The Vegan Experience
January 25th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Hi! How are you? I hope you’re someplace warm. I’ll live vicariously through you. We had more snow this morning and another Nor’easter is on the way tomorrow. It’s challenging to stay positive, but I am trying! We’re just watching entirely too much SpongeBob in this house. I love that little guy, but it’s just too much.
So, Sunday was the last day of my 21-day vegan kick start program. I didn’t post too much about it over the last three weeks because, frankly, nothing too exciting happened. It was fairly easy for me to forgo dairy.
- On Friday nights when the boys had pizza, I ordered a veggie sub and added some hummus.
- Last Friday night I made my own pizza dough (which turned out pretty well. It needs tweaking, but it was edible!) and used Daiya mozzarella-style shreds (which are a lot better tasting than the cheddar-style shreds).
- We had bagels last weekend and I topped mine with avocado and nutritional yeast instead of veggie cream cheese or egg and cheese.
- We went out to dinner twice in three weeks and I didn’t have a problem finding vegan options on the menu. At a tapas place I had grilled rosemary bruchetta, a roasted vegetable special, and veggie paella (now, there may have been butter in the paella. I didn’t ask, but there may have been some. At least I passed on the Manchego!) And at a funky little pub-type place I had an amazing falafel salad with roasted farro, pine nuts and winter frisee topped with a lemon vinaigrette.
For the most part, I found vegan eating to be pretty simple and satisfying. I honestly didn’t crave cheese once.
Now, how do I feel?
I had hoped to feel lighter, cleaner and healthier by mid-January, and…
1. I feel heavier.
2. I feel like my PMS symptoms arrived early and with a vengeance.
3. I feel that I’m easily irritated, lacking patience, and kind of depressed.
4. In better news, I feel that my lungs have cleared. Yay! However, that may be due to the antibiotics I took the week I started the vegan kick start. Boo – I dread taking antibiotics, but push came to shove and I did not want to end up in the hospital with pneumonia. I’ve been taking probiotics to replenish the good bacteria the antibiotics may have killed off.
To say the least, I’m shocked by how I feel. I thought for sure I’d feel amazing after eating clean for three weeks. I looked back over my food diary and I don’t think that I overate. I seem to have had a good balance of food and nutrients.
I didn’t do the kick start to lose weight, but I certainly didn’t plan to gain weight either! My clothes are uncomfortably tight and I just don’t feel comfortable in my own skin.
I can’t make sense of it.
The only plausible reason I can think of is that since “my time of the month” coincided with the end of the kick start program, how I’m feeling now is simply Mother Nature giving me a good old kick in the butt. For 26 years, Mother Nature has kicked me in the butt something awful each month, but this month is up there with the worst times. “Blech” is all I can say. Mother Nature hates me.
So, maybe a nasty Mother Nature combined with a slight change in diet was enough to throw my body/metabolism out of whack. That’s my best guess.
All’s not lost though. I’m sure I’ll feel peachy-keen sometime next week. And I plan to get back into going to the gym–I haven’t worked out in ages since I hadn’t been feeling well. Exercising will make a world of difference, not only for my body, but it will help clear the winter SpongeBob sludge out of the space that once held my brain.
Ultimately, and despite how I’m feeling now, the last three weeks have re-invigorated my commitment to eating as cleanly as possible. Here’s some of what I’ll be doing from this point forward:
- Limit/exclude cow’s dairy.
- Drink green tea in place of coffee in the morning. (Coffee has been making me sick recently–and I can’t find a non-dairy creamer I like–so I’ve decided to switch to green tea for now. Maybe I’ll go caffeine-free at some point.)
- Drink fresh juice in the morning
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Yesterday morning and the morning before, I made this green juice:
2 Granny Smith apples
1 large cucumber
big handful of washed baby spinach
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This morning I had a carrot and apple juice:
4 carrots
2 Fuji apples
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I’ll also be cooking from two new pretty fabulous cookbooks by Terry Walters (a fellow Institute for Integrative Nutrition grad):
And this amazing cookbook:
While it’s not quite time to say I’ll be doing a Spring Cleaning, that’s pretty much what I’ll be doing. Like, forever. Not just now and not just in the spring. It’s going to be my new year-round lifestyle.
