Potatoes Are Awesome!

I love potatoes.  I usually opt for sweet potatoes.  But Chad doesn't like sweet potatoes.  So, I was inspired by this recent post on Happy Herbivore on the virtues of potatoes,  and decided to try a variation of one of the recipes mentioned.  If you are curious about potatoes being a friend not a foe, watch this video by Dr. John McDougall.  And, read his latest book, The Starch Solution.

I usually bake several sweet potatoes each week and have them in my frig.  They are a great addition to salads and perfect for lunch or snacks.  This week, I baked a whole bag of Trader Joe organic red potatoes. These were the base of my new dinner creation.

After baking the potatoes (400 degrees for about 30 minutes), I kept the oven on, and began building my potato lasagna.  In a glass dish, I poured a layer of pasta sauce, (I used Muir Glen because it does not have any added oil) then I sliced several potatoes with a mandolin and did one layer of potatoes on top of the red sauce.  I had previously sauteed some of the Trader Joe frozen pepper and onion mixture and drained them.  I layered the veggies on top of the potatoes. Next, I covered the veggies with chopped up kale.  On top of the kale, I poured my MOST favorite sauce from Hungry Hippie - my version cashew cream sauce.  I topped with another layer of potatoes, pasta sauce and cashew cream.  I baked the creation at 400 for about 30 - 40  minutes and broiled it for several minutes.

I made a salad with wonderful arugula we bought at the Piedmont Park Farmers Market this weekend.  I read about an easy, no oil salad dressing on Lani Mulreath's blog.  It is so easy to remember - 3-2-1.  3 parts vinegar, 2 parts mustard, 1 part sweet.  I used champagne vinegar, stone ground mustard and maple syrup.  I toasted a pan full of pumpkin seeds for the week and sprinkled them on top of the salad.

Dinner served!

I LOVED the dinner.  I will enjoy leftovers for lunch.  Ry actually enjoyed the dinner as well.  Unfortunately, Chad did NOT like it.  I really thought I had nailed this one, but it bombed.  He did not even eat more than one bite.  He is beside me right now eating chips and wine for dinner.  Oh well.  More leftovers for me.

Pasta Sauce

Pasta de los Angeles

For the girls

As many jars and as many recipes I have tried, I can NOT find a pasta sauce my whole family likes.  What is an easier dinner than pasta and sauce?  And, my family hates it.  Grrrrr.  So, I tried another one Monday night.  I knew the girls would not like it, as it has jalapenos in it, but I was hoping I could find one for Chad.  For the girls, I sauteed (with a little water) spinach and plum tomatoes, which I put on a plate beside the pasta.  I now know to let them mix their own pasta dishes!

On to the sauce I made for the "adults".  Pasta de los Angeles page 177 in Appetite for Reduction.  How could I resist a pasta from Los Angeles!!  I did not use the oil, I sauteed the veggies in a little of the tomato sauce.  I did not have enough tomatoes, so I used 3 cups (one box) of Pomi chopped tomatoes.  I only used one clove of garlic. 

Chad and I both thought the sauce was very good.  Definitely too spicy for the girls.  It had a Mexican flavor instead of an Italian flavor, so you had to be ready for that.  But overall, we thought it was good.  I had leftovers and ate it cold on top of lettuce for lunch one day, and with polenta the next day. 

Pasta - I had almost given up on pasta as well.  Gluten free pasta is not my favorite.  But, I decided to try it one more time.  We saw Tinkyada elbow pasta in our recent trip to Jackson, WY.  Right on the package it professes "not mushy", so I was glad to find it in Atlanta at Whole Foods.  It is one of the best GF pastas I have tried.  Chad could eat it, which says a LOT.

Stone Soup Kitchen

My two picky eaters were happy at Stone Soup Kitchen!

This post is LONG over due.  Especially considering how thrilled I was to find a restaurant in Atlanta with gluten free AND vegan labeling right on the menu.  (Besides Metrofresh!)  I heard about Stone Soup Kitchen from a friend and could not wait to try it out.  So, that is what I declared I wanted for Mother's Day:  a family breakfast at Stone Soup Kitchen, the girls to behave, and all laundry and dishes done by the end of the day.  (And, not done by me).  Almost, all wishes were granted.

