & The Vegan Curious could get together, network, and discuss which ever topic is chosen for that meet up.
I do believe being connected to the community directly is important. My awesome coach Ben, and his lovely wife have extended their support to me, and we are thinking of having a little Vegan Game Night in the near future, sweet.

As for me, I have decided to STAY Vegan. I feel healthier, more energetic, and all the other Vegans I have met have been nothing but amazing, and kind people. In fact, I have already decided that next year, I WILL be a coach with VLP. I'm also going to continue writing the Vegan Musez blog, to document my experience, at least for the 1st year. I'm sure I will eventually find a more direct way to connect my Veganism to Music, and once that happens, watch out world :)

Today I'm going to be visiting my family, who are of course Middle-Eastern, I will be dropping the Vegan Bomb on them. I'm not sure how they will take it, I'm pretty sure I will be getting the "side eye" from everyone, I wouldn't be surprised if I become the central topic of many jokes, but I take comfort in that. I never did do things "normally", my moto for life has always been "Be a prototype, Not a stereotype". If they want to live in their little comfort bubble, that is their choice, but just like they make their own choices, I also make my OWN.

I feel like my experience hasn't ended, from this point on, it will only extend because now my Vegan choices aren't to simply honor the program, but it is to honor my self, and my fellow Earthlings.
From this point on, I am conscious, present, and Vegan.

I can not thank Erin, Brenda, & Alli enough for this life changing experience, you gals & the lovely VLP coaches are truly angels, and be warned, you have created a Vegan Monster!
Thank you Vegan Living Program Team :)

Much Love to you all, and my experience will continue on the Vegan Musez Blog
Mosno Al-Moseeki :)

Week 5 + Energy : Journal

Hey there, Mosno here,
I've very proud to say that I am 5 week Vegan Strong, the journey thus far has been amazing. Yesterday we got to visit Popular Animal Sanctuary in Poolsville, MD. Very nice people, and very sweet animals. They provide us with the history of each animal, and they each have their own "space" to happily run around and be merry.
The kind people of Enlightened Bellies brought us some Vegan sandwiches,  our buddy Kyle brought some of his awesome cheesecakes,  it was a good way to end a delightful afternoon of visiting happy animals, and connecting with fellow Vegan peeps.

I was speaking with my coach Ben, and he asked me "How I was doing?", and I said "I'm freaking out, because I now have so much energy", and its true. I'm no doctor, but here is what I think is happening. Since the food that I am eating is mostly fruit & vegetables,  my body is able to break it down and digest it easier. Since my diet no longer has meat and its chemicals,  then I am no longer feeling tired and bloated after my meals. There for, I now have complete access to the energy, and that is a great thing.

I have to say, living in Baltimore, or any city, has its advantages.  I can go into any of my favorite restaurants, and I WILL find something Vegan to eat on their menu, even if its accidentally Vegan :)

I feel healthier, lighter, and better. Also knowing that I'm helping the planet, and our fellow animals, is a pretty cool thing too :)
Next week is graduation of the VLP program, I can't wait.

Enjoy your weekend everyone.
I'll Blog You Later
Mosno

Glass & Titanium : Journal

Mosno here,
 I'm starting to notice that the universe tends to send you signs, really REALLY subtle signs to foreshadow certain events in your life. I have to be honest, I'm not very good at noticing them right away, but I'm learning that when something weird happens, I should pay more attention to it.

For example last year (2013) during Christmas, my housemates and I like to exchange gifts with each other. We are not religious, but we find joy in finding cool and interesting gifts for each other for Christmas.
Each one of us kind of has their own thing, one of us really likes almost anything Stars Wars / Star Trek, One is a visual artists, One plays the Cello .. your truly is sucker for anything Batman related, because he is the best Super hero ever.
But last year, amongst other cool stuff, I was gifted a very, unique and random item, a Titanium Spork.
Why? I have nooooo idea! Apparently my housemate saw it and thought of me for some reason.
We all had a good laugh, and I set it aside not thinking about it at all.

