I thought I would try to sneak in one last post before we say 'so long' to July and welcome in August. July is always our month of celebration and excitement...August is our month of grasping at the last sweet days of summer. Summer has taken new shape in our home this year...the girls are enjoying late nights and late morning slumbers. I am enjoying quiet mornings, which will come to a screeching halt in just a few weeks *sigh....
As far as our eating goes....I was finding myself a bit stressed and decided to adopt a 'less is more' attitude. We've, for the most part, been successful at embracing a meatless diet. Dairy - not so much. In a nutshell:
gluten free: unless it's done with very high quality products, recipes and huge amounts of effort...gluten free is a highly processed and a high glycemic alternative to whole grains. I miss my whole grains...but have cut way back on the whole wheat. I'm getting a lot of fiber from the rest of my diet...and enough is just enough.
dairy: I love my cheese and I miss my yogurt. I have found some alternatives that I do enjoy, but why spend my life gagging down foods I don't enjoy??? I find that I do feel a heavy heart knowing that living creatures are seriously abused and mistreated to produce these amazing foods for us, 100%. I have decided that I need to find a peaceful balance in this battle of nurture vs nature. We have replaced milk with almond milk. All are happy = all is well. We have given 11 beautiful chicks a lovely home, they truly are a part of our family (although we still struggle with what to do with our beloved meat bird...bit of a quandary) I have cut back on our cheese consumption, but let us let facts be facts - some recipes just NEED cheese. I will research a local means of having fresh and friendly cheese in our diet. And I just need my yogurt. That is all.
soy: processed soy = fat. enough said.
corn: so much of the corn sold to the American population is genetically engineered. I don't love it, I don't want to feed it to my children...but am I going to picket? Probably not. If you care, search far and wide for non-GMO corn. Buy local, plant a garden...boycott? My brain is completely overwhelmed from so much information, I'm resorting to the KISS method. Keep It Simple Sunshine!
quality: I have searched and scoured the Internet for recipes, recipes and more recipes that will become fan favorites in our home. I have learned: if it looks weird, it most likely will be. A recipe can be vegan and still fall into the crap category. Forcing your children to eat foods they find revolting will never work in your favor. And, if one is willing to uproot all of their eating habits to adopt a healthier lifestyle, why not do it right. Do I find it difficult to find the time to prepare healthy meals with quality ingredients for every single meal? Youbetcha! So there are days, I open a can of veggie soup and I make a meal of it. Sanity trumps perfection.
I have learned that one can be a vegetarian/vegan/gluten free and still be unhealthy. You still have to be dedicated and motivated to reach your goals. You still have to work hard and sweat it out...and sometimes, you still need to go to McDonalds.
And with that, I'm ready to kick back and enjoy August.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Thursday, July 11, 2013
keep...moving...forward.
So the 21-day Jumpstart didn't quite pan out. This just so happens to be a few of our busiest weeks out of the whole year. Typically filled with a lot of fun planned and festivities. We celebrated our 10th anniversary, my birthday and had a lovely, quite mellow, 4th of July. All good...except: I am constantly struggling with what to eat and what to feed this hungry little family! We have found some 'go to' recipes we like...but you can only eat so many soy burgers. Not to mention I'm trying to cut back on processed foods and teach the girls how to choose healthier snacks. Cook more, eat out less.
It seems like it should be so simple, but this process has not been so simple. (I feel like that is the theme of EVERY post as of late...) Not just going on a diet, looking for a specific result...swapping out everything in the kitchen! And hopefully giving us and our future generations a better quality of life. Just gather up a few recipes and voila - right? Not so much, it is a constant juggle of finding recipes that would appeal to all of us, shopping for the ingredients and executing a meal that is edible. Not so simple. It seems like the more that I search, the more overwhelming it all becomes. I will admit, at times during this past week, I have wonder if it's all worth the effort. How easy it would be to order a big fat juicy burger....how easy it would be to grill up some chicken breast and veggies for dinner. How true the saying "ignorance is bliss" It's really just, at this point, I feel a drive for change. For our health, for the environment, for all of the animals who are forced to live a life so inhumane. I can't unread the information I've read. I can't unsee the documentaries. I can't deny that through many of our conversations, we have felt this is a good cause for our concern and we have committed to change. All fine and good, but how to convince my girls that these homemade 'granola earth bars' are SO MUCH BETTER than the 'chips ahoy "granola bars"' they are accustomed to. How do I even compete with chemical laden foods that taste aMAzing? In one of the many books I've been breezing through. My latest fab find is 'cook without a book; meatless meals' by Pam Anderson (not to be confused with the hooters Pamela Anderson.) I finally read something that clicked for me, "all you need to do is master a formula once to open up a whole world of variations and help you break free from the restrictions of "cooking by the book" to use whatever is fresh, in season, on sale - or simply suits your fancy. And there you have it. The simple secret. So now all I have to do is create formulas and switch it up...right? so.very.simple.
