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! 

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.

bringing it into focus.

When we started talking about making some lifestyle changes in the kitchen, we had a lot of thoughts, ideas, feelings, concerns...doubts.  I don't know that we really had an intention in mind.  I know we both felt taking compassion for animals into consideration was a driving force, but not THE driving force.  Our health and fitness was also a driving force, but I believe it was my girls and their futures and their future families that took me from idle to first gear.  When I started to consider all of the issues I've had with my body and my weight and my bad habits...there is nothing I would love more than to instill in my girls a solid grasp on how to eat to live rather than live to eat.  There is a difference.  So, we decided we weren't going to label it, or commit to a title...we were just going to free fall for a bit and see what direction it took us.  I've done hours and hours of research and reading.  I've watched documentaries.  I've sifted through recipes and tried a few...and experimented with a few of my own.  We've had a few disasters (mac & chz in particular) and a few triumphs...and the girls have not only caught on to the trend...but they are actively participating and willingly trying some very foreign foods...bravo ladies!

As I have experimented...I have been disciplined at times, and then not so disciplined and I can very distinctly feel a difference between how I feel when I am eating clean and not so much.  As I have sifted through our cupboards, I have realized just how much of our food is convenient processed food.  There is an app (fooducate) that Skye & I have had so much fun with.  Highly recommend. We went through box after box in our kitchen, scanning the barcodes of our foods and in return were given a grade with an explanation.  Skye was absolutely fascinated.  This shift in our home has inspired so many conversations that have been so wonderful to have with the girls.  If it's not about nutrition, it's about animals - how they are treated or how food is made or how the mass production of food can have an affect on our planet.  But mainly it's about learning and letting it shape and mold us as a family and as individuals.  I don't expect the girls, by any means, to commit to live any certain way for the rest of their lives...but my goal, is to teach them as much as I possibly can in these few years they are home with us...and they will hopefully learn to make educated decisions for their own futures.

And so the journey continues.  Thus far, I've kind of been all over the map, taking it all in, but now I am craving structure.  I think the hardest part is feeling like I'm winging it every day.  Tomorrow kicks off two challenges that I thought might give a little inspiration & focus.  The first is a 30 day green smoothie challenge.  I already drink a smoothie every day, but it's pretty much the same plain jane routine...berries, a banana, a handful of spinach, a scoop of my pea protein and some almond milk.  I need to mix it up a bit and bring some flava.  I think this might help.  The second challenge is a 21-Day Vegan Kickstart.  This is a win-win.  I get recipes delivered to my mailbox with an itemized grocery list.  Does it REALLY get any better than THAT???  I'm sure we won't love all the recipes...I probably won't even cook them all...but I'm thinking we shall find some gems in there somewhere.  

I'm excited to see what July brings!

where's the easy button?

Quite a process this is.  There are so many blogs with so much advice and recipes, and more advice...slightly overwhelming!

So this week I've tried many different types of non-dairy cheeses...my favorite (by far) is the Go Veggies non-dairy (rice) mozzarella shreds.  Our family has embraced Almond Milk.  I started with Vanilla Almond Milk for the girls, but they don't seem to balk too much about the plain unsweetened.  I am still buying them whole grain bread, but would like to eliminate whole wheat/grain from their diet.  This means I will have to either find an alternative that they will actually eat.  Or make our own bread. And crackers? Whoa.  Am I really willing to commit on that level?  That is yet to be seen. The official decision has been made, that we don't necessarily want to be Vegan.  So we bought laying hens.  10 chicks to be exact.  As well as two meat birds, but I'm thinking we won't be too keen on the process.  Unfortunately, we made the mistake of naming these adorable bright yellow chicks...sunshine & buttercup.  In about seven weeks I'll be making some yummy sunshine stew?  Pass.  We have located our local meat source, so when we are looking for a tasty meal to quench that meat craving...we know exactly where that meat is coming from and how it has been raised.  Shout out to Weston's Meat & Poultry!

I think we are in love!

And we have planted the garden. Satisfaction.

I think what I am finding the most difficult, with our busy schedule, (besides now caring for chicks & the garden) is finding the recipes, the time to shop fresh and the time to actually execute the new lifestyle.  The kids want their tried-and-true easy snacks (and secretly...so do I) So, I have to find a way to create easy breezy snacks...that they love enough to be their go-to foods.  So what's the big deal!?!

Well...first of all, I am desperately hungry for my own go-to snacks.  I do find that I am more satisfied with my whole eating...but I still have those late afternoon cravings for something...just something.  Something a little sweet, and a little crunchy...that will give me that boost.

And when I'm out & about...and I need to eat - WHAT do I eat???  I'm sorry, but an apple just doesn't cut it.  I'm beginning to think that I'm a really bad herbivore.  On top of that...with all of the time I'm dumping into our new lifestyle...I'm skipping my workouts, granted, I'm just now on the other side of a hamstring injury.  But now it seems the motivation has caught the 'lazy summer days' virus.

