Junk-Free July
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What a sweet picture of Edie
Thanks for posting it, Lia! Being a newborn's momma sounds intense! I hope you continue to make it the Y and take some time for yourself where you can. I do have a website with my art, but it's not a great website and the pictures don't look good and it hasn't been updated. Sound appealing? LOL. I know, I have to work on it, but I keep making stuff instead of working on the website. www.carlaensink.com You've been warned 
Mihani, I'm at the talking about exercising stage, rather than the actual exercising stage. I'm still playing tug of war with Ruby and chasing her around with her ball on a rope, and I also count my long walk down to the mailbox every day, too I signed up for 30 days of yoga. I think it's about 15 minutes a day just to get you into the practice, but I haven't done any of the vids yet. If you sign up and are going to do it, let me know and I'll join in https://www.doyouyoga.com/course/the-30-day-yoga-challenge/ (it's free)
Minecraft camp!?! I want to go LOL! I hope your daughter loves her prop and costume making camp. It sounds like one I would have loved. Suessical the Musical
love it. Dibs on getting to make the striped Seuss hats! Speaking of hats, I now have quite a bit of handspun yarn, so I'm making a hobbit hat. Pics to come soon, but I ran out of yarn and have to spin some more.
Today is weigh-in day. I'm down 2.7 lbs for the week. Not as much as I was hoping for, but going in the right direction!
today's plan
breakfast smoothie
Lunch - my favorite, tu-no salad!
Dinner - black bean burgers w/ burger sauce, salad, slice of Ezekiel. Fruit salad.0 -
Hey Lia, I’m doing okay on the 6 week plan. Have had a few slips with crackers or blue corn chips and one battle with some wine (which I lost). As long as I eat lots and lots of veggies/beans/fruit, a moderate amount of grains, and drink lots of water, it seems pretty easy going this time around. I’ve had enough practice “almost” doing this for so long it ought to have become easier lol. I actually did sleep pretty well last night, just have to keep doing that.
Baby Edie is SO cutie-pie! She has such a sweet smile.
Karrie, sounds like a fun-filled and busy rest of the summer coming. Hope your daughter enjoys her camp. It sounds like a blast to me. I want to go! Your food sounds tasty today. How was your watermelon? Hope it wasn’t another disappointing one.
Carla, I looked at your website. I want the autumn one... seriously! I am up for the 30 day yoga, if we can start on Saturday. I’ll check out the website later this week. With secretary off on vacation this week it’s going to be tougher than usual to motivate. The phone was so nuts today, like every person with a crazy legal issue in the state suddenly decided to call our office lol. I was in the office for over 10 hours today and still should be working on a file I brought home, but it’s too late and I need to steam broccoli and asparagus for my salads. Can’t wait to see the hobbit hat!
And woohoo Carla, another 3 pounds down!!! You are doing great!!!
B – raw oats moistened with just a bit of water mixed with chopped power greens
L – big ol’ salad of power greens, sliced up baked potato, black beans, salsa, some watermelon
D – I didn’t get time to eat lunch until 1:30 so not too hungry now, probably just some chickpeas and spinach sautéed in a bit of veggie broth and spices, and I’ll nibble on the broccoli and asparagus when I steam it, plus some watermelon of course
I have a lunch with some cousins we don’t see too often this weekend. I told the host I’m vegan and I’m happy to bring something to share that I can eat. She was cool with that so I am kind of thinking of a southwestern quinoa salad, and maybe a platter of hummus/salsa/blue corn chips/raw veggies. None of them are even close to vegan or vegetarian. Anyone have any different ideas that you’ve tested on omnivores?
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Oh, I almost forgot. A client was in today and as we were chatting he mentioned his oldest son (16 years) is talking about going vegan and he was like absolutely NOT, you can't be healthy being vegan! He just would not allow it while he's still growing, etc. I should note this client is overweight himself. I listened to him go on about it for a bit and then said umm... I'm vegan. He rolled his eyes a little bit. He's a nice guy has been a client for many years and I like him so I didn't want to argue with him, but I said look, my health has improved dramatically since going vegan, and I lost a lot of weight initially but gained quite a bit back when I became more junk food and beer vegan... but trust me it's healthy if done properly. He didn't agree but seemed to hear me a bit. I am going to send him some links. I am thinking things like Engine 2 and No Meat Athlete, more tough guy advocates for veganism lol.