Stone Soup Kitchen is off of Boulevard right before you get to the Grant Park neighborhood.  It only serves breakfast and lunch.  And, as I mentioned, it has GF, VG labeled right on the main menu.  Thank you!  They also serve regular breakfast and lunch fare - ie non - vegan.  So, the entire family was happy.   Mothers Day I had the blueberry cornmeal pancakes and grits.  They were amazing, soft, sweet, filling.  I literally cleaned my plate. It was such a treat to have good tasting pancakes.  Most GF mixes I have tried have an after taste.  I pretty much had given up on pancakes.  The grits were great as well.

My second trip, I had vegos rancheros.  It was hard to decide not to get the pancakes, but I felt obligated to try another GF/ VG menu item.  Vegos Rancheros certainly did not disappoint.  Incredible - spicy, delicious and again filling.  Yes, filling is an important adjective these days - so many "veggie" plates are NOT!  I joined the clean plate club again.

The entire family all enjoyed their breakfast as well.  So, this truly passes the test - everyone can eat happily at Stone Soup Kitchen.  Try it!

Vegos Rancheros

Clean Plate Club

I LOVE LA Day 3...

Our last full day in LA.  Have you heard of the stairs in Santa Monica?  When I think of the stairs, the image of Matthew McConaughey ascending the stairs in People Magazine often comes to mind.  Yes, his shirt was off.

Anyways - I have heard about the stairs for years, and always wanted to try them.  I finally had my chance.  But this chance came on the morning after our party - and the call came early.  Real early.  I decided I must accept the challenge several Chad's friends put before us.  We jumped out of bed and rushed to the car to sit in traffic from West Hollywood to Santa Monica for the next 45 minutes. (Ok - just one complaint about LA)

I love to exercise, I think I am in fairly good shape, so what is the big deal about these stairs?  Well, for starters, there are 162 of them.  They are narrow, rickety, scary, steep, and crowded.  And, I was with a drill sergeant who was telling me I had to do 7 sets, with pushups and situps at the top and bottom.  And, he dictated how I went up the stairs - skipping stairs, running stairs, then running, skipping stairs.  At set three, I thought I would loss my incredibly good dinner all over the stairs.  At set 5, I was so dizzy I was clinging to the rotten handrail.  But by set 6, I was in a daze, completely numb, delirious, and determined to finish set 7.  Which I did.  But it was a far cry from pretty.

On to breakfast at Urth Caffe (again).  Then we stumbled back to our hotel.  After a shower, and in my hotel robe, I decided that there really was no reason to leave to hotel again that day.  This was a once in a lifetime suite I was staying in, in one of the coolest hotels ever.  Why leave?  Oh, and I had that great book - Finding Ultra.

Lunch we ordered from Joans on Third.  This was mine and Chad's favorite lunch place when we lived in LA. And, home to the best cupcake I have EVER had.  And, trust me I have been searching for a better one.  Joans had several gluten free, vegan sides I enjoyed.

 I had been planning my gluten cheat for a year - this cupcake was so good (in my memory) that it was worth my one intentional cheat.  A good friend recommended I wait until the end of the trip.  So, I saved it.

Afternoon - relaxing on our balcony, reading a book, watching the scene on Sunset Boulevard, with my husband - what could be better?  For me, not much.

We discussed leaving the hotel, but I just couldn't do it.  We went down to the restaurant, sat outside and enjoyed a glass of champagne with heirloom tomatoes and basil.  Lingered, people watched, and wished that we were as "hip" as those around us. 

I requested that we order dinner in our room and enjoy it on the balcony.  We had left over champagne and wine from our party, so we were all set.  Real Food Daily had several gluten free / vegan entrees that I wanted to try, so I was eager to order from them again.  I choose the GF/ VG pizza.  Chad ordered a hamburger and fries from room service. Both of us were in heaven.

And, then there was the cupcake.  Yes, GLUTEN AND DAIRY.  Yes, I did it. I am very sad to say it was not as good as in my memory.  And, yes, I paid the price.....

 Good bye Chateau Marmont.  Thanks for the incredible breakfast send off on our last day:  (Seriously, look at the berries...)

I LOVE LA Day 2...

