Out of My Usual Element

I'm enjoying a much needed holiday vacation to visit my brother, staying at his house, and enjoying the regional fare. Trouble is, it is not a vegan household and I am succumbing to temptations. I had planned to eat seafood because it is a sin not to do so when you are in the great Northwest! I'm fine with that because I am not morally bound to veganism. I am subscribing to a plant strong regimen, which looks very, very similar to veganism.

But the seafood is the least of my worries. Snack foods, cheese, and other foods that are now off my list of edibles are all over the place. I have limited myself to nuts and the crunchy veggie Japanese snack mix.

They have a great juicer (which was a gift from me 2 christmas's ago), but I haven't used it. I would rather eat snacks. Why would I do this? I attribute it to the emotional connection to food.

There are 2 connections to food - chemical, that produces good feelings, addictive reactions - especially to items such as sugar, and emotional, that produces comfort, release of anxiety, is a response to stress, and allows you relive childhood memories, etc.

I'm definitely having an emotional reaction to food because I am out of my usual element and dealing with the stress of travel, living out of a suitcase, and the vagaries of staying with family. I get along very well with the family, love their company, and enjoy being here - so it is not a dysfunctional visit. But living at anyone's home is always a little off-putting. Reminiscing with my brother about growing up floods you with lots of emotional memories that would not occur on a day-to-day basis, and though my family is supportive of my choices - there is that defense mechanism - justifying their own eating habits, bombarding me with the "what CAN you eat" questions, and feeling a bit awkward about it all. Although they did stock the house with veggies and fruits in consideration of my desires! All of these reactions are my inability to manage emotions. So I am taking full responsibility for my less than strict adherence to my usual fare. But as things go, this is not a bender or falling off the wagon - it is but a slight detour and I'll not beat myself up about it. I'll have to do some work when I get back home - get off the sugar (candy canes are a friend during the holidays when so many treats are put in front of you), get off the oil from fish, snacks, nuts, and, get back into a plantstrong approach. I anticipate this is quite doable!

Onward!

Versatile Tapenade

Just experimenting a little and decided to try a little food processing while my Quinoa was cooking. I wanted to add veggies to the Quinoa, but tired of just the regular chopped and thrown in routine.

I put brown button mushrooms, red pepper, and red onion in the processor (I have the mini-Cuisinart, so I just fill it), and chopped fine, though not to the point of sawdust, lol.

I turned that into a bowl and added chopped garlic and chopped fresh tomato. I added some tamari sauce and it was like a tapenade! I could easily have added chopped olives, capers, or a little salsa to the mix to achieve variations on the flavor. Next time, I'll try something different and serve it up on toast or Kavli cracker bread. The consistency is what works well and I love tapenade!

I added the hot Quinoa to the bowl (I cooked a mix of red and white) and stirred it all up. Absolutely delicious.

Onward
<3

12 Weeks Plantstrong!

Dr. Esselstyn warns people who take up the plantstrong regimen that it will take about 12 weeks to get beyond the cravings and get settled into the new world of eating. Well, today I hit the 12 week mark and I am right on target!

Chemical cravings...gone
Emotional cravings...less intense, much less
Taste buds...able to enjoy all the new flavors
Mental outlook...excellent
Physical response...feeling great
Ability to find things to eat...my recipe repertoire is growing rapidly
Weight loss...every day
Ability to float through the workplace holiday buffet and desert table...flawless

I'm positively giddy with the unexpected returns on this program! I'm not saying everyone should do this or that everyone will respond the same way. But if you are obese, fat, overweight, large, hefty, etc., then you have nothing to lose by trying this out and seeing if it isn't amazing for you too.

No club to join or dues to pay or supplements to buy. Just real, whole food that will taste amazing in time. To date, my only expense is the $10 I spent on Dr. Esselstyn's book on my Kindle for Mac and the $17 paperback copy I bought and gave to a friend who really needed it. That's my way to pay it forward.

Onward!
<3

Flying Fat

I fly a lot. I can walk on a plane and know if the seats will be comfy or if I'll be squashed or if I'll need a seat belt extender or not. I just flew 4 segments on a round trip and did not need an extender once. Plant strong is resulting in weight loss. Ain't that a kick? :D

On my last flight, which was completely full, I had to take a middle seat and had to sit next to a woman younger than me who was larger than me. To say I was wedged in is an understatement. Worse, this woman says to me, "yeah, I'm a big girl, I'll try to lean out in the aisle." She was apologetic. I was stunned. I have never been apologetic. I might not like my size, but I am not going to apologize to someone for being as I am.

You might remember Kevin Smith (actor, director - Clerks) who got kicked off a Southwest flight for being too large. He claims he was in his seat and buckled in but they told him he either had to have 2 seats or none. Mortified, he stomped off and made a big PR thing out of it. The story raised a lot of conversation about who is too big to fly in the constantly shrinking airline seats. It's a game that people on the large end can't win. Kevin Smith is 400 lbs. Is that too big to fly?

So my dilemma is that as I sat next to this woman who lopped over onto my seat I could think only of talking to her about her eating habits. What food are you addicted to? Do you eat motivated by emotion? How many diets have you tried without changing your eating habits on a permanent basis? I never said those things, but I thought about it. I wasn't prepared to have that conversation. By prepared, I mean that the conversation has to be non-judgmental, affirming, hopeful, and supportive. I realize there is a line between support and evangelism. I believe that what I have come upon in this plantstrong approach is a potential answer for a lot of obese people who are addicted to food that no amount of "dieting" will overcome. I know that obese people have emotional relationships with food. Dieting won't overcome that either.

There was an article today about Kevin Smith because he had another airline incident though it was not related to his weight directly. He was late for a flight because he did not want to have people looking at him and judging him as they passed through first class. The comments on the news story are very revealing about how the non-obese view the obese. Indeed, the comments are all about judgment - get a trainer, push away from the table, etc. Essentially, the view is that if you are fat you are lacking in discipline, self-esteem, or other affirming qualities. The lack of affirmation is a byproduct for sure. My seatmate apologizing for her size is exhibit A.

Yes, I am doing something about my size that will be a permanent solution. But the answers were not easy to come by and took me a lot of trial and error to find. It's an answer that does not seem to be broadly embraced. I think about the South Beach diet and the "no carbs eat steak" diet and how wildly popular they are. People take them on, lose weight, go off them, gain weight, and do it all over again. Maybe that works if you have 20 pounds to lose, but not for the obese. The obesity epidemic needs real answers, honest talk, and science. How does this approach get disseminated?

Holiday Party Season - Road to Ruin? Hardly

I had to go to a big gala tonight as part of my job. It's a wonderful event, but the pitfalls for a plant-strong diet are enormous. In other years when I have gone, it has been a night filled with tasty, but unhealthy food, open bar, desert bar, and on and on. I figured I better have a strategy this year...

1. No drinking during the cocktail hour - club soda for me. Alcohol tends to cloud my judgment and weaken my resolve. I figured if I could hold the line on the canapes, I had a fighting chance the rest of the night!

2. Survey the food options and don't be afraid to say no. There was one canape that was all veggie, but the rest, I avoided with great aplomb :)

3. Dinner was tricky. Instead of the traditional plated meal, the dinner elements were served family style and was an odd combination of satay on a stick, pasta, asian slaw, seafood, and rice pilaf with veggies. As the bowls were passed around I scoped out what I could eat and went for it. Luckily, as a bowl emptied, servers brought another, so I had salad, rice and veggies to my delight! Wine at the table was less tempting because I had been on the club soda pre-game strategy. So a glass at dinner did not hamper my resolve to be plant-strong!

4. The desert was served at a buffet, so that was easy to avoid.

All in all - a winning strategy and I felt really good about my choices.

Onward
<3

My Relationship...With Food

Here are my thoughts and 12 elements of coming to grips with your relationship with food. It is that relationship that is both physical and emotional, that is making you fat, obese, chunky, large, Ruben-esque, or whatever you call it. How do I know? Because I'm right there with you sister. There is a payoff at the end in step 13 :)

Vegetarianism, veganism, and plantstrong are not fads. They are commitments to a food choice. The political and ethical overtones that are typically associated with groups like PETA and moral vegans tend to put some people off who don't want to make a political statement with their food choices. The celebrity associations with these choices may prompt some people to join to be like the "stars" - trainer Bob from "The Biggest Loser" went vegan, Bill Clinton went PlantStrong, "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch" spoke to many women to be vegetarian, the national news recently featured corporate titans as power vegans (Steve Wynn for one), and of course Ellen DeGeneris and Portia DeRossi are vegan or vegetarian or something that even got Oprah's attention for 5 minutes.

