Day Twenty-seven, Eating to Live

My view on what is and is not food is going through an epic transformation thanks to books by Neal Barnard, M.D., and Eat To Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. 

Of course, both doctors know (and probably their publishers, too) that to get people's attention they need to advertise weight loss on the covers of their books. That is all good and fine, but regardless of weight loss, the fundamental nutrition information they both offer up in their books has me realizing that I have not been eating real food for some forty odd years. 

OK, I have been enjoying vegetables and fruits for quite a while now, so I have not been completely deprived of nutrition. But, I have percentage-wise definitely consumed a lot more non-food, as I am now calling it. The nutrition information is so smack-your-forehead simple and intuitive, it is a wonder we ever got off track and into eating all of the processed garbage we now call food. He also offers up nutritional information that is not so readily available to the public. Or at least, it is not plastered to billboards or predominant in television advertisements. Those are held available for the disease causing, mega-rich "food" companies. 

If you are a die-hard meat eater, Dr. Fuhrman does not admonish you in his book, nor does he push or guilt you into giving it up. He offers the same advice to all, which is to make at least 90% of your daily intake of food fresh produce. He does bring up the harmful effects of eating animal products, but he says that if you focus most of your calories on fresh produce, you are better off than any person, vegetarian or meat eater, who eats mainly processed foods. 

Personally, I am sticking with the no animal products way of eating, but I think his book is good for everybody. He even includes two meal plans--one for vegetarians and one for meat eaters. I would rather see the meat eaters of the world greatly reduce their animal product foods over following a low-carb diet any day. A little bit of meat is a huge improvement over the colon cancer inducing amount many Americans consume these days. 

My diet contains some processed foods--I am not claiming perfection. I have, however, reduced my intake of them by using water in place of soymilk to make my morning oatmeal. I only use it in my coffee and enjoy the occasional chocolate soymilk as a treat. I have also continued to allow Tofurky deli slices in my diet. They are tasty and quick when I need to make a sandwich in a hurry. 

In trying to follow Dr. Fuhrman's produce guidelines, I have found that I do not have the time or energy to eat non-foods. He actually recommends eating an entire head of lettuce daily! I am doing my best to eat mainly vegetables and four or more fruits daily, but it is a lot of food! I am not quite there and may not be for many months to come, but I am greatly increasing my vegetable intake with a concentrated focus on leafy greens. If you read his book, you may also become fanatical about eating your leafy greens. 

Smoothies are an easy and tasty way to get a lot of leafy greens without a ton of chewing. I should just use water, but I will admit that I use orange juice mixed with water as my liquid base. Eventually I will just use water, but for now, I am going to enjoy my smoothies with a little more sweetness than just adding whole fruits provides.  

The above photo shows some vegetables I cooked up in vegetable broth and added to cooked quinoa. Like Dr. Barnard, Dr. Fuhrman advocates staying away from added oils. I cooked the chopped onion, garlic, and mushroom first. Then, I added cauliflower, zucchini, red bell pepper, and spinach. The spices I used were poultry seasoning, parsley, and garlic powder. The cauliflower crumbled into much smaller pieces on its own once it was cooked through. 

This is some amazing green lentil soup I made. I bought the green lentils from Trader Joe's. Lentils are great because you do not have to soak them before cooking them, and they cook up fast. I first cooked the onions, garlic, and mushroom pieces in a bit of vegetable broth* for about five minutes (*enough broth to cover the bottom of the pot and to keep the vegetables from burning). Then, I added more broth (~48 ounces), cauliflower, carrot, some garlic powder, dried parsley, and one cup of green lentils and cooked everything on medium-high heat for forty minutes. In the remaining five or so minutes, I added a few big handfuls of raw spinach and covered the pot so as to wilt it before stirring it in with the rest of the ingredients. I was surprised at how well it turned out. I think my palate is adjusted to real food now and does not need a ton of added seasonings to be satisfied.

I am still quite happy and plan to continue on with my vegan diet. Sorry for the gap in blog posts. More on that in a couple of days.