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Carla, I'll totally have to check out both your website AND the yoga challenge; I might be up for it too!!
Mihani, the OSG Tangy Cilantro-Lime Quinoa Salad is always a hit at potlucks for me... Cilantro & cumin & lime? Yummy!! And yes, no meat athlete will be a good link to send him. Show him that men can do it and still be tough.
I think I mentioned him before, but maybe I haven't... There's a man in my office who broke some vertabrae. He had to have some fused together and he has a lot of pins in there. It happened 7 years ago. He had multiple surgeries and he was bedridden for quite a long time - at least a year, possibly 2 (I can't remember exactly how long anymore). He was addicted to Oxitocin (sp??) and he was still in pain all the time, even on the meds.
He decided to research ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that he might be able to try to help with the pain. He stumbled onto vegan diets in this way to reduce inflammation, etc. That was the solution for him! He's gotten off the meds and he's no longer bedridden. He also started working out to strengthen his core, and has since become a personal trainer. He lost over 100 lbs as a result of his changed lifestyle and you would never know that he has a back injury. The only thing that sets him apart is that he will not sit down in a meeting. Sitting for any length of time causes him pain. He has a stand-up workstation in his office, too. He's still figuring things out for his own personal situation, so he went raw vegan in January. I haven't talked to him about it in a few months, so I'm not sure how he found that, but I think his story is crazy and a true testament to what a plant-based diet can really do for you when you do it right. (I'm not a beer drinker, but I definitely went junk food vegan for awhile there...)
Anyhoo, my DD made a couple friends yesterday, so all was well today for camp. Thank goodness!!
B - mango green smoothie
S - berry bowl (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cinnamon & walnuts) & half of a green apple
L - pad thai salad - never tried it before, I hope it's a good recipe!
S - bowl of cherries
D - sweet & sour meatballs (made from kidney beans, navy beans, pecans, onion, carrots, garlic, oats and spices), with rice and raw carrots & celery
I'm eating this same meal plan tomorrow, too, because all my recipes make at least 2 servings. And since I really don't enjoy cooking, I think cooking every 2 days is going to be more successful for me. It's only taken me 5 years to figure that out... 0 -
Okay, I'm all ready to start the yoga challenge this Saturday! I hope you join too, Karrie! Maybe Lia will see this in time and find 15 minutes in her day too (or maybe I just have no clue and that's not possible but I'd love to have you join, Lia)
I found your painting this morning, Mihani! It is safe and sound in my office now. It isn't mounted & I think a floating frame would work well, but since you aren't in a rush to get it, I will probably wait until my dad is back from his summer place since he is the woodworker.
Mihani, your client was probably very surprised to have you on his son's side hah! I would recommend nutritionfacts.org as well as the other sites. There's a lot of info on there backed up by research on how healthful a WFPB diet is.
Karrie, you mentioned the lime cilantro quinoa salad at the perfect time. I'm making up my grocery list now and I'm going to make it this week. I'm picking up extra quinoa anyway, because ever since I started making the quinoa bread, I've been going through it. Sweet and sour bean meatballs sound so good! Is the recipe online somewhere?
My hobbit hat should be completed tonight! It would be done already but after I spin the yarn, it gets washed & rinsed and then needs to dry out. Also, I shouldn't be counting on it being finished...I just had a random amount of fiber and I have no idea if it will be enough. The top few inches might be a totally different color!0 -
Yay, that would be great if we all jump on the yoga challenge! I’m looking forward to it. I’ll check it out this week and be ready to start Saturday.
Karrie that salad sounds perfect, thanks! Is it in the cookbook or on the website? What an amazing story about your co-worker. That really is a testament to how our health is more in our hands than most of us would like to admit. I’ve toyed with the idea of raw vegan, but I think it would be tough to do. So glad to hear your daughter enjoyed her first day and made some friends! Your food sounds really good. I like a little pinch of cardamom with the cinnamon on fruit sometimes, try it out and let me know what you think.
