Update...

I haven't posted for a while and life at our house has changed drastically!   Not only did we move into a camper for a few months before we move to Kansas City, MO.   Making cooking healthy foods a little more difficult.  We also found out we are pregnant with #4!   And it's a GIRL, after 3 boys!  And she's due in November!   We're all super excited. But with Pregnancy comes the food aversions and cravings and because I wasn't  on a plant diet long enough to get my body use to that lifestyle.  So some of the plant foods are not setting well with me while I'm craving more animal products.   Hoping that I can soon start incorporating more plant foods and less animal.  

This morning my breakfast was fried eggs on sprouted whole grain toast with a little mayo and ketchup. 

Granola has been a common breakfast for me as well, but instead of non dairy milks, I've switched back to dairy milk temporarily till I can stomach the others. 

Our bodies cravings and aversions are funny things!

still trying to drink lots of filtered water.  But here in CA it's now really HOT and makes it hard to stay hydrated.   Thankfully we have AC in our camper!  :) 

Blessings till next time!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Nothing like a fresh springy salad for lunch!

Spinach

sliced strawberries

sliced mushrooms

sprinkle with feta cheese, (optional)

And your favorite healthy raspberry vinagrette

Blueberry Banana sauce for Pancakes and Vegan Sausage

This is a great delicious plant strong breakfast!

I altered my buttermilk pancake recipe to a Barley pancake, with applesauce in place of the oil and 1 tbsp milled barley soaked in 3 tbsp water till thick...PER EACH EGG.

The topping was very simple.  a banana and about 1/2 c. blueberries blended till smooth.

And of course your meal isn't complete with out some Meatless Meat sausage patties!

Chocolate Fruit Dip

Who says you can't enjoy chocolate dipped strawberries without the refined sugar!!!!  Try this healthy Chocolate Humus with fresh fruit! 

http://www.theplantstrongway.blogspot.com/2012/03/okanother-dessert-hummus.html

FSND Purple Juice

Gotta try this one, sounds delish!

http://www.jointhereboot.com/index.php?option=com_zoo&task=item&item_id=452&Itemid=595&lang=en

Banana Hotdogs and Fries

http://www.katheats.com/favorite-foods/banana-hot-dogs-fries


These look great!  Gonna have to try them!

Pear Raspberry Salad

My lunch today!  Yummy!

Organic Spring Greens

Organic Alfalfa Sprouts

2 mushrooms sliced

1 pear pealed and diced

2 tbsp feta cheese crumbles

toss with Raspberry Vinagrette

Raspberry Vinagrette

2 tbsp balsamic vinager

1-2 tbsp agave syrup

sprinkle of salt

8-10 fresh or frozen red raspberries.

Place in blender or mini chopper and process till smooth

30 pounds!

Wow, I've never  lost weight this slow and been so pleased!  Maybe I'm learning patience....slow and steady wins the race! :)

28# and a diet change

Here's the salad I had last night!

I'm still not eating meat of any kind, but I've added a little Feta cheese here and there to a salad, pizza,wrap...

This salad is a Cranberry Pecan salad.  Greens, Dried Cranberries, Pecans, Feta Cheese, Raspberry Vinigrette dressing!

I've been on this new lifestyle for 2 months now and have lost 28#  Seems like it's not too fast that I'll gain it all back......IF I quit and started eating SAD again....though I have no intention of doing that! :) 

I had to go buy new Jeans this week, mine are all too big now! :)  dropped 1-2 sizes!  :) 

25# !!!!!!!!!!

So a month and a half and I've lost 25#!   I've started eating some SAD food on the weekends, but just a little. I'm still trying to stick pretty close to the whole foods and non processed, non animal foods!

236.5

211.5#

And my GOAL is 145  so I have a ways to go, but determined and feeling good about progress so far! :)

Vegan Taco's!