And now on with day twenty-seven...

Days Sixteen- Eighteen

Raisins are a high concentration of sugar, and if you put on weight easily with sugar like I do, go lightly with the dried fruits. I was just adding a tablespoon or so to my oatmeal, which was fine, but then earlier in the week I must admit the sugar cravings got me. I snacked a bit too freely on some raisins, and my weight went up. Once I stopped eating them (because I ran out!), my weight went back down. 

OK, so I was not being entirely truthful when I said the numbers on the scale did not mean as much as the feeling of eating healthier. I do want to be healthy, and being overweight does not feel healthy to me. The numbers went up mid-week (thanks a lot, raisins!), and I did start to freak out. After all, I was not eating cookies, candy, fried foods, or anything "fun." I mean, hey, if I am going to gain weight, I want to have at least enjoyed some french fries or a candy bar, not raisins! 

After an honest look at what I was eating and a video ("How to Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind") featuring Dr. Lisle from the McDougall Program, I realized my vegetable consumption had gone down a little in favor of what Dr. Lisle calls "concentrated" foods. I was eating more grains and legumes (and raisins), which are not bad foods, but for a body like mine (curvy/burly, not naturally thin), I need to eat more fiber and water rich foods to fill up my stomach and shed those pounds.

I realized that I was no longer eating a salad every day, and in fact I had gone many days without one. So, I am back on the salad train, and my weight is going down again. I love salads, but I will admit that I can get lazy when it comes to washing and chopping so many vegetables--for salads or cooking. 

Dr. Lisle explains in the video that as animals we are naturally wired to seek pleasure and to conserve energy. And it seems to me that many foods, sadly not watery, fiber-rich vegetables, can be highly addictive even when they are not chalked full of preservatives or harmful chemicals. I would gladly take a toasted slice of Ezekiel bread with apple butter over the washing and chopping of just about any vegetable any day. The bread is oil and sugar free, simply made from sprouted grains, yet it is more appealing to my brain than a cold, wet salad. Unfortunately, the calories from the toast and apple butter add up faster. 

My diet is a work in progress. Eating vegan is as easy as breathing air for me, but always eating healthy is the work part. There are tons of non-animal foods to eat, the problem is that even something as natural as a walnut can be too rich if eaten in too large quantity. 

Now on to Day Nineteen.... 

Days Thirteen- Fifteen

Still going strong with the vegan diet. My tape measure and clothes are in agreement, but the scale is not. According to my measurements, I have lost about another 1/2 inch off my waist and hips, and my clothes are getting looser (choice of outfits from my closet are getting slim, too). Oddly the scale has me in the same place, but I am finding that I do not care about that number as much. I am just around ten pounds over my comfortable weight, so I really cannot complain about that. 

Although I do enjoy losing the weight I put on and carried around for five or so years, I have to say that my overall well being is so vastly improved that I am not freaking out about that three digit number. My head feels clearer and my heart feels lighter. I have also noticed the painful stiffness in my knees is magically gone. Well, not magically--it is pretty logical, actually. My body is not having to process all of the junk I used to eat and it is receiving more nutrient-wise. And as I have said before, not starving myself is a huge upside to healthy eating as well.

A delicious green smoothie that is actually green. Mine are usually purple from mixed berries.

On Day Thirteen, I was a bit rushed for time and realized I did not have the luxury of making a healthy lunch and dinner both from scratch. This dawned on me as I was grabbing a few items at the grocery store, and so I snatched a package of hickory smoked Tofurky deli slices and made a sandwich when I got home. Technically, the Tofurky is a processed food, I know, but I am a busy woman, and frankly, sometimes I need some "fast food." 

I spread a very thin layer of Vegenaise (vegan mayonnaise) on two slices of Ezekiel bread--Yes! I even added a little fat!--sliced a tomato and some cucumber, and placed them on the bread slices with some lettuce and Tofurky deli slices. Presto! Lunch in a snap. It held me over until dinner, and I felt comfortably full without that drowsy feeling people talk about after eating turkey or a heavy meal. 