If being sick for months on end has taught me anything it’s that there is nothing better than feeling healthy. When I feel healthy, I can do anything; I can handle anything.
Really, is there anything better than that?
My Go-to Lentil Soup Recipe
January 12th, 2011 § 4 Comments
I have no idea from where this recipe originated. It’s written in my circa 1995 handwriting on a piece of food-splattered, wrinkled notebook paper. My handwriting is constantly changing, it’s bizarre. I couldn’t copy this script now if I tried.
Lentil Soup
Go-to Lentil Soup
Serves approximately 6 people
Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 organic carrots, diced
2 stalks organic celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 (14.5 oz.) can organic crushed tomatoes (I usually use a 28 oz. can** - pwa)
2 cups dried lentils, picked over and rinsed
8 cups water, organic vegetable broth, or organic chicken broth (I use 8 cups of vegetable broth – pwa)
1/2 cup organic spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced, optional
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, optional
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil; cook for 2 minutes.
Stir in lentils and add broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at least 1 hour. When ready, stir in spinach, and cook until it wilts. Stir in vinegar, if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
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This soup is so easy and satisfying. I often add curry powder and turmeric to spice up leftovers, too.
If you’re a dunker like me, you’ll love it with grilled cheese/Daiya.
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And if you’re in the Northeast like we are, today is the PERFECT day for soup. We’s got us some snows:
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**You may want to look for Tetra Paks of crushed tomatoes since it’s been reported that the lining of the tomato cans contain BPA. I believe Trader Joe’s carries Tetra Paks of crushed tomatoes.
Energizing and Citrusy Kale Salad with Avocado
January 11th, 2011 § 2 Comments
So, this is the 9th day of my successful vegan life.
And this right here is my 100th blog post! (For some reason, Christina Aguilera’s ”Dirrty” is the celebratory song in my head. “Ring the alarm, ring the alarm…Oh, I’m overdue, give me some room…”)
Anyway, I’m not a hugely active blogger, but 100 posts in just under one year seems like a respectable amount. Right? I think I’ve stayed true to my initial vision (which can be read here), although I didn’t spend as much time on a few topics, such as gardening and travel, as I thought I would (no, we didn’t go to Tuscany. Boo.). (And, NO, Peter and I didn’t pick enough blueberries to get us through the winter. The kid eats a whole pint in a sitting. There’s not a freezer big enough to hold the amount he’d eat all winter.)
Failures aside, my main mission was–and still is– this: to encourage you to think about–and care about–what you’re eating.
If you’re eating meat, is it the best quality meat you can find? The best quality red meat will be organic and grass-finished. The best quality chicken will be organic and free-range. Why don’t you search your area for local farmers to buy meat from directly? It will take some legwork, but wouldn’t it be nice to know where exactly your meat is coming from?
The same goes for eggs and dairy. Try to find a local organic dairy farmer from who you can buy your dairy products.
If you’re eating fruit and vegetables (and you darned well better be), are you buying the organic version of those on the most recent EWG “dirty dozen” list?
To make life easier for you:
Here’s the 2010 Top 12 Dirtiest Produce (The 2011 list isn’t available yet):
1. Celery
2. Peaches
3. Strawberries
4. Apples
5. Blueberries (domestic)
6. Nectarines
7. Sweet bell peppers
8. Spinach
9. Cherries
10. Kale/collard greens
11. Potatoes
12. Grapes (Imported)
You should most definitely buy the organic version of these 12 fruits and vegetables.
I simply want you to treat your body with the respect it deserves. If you treat it well, it will treat you well by staying healthy and happy.
Speaking of which, and as I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve had my share of health challenges over the past few months. It’s obvious to me that I wasn’t treating my body the way it needed to be treated. It was pissed and it was letting me know it was pissed by harboring an evil germ in my lungs for months. In an attempt to make amends with my body, I’ve started a 21-day vegan eating plan and I’m making the time to stop and really listen to what my body needs. One of the things that my body is screaming for is a massage, so I’m getting an hour-long massage on Saturday!
