Hummus!

I whipped this hummus up this morning and it was delicious!  I hope you enjoy it, too.

2 cans of chickpeas (rinsed and drained) or 4 c.
1/2 t garlic
2 T tahini
2 T soy sauce
4 T lemon juice
1/4 c parsley
1 t cumin

Combine all ingredients. Blend well.

Serve as a salad dressing, with veggies, on sandwiches and more!

A thought or two on progress

We're in our 4th week now of eating plant-based and the changes have been amazing.  To fill you in, 3.5 weeks ago we watched the movie Forks Over Knives by Fulkerson, Lee/ Aucoin, Joey/ Barnard, Neal, MD [ (Google Affiliate Ad).  The research made sense to me and my husband and we agreed that our whole family would try a plant-based diet for two months.  We've been tracking changes daily and have been amazed with the benefits.  I really didn't think much beyond weight loss and cholesterol initially but these past weeks have shown many more results than I could have expected.

We'll find out about our cholesterol levels in 2-4 weeks when we each have routine blood work.  I can only imagine they have dropped because so many other things have changed for the better.  To start with, I was not looking to lose weight but my blood pressure and cholesterol were both higher than they should be.  I even purchased a blood pressure cuff to monitor but unfortunately the cuff was too small.  My weight has remained the same, my energy level is up, I no longer drag in the afternoon unless I have not gotten enough sleep the night before. It feels like my tiredness is 'real' now and not just a groggy feeling I live with daily.  My mood is better.  I am energized to exercise.

As for Jason, he has lost 11 pounds.  His blood pressure went from 132/83 with a resting pulse in the 70 & 80's to 111/57 with a resting heart rate of 49.  He is no longer bloated, feels energized after eating and his sinuses are clearing.

We are both exercising almost every day now.

As for the kids, I thought we were just bringing them along for the ride with us.  I didn't realize until reading the book Disease-Proof Your Child: Feeding Kids Right by Fuhrman, Joel [Paperba (Google Affiliate Ad) how much we should have been doing this for THEM all along.  Here are a few of the changes:

Our son has seen vast improvements in behavior, he loves all the 'treats' and that he can pretty much eat as much of whatever he wants whenever he wants.  He is sensitive to processed sugars and we also think dairy (casein) is problematic but since he has not had either of these in weeks, he has not been craving them.  He says he feels good with more energy and feels less angry.

Our middle daughter has always been a big fruit & veggie eater.  I think she likes all the raw fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds best.  Her allergies have been less pronounced since we started eating plant based.  She is sniffling less.

Our youngest has had digestive problems for her entire life. But those issues are completely gone.  Her constant tummy aches are gone.  What a gift to give a child!  She was addicted to cheese before this and would go to all lengths to get it but has only asked for cheese three times since we started and that was in the first two weeks.

Tomorrow (or soon) I will share my thoughts on what happens next.  It is an interesting question that has come up in several conversations with friends who ate plant based/vegan/vegetarian for a while and then stopped.  Until then, chews well! :-)

Menu Week 4

I am getting later and later on getting these menu posts up and I realized I haven't made any updates since I posted the last menu.  So this post will be about this week's menu and the next one will be on the changes we have seen.

I am starting to get the hang of this and develop my own recipes so there are not links to every recipe.  But if you see something you would like the recipe for just leave a comment!

Sunday
Breakfast: Rip's Big Bowl (I make 8 times the recipe and keep it in an airtight container for the week)
Snack
Dinner: Minestrone Soup, Corn Muffins (I adapted the soup by omitting the oil and using veggie stock, I adapted the muffins by swapping the oil for applesauce, the flour for whole wheat flour, reduced the sugar to 2 T of Maple syrup)
Dessert: Cocoa Energy Balls, Apple Slices

Monday

Breakfast: Pumpkin Oatmeal
Snack: Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Dinner: Thai Chickpeas & Brown Rice
Dessert: Strawberry Ice Ceam


Tuesday

Breakfast: Rip's Big Bowl
Snack: Power Balls
Dinner: Chinese Cashew Salad (from Fresh20.com)
Dessert: Coconut Ice Cream 
Note: Make Oatmeal Bars for morning


Wednesday

Breakfast: Oatmeal Bars & Green Smoothie
Snack: Fresh Fruit
Dinner: Burgers, Roast Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts
Dessert: Avocado Ice Cream