For dinner the same day, I prepared my currently comfortable and somewhat quick food combination: Rice, beans, vegetables and spices. 

I also grabbed a couple of peeled carrots to chew on in case I did not bring enough of the dish I made--which I did eat as the above meal is so low in fat and calories. After work, I enjoyed a lovely, whole apple while I played with the cats (multitasking cat mama).

The next day I did something a little risky: I combined the small amount of Breakfast Scramble leftovers from Day Ten and the leftovers from the night before in a tortilla with a little hummus. I was not sure the flavors would combine well, but sure enough, it was a marriage made in heaven. Honestly, I was a little sad there would not be any leftovers of this bizarre concoction, but it could happen again someday.

For dinner that night, I changed things up a bit and threw together some rice fusilli pasta and added vegetables and red marinara sauce. I cheated with the marinara sauce and used Classico's Tomato and Basil Sauce. It was wonderful, and I got to enjoy the leftovers yesterday (Day Fifteen).

Day 15 was more of the same, except that for breakfast I kept it light as Gerald and I were going to do some yoga before he left for work. I just had a banana, a meatless breakfast patty, and a slice of Ezekiel toast with apple butter. After yoga, a delicious smoothie held me over until lunch, which was a rice, veggie, and lemony hummus combo. 

Now on with Day Sixteen...

Day 12

Giving up meat, poultry, fish? No problem! Giving up eggs and dairy products? No problem! Giving up added fats, even just the ones from vegetable sources? Starting to get tough. 

During an hour and a half massage yesterday before my break at work, I started to get hungry. I had brought a salad heavy with chickpeas and other vegetables along with a couple of Mandarin oranges, and suddenly that was not sounding heavy enough. I am going to say something men hate to hear--my period is coming. And when that is on its way, my appetite increases tenfold, and I  am not necessarily craving carrot or celery sticks. 

I started to fantasize about walking a couple doors down to get a black bean and brown rice burrito from Chipotle. I was really into to it--the beans, the rice, the salsa, the lettuce, maybe some guacamole. Wait! Guacamole is super fat. Ooo, what about the grilled vegetables? No, probably cooked in oil. I did not care, I was going to do it. I just had to decide whether it was going to be a low fat burrito or a high fat one. 

After I cleaned up from the massage and stood in the break room contemplating the burrito, guilt took over my consciousness and I stayed to eat my salad. I still had about thirty minutes left in my break after finishing my meal and started to consider that burrito again. My extreme premenstrual exhaustion saved me that time, because the idea of having to hustle out and get the burrito with two more massages ahead in my schedule, sounded about as exhausting as trying to push over a brick wall with my bare hands.

Earlier in the day, I had decided that when I got home after work, if I felt hungry, I would eat an apple and if that did not do it, some brown rice with Bragg's Liquid Aminos. I did eat the apple, but I also nibbled on some Kettle Krinkle Cut Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper Potato Chips. Gerald takes these for a snack at work. I read the label a hundred times to make sure they were vegan. On their website (which I will admit I am just now checking after eating some chips last night) in the FAQs section, when asked if their products are dairy free they say: 

"Our products are processed on equipment shared with ingredients that contain very small amounts of dairy. We thoroughly clean our lines after each flavor run, but there is a slight potential of cross contamination." 

All right, so I will not eat more Kettle chips. The salt and fat was satisfying to my taste buds though, I will admit. 

Oddly, I did not eat the brown rice as planned. Instead making crispy tortilla chips from my Ezekiel tortillas and dipping them in low fat hummus sounded better. I really wanted to dip them in salsa, but I am currently out. I believe the solution is to browse through my Forks Over Knives, The Cookbook by Del Sroufe and The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook by Neal Barnard, M.D. Because honestly, my own creations are all starting to essentially be the same meal with little variation. I am getting bored. 