I also reviewed my food diary to search for a clue as to what I’d been doing wrong nutritionally and I saw that I hadn’t been eating nearly enough vegetables. Especially leafy greens, which are crucial for healthy living.
So, last week I bought a huge bunch of kale, an amazingly nutritious and health-supporting vegetable. I had planned to use it for some of the recipes supplied by PCRM, but since I’ve started eating vegan, I’ve done my own meal planning.
Yesterday I decided to use about 3/4 of the bunch of kale for Mama Pea’s BBQ kale chip recipe (yum!) and the other 1/4 for a raw kale salad recipe that I first ate shortly after I registered at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
(Unfortunately, I can’t recall who posted the recipe on the online education forum nearly 4 years ago! Give me a break! I can hardly remember what I did yesterday.)
Anyway, it was my first experience with kale, and as is the case with many first times, it was memorable. And in this case it’s a good memory… unlike some of my other “firsts.” You know, like the first time I tried eating a scallop. Blech. Bad memory. Bad.
Energizing and Citrusy Kale Salad with Avocado
Ingredients
A good-sized bunch of kale, thoroughly rinsed, leaves torn into bite-sized pieces, or cut chiffonade style
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 avocado, diced
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
2 clementines (or oranges), peeled and separated into segments
Juice from two oranges
Directions
1. Place the washed kale into a large bowl. Add the teaspoon of sea salt and with your hands “massage” the salt into the kale. Do this for 2 minutes until the leaves start turning a deeper shade of green and feel softer. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. I’ve found that I truly love using my hands as a food prep tool – kneading dough, rolling chocolate truffles, massaging kale. It’s awesome.
2. To the softened kale, add the diced avocado, sunflower seeds, orange segments and orange juice. Mix all together with your hands.
3. Eat and enjoy!
You can add whatever you want to the massaged kale. I think grapefruit and grapefruit juice would be a delicious substitute for the oranges. You could add apples, fennel, red onions, celery, blueberries, chickpeas, shredded carrots, nuts, olive oil…I mean, the possibilities are endless.
I honestly feel a tingly, energizing surge a few minutes after I eat this salad. A feeling very similar to another first time experience. You know, driving the car for the first time by myself. Wha-hoo!
Try this salad. Kale season is now through early spring.
Energizing and Citrusy Kale Salad with Avocado
Enjoy your Tuesday!
So Far, So Good and Spicy Roasted Chickpeas
January 5th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Hello~
I hope you’re having a fantastic first week of 2011! Do you still have a “fresh start” buzz, or has it already worn off ? I hope you still have it. Ideally, we should wake up each morning with a fresh start buzz, regardless of whether it’s the first week of January or the last week of December. Am I right? That’s a rhetorical question. Of course I’m right.
So, as I mentioned in my last post, I’m removing dairy from my diet for 21 days with the hope that doing so will help me finally kick this bug that’s been plaguing me since early fall. It’s going pretty well so far. I’ve come to realize that I haven’t been eating a whole lot of dairy lately. I do miss milk in my coffee, and I’m sure I’ll be wanting a piece of pizza on Friday night, but for the most part I haven’t felt deprived in the least.
Here’s a sampling of what I’ve eaten these last few days:
Breakfast
Oatmeal with banana, peanut butter, golden raisins and cinnamon; Sprouted grain raisin toast with peanut butter and sliced banana.