While all these attachments may be grounds for people to get interested in, give consideration to, or even start a food choice, ultimately, it comes down to your relationship with food. For many of us, it is a twisted and hurtful relationship that should end immediately in divorce due to the abuse. However, as is often the case in abusive relationships, the abusee stays with the abuser. In this case - our comfort associated with many foods leaves us unwilling to leave.

I went vegetarian because I was disgusted by what I learned about factory farming. I had left veal about 20 years earlier after I saw the little calf ads that were so awful. So leaving factory farmed meats was not a tough call for me. I could have gone local and free range, but an added dimension of understanding put me off of meat. One of the points made in "Skinny Bitch" is that at the moment of slaughter, the fear and anxiety that animals experience stays with the flesh. You consume those emotions when you eat the meat. Now that may be bunko science, but it hit me on a gut level and allowed me to refrain from meat with ease.

I went PlantStrong (which is vegan without the ethics of not using any animal product) for health reasons. I had consumed all kinds of heart unhealthy foods all my life in great quantities. Why did I do this? Because I had connected food to comfort. Mom fixed mac & cheese and it oozed love. Each bite contained good feelings. Lose a boyfriend? That can be fixed with copious amounts of comfort food - ice cream, chocolate, mac & cheese... Holiday joy? Can't have it without food - cookies, cakes, tortes, candy, chocolate (from Halloween to Easter), meats, casseroles, canapes... Sporting event? Root for your team with cheesy dips, fried anything, greasy burgers, nachos... Mourning the dearly departed? Have a wake and serve a buffet of never ending casseroles - we learn to comfort, revel, celebrate, and mourn with food.

So having a life-long unhealthy relationship with food (and not everyone has this unhealthy relationship, obviously) requires some reexamination before going vegetarian or vegan. If you are fat, overweight, obese, chunky, big, husky, large, height disproportionate to weight...you have an unhealthy relationship with food. Period. Say whatever you want to say - genetics, bone structure, metabolism, thyroid, family issues, pet issues, angst, anxiety, gallstones - you have an unhealthy relationship with food.

For a long time I was in denial about denial. As in, "I won't deny myself because that just sets off a craving." Well, yes it does. But not denying yourself the food doesn't help either.

For a long time I was in denial about control. As in, "I can control what I eat, count points, count calories, deal meal cards, follow nutrition guidance, shop and buy a balanced grocery list..." The control never lasts because my brain was wired for failure.

For a long time I was in denial about need. As in, "I need this "fill in the bad food" and I "just have to have it." What am I, 2 years old? Mostly it was a "poor me" rap.

I'm an upbeat, positive person. I am not a doom and gloomer. Yet, food became my haven for satiating my doom and gloom. I'm upbeat and positive - as I chowed down on Doritos and cheese dip. Does anyone else see this as an oxymoron?

I loathed skinny women who would pick at a plate of salad and take most of it home in a box...Ha! I'll show them and eat what I like right here and eat it all. Yeah, I showed them - what, I'm not exactly sure, except that I was controlled by food and wanted to be just like them, at least the skinny part.

Going vegetarian, plantstrong, or vegan is not easy, but it is not that hard either. You are simply changing what you use as nutrients for your body. The very, very hard part is redefining your relationship with food. For most women (I can't speak for men because I am not one of you), food is a companion, a foil, an enemy, medicine, validation - you name it. For most women, they would rather eat a box of cookies than go to the gym to get their high. It's not about the high - it's about the nourishment of our psyche. I love these cookies and they make me feel good. It's that simple.

Changing your relationship with food.
The harsh reality of 12 steps and 1 beautiful step

1. food is not your friend. It is just food. Get a pet, get a friend, but do not make food your friend. Neither is it your enemy. It is just food.

2. food has chemical properties that interact with your body chemistry to produce results. These results can be positive or negative to your health. Science tells us the best formula to maximize the value and benefit of this chemistry. Use it. You are going to eat, so make the best of it from the perspective of what food is for - nutrition! Don't eat processed food and chemicals. Don't eat anything with high fructose corn syrup. Science has confirmed that these additives are addictive and affect your body chemistry. Do not ingest them!

3. sugar rush, cheese addiction, grease/fat/oil taste mask are all chemistry responses between food and your body - literally your brain becomes captive of addictions - just like nicotine, crack, heroin, and alchohol. We help people eliminate their addictions to everything but food. Why? because we say, "we can't live without food." Tru dat. But what is not true is that we have to live with these addictions. You can be very well nourished without sugar, cheese, grease. Really, you can. Your addiction can be reset. Not everyone who gets drunk is an alcoholic. Some people have an emotional attachment to booze. Not everyone who eats cheese will generate an addiction to it. But for those who do - get out of denial and recognize the chemistry that is taking place between your brain and body.

4. Some people get full and stop eating. Some people can stop at just one bite. Some people can have two pieces of chocolate and stop without thinking. If you are obese, fat, or otherwise overweight - you have an addictive relationship and reaction to these foods. You have to get off of them, off all of them, to clear your brain and reset your chemistry. When you have a cheese craving, your brain wants more of whatever the chemical reaction is it gets when you eat cheese. The more you eat, the more you want. Just a slice more turns into the entire Cracker Barrel stick of cheese, the entire jar of cheese sauce, a loaf of Velveeta or whatever you eat. This is a vicious spiral that can not be satiated by eating more cheese or sugar or chocolate or whatever you are stuck on. It's like an alcoholic - just one more drink becomes a bender. The brain is the most powerful organ in your body. Don't abuse it. Respect it.

5. You will kill yourself by abusing food. Period. You will die eventually, I know. You will die from obesity and never know if you could have lived longer because you will be dead. The western, fast food diet is designed to kill you. If you abuse fast food, it will kill you. It will clog your arteries causing you grave illness. Now, the roulette of this tale is whether you can safely eat a little, a lot, or none. If you are obese, overweight, or a fatty - the answer is none. This answer is not designed to be evil or to "deny you" your pleasure. The answer is designed to save your life. You have a death wish if you can't see this. Really - it comes down to whether you want to live or die. Having trouble getting up those stairs? Can't catch your breath and feel your heart race? Does the idea of walking leave you breathless but not leave you too breathless to get to the fridge? You have a death wish. It is that simple. I know. I had it. I was just in complete denial.

6. These tough questions and answers are not meant to put you down or make you feel bad about yourself. They are a wake up call to make you see what you are doing to yourself. It is not a matter of will power, it is a chemical reaction between food and your brain. You can't control it. You can stop it only by stopping putting those foods into your body. Once you reset the chemical reaction, you might be able to control it. I don't know. Obviously each person will be different. Once you stop the reaction, you won't want to eat it. That sounds laughable doesn't it? Me not wanting ice cream - that's nuts! Me not wanting cheese is inconceivable! But it is true. It is no longer a part of my life, the chemical reaction is gone, and all that is driving me back to those foods is a memory of those good feelings. The good feelings are no longer there. I chose to live and now I am rewarded with a reset brain. Whoa. Yeah. Will I ever eat cheese again? Perhaps. Do I want to chance it right now? NO WAY! Check in with me in a year. I'll let you know.

7. Do I still have feelings for cheese, pizza, ice cream, Doritos? Oh yes, absolutely! You don't end a lifelong relationship and not retain the feelings for awhile. I'm 3 years into vegetarianism and don't miss meat at all. I'm nine weeks into plantstrong and still have emotional attachments to some foods. But now I can feel the difference between emotional attachment and chemical craving. I can get over the emotions. I could not control the chemical.