Wow, I haven't blogged for a while.  Tonight for supper, we had tacos, I made Ground Beef style vegan meat, fried it, crumbled it seasoned it with taco seasoning, added kidney beans.  I baked my shells in the oven till crispy, then piled on lettuce, avocado, onions and salsa! 

Delish! 

So how have I been doing? Have I cheated?

I've had a couple veggie subs from subway, on whole wheat of course, with mustard, oil and vinager, salt and pepper.   One night my hubby got a frosty from Wendy's, I ate 4 bites, that was enough!   He got a raspberry cheesecake cookie from subway, I took one bite and about gagged...it tasted like lard!  I had  1/2 of a breakfast wrap from Taco bell this morning, gave the rest to hubby, it just didn't taste very good.  Now, I did also have 4 of the cream cheese filled cinnamon puffs from taco bell and those were delish!  :(    But I do think it was good for me to try a few things again, it showed me that they really aren't THAT good and that the food I'd been eating and still am is so much more WHOLE and filling!    So I'm back on it and going strong!!! 

I've lost 21# and feeling great!  Got a couple new outfits tonight at my fav store!  Ross Dress for Less.   I feel great in them, feelin' thin!  :D

Pineapple Carrot Cake

1 C. Raisins

1 C. Dates

1 C. water

Put fruit in food processor, chop medium fine.  put in sauce pan add water and boil 3 minutes.  Add 1/2 C. applesauce, stir and cool.

In a mixing bowl, blend date mixture with the following:

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

Milled Flax mixture (2 tbsp milled flax seed mixed with 6 tbsp HOT water, stir till egg white consistancy)

Mix well and add:

1 C. Crushed pineapple

1 C. grated fresh or dried unsweetened coconut

1/2 c. chopped carrots

1 C. chopped nuts

2 C. Barley flour

Pour into sprayed oblong pan. (I use my Pampered Chef 9x13 cassarole dish and don't spray it...it's seasoned)   Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.  When cool, top with Pineapple Topping

Pineapple Topping

1 1/2 c. pineapple chunks

1 c. dried pitted dates

1/4# extra firm tofu

place in blender and blend till smooth.  Spread on cooled cake.

Refrigerate cake for longer shelf life!

I just made this today and it's delish!  It's a recipe from my Aunt, that we use to make when I was at home.  It called for butter....I used applesauce....and eggs and I used the milled flax mixture!  It turned out as good as with the butter and eggs.  Just way healthier! 

The Perfect Vegan Sandwich!

1/2 avocado pureed  with 1 tbsp ranch dressing

spread on two slices of 100% Whole Wheat Bread

Top with slice cucumbers, sliced radishes, Shredded carrots and spinich leaves

Chocolate Chip Cookies

And these Chocolate Chip cookies!  Are amazing!
http://www.deconstructingthehome.com/?p=177

I used 1 tbsp milled flax mixed with 3 tbsp of water and microwaved 30 seconds to make it thicken quicker, in place of the egg.  and I used agave syrup instead of splenda.

I'll be making these again!

Mac N Cheese

I had this Mac N Cheese from Marcias blog the other night with a big spinich salad!  It really was amazingly good!!!!!!!

Mock Ham N Bean Soup

72 oz  Vegetable Stock

1 c. uncooked brown rice

2 stalks celery diced

1 onion diced

 2 carrots diced

2 qt. Navy beans

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp ground sage

1/4 tsp ground thyme

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tbsp parsley

Put stock, rice and veggies in soup pot with spices.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes, add Navy Beans and continue to simmer 5-10 minutes or till rice is tender.

I cook by dumping stuff in a pot usually, this time, I measured everything and wrote it down as I added it.  This is what I came up with and it is so good!   It really tastes like it could have ham in it!  

Peanut Butter Crunch

1/4 c Honey Almond Uncle Sam
3 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp natural peanut butter
2 tsp agave syrup
1 tbsp unsweetened coconut
1/2 tsp milled flax seed

Mix all together and grab a spoon!