Thank GOODNESS school is out in two days...we can go off the grid for a few months and just explore this new path.  I'm ready to start hitting the farmers markets with my girls.

sitting it out.

Well, nothing brings momentum to a screeching halt like an injury.  I've heard of a hamstring pull, but I had NO idea it was this painful.  I'm not even sure how I've managed it, but I have pulled my hamstrings on both legs.  Just call me 'hobble'.  I've never felt such extreme discomfort with every step, maybe while I was pregnant...but I was growing a human, so it was kind of worth the discomfort.  This is for the birds.  My left hamstring feels the muscle is constantly constricting and it is on FIRE.  Not happy.

So on this lovely Tuesday afternoon, I am sitting home, trying to stay off my legs.  I have caught up on some shows and have been able to research some fabulous recipes.  Could be worse I suppose...could be giving birth. 

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/thigh-pain/hamstring-strain

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/thigh-pain/hamstring-strain/hamstring-strain-stretching-exercises

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/thigh-pain/hamstring-strain/strengthening-exercises-hamstrings

gettin our grub on. sort of.

So change is hard.  We are such creatures of habit, it is hard to break patterns & adopt new ones. When eating revolves around pretty much everything...breakfast, lunch, dinner, food on the go, snacks, barbecues with friends...DESSERTS.  If this is for good, forever, never going back...then I am reinventing our whole meal plan - forever! I am constantly thinking "what am I going to eat???" and..."can I get the kids to eat it...?"  Jeremy is pretty easy, he'll eat whatever I make.  He's also a little more relaxed with his parameters he's staying within....works for me.

I have been scouring website after website trying to find recipes that will be crowd pleasers.  I thought the logical way to start would be taking recipes we love and altering them to fit into our new & improved lifestyle.  But that backfired because we expect our food to taste like we are use to it tasting and the alterations are rejected.  And so, I've decided...let our favorites be our favorites.  How much of a treat will it be for the girls to have good'ole shepherds pie at Memere's house.  Memere will be a HERO just by making an old fan favorite!!! It's a win-win!

Let the experimentation begin!!!  I made a stir fry last week, and I must say it was so awful - I wouldn't even eat it.  How do you mess up a stir fry?...seriously. TRUTH - the girls have had a lot of cereal this week.  However, I have found an unexpected bonus...when you try countless foods that taste awful, it's so exciting to find something that tastes good that it tastes AMAZING and becomes an immediate favorite.  WIN!

Learning curve is a little sharp.

Just pulled my first vegan-gluten free banana bread out of the oven...house smells awesome.  Good sign.

may madness.

May is ending already.  I'm a little shocked, and a little relieved...actually a lot relieved.  I feel as though the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders as I pass the PTA torch on and join the patrons in the wings.  I knew it would be challenge to juggle the odyssey's of  PTA ...but this year was extra special (heavy on the sarcasm.)  I have learned so much about character, what defines character and the lack thereof.  I am at peace, and ready to move on. 

This year, and maybe even for several years, I have been on a personal journey to just feel healthy.  My level of motivation wavers, as does my attention.  I have to find that one thing that clicks with my body and makes sense to me.  I have struggled with depression and anxiety, I have struggled with my weight...my body reacts to everything from taking vitamins to taking birth control.  I'll admit, it use to be a vain quest to lost weight, but there has been a shift to feel whole and healthy and ingrain in my girls healthy habits to raise their own families with.  I have searched high & low for this thing I'm looking for...I have taken courses, I have read the theory of just about every diet under the sun, and I have tried many of them as well.  Eat for 8 hours, eat carbs, don't eat carbs, reset your metabolism, how wheat is killing us...the abs diet, the sugar diet, the cabbage soup diet, the Atkins diet, the Mediterranean diet.  Why French women don't get fat, and why Americans do.  I've watched documentary after documentary and read about the results of one clinical study after another.  Jeremy, although he's always been fit and thin, has joined me in his own desire to be healthy.  After books, conversations and documentaries...I think we have finally come to the conclusion that we are comfortable with the idea of lowering our animal-product consumption and having a mostly plant based diet.  We don't feel the need to be 100% vegan, but we do want to be 100% conscious of where our food is coming from and what we are putting in our bodies.  I am excited about where our seeking a healthier lifestyle has lead us and how open our hearts are.  I am thankful Jeremy is so willing to dive right in.  I'm thankful that our girls are young and still so receptive to embracing change.  Skye has always told me that when she's old enough to make her own choices, she is going to be a vegetarian....she didn't even have to wait that long!  I think Jeremy and I both have been intrigued and somewhat attracted to the idea of Veganism, but to truly transition is a bit daunting.  Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew animals weren't treated 'fairly', but I guess I've always been willing to justify those thoughts with the sad realities of how the food chain works.  And thankful that I'm at the top of that food chain...

This journey might be long...but family is really what my life is all about right now, and nutrition is a big part of that, so I'm thinking I've got the time. 

First step, plant a garden.  Right.