Where Do I Begin?

Well, where do I begin? First off, I thought I was pregnant, which would have been amazing but not so much in our plans. I was a little excited and nervous thinking we just sold all of our baby stuff so it figures I would get pregnant. I decided I better go get tested and I might as well get my yearly out of the way since it has been two years, opps. I made my appointment and went in for my yearly OB/GYN last Friday. I went in and the pregnancy test came back negative, whoa, as I am wiping the sweat off my brow. Next we move onto the ever so delightful breast exam. "Hmm, do you feel that?"  I thought to myself, huh?! As I feel around, I say "Uh, isn't that my rib?" She replies politely, " No, see it is not connected, it is not a rib". Sheepishly, I start to wonder I guess I am not that great at going my quarterly monthly self exam, what the heck?! She tells me I need to get a mammogram, oh great, cause that sounds like so much fun. We finish up all the fun and she gives me numbers for different diagnostic centers.

Wow! I am floored right now. I thought I was pregnant but really it looks like there is something wrong with the ladies. I call Eric and I am trying to keep it together. I walk down to the park with the kids because I promised we would go after the appointment. Dazed and confused I made my way down there. I made a few phone calls and got an appointment for a mammogram on Wednesday. Now let me remind you it was Friday. That means I had Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday to endure and then Wednesday for my appointment. Really?

Good thing I had to work Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday night otherwise I probably would have thought about it way too much. It is good to be busy and have to think about others rather than yourself when you are going through something unknown.

To be totally honest I was not too worried if it was cancer. If it is cancer I know I could handle it but the not knowing and waiting was killing me! I had to really concentrate on the Lord and His peace. Obviously, I needed to be in His arms. I know I need to be there all the time but how often do we wander off think that we are okay. He gently reminds us that we need Him.

By Saturday I was feeling emotionally better. I felt the prayers that were covering me and it was nice.  Sunday morning came and our pastor was talking about trials....hahaha. Nice coincidence! He talked about Abraham and Isaac. How God had promised Abraham:
     I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. Gen 12:2
But then He commanded:
Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." Gen 22:2

It was crazy how Bryan was talking about the promises and commands of God and how we should have faith to follow His commands even though they might not seem to directly coincide with His promises. The whole sermon was great and I could relate.

I just tried to stay busy and when I found myself thinking about it and worrying I had to remember to cling to Him. I definitely had all of the "what if" thoughts but I found peace no matter what. Finally, Wednesday morning arrived and my appointment finally was here.

I got to the diagnostic center and tried to keep it together. I was not allowed to wear lotion, perfume or deodorant. Now, I do not wear lotion or perfume so that is no problem but deodorant?!? If you all do not know I sweat, a lot, no really a lot. I do not smell but I sweat. Since this happens to be on  When they called me back the nurse told me on the way to the mammogram that I would need an ultrasound too. Yeah, not only are they going to squish my right breast but I get to have the ultra sound wand wandering all over it too. It just keeps on getting better. I will say the staff was outstanding and very sensitive to me.
By the time this the appointment came to and end I was left in the ultra sound room in my beautiful new gown waiting for the doctor's assesment. I was a little overwhelmed but at peace at the same time if that makes sense. I eyes welled up a couple different times. I kept thinking of scriptures and would not let my mind wander to the bad or the what if's. Obviously, our minds gravitate to those but dwelling on them is not what I wanted to do. Instead  "And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil 4:7 came to mind and it did.

The nurse came in and told me everything looked normal. The lump was just tissue. It was not a cyst, mass, cancerous etc. just tissue. Now that we know it is there just keep an eye on it. I was relieved. To quote Tom Petty "The waiting is the hardest part". My nurse at the doctor's office called later that afternoon to check up. She was saying that the mammogram does not always detect everything and wants me to see a specialist. Hmm, not ready for that bill, but I will see you for a free check up in a week. So as for now I feeling good with the doctor's decision and we will see next Friday about anything further.

Thank you to all of you who prayed and for words of encouragement.
Love you all!

Summer Recipe Week! Lettuce Wraps and Sauces

I wish I had a deliscous picture for you to salivate over but I did not get pictures at the party.
Wah wah wah waaah

But I have the wonderful recipes!

Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:
1 head of romaine, rinsed and dried whole leaf
1 red bell pepper finely diced
1 cucumber, peeled and finely diced
2 celery stalks finely diced
1-2 avocado mashed
Directions:
Take a lettuce leaf spoon on avocado, veggies and one, two or all three sauces. Roll up like a taco and enjoy, have napkins on hand.

Sauces

Red Bell Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:
2 red bell peppers
juice from a lemon
About 2 Tb olive oil
Mary-Ann's Garlic Salt
Mary-Ann's Seasoning Salt

Directions:
In a saute pan roast the bell peppers whole until skins are blackened. Cut into strips and place in a blender. Add salts, lemon juice and start blender on low and move to medium. Slowly drizzle olive oil while blending. Obtain a nice blended sauce not too thin.