Thursday

Breakfast: Brown Rice Breakfast Pudding (From the Forks Over Knives Cookbook)
Snack: Trail Mix
Dinner: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Brocoli
Dessert:


Friday

Breakfast: Rip's Big Bowl
Snack: Carrots & Peanut Butter
Dinner: Kale w/ Cashew Cream Sauce over noodles (In the Forks Over Knives Cookbook)
Dessert: Store Bought Non-Dairy Ice Cream


Saturday

Breakfast: Pancakes w/ Fruit Sauce
Snack
Dinner: Curried Rice Salad (Forks Over Knives Cookbook)
Dessert: Coconut Ice Cream (2)

Menu Week 3

The table format for the menu was fun but it was cutting off the end of the week.  So I am just going to list the days and meals below.  Also, for the most part we have left-overs for lunch.  In that case I do not indicate a meal.

Tonight, we had the bean wraps and all by the littlest child cleaned their plate.  Little M even asked for a side of steamed kale.  We are all getting LOTS more veggies.  The bean wraps were my own recipe.  Sauted onion, garlic & green peppers, 1 T cumin, 1 T Chili Powder, 4 c. of black beans with their liquid, 2 c. chopped kale.  Black Pepper to taste. I mashed the beans as you would for refried.

Sunday:
Breakfast: Steel cut oats with apples, dates, cinnamon & pecans
Snack: Popcorn
Dinner: Pumpkin Hummus, Spinach Soup & Brown Rice
Dessert: Cantaloupe

Monday:
Breakfast: Rip's Big Bowl
Lunch: Peanut butter and apple sandwiches, banana, salad
Dinner: Guacamole, Steamed Kale & Black Bean Wraps, Chips & Salsa
Dessert: Banana Pineapple Sorbet (from Disease-Proof Your Child: Feeding Kids Right by Fuhrman, Joel [Paperba (Google Affiliate Ad))

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal Bars & Smoothie
Snack: Powerballs
Dinner: Chili w/ TVP, Collards & Carrots (from Eat to Live: The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained (Google Affiliate Ad))

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Rip's Big Bowl
Snack: Fresh Fruit Salad
Dinner: Mushroom Stroganoff, Broccoli Salad

Thursday:
Breakfast: Baked Tofu Squares with dip, Fruit Salad
Snack: Trail Mix
Dinner: Barley & Sweet Potato Pilaf, Green Beans

Friday:

Breakfast: Rip's Big Bowl
Snack: Carrot Sticks
Dinner: Quinoa Corn & Avocado Salad

Saturday:
Breakfast: Tofu Scramble, Corn Tortillas & Pinto Beans
Snack: Birthday Party! Fruit Rainbow, Twirly Rainbow Popsicles, ??
Dinner: Veggie Sushi, Cashew Stir Fry

I feel like I am starting to get a handle on the recipes and food prep.  The kids have been amazingly open to the changes and trying new things.  I can't believe we are into our third week.  Last night and today we had the opportunity to share a meal at home with friends and family.  It was encouraging to be able to share 'plant strong' foods with them and still enjoy and socialize.  I am glad to see we can still gather over food!

So Delicious!

Towards the beginning/middle of last week I was feeling pretty bummed about the food I was making.  I made a couple of 'dud' recipes and I accidentally undercooked the beans I was using for the week making all my subsequent recipes with those beans very dry.

But, then I started planning for Valentine's Day and Little M's birthday for Thursday and Friday and we found some great options!  For Valentine's Day I made broccoli w/ peanut sauce over brown rice.  It was gobbled up such that we only had leftovers for Jason's lunch.  Dessert was Fuhrman's Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream, we needed something special for Valentine's you know!  Another hit!  Friday, little M picked out spaghetti, mashed sweet potatoes, salad and carrot cake.  I also made double chocolate cupcakes for her preschool friends.  Another great day of eating.  I was so proud of our plant strong meals and being able to share them with friends and family.  It doesn't hurt when the kids just devour what I make either.

Today, we enjoyed a maple syrup demonstration at Ladew.  I knew it would be a little bit of a challenge but we enjoyed time outside and learned the ins and outs of making maple syrup. It was a lot of fun.  I packed a substantial picnic lunch and everyone did great avoiding the pancakes, syrup & milk and partaking in what we brought.  We did all sample the syrup and we all had my favorite, maple sugar candy.  Yummy!