I love this plain, when I'm craving something sweet, it's really tastey and so healthy!

Baby Food!

So I was thinking about how I can teach my 7 month old to like his veggies and still get nutrients that are lost with cooking.   And then it hit me!  Spinich!  Raw fresh organic spinach can be pureed with other baby foods to make a delightful nutrient packed fuel for the little tykes! 

So here's what we had for lunch today!

Green Sweet Potatoes
1 big handful of organic fresh spinach
2 jars organic sweet potato baby food (or you can cook fresh sweet potatoes.)

Put in blender and puree till smooth.   It should turn out a very smooth texture, with no pieces of green.  Return to sweet potato jars and shake, or put in small containers.

And he LOVED it! 

Random Thoughts and A Miraculous Healing!

It's been 2 weeks and 3 days since the beginning of my whole food vegan journey.  I won't pretend it's been a piece of cake...in fact, it's pretty void of CAKE....but being strong has been worth it!  This weekend was especially hard, I was craving potato chips for some reason.  I stayed out of the bag though!   If it was up to me, they wouldn't be in the house, but my family is not quite up to speed with me yet.   Though I know that our oldest would go for it...the second child is a picky eater and it doesn't help that Daddy goes to the store and brings home junk.....  lol   I do think DH is slowly getting the picture though!  He keeps telling me...after he eats his FRIED CHICKEN!!!  "That was not worth it!"  lol   I hoping that if I just keep going strong that they will continue making wiser choices too!

Yesterday when I was craving those chips....I got out my leftover pizza from Saturday and had that instead and that seemed to do the trick!  

EXERCISE.....  That's the area I'm struggling in...how is a mama of a 6 month old suppose to get any cardio in an upstairs apartment in the winter?  I do have inside stairs I can use, but that gets old....Laundry days help, as my laundry room is downstairs and I'm up and down a lot on those days.

Yoga and Palates are great, just need to make myself do them!   And we're getting ready to move across the states in a couple months, so it's about time to start sorting and packing and getting rid of stuff....that could be cardio! 

Today is the beginning of a brand new week...new goals, new focus, new achievements!  "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me!"

And on that note...I have a praise report to share!   I was the recipient in a miraculous healing this weekend!   Saturday night we were watching our Church in Kansas City, Live streaming online and the Pastors son-in-law, who has a real gift of healing, was speaking on being the hands...going out and praying for people, healing people and touching lives.  He started calling people up who had one leg shorter than the other...setting them on a chair so we could all see and watching God grow their short leg out!   My left leg has been shorter than the right one and we discovered this when I was about 16 or 17.  I wore a lift in my shoe for a while, but haven't for years.  Haven't thought much about it because it wasn't a LOT shorter, even kind of forgot about it, but he jogged my memory and I looked at DH and said....I wish I was there, I'd go up there!  I sat on a chair put my feet both out on a footstool in front of me and DH looked at them...yep, left one was about 3/4 inch shorter than the right. My knees were even uneven!  We continued watching....wishing I was there, when I happened to look back at my feet on the footstool and the left foot was even with the right!  God grew my leg out!  Praise the Great Physician!

Whole Plant Pizza!

1/3 of the dough from the Whole Wheat Bread w/ Avocado recipe below.

RanchDressing

Mushrooms

Spinich

Bell peppers diced

onions diced

cashews corsley chopped

roma tomatoes diced

ground cashews and Nutritional yeast combined

Roll dough THIN on pizza sheet.

spread desired amount of Ranch dressing over dough, top with mushrooms, spinich, peppers, onions, chopped cashews and tomatoes.  Sprinkle with cashew/yeast mixture.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or till crust is desired crispiness.

 Here's a picture of the Ranch dressing on a salad!  Surprisingly good Ranch dressing!