I also follow Vegetarian Times Magazine on Facebook, and they are constantly bombarding me with pictures of gorgeous -likely fat laden- dishes. I also follow Chef Chloe's posts, and the woman loves to bake, bless her soul. I am the yin to her yang, because I love to EAT baked goodies. 

Happily, my challenge is not that I desire animal products for food, just that I seem to be craving fattier foods. OK, and sugary foods--not simply fruit, devine though fruit can be. 

Reviewing my food list for yesterday before sharing it here, I am seeing how I probably began to crave fats and sugars yesterday because I did not actually eat much in terms of quantity. It was the one day of the week when I go into work earlier, and I believe not having as much time for filling up on healthy foods may be the culprit. Quantity and new recipes will hopefully be the solution. Hoping today goes better.

Here is what I ate:

Breakfast: Breakfast Scramble leftovers, coffee with soymilk.

I have to admit, the craziness started early. The potatoes in this recipe screamed for ketchup, and I gave in. I drizzled a fairly small amount over the scramble. The sugar in the ketchup is probably what got the ball rolling down hill.  

Snack: Chocolate soymilk, single serving box (8 oz.).

Uh oh, see? So soon I was looking for more sugar.

Lunch: Bean, veggie and rice leftovers from lunch the day before.

Oddly enough, I recall not being all too hungry when I ate this. It was a small serving, maybe about a cup in size with all of the ingredients, but I ate it because I knew it would be about four hours until I could eat again. 

Dinner: Salad with Annie's Natural dressing, 2 Mandarin oranges.

Red leaf lettuce, chickpeas, cucumbers, carrots, red bell peppers, and Annie's fat free mango dressing. 

Later: Fuji apple, handful of Kettle chips, Ezekiel tortilla w/ hummus, raisins.

I mentioned the apple, chips, tortilla and hummus above, but I did not mention the raisins. I REALLY wanted some dessert, but another piece of fruit just did not seem sweet enough. I just snacked on the raisins.  

  

Days Nine- Eleven

A funny thing happened after writing my last blog about sugar and how I had once read that eating animal protein helps with sugar cravings. Later that same day I went on to read some very contradicting information in Breaking the Food Seduction, by Neal Barnard, M.D. In his chapter on meat he says, "It turns out that meat stimulates a surprisingly strong release of insulin, just as a cookie or bread does, a fact that surprised nutrition researchers." That truly surprised me, but at the same time it made sense as I recall times of eating what I thought was a healthy meal--baked, white chicken breast, salad, side of vegetables--and seconds afterward I could not wait to get my hands on some dessert. 

Barnard added, "In fact, beef and cheese cause a bigger insulin release than pasta, and fish produces a bigger insulin release than popcorn." Normally when a person eats something sweet or with a high glycemic index, their bodies compensate by releasing insulin to balance the excessive amount of sugar going quickly--too quickly--into the blood. All that insulin can then bring on another craving for a sugary or simple carbohydrate, and the poor body is up and down between overly high blood sugar and too much insulin, which if I am understanding correctly can lead to diabetes. 

Before following the low-fat vegan diet prescribed by Dr. Barnard, my blood sugar levels were all over the place. My hunger went from "am I hungry?" to "if I do not eat this instant I am going to pass out!" Now I become aware of my hunger in a much gentler way. For that, I am immensely grateful. I used to think it was just me and how eating was supposed to be. Since starting the diet, I have been on a much more even keel with my hunger and energy levels. 

So, let's talk about food!

I tried out a couple of new things as promised over the last few days. Day Nine was more of the usual fare, but I ventured out in a new direction for breakfast the next morning, on Day Ten. 

This is what Neal Barnard calls the Breakfast Scramble in his book 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart, with a couple of ingredients added by me.  

The ingredients are:

4 ounces of firm tofu, crumbled, 1 Yukon Gold potato, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of Turmeric. To these I added some chopped onion and a few crimini mushrooms. (Ezekiel toast with apple butter pictured with the scramble). 