I have been reading Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book, Disease-Proof Your Child: Feeding Kids Right by Fuhrman, Joel [Paperba (Google Affiliate Ad).  Most of what he says is supporting or mentioned in the other works that I have been researching.  But, the book also reinforces the importance that good nutrition has in laying a foundation for later years.  He demonstrates how what we feed them now could potentially cause or prevent future illnesses.  Certainly a powerful message.  I am also intrigued by the information regarding behavior and diet.  It is my understanding that it could take months to see a change but since we are already making this change anyway, it will be interesting to see what trickle down effects there are.  Fuhrman's book has firmed my resolve to avoid all dairy with at least Little J and E and certainly Jason.

It will be pretty easy to do if we eat lots of 'Kale with Creamy Cashew Sauce' another of Fuhrman's recipes.  The dish said it served 4 but Jason and I made quick work of it.  The kids each had some and although none of them raved about it, they did each eat what was on their plate.

Our Journey Continues: Day 11

We are not even two weeks into this adventure yet and today was difficult. It started out as a great day but had a lot of mental highs and lows.

Our breakfast was oatmeal bars and chocolate (spinach, banana, cocoa, etc) shakes.  I thought the kids would love them but the girls were not thrilled and took a while to plow through them.  Little J, Jason and I enjoyed these and the shakes turned out much better than the first round from last week.  I used a high powered blender which made a big difference in the texture and experience.

For lunch I had we picked from left overs and single ingredients for our individual meals.  Little M chose rice, an energy ball (peanut butter, dried fruit & seeds), blood orange.  All great choices.  Little E had her dinner from the night before which she again refused to eat.  I had left overs and salad and that was fine.

Dinner was an attempt at spaghetti and meatballs. The first and most major problem was that I tried using the failed tomato soup as spaghetti sauce.  It may be fine as pizza sauce but it just didn't have enough 'umpf' to make the dish.  In any case, Little M sensing my distress over-compensated on her praise for the meal,  Little J ate it so he could have cookies and Little E just ran around and refused to eat it.  I think my disappointment was that it just didn't taste like spaghetti and meatballs.  Better sauce would have helped so would a mental shift.

I can't make 'traditional favorites' because they are just not going to taste the same.  We need to find new favorites.  Plus, I am pretty much done with the oatmeal, banana, cinnamon flavor that we have had in several breakfast/dessert dishes.  It is ok once in a while but I need more variety than that.

Prior to this diet change I would plan each week with a beef, poultry, pork, fish, bean and egg dish.  It made meal planning easier and meant that we got variety in the foods we were eating.  This coming week I am going to re-implement this policy with adaptations, of course.  We will have a bean soup, a veggie soup, a salad dish, a grain dish, pasta and sandwich/wrap.  I might play with those some until I find the right combination.  But I am going to try to avoid 'look-a-like' dishes like the ones I focused on this week because they were just took disappointing.

I picked up The Forks Over Knives Cookbook today and will look for inspiration there.  Tomorrow, I will plan for Little M's birthday party at the end of the week.  Encouragement is welcome!

Menu Week 2

Here is the menu and recipes for this coming week. I think I did a little bit better planning the full week this time.  Links are provided for the recipes I will use except for Friday (I haven't decided which burger recipe to use yet) and Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream (it is from Furman's Eat to Live: The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained (Google Affiliate Ad) book)

Today we tried a LOT of new recipes including "bacon" for breakfast (not a hit, too dry) and Tofu Scramble (not quite eggs but yummy and eaten up!)  The Polenta Pizza was yummy and I took it to a church potluck.

I was a little concerned going to the potluck as our first adventure out into the 'real' world.  I only took one child so I wouldn't have a big job of keeping track of what they were each eating.  We really lucked out.  There was the dish I brought, green beans w/ almonds, a big salad and a fruit salad.  So we were set!

Meatloaf tonight was fun and felt homey on this cold-ish winter day.  But looking back at the recipe now I realize that I forgot two big ingredients: the oatmeal (no wonder it was not totally solid) and the nuts.  But, eaten along with the mashed potatoes it was great!  Definitely will make again.  For dessert we had Chocolate Ice Box Pie and while not TOTALLY healthy (there was maple syrup in it) it was so good. I topped it with raspberries and my dear husband asked a couple of times just how bad it was for him.  The kids, of course, devoured it and wanted seconds.  My favorite part was the crust made of dates, nuts and vanilla.