Coffee with almond milk
Snacks
Lara bars, apples, vegan macaroons, blueberries, roasted chickpeas with jerk seasoning*, Naked green superfood juice, dairy free dark chocolate, pretzels
Lunch
Veggie burger with avocado, hummus and spinach on sprouted grain toast; Leftover brown rice with Daiya, avocado and roasted chickpeas; Vegetarian burrito bowl at Chipotle
Dinner
Vegan tamale, brown rice with sautéed onions, garlic and broccoli; Whole wheat pasta with baby spinach and marinara
Hot tamale
Frozen hot tamales
Roasted chickpeas with brown rice, avocado and daiya
(*I’m a fan of the roasted chickpeas! To make them, I opened a can of chickpeas, dumped them in a strainer and rinsed them off, dried them with paper towels and then tossed them with some olive oil before roasting them at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. When I took them out, I added sea salt and pepper and plopped them into my bowl of rice, avocado and Daiya (I gave Daiya another shot, but I’m still not crazy about it). I had quite a few leftover chickpeas that didn’t fit into my rice bowl, so to spice them up a bit I sprinkled on some Jamaican Jerk Seasoning. Spicy, salty, crunchy…a really tasty upgrade from potato chips or pretzels thanks to the protein and fiber in the chickpeas.)
So. So far, so good. PCRM provides a daily menu, but I’ve been using what I already have in the house and improvising. I’m going to the grocery store tomorrow and plan to pick up ingredients for some new vegan recipes that PCRM has supplied. I definitely need more leafy greens.
Have you made any changes this week with the hope of improving your health? How is it going?
I’ll leave you with a link to today’s Daily Candy video featuring Dr. Frank Lipman. I’m not too familiar with Dr. Lipman, but from what I’ve seen and read, he seems to support ”my” type of eating (whole, organic food). If anything, he gives some good grocery shopping tips!
Adieu, Cheese, Until We Meet Again…
December 31st, 2010 § 2 Comments
Aaaahh. So. Hello there! I guess my hiatus is over. I won’t bore you with all the details, but I will say that I took a break from writing because I felt like a big bag of crap for a very long time. I’m still not 100% healthy, but I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think. I don’t want to jinx myself. And, yes, I eventually gave in and took a few puffs from the inhaler. Not as many as the doctor prescribed, but I think what I did take might have helped a little.
Anyway, in an effort to completely rid myself of this relentless respiratory illness (I picture this little germ on horseback in my lungs trying to lasso my alveoli. Seriously, this little eff-er is trying to bring me down), I have decided to embark on PCRM’s 21-Day Vegan Kickstart beginning on Monday, 1/3.
I’ve kind of started already. For the past two days I’ve used almond milk in my coffee in place of my usual 1% organic milk. And I passed up an egg and cheese sandwich this morning for a bowl of oatmeal with almond butter, golden raisins and cinnamon.
(You may be asking why a certified Holistic Heath Counselor needs to join a group to start a vegan challenge. And the answer to that is: pure, unadulterated laziness. Sure, I could create my own vegan eating plan, but why should I when someone else has already created one? And even professionals need a helping hand sometimes.)
As you probably know, dairy products are mucus forming. And since I have mucus to spare (are you turned on yet?) I have made the logical (and belated) decision to remove dairy from my diet. Since I already don’t eat meat or fish, the only thing keeping me from being vegan is dairy. I actually once wrote a post here saying that I could never be vegan because I love cheese so much. Well, here I am being all contradictory. I will be vegan. For 21 days, at least.
I’m feeling kind of excited about it. I think I’ll feel cleaner, lighter, and healthier by mid-January. I’m praying that’s the outcome, anyhow.
I can’t say that I’ll become vegan after the 21 days since I can’t see myself using dairy substitutes like Earth Balance for butter and Daiya for cheese for an extended period of time. I bought some cheddar-style Daiya yesterday and I don’t know who they think they’re fooling, but it doesn’t taste like cheddar cheese.
Now, before I get yelled at, I’m not knocking these products (even though it sounds like I am) or saying that they are “bad.” They’re just not for me. I prefer to eat good quality, whole, organic food rather than processed food-stuff. But, for those people who are vegan for ethical reasons, those products are suitable substitutions for the real thing. And who knows? Maybe I’ll become a convert.
Anyway, I’ll be blogging about my vegan experience over the next few weeks and sharing recipes. If you care to join me on this adventure (I don’t think it’s too late to sign up), I’d love to hear how it’s going for you.
In the meantime, have a super fun and safe NYE!