I chopped up and microwaved the potato for about 3 minutes (adding a couple tablespoons of water in the bowl so that they would not dry out). I sprayed the frying pan per the recipe directions with fat free oil spray--first time I have added anything oil-like since starting the diet. I then added the onions and mushrooms and let them cook for a few minutes before adding the crumbled tofu and 1/4 teaspoon of salt (salt--also something I have not done in over a week).

The directions said to allow the tofu to cook for up to five minutes before adding the potatoes and Turmeric. I did that, and I have to add a note here. I believe 2 entire teaspoons of this spice is WAY too much. I almost stopped after one teaspoon, but I wanted to see how it would taste. I tossed all of the ingredients in the pan, but it was difficult to get the Turmeric to fully mix in with the other ingredients. While I was eating it, I sometimes stumbled upon patches of powder in my mouth. I like the spice, but not so much that I would shake some into my hand and pop it into my mouth. 

Minus the overload of Turmeric, I think it was a tasty dish. I could not taste the salt to save my life. The firm tofu crumbled up really well, and if I didn't know any better, I might not have known it was in there. One can add other vegetables and use any leftovers in a breakfast burrito. The recipe says it serves two, but I ate a little less than one serving.

For Lunch on Day Ten, I added brown rice, cauliflower, and tomato to Trader Joe's Latin Black Bean Soup.

The rice was pre cooked, of course, but I had this weird idea that raw cauliflower and uncooked tomato might taste good in the soup as well. I was wrong, but I had to get ready for work and ate the weird concoction anyway. Oh well, not all creative attempts are successes. 

The bean soup is really tasty on its own and great with rice as it is a little thicker than a broth, but not as thick as some split pea soups. It only has 1 gram of fat per 8 ounce serving, which follows Dr. Barnard's guidelines. Plus, it is easy to prepare. Just shake, heat, and eat. Sometimes we all need convenient foods to help save time. 

For Dinner that night, I made a big salad which included edamame, carrots, cucumbers, red bell pepper slices, zucchini slices, and tomato. I topped it with Annie's Naturals Mango Vinaigrette. I also enjoyed a toasted slice of Dave's Killer Bread, Rockin' Rye with nothing on it.  

  

The next day, Day Eleven, was a little more of the same. For lunch I cooked some edamame in a pan with vegetable broth, after a few minutes I added garlic powder before incorporating some crimini mushrooms, red bell pepper strips, zucchini slices, and pre cooked sweet potato, chopped. Once the veggies were cooked through, I added some brown rice. I liked the light flavor, but my husband, Gerald, added some Bragg's Liquid Aminos to is bowl.  

For a light Snack after work, I enjoyed a couple of Mandarin oranges. 

Now on to day 12......

 

Days Seven & Eight

After one entire week of following the low fat vegan diet, I have lost 3.3 pounds. In addition to that, just from yesterday morning, I am down another half pound this morning. Weight loss is definitely a huge motivator, but as I have mentioned in previous posts, I am interested in feeling and being healthier overall.

One of my big lifelong downfalls in eating has been sugar--the processed and refined kind of sugar. Aside from one 8-ounce serving most days of Silk brand's chocolate flavored soymilk, I have not been eating sugary treats or adding sugar to any of my foods. It is a personal choice, because there are vegan sweeteners out there in which I could indulge. I have to admit that it actually has not been all that difficult to omit sweeteners since following this diet. As any sugar addict has probably read before, if one does not add sugar to her/his diet, the cravings should not be a problem. 

I would like to expand on that concept and say if you are eating foods that help maintain a healthy blood sugar level, you will not crave sugar nearly as much as when you allow it into your diet. When I followed the packaged food diets, high (animal) protein/low carb diets, and other calorie counting diets which allowed artificial sugars (eg. aspartame), I was in agony craving sugar around the clock. I would eat the foods allowed on the diet, and then within minutes, even seconds, start obsessing about sweet treats. My mind would race, my body would become restless, and nothing could stop the obsessive thoughts and desire for sugar. 