8. You cannot go from a fast food diet to plantstrong unless you are prepared for the physical and mental fallout. I did vegetarian for 3 years because I was in strong denial. I would say, "I'm a vegetarian" whilst consuming chips, cheese, fried cheese, cheesy rice, ice cream, cookies, chocolate, ad nauseum. Meat was not causing a chemical reaction in my brain so of course it was easy to give up. I did not have any emotional attachments to meat, with the exception of McDonald's cheeseburgers, so I did not miss meat. When I went plantstrong, I eased into it over a 10 day period, noting everything I ate (still keep a food journal) and not beating myself up over it. I was trying it out. I noted what I could substitute for my regular items in order to comply with a plantstrong regimen. By day 10 I was already on the wagon and decided to go with it. Then the cravings hit. I took naps in the evening to avoid the craving. I distracted myself with videos at night and work during the day. I did not take up an exercise regimen, because I knew it would be too much on me. That was my cave, but it worked for me. I dreamed of pizza. I needed ice cream. If I didn't have some sugar I would lose my mind. But what saved me was thinking about how my arteries were not having to build more plaque to address the crap I was ingesting. I thought about how my brain was resetting and that if I quit now, I would have to go through this again and probably wouldn't - remember - I chose to live. I quit Diet Coke 3 years ago and I thought that was what it must be like to quit cigs. I won't sugar-coat it (haha), quitting what your brain has been led to crave is very hard. But if you can get your head out of denial, your body will follow.

9. Weight is a state of mind and a state of being. The scale number is what it is. You weigh what you weigh. The number is not good or bad, it is a number - a physical property. Your relationship with that number and your physicality is a state of mind - an emotional roller coaster for most women. When I went plantstrong I did not get on the scale. I decided that to succeed, I needed to focus on the food relationship, not the weight relationship. I assumed that I would lose weight, but that was not my motivation to go plantstrong. I didn't want to get wrapped up in the number. I just wanted to see the physical response, first of my brain, then of my body form. Sure, I am losing weight - no doubt. I see it right now as a side benefit to resetting my brain and clearing my arteries. I am in denial about exercise - I'm sure of that. But let me tackle that next. And it is getting easier to face it - because my brain and my emotions are not all caught up in that other stuff that I fed myself.

10. You are what you eat. Your body is a temple because god dwells within you, as you. These are the philosophies that I believe in. You believe as you wish. Your beliefs are what get you to where you want to go. Your emotional relationships are what stop you from getting where you want to go. When I embraced my philosophies, I created a whole new dynamic with food. Food is not my friend, I am my friend. Food is a substance, not a friend. I am more important than the foods I want to be in a relationship with. I am not getting comfort from food - I am being fooled by a chemical reaction that feels like comfort and I turn that into an emotional relationship that is destructive. Get out of the relationship!

It has taken me a couple of hours to write this. All this talk of food reminded me I'm hungry! I'm sitting here eating leftover red quinoa, black beans and chickpeas, and black bean/corn salsa. I just mix them together and eat it cold. I could have heated the quinoa and beans and peas and topped with the salsa. But the point is that the flavors are sooooo good. This is my new relationship with food. I like the flavors. I like the taste.

11. Food will taste different when you reset your brain and no longer mask the taste of foods with grease and oils. I love the taste and flavors of the foods I eat. This is not just wishful thinking on my part to "trick" myself into eating healthy foods. Once the reset occurs, your brain tastes everything with new chemical reactions. I have no emotional connection to my quinoa, beans and salsa, but I do love the flavor!

12. You will learn what it feels like to feel full. There is a receptor in your brain that is supposed to turn on when you eat and let you know when you are full. If you are obese, fat, overweight or chubby - this receptor is not firing properly. You know what I'm talking about. It takes a whole lot of food before you even think of being full. You can sit down and eat a sandwich and then think, great appetizer - what's next? If you are obese, you have no idea what it feels like to feel full even if your stomach hurts. Because I am talking about the brain's "full" response, not your gut being full. The stomach staple, lap band, gastric bypass - is supposed to make you eat less and your stomach feels full with just a handful of food. The problem is that your brain does not feel full and you want to keep eating. Except now you are in a dangerous situation where your body can't consume any more food or it will pop. People who have this surgery regain weight. Not all of them do, but I am betting it is because they change their diet, not the quantity. When you reset the brain by cutting out all the food addictions, you reset the "full" receptors. Now I understand how someone can eat a half plate of food and be full and not just be doing it for show because they are on a date! I ate my bowl of quinoa, beans, and salsa. I feel full! It is literally a new sensation that I have come to recognize and respond to. You will love it.

Beauty = You

13. Love yourself. Choose to live. Do the work. I've been doing the work of self analysis for years, so I have no idea if you can make these choices without doing the work. But I recommend that you do meditation, read inspirational books like Chicken Soup for the Soul, surround yourself with positive energy, go to church, read the bible - whatever works for YOU! But do the work so you can love yourself and choose to live. I did the Landmark Forum (www.landmarkeducation.com) 5 years ago. I learned to meditate in college. I found religion, lost it, found it again, became an atheist, and now practice elements of Buddhism - but none of that matters - just find what works for you in terms of spirituality, positive support, energy creation, feeling good, and seeing the light in the universe. Just don't get it from eating.

Plant Strong Thanksgiving!

I've been a vegetarian for about 3 years, so turkey has been off my table for a while. Friends ask what I will eat on Thanksgiving...as if the Turkey is the only item on the menu!

My favorite part of thanksgiving as a kid was always the mashed potatoes and peas. So that's what I built my meal around today!

Mashed white organic potatoes made with lots of garlic, almond milk, salt and pepper. I leave the skins on the taters too. I whip them in the food processor, then I don't need to add much milk - just for flavor enhancement. I could have added green onions and/or leeks - just wasn't in the mood.

Veggie assortment - fresh green peas, baby portabella mushrooms, fresh french green beans, cooked in Pacific Natural Organic Mushroom Broth.

I put the mashed potatoes on the bottom and veggies on top - and ate my way to #vegan food goodness! Oh yum!

I saw lots of #vegan tweets about vegan pumpkin pie, tofurkey, and other veganized recipes. Maybe I'll be there some day, but for now, I like it simple. I do have some pumpkin and chard and will make that tomorrow. Also have fresh cranberries, but forgot to get sugar and you gotta have sugar with those! Tomorrow - with fresh oranges :)

Hope all of you had a great table of thanks with family and friends!

Onward
<3

New Flavors

So, I'm figuring out that spice, flavors, and textures are essential elements of a plant-based cuisine. Hey, I'm new at this, so don't be a hater, lol.

I had some left over brown rice blend (not just your everyday bland brown rice) from last night. The blend is what makes it a really tasty base. Yum.

I added fresh green peas (I love peas, always have), chopped red pepper, and chopped fresh spinach.

I cooked the rice and peas in a fry pan with tamari sauce - it's like a stir fry, so put the heat up! Then I added the red pepper and spinach and topped it off with a new flavor - seasoned rice wine vinegar. I thought it would perk up the taste of the spinach - oh yeah!!

The red pepper was sweet and the spinach and rice vinegar are sour and the flavors all worked.
Yay me!

UPDATE: I have come through to the other side of the toxins. I feel really good! No more cold/flu symptoms and the lethargy has eased. I have a DR appointment next week to get blood work done - I want to check all my cholesterol levels, vitamins, etc. to see if I need Iron and B12.

Onward
<3

Stuffing - for Mushrooms and...?

I actually made a tasty dish - I mean really tasty. I think my cooking skills are improving!

Stuffed Giant Portabella Mushrooms - Vegan Style :D

baby brown pearl mushrooms - I like them because they have a nutty flavor (total about 8 oz)
chop in the processor until they are sawdust-like, turn out into a large bowl for mixing

leeks - I had 3, 5-inch stalks that I cut in thirds (total about 3 TBS)
fresh green peas (total about 1/2 to 3/4 Cup)
chop these in the processor as well, but not as fine as the mushrooms
add to the bowl with the mushrooms

add minced garlic to the bowl to taste (I use a good heaping spoonful)

add a TBS or two of Panko Japanese style bread crumbs (just enough to give a little binding)

moisten this mixture with Pacific Natural Organic vegetable broth, a little at a time, stirring into the mixture, until it has a paste-like consistency, but not thin.

