What's wrong with our food?

Wow, beautifully made and powerful. This is what's wrong with our food… #vegan #healthieramerica

Vegan, Whole-Food, Plant-Based Food Pyramid

This is it folks. This is what I think we need to be eating. I know, you think I'm crazy. I know, meat and cheese taste SO good! If we had to hunt, kill, butcher, clean, and make our own meat and dairy… I doubt most people would still eat it. It's a disgusting process, especially the way factories have mucked it up. "Food" for thought.  I swear you'd feel better without the processed junk.

Eat Less Meat & Live Longer

Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains how eating less meat can help you live to 100.

Mostly Plants

I've been reading a fabulous book.  It's an easy read and it's to the point. It's called Food Rules. It's written by the well known author of other healthy eating books, Michael Pollan. 

He's the man whos is credited with the vegan motto, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." It's short and sweet and spot on, I believe. When Michael says to "eat food," he means REAL food. Not fake, processed, factory products that claim to be food. 

Inspired by the book, and the need to feel good about ourselves and what we put in our bodies, my husband and I stopped at Whole Foods for a snack as we were out running errands. We got sucked in!  We spent an hour and a half going aisle by a aisle and reading ingredients. We followed Mr. Pollan's rule about ingredient labels. If we didn't know how to pronounce an ingredient, we didn't buy it. Simple as that!  It cost a lot to eat healthy, but we feel so much better that it's worth it!  

We shared a small plate of tofu, quina salad and lentils from the Whole Foods buffet. Fantastic!  Then we finished off our meal with mango slices. Mmmmmm. 

Here's the dinner we prepared later that day. 

Not just "vegan" foods; eat healthy foods!

My husband's doing it wrong.

Yep. Don't tell him I said that. ;)

You can't just eliminate meat and dairy from your diet and suddenly you're healthy. You have to think big picture. 

Eliminate the bad foods and replace them with good foods. 

Replacing meat with fake meat like the frozen veggie burgers, etc. won't make you healthy. It might make you less likely to get cancer, but still not healthy. 

My husband doesn't like a lot of fruits or veggies. I used I be the same way.  I did lots of research though. 

I had to cleanse my body of the bad foods by eating vegetable soups, lots of water, water with lemon, etc. Then, my body was ready to enjoy new healthier foods with an open mind. ;)  For example, I've never liked blueberries in my life. After changing my whole outlook on food and hitting the grocery store for a fridge makeover, I got many "new" fruits & veggies such as blueberries.  (They were new to me besides blueberry muffins, yuck!). Slowly I started choosing them as a take-along snack and now I love them!  I snack on them all morning at work. They are so good for you, too!

Research foods that keep you healthy. Do some research on our body's need for alkaline foods to keep a good pH balance. This knowledge and the right foods can prevent you from being sick. I have an immune system of steel!  Sure, I've worked with young kids for... ever. But, I truly believe that what I eat contributes to my long streak of not getting sick. I haven't had a cold since I changed my diet almost 2 years ago.  The only times I have had sinus infections were the day(s) after eating cheese, namely queso. (Queso is my kryptonite!). 

These are some of my favorite healthy foods...

My husband on the other hand is "sick" every week. He has colds, coughs, and sinus infections way more frequently than he should or has in his life. 

Why?

I am confident it's his diet. He doesn't eat the raw veggies and fruits. He eats replacement and processed foods: veggie burgers, cereal, crackers, pasta, vegan frozen meals and burritos.  I eat these things too but less often and interspersed with a regular intake of REAL foods, raw foods, healthy foods.  He needs leafy greens and high alkaline fruits. 

A quick search on Pinterest for foods that prevent sickness backed me up. Whether he appreciates his email box full of pins about this is yet to be determined. ;)

Eat healthy foods; feel better. 

It's as simple as that. 

Someday…

People don't usually understand my diet choice.  It's hard to see things from my perspective when you're still so blinded by what you've always done and what most people do.  It's not their fault.  Or your fault.  

My parents always fed us the traditional American diet.  They were amazing, fantastic parents.  They did what their parents did and what they thought was right.  Sure they tried to get me to eat my vegetables with the threat of missing out on dessert.  Hell, I do that with my own son! 

I think veganism is growing.  

Check out this article with a time lapsed map of the U.S. and vegan Google searches by state:

http://www.cok.net/blog/2014/03/google-proves-vegan-trend-here-to-stay/#

Interesting.

And at the very least,  I think and HOPE that more and more people are questioning what foods they buy and what they are actually putting into their bodies.  The worst thing we can do is to fall into blind consumerism.  The food companies cannot be trusted.  Not because they are malicious and out to get the average citizen.  No, it's worse.  They are out to get what's "theirs;" money.  And who can blame them.  After all, isn't that the American dream.  Be all you can be.  (Wait, that's not quite right.) Freedom…  life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness... to live how you want… even at the expense of societies health??  Hey, they work hard so don't they deserve the money they earn?

I think hard work should be rewarded.

I also think we should do what is right.

If research shows that the food that you produce is even the slightest bit linked to cancer or heart disease, etc., then I think you have a responsibility to also research and possibly make CHANGES.

I think we are killing ourselves as a species.

I think we are accidentally poisoning our bodies.

We need to refocus the purpose of food.  

Food should be fuel to make us feel better and be able to carry out our daily responsibilities.

It feels so much better to eat healthy foods.  Bad foods taste good at the time, but you pay for it longterm.  Healthy foods might not be as satisfying at first, but I feel better about myself and have more energy the rest of the day.

Try it.

Do your research.

Don't take my word for it.

Learn for yourself.

Who do you trust?

The government who tells us what is healthy as they are getting paid by dairy farmers?

The bulked up muscle-bound jock who wants you to buy his protein shake powder?

The hippie who wants to spare the animals from a brutal death?

The doctors making a name for themselves or potentially book deals?

How about trusting your own body.

Try it.  Cut out meat and dairy.  Don't replace it with salty carbs.  Eat vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts… plants.

Give it at least a week.

It makes such a difference in how i feel.

It's not easy.

It's far from easy.

I LOVE pizza and I cannot live without Mexican food!  

But every time I give into the temptations around me and I eat the queso, I regret it.  I don't feel good.  It's like a food hangover.  

That's my body communicating to me.

Spinach Strawberry Salad for Lunch

I had the best homemade salad for lunch today!  My husband loved it, too!  I will definitely be packing this for lunch for work when school starts.

What was in my salad?

fresh spinach leaves

strawberries

walnuts

almonds

craisins

sweet balsamic vinaigrette dressing

Lasagna Dinner & Choco Dessert

Being off for the summer, thank you teaching career, gives me a chance to focus on domestic things more. ;)
So, I felt like cooking a good meal for my family. I decided to do a lasagna and dessert.
I got the lasagna recipe from this video, which is a cool way to get a new recipe.

And the dessert idea came from here:  http://www.rawfoodrecipes.com/recipes/highraw-vegan-avocado-carob-haystacks.html

Broccoli is my five-year-olds favorite veggie, so I steam veggies as often as possible. My boys don't like veggies in their lasagna or I would have loaded it full of vegetables!

All said and done it was a great dinner!!
Point for vegan mom!

Snacking is my vice.

I can control my desserts and alcohol intake easily. I don't miss those things when I'm eating healthy. But, I love to snack!!! I want crunchy and salty which usually means chips. Although many chips, especially tortilla chips, are vegan, they're still not good for you. I'm really trying to eat foods that help my body thrive and not bog it down.
To satisfy that crunchy need, try Mary's Gone Crackers.
I also eat a lot of carrot sticks and hummus. I also like Wasa whole grain crackers. I add almond butter for a sweeter treat if needed. 
I LOVE pretzel crisps, which I compared to pita bread and the pretzel crisps were much less harmful.  ;)

 

Now this is a snack plate to live by!

 

Eating Vegan Cures Cancer!?

Not a guaranteed cured, but there's medical research to show that what you eat can effect the growth of cancerous cells, thereby preventing, or stopping the growth of cancer!  That fact alone was worth investigating the topic of a vegan diet.  I turned to this book for more details.

This woman, Kris Carr, was diagnosed with cancer at a very young age.  Terminal cancer.  The rare kind without an optimistic plan of treatment or cure.  So, she went into hyper clean and vegan eating and well, she's as healthy as can be now!  Definitely worth a read!

Breakfast Tacos

I woke up needing more than a smoothie for breakfast. I hit the Internet searching for vegan breakfast recipes. Since going vegan, I have missed breakfast sandwiches and tacos! I found a great recipe for both, but only had the ingredients for the tacos. So, here are the pics and the link to the recipe...
They were amazing!!!!

View the taco recipe by clicking HERE.

View the sandwich recipe that I have pinned for later by clicking HERE.

Veggie wrap for lunch

Yesterday, when I went to the store, I stocked up in lots of fresh veggies. So, today for lunch, I made a veggie wrap. I used whet tortillas and...
Lettuce
Green and red peppers
Banana peppers
Mushrooms
Cucumbers
Hummus

And carrot with humus on the side to satisfy my need for crunchy! It was light and deli ships! Banana peppers are my secret weapon to keep veggies from tasty too boring. They add juicy spice!

The Kind Diet Says...

I'm reading The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. I've never been a big fan of hers other than watching Clueless 50 times in the last decade and a half. ;). However, when it comes to caring for the planet and your body, she's got it right! Here are some quotes and facts thy stood out to me as I read.

"42% of fresh water available to the US is used for agriculture. It takes 441 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef. One 16-ounce steak uses the amount of water you need for 6 months of showers!"

"Rain forests used to cover 14 percent of the earth, but now it covers only 6 percent. You see, every hamburger requires a plot of land the size of a small kitchen to be cleared. Is that burger worth it?"

"Our intestines are 20 fee long; when we eat meat, it takes a full 72 hours to pass through us. That's 3 days, and your body, my friend, is 98.6 degrees inside! It's like having a steak sit out in the hot sun for 3 days straight. Eventually it'll start to rot and putrefying. And that's what's happening inside of you."

Krogering

This is a pretty typical shopping trip. Maybe a little less than normal. I do have 4 boys to feed at my house! ;)

Stir-fry dinner

Tofu
Veggies
Brown rice