At some point in my lifelong quest to find the right way of eating for my body, I read in a few places that animal protein would stave off sugar cravings. It was recommended that a person up their protein intake and the cravings would just quiet down. For some of us, the sugar sensitives, that could not be farther from the truth. A low carb/ high animal protein meal brought out the sugar monster in me. 

Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. has written a few books on the subject of sugar addiction: Potatoes Not Prozac, The Sugar Addict's Total Recovery Program, and Your Last Diet. She has written other books as well, but those are the ones I have read. You really only need to read the first one to get all of the good information and science behind sugar addiction--the other books basically repeat themselves. In short, some people are genetically more sensitive to sugar and it's cousin, alcohol. A sugar sensitive person eating a sugary treat or an alcoholic beverage is much more profoundly affected by the substance than the average person. Alcoholics who quit drinking often turn to sugary foods or simple carbohydrates to get nearly the same high. 

DesMaisons prescribes a diet with high protein and complex carbohydrates to balance out the chemical imbalance between the brain chemicals dopamine, tryptophan, and serotonin inherent in sugar sensitives. She promotes animal products as the best source for protein, but she acknowledges and works with vegetarians as well. It is very interesting, and I recommend reading one of her books or visiting her website if you think you might have a sensitivity (addiction) to sugar or alcohol. I have followed her seven steps with some success, but I have to say, my current diet is working for me better than anything I have ever tried. Ever. 

Fruits are a part of my diet, and I eat them in their whole form to retain the fiber which slows the rate of sugar getting into the blood. When I crave something sweet now, I do not get shaky and obsessive, and a piece of fruit really satisfies the craving. I simply cannot express how improved I feel on so many levels. Sure, after some time between meals I get hungry, but I do not become the maniac I feel I have been while following the other diets I have tried in the past.

The vegan diet is a way of eating, not a fad or painfully restrictive food plan (unless you are addicted to meat and/or dairy, I suppose--suggested reading: Breaking the Food Seduction by Neal Barnard, M.D.). I am consuming a diet consisting solely of plant based foods. I do not count calories, I do not measure portion sizes, I simply eat vegetables, fruits, legumes, and grains. 

Here is what I ate: 

Day Seven:

Breakfast: Oatmeal, applesauce, and coffee with soymilk.
I cooked the oatmeal with unsweetened soymilk instead of water as usual, and added dried apricots, a pinch of nutmeg, and sprinkled it with cinnamon. I also added ~1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce on the side.   

Snack: Smoothie.
I used ~1/2 cup of orange juice (not from concentrate), ~1/2 cup of soymilk, 1/5 block of silken tofu, 1-2 cups kale, ~1/4 cup each frozen mango and mixed berries.

Lunch: The last cabbage roll!!
Details on how I made a pan of ten cabbage rolls are listed under dinner on Day One. 

Dinner: Veggies, beans and rice mix, Mandarin orange.
I peeled and chopped up a small sweet potato, and then microwaved it for a couple of minutes. In a pan, I poured in enough vegetable broth to cover the bottom of the pan (~1/2 inch high), and added ~1/2 cup frozen edamame. I chopped up a carrot, a zucchini, and 1/2 of a red bell pepper while I let the edamame cook. After a few minutes, I added the remaining vegetables (including the potato) and allowed them to cook for another three or four minutes. I believe I also added in some garlic powder at this point. I had between 1/8 and 1/4 cup of red kidney beans in the refrigerator and tossed them in to use them up. Once the veggies seemed cooked through, I added ~1/2 cup of already cooked brown rice to the mixture and tossed it in the pan until warmed through. I tossed in a big handful of micro greens, ate it straight from a bowl, and loved it! (Photos are posted under lunch section for Day Eight). I ate the orange whole--did not add it to the mix. 

Snack: Fuji apple.

Day Eight:

Breakfast: Oatmeal, toast with apple butter, coffee with soymilk.