Whole Wheat Bread w/ Avocado

 100% Whole Wheat Bread

•  3 cups  lukewarm water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
• 3 tablespoons avocado (I pureed it with 5 tbsp of the water from recipe.)
• 1/4 cup agave syrup
• 6 cups 100% Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
• 1/4 cup flax meal, optional
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1  tablespoon instant yeast

To prepare the dough:

(Hand Method) Combine all of the ingredients, and mix them till you have a shaggy dough. The dough will seem wet, but remember: wetter is better. Let the dough rest, covered, for 20 minutes, then knead till smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 1 to 2 hours, or until it’s puffy and nearly doubled in bulk.

(Mixer Method) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine all ingredients and mix them till you have a shaggy dough. The dough will seem wet, but remember: wetter is better. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes, then knead by machine until fairly smooth, about 10 minutes. Allow dough to rise, covered, for 1 to 2 hours, or until it’s puffy and nearly doubled in bulk.

(Bread Machine Method) Place all ingredients in bread machine pan and set to dough cycle.

To Shape the Loaves

After the dough has risen, gently deflate the dough, shape it into a log, and place it in a lightly greased large (9×5 inch) bread pan or two small bread pans. Cover the pan with a towel or lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow it to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes-1 hour, till it’s crowned about 2 inches over the rim of the pan. Preheat your oven to 350°F about halfway through the rising time.

To Bake the Loaves

If desired, brush top of loaf with milk or egg white and sprinkle with oatmeal, poppy seeds, nuts, etc. Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 minutes or until it turns a deep brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Yield: 2 large or 3-4 small loaves.

Leftovers

When I made Rip's veggie Lasagna, Nobody else got around to eating much of it, though they did say it was good!  So I grabbed a few little serving size containers at the store the other day and divided the rest up and stuck it in the freezer!  So today I had a serving of that and an avocado tomato wrap. 

I just wasn't in the mood for a big salad today.....but the lasagna being loaded with veggies and the wrap having 3 really good veggies, I figured I'd be fine!

It was delish!

Soup N Salad

Lunch today was delicious!  I made cream of Broccoli soup from Marcia's blog 

http://www.theplantstrongway.blogspot.com/2012/01/plant-strong-cream-of-broccoli-soup.html

With a salad and 2 pieces of Wasa bread!

a couple mini Oatmeal raisin cookies for dessert.

13 days since I started my whole foods vegan journey and down 10#!! 

Ninja Kitchen System Pulse

I got my new "Blender" today!  However, much to my delight, it's more than just a blender!  It's a Juicer, Blender, Food processor all in one.  And while it does juice, it also leaves the pulp in the juice unlike my juicer that I have, takes the pulp out!  All that fiber!  But I haven't tried it for juice yet, so I won't brag on it in that aspect quite yet.   I made a smoothie with it this afternoon and Wow!  I'm amazed at how smooth the smoothie was!  It was like one you'd get at a smoothie place!  And it blended it up without any effort.  Unlike my little mini thingy that I'd been using!  This kitchen item gets 5 stars from me!

It also will mix up cookie dough, bread/pizza dough, ect.  Though I haven't tried that function either, but will post when I do and give a review on that as well. 

Vegan Sugar Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I just made these this evening and they are amazingly good!  I had to stop myself! 

• 1/2 cup of Agave Nectar
• 2 Tbsp Milled Flax Seed mixed with 6 tbsp water (I microwave 30 seconds to get it thickened up, it will become kind of egg white texture.)
• 1/8th of a teaspoon of Stevia Organic Extract Powder
• 1 and 1/4 cup of flour
• 1 and 1/4 cup of Oatmeal
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 3/4 of a teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 c. raisins (optional)

Because of the replacement of Agave Nectar for sugar, you will need to play around with some of the amounts here. Just add a tiny bit of oatmeal and flour until you like the consistency.
I've cut down the amount of Agave, and added in Stevia to help balance out the portions, and make sure the recipe isn't too wet.