I also added just a tsp or so of tamari sauce. If I had some traditional fall spices like sage, rosemary and thyme, I would have skipped the tamari and used them. You might like a little lemon juice.

Put giant portabella caps in a baking dish, top down, cup up. This recipe makes enough for 3 or 4.

With a large spoon, or just your hands, scoop a bit of the veggie mixture and make a pattie to top the caps.

Top the stuffed caps with a sprinkling of bread crumbs.

Drizzle a bit of tamari sauce in the baking dish around the caps, to keep caps from sticking.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

I served with a side of Lundberg Jubilee Blend of Whole Grain Brown Rice made with 1/2 water and 1/2 veg broth.

I'm sure some talented cooks could whip this into a Thanksgiving style stuffing to be baked in a squash.

Enjoy!

Onward <3

Toxins

Apparently a radical shift in diet, such as going to an all plant-based diet, triggers detoxification in your body. Toxins get stored in fat cells, liver, pancreas, lungs, colon, etc. When you radically change your diet, the body starts detoxing. Yuck, but eventually good. A side effect of this detox is that as toxins come out, so do side effects. You can feel like you have the flu, a cold, have aches and pains, and lethargy. I had a cold a month or so ago and it was gone in 3 days. I got another cold Friday and it is lingering. A friend suggested it may not be cold or flu but detoxification.

When you take meds for the flu, you are ingesting toxic type elements - that if you are sick, will be helpful. If it is detox, you will thwart the detox. One of the articles I found indicated that people think it is the healthy food that makes them sick and then leave the vegan diet. They reverse the detox diet and feel better - because the body stops sloughing off toxins.

So, the remedy is to stay the course, drink a lot of water, green tea, and clear liquids - and hope it ends soon.

Charting My Progress

I started this journey on Sept. 23, 2010. I am now in the 8th week. Dr. Esselstyn claims it takes 12 weeks to get the craving out of your head! I know that's right...

I have lost some pounds. I can see it in the mirror a little bit. I can fit into a pair of pants I bought online that did not fit when they arrived. So that's good.

My blood sugar swings are nearly gone, though I still get comatose after eating something with carbs between 5 and 7pm, especially when I have not been eating all day. I really try to keep eating all day. I have my doctor appointment in 2 weeks and will get my blood workup done then.

I don't feel like I have more energy. Some days I think I am not eating enough. When you only eat plants, ie. fruits, vegetables, beans, and grains, it sometimes is hard to get enough calories, nutrients, etc. I am trying to be more conscious of the mix of foods, portions (as in eat more), and being intentional. When you aren't just picking food up on the fly - it is not as easy to stuff yourself all day - which is good, but the opposite is not any better. Also trying not to rely on eating too many grains - pastas, beans - as filler. EAT VEGGIES :)

I do feel more like exercising, though that has not yet happened. So perhaps, my energy is higher and it was just so low before, I didn't realize it?

I have not been 100% oil free - I have had at least 2 setbacks on chips - but at least I eat "healthy" chips - baked, veggie, NOT Doritos. I have had a few slips on candy - but no chocolate (dairy) or ice cream. I am VERY proud of that. I have had some vegetable antipasto at a couple of work events where they serve crudites. I have had shrimp twice (not fried). I've had eggrolls - had a craving one day that would not be satisfied - but the result was not gratifying - so I won't do that again.

I'm cooking a lot and I like that! It makes eating more intentional and less of a throwaway activity. Sometimes I really like what I make, other times - well, I am not the best cook in the world by any stretch of the imagination. I have been picking up spices each week to build my cupboard - darn expensive! So I am looking forward to more flavorful - zingy food.

I do taste things now in a different way - clearer, more distinctive palate. That's a big bonus!

I am finding it easier and easier to say no. Someone brought cupcakes in to the office the other day and I declined. I tell others and myself, that I spent a lifetime eating poorly and because of that, I now am treating myself to eating well. It's my decision, but people seem to take it as an indictment of their eating. Maybe it is. This isn't an easy choice I've made, so sometimes I probably make it easier on me by feeling superior. If I've done that to any of you - sorry.

Thanksgiving is coming up and I will be staying at home. I figured this is one holiday on which I need to keep my focus. Next year will be different. I have been scouting out some interesting recipes - side dishes for the big holiday are making a comeback with chefs - even the NYT had a great feature with recipes the other day.

I continue to stay out of the snack food isles, candy isles (which during the holidays is increasingly difficult to avoid because chocolate is all over the store!), cheese section. I spend more time in the produce section - even if it is just looking - to get more familiar with different products and contemplating what I might eventually learn to use - like broccoli rabe. Not even sure what it is...and swiss chard - what do I do with it?...and leeks - oh, wait, I like those!

I follow the #vegan hashtag on twitter and that has produced loads of info, insights, and recipe links. I am getting follows from other vegans and I now follow some of them. Twitter is just amazing as an information and communication portal.

Onward
<3

Quick and Tasty

Quinoa Veggies with Salsa

Made some Quinoa (takes about 20 minutes), steamed corn and peas, mixed with Quinoa, topped with Muir Glen black bean salsa. Really tasty!

Quinoa, like rice, is bland, so you need to be sure to spice it up for flavor.

I have another recipe I found on Twitter #vegan, for shredded beets and Quinoa called Ruby Quinoa - which I'll try with my leftover Quinoa tonight :)

UPDATE: I tried the beet - I like beets, but when you process them and cook them, they get dry. I need to work on learning how to prepare beets :)

Onward
<3

Yummy Pasta

I had a hankering for spaghetti - and I really enjoy the taste of Deboles Jerusalem Artichoke flour pasta!

As that cooked I put into a large nonstick pan - mushrooms, sliced red pepper, sliced leek and turned the heat on medium high, as the pan heat up and the mushrooms start to cook, I added fresh tomato chunks on top and sprinkled italian seasoning over it all. Then I turn down the heat a bit and add a few teaspoons of Pacific Veggie Broth (I open one of their tiny 4-pack containers and it keeps well in the fridge for about a week). Then I put a glass lid that is smaller than the pan right on top of the veggies. They all don't fit under the lid, but that's ok. The tomatoes and the red pepper release some juice to keep the mushrooms from sticking or burning (clever, eh?). The steam under the lid cooks the veggies nicely, and the glass lid means I can see what's going on and not screw up! The beauty of this besides the colors...is no oil!

By the time the pasta is draining, the veggies are done and you can either pour off the excess juice or keep it - depending on how much liquid you like with your pasta. Toss the pasta in the pan with veggies and mix it up.

That's vegan goodness!

Onward :)

Vegan Food I Didn't Know I Like!

Mashed sweet potatoes - better than Yukon Golds!
Vegan Tamales at Farmicia restaurant in Philly
Whole grain organic bread veggie sandwich - piled high with multiple veggies :)
Quinoa
Almond Milk
Baby Roma tomatoes - super snack food
Kashi Island Vanilla Shredded Wheats
Jerusalem Artichoke flour pasta
Leeks
Lentils
homemade hummus without tahinni spread on green leaves (spinach, lettuce, kale, swill chard)
real oatmeal
raw honey (not a strict vegan food)
rice noodles
soba (buckwheat) noodles
Swiss Chard

Things I Like, But Still Don't Know How to Cook
Beets
Butternut Squash


I'll keep adding to this list :D

The Doctors Speak about a Plant-Based diet

Dr. Esselstyn and Dr. Ornish are two of the gurus around a plant-based, whole-foods diet. They are the doctors that President Clinton cites in his healthy turn-around. Dr. Esselstyn's son, Rip, is behind the Engine Company 2 fire-fighters plant-based diet I cite in another post. The Doctors talk here with CNN. Keep in mind that Dr. Esselstyn was a heart surgeon when he began putting his bypass and stent patients on the plant-based diet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoHt9cSWJVI&feature=player_embedded

One of the benefits of a plant-based, whole foods diet is that it will make you feel good.
While I physically feel great, I don't feel as well mentally. It's actually a bit stressful to stay on this regimen because it is such a big shift in my eating patterns. Remember, I was a vegetarian before starting this - or more properly phrased - a meat-avoider. I didn't eat meat, but I did eat dairy - cheese, yogurt, ice cream, as well as oil, fried anything - potatoes, rice, vegetables, and a large dose of junk food - doritos, potato chips, pretzels, cheese sauce, nachos. You get the picture. ALL of that is gone. It's a bigger change than I thought - but that is part of the honesty of the process. There is no - oh, I'll just have a little of this. It doesn't work like that. But the shift does weigh on you - so you need support.

I do this blog to reinforce my own support. I read other blogs for inspiration. But friends, I'm finding, are reluctant to support this effort of mine, except for the occasional query - so how's it going? I think my friends are curious, but do not want to have to face their own eating habits. Too much support for me would mean having to examine their own coronary-damaging diet. I never raise the issue with people because I don't want to be an evangelist and be in people's faces about this. I really need my friends! But I am finding the silence to be pretty deafening. I need to find other people who are doing what I am doing so that I have some support!

I have been doing Landmark Education programs for the last 5 years. We are constantly urged to share the work with friends and colleagues and invite them to participate too. It's an eye-opening experience because most people do not want to face their own issues, nor are they willing to shell out $400 bucks to get real. I have been turned down by friends so many times it makes me feel quite defeated and, thus, reluctant to bring it up again with them. So I do a few gentle reminders to people, invite new friends, and hope that a few will take it up. It completely changed my life and I am thankful every day I have that access to personal understanding. People ask me how I do the things I do. I tell them it's Landmark, but they don't believe it.

I feel the same way about this plant-based regimen. It's new and people will eventually stop asking about it and it will become a curious thing that Robyne does. And I won't understand how to convince people that a plant-based diet is the key to their good health. And I will accept that and be glad I am doing it.

We all have foibles, phobias, baggage, and habits. We are human and flawed. We have so much access to things that can make our lives fantastic, but we refuse to reach out and take them because they go against what we see as the "natural order" of our lives. We would rather take pills and get gastric bypass than eat a plant-based diet. We would rather watch Oprah or Desperate Housewives rather than do the hard work to achieve our best selves. In the end, it doesn't matter! We are here playing a big game - and we can play it any way we wish. These are the ways I am playing my game and you will play yours as you see fit. So let's all have fun while we can and live with our choices.

Onward!
<3

Lettuce Wraps

So I took this idea from a couple of recipes at Engine2.com.

They suggest kale or swiss chard, but I used romaine lettuce leaves.
Spread the leaf with homemade hummus (I like it with garlic and red pepper) - but I need a better recipe with more spice and flavor.

Top the hummus with any chopped veggies you want. I used leeks, broccoli, green pepper and tomato. Corn would be good and so would cucumber and zucchini.

Roll the lettuce leaf like a burrito using the stem as the bottom. Ta da!

It was tasty (but my spice skills need work to improve flavors), filling - because you can eat however many you want, and easy. I suppose you could wrap anything up in the leaf - quinoa, rice, mustard - it essentially is a wrap, which we all know how to make and eat!

I kind of feel like an ex-smoker...I crave certain foods in certain situations. Fridays used to be pizza day. I don't miss it - but my brain thinks it needs it. It's an odd experience. I guess that's what an addiction is.

I'm going to the Rally for Sanity in D.C. tomorrow and packing some food. I want to avoid the vendors with hot dogs and kabobs!
I'm thinking...
Hummus sandwich on whole grain bread
the island vanilla shredded wheat from Kashi that I love to snack on
an apple
and maybe carrots

Onward :)

Motivational Life-ring!

I just found this website: Engine Company 2 Diet created by Rip Esselstyn - son of the good Doctor. At this site, Rip chronicles how he is challenging and working with Firefighters in Austin, TX to take on the plant-based regimen created by his dad.

The fabulous thing about this site is that it is fun, real, and has recipes that I can make!! It tells me how to cook kale and greens, has helpful hints on cooking lots of veggies, and makes the regimen a bit more approachable and less clinical!

Please check it out to see how real people are lowering their cholesterol and losing weight by adopting this plant-based way of eating for life!

Onward at full speed!
<3

Conflicting Health Advice

Yikes. The more I read, the more discouraged I get. So many conflicting pieces of information on what to eat, what not to eat, what is good for you, what is not good for you. I think that's why people often decide on the "everything in moderation" route.

Here are my dilemmas:
1. B12 - you have to have it and you can't get it from plants. I take a multi-vitamin every day that has all the B vitamins in it. I chose this vitamin years ago because of its formula that hits all the vegetarian needs. B12 is essential for your nervous system operation. Not something to fool around with. I can get it in Salmon...

2. Omega 3's - there are 3 types and you get only one from plant sources. All 3 are necessary for good brain health. I decided on a fish oil supplement gel cap that includes Krill as well as fish and gives you a great dose of the 2 missing Omega 3's. You also need Omega 6 in small doses and most people get it from plant-based oils. I have to check back to see how to get these. Flax gives you Omega 3. There is an entire medical literature about Omega 3 supplements too and which ones are good, which aren't and why...

3. protein - you don't need as much as you probably think you do. I am finishing up a can of whey protein powder because I like it, but it is a milk-based product... If you use whey protein powder there are all kinds of good and bad elements of it as well - cold vs. heat processed, raw vs. pasteurized, no growth hormones, grass fed cows, no long chain something or other...yikes. I am looking at hemp powder and bought one trial size packet to see if I like it in my almond milk fruit juice mix. Almond milk has protein, but I should be getting it from beans, lentils type foods. I probably don't eat enough of those. Could be why I am lacking energy. I used to get my protein from dairy products as a meat avoiding vegetarian. I need to eat more Quinoa.

4. Vitamin D - I can get it from almond milk. I also take a Vitamin D supplement occasionally (spray under your tongue). Sunshine is obviously the best source - but who wants skin cancer. Oy!

5. Gluten - the big fad now is to go gluten-free because it supposedly does dastardly things to your intestines and causes cancer. I can't add this to my list too. I like the whole grain bread they bake at my grocery and it fits all my other criteria...I like the Jerusalem Artichoke flour pasta and whole wheat pasta I have that fits all my criteria. I'll take my chances with gluten.

6. High Fructose Corn Syrup - luckily, I have been avoiding this for almost 2 years now and with a plant-based regimen, there aren't too many products with hidden sources that I eat anymore.

7. Fish - I don't think I want to eliminate this entirely because of the Omega 3 and B12 properties. I will, however, be very conscious of when I eat it, how much I eat, what type I eat. Not ready to bring it back into my diet just yet. Though I have had shrimp in a dish or two since starting this effort. I want to get the oil/fat craving out of my system as much as possible and then see how well I can handle it.

8. Calcium - this is an issue for me because I always relied on dairy as my source. Now I have to find the plants that are rich in calcium and be sure they are in my rotation. Butternut Squash is a good source and I am trying to learn how to cook it!

One of the joys of being oblivious to all this and eating fast foods is that you don't have to think about anything. When you are hungry, you eat. But years of doing that has gotten me to where I am. So for all those years of slacking, I now have to put in the work of thinking about what I eat proactively and not just avoiding meat :)

Onward!
<3

Kansas City Vegan-Friendly restaurants

Eating out is sometimes challenging, but my favorite KC restaurants make it pretty easy. I just ask for vegan and they accommodate me.

Had a great late-night meal at Pot Pie in Westport. It is such a great restaurant for anyone, but they made me a wonderful veggie plate with potatoes that is cooked in an apple cider reduction. Oh, yum. The house salad is fabulous too. I can't entirely avoid oil, but I can avoid butter.

Today I was at Blue Bird Bistro on the Westside at 17th and Summit. They serve organic and locally grown and raised food. I had the polenta and vegetables and it came with cheese - I said, the menu didn't indicate cheese - and the waitperson said, vegan? Yes! No problem. And voila - back it came without cheese. This is a restaurant with fabulous flavors. Also had the house salad with blueberry vinaigrette, and the apple and pear tart kind of desert. All wonderful.

Also recommend Korma Sutra Indian in Westport - their lunch buffet has a vegetarian side and I asked about cheese in dishes. None had any so I was good to go for a fantastic lunch.

There are few places to eat in Camden, let alone in Jersey that will accommodate my eating regimen. I could easily go over to Philly, but downtown restaurants are pretty expensive. So when I go to KC, I tend to eat out a lot.