Thank you Carla!!! Can’t wait to have that on my wall. I’m considering hanging it in my office at work, since I spend more time there. I have been with my boss for going on 20 years and I still don’t have a single thing on my walls. People actually comment on it sometimes, they sit in my office and look around and say “you need something on your walls.” I started joking some years ago “oh I’ve only been here 10 years, haven’t committed to staying long enough to decorate.” Of course now I can say I’ve only been here 19 years. Clients always look at me in surprise then laugh. So I can hang your painting, and then when people compliment it, I can be all pretentious and say “oh yes, the artist is a friend of mine.” (And refer them to your website!) Thanks for the suggestion of nutritionfacts… another one to add to the list. I think PCRM too.
B – oats and greens as usual
L – salad of super spinach, steamed broccoli, black beans, sliced baked potato, salsa, 1/4 of an avocado, a little watermelon
D – steamed asparagus with some E2 hummus, and watermelon of course
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The recipe is on the website here: http://ohsheglows.com/2013/07/19/cumin-lime-black-bean-quinoa-salad-quick-easy/
I don't think I could do raw vegan either. But kudos to him; he is truly a picture of health and you'd never know he had issues until he tells you. And he's very forthcoming about it; I wonder how many people he has converted...
I should be ready to start the yoga challenge on Saturday; I'll spend some time on the website on Friday night; no time between now and then!!
The meatballs recipe isn't online, but when I think of it at home, I'll post it for you. It's good, but the sauce is a little too vinegar-y for me; I'll have to figure out how to modify it a bit...0 -
Once again, I greeted the day with a disgusting smoothie! I added Power Greens instead of spinach, and oooh boy the power part of those greens all got into that one smoothie. It was a rather peppery and green tasting concoction. I'll have a bean patty with a big mixed greens salad for lunch, and I'm making the aforementioned cumin quinoa recipe for dinner. Might have some baked tofu on the side. For dessert we're having a fruit salad made with strawberries, grapes and pineapple.
Is anyone else eating the cherries available in the store right now and finding them amazing? They are SO good. I was telling Joe that the really good ones have such intense deep flavor that they remind me of chocolate.
I'd love the recipe, Karrie, if you have the time. If it's in a cookbook, I might have the book too. I can handle the vinegar, but I will probably have to figure out a way to tone it down for Joe.
Okay, here's the pic of my crazy hobbit hat or hippy hat. Joe started laughing when I came in the room wearing it. I got a little insulted, but a few minutes later I put it on his head and couldn't help but start laughing. It is a mood-brightening hat!
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Thanks Karrie… will be shopping Saturday for stuff. Our get-together is Sunday afternoon. Do you think it would be fine to make Saturday or should I make it Sunday morning? Most salads like that seem to be as good or better the next day when all the flavors have melded.
Sorry about your smoothie Carla… ugh. Totally grooving on cherries this summer too. I realized I don’t always post my snacks, which are usually fruit of some type, and I almost always eat a very small handful of walnuts every morning but forget to post them. The hat is awesome! So fun.
My tooth is hurty again. Root canal is a week from Friday. I think at this point I’ll just be glad to have it over with and get rid of these intermittent toothaches.
Gotta do laundry and get a case file finished up tonight. Too much work, too little time/energy! I hate answering the phone, but it has been pretty quiet this week and my boss is good about jumping in and answering the phone if I’m busy with something or on another line.
B – oats and greens
L – salad of super spinach, baked potato, chickpeas, steamed broccoli and asparagus, topped with salsa
D – steamed broccoli and sliced tomato with balsamic glaze
S – watermelon
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The meatballs recipe (and even the sauce) is much more tasty on the 2nd day. I enjoyed it quite a bit yesterday. Here it is.
Meatballs: makes 4 servings
- 1/2 medium onion
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1.5 cups quick oats, processed into flour
- 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 15oz can navy beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup pecans
- 1 tsp no salt organic all purpose seasoning
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Put onion and carrots through food processor. Set aside. Put remaining ingredients through food processor then add to onion & carrot mix and knead with your hands. Form into balls.
Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes or until cooked through.
Sweet & Sour Sauce: Makes 4 servings
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar (I think I would do 1/4 next time)
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp organic ketchup
- 4 tsp tamari (I think I would do 3 next time)
- 2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 4 tsp water
- dash of black pepper
Put all ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer on low until sauce thickens. Enjoy!
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Mihