Simple Healthy Eating Guide

I like this simple guide to healthy eating so I thought I would share it.

http://www.nomeatathlete.com/simple-healthy-eating-guidelines/

Grilled Zucchini for the 4th!

Happy Independence Day!

Do I have a treat for you!

I had a ton of zucchini from my garden so I decided to grill it up for a family 4th of July barbecue yesterday and boy am I glad I did!

Wow!

This really surprised me. Not only is this a healthy meal.... it is a vegetable and it is amazingly delicious! Grilling it just brought out the delicious flavors in the zucchini especially in the skin. Mmmm..... now I want some more.

So if you have a bunch of this:

You can make this:

Drooling yet?

Grilled Zucchini

Ingredients:

Zucchini

Italian Dressing

Slice up your zucchini so it is 1/2 - 3/4 inches thick and put it in a zip-lock baggie. Pour the Italian dressing over the zucchini. {I just bought a small bottle of Italian dressing and used the whole thing but I probably only needed half the bottle or about a 1/2 cup or so.} Seal the zip-lock and shake the bag to evenly coat the zucchini. Let it marinate for about 15-20 minutes while you are heating up and prepping your grill as necessary. 

With the grill on low-medium, place all the zucchini on the grill so it doesn't fall through the grates. Allow to cook for about 4-5 minutes then flip the zucchini over with tongs. Allow another 4-5 minutes to cook. The zucchini will be done when soft and somewhat bendy. I think it is best when it has softened slightly but not enough to become floppy. The longer you cook it, the softer and floppier it will get so cook to your liking. Serve and enjoy! Mmmm!

My Precious Peach

So, I told you I was going to try a modified version of Peach Pleasure and tonight I did just that.

It was SUPER Great!

Sorry the picture isn't that great though...it's a smoothie.

I call it My Precious Peach.

My Precious Peach

12 ounces Jumex Peach Nectar

1 1/2 cups Frozen Peaches

1/2 cup Frozen Strawberries

1 small scoop Orange Sherbet

Combine my precious and blend.

We wants it. We needs it. Must have the precious.

You better keep a close eye on this dessert!

Sneaky little hobbitses.

Best Vegan Veggie Burrito Ever

I know I already posted today but this was too good not to post right away!

I just had the best vegan veggie burrito ever (haha...like I have had one before).

Seriously, it was amazing. 

It gets a 5 out of 5 rating on my awesomely delicious scale. 

When you look at the individual ingredients, it doesn't look like it would be that tasty.

I can honestly say this was amazAZing!

I will for sure make this again.

Why didn't I take a picture?!

My inspiration was the Cafe Rio salad with tomatillo sauce because I loved those;

and now I am extremely happy that I just created an amazing dinner from it.

Best Vegan Veggie Burrito Ever
{I hate to even call it vegan because of the stigma. Vegan is delicious too!}
by Sara

Tortilla
Green Leafy Lettuce
Tomato, diced
Cucumber, diced
Black Olives, diced
Black Beans
Avocado
Salsa
Lemon Juice
Vegan Ranch

Prepare veggies: Dice cucumber, olives and tomato. Wash and shred lettuce. Scoop out avocado and mash it up with a fork in a bowl. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and some salsa to taste. Heat tortilla in microwave for about 15 seconds and place on a plate. Spread avocado spread onto tortilla, add black beans, lettuce, veggies and drizzle with a small amount of vegan ranch.
Roll up and enjoy!

This vegan ranch was so amazing that it really deserves its own post but here it is anyway.

 Follow Your Heart High Omega Vegan Ranch

I was really not expecting a lot because I've never heard of a delicious vegan ranch before (haha....silly me) but I decided I will just keep trying different products until we find one we can "tolerate".

Wow, was I pleasantly surprised! I think I might even like it better than Ranch if you can even imagine that! I am really glad that I found this. It is much healthier for you than Ranch too!

It does have a price tag though. Ouch. $5. Not that bad though when you are already buying Newman's Own. :)

A Trip to Whole Foods {First Trip as a Vegetarian}

My first trip to Whole Foods as a vegetarian was like walking into a foreign country, not speaking the language and trying to find my way to the local park. Yet everything was so new that is was still fun and exciting all the same.

It felt almost like a cult. Everyone there drove small compact cars, were very thin, wore flip flops or some sort of grass article of clothing and seemed to know exactly what they were looking for.

This of course is quite a broad (and maybe sort of slightly exaggerated) generalization but it still seemed like this all the same. ;D

I liked it. I have been there before but I kind of saw it in a new light this time.

What I really loved about Whole Foods was how the produce was so FRESH with brilliant colors!

I really couldn't believe it. I have never seen such nice produce before (especially for organic) and the prices were not outrageous. It was more expensive but well worth it I think.

Whole Foods really had anything I could need to eat a wide variety of healthy and vegetarian foods, except cashew cream....apparently it is not as common an ingredient as recipes and audiobooks would have me believe because no one had any idea what I was talking about. It's all good. I will just get to make my own. :) The employees there were very nice and helpful too!

See the spoils

 

Looks amazing! Doesn't it?! Mostly fresh fruits and vegetables with a few other things such as vegetable broth, raw cashews, spirulina and sesame sticks.....just because those are delicious.

I learned a few more things today.

I have never used fennel (I have tasted it and it's really not one of my favorite flavors). I only got it because a recipe I have uses fennel and I thought, "Why not? Let's give her a try."

Well here it is.

Weird looking little bugger isn't it?

It's basically a big ol' root with spidery green foliage.

I also had no idea what kale looked like until I found some and realized I have seen it a lot and just never knew it was kale. Good times.

The nectarines were tasty.... I'm excited to dig in!

How to Transition to a Plant-Based Diet

Update:

We have decided we are not going to eat eggs or dairy products anymore as wells as limiting refined sugar. So, yes, we are getting a bit extreme, but extreme circumstances call for extreme measures.

Essentially the only thing keeping us from Vegan is honey consumption....we're ok with honey at least for now. =D

THIS is going to be quite the adventure. 

THIS is a whole new way of eating.

We are going "cold tofu"..... haha..... get it?!

This is going to be challenging but not nearly as challenging as cancer.

To start, I need to go shopping. 

Actually, before that, I need to clean out the fridge and cupboards.

{Anyone hungry?}

The game plan is raw fresh vegetables and fruits with some whole grain and super foods thrown in.

Sound good?

Delicious Snack = Watermelon bowl

I bought a baby watermelon and cut it in half. Put each watermelon half in a bowl and grabbed a spoon. Dig in!

This is how I ate watermelon growing up so why quit now? :)

I ordered a few Vegan cook books from amazon. I hope they will have some good information and recipes to mix things up a bit. My goal is to go raw as much as possible but I think I will want to have a few other things too like pastas and such.

Tomorrow. Whole Foods.

Shopping List:

Apples + other fruit

Celery

Kale

Cucumber

Lettuce

Cashew cream

Nutritional yeast

Soy Milk

Lemon

Avocado

Ginger

Fennel

Carrots

Veggie broth

Spinach

Am I missing anything vital?!

Stay tuned for info on a new blog I am creating regarding the pathway to total body wellness- uncovering the facts and fiction behind food through literature research. I do the research, you reap the benefits!

Introducing

The Verve Body Project
Featuring: The Food Identity Crisis

Go To THE Source

My first reference for my research on what I should be eating is the Handbook on Life so I figured that this really was the only place to start- to get the correct foundation right off the bat. Of course, everything is open to personal interpretation. Here is mine after much pondering and thoughtfulness.


If you don't know already, I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
I believe in a few books of revelation in addition to the Bible, namely The Book of Mormon, The Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine and Covenants.
The Doctrine and Covenants are modern day revelations given to the prophet, Joseph Smith, who restored the priesthood and gospel back to the earth after the great apostasy. These revelations consist of a wide variety of topics, one of which educates us on how to stay healthy in both body and spirit.
 Here is the original text in its entirety.
This "diet" is called 'The Word of Wisdom'.

{If you click on any of the following hyperlinks, it will take you to the entire original text. From there you can click on an individual hyperlink and it will describe that particular footnote in a popup box without leaving the page. Way cool!} 

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Kirtland, Ohio, 27 February 1833 (see History of the Church, 1:327–29). As a consequence of the early brethren using tobacco in their meetings, the Prophet was led to ponder upon the matter; consequently, he inquired of the Lord concerning it. This revelation, known as the Word of Wisdom, was the result. The first three verses were originally written as an inspired introduction and description by the Prophet. 

1–9, The use of wine, strong drinks, tobacco, and hot drinks is proscribed; 10–17, Herbs, fruits, flesh, and grain are ordained for the use of man and of animals; 18–21, Obedience to gospel law, including the Word of Wisdom, brings temporal and spiritual blessings.

 1 A ^aWord of Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland, and the church, and also the saints in Zion—

 2 To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the ^aword of wisdom, showing forth the order and ^bwill of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days—

 3 Given for a principle with ^apromise, adapted to the capacity of the ^bweak and the weakest of all ^csaints, who are or can be called saints.

 4 Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of ^aevils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of ^bconspiring men in the last days, I have ^cwarned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—

 5 That inasmuch as any man ^adrinketh ^bwine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him.

 6 And, behold, this should be wine, yea, ^apure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.

 7 And, again, ^astrong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies.

 8 And again, tobacco is not for the ^abody, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill.

 9 And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.

 10 And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome ^aherbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—

 11 Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with ^aprudence and ^bthanksgiving.

 12 Yea, ^aflesh also of ^bbeasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used ^csparingly;

 13 And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be ^aused, only in times of winter, or of cold, or ^bfamine.

 14 All ^agrain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;

 15 And ^athese hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.

 16 All grain is good for the ^afood of man; as also the ^bfruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—

 17 Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain.

 18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, ^ashall receive ^bhealth in their navel and marrow to their bones;

 19 And shall ^afind ^bwisdom and great ^ctreasures of ^dknowledge, even hidden treasures;

 20 And shall ^arun and not be ^bweary, and shall walk and not faint.

 21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the ^adestroying angel shall ^bpass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.

This seems pretty self explanatory to me. 

 My interpretation:

God has given us the guidelines to be as healthy as we can. Whether for the temporally practical and physiological reasons or for spiritual reasons by just being blessed with health for following his word, we can gain much from following these principles.

God created the body. I trust that he knows how to run it. I choose God's team.

It appears to me that we are meant to live a "vegetarian" lifestyle consisting of grain, fruit, nuts, seeds, and herbs, etc. However, our merciful God has created for us a backup plan in times of winter and famine or anytime we cannot harvest from the earth. For these times has God reserved for us and granted us permission to eat the beasts of the earth and the fowls of the air. This makes a lot of sense to me because we would not be eating the animals of the Garden of Eden (had we stayed there) and were our bodies not meant to be healthy whether in the Garden or out of it?  We were created in the image of our Father and therefor our bodies are eternal and meant to live under any conditions the Father puts us in. (D&C 29:34)

When God gave us dominion over the beasts of the field, I don't think farming animals for meat is what he had in mind (I could be wrong- this is my interpretation). He is telling us to use them sparingly only when we really need it to survive.

 What an omniscient and loving God to give us the information we crave and need in this day of information overload.

Maybe I am reading into this a little too much, but I don't think so.

If God hands be a textbook and says read this and follow it, I think I'm gonna do it to the best of my abilities.

I only regret that I didn't consider this earlier.

My two cents.

That said, there is a scripture that states as long as you eat "with faith" meaning according to what you believe is correct and not against what you think is correct, you will be blessed for that and not be condemned. Rom. 14:21 (20–23)
So go forth, interpret and eat as you will. :)

Peach Pleasure by Jamba Juice

Today, we had Jamba Juice's Peach Pleasure for a snack.

It was tasty but I think it can be improved upon (for my tastes).

I love a true peach flavor and this had too many other flavors going on, especially banana.

Peach Pleasure

12 ounces Kern's Peach Nectar

1 cup Frozen Peaches

1/2 ripe Banana

2 scoops Orange Sherbet

1 cup Ice

Combine in a blender and blend in, blend in. :)

I will post my revised recipe when I make it. Mmmmm....

Let Me Explain

A bit of clarification. 

I don't think I really explained my goal very well in my last post about food.

I received a lot of emails from family and friends making sure we weren't going to be unhealthy vegetarians (yes those exist). I am glad my family loves me that much. =D

I am going to take back the title of my journey from:

Our Journey to Vegetarian

and change it to:

Our Journey to Maximum Health

I have learned a ton over the last 4 months. I have listened to many audiobooks and also seen primary literature on nutrition topics. I also now see that what I used to think was healthy is not healthy at all. I look at food totally different.
My goal isn't to just not eat meat because I do agree that meat can have a place in our diet. I am all about eating REAL food. I totally agree that a lot of vegetarians do not look healthy and look rather frail at times. That's not my goal and we are not doing this at all to get 'skinny'. I can be skinny and still eat meat. There are also vegetarians out there that know what they are doing and are very strong and healthy.
Our goal is overall maximum health so we are definitely wanting to eat REAL food and not soy burgers or tofu dogs that are processed into a vegetarian meat option. I would rather have a fresh cut of organic grass-fed beef or wild fish because that is natural.
  I am very interested in learning more about nutrition and very open to new ideas especially if they make sense. Obviously our motivator is cancer so if there is a certain food that is linked to it then I am willing to give it a try.
I am still looking into the literature that says cancer may be associated with meat consumption and I am not 100% sold that meat itself causes cancer but that it could be the way we produce our meat.
I do think that if we (society) could know what is best for our bodies and have the discipline to eat what we should then we could save ourselves from a lot of suffering and health costs.
I am planning on documenting my education and the new literature and information I get because as I have changed a lot over the last few months I am sure I will keep learning new things and change again. 

All I can act off of is what I know. 

I am really just on the continual search for truth.
  

Stay tuned ....

Our Vegetarian Journey

We would like to take you on our journey to becoming vegetarian (or more accurately Lacto ovo vegetarian meaning we still eat dairy and eggs).

When Ben first said to me that he wanted to stop eating meat, I was frankly surprised. I didn't think he would EVER think about that. He's a meat-n-potatoes kinda guy. But laying in a hospital bed for a week due to cancer complications from growing tumors tends to change your mind about things like this.

Lately we have been seeing more and more information regarding meat and its potential links to cancer. It seems to keep appearing everywhere lately. 

Is it a sign?

 Is it purely coincidence?

Both?

Either way, I tend to follow my gut on things that seem to be presenting for a reason.

We figure, "What if?"

What if The China Study is correct and not eating meat can reverse cancer?

What if meat does cause cancer and weaken our body's ability to fight it?

What if I could be free of cancer just by not eating meat?

When you're right in the middle of battling cancer, you will eventually be willing to try anything to stop the suffering. Plus, you don't need meat to be healthy so why not give it a try if it could save your life and the quality of it?

Would I do this if Ben didn't have cancer?

Honestly, probably not. I love food. But I love Ben more and it is worth it to me and it is worth it to Ben.

A little history.

Ben had cancer in 2002. Synovial sarcoma. It was a tumor in his shoulder that grew extremely fast. It went from undetectable to a grapefruit size within a month. He was diagnosed a few months after we were engaged and he started chemo the monday after we were married. After chemo, radiation and surgery, Ben was free of the cancer. The chemo didn't seem to affect it at all and the radiation did not shrink it either. The surgery was the only thing that seemed to work. 

One year passed. Then 3 years. Then we were at Ben's 5 year cure date celebrating his victory over cancer.

Fast forward 8 years, just enough time for Sara to finish her education. Ben's tight breathing provoked a chest x-ray which showed a baseball size tumor in his left lung.

This was a big shock. How could it be back? It's been 8 years?

Over the next year and a half, Ben would suffer through multiple hospitalizations, 2 lung surgeries and would find another completely different aggressive cancer in his thyroid, which also resulted in a surgery to remove his thyroid and the surrounding lymph nodes. During this time as well as following it Ben would have multiple ER visits in addition to radioactive iodine therapy and more chemotherapy that he had previously swore he would never do again because of how traumatic it was. Cancer changes things.
Now we are looking into the hospital room where the doctors can't figure out why Ben has such severe abdominal pain, is swelling all over his body, can't breath and can't keep anything down. Call it divine intervention or just a smart doctor, an echocardiogram is ordered to look at the function of his heart. The echo technician quickly called down to the doctor that would read the report to make sure he didn't go home before reading it. Very shortly after, Ben's cardiothoracic surgeon came to the hospital room and stated that Ben needed to have fluid around his heart drained because he had cardiac tamponade, so much extra fluid around his heart that it was collapsing his right atrium. Left untreated this is fatal.

Following the drain placement, Ben felt "funny" in his chest but it was a good funny because he could now breath easier and he started getting better from then on. The pain in his abdomen subsided. The emptiness he felt after the draining was a result of a long process of fluid accumulation that was caused by the cancer in his lung, now encroaching on his heart and displacing it to the right side of his body. Additionally, the cancer has spread from his lung down through his diaphragm and into his abdomen pushing his spleen out of position and compressing his stomach.

And through all this we still have hope. We still have plans for our future.

We recognize all the prayers in Ben's behalf and know they have helped.

We believe that God gave us the ability to keep ourselves as healthy as possible as well as help cure ourselves. So we are going to do our part in trying to heal Ben and then leave the rest up to God. 

His will be done in all things.

But we will do all we can and if that means trying a different food lifestyle then that is what we will try. 

So I invite you to join us in our journey towards vegetarianism and health.

I have quickly noticed how much our society depends on meat.

I have my own opinions on meat quality now compared to what we used to eat and think that maybe meat was fine to eat at one time, but is it still fine to eat now that we are trying to "mass produce" meat using hormones and such?

I just don't have all the answers but that's ok. 

The benefit would greatly outweigh any risk or trouble if these theories and studies are accurate.

So, I would love to hear if you have some creative vegetarian meal ideas or delicious ways of cooking veggies. I'll share what I come across. :)

ADDENDUM: Please see my addendum HERE.

Jamba Juice Caribbean Passion Smoothie

I have been out of commission for a while but now I am back for a few weeks.

Ben has been wanting smoothies lately so we will be experimenting with new recipes.

First recipe was not actually an experiment. I have made it before and it is delicious. It is the recipe from Jamba Juice (or totally close enough) for Caribbean Passion, Ben's favorite flavor there.

Caribbean Passion Smoothie

1-1.5 cup Passion Mango Juice (comes in frozen concentrate)

1 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 cup frozen peaches

1/2 cup orange sherbet

1/2 cup ice

Throw it all in an awesome blender like a Vitamix  and enjoy. Depending on how generous your "cup" of strawberries is, you may need to add a little more juice. 

Super tasty. Super easy.

Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30

K kids.

Here goes.

I just popped in Jillian Michaels' new Ripped in 30 DVD.

Consider me your guinea pig.

I am always curious if those workout routines really work so I figured I would try one and find out for you.

This is a 30 day program. That seems fairly reasonable.
There are 4 different workouts. One workout for each week and they keep getting harder.
She also has a 30 day meal plan to optimize results. I pretty much already follow the diet so yay for me. One less thing to think about.

Addendum:
I just finished the first workout.
I think it might work.
It was only 20 minutes and I was sweating and getting tired. I think I can do 20 minutes a day if I feel it is really working.
I really liked the exercises she did. They were different than other exercises I have done plus she is a great motivator. She is much nicer in her videos than on The Biggest Loser. Probably only because she can't see me doing the moves.
I'll take some before and after shots to see any difference.
'Ere goes!

Breakfast Drink

My breakfast drink today:

10 ice cubes
1 carrot
Small handful spinach
1/4 scoop whey protein (6 gm)
2 small scoops of orange sherbert
7 frozen strawberries
1 banana
Small handful blueberries
1/2 cup milk
1/2 Tbsp Blue Agave Nectar

This makes 4 cups (roughly 3 servings)

I basically just found a bunch of stuff and threw it into the blender and finished it often with a bit of sweetness. It was pretty tasty.

Agave Nectar is a liquid natural sweetener that has a low glycemic index, as opposed to High Fructose Corn Syrup, so it is absorbed slowly and does not result in the spikes in blood sugar levels like other sugars do. It is the same concept as eating complex carbohydrates rather than refined carbs. It's sweeter than normal table sugar so don't go overboard.

 

Raw honey is also not a bad alternative to table sugar. It's glycemic index is under half of table sugar.
Here is a comparison chart for sweeteners. Again, the lower the glycemic index the better it is