I am trying to figure out little M's birthday, which is coming up on Friday.  She has asked for burgers but wants real meat ones.  We could indulge her request for her birthday, it wouldn't hurt anything.  Definitely, need to continue to discuss with my dear husband and see what the best plan for our family is.

Some continued health benefits: we continue to feel alert and refreshed.  Jason has said his sinuses feel more clear than he can remember.  Our littlest one is having an easier time going to the bathroom.  DH and I have both felt like exercising and are actually do it, every day.  His blood pressure and heart rate is significantly lower than it was 1 week ago.  We will continue to monitor but so far so good!

On an environmental note, we have almost no trash!  Food scraps go into compost, the wrappers go into recycling and that's about it.

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Breakfast	Scramble, Bacon, FruitSalad	Rip's Bowl	Breakfast Bars & Green Shake	Rip's Bowl	Oatmeal	Rip's Bowl	Saturday
Mid Morning Snack		Power Balls	Rice Cakes & PB	Apples & Pistachios	Trail Mix	Friday	Saturday
Lunch	Polenta, Pesto Pizza						Kale w/Cashew Cream Sauce
Afternoon Snack	Apples, PB and Toast, Pistachios	Hummus	Popcorn	Fruit Salad w/Chia Seeds	Chips & Salsa	Fruit Shake	Saturday
Dinner	Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, salad	South West Mac & Cheese	Spaghetti & Meatballs	Black Bean Burritos	Stir Fry & Brown Rice	Burgers, Fries, Salad & Fruit	Potato Enchiladas, Guacamole,
Dessert	Chocolate Ice Box Pie	Cookies	Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream	Pumelo		Carrot Cake & Banana Ice Cream	Saturday

Breakfast Is Served!

Saturday is typically our pancakes morning so adapting our traditional recipe would have been a little challenging (though not impossible).  So I returned to a whole wheat recipe I have used over the past year.

PANCAKES

Here is the original.  My adaptations are below:

Combine:

1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. oats
1/4 c. corn meal
1/4 c. flax seed meal
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t baking soda

Add:
2 c. milk alternative (I used Almond)
1 mashed banana

Stir and let sit while you heat the griddle
Cook as you normally would pancakes.

SYRUP

For the syrup I combined the following in a blender

1 banana
1/4 c orange juice
2 T dates

Blend well

Add
1/2 c.-1 c. Milk Alternative (I used Almond)
1 T Chia Seeds
Combine

Let sit while the pancakes cook.  Serve generously over top (or drink :-))

I've Been Vegucated

Netflix so kindly recommended other documentaries that would enjoy since I just watched, "Forks Over Knives".  From the list I chose, "Vegucated."  I made the mistake of watching it over dinner.  Although I knew most of the information regarding factory farming and I am learning about the health benefits of a plant based diet, to see the reality of those types of farms was sickening.   I am thankful that it's been years since we stepped off of that terrible machine to only eat locally sourced, humanely treated animals.  The documentary questions whether it is humane to kill any animal when we do not need it eat that kind of food to survive.

If you are still purchasing any type, organic & free range included, of grocery store meats, eggs or dairy, I would recommend you watch this movie.  You need to know and see where you food is coming from.

Four days into this project I am feeling pretty good about this choice.   Jason and I have already noticed certain changes such as: we are not tired after eating, we are less tired in general (and it's not because we got more sleep!), he has lost a pound and feels less bloated, we are less hungry in between meals, the food is delicious.

On a TMI note, I thought we would all be more gassy because of all the fruits, vegetables, beans, etc but I haven't noticed it to be any different that usual.

We had 'Blueberry Dumpster Cake' last night for dessert and it was again motivating enough for the kids to devour their food.   I am making veggie sushi on Friday and can't wait!  It's probably going to be a mess but is should be fun!

Three days in

We are 3 days in to our 'plant based, whole foods' lifestyle change.  I have been surprised by several things.  First, the children are actually receptive to the change.  We have told them nothing at all about it.  But, they have been eating and enjoying the meals I have prepared and snacks.  They were especially excited today when I made tortilla chips and the desserts have been a huge hit.  None of these items contained any added sugars, fats or dairy.

Second, I have noticed fewer of my own cravings.  The breakfast I crafted this morning, "Rip's Big Bowl", was a devoured by everyone and there were no requests for the cereal we typically have.  I wasn't even hungry until lunch time.  I usually need several snacks between breakfast and lunch to get me there.  I love that you can eat as much as fills you up.  My sweet husband commented that he is going to need to learn to listen to his body telling him when he is full and hungry as it feels different and the portions are larger.  The kids, too, are asking for less food in between meals and amazingly enough Little E hasn't gone diving for the cheese in the fridge yet. That is usually a daily occurrence.

Third, the food I have made so far has been absolutely delicious.  The Lentil Coconut Soup from last night was so good we all remarked on it's tastiness :-)  The post just prior to this has the meal plan that I came up with for the whole week.  I linked most of the recipes to it so you could follow along, too.

I was worried we'd never get through the next eight weeks but I don't think it is going to be a problem now.  We watched the extended interviews on Forks Over Knives today.  The documentary clarified a few questions that I had.  I have also been reading extensively.  Trying to wrap my head around a new way of eating, cooking and planning for meal.  We have eaten A LOT of bananas recently but that may change as I figure out recipes and plan differently.

I hope you will join me and post your comments, too!

Weekly Menu for Plant Based Whole Foods Diet

Here is the manu plan that I have come up with.  Click the links to see the recipes:

I am not quite finished with this but you can see where I have started to get an idea.  We had the Lentil Coconut soup last night with RAVE reviews from the kids, same with the Rip's Bowl for breakfast.  Looking forward to these meals!

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Breakfast	Pumpkin Quinoa	Oatmeal	Breakfast Bars	Musli	Rip's Bowl	Friday	Saturday
Mid Morning Snack	Apples and PB	Enfrijoladas	Power Balls	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Lunch	Leftovers	Leftovers	Bean Burritos	Hummus Sandwich with Veggies	Leftovers	Friday	Leftovers
Afternoon Snack	Hummus and pita	Chips and Salsa	Popcorn	Rice Cakes & Dip	Nut Chips	Friday	Saturday
Dinner	Lentil and Coconut Soup	Rice Corn & Avocado Salad	Very Veggie Chili	Rice Salad with Fennel, Oranges & Chickpeas	Cuban Black Bean Soup & Cous Cous	Sushi, SpinachSalad, Noodles	Potato Enchiladas
Dessert	Banana Ice Cream	Pumpkin Pudding	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday

We Watched Forks Over Knives

Today, my family and I watched Forks Over Knives.  The movie had been recommended to us by several friends and I finally had the chance to sit down and watch it.  I have watched many food movies at this point and read many food books.  Mostly, my perspective on food issues has been to answer the following questions: What is the impact of food production on the environment? Is the food safe for our bodies?  To date, I have been able to sustain my beliefs as a locavore but watching the Forks Over Knives documentary has changed my perspective yet again.

I would highly recommend you watch it.  The movie promotes a plant based whole foods diet.  They provide research which supports the belief that this type of diet provides for a healthy, well balanced life-style and lowers an individuals risk of cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.  If you have Netflix, you can check the movie out there or your local library.

With strong evidence of the veracity of this life-style change from a close friend, we decided to try it out.  Our goal is to eat a plant-based whole foods diet for the next eight weeks and then have a physical exam to see if there are any changes.  My husband is on the verge of high cholesterol and is not at his personal ideal weight.  I had had high blood pressure at my last appointment, my bad cholesterol is high  and I often feel tired.  I hope that the changes we are about to make will help.

I still have a fridge full of food that I am not going to let go to waste so I will incorporate those items in small amounts as we make the transition.  But, tonight we had Enfrijoladas and a big green salad with avacados, tomatoes and sunflower seeds.  We decided that the only way this would work would be if the whole family were doing it so the kids ate the food, too.  Little E (3.5) devoured the two bowls of salad and almost her entire entree.  Little M (5) had three bowls of salad and half of her entree and Little  J(7) ate only half of his entree but I feel like we are off to a great start.  

I am making a meal plan for the week with breakfast, lunch, dinner & snacks identified throughout the day since this will be a new way of cooking and eating.  I will have to ditch my 'go-to' recipes and foods.  I am excited though as I do enjoy trying new things.  Looking forward to how this adventure unfolds.  I'll do my best to bring you along with it!