I feel as though we are in a foreign country. You would think it would be easy to just breeze on down to the market and find foods familiar to you...but it's not familiar. And even though we are brave & willing to experiment...I don't have all my time to devote to our diet...I need to get my booty in the gym! My will power is failing me when I'm hungry - not knowing what to eat - I snack, on the little convenient items that definitely are NOT diet friendly. Sure, potato chips are gluten free...but they certainly are not healthy for ANYone. That said, I could eat a whole friggin bag!
On a good note...the 30 day smoothie challenge is going well. I was already accustomed to making a smoothie almost every day. Really, adding some variety was appealing to me and just what I needed. I have started adding kale to my smoothies and experimenting with throwing in some tasty treats! Fresh pineapple, coconut, kiwi...and today we have mango! Concentrated nutrition...love!
It seems like it should be so simple, but this process has not been so simple. (I feel like that is the theme of EVERY post as of late...) Not just going on a diet, looking for a specific result...swapping out everything in the kitchen! And hopefully giving us and our future generations a better quality of life. Just gather up a few recipes and voila - right? Not so much, it is a constant juggle of finding recipes that would appeal to all of us, shopping for the ingredients and executing a meal that is edible. Not so simple. It seems like the more that I search, the more overwhelming it all becomes. I will admit, at times during this past week, I have wonder if it's all worth the effort. How easy it would be to order a big fat juicy burger....how easy it would be to grill up some chicken breast and veggies for dinner. How true the saying "ignorance is bliss" It's really just, at this point, I feel a drive for change. For our health, for the environment, for all of the animals who are forced to live a life so inhumane. I can't unread the information I've read. I can't unsee the documentaries. I can't deny that through many of our conversations, we have felt this is a good cause for our concern and we have committed to change. All fine and good, but how to convince my girls that these homemade 'granola earth bars' are SO MUCH BETTER than the 'chips ahoy "granola bars"' they are accustomed to. How do I even compete with chemical laden foods that taste aMAzing? In one of the many books I've been breezing through. My latest fab find is 'cook without a book; meatless meals' by Pam Anderson (not to be confused with the hooters Pamela Anderson.) I finally read something that clicked for me, "all you need to do is master a formula once to open up a whole world of variations and help you break free from the restrictions of "cooking by the book" to use whatever is fresh, in season, on sale - or simply suits your fancy. And there you have it. The simple secret. So now all I have to do is create formulas and switch it up...right? so.very.simple.
I feel as though we are in a foreign country. You would think it would be easy to just breeze on down to the market and find foods familiar to you...but it's not familiar. And even though we are brave & willing to experiment...I don't have all my time to devote to our diet...I need to get my booty in the gym! My will power is failing me when I'm hungry - not knowing what to eat - I snack, on the little convenient items that definitely are NOT diet friendly. Sure, potato chips are gluten free...but they certainly are not healthy for ANYone. That said, I could eat a whole friggin bag!
On a good note...the 30 day smoothie challenge is going well. I was already accustomed to making a smoothie almost every day. Really, adding some variety was appealing to me and just what I needed. I have started adding kale to my smoothies and experimenting with throwing in some tasty treats! Fresh pineapple, coconut, kiwi...and today we have mango! Concentrated nutrition...love!
Monday, July 1, 2013
day one.
Day one is a success!
Green smoothie - check! However, I didn't do much to switch it up mainly because I didn't make it to the grocery store...and so it was: berries, a banana & spinach...pea protein & almond milk. Tried & true.
However, on the menu for tomorrow is kale & pineapple for a smoothie gone tropical...
For my vegan 21 day jumpstart we kicked the day off with gluten free oatmeal cooked with cinnamon & chopped apples, left over split pea soup for lunch (even better day two - might I say) and for dinner we threw together a Mexican feast with some spanish rice, black beans, corn, & some ground beef tvp mixed with some taco seasoning ...threw it all on my plate with lettuce and voila - amazefest usa. Minus the guac....poor planning on my part.
Girls ate tacos - not a peep about the tvp. Love it.
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