I prepared the oatmeal as on all other days, but this time I added raisins instead of apricots. The toast is Ezekiel bread with just apple butter, no fats added. 

Lunch: Veggies, beans and rice mix on tortilla, chocolate soymilk.

This was fast food at its finest. I spread plain low-fat hummus on an Ezekiel tortilla and piled on the leftovers from the previous dinner. I considered eating it cold, but then I decided to pop the entire thing in the microwave for 30 seconds just to take the chill off. It was amazing! (Sorry the photos are a little blurry. I was really excited to eat!) 

Snack: Smoothie.
Same ingredients as previous day.

Dinner: Quinoa and veggies.
I cooked the quinoa according to package instructions, substituting vegetable broth for water. In a nonstick pan, I heated some vegetable broth and added chopped carrot, chopped yellow onion, and crimini mushrooms. After three to five minutes on medium-high heat, I added ~ 1 teaspoon Spice Island's poultry seasoning, chopped zucchini, chopped red bell pepper, and whole cherry tomatoes. I was totally winging it, and so to amp up the flavor, I decided to add ~2 tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar, a couple of diced garlic cloves, and 1/4 cup of corn kernels. (The vinegar, tomatoes, and corn were inspired by Alicia Silverstone's fantastic Summertime Succotash recipe from her book The Kind Diet). I then added a few more tablespoons of vegetable broth and a handful of baby spinach, and placed a lid over the top to wilt the spinach. The final step was mixing in the cooked quinoa.

Now on to Day Nine....

  

  

  

Days Five & Six

The last couple of days were a little busy and hectic. One of the reasons I ever went on diets like Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem is because preparing food from scratch can be time consuming. Plus there is the added chore of creating meals as opposed to browsing through some packages of premade meals and simply popping one in the microwave for a few minutes. 

Having foods prepped ahead of time saved my life this week. For example, cooked brown rice, hummus, and canned beans made for some quick meals. Like this dish.. I warmed up some brown rice and red kidney beans in the microwave, and then I added a big dollop of hummus and a handful of micro greens. The hummus has lemon powder in it, which gave the dish a bright, clean flavor. I imagine a squeeze of lemon on plain hummus would have the same effect. It was delicious and satisfying.

Or how about on Day Two when I sauteed some asparagus in vegetable broth, and then added cubed, cooked sweet potato chunks and rice with some Bragg's Amino Acids. Simple! A little sweet, a little salty, and very satisfying. 

My goal is to find ways to eat healthy, simple, easy to prepare foods. These foods do not have all the flash your taste buds are used to when you eat some processed food containing MSG. But with the right amount of herbs, spices, and interesting food combinations, you can create some tasty meals. 

And here are the vegan cabbage rolls I have been blogging about all week:

I would make more sauce for the topping of the cabbage rolls if I were to make them again. Nevertheless, having these babies in the fridge ready-to-go has also saved me a ton of time. 

Washing vegetables and peeling them to have ready to go at a moment's notice has helped keep me on track as well. 

Eating whole foods definitely plays a huge part in regaining one's health, but adding in some exercise is helpful, too. A week before starting the vegan diet, I began working out with Bob Harper's Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga DVD. I did not lose any weight until I started this diet, but I have noticed that my muscles are not so tight upon waking in the morning. I am also feeling stronger, taller, and my posture is improving. Along with the yoga, which Gerald now does with me four times a week, I walk briskly for 20-40 minutes five days a week. 

You most likely will never hear me talk about taking any boot camp classes. I like my exercise to be challenging, but doable as well. I feel walking and yoga are very natural forms of moving the body, and I am quite content with them for now. 

It is almost time for my weekend, and I will have the opportunity to conjure up some new recipes and buy the necessary supplies. I hope you will continue with me on my journey to health and wellness. 

Here is what I ate:

Day Five:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with figs, meatless breakfast patty, coffee with soymilk.