Cilantro Serrano Sauce

Ingredients:

1 bunch of cilantro rinsed
1 red bell pepper chopped and seeded
2-4 serrano peppers- depends on how hot you want it.
(You can always seed the peppers or use jalapeno peppers and it won't be as spicy)
juice of a lemon
Mary-Ann's Herb Salt
Mary-Ann's Seasoning salt
about 2 Tb Olive oil

Directions:
In a blender place cilantro, lemon juice, red bell pepper, serrano peppers and salts.
Slowly bring the blender from low to medium. Add olive oil until a nice smooth creamy sauce.


Hummus

Ingredients:
2 cans of organic garbanzo beans not drained
juice of a lemon
1/2 cup of tahini
about 2 Tb olive oil
Mary-Ann's Garlic Salt
Mary-Ann's Seasoning Salt

Directions:

In order in a blender add garbonzo beans with water, lemon, salts, and then tahini. Slowly bring to medium speed and slowly drizzle olive oil. This will make a thinner sauce than most hummus. If you like a thicker hummus add only one can with water.


Add these sauces to salad, baked potatoes instead of sour cream, or as a dip for veggies.
I love these sauces and there is something for everyone!

Enjoy

Summer Recipe Week! Veggie Burger Recipe Updated

Since today is the "Official" First day of Summer I thought I would kick off this week with some new, easy, healthy recipes for a your summer BBQ's and picnics!

Monday: Better Veggie Burger

Tuesday: Lettuce Wraps and sauces

Wednesday: Potato Salad

Thursday: Pasta Salad/Baked Beans-I have not decided which one

Friday: Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake 

*Change in schedule, my recipe needs tweeking* 6/24

Today we will revisit the veggie burger for a new and improved recipe 

New and Improved Veggie Burger

Ingredients
1 package of extra firm/firm tofu
1 medium onion sliced
1 basket of mushrooms sliced
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup rice flour
1 Tb yeast
1 Tb Braggs Amino Acid
1 Tb Mary-Ann's Herb Salt
dash of Mary-Ann's Seasoning Salt- if you don't have this use salt and pepper with dash of nutmeg
Directions:
Preheat oven 450-500 degrees.
In a grill pan or saute pan cook onions and mushrooms with dash of Seasoning Salt. Cook until soft and browned. In the blender add tofu, onions and mushrooms. Blend but do not puree. You do not want big chunks. In a medium mixing bowl add tofu/mushroom/onion mixture with quinoa, Braggs, yeast, Herb Salt. Mix well. Then add rice flour until mixture is holding together well, about 1 cup. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop out patties with 1/3 measuring cup and flatten into a patty. Bake for about 15 minutes on each side. We personally like them a little more done, a nice golden brown color on both sides.
Makes about 10-15 patties depending on how big you make them. My kids will easily eat three to four each.
So if you have any left over they will keep good in the fridge and are perfect for lunch the next day.

I usually serve them with grilled onions, fresh arugula, ketchup and if I have it Veganaise. We love Veganaise and often dip our fries in it too.....so yummy. It is a little on the expensive side so I do not buy it often.
Enjoy!

Stick around for all of the great new recipes!

Menu Plan

It has been some time since I last posted menu ideas.
Especially since we have gone plant based/vegan, I thought I would share some frugal, vegan and gluten free recipes. Say that ten times fast. Since we do not buy meat my grocery bill is so much lower. We get ample protein from our greens, legumes and nuts.
So here I go:

Sunday
Chili and Cornbread and Salad
without meat

Monday
Red Beans and Rice and Salad

Tuesday
Broiled Polenta with Mushroom Ragout
without goat cheese
and Broccoli

Wednesday
Nutty Noodles with Veggies

Thursday
Baked Potatoes w/ Chili and Salad

Friday
Tomato and Garlic Pasta and Salad

Saturday
Cornbread Waffles or Leftovers


On Sunday afternoon I soaked a pound of pink beans and a pound of kidney beans together. Then split them into two pots and cooked them. One pot for chili with garlic, bell pepper, salt and onion. The other pot with onions, garlic, celery, bay leaves, bell pepper and salt. I made two dinners in one night. Then on Monday night I put the beans on and warmed them up while rice was cooking. I loved the combo of pink and kidney beans. I am excited to try the two new recipes I showed and I will report back to you.