So, where was I?  Day two afternoon - we switched rooms from a regular room to a suite, because we were hosting a cocktail party that evening in our room.  Accordingly, we "needed" this larger space with an enormous balcony overlooking LA.  This switch rendered us homeless for a few hours so we spent our time by the pool.

Beet Quinoa Salad

The menu indicated very few options for vegan / gluten free meals.  So, I apprehensively called room service by the pool.  I explained my dietary requirements and look what they brought me:

























That evening before our cocktail party, I was nervous that the appetizer trays we ordered would not have much to fill me up.  (I was wrong).  But I ordered from another favorite, Real Food Daily and had dinner delivered to our room.   Gluten free, vegan enchiladas.  Ohhh, sooo good.

And, then came the party trays:

Yep, I had a full belly to enjoy my champagne.

The cocktail party was a huge success.  Chad mingled with clients and friends, I was able to catch up with grad school friends.  We ended the night at Bar Marmont.

Oh, How I LOVE LA...

Seriously, I love LA.  Just like the bumper sticker says.  Yes, it is crowded, pretentious, expensive, and apparently has bad air.  BUT it has the most perfect weather of any place I have visited. It has mountains, the ocean, shopping, hiking, biking, spas, amazing hotels, history, beauty, (I think great air), high energy, fantastic architecture, and health consciousness.  It is truly a melting pot - so many unique individuals all in one place.  Did I mention the food? - healthy, delicious, plentiful, beautiful, FRESH, unique, and always gluten free / vegan options.

Yes, I just returned from a trip to LA.   And, I already miss it.

I am really missing it right now, so I will torture myself and document all the fabulous food I enjoyed:

First up - how to travel with food restrictions.  Plan ahead.  I made gluten free oatmeal with frozen fruit and put it in a little container.  In a second container I sliced up a sweet potato and added stone ground mustard.  Gross to some, but I LOVE mustard.  Then, just in case, I packed LaraBars.  They have the least ingredients of any of the bars, no added sugar, no soy protein isolate, etc.  But they are high in fat, as they are mainly nuts.  Always good to have though in emergencies. Here is what I put in my carry on bag:

Guacamole

 

 

Chad and I drove straight from the airport to Planet Raw in Santa Monica.  I was very hesitant to bring Chad here.  This is a truly all RAW restaurant, no turkey sandwich for Chad.   He was up for trying it and found a Mediterranean falafel and hummus wrap.  He cleaned his plate.  I had for the first time, kelp noodles in a green curry sauce.  Delicious.   We started with the flax chips and guacamole.  Unreal.  Then I ended it with one of their chocolate mint shakes.  Decadent.  Truly a unique meal.

Chad's Mediterranean Dish

Kelp Noodles with Green Curry

ALL GONE.

 We drove from Santa Monica to West Hollywood, stopping at a few shops in Brentwood.  I picked up my book for the trip -

 Great book.  Rich Roll is truly an inspiration.  Going from fat and 40 to doing Ultra Triathlons all on a PLANT BASED DIET!!!  Yippie.  Those people who say we dont get enough protein - check Rich out.

We checked into my most favorite hotel EVER - Chateau Marmont and sat out by the pool for the rest of the afternoon.

 The architectural detail in this hotel is  everywhere.  Can you see how cool these tiles are?  These were in the entry way of our room.

That night we went to Izakaya by Katsuya on 3rd Avenue.  Yes, I can eat at sushi restaurants!  What I love about LA, is that you say you are vegan and gluten free and they know what you are talking about. And, they know what you can and can not have on the menu.  Beautiful.  There was not a lot of selection for me, but enough.  And, the difference in sushi in LA versus sushi in Atlanta is the freshness.  There is simply no comparing an avocado roll in LA to one in Atlanta, no matter the restaurant.  I had a seaweed salad, edamame, avocado roll and another veggie roll.  So delicious.

The next morning, I awoke to room service with coffee, soy milk these berries!  Again, the food in LA is just better. No where in Atlanta can I get berries this amazing.

 These berries fueled our hour long hike up Runyon Canyon.  Another favorite place of mine.  It is so uplifting to see how many people are out exercising, even at 7am.  It was packed with people and dogs, of course.  Great people watching.

We then went to another favorite - Urth Caffe in West Hollywood.  Best soy latte ever.  And, delicious oatmeal.  Which fueled our shopping trip and back home again to the hotel.  Again, look at that FRUIT!