Last week or so, I received the Vegan Starter Kit from Vegan Cuts which has all sort of goodies, again, there was an unexpected item, a Glass Straw.
Again, I thought it was cool and I set it aside.

The other night I was returning from the Vegan Living Program Social Meet Up, and as per every gathering with all these fine folks, my brain gears started turning, and I would think about random thoughts and ideas and how they would relate to what I'm currently doing. Its how my brain processes things.
Needless to say all these thoughts made some kind of swan dive into Veganism & The Environment, and how plastic utensils are part of the environmental issue, and what would be a solution to it, and how can I do something to help and...... then I remembered, I actually have the means to help me NOT use plastic utensils in public, I can simply take my Glass straw & Titanium spork with me. So I put them in a bag, and placed them neatly in my "murse", right next to my tablet :)

I gotta tell you, even if I did sit and contemplate about the Spork back in the Winter of 2013, I would not have guessed that the Universe was secretly whispering "Hey, Mos, Guess What? your going to be a Vegan!"
I guess I am on the right path after all :)

I'll blog you later
Much Love to you all.

Mosno

Day 7 : Journal - One Week Strong.

Hey everyone, Mosno here,
 Today I have been a Vegan for a WHOLE WEEK, wow, and I must say, I'm loving it.
I have transformed, I must say, I am a little scared at how quickly I have converted, with in 7 days, I have cooked TWICE, bought a blender, and started making my own smoothies.
I was taking with my buddy Joe (the other contributor to this Blog) this afternoon, I told him at how I'm seeing things differently, I'm finding Vegan and healthy options, almost any where I go now..and I'm always saying "Was this here before? where the hell has this been? I don't remember them selling this?".
But I tell you its beautiful.

Today was the 2nd Vegan Living Program meeting at the Mobtown Ballroom, they brought in a terrific speaker, her name is Dr. Ruby Lathon (www.RubyLathon.com), who is a holistic nutrition-iest. She really knows her stuff, she gave us advice and even took questions from the audience, I really learned a few things today, so thank you Erin & Brenda for bringing this information to us.
Check out her site for more cool information.

Tonight Joe & I had a gig at Teavolve as The Katie Bowers Band one of my favorite places in Baltimore, the staff and owners are kind and friendly people. We wanted to get a little snack and some tea before our show.
We looked at the menu they gave us, with Vegan eyes, and BAM they had a delicious platter with Hummos, Roasted Red Peppers, Olives, Pita bread and Feta. We asked if we could get it without the Feta cheese, and they said "Absolutely, its on the side any ways", then we ordered organic tea, the one that I liked tonight was the Silver Needle White Tea, and they even have Agave as a sweetener option on the side.
What!!? Needless to say, it was delicious, and we had us a nice Vegan Snack before we hit the stage and rocked the night :)

Alright, now I'm about to have a little snack, some almonds & dates, with a cup of Vanilla Almond Milk as I unwind before bed.
Today was an awesome celebratory day!
I'm ready for Week Two..Bring it! :)

Have a great weekend every one.
I'll blog you soon.

Much Love
Mosno

Day 6 : Journal - 1st Vegan Drink

Hey everyone, Mosno here,
Today, I was FULL of energy, for no amn reason hahaha. I woke up, earlier than usual, and just kept wanting to just..move, felt great. For my lunch I had some of the leftover of the Seitan dish I made (see the dishes section), and now I made my 1st smoothie.

You know your meant to be Vegan when you go from relying on fast food to cooking AND making your own drinks, in 6 days! And LOVE it!

Today I made the investment in buying one of those one serve blenders,  I figure juices & smoothies should be consumed right away, so no need for a huge one.