Onward
<3

Leeks - who knew?

This week I have eaten a leek for the first time. If I have ever eaten a leek in a dish before I don't remember it or did not know it. I intentionally tried it this week and found out I love leeks!! To me they are like a giant green onion that is not as sharp tasting, but certainly flavorful. I bought a bag of fresh leek that was already washed, trimmed, and cut - because I didn't know what to do with a whole leek - what was the good part, what was not.

Tonight I threw it in with green pepper, brocolli, and carrot and steamed it in the micro using tamari sauce. Mixed it in with brown rice and it was great!! I'm a fan of Asian food and I also do not need a tremendous amount of spice to enjoy my food. I love spice and love eating out where ethnic spices are used. But I like a simple dish like this too and the tamari is really good.

I ate grapes and celery during the day as snacks. I haven't eaten celery in years - but it actually tasted good. That's part of the whole - my palette is coming back - thing.

I followed a great convo today on Facebook where some friends were discussing the merits of Omega 3 sources. I thought flax seeds were just fine - well I found out that there are 3 kinds of Omega 3 and flax only provides one. Your body may be able to use that kind and turn it into the other 2, but not everyone can do that. And the other 2 are the ones that are really important for your brain. As an academic, I find my brain to be a vital organ :)

So I am looking at fish oil supplements as a source of Omega 3's - I have tried Krill Oil gels, but I fear I have a shellfish allergy that is exacerbated by taking the gels every day. I can look for other fish oil supplements and now at least I know what to look for, but if you have a recommendation on a brand - let me know. My other option is to just eat fish - but you need it 2 or 3 times a week to maximize the effect and the PCB and Mercury contamination in fish could do more harm than good. Sigh. Who polluted the fish???? But whether I do supplements or eat fish, I will be allowing oil into my diet. I'm not sure how I feel about that - not because it breaks the rule - but because I fear it will leave me in that craving state forever. But I want to keep my brain healthy. Well, I'll figure it out.

I had a friend comment on my dilemma and said - oh, what's a little fish - go ahead and live dangerously. My friend then told me how a near death experience had changed his/her mind about denying pleasure. I thought about that a lot. Here is my answer - I have been living dangerously by stuffing my face with bad foods and letting my weight balloon. I am playing roulette every day. The pleasure I have been denying myself is in living a healthy life where the stress of what I am doing to myself does not kill me. I think I have really turned a corner on this one.

Today was a good day :D

Onward
<3

Menu as Forethought

I did 5 days worth of grocery shopping on Saturday. I planned some dishes, made a list, and hit the store. I figure the fewer times I am in the store, the less temptation there will be. More on that later...

I used to buy veggies with the intention of eating them and ending up throwing them away. Now, they are what I eat, so there is no throwing away! I made some great meatless, cheese-less chili, some homemade hummus that rocked for football watching, and finally found the Kiva Flatbread which is great with hummus. Tonight I made stuffed mushrooms that were excellent - filled with mushroom stems, shallot, diced red pepper, garlic, fresh basil, and Japanese-style breadcrumbs called Panko made from whole wheat flour. It's probably a bit more involved in terms of cooking than I would like, but the result was great.

I had to buy some cat food today and I had to go to a different grocery store to buy it. In my regular grocery I know the aisles to avoid. I found the cat food, was on my way to the register and hit the candy isle. I wanted some sugar. Before I knew it, Twizzlers were in my hand, paid for, in my bag and then in my mouth. It is just that easy to just enter an alternate universe where nothing you are trying to do exists, rules don't apply, and you do as you please.

Well, the sugar fix was wonderful, but the calories were awful. Luckily, eating lots of veggies means you don't have to count calories or deal cards to yourself with points, or any of that other stuff. Did I mention I had a soy latte this week?

The really hard thing about making these changes is losing your old friends - cheese, fries, ice cream, eggs, pizza, egg rolls, who were always there to comfort me, help me through my day, and never leave. In fact they still sit perched on my hips...

What I have to constantly remind myself of is that those foods are NOT my friends - they are impostors. My real friends are the people I see every day, who I text, IM, Facebook, Tweet, and phone - who want me around for a long, long time.

I'll get there, but I think it is important to be real about the roadblocks and what I learn. I realize that other food programs allow all things in moderation - but for me moderation is a moving target. So for now, I need to walk (er, eat) the straight and narrow. The good Dr. Esselstyn reminds us that "just a little" may as well be a truckload when your heart it at stake. Undoing damage takes time. That's what I gotta give it.

I am currently in my 4th week of this project. I looked back over my food diary and saw my progress! I started out with lots of X's for no-foods and too few check marks for yes-foods. Now I go whole days without an X! Of course, today was not that day - damn you Twizzlers!!!

I fear two things.
1. that I will get complacent and little slips will turn into more frequent slips and the whole thing will unravel. That's why I keep track of the X's and review daily. If I keep it square in front of me, I won't be as likely to enter that alternate universe where I forget what I am doing.
2. that I will get bored with what I know how to fix or am willing to fix and will lose my drive to do this. Although Jared ate nothing but Subway sandwiches, so I could just eat a regimented menu.

Onward
<3

Quinoa - Superfood!

I've had quinoa pasta before, but never the seed itself. I cooked it tonight for the first time. It is now my new favorite food :D

Quinoa (keen-wa) is a superfood - in that it is nutrient dense, a great source of protein, and highly versatile. I bought a bag in my grocery of Alter Eco organic quinoa that is from Bolivia and is a free trade import. I like to do my part for global trade.

Quinoa is actually the seed of the plant, and yes, it is tiny and hard. It looks a bit like barley or tiny pasta. You have to rinse the seed to get its outer coating off - which if left on - leaves a bitter taste (or so I'm told). Rinsing the seeds is challenging because they are tiny and will slip through a mesh strainer. Cheesecloth would probably be best. I used a convoluted method of a pot and a 2 cup glass measure and drained the water off the pot into the measure to capture any errant seeds. When the water comes off clear, it's good to go. Catching the drained water allows you to easily see if it is clear. It is messy to handle - it does not float and sticks to anything you put in the pot - a spoon, your fingers, and does not release - almost like it is statically charged. Kind a creepy.

You cook 1 cup quinoa with 1 1/2 cups of water, by bringing to a boil, then simmering for 15 minutes, in a tight-lidded pot. Let stand without the heat for another 5 minutes, and fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork. The finished product is a bit like rice, has a slightly nutty taste, and is quite yummy! I steamed some mushrooms, carrot sticks, and baby asparagus in the micro-wave using some tamari sauce. Drain the excess water that comes off the mushrooms after cooking, and fold into the quinoa. Delicious.

I found a number of internet sites dedicated to quinoa recipes and there are a million things you can do with this food - pilaf, patties, salad, stuffed peppers, pudding, and on and on. It fixes fast, it is tasty, you can make enough for leftover to have in a completely different dish the next day, and it has protein - did I mention that?

Thanks to my friend, Beverly, for suggesting I try this. She's cooks it frequently and gave me the nudge to try it :)

Onward!
<3

Vidalia Onion

Bake a Vidalia sweet onion - they are supposed to get "sweeter" by baking. In fact, the onion was very edible! I cut out the core, dropped in some pre-minced garlic, capers, Provence spices, and fresh cilantro. In the roaster pan I added some organic red potatoes and gave them the flavor treatment too. Put a little water in the pan, cover in foil, bake at 350 for 1 hour.

I really liked the potatoes, especially with some spicy mustard! The onion, not as much. Probably would be much better as a side dish and not the main course. A little onion, even a sweet one, goes a long way.

But you know what? I've never cooked an onion before. So, at least I'm willing to try something a little different to stay on this path.

I was jonesin' for junk food today, something fried, something crunchy. Yep, it's like that. Over 3 years ago I gave up Diet Coke and I was a dietcoke-aholic! Many times I have really, really wanted a DC, but knew that if I gave in, I might never be able to give it up again. Having had that trial, I am a bit prepared for these CRAVINGS, but it is still challenging. Yikes, my brain is fighting my body.