Alright - Day Two afternoon and evening and Day Three will be in the next post.

Cholesterol Part Two

I have never given my cholesterol level much thought.  I do get it checked each year, but I never paid much attention to the number, I knew I ate healthy, therefore the number should be low.  Heart disease is just not on the top of my "worry" list.

I have eaten a predominately vegan diet over the last twenty years.  There have been periods when I have eaten fish and dairy but most of the time I considered myself vegan.  Over the past year, I have re-defined the way that I eat as a whole food, plant based diet, instead of vegan.  The distinction is mainly processed foods.  A "vegan" diet can be unhealthy if you eat a lot of processed foods with added sugar and fat.  For example, diet coke and most french fries are considered vegan.  Not that I ever over did it on french fries, but I did use to eat a lot more processed food than I eat now.  I also used to "cheat" more than I would like to admit.  I rarely would ask if baked goods or desserts had dairy in them. I would just eat them, and figure at least I am not eating meat.

I have really focused on eating whole foods and very few things from a "box".  With the discovery of my gluten intolerance, my "cheating" has been eliminated.  All those desserts and baked goods have gluten in them.  I can not "cheat" with gluten.  Now looking back, when I thought I was eating healthy, I could have done a lot better.   I no longer skip meals and subside on vegan bars or other processed food.

The amount of food I eat  has increased, I eat a ton of veggies and fruit everyday.  I do not worry about "carbs" but instead focus eating all kinds of potatoes, squash, rice, beans etc.  I tend to limit most baked goods, and pastas, even if they are gluten free, vegan.  I also do not eat oil, unless I am in a restaurant.

So what has this year's renewed focus on eating well resulted in??  I decided to actually take note of my cholesterol levels.

February 2010 Cholesterol      165
                         Triglycerides    53

February 2011 Cholesterol      153
                         Triglycerides    42

March  2012    Cholesterol     130
                         Triglycerides    43

Yes, my levels have always been great.  But WOW, that is a significant drop in my cholesterol, by simply paying attention and truly eliminating ALL dairy,  most all oil and processed food.  

The best part is - I eat as much as I want, I am not starving or always thinking about food, I do not have the insane cravings I used to have and I have more energy.  And, I have a peace of mind that I  doing all I can do to prevent disease!

Cholesterol and Heart Health

You can be skinny, exercise regularly and still have a heart attack.  In fact 35% of heart attacks occur in people whose total cholesterol is between 150 and 200.  American Heart Association and most Doctors will tell you this is an an acceptable range.  But what does the research tell us?   The goal should be a total cholesterol below 150.  But I am not a Doctor, so I encourage you to do your own research. I have provided links below. 

I was thrilled to see Michelle Pfeiffer on CNN this week, bringing attention to this important subject.  She has always been skinny, exercised, and thought she was eating healthy - lots of lean protein, veggies.  BUT - she had high cholesterol.  She did her own research, was inspired by President Clinton in the CNN: The Last Heart Attack and decided to give a low fat, vegan diet a try.  Guess what?  Her cholesterol lowered and she is now hooked on a  plant based diet. 

I encourage you to:

• watch Michelle Pfeiffer's interview, 
• watch CNN: The Last Heart Attack,
• read Heart Attack Risk Chart, 
• look at Dr. Esselstyn's website and read his book!
• Dr. Ornish

It can be extremely discouraging to lose weight, exercise regularly, think that you are eating well, yet still be at risk of a heart attack.    What you eat is the most important factor to good health.  Switching to a whole food, plant based diet can be challenging at first, but then you realize how great  you feel, and how fabulous the food is!

OMG - Engine 2

Have you heard of Rip Esselstyn?  Or Engine 2?  Well if you have not, check out his website:
http://engine2diet.com/

Rip is a huge plant based advocate.  He deems it "plant strong", which once you see him and read about him, you will know he is indeed strong.  His book is inspiring, easy to read and is a well laid out explanation as to why you should follow a plant strong diet and how to do it.  Great recipes are the cherry on top.
I have seen Rip speak and he is even more inspiring in person.  I also admire is athleticism, it brings to light that you can be a world class athlete on a plant strong diet.
To say I am a big fan is an understatement.  So, today when I saw Engine 2's tweet featuring a story about Allyson's plant strong family, I was more than thrilled.  I submitted a piece about how I am trying to raise two plant strong girls.  Please check out my story featured on the Engine 2 blog:

http://engine2diet.com/the-daily-beet/family-friday-allysons-family/

And, READ his BOOK!!

