Hi everyone – I’m back. Did you miss me? I never expected to take this much time off my blog, but I have, but now I’m back – and I now have something to write about.

When I started this journey a year ago, I summarized the idea behind this blog in eight simple words:

Lose Debt, Lose Weight, Lose Fear, Gain Freedom!

By the end of 2013 the debt hadn’t shrunk, my weight was at an all-time high, I was still not singing enough, and overall – aside from a successfully funded Kickstarter project and getting married (both incredibly awesome things – don’t get me wrong) I was treading water.

Well, 2014 has started much better and now it is time to share some great news. First of all, the Pomodoro Penguin books are days away from going to the printer. How exciting is this? I have launched a new publishing company – Opera Gobbler Books. I will certainly let everyone know when new websites are up and the books are available for purchase.

Secondly, after reaching a high-water mark of 286 lbs on January 5th, I have made some dramatic lifestyle changes that I am finally comfortable starting to share publicly.

Over the last 8 1/2 weeks, I have lost 30 lbs. You may be asking – How has he done it? Was it Atkins? Did he cut carbs? Did he join Weight Watchers? Is he going to the gym? What gives?

Pineapple – Veggie Thai Coconut Curry with Brown Rice.

Actually, I have changed my personal food policy – on a budget – while not counting a single calorie. I have gone (mostly) to a low-fat, whole foods, plant-based diet. I say mostly because there has been a little meat (at most once a week), very little dairy, and almost no oils. I have tried to avoid all processed food – no white flour, white pasta, white rice, sugar,  high-fructose corn syrup, or oils. Goodbye processed, fried foods, candy, junk, chips, etc. Hello fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains.

The changes are noticeable and I have started fielding the questions about whether or not I have “gone vegan.” I prefer not to box myself in like that, though what’s on my plate doesn’t lie. I would say mostly.

The thing is – with family histories (on both sides) of obesity, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and hyper-tension – if I continued down the path I was on I would have a full pill-box like most of my family. I was a walking time bomb. To be honest, the only pill I want to take is a multi-vitamin to get enough B-12. That’s a lot less expensive than hundreds of dollars worth of meds every month.

When I was in graduate school, I was advised (235 lbs) that I should lose weight if I ever wanted a career singing the roles for which my voice was most suited. Instead of losing, I gained – up to the 250′s. Then over the next 15 years I hovered between 255 and 275. I would lose 20 lbs on some crazy diet or exercise regime and then lose momentum and balloon back up. The last six months, as I have been writing and illustrating more – sitting in front of the computer – all while eating junk, I jumped to 286 lbs.

…and I felt miserable.

The first step was to get moving. Having received a FitBit pedometer for Christmas from my wife (I asked for it – it wasn’t a “hint” from her), I started to walk. The walking was mostly in front of my computer as I streamed health documentaries, the last couple seasons of Biggest Loser, and more health lectures. Names like Campbell, Esselstyn, McDougall, Barnard, Ornish, Fuhrman, and Klaper became staples of my YouTube and Hulu watching while walking.

Since January, I have only missed walking 12,000 steps once (Super Bowl Sunday) and will pass 1 Million steps tomorrow. Last week, I started running for the first time in years. I ran 1.5 miles once last week (stopping to walk 4 times) with no knee, ankle, or lower-back pain – though I was pretty sore for about 5 days. I ran again today – the same 1.5 miles – still no pain, only walking for about 30 seconds. We will see how my legs feel tomorrow.  If I feel good, I might up it to 3 miles since the weather is supposed to be nice.

However, the biggest change has been my diet. At first I started cooking meals – mostly right out of Cooking Light magazine, but as I started watching all of the documentaries (Forks Over Knives is a particularly eye-opening one) – the one thing that kept coming up was living a “low-fat, whole foods, plant-based” lifestyle could actually reverse heart disease, cut your cancer risk, reverse type-2 diabetes, lower your blood pressure – all the things that my family has dealt with for generations and I was clearly heading toward myself. Oh, and the big side-effect of these diets – weight loss.

How could I live a longer, healthier life? If Lisa and I start a family, will I be around to enjoy it? Not in the direction I was headed. I was headed for a lifetime of pill-popping. Something needed to change – now.

I started looking for more and different recipes. I am a foodie. I love variety and I don’t mind experimenting in the kitchen – but the food has to taste good. So, how hard could it really be to cook foods using things that don’t have a face, a mother, or come from something with a face or a mother? Is it really possible to eat healthy on a budget?

Well, I have been doing this for the last several weeks and I honestly can say I feel better than I have in years. It isn’t that difficult to stick to, I don’t miss meat and cheese(and salt, sugar, and fat), and Lisa and I are actually SAVING MONEY!  By the way – this is what works for me – I am no medical doctor – but the research looks really solid.  Lisa has been really supportive and has (mostly) enjoyed the new menu.

What am I eating? Pretty much unlimited fruits and veggies, brown rice, whole grain pasta, beans, legumes, unsweetened almond milk (for smoothies) and that’s about it. We have had soups, stews, stir-fries, and pasta dishes. I have oatmeal for breakfast every day. I have learned to braise veggies in low-sodium veggie stock instead of cooking them in olive oil. I have been using all sorts of spices. I have cooked, Indian, Thai, Moroccan, African, Tex-Mex, Irish, Italian, and American cuisines. And we have stayed under budget.

How so? Well – I don’t have all of my grocery receipts in front of me, but I will start to share them (and our recipes that we have used) with you. Who knows, maybe I will inspire you to add a meatless day or two (or 6) into your week. I promise, if a recipe is a dud, I will tell you – I love food too much not to.

Our goal is to stay under $120 ($100 is better) a week on groceries. I don’t have my receipts for the first 6 days of the month and tonight I am mostly cooking with things already in the house. Starting today, I thought it may be fun to see the grocery list and the corresponding recipes to show how Lisa and I are able to eat a healthy diet on a budget of less than $10 a day, per person.

Here is my grocery list of what I picked up at the local grocery store this morning.

2 cans of no-salt added diced tomatoes – $2.50

3 sweet onions – $3.08

1 Cucumber – $1.25

8 oz sliced mushrooms – $2.49

4 apples – $1.87

3 lbs. Bananas – $1.51

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Total bill – $12.70

Total through 1 day – $12.70

Tonight I am choosing the next 4 days worth of meals/recipes and heading out the Trader Joe’s (and Whole foods if I can’t find something) tomorrow morning to go shopping.

I will share that list with you – along with our recipes – tomorrow!   In case you are interested – here is Forks Over Knives - which I found so inspiring: