Eat to Live Day 7

ONE WEEK DOWN. Boo-yah.

My most exciting meal today was lunch. (For breakfast, I had another smoothie. For dinner, I may or may not have gone to Fresh again and ordered the same thing I had last time.)

Before making my lunch, I roasted some garlic. I had big plans for the garlic: hummus!

To make the hummus, I combined one big can of chickpeas, some lemon juice, and the roasted garlic in my food processor. I also used some of the chickpea liquid from the can (the brand of chickpeas I used was not sodium-free, but it seemed to have a lot less than other brands... sodium is one area where I'm not being as "perfect" as I could be).

The hummus was a success! I had it with lots of raw vegetables. I also had a big salad with some of yesterday's Hidden Cashew Ranch Dressing.

I'll weigh myself tomorrow morning to see my Week 1 result! I am actually excited to step on that scale!

Oh, and Happy Canada Day everyone!! :)

Eat to Live Day 6

Almost one week down! I have to say, I'm getting into the groove of eating this way. Yesterday, I found a couple of new recipes that are giving me more confidence that I can make it through 5 more weeks of this!

I'm also feeling great. Before starting this, I would often feel not-so-good after eating (probably because I was eating TONS of junk food all the time). A few weeks ago, I also had a gallbladder attack. While my first couple of days on Eat to Live were tough, I'm feeling really good now. I'm less moody and don't have any digestion issues. And I don't think there is ANY possibility of having a gallbladder attack while eating this way.

I've also definitely lost weight. Since I weigh a lot right now, and I've radically changed my eating habits, I will have a big loss this week (which I will report on Monday). It's mostly water weight at this point, but it's still motivating!

Yesterday, I started my day off with my usual smoothie, along with some almonds. For lunch, it was time to try some scrambled tofu. There are TONS of recipes for this online, so I hemmed and hawed about which one to try. I finally settled on the Breakfast Scrambler recipe from a book I recently got from the library (I've REALLY been making use of my library card lately): Breaking the Food Seduction by Neal Barnard, M.D.

First, I mixed minced onion flakes, garlic powder, turmeric, and parsley flakes together. I omitted the salt and pepper called for in the recipe, but added in some Mrs. Dash (a salt-free seasoning blend) later on.

I crumbled up some extra-firm tofu that I had pressed the water out of already. The recipe called for firm tofu, not extra-firm, but mine worked fine. It seemed I was doing more smooshing than crumbling, though. I added the tofu and the seasonings to a nonstick pan over medium heat (I didn't use any oil or cooking spray. Oil would probably make it taste MUCH better, haha).

I heated it through, and tried a taste. It seemed a bit bland, so I decided to add in one more ingredient... something I bought on Friday for the very first time in my life.

Nutritional yeast!!!!! I have read about nutritional yeast for ages on other blogs, and I think I had some once in a dish prepared by someone else. There is a good description of what it is here, but it's basically used as a healthy flavouring in vegan dishes. Apparently it can be a good ingredient to use for a cheesy taste, among other things. It also contains lots of nutrients. Anyway, I sprinkled it over my scrambled tofu.

It was pretty good! I still think it could use a bit more flavour. Also, I found that all the dehydrated onion flakes and parsley flakes were clumping together a bit - it was almost like a Mr. Noodles seasoning packet (without salt and msg, of course). Next time, I will cook it with real onion. The best part was when my mother tried it and thought it tasted like eggs! She even asked if she could have some. :)

For dessert, I had some strawberries and grapes. One reason I've been able to stick to this eating plan is because I've been eating lots of delicious fruit!

I was excited for dinner, because the day before, I came across this recipe. First of all, the FatFree Vegan Kitchen website has been indispensible to me during this challenge. And when I found Susan's recipe for Hidden Cashew Ranch Dressing that had NO oil in it, I started to have faith that I wasn't destined for five more weeks of boring salads.

I made the recipe exactly as written. It smelled good. I was hopeful.

I decided to be daring in my dinner salad in another way:

That may look like an innocent picture of a mushroom, but it represents so much more. You see, I HATE mushrooms. HATE THEM. But lately, I've been wondering if I should give them another chance. They're just so darned good for you! Dr. Furhman (who wrote Eat to Live) recommends eating them every day, for Pete's sake (along with greens, onions, berries, and beans)! I sliced one up and hoped for the best.

First things first: the dressing was good! I found it a bit too garlicky, so next time I will either decrease the garlic or use roasted garlic (yum). I am so pleased, though, that I have a creamy, low-fat dressing ready to go in the fridge for the next few days.

As for the mushrooms: I managed to choke down a few slices before abandoning them. I think I can safely say that I hate them less than I used to, so that's progress, right??

Along with my huge salad, I had leftovers from my dinner at Fresh on Friday night.

For dessert, I blended some frozen mangoes and strawberries with soymilk. I had to add some water when it wouldn't blend. It was pretty good, but not great. I did something similar with bananas last week that was MUCH yummier (I'm sure I'll be making that again soon, and I'll blog about it next time).

All in all, a successful Saturday!

Eat to Live Day 5

I can't believe I've gone 5 days with no meat or dairy (not to mention sugar)!

Today I actually didn't do any snacking between meals (which is not allowed on this plan)! One thing I like about this "diet" is that I'm not starving all the time. I try to eat big meals so I stay satisfied.

For breakfast today, I had yet another green smoothie with some walnuts on the side. I didn't bother taking a picture. My lunch was a huge salad and some leftover lentil soup:

I was feeling a bit discouraged while trying to make lunch. I used up the last of the white beans I cooked a couple of nights ago making a recipe from the Eat to Live book. I really disliked it (which might not have been the recipe's fault), so I had to toss it. :( I'm struggling to make my salads yummy, since I can't have oil. There are tons of oil-free salad dressing recipes out there, I just have to start trying them and see what works. Today, I mashed up some avocado with some lemon juice and that did the trick.

For dinner, my mom and I went to Fresh for a treat (and because our condo was being shown).

I had the Macro Greens on brown rice. I added chickpeas and tahini dressing (which, according to the menu, didn't have any oil in it). I especially liked the grilled tomatoes that it came with. This meal was so huge that I couldn't finish it! The rest is in my fridge for tomorrow. :)

As for the scrambled tofu I mentioned last night - I didn't get to it today, but hopefully tomorrow!!!

Eat to Live Days 2-4

I had a busy couple of days, so blogging fell by the wayside! Somehow, I managed to stick to the Eat to Live plan. One thing I've noticed is that my blood sugar levels seem to be very steady. I think my body still misses coffee, though... I also haven't been having any stomach/digestion issues, which I definitely was before (I assume because of my gallstones). And I haven't been hungry! I've been trying to eat big meals so I don't feel deprived.

Here are some of the things I ate the past three days (if you're curious!):

Salad with avocado and balsamic vinegar, tomato and lentil soup (which I didn't love), and some avocado and tomato on toasted whole grain bread. I was SUPER stuffed after this meal.

For dinner on Tuesday, I stir-fried some tofu and veggies in some vegetable broth with Bragg's Liquid Aminos (which is like low-sodium soy sauce). It was pretty good and I had leftovers for lunch the next day!

Another lunch: salad with black beans, avocado, and parsley along with raw veggies, nuts, and some fruit (I wan't able to finish all of it).

Steel cut oats with banana, flaxseed, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and cinnamon. Yum!

 Finally, for dinner tonight, I threw together some leftover red quinoa, corn, and some white beans that I cooked last night. I poured some of the leftover lentil soup on top to give it some flavour - it was pretty good, and very fast to put together!

Right now, I do feel like I can keep this up for six weeks. I am feeling anxious, however, about going out with friends or family. I have a family barbecue in July, and I'm trying to decide how to handle it--should I warn the hostess beforehand, or just show up with my own food? Or just stick to the raw veggies when I'm there? I shouldn't care so much what others think, and I'm sure most people would either not care or be really supportive... but I tend to worry about these things!

I hope you're all having a good week! I may try to make scrambled tofu tomorrow morning. If it works out (or if it doesn't!), I'll be sure to let you know.

Eat to Live Day 1

I had a busy evening of chopping vegetables and soaking beans for tomorrow (and maybe watching The Bachelorette), so this post is later than I expected!

Today went really well, foodwise. Breakfast was a HUGE smoothie (it wouldn't all fit in one glass) with spinach, lettuce, unsweetened pomegranate juice, unsweetened soy milk, frozen strawberries, a banana, and ground flaxseed. I also had some walnuts to make sure it would last me until lunch.

I packed a giganto lunch to bring to work, because I wasn't sure how full I would be from the smoothie. I brought a salad filled with red quinoa, black beans (they weren't even canned!), corn, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, parsley, green onion, and avocado.

I can't believe I made this myself!

I also brought some cut up veggies and fruit.

My lunch was so big that I wasn't able to finish all of it. I ate the cut up veggies, about two-thirds of the salad, and some of the fruit. I had some more fruit when I was finished teaching my class.

Technically, Dr. Fuhrman does not allow snacking between meals (he gives a long explanation for this that seems sensible to me, at least to try--I may elaborate on this in a future post). My work schedule is a bit awkward this summer. Monday through Thursday, I teach one class in the middle of the day. I might stray from the guidelines and eat part of my lunch before class, and part after. Hmmm!

For dinner, I started with the remains of my lunch salad.

Not the most attractive...

Then I had some of the soup I made this weekend. I added in a handful of black beans, too.

I should mention that this soup is not EXACTLY within the rules. I'm supposed to be cutting back on sodium as much as possible, but I used a small amount of packaged vegetable broth when making this soup. It was low-sodium, but as still above the Eat to Live guidelines. Since it was spread throughout a huge amount of soup, I'm not too worried about it. I'm just doing the best I can to follow the guidelines and maintain my sanity. :)

Dessert was some more fruit. Delicious!

Thanks everyone for your comments about my new experiment! Andrea is also starting a new eating challenge today (although it's kind of the opposite of mine, haha), which I'm excited to read about. Her pictures are also much better than mine are!

I have a big day tomorrow so I'd better be off to bed! Stay tuned...

Ready!

Tomorrow, I plan to start the Eat to Live program for six weeks. I am really excited to be eating healthy foods and feeling healthy again, for the first time in a long time.

This weekend, I abstained from coffee (and I think the headaches are gone) to prepare. I also ate some Eat to Live meals and made a HUGE batch of soup.

There is SO much kale in there.

I planned out my meals for tomorrow and I made up a calendar to track my progress for the next six weeks.

I will report back to you tomorrow night! Have a great Monday!

Good News and a Good Start

Remember that job interview I had last week? Well, I guess it went well... I've been hired as a supply teacher for the school board I want to work in! I am SO excited (and surprised that I found out so quickly!). I have to bring in a lot of paperwork next week (trancripts, police checks, and the like), so I hope that all goes smoothly.

As for easing into summer? I have not been eating well at all... until today. I've been doing a lot of reading and a LOT of thinking the past few weeks, and I have decided that I need to do something more extreme. I have real trouble with moderation. I have gained back most of the weight I worked so hard to lose. I think that sugar and junk food have a strong hold over me, and I feel certain that if I don't make some serious changes in my eating habits, diabetes and heart disease are in my future (not to mention the fact that I already have gallstones and suffer occasionally from painful gallbladder attacks).

Some of the books I've been reading (mostly from the library) are Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes by Dr. Neal Barnard, The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Veganist by Kathy Freston, and Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. All of these books advocate a plant-based diet (quite convincingly).

I've actually thought for a long time about one day trying to transition to a more plant-based diet. A little over a year ago, I read Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet and Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Diet, which are the books that first put the idea in my mind.

After all of this thinking, I've decided to try Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live program. There is a good description of the plan here, but essentially I will be cutting out animal products (meat and dairy), sugar, salt (as much as possible), coffee, and oil for six weeks. I will be eating tons (and tons and tons) of veggies, fruit, and beans, as well as whole grains.

After the six weeks, the goal is to try and eat this way 90% of the time, and eat other foods (like meat, dairy, sugar, or oil) 10% of the time. If I make it that far, I'll assess how I'm feeling and what I want to do next.

I don't think I will ever become 100% vegan... I don't even know if I'll make it through the six weeks! I just have to do something, and this feels right for me right now.

This weekend, I'm planning to eat mostly Eat to Live-style (I had pizza for dinner tonight, and I'm going to a barbecue on Sunday), and begin the plan in earnest on Monday. I'm also planning to blog about it all (maybe not every day or every meal, like with Joshi, but fairly frequently!). Here are some of today's eats:

For breakfast, I had a green smoothie with almond milk, bananas, strawberries, flaxseed, and lettuce, along with some walnuts.

I had lunch in a food court - a delicious salad with avocado, tomato, red onion, kidney beans, and chickpeas, followed by some fruit salad.

I also went grocery shopping. I don't think I've ever bought so many vegetables at the same time before!

All those groceries meant lots of food prep could be done. I'm planning on making soup tomorrow that calls for two bunches of kale, three leeks, five pounds of carrots, two bunches of celery, and four onions. I got it ALL washed, chopped, and ready to go. I also got some dried beans soaking. (You should know that I did all of this with a crazy caffeine-withdrawal headache.)

Will there be room in the fridge for all this kale?!

We also listed our condo for sale this week, and the showings have begun. The next few weeks will be interesting, to say the least!

I will absolutely be posting again soon with more on Eat to Live. I'm very excited!