Summer Trail Mix

Oh the challenge of getting the girls excited about healthy snacks!  We went today and bought these nifty containers, one for each of them.  I laid out all the goodies on our counter and let them make their own trail mix.  I had cashews, pistachios, gluten free pretzels, raisins, dried cranberries, dried pineapple, gojii berries, coconut flakes, vegan chocolate chips, toasted pumpkin seeds all out for them to choose.  They LOVED this afternoon activity and are so proud of their creation.  

Gluten Free Vegan Brownies

My father-in-law brought us a new gluten free, dairy free chocolate brownie mix to try!  Dolci Di Maria out of Asheville, NC.  I loved that it is from Asheville, I liked the packaging, and the whole food ingredients - but what would the taste be like?  It called for oil, which I replaced with apple sauce, and two eggs which I replaced with 2 TB ground flax seed mixed with 6 TB warm water.  This made the brownies not only gluten free, but vegan and low fat.  I did have to bake them longer than the package recommended, about 30 minutes. 

 

The toughest critics ranked the brownies top notch!  Ry said they were really, really good.  Si gave a thumbs up and polished off two of them.  Which is saying a lot considering she was recovering from the stomach bug. 

Thank you Poppa!

This Maybe Useful To You and ME!

I am still learning my way around this blogging world.  Techie stuff is definitely not my thing.  But I realized I could not even find recipes on my blog that I had fixed without scrolling through all the dates.  I am sure there is an easier way to do this, but I finally made a page and linked all my meals to it.  You can go to the Recipe tab on the home page and find a listing. Hopefully all the links work!

Hopefully My Answer To "Gogurts"

I hope these fun little things will be my savior this summer.  I read about them on 100 Days of Real Food and bought them on Amazon.  I used to buy the girls "gogurts" or "squishers" once a month as a treat.  They go crazy for them in the grocery store. I guess their shape and packaging is what they love about them and that all their friends "have" them.  But its just regular yogurt on the inside.  I used to cave about once a month and buy them for the girls.  But I have decided I am not going to do dairy treats anymore, even if it is just once a month.  If Chad and the girls choose to have dairy outside of the house, that is their choice.  But, I just cant do it.  Especially after recently watching this news about the relationship between acne and dairy.  I WILL be the mean mom who doesn't let my children have dairy if it might prevent the heartache I experienced growing up with acne.  There are thousands of reasons I do not like dairy, but I guess my tipping point was listening to the Harvard Nurses' Study associating skim milk with acne.

Thus, I bought these silicone freeze pop holders.  They are the same shape as gogurts, are fun colors, and the girls did get excited about them when I opened the package.  Today, I got an email from Dr. Fuhrman with his recipe for berry yogurt.  I decided to try this in the pop holders.  We will know tomorrow if they are a success.  Using Dr. Fuhrmans recipe as a guide I put the following in my Vitamix:
1 cup of frozen blueberries
1 cup of raspberries
1 cup of unsweetened, organic soy milk
2 TB ground flax seet
3 pitted dates

I poured them in the pop holders, and put them in the freezer.  Keep your fingers crossed for me that the girls will like them tomorrow afternoon!

BTW - you can change up this recipe with different fruit, different plant based milks, or add in a little cocoa powder!

Unprocessed Treats for Kids

A friend told me about a blog 100 Days of Real Food, and although it is not all vegan / gluten free, it did make me think more about processed food.  I limit processed food as much as I can, I do not eat much, really any.  But, when it comes to the girls lunches and snacks, I often relent.  I buy "healthy" processed food, but it is processed none the less.  I was determined to make healthy snacks that would replace some of the boxed products in the girls snack drawer.  These three recipes are all healthy, whole foods, no added oil, salt or sugar!

First up - Fast Cookies for School Lunches - p 186 in the Forks Over Knives companion book.  What could be better FAST is in the title and cocoa is one of the ingredients.  I made mine a little different than the recipe.  This is what I did:
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened soy milk
3 TBS almond butter (unsweet)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups GF oats

Put maple syrup, plant milk, cocoa into saucepan, bring to boil, then simmer for 3 minutes.  Add the nut butter and stir until melted.  Remove from the heat, add the vanilla and oats.  Stir well then make into small cookies.  Done!  That is it!  I thought they were delicious.  Sierra enjoyed them, and Ryder ate them when there was no other option for dessert.  (But she did eat them!)

 

And, nothing excites my girls more than telling them they can have a cookie for snack.

I really thought I nailed this next snack.  I mean, I was thinking the girls would jump up and down when they tasted this.  No such luck - I was the only one who ate it, and yes, I ate the entire bowl.  Fortunately, not in one sitting. But, your children might like it!

This is a low-fat version of a nut butter, I believe the original recipe is in the Happy Herbivore cookbook.  I saw it mentioned on a couple of blogs.

1 can white beans (I used northern white beans) - drained

1/4 cup of your favorite unsweetened nut butter - I used almond

2 TB maple syrup

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Put all ingredients in your high powered blender and voila!

I dipped apples and veggies in it, I also put a tablespoon of it in my hot oatmeal.  So good.  One morning I spread it on a whole wheat tortilla with sliced strawberries, rolled it up and sliced it for the girls.  Nope, they still did not like it.  Apparently right now they did not like tortillas.  What?

Anyways, try it, I hope your children LOVE it as much as I DO!

 

Yes, I was on a roll, determined to find something they liked.  This one was the winner.  I found the recipe in Whole Living magazine in the April 2012 issue.  This is what I did:

Chocolate Apricot Bars

 1 1/2 cup dried apricots

1/2 cup raw almonds

2 TB unsweetened shredded coconut

1 TB maple syrup

1 TB cocoa powder

Pulse apricots, almonds, coconut in food processor until finely ground.  Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment, leaving an inch overhang on all sides.  Transfer mixture to pan and press firmly to form a rectangle.

In saucepan, combine cocoa and maple syrup.  Stir until melted into a chocolate sauce.  Using a spoon, drizzle sauce on top.  Transfer to refrigerator for at least 15 minutes, until firm.  Remove, using parchment paper and cut into rectangles or square bars.  I stored these in the refrigerator in individual baggies so they were ready for the girls lunchboxes.

The girls loved these.  Finally...

 

The afternoon taste test:  

The muffin is a vegan banana muffin from Dekalb Farmers Market, I can not eat it because of the wheat, but the girls enjoyed it. 

Challenge

That word packs a powerful punch.  For some, it rolls right off their back.  For me it elicits a physical response.  My heart begins to race and my mind kicks into high gear.  How can I tackle this challenge and overcome it? My first response rarely is, do I want to take on the challenge or not?   That decision comes later.  My instinct is to jump right in.

Through much reflection I have come to realize my response is not the healthiest option.  When I take on physical challenges without thinking them through, I usually (ok, always) get injured.  When I take on other challenges, I often commit then realize I actually have no interest in the end goal.  This makes the process of achieving the goal miserable and actually reaching the goal less than thrilling. 

One thing is certain – I usually do overcome challenges and achieve goals I set for myself.  I just have to work on thinking it through and choosing challenges and goals that I truly want to go after.

So, the other night at our Veggin Around dinner at Café Sunflower when I was asked to put together a 14-day challenge, I jumped at the opportunity.  Fortunately, I have allowed myself to think about it a few days before truly jumping in.  What is the end goal?  There are tons of diets, detoxes, and challenges out there.  The end goal always seems to be to lose weight.  But something is wrong – we have more options out there to help our society lose weight – we are obsessed with being skinny, yet our society is more obese than ever before in history.   Not only are we obese, we have record numbers of heart attacks, diabetes, and cancer.  One in four deaths in the United States is due to cancer.  Our health is declining in a time when we have more doctors, medicine, medical procedures and diets available to us than ever before.

What is going on?

Our diet. 

I have been obsessed with being skinny, losing weight and that darn number on the scale.  The more I tried to diet, count calories, and restrict my food, the worse I felt mentally, physically and the number on the scale did not correlate to how hard I was working (or obsessing).

So I changed my focus.  Why not focus on giving my body what it needs?  Eliminate food addictions and eat nutrient dense foods.  Nutrient dense food that gives me energy, taste good and has the power to lessen my risk of getting cancer, diabetes, and having a heart attack.  I challenged myself to stay true to a whole food – plant based diet.  I no longer count calories, I eat until I am satisfied and I feel good.  I have a peace of mind that I am doing all that I can do to prevent cancer and other diseases.  I seek out nutrient dense food that provides my body what it needs and eliminates all the cravings I used to have.  And yes, a wonderful side effect is that my weight has stabilized.  If you need to lose weight, you will lose weight on a plant based diet.  It might not be as quickly as other diets, but it will happen.  And once it happens, you never have to diet again.  This is a lifestyle – to promote health and to prevent disease.  I have to add that another side effect is that it is good for animals and our planet.  (More on that another day.)

My challenge to those who want a challenge is to focus on your long-term health:

o   Do your own research. 

o   Eat what your body needs – nutrient dense foods.

o   Eliminate the junk. 

Your body will thank you.

Need some rules?

EAT:

·       All the veggies your heart desires – make sure to add in dark leafy greens, onions, and mushrooms.  Eat at least one HUGE salad a day.  Don’t forget broccoli, cauliflower, beets, carrots, brussel sprouts.

·       Eat a variety of colorful food.

·       Eat FRUIT.  Try to eat at least 4 servings a day.  Berries are awesome, packed with nutrients.  Eat berries daily.

·       Beans – (especially lentils) are nutrient dense powerhouses.  Eat at least one cup of beans a day.

·       Limited Nuts and Seeds – packed with photo-chemicals, they help with the absorption of other nutrients, and reduce inflammation.  Limit these to 1 – 2 oz a day.  This is the only food group I measure – as they are high in fat and I can easily over consume.

Read about the immunity boasting powers of greens, onions, mushrooms, beans, berries and nuts and seeds in Dr. Fuhrman’s newest book, Super Immunity.

·       Starchy Vegetables and Whole grains – sweet potatoes, oats, quinoa, brown rice, millet, organic corn– whole grain breads (if you are not gluten intolerant).  These are all healthy, and help fuel you.  They help fill you up.  I eat either these or beans at each meal.  Do not be afraid of good carbs.  Watch and read about Dr. McDougall’s latest book, The Starch Solution. 

Challenge yourself to EAT veggies, fruit, beans, starchy vegetables and whole grains EVERY day.  Eat a lot of them – then see if you have room for the unhealthy stuff…

So here is what to AVOID:

·       Dairy

·       All animal products (includes eggs, fish, chicken, meat, pork, etc)

·       Added Salt, Oil, Sugar – remember SOS – READ all ingredients carefully – don’t buy processed foods that have a ton of ingredients, anything you cant pronounce, and added salt, oil, sugar.  Stick with your WHOLE FOODS!

Why avoid these?

·       PLEASE watch Forks over Knives

·       Read what these people have to say:

o   Dr. Esselystn

o   Engine 2 – Rip Esselstyn

o   Jeff Novick on Oil

o   Jeff Novick on Salt

o   60 Minutes on Sugar

This list will get you started, but ask me for more!

Other tips –

Try this out for yourself first.  I do not recommend making a sweeping change for the entire family all at once.  Try it, read the books and research, take note on how you are feeling.  If you give it time, you feel better, and agree with the research, then start introducing these changes into your family meals.   Its like they say on the airplane, put your oxygen mask on first before you put it on your child.  If you believe in this lifestyle, it will be much easier to make the changes in your family’s lifestyle.

Mindful eating – sit down to eat, relax, enjoy.  Don’t count calories.   Think about how the food is nourishing your body.  And your serving size will be bigger, eat LOTS of salad, veggies, fruits!

The first week, you might not feel great, as your system is getting used to this new healthy food.  Give it a few days.  Just remember do not go hungry.  Eat the healthy foods.

Yes, it takes longer to be prepared.  But I promise it gets easier with time.

Here are helpful meal planning guides:

PRCM – 21 Day Vegan Kickstart

Happy Herbivore Weekly Meal Plans

(I love the recipes, but do not like the focus on the calorie count, 1200 calories is too low for any of us to function on!)

Vegginaround.com

Look for my pantry list and other recipes!

And, lastly –

McDougall’s Maximum Weight Loss Plan