Diet Coke leeches calcium from your body, is filled with chemicals, and is just not a good thing to ingest. That's why I gave it up. When I remind myself of that, it helps. Why no oil or saturated fat? Because it clogs the arteries. LDL cholesterol builds in the body when you eat fat. It gets sticky and clings to the inside wall of arteries. When clogged, the white blood cells come to grab up the cholesterol, but as they do, they turn into plaque, which also builds on the artery wall. A protective cover forms to keep the plaque in place, but eventually it can rupture, releasing pussy goo into the artery. White blood cells attack! But this just clogs the artery - leaving you with a heart attack. If this process goes on in a non-coronary artery, it could produce blocked blood flow or a clot - thrombosis. Yep, that's what's goin' on. Eeeewwww :(

It is that mental picture of this that helps me quiet the craving. The craving will pass.

Cooking - I haven't done for so long

One thing about this regimen is that there are no fast-food places to get what I need. Even my favorite take-out spots are not heart healthy. So for now, I have to take a pass.

And if I don't want to eat everything raw...I must cook. My tiny kitchen makes this tricky - I have a single sink, a prep space that fits the cutting board, a microwave above the stove, and a gas range! Thank goodness for the range - because I definitely can't cook on electric coils.

Tonight, I tried one of the Esselstyn family recipes (the Dr. who created this regimen) and adapted to my tastes. Here is the recipe as I made it. The amounts of each ingredient are as you like:

• Brown Rice (if I had made a batch ahead of time, I could save lots of after-work prep time), cooked in Pacific organic vegetable broth instead of water
  
• can of black beans (I like Westbrae Natural organic vegetarian, just make sure there is no added stuff, just beans and water), drained
• matchstick carrots (because they get tossed in and this size is easiest)
• fresh green (or red) pepper diced - steam in the micro a bit to soften and cook a little
  
• fresh chopped cilantro
• salsa (I like Muir Glen organic, but use your favorite)

Cook the brown rice. Add beans, carrots, green pepper and cilantro. Stir. Top with salsa.

No kidding. It's that easy. It is amazingly tasty and filling.

Next time, I will look for more veggies to add. A can of tomatoes and/or corn come to mind. The dish is a bit heavy on the starch. So maybe green beans instead of corn would be good, or baby asparagus. I have both in the fridge, and can use with the leftover for tomorrow's lunch.

Leftover (with no salsa), also can be served with a vinaigrette or without - as a cold salad.

Ok, so I can "cook" or at least throw together ingredients easily to make a tasty dish!

But something very wonderful is happening to my pallete...I'm tasting the flavors of food. I thought I was just really hungry tonight after waiting 45 minutes for the brown rice to cook, and that's why it tasted so good. But I discovered that it not only tasted good, but the flavors popped. That's because my sense of taste is coming out from under the blanket of processed food flavor, oil induced flavor, and dairy flavor. I must say, it is quite pleasant! The good Dr. Esselstyn foretold this in his book, but I thought he was just trying to put lipstick on the pig. Who knew!

As for my progress...I will be honest and admit a big slip this past weekend. I went to a Mexican restaurant. Don't do this while you are still learning this regimen. There really is nothing to eat, so you will make "compromises" and that is like heroin to the junky. I followed it up later with kettle-cooked potato chips. Don't ask. Let's just say, I am not beating myself up. It was a slip and I really don't want to go there again.

Onward!
<3

Leftover Soup

My cold is much better!

I had leftover soup and the broth had thickened overnight. What to do? Make goulash!

I added some Hodgson Mill whole wheat pasta as I reheated the soup. Voila - a yummy, nutritious, no saturated fat dinner.

I have to say, that making choices gets easier and my blood sugar ups and downs are definitely waning - yay!

So far so good. But I'm in this for the long haul. I expect more bumps in the road. Luckily, I'm in my 4-wheeler that I call survival!

Soup for a Cold

I have a cold.

What do you do when Chicken Soup is not an option?

Make veggie soup. I did it in 70 minutes and it is delicious. I have a tiny kitchen, so I have to minimize prep and use convenient products with as little waste as possible (no disposal in my kitchenette).

1 box of Pacific Natural Organic Mushroom broth.
assortment of fresh vegetables: I used mushrooms, peas, carrots, asparagus, green beans - all bought in the store in their own bags, pre cut and washed. I just threw them in by the handful until it looked right.

Provence French seasoning (dried) which I just put in the soup, but could have put in a cheesecloth garni bag for simmering.

Crushed garlic

I simmered this brew for 30 minutes, then while it continued to cook, pureed a fresh, peeled yam and added for the last 20 minutes or so of cooking to give the broth a bit of thickening. I added a little bit of water to make the puree easy to add to the soup.

Yum, yum, yum. No saturated fat in this dish, but plenty of whole food goodness!

Navigating the Grocery Store

This is like a game show. Can you make it through the maze of tempting, but bad foods, and get out of the store without sabotaging your eating regimen? Not easy, but I did it!

I have the Kindle for Iphone app and have Dr. Esselstyn's book there. I open it in the store to see the recipes and suggested brands. I read labels, I pass on things, I long for tastes and flavors. I don't even go into the cheese section - I'm not that strong. I find interesting things in the produce section and think about what I can do with the items so I will actually eat them. I peruse and make selections in the organic section - scoring a great find - Pacific Natural veggie broth in the convenient 4 pack of small cartons. Perfect for me so I don't end up wasting half a big carton.

I look at sauces and toppings and find them all laden with oil. I buy a few key spices to jazz up the vegetables. I finally find a good cracker - Wasa whole grain crispbread. I went home and made some tahini-free hummus and had it on the crispbread. Yum!

I had lunch today at a friend's, who is a vegetarian. She fixed a wonderful carrot soup and made a fantastic salad. What I discovered is that the spices and herbs along with the mixture of vegetables is what made the food sooooo tasty. The meals I grew up on and carried over into adulthood always had "a" vegetable. Tonight is peas, tomorrow is green beans. But when you combine vegetables in new ways, you get new tastes. Get beyond succotash and be creative!
Onward.

Facing Roadblocks

I have been adjusting my diet, my mindset, and my habits over the last week. Not easy, but I remain motivated. But motivation is not enough. Life is one big barrier to a successful eating regimen because the majority of people in the USA are eating poorly every day - whether they are rich or poor, skinny or fat, young or old - we are killing ourselves with what we eat.

Some people will not suffer from their poor choices as much as others will. Since I have a family history of heart and vascular death on both sides of my family tree, I am someone who is going to be highly affected by a poor diet. So for people like me, this is a life issue.

I was out of town in Las Vegas for a conference the past 3 1/2 days. Of course you can't be in Vegas and not find a thousand things to tempt you. Remember - saturated fat is a drug. You crave it, you love the taste of it, and for many of us we have turned that satiation into a substitute for feeling good and feeling love. It's a chemical reaction and it can be broken. Doesn't mean you can't feel good with out it and certainly does not mean you won't feel love without it.

So - I maintained my food diary while I was gone. That was a huge help. I was tempted to cheat on what I wrote down - to make myself feel better. Twisted. But I didn't cheat on the diary and I found that making a few comments along the way actually was helpful.

Roadblock One - you are in a hurry, you need something quick. You already have some quick food patterns, so just fall back on them. I went to Starbucks for the morning latte and instead, picked up the Odawalla Smoothie in the case. No milk, just fruit and energy.

Roadblock Two - you are on a five hour flight and your airplane food choices and airport terminal food choices are limited. I had packed a plastic baggie of cereal - Kashi Island Vanilla whole shredded wheat. Kept me away from the snack box and I was not famished from empty calories when I got off the plane.

Roadblock Three - you have the opportunity to try some fantastic restaurants in the city you are visiting. You get in late and want to order room service. Here's what I did.
Room service = salad with dressing on the side, plain baked potato, mixed vegetables, dinner roll. My mistake - they brought butter and sour creme on the side. The butter was really good :( and I caved to my crave. But the salad I saved in the room fridge for a snack the next day while I worked and that was brilliant!!

Lunch/Dinner out = a Portabella mushroom "burger" with lettuce, tomato, and mustard with a side of veggies works for me. I can discretely remove the shaved Romano cheese from the bruschetta. And instead of going to a pasta place, I found a fantastic whole foods gourmet restaurant - Chef Bradley Ogden inside Ceaser's Hotel - where heirloom tomato salad and quinoa topped with veggies was fantastic!!! The French restaurant was a little tougher - but my dinner pal and I split a beautiful salad and I had only one bite of the delicious cheese. I had the best veggie platter in the world - of course butter makes it better - but infinitely better than anything else I could have chosen on the menu.