Weekend Links 5/29/2010

It has been an busy week. I accomplished two out of the twelve things on my list. I will have a big reveal on Monday, just in time for Made it on Monday hosted by Skip to My Lou. I realized that this weekend six years ago I was hired at a little family owned restaurant as a hostess. Only to move on to server and then manager. Hmm, I just hired at a little family owned restaurant as a hostess. Not that I want to manage again but I find it interesting. Anyways, this is the official beginning summer for us and I am starting off beginning a new job, training Saturday and Sunday! So I putting up links in hopes to have an easy Saturday day with the family.

2010 Sunscreen Guide by Enviroment Working Group

I personally do not like to use sunscreen, seriously! We try to stay out of the sun during peak times of 10-2. I only use it if we are in the pool. Otherwise, we use olive oil. I am not kinding and you heard me right I use Olive oil. It is a natural sunscreen. I tested it on myself one day and was fine. The next day on my fair skinned children and nothing, they were protected. You do have to re-apply more frequently but it is natural. I buy the Trader Joe's spray can of olive oil, no joke and I spray it on my kids and I and it works.

DIY: Super Simple Market Bag by Simple Organic
Perfect timing to make new ones out of old shirts and get rid of my plastic ones.

Sonlight Curriculum is celebrating 20 years and a chance to win curriculum

We Remeber and We are Thankful Here is what this weekend is really about! Our soliders! Thank you to the men and women who protect our freedom with your lives. I am thankful and blessed to know you do what you do. These photos are amazing!

Diet and Exercise

Okay it is official, I am finally down to pre-baby weight before Kira. I can say it is official because I have maintained this weight for about a month now. Since going off all animal product mid-February, I have lost about eight pounds. I feel great. I am eating all day long yummy fruit and veggies. I do not count calories, points, fat or any of that. I eat about every two to three hours. It is easy and fun with the kids. I know what is going into my body and my family's. I spend less time in the kitchen cooking and more time with my family. I have reduced my grocery bill too!


Now with that being said, to be totally honest I have not "exercised" at all. What I mean is I have not done an actual exercise program. There are the normal day to day exercises, walking to the park, downtown and daily stuff, but no real routine. These results are all based off my diet! I felt I was pretty healthy to begin with. Also I have not completely cut out all oils either. I am slowly working on that. I cooked a whole meal without adding any oil and Eric loved it and did not even notice the difference. I am curious about salad dressings though and making a good one without oil.

Okay you are probably wondering how everyone has dealt with all of the change. It took about a week to de-program my kids from asking for things. I really tried to rely on the positive instead of what they could not have. If they asked for foods that we were not eating, I would say "Oh, look you can have a yummy banana, apple or big raisins" I would point out how delicious the food is, the colors, the tastes, the smell and how good they feel eating this way.



Yes, it is hard work! It was so hard going gluten free. It was so hard going dairy free. It was kind of hard going animal free. Was it hard work delivering an almost nine pound baby sunny side up naturally? Heck yeah, but I would not change that experience for the world! I love my kids and I want to ensure the best health possible. I know by putting in the effort I have reaped the benefits a hundred fold. Nothing is easy and there are no magic pills.


Is it hard now? No, I think it is easier now than ever. Meals are easy, menu planning is a breeze and meal time is a joy. I do not fight my kids at dinnertime. What? Really? Unheard of with preschoolers. I know what they will eat and what they will not. I make sure to have at least one thing that they love in our meals. For instance, Kira is my salad eater, so I make sure I have salad at lunch and dinner for her. Enzo will eat all of the components of the salad just not tossed together, that's easy, I make a plate of all the salad goodies and a dollop of hummus to dip. If she just eats huge salad full of spinach, avocados, tomatoes and cucumber for dinner I am fine with that. You have to remember we are eating every two to three hours, so a huge dinner is not really needed.


I know my kids are happy, healthy and thriving. I feel great. I am so appreciative that Eric is supportive and honest. If I cook something and he does not like it, he tells me and I make a note of it. I have an amazing family and I am thankful that they are who they are. I would not trade all of the allergies for anything. I am glad I was forced into some of the changes and so glad I stumbled on the other reasons for change. It was not an overnight revelation but rather a journey, a lifestyle.

Stressed Out?

Simple Mom had a link to this stress test. Do it see where you stand

Think Your Life is Stressful
This test, based on the work of mental health experts Thomas H. Holmes and Richard H. Rahe, helps you identify the sources and amount of stress you encounter in your life. The following is a list of stress inducing events, in the order of their Life Change Unit (LCU), from high to low. Note all the items that apply to events you have experienced during the last year and add up their LCUs. Then take a look at what you can do about your stress level.