Again, I cooked the 1/2 cup of oats in 1 cup of soymilk per manufacturer's instructions, omitting the added salt. (Note: the soymilk heats up quickly, so keep an eye on it). In the remaining minute or two of cooking, I added chopped up dried figs (six of them), and then sprinkled some cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg into the mix. I shared with Gerald, and so I ate about half of what was made. He enjoyed a toasted slice of Dave's Killer Bread with apple butter instead of a meatless breakfast patty. 

Lunch: Brown rice, red kidney beans, micro greens and hummus. (Pictured above).

I really just eyeballed the portions of each ingredient. I would guess that I used ~1/2 cup of brown rice, added ~1/4 cup of the beans, and then microwaved them for ~2 minutes. I then tossed in a small handful of the greens and a couple dollops of hummus and stirred it all together. 

Dinner: Vegan Cabbage Roll. (Pictured above)

Details on how to prepare these are listed under dinner from Day One. I find reheating them in the microwave at 50% power for 3 minutes warms them through. I like my food hot, but not so hot it scalds the inside of my mouth.

Snack: 1 Ezekiel tortilla, salsa, and peanut butter. 

Someone was eating tortilla chips at work that night, and I was tempted. I came home and cut a tortilla into four triangles and placed them in the toaster. Our toaster holds bread slices (or tortilla triangles) in place in the center of the toasting area so that nothing gets too close to the heating elements. This was truly an experiment that happened to work out. The "chips" came out crunchy and a little chewy. I then dipped them into a medium salsa I buy at Whole Foods, the 365 Brand. It is all vegetables, no added oils or sugars. It satisfied my desire for chips and salsa. The peanut butter came in an hour or so later. Having been a rushed, stressful day, I just craved one of my favorite indulgences. I get the kind of peanut butter that is just roasted peanuts and salt, so I do not feel too bad about it, but the fat content was high. I just ate it by the spoonful. (My shameful moment revealed. But still vegan!).

Day Six:

Breakfast: Cabbage Roll! Coffee with soymilk.

So, Gerald did not eat as much of the cabbage rolls as he said he would. His excuse is that they make him poop too much in the morning. I know the rule for leftovers is they should be consumed in 2-3 days, but we have Lock-N-Lock containers, and I am hoping the food is staying as fresh as the makers of the containers promise it will. I do not plan to make such a large recipe again, knowing I will probably be the only one eating it!

Snack: Smoothie.

I used ~1/2 cup of orange juice, ~1/2 cup of soymilk, 1-1 1/2 cups of raw kale, 1/5 block of silken tofu, ~1/4 cup frozen mango chunks, and 1/4-1/2 cup of frozen mixed berries. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I use a VitaMix Blender which blends the ingredients to a substance that rivals anything they make at Jamba Juice. Perfection, really.

Lunch: Veggie Wrap

I spread hummus (a couple of dollops) on a warmed Ezekiel tortilla and topped it with vegetables I had sauteed in vegetable broth: One whole zucchini, 1/2 red bell pepper, 5-6 cherry tomatoes sliced in half, julienned basil leaves, about 5, and garlic powder. Honestly, it is a big pile o' vegetables, and so I eat some of them down before I can comfortably roll the tortilla creating a wrap. 

Snack: Silk brand chocolate almond milk, one 8-ounce serving.

I have tried their soymilk version, and I saw one of these in a cooler at the grocery store yesterday. It was good and helped to satisfy my chocolate craving, but I think the soymilk version is richer. 

Dinner: Garden salad with Annie's Naturals dressing, cabbage roll.

I am fond of red leaf lettuce, and to that I added slices of cucumber, red bell pepper, carrot, and micro greens. I usually add tomatoes to my salads, but I figured that since I ate some in the veggie wrap and there would be tomatoes in the cabbage roll, I would skip adding them this time. I am also on a kick with Annie's fat free mango dressing. It is light and not too sweet. 

Snack: Banana.

I like my sweets, and after having been on Nutrisystem for some months, I became accustomed to a little treat after work. The banana filled the void quite well. 

Now on to Day Seven.....