Today' experimental smoothie had:
-A handful of Dates (about 4 or 5)
-A handful of frozen Strawberries
-What I could cut up of a mango
-Added Vanilla Almond Milk
-Blend & Enjoy

I have to say, this is pretty awesome, except the cutting up the mango part,  that was annoying hahaha.
The mixture of the Vanilla Almond Milk & the Dates add a very awesome sweetness, I didn't need to add Agave or anything, I'm enjoying it as I type this up ight now :)

I hope this was helpful
I'll blog you soon

Much Love
Mosno :)

Day 5 : Journal - Customize Your Vegan-ness

Hello there, Mosno here,
I just want to start by saying the vegan community here is Baltimore is amazing, they have a wealth of information, and they share it unconditionally.  This is beautiful,  but it can also be a problem if not used with care :)

One of the 1st things you learn when becoming a vegan for the first time, is that you will end up cooking and preparing most of your meals. I'm on day 5 right now, but from Day 1, the group email was buzzing with recipes for all sorts of delicious dishes. This is great, if your a person who cooks.

I did not cook pre-vegan pledge, so when all these recipes come flying at me, I get over whelmed. I'll be honest, it scared me a little, but I wanted to figure out a way to make it work. So I decided to customize this new life style to make it easier for me to adapt.

First thing I did, created a "label" in my gmail email, "labels" are like "folders". Any time I get a vegan recipe, I just move it into that folder.
This serves two purposes:
1. I get to accumulate some recipes for future use
2. It keeps it out of my field of vision, there for not reminding me that I can't cook, yet!

Second thing I did, started a Vegan folder in my Evernote account.
Evernote is great, its free, works on phones, tables, and their website. I use it all the time to take notes for ideas and lyrics for my music and personal life. And I have access to my notes at anytime, from any of my devices,  as long as they are connected to WiFi of course.

In this vegan folder, I started writting different notes, starting with observations and advice from the Saturday lecture/demo, to ideas of simple dishes I can make.
This is helping A LOT, you see, I was an assembler, I made sandwiches and heated things for my meals, so I started there, replacing the food choices with Vegan options to keep the process fairly similar,  for now.

The more I'm learning, the more I'm finding it comfortable to add more elements into dish ideas. Today I'm finding that my overwhelm-ness is slowly being replaced by excitement.  Simply because I shifted my thought from "having to learn to make fried chicken tofu" to instead "learning to veganize a dish I already know".

So to my new, non-cooking Vegans, take a deep breath, organize yourselves,  and start small. Take your favorite dish and use Vegan ingredients,  I believe that will make a world of difference.

Oh and have a fun Playlist or a favorite album playing in the background as you cook, it will help you un-stress, put you in a good mood,  and there for implanting the experience as a positive memory in your brain, encouraging you to do it again.
Trust me, it worked for me.
Never underestimate the power of music my peeps :)

I hope this was helpful
I'll blog you soon.

Much love,
Mosno

Day 3 : Journal

Mosno here,
I just wanted to share what was in my head, today is my 3rd day as Vegan, and the reality of the change is starting to settle in a bit. I woke up today for work, got dressed, and then thought "oh crap, I don't have lunch to take to work with me today" *sad trumpet sound*. I do have tofu & seiton, but they are in the freezer, which doesn't do me any good at this point.

Never the less, by the power of Vegan, I had found a solution.
First thing I did was pack a snack to take to work with me, the snacks are:
A couple of Apple Cinnamon rice cakes
A hand full of dates
An apple
I had bought all 3 from my local giant yesterday on my 1st Vegan shooping adventure.

There is tea at work, so I'll just snack and have tea for the next few hours until I get home. Luckily I also bought some ready made soups by Wolfgang, one is a potato soup and the other lentils I believe. Also from Giant.
At least that way when I get home I would be able to heat up a meal in a few mintues.

This is an adjustment for sure, but as demonstrated,  there are quick ways to make it work, until I get a handle on the cooking aspect of things.

I must confess,  I am a little worried about that side of things, I'm not a "cooker", and have NO idea how to make "portions" to last me for more than a couple of days :)
I'll be making a lot of phone calls the first few weeks for sure.

I think we should orgnize a Cook Out, in which people like myself would get together with people who know what their doing, we would all get ingredients and recipes for a meal we want to make and do a hands on cooking then we all sit together and enjoy the food we just learned to make.
I think that would be beneficial to those who also know how to cook, but aren't familiar with Vegan recipes.

What do you think peeps?

I hope my Baltimore folks are dry & warm on this Snow Day :)
Blog you soon
Much Love
Mosno