Life Event	LCU
1. Death of spouse	100
2. Divorce	73
3. Marital Separation	65
4. Jail Term	63
5. Death of a close family member	63
6. Personal injury or illness	53
7. Marriage	50
8. Being Fired from work	47
9. Reconciliation with spouse	45
10. Retirement	45
11. Change in health of family member	44
12. Pregnancy	40
13. Sexual difficulties	39
14. Addition of family member	39
15. Major business readjustment	39
16. Major change in financial state	38
17. Death of a close friend	37
18. Changing to a different line of work	36
19. Change in frequency of arguments with spouse	35
20. Mortgage for loan or major purchase over $ 15,000	31
21. Foreclosure on a mortgage or loan	30
22. Major change in responsibilities at work	29
23. Children leaving home	29
24. Trouble with in-laws	29
25. Outstanding personal achievement	28
26. Spouse begins or stops work	26
27. Starting or ending school	26
28. Change in living conditions	25
29. Revision of personal habits (dress, manners, associations)	24
30. Trouble with boss	23
31. Change in work hours, conditions	20
32. Change in residence	20
33. Change in school	20
34. Change in recreational activities	19
35. Change in church activities	19
36. Change in social activities	18
37. Mortgage or loan under $15,000	17
38. Change in sleeping habits	16
39. Change in number of family gatherings	15
40. Change in eating habits	15
41. Vacation	13
42. Christmas	12
43. Minor violation of the law	11

If your total is 0-150:
Congratulations! At the moment, your stress level is low. Your chance of illness or accident related to your stress within two years is low. Any change can lead to stress, even enjoyable activities, such as vacations or new forms of recreation. Want to see what to do to keep your stress low? Learn about methods for dealing with stress.

If your total is 150-300:
Take care of yourself now. You have borderline high stress. Your chance of accident or illness related to your stress within two years is moderate. Recommendation: To reduce your stress, try some of these methods.

If your total is over 300:
Warning: You have a high stress level. Your chance of accident or illness related to your stress during the next two years is great. Stress intervention techniques are strongly urged. Click here to learn more about stress.

I did not do so well, I scored 478. There has been a lot of change in the last year...not all bad, but there has definitely been change. So what am I going to do about it? They recommend breathing for starters. They also recommend reading for 20 minutes or taking a walk. I am trying to do both. I think the biggest for me is time alone or time to do my hobbies. I love sewing, cooking and connecting with friends. I think the Thursday morning fellowship with the ladies from church is going to help. I need to start running again. Running always relieves stress for me. I just need to find a path the double stroller fits.

How do you deal with stress?

Health Update

Since we have switched to a plant-based diet, we have all had improvements to our overall health. It has been almost three weeks for the kids and I. I have to announce that Kira is finally regular after trying everything in the book before. She is eating better than ever, she never really ate that bad but now she is doing fabulous. The other night she ate three bowls of salad, big bowls too, easily four cups of spinach, romaine, and arugula mix plus a whole avocado. She told me she LOVES salad.

We have not eaten corn tortillas for over a week and the only dairy they have had was a small pat of butter on the potatoes. I told them that next week we would only have hummus on the potatoes and that there was no more butter. I did buy unrefined coconut oil and I have called it "white butter" to the kids before. I am trying not to use it and rather get them to like other toppings on their potatoes. Enzo already loves hummus, he has called it "bom bom" since forever and eats it by the spoonful.

The only refined foods that I can think of that we are eating are the sunflower seed butter from Trader Joe's, which I love but it has cane juice, which is a fancy way of saying sugar. I did buy GF Dairy free pancakes from TJ's last night for a quick fix because I did not plan good enough. Those are the only "packaged" foods we have eaten. The occasional tortilla chip snitched from dad and I am not worrying about it right now. But that is it.

The kids seem happier and quite content with our new eating lifestyle. It is easy, way easier than anything I have tried. I do not have to worry about they allergies nearly as much. I came to the conclusion that if we are eating whole foods then I don't have to read the label, because I know what is in it. What a novel idea huh?

So in conclusion we are all doing great and feel great too. We have all been sleeping better also. I do not think I have ever felt so good either. If you feel like it is to much to do all of this then don't that is not what I am saying. Just add more whole foods to your diet. Eat a piece of fruit first if you are craving something sweet, dates are so sweet and totally take my craving away. If you are craving a salty snack have a handful of raw nuts, cashews or almonds. The most important thing I think you can do is to eat a handful of fruit or a big salad before you eat your regular meal. If you do this you will find you do not eat as much and you are satisfied with the whole foods more and more.

Good Luck

Veggie Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries and Salad

From the top clockwise: Roasted Corn Salad, Sweet Potato Fries and Veggie burger on Spinach with grilled onions

So my goal right now is to write about what we are eating and how to have a plant based diet that is delicious and full of flavor and variety. Also to do this as frugal as possible without spending a fortune and without being a slave to the kitchen too. So for dinner last night we had Veggie Burgers, Roasted Corn, Broccoli and Red Bell Pepper Salad and Sweet Potato Fries


Veggie Burgers
14 oz Organic Tofu-Extra Firm-$2.68
1 c Brown Rice cooked-$.25
1/2 Onion-$.25
1Tb Yeast
1/3 c Brown Rice Flour-$.20
1 tsp Herb Salt
1/2 tsp Seasoning Salt
Total $3.38

Preheat oven at 400 degrees
In your blender or food processor add onion, tofu, and brown rice. Mix on low to medium until fairly mixed. Don't blend to much. Put mixture in a bowl and combine all other ingredients. Mix with a spatula/wooden spoon well. Using a 1/3 measuring cup scoop out onto a baking sheet with parchment paper on it. Makes about 10-12 patties. Bake for 40 minutes turning once after 20 minutes. I like our veggie burgers a little on the crispier side so I cook them a little longer and eye ball the color.

I topped the burgers with grilled onions, spinach and avocado
1/2 Onion sliced-$.25
3/4 c Spinach-$.50
1 ripe avocado-$.50
Total $1.25
We do not use buns as they are expensive to buy GF ones. I guess you could say we eat them "protein style".

Once your burgers are in the oven slice up your sweet potatoes for oven fries.
I use the thick slice side of my cheese grater. I have three slices on one side and it makes them really thin and they cook evenly.

I usually use three medium sized sweet potatoes-$1.19. Now on a separate baking sheet with parchment paper lay down sweet potato slices evenly. The parchment paper really keeps them from sticking without using oil. You can use regular potatoes or yams too.

I bake them for about 20-30 minutes turning them once. If you like them crispier bake longer.

Once they are cooked I place them in a large bowl and and drizzle about 1 Tb of Olive oil and season with seasoning salt. Now the seasoning salt I use has a sea salt, pepper, paprika and a little nutmeg. It is so good. If you don't have something like it just add a dash of nutmeg to them, and I mean a dash, not too much. So tasty!

Roasted Corn, Red Bell Pepper and Broccoli Salad

1/2 Bag of Trader Joe's Frozen Roasted Corn $1.15
1/2 Red Bell Peppers diced $.99
1 Broccoli crown (1 cup) chopped $.50
1 Green onions chopped $.10
Olive oil
Juice from one lemon
Mary-Ann's Seasoning salt to taste
Mary-Ann's Herb salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients and serve when corn is thawed
Or keep it in your refrigerator and and snack on it, just add a little olive oil each time to your portion to refresh it. Serving size about 1 cup and serves 4
Total $2.74


Burgers- $3.38
Toppings -$1.25
Fries-$1.19
Salad-$2.74
Total $8.24

Per Person $2.14

You definitely can not get out of a Mother's Market or Whole Foods for that let alone McDonald's and this is a boat load better for you. I usually have leftover salad and eat it for lunch the next day. These burgers are really good chopped up and put on a salad too. They freeze nicely also.

Candied Nuts

Candied Nuts

1 lb Raw Cashew nuts
1 lb Raw Almonds
1 lb Raw Pecans
3/4 c Organic Maple Syrup

Mix nuts in a bowl and add maple syrup until evenly coated.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lay parchment paper on a baking sheet. Evenly distribute on the baking sheet. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Cool completely. I put them in a freezer bag and keep them in the freezer. Such a great snack without any junk.

You can make them with just pecans and then put them in your salads too.

Plant Based Diet

I watch this great video called "Eating" All I can say is WOW! I knew that eating a plant based diet was better for you but after watching this video Eric and I both are on board with eating a plant based diet.

Heart Disease, Cancer and Adult Onset Diabetes are all symptoms of an animal based diet. If everyone would watch this video and changed their diet, there would radical changes in American health. There is no gimmick or trick. The only trick is the way the government manipulates what a healthy diet is.

The biggest falsehoods that blew me away were:

*There is no documented cause of a dietary origin calcium deficiency.

*Bone loss occurs because of sedentary work and lifestyle.
i.e Astronauts have bone loss due to the gravity environment

*It does not matter if it is lighter meat it still has cholesterol.
3 oz. steak has 75 mg of cholesterol
3 oz. skinless breast of chicken has 72 mg of cholesterol

*3 glasses of milk has the just as much cholesterol as 21 slices of bacon

*Type II Diabetes can be totally reversed within a WEEK of a 100% Plant Based Diet

*Americans think they need more protein and that is due to Food Lobbyist paying off the USDA and such. Protein deficiency is rare. We are the fattest nation and we constantly concerned with something that only happens if you are starving!

*So where do I get my protein?