---

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine and Beat the Agave Nectar and Flax mixture in a bowl. Beat the mixture until it is all mixed together.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda.
Now mix the two big bowls together. If it's too wet add in flour and oatmeal like I described above.
Make balls as big as a walnut. Place on a greased Cookie Sheet and press each one down with a fork.

Bake for 15 minutes (or until cookies are golden brown) at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fruit Water

Water is vital not only for life, but also for good health!  And I know as much as anyone, that water can be boring when there's so many sodas, teas, punch...you name it!   But nothing is as good for our bodies as drinking water.

Why not jazz that water up a bit with a couple frozen strawberries instead of ice cubes, or a couple wedges of Lemon or Lime, hey, even try an orange wheel!  So many things you can add to your water to mix it up a bit and make if different, but still have the benefits of drinking plain water!

Chocolate that's good and Good for you!

Here's a Strawberry Chocolate smoothie recipe that I got from a blogger friend!  I've made it a couple times and it is so yummy!  If you gotta have Chocolate, you gotta try it! 

1/2 c almond milk (or other non dairy milk)

4 oz baby spinach leaves.

Blend til smooth.

Add 1 heaping T cocoa powder. Blend til smooth.

Add 1 1/2 c frozen sliced strawberries and 1/2 c frozen mango pieces.

Blend til smooth and creamy.

Avocado Salad Dressing

I love Avocados!  I use a lot of them!  Before the change to Whole Food Vegan, we ate them on Saltine crackers with a little salt.   Now, I eat them on Wasa Bread with sprouts or a little sea salt.  Put them in Sorbet, on salads, in wraps, in sandwiches....Yum!  And the great thing is, they are one of the Good fats that we need!  

Today for lunch I discovered that I'm nearly out of my vegan no fat no cal Ranch dressing that I got at our Health food store.   What to do!  I can't eat my salad very well without dressing...I'm one of those people, when I ate the SAD (standard american diet)  I liked a little greens with my Salad dressing.  So to just sprinkle a little balsamic vinegar on my salad now, just doesn't quite cut it.  Though I have cut way back on how much dressing I use, I had to find something that I could eat that didn't have any oil or dairy in it! 

So today, I took the rest of the Ranch I did have left, 1/2 avocado and a little fresh orange juice, blended it to smooth in my mini chopper and topped my salad!  It was delicious! 

I'm going to try some other ingredients mixed with Avocado for dressings and would love to have anyone share one that they make as well!   So much can be done with a few herbs and spices!

Triple Berry Sorbet

1/2 avocado
1 frozen banana
3 tbsp fresh orange juice (or less if you have a big blender)
1 c. frozen mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries)

Blend till smooth, serve with unsweetened coconut or chopped nuts on top.

NOTE!!!

DO NOT gross out at the avocado in the sorbet!  You literally CAN NOT taste it, but it makes it CREAMY!  You can't see it either, the sorbet is a lovely berry color!   But the Avocado holds it all together in a creamy texture!  If you still question it, try it one time and prove me wrong!  :) 

Engine 2 Diet: Sweet Potato Lasagna

Lunch today was absolutely delicious!  As I was making it, I was a little apprehensive about it and wondered if it would actually be good, but I was very pleasantly surprised!

RipsSweetPotatoLasagna 

Had a serving with a Salad and a piece of Pumpkin Bread I made last night!

Whole Grain Vegan Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup agave syrup
• 2 tbsp. milled flax mixed with 6 tbsp water
• 1 1/3 cup pumpkin purée
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups barley flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more to swirl on top
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice or cloves
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 cup raisins (optional)
• Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine wet ingredients and spices.
3. Add flour and salt, stir in raisins.
4. Add baking soda to hot water, stir to mix, and then add to batter.
5. Spread batter into a greased 9×5 inch loaf pan.
6. Sprinkle with cinnamon, and swirl with the tip of a table knife for a pretty marbled effect.
7. Bake for 55 to an hour and 5 minutes. Be sure to check that the bread is done baking by inserting a toothpick in the top. It should come out clean. If the top of the bread jiggles when you pull it out of the oven, it’s NOT done!
8. Cool on wire rack for 1/2 hour before slicing.

7# down and feeling GREAT!

So it's 7 days since I went total Vegan/Whole foods and I'm 7# down! 

I had my red juice this morning and a chocolate strawberry spinich smoothie.

Lunch was another big salad like yesterday with an open faced Humus Tomato sandwich and a Chocolate Peanutbutter protein shake! 

Feeling Great!

Cheers to Health!

Officially my favorite Juice!  Modified a bit from my friends Holiday Wine recipe!

4 medium Gala apples

3 small granny smith apples

1 large or 2 small red beets with greens

1" piece of ginger root

1-2 lemons

All juiced up in a Juicerator!  This is the best yet!

Results of a Whole Food Vegan diet

So it's been 6 days since I started eating only plant based foods and I quit refined sugar cold turkey!  Thankfully God has prevented me from feeling ill from lack of sugar, because I'm putting Good Whole Foods in my body!   So after 6 days of eating good fuel and not depriving myself, by even eating whole food muffins and brownies!  I'm down 6 1/2#!  Woohoo!  Not too shabby!  And I haven't been exercising like I should be!   I just get 'housework' exercise and that hasn't been a lot because I'm still not up to full strength yet.  But I'm feeling better every day and getting more and more energy! 

I went grocery shopping today and was excited to find that organic fruits and veggies are only about 10-30 cents more per pound than the regular sprayed stuff!  Not bad!  I got some organic tomatoes from our Whole Food Depot and even though they're from Mexico and shipped up here, they still have better flavor than the regular mushy on the inside hard on the outside tomatoes that the grocery store sells! 

 As far as Jentzen, our little 6 month old breast fed baby...he's taking the diet change quite well!  He is just as happy, healthy and growing like a weed as before I started it!  PTL!

Day 3 of 21 day challenge

Today started off a little different, I didn't have time to juice this morning, due to having to take DH to work, the boys to school and get groceries, so I whipped up a smoothie real fast and drank it on the go.  But here's Lunch!   Fresh Organic salad with ranch and a Humus, avocado, sprout sandwich on sprouted organic wheat bread...not sugars or oils!  

Vegan Cabbage Rolls

I just found this recipe and can't wait to try them!  They look so good!   I'm thining...if the boys like them, they'd make a good school lunch! 



These tasty little cabbage parcels are filled with a vegan loaf mixture made from nuts, beans, and rice. It makes a fantastic healthy vegan centerpiece dish during the holidays.

This dish can be made in advance and refrigerated; it reheats well.

makes 10 cabbage rolls

1 cup walnuts
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup oat bran
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
18 to 20 large cabbage leaves
1 cup tomato-vegetable juice blend
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Using a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process the walnuts into very small bits. Pour out the walnuts into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Add the garbanzo beans and brown rice to the bowl of the food processor and process until the mixture forms a coarse mash. Add to the mixing bowl along with the oat bran, marjoram, thyme, onion powder, soy sauce, and mustard. Using your hands, knead the mixture well until it is thoroughly mixed and holds its shape. Set aside.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the cabbage leaves and cook for 2 to 3 minutes (the leaves should be limp enough to roll but not cooked through). Drain the leaves thoroughly.

Divide the bean and rice mixture into ten equal pieces. Form each piece into a tiny round loaf.

Place a cabbage leaf on your work surface (if there is a rip in the leaf, cover it with another small cabbage leaf; if the leaf has a tough middle stem that won’t roll, cut it away and overlap the remaining leaf). Place a loaf at one edge of the cabbage leaf and roll it up, folding in the edges as you go. Repeat with the remaining bean and rice loaves.



Place the cabbage rolls seam side down in an oiled baking dish. Use a knife to shred the remaining cabbage leaves and pieces you have left over. Sprinkle the shredded cabbage over and around the cabbage rolls.



Mix the tomato juice and lemon juice together and pour evenly over the rolls. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake the rolls for 45 to 50 minutes, until gently brown on top.

Juice!

I struggled a little with the Mean Green juice this morning, so tonight I made a different juice for tomorrow morning.  

1/2 bag baby carrots (the bigger bag)
3 apples
4 stalks celery
1" fresh ginger
1/2 lemon
9 oz spinach

It's WAY better!  I think the Kale was just a little too spicy in the Mean Green.

Lunch Day 1 of 21 day challenge!

Mushroom Stroganoff from Engine 2 Diet

Spinach Salad

2 handfuls of spinach

1 avocado

pinch of sprouts

4 mushrooms sliced

a couple dashes of Balsamic Vinegar

Wow, it was so good, I was so hungry and ready for a good meal!  But I couldn't eat it all!  It was so much!

I am adding one snack with protein a day due to nursing Jentzen, so I had a black bean brownie this afternoon!  No sugar!  Agave Syrup/Molasses sweetened!

Feelin' good! 

Day 1 on my 21 day challenge!

Today I'm starting a 21 day challenge with a blogger friend.  We're doing mostly juicing, with one plant based meal at lunch.   I had my juice this morning!  The flavor will take some getting use to, but I can do this!  I had the Mean Green from Fat Sick and Nearly Dead documentary!  

Creamy Sorbet

So I just have a mini blender, kind of like a magic bullet, so my recipes for ice cream, smoothies and this sorbet are one serving size!  

This was my snack today!

1/2 avocado
1 frozen banana
1/2 c frozen strawberries, blueberries or raspberries
1 tbsp fresh orange juice
Blend till smooth, garnish with unsweetened coconut.

Strawberry

Blueberry

Power Packed Spaghetti

1 medium onion diced

3 garlic cloves minced

3/4 c red bell peppers

3/4 c yellow bell peppers

2 c sliced mushrooms

5-6 Kale leaves chopped

16 oz diced tomatoes

24 oz pasta sauce

saute first 6 veggies in skillet, if too dry add a little water.

Add tomatoes and sauce and simmer 15-20 minutes

Meanwhile cook 12 oz Whole Grain or Brown Rice spaghetti, NO OIL!

Serves 4-5  depending on the size of person! :)  (adults/kids)

Today for lunch, I'm eating it over rice with Nutritional Yeast flakes and ground almonds on top!  It's SOOOO GOOD!!!!!!!

It's a brand new Whole Food, Nutrient packed Week!

Hello Monday! I'm so excited for a new week! 
Tomorrow starts my 21 day challenge I'm doing with another blogger!  We'll be doing a lot of juices and smoothies and only one meal a day which has to be 100% plant based food which includes a salad! I think my first salad tomorrow is going to be spinich, avocado and mushrooms, maybe some balsamic vinager and a few Nutritional Yeast flakes for my 'Parmesan cheese'!  

Today though it just a  normal Whole Food Vegan day.  I had Rip's big bowl for breakfast.  See http://www.engine2diet.com/ for the recipe!  I put mangos, blueberries, bananas and kiwi fruit on it this morning.  I must say, I possibly won't by mangos again, they're okay in salsa, but they just don't have the right flavor for cereal for me!

I sent a 'Rip's Big Bowl' to work with Brian and for lunch he has whole grain rice spaghetti with power packed sauce!  I made it last night, Brendan, our oldest, gagged on the kale...behind my back....and Brian was laughing so hard, I made them tell me, it was so funny, he didn't want to tell me he didn't like it!  Probably because in the past I got to the point I hated cooking because so many times nobody liked what I made, and it was just normal food!  I was beginning to think I have a picky family!   But this time it was pretty funny!   Most of the time, they do like what I make, and I'm not a bad cook, I've been cooking since I was 13, so I do know what I'm doing!  lol  Just that sometimes every cook makes something that not everyone will like.   It is hard cooking for a family with so many different taste buds.   Our second son, Jadrian is the pickiest, probably, I have a real challenge trying to find things to make that he likes, but I was amazed the other day when I made Rice and Chicken gravey for the boys Hawaiian Haystacks, that he didn't want just rice and gravey, he wanted it all, he has spinich, celery, pineapple and coconut on his!  I was so proud of him!   Thankful he's liking his veggies more and more!