The bottom line, folks, is that this regimen is not easy and the world will sabotage you in a heartbeat. But my motto became - pass up on the obvious stuff and anything I could easily keep off my plate. If there were hidden problems, like veggies cooked in butter, I would accept it. In this way I kept trying and I passed on everything I would have normally eaten (save that one bite of fantastic fromage...). I passed on milk in the coffee (except once). I passed on all chocolate. I had seafood taco instead of cheese quesadilla at the Mexican place, but homemade fried chips and seafood are still a roadblock. Dr. Esselstyn would not be pleased with me because I did not keep 100% to the regimen. His reasoning that "a little taste" will hurt you is because a little heroin is as bad as a lot of heroin - it induces the same craving. Saturated fat is saturated fat and eating a little or the hidden amounts maintains the craving.

I got that when I got home from my trip and all I could think about was falling back on old habits. Wouldn't a pizza be good? Or a burrito with cheese? I'll cheat just a little with a cheese sandwich. I ended up eating a Wawa veggie hoagie on whole wheat bun - no cheese, no mayo - just lots of veggies. It was heaven - because I made a good choice and it was very, very tasty with peppers, pickles, spicy mustard, etc. And I also got a green tea and a Naked Juice Smoothie (no milk) for tomorrow's breakfast.

So go to Vegas and have fun. Eat well, just not wrong. Save your life and have a tasty time doing it! Onward.

Eating Vegetables

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's not easy to eat vegetables...so goes the content of this NY Times article on why Americans don't eat their vegetables.

I am having my own dilemma with the preparation or lack thereof, of the vegetable.

I am beginning the process of de-oiling my existence (more on that later) and taking on the vegetable as the mainstay of my new heart-healthy palate. Easier said than done. Last night I munched on sugar snap peas - sold at my grocery in a convenient small bag already washed and ready-to-eat. I also had a bag of carrots and a bag of grapes while on the run - sold at a convenience store in little bags already washed and ready to pop in my mouth. OK! But one can only eat so many raw vegetables in a day, no?

I am discovering that I don't know how to cook vegetables easily or well. So it is much easier to eat a bag of potato chips (still no meat!). But upon closer inspection of this issue, there is another, more dastardly explanation...

We are all junkies and the taste of fat is our drug. One of the points that Dr. Esselstyn makes in his book is that the more fat we eat, the more fat we crave. There is a chemical, biological pattern that leaves us desiring that taste. When you add that fact to the emotional tie that many of us have with foods, we are sitting ducks. In the good Dr.'s estimation - it takes 90 days of oil free, living to get rid of the cravings. Then the taste of vegetables will be quite different. It's a 90 day challenge.

BTW, oil free is not fat free. Fat occurs naturally in a number of grains and other plant foods. We all know by now that fat is actually good for your body. But the fat and oil added for FLAVOR is the killer. Remember when McDonald's french fries were the absolute best on the planet?? They were fried in LARD. Ugh. Lip-smacking good ribs are so because of the tasty fat and oil in BBQ sauce. Yum. Potato chips in canola oil or baked with expressed sunflower oil are equally tasty because we get to taste that wonderful flavor of oil/fat.

I did a taste test yesterday...potato veggie chips with sunflower oil vs. Guiltless Gourmet yellow corn chips with no oil. Both are tasty. But I want those veggie chips and can leave the corn chips. I'm convinced it is the taste of fat that I crave. UPDATE: drat...I tried the GG chips as recommended in the Dr.'s book as oil free. Then I look at the bag, advertising bolder, crispier...yep, they added oil. Up next, baked Doritos - but I'll check the label first :(

So as I transform my pantry and palate, I am weening off of the worst offenders of fat/oil, just to get accustomed to making choices. I'm working on a food menu. But I know that one day in the very close future, I will have to go cold turkey, go through withdrawal, and hopefully come out the other side with a hankering for tasty veggies!

Warming Up

I'm embarking on a journey to reclaim my heart. This is not a blog about relationships or love as you normally know it. It is about a relationship with food and love of myself. But this is not your traditional diet blog or homage to "The Biggest Loser." This is about a radical change in my diet to save my life. (Cue dramatic music).

I am undertaking the Dr. Caldwell T. Esselstyn scientifically formulated heart healthy diet. If followed fastidiously, I expect to prevent further heart disease and reverse the heart disease I have. It is radical and extreme when compared to a fast-food diet. It is natural and healthy when compared to oh, say...a prison diet. It is plant-based, oil free, and challenging. But I want to live more than I want to eat and that is a good thing.

Both my parents died from vascular diseases. My mother had a massive stroke and suffered from arteriosclerosis. She had a quadruple by-pass. As a young mother she had a massive brain aneurysm from a congenital defect and had a major stroke. At that time she was a full-figured gal, but not fat. At the time of her quadruple by-pass and years later her death by stroke, she was 110 pounds. It wasn't her weight, it was her arteries and what she ate that killed her. My father died of Alzheimer disease which is basically a vascular problem of the brain and not the heart. He suffered from mini-strokes long before he got dementia but felt his healthy regimen of exercising and limiting his fat intake would prevent a major stroke. His father had died instantly from a massive stroke. My odds for avoiding a vascular disease related death are slim.

Given this family history, the rational course of action for me would be to watch my weight, exercise, and eat carefully. But humans are inherently irrational. I am well beyond full-figured, my nutritional intake is heavy on the intake, light on the nutrition, and my exercise is limited to walking a few blocks back and forth to work every day with a 2 flight stair climb to my office. I have high-ish blood pressure, I don't know what my cholesterol is, but it has never been over 220, and the HDL/LDL and Triglycerides are who knows. I am getting all of this checked to find out just what my starting point is.

Bill Clinton recently showed up on the scene having obviously lost a good bit of weight. He says he did it for Chelsea's wedding. He also did it to reverse his heart disease which has resulted in his having a stent put in sometime in the last few years. It was his wake up call. I don't want to get that call. I think I have heard my heart calling me and telling me to stop the madness!

Bill got on the Dr. Esselstyn plant-based, no oil diet. I got the book, which I will regularly reference here, and read it in one sitting. It had the same effect on me as another book had 3 years ago when I became a vegetarian. I decided to become a vegetarian when I read the book "Skinny Bitch" written by two models who had health science and nutrition degrees. In their book they described in vivid detail what some of you may have seen if you watched the recent movie Food, Inc. The Skinny authors pointed out that if animals are inhumanely slaughtered and cared for in the factory farms, then their angst at the point of death will stay with the meat. We are what we eat and I stopped eating death that day.

As a vegetarian, I soon discovered that many foods could be consumed - like french fries and potato chips. I could not give up seafood, so I became a pescetarian (a veggie who eats fish). I also could not give up dairy or eggs which made me, basically, a meat avoid-er. Ben & Jerry's - no problem on the meat avoid-er diet (plus no growth hormones in their cows). Veggie quiche is very tasty. Fruit pie with a wonderful butter crust is exceptional! I gained 30 pounds. But, hey, I don't eat meat!!

So now I am ready to face my deepest fear - that I am headed for a heart attack and Alzheimer disease and it ain't gonna be pretty. I am putting my faith in Dr. Essylstn and his 20 years of research that has reversed heart disease in his patients and kept their cholesterol under 150, all by being near vegan and not allowing any oil in the diet. I am now one of his patients - by virtue of buying his book - and will be a plant eating, oil resistant, heart healthy, long-living woman. Emphasis on the long-living :)

I am using this blog to chart my trials and triumphs and to give myself moral support. It is rather like the Julie blog about Julia Child - except I don't get to eat roast duck or butter. But I do get to be healthy without drugs or stents. I think that's a plus.

Tune in for day one. I'm preparing myself now by gearing up my pantry, preparing recipes to have at the ready, mapping out a food menu for the first month, and saying goodbye to Ben, Jerry, Tilamook, Eggland, and all the other foods on my meat avoid-er diet.