Here is the percent protein of certain foods

Pecans 5
Bananas 5
Grapefruit 5
Watermelon 8
Orange 8
Cherries 8
Brown Rice 8
Cantaloupe 9
Carrots 10
Potatoes 11
Barley 11
Almonds 12
Cashews 12
Walnuts 13
Corn 15
Wheat 17
Peanuts 17
Wild Rice 18
Tomatoes 20
Artichokes 22
Cabbage 22
Chickpea 23
Squash 23
Cucumber 24
Kidney Beans 26
Green Beans 26
Pinto Beans 26
BEEF 28
Lentils 29
Broad Beans 32
Asparagus 38
Soybeans 43
Brussel Sprouts 44
Broccoli 45
Spinach 49




Now we as humans only need 5% of our total calories to be from protein. So clearly eating a plant based diet will satisfy your need for protein, a healthy protein. If you think about it what do cows eat? Grass, barley and corn...hmmm. They get their protein from a plant based diet

From His book:

*"The protein in human mother's milk is only five percent of the total calories. Mother's milk is providing protein during the fastest growth period humans will ever experience outside the womb. At no other time in our lives will we need a greater amount of protein. In fact, the average adult needs only half that amount or two and one-half percent of calories from protein. More than five percent protein is not only unnecessary, but also potentially dangerous because it will promote cancer and other degenerative diseases. Just one reason "high protein" diets should be avoided like the plague." page 133-134 "Healing Cancer From Inside Out" By Mike Anderson

Well there you have it if you eat a plant based diet you get all the protein, calcium and nutrients that you need. I am excited to have discovered this book and video. I have lost about six pounds since lowering my animal intake and another six pounds going 100% plant based diet. Making a total of twelve pound weight loss. I feel good and I am eating whatever I want whenever I want. I not counting calories, points, or weighing and measuring my food. I am eating what God has created for us.

The RAVE Diet and lifestyle means

No R efined foods
No A nimal foods
No V egetable oils
No E xceptions
& Exercise

I definitely am on board for no refined and no animal.
I am slowly working on no vegetable oil.
I am excited and curious to see how our health changes, all four of us and whoever else tries this. Let me know if you have heard of this or do something similar, I would love to know more.

Day 28-Last Day of Nothing- As Close as Possible

We got up early and had my uncle take us up to the Irvine Train station. We caught the train to LA and then from LA to SLO. It was a long trip. We were all tired and missed dad and wanted to be home. Enzo had a little meltdown in LA Union Station while I was checking bags. I could not do anything to soothe him and I could not walk away because we were in line. Brother, I do not want to do that again. Other than that they were angels on the train. We got home and they hugged dad and did not let go for awhile. So sweet.

We got home and I took a two hour nap, much needed. I had to go to the store last night because I would not have a car until Tuesday and the house was bare. So I ended our 28 days of nothing at 6:00pm.

This has been much harder than last year and I am not sure why. Maybe because we were on such a tight budget and then to get extra money, it was burning a hole in my pocket. When I say burning a hole I mean there were things that we really needed and I felt obligated not to get them because of my 28 days. I ended up buying the fabric and I am glad I did because it was a deal and we need clothes for Kira.

I reevaluated our food budget and changed it to $400 month and considering all the changes we did in our diet I totaled our food to $421.18. I spent $183.26 on other essentials other than food at the stores. Considering what we bought, I feel good about it. I am excited to see how eating a plant based diet changes our grocery costs. I am going to shop weekly so that I do not waste anything by buying to much.


Spending: Nothing

Menu:
Breakfast:
Smoothies and rice bread toast

Snack:
Clementines

Lunch:
Tomatoes-Enzo
Dried Mango-Kira
rice crackers

Snack:
Almonds
Mango
Clementines

Dinner:
Roll-ups and fruit

Wow! I can not believe this month is over. I have learned a lot and have been humbled too. I will probably do it again next February and maybe tweak a few things.
Thanks for coming along on the journey. Hope you were challenged or encouraged. Let me know what you did, if anything.

Day 20

Today we enjoyed the beautiful weather. I guess it was supposed to rain but it clearly did not. I truly just enjoyed the kids and played and did some dishes but that was it.

I did start sewing this awesome picnic blanket for my friend's wedding gift. I had got discounted vinyl tablecloth with a fabric backing that has a pink background with small brown polka dots all over. That will be the side touching the grass. Then for the top, it is a brown background with large geometric flowers in pink, yellow and turquoise and such. All of their favorite colors. It was a little hard because of the stickiness of the fabric. But I think it will turn out good. I am going to fix one seam and straighten it out more tomorrow. I love making people gifts so much more than just buying it. Mainly, because it is more personal and one of a kind and secondly because it cheaper. When I am finished I will post pictures.

Spending: nothing

Menu:
Breakfast:
Eggs-kids
Smoothie

Snack:
Smoothie

Lunch:
Apples
oranges

Snack:
nuts

Dinner:
Apples
Baked Potatoes and Salad

We grazed all day on fruit and everyone was really good.