So today is the 4th day and wow, last night I slept so much better!  Jentzen who normally wakes up 3-4 times at night still, only got up once at 3am!   I'm curious if it's because of a more nutritious milk because of the way I'm eating?  I'll find out, I'll see if he starts this every night, then I will know it wasn't just a fluke.

I think Jentzen is getting tired, so I need to put him down for a nap and maybe I'll catch a little nap myself!

Pumpkin Pudding

1 frozen Banana
3 tbsp pumpkin puree
1/4 c. rice milk
2 tsp agave syrup
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of cinnamon
smidge of ground cloves
smidge of ground ginger

Put in blender and puree, pour in bowl and top with

Old fashioned oats
ground almonds
milled flax seeds

Day 3 on my Vegan Journey

Today is the third day of my journey!  I'm amazed at how well I feel, mentally and physically!  I'm also down 4 1/2#, which is a great motivator!  

I'm so excited about this journey, there's nothing boring about it for me, as a food lover, because my mind has quickly changed from attracting my eyes to some rich dessert, to actually dissecting that dessert and instead of seeing something delicious, I see refined sugar, saturated fats and enriched bleached flours, not to mention artificial flavors, colors and preservatives.  And I imagine what all that stuff does to my body, and how I feel when eating that kind of junk.  

This morning I was just looking at my background of my blog again and the colors and variety I see there is beautiful and looks delicious!  And that's just a fraction of what is Good Whole food!  I mean, look at it, there's no fruits or nuts on my background, just grains and veggies!   But take a look at the colors and imagine what those colorful foods can do to your body!  Packed with energy, vitamins, protein and even good fats!  Avocado's are a wonderful source of fat and we need fat, just the right kind, not butter and saturated oils/fats.

HOWEVER....I need to learn to THINK before I put something in my mouth.  Our second son had a muffin this morning and I put butter on it for him, he at about 1/4 of it and didn't want it, without thinking I started eating it,   and as soon as I tasted the butter I was like, whoa, what is this!  He ended up eating the rest! lol 

Yesterday the water drinking went a lot better, I drank a LOT of water and so far today I've drank quite a bit too!

Anybody can do this, but it takes commitment, determination and the WANT to feel better, to heal your sickness/diseases and lose weight!   If the desire is there, you can do it.  It's not hard and the variety of good foods is just as plentiful as the variety of junk food.   Think of it this way, would you put water in your gas tank of your car?  No, then why not fuel your body with GOOD fuel!   :)

Go for it!  If I can do it, you can do it! 

Engine 2's omelets & Harvest Muffins

Here is the recipe for the Omelet I had for Breakfast!  It was surprisingly good!  The texture was a little like an undercooked egg, so next time I think I'll try baking it and see if that gets it a little better cooked.  

And Here's the muffins!  Delish, my whole family loved them!

 

Harvest Muffins
1/4 c. milled Flax seed

3/4 c. oat flour

3/4 c. barley flour

1/3 c. agave syrup

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cloves

3/4 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp milled flax seed mixed with 3 tbsp water (let set till thickens)  [this is your egg]

1 1/2 c. finely chopped apples

1/4 c. pureed pumpkin

1/2 c. soy, almond or rice milk

1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional) 

Mix dry ingredients, set aside, mix wet ingredients, add to dry and mix just till blended, fold in apples and nuts.  Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes.  Top will spring back when touched.  

Yields 12 muffins