I was so thankful, I talked to Eric about going more vegetarian eating and he was totally on board. I told him I would still buy his lunch items but everything else would be vegetarian and the occasion Tuesday night with meat for the neighbors meal. He was so sweet and told me whatever we need to do for the kids diet to do. He has done a vegetarian diet before. This way I will be able to keep our grocery bill down by not having to buy both types of food. I'll be meal planning and figuring out how what I need to buy and list it all. I am nerdy list maker and number cruncher, so that should be fun.
Tonight, Eric is with a good friend and I am watching t.v. and being Miss Blogs-a-lot ;) Enjoy your Sunday.

Day 19

Today we had speech therapy and she was evaluating Enzo before he moves out of her program to preschool program. He did above his age in the articulation and part of another section. He will continue two weeks from now. Very cool!

The neighbors took the kids again today for about an hour while I cooked dinner. I had such a quiet, peaceful hour. Love those guys.

Spending: Nothing
I am determined to find a way to make my budget work with eating more of a vegetarian diet. I searched all of these blogs on being a frugal vegetarian or frugal gluten free. Not! The frugal Gluten free was a site that made meals for under $20. Um? I need a meal for four under $7, not $20 a meal. For that my monthly grocery budget for just dinner would be $600. So I am on a mission in order to make this work and get us back on track.

Menu:

Breakfast:
Smoothie
I used half the juice I normally and add four oranges from my neighbor tree(I have permission).

Snack:
bananas and nuts

Lunch:
Veggie Faces,
Soup with no tortillas and they gobbled it up.

Snack:
raisins and nuts

Dinner:
Salad
Rice Noodles with tomato sauce. I used some canned tomatoes with fresh tomatoes and add about a cup of the tomato soup from the other night. So yummy


Veggie Faces
I did this yesterday and they were so excited to eat their veggies, I had to do it again.
Kira wanted a princess and Enzo wanted a raccoon.
For the Princess: I made cucumber slices for eyes with olives on top
mushroom slice for a nose half grape tomatoes for lips and carrot sticks for hair.

For the Raccoon: Cucumber slices for eyes and olives on top with mushroom slices all around for a mask. Hummus for the nose. Half grape tomatoes for a mouth.

Day 16

Had a great sunny, HOT day. We made birthday countdown calendars, because Kira has been asking when her birthday is coming. So she drew a great birthday cake and I made it into a calendar and we will cross out days as we go. 30 days until Enzo's three and 44 days until she is five. Really? My baby is going to be, hold you hand up and count um, five. I have 44 days to deal with it.

Spending: $20 for the haircut that I have been waiting for, yeah. I will post pics tomorrow.

Menu:
Breakfast:
Yellow and white eggs and tortillas

Snack:
Smoothie

Lunch:
Veggies

Snack:
Raisins

Dinner:
BBQ Chicken, potato salad and bread for the guys.

So Kira was complaining her tummy hurt this morning. I don't get it, she eats really good but is still having problems with her BM's. So Eric and I agreed to take her off Casein for a longer period to see how her skin clears up and her BM's start working. So today we did mainly veggies and fruit except for dinner. I made the bbq sauce from scratch and the kids loved it because it was not spicy. She started to feel better after a couple hours but we are going to continue for at least two weeks of 75% fruit and veggies.

Day 15- 28 Days of Nothing

I felt like crud today. All of the bad eating I have been doing finally caught up with me. I was crabby and tired. Time for change. I realize that I eat really for about six to seven months, then pretty good for four to five months. Then the last month or two it is horrible. I mean it is not nearly as bad as I used to eat but it is bad for me. Obviously, you all saw the signs, I cooked with LARD for Pete's sake!! I knew I was heading down the road too. So this week is detox week for me. Then I realized that I detoxed this time last year too. That makes sense, so hear I go. I started today after breakfast when I started feeling horrible, with my barley grass juice and carrot juice every couple hours. So I will be following this detox program. I will update on it a little too.


Spending: Nada

Menu:
Breakfast:
Cereal

Snack:
Bananas

Lunch:
Turkey Roll-ups
Apple slices

Snack:
Almonds and bananas

Dinner:
Stir Fry with Square Chicken and rice

Going No Shampoo

Okay I have tried and failed before but now I am really serious. It has six weeks since I used shampoo on my hair. "Gross" some may say, but I am doing it. I knew there was a transition period of a few weeks but nothing like I have gone through. I was starting to get frustrated and I almost went back to my shampoo. But last night I had a revelation. It is the hard water! I read another gal's blog about going no poo as people call it. She was having the same issue but noticed when she stayed at a hotel her hair was soft and shiny. So she realized it was the hard water. Thank you, thank you. I used her method last night and my hair is almost perfect. I think I need more solution because my hair is sooo thick.

Here it is for you hard water folks

Boil 1 quart of water
Add 1/4 of Baking Soda (now be careful because I did not think about it and it overflowed on me, so pour in slowly)
Mix and let cool
Put it in a squeeze bottle and use like the normal solution
Get your hair wet in the shower
Saturate hair and rub in scalp and rinse
Follow with Apple Cider Vinegar solution for conditioner and rinse

My hair is soft and I can actually run my finger through it.
It looks great and I am so much happier

And it is cheaper too

Homemade Toothpaste Recipe

• 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil
• 2 to 3 Tablespoons of baking soda
• few drops of pure Peppermint extract
  

I made this last night for the kids because I ran out of the Tom's Maine fluoride free and did not want to pay $5 for another tube. Simple Mom had these recipes and more.

I used this recipe last night minus the peppermint extract, I did not have any, but the kids liked it. Cool!
I love making things cheap and natural.

Casein

I guess it would not be life if it was not crazy. So the last few days besides packing and dealing with the idea that we are moving this weekend!!! I have been dealing with Enzo and his poops again...wah wah WAH! I know he has not had any gluten and yet he has been pooping right after every meal and not normal poops. This is not good. So I begin thinking what if it is dairy, we do not eat that much but we have been eating more lately. I decided to search Casein in google. Casein is a milk protein and after a few google searches I found on a Celiac website a forum of GF people complaining of similar symptoms but with Casein. Oh wait it gets better. As I read on I found out that most likely he has a casein, egg and/or corn allergy too. We basically have corn tortillas everyday!

Well, it makes perfect sense after reading these comments. Basically when you are consuming gluten your body does not absorb nutrients properly. So his body has recovered and now after about a year he is actually absorbing these other possible allergens and I am seeing reactions with him and Kira.

Now what!!! I am going to take all three of us off dairy, corn and eggs for three weeks and then slowly reintroduce each seperately to see if there are reactions. Cooking is going to be so much fun(Not!). This is going to push me to find even better recipes now more than ever.

For instance, today for lunch we had rice bread avocado sandwiches, apples and grape tomato halves and yes, Kira actually ate a tomato and liked it. For dinner, I made rice noodles with a tomato basil sauce. Now, normally I would add parmesan cheese and a little dollup of butter to my sauce at the end to make it creamy. Instead I added a 1/4 cup of raw cashews to my sauce in the vita-mix and blended it until it was creamy. It was soooo good. I also had to make garlic bread without butter. I broiled the bread until it was a little toasted and then sprinkled garlic and sprayed canola oil on top for a little buttery-ness. It was pretty tasty considerering the alternate of just not having it.

I am going to have to perfect my pancake recipe without eggs and butter now :(

I think it is a good thing though. I know we do not eat that much processed foods but we eat our fair share. I want to eat more whole foods and I think this is the pushing limit to make me come up with better even more healthier recipes. I will definitely post them as they flop or taste good.

Oh How I Love Mondays

No really I love Mondays. I work Friday and Saturday. Sundays are usually filled with church and family. So Mondays are just for me to catch up and rejuvenate in a sense.

I finally put all of our laundry away after having to refold it all. I cleaned up our room and that always feels good. I tutored my high school student. I had a nap with the kids. They both napped for two hours at the SAME time. I made a tasty Chicken Satay with veggies and rice. Yum. I bought stuff for Corned Beef and cabbage for tomorrow. I might even make green bagels or pancakes tomorrow.

This morning I ran with my friend at the beach and it felt so good to get out and exercise. I have not wanted to exercise but I am in dire need to exercise. I am at my heaviest ever (about 15 lbs over my realistic weight) without being pregnant, at least being pregnant you kind of have an excuse for extra weight. No this is plain laziness and pure apathy for any kind of good eating or exercise. So today I drank water like no tomorrow and ate really good. I think if I do not eat after 9:00p.m. it should help a lot. I definitely find myself snacking late night and that is never good.

My realistic weight is a weight that I can comfortably keep without starving myself or being too neurotic about everything I do. All of my clothes fit perfect without any binding but they are not falling off. If I just exercise on a regular basis I usually do not have a problem with my weight. But it is the regular basis that needs help.

I am going to put together a fitness schedule for my next race. I am planning on running the Half Marathon in October at Long Beach with my friend again. We want to shave off some serious time of our last race. This means serious training and discipline. I need it.

What do you do to get motivated to exercise?

Detox Day 5

I decided to make Friday my last day of detox. I am feeling so much better, no more headaches. Friday I had my barley life and AIMega capsules. I had a gluten free blueberry muffin for breakfast, I made them the night before. They were quite yummy. I had a smoothie for lunch and veggies and hummus for my raw at dinner. My mom made tasty potato soup and I had a bowl of it. I had snack at work on pecans and dried cherries. Thanks for coming along for the ride. I think the detox went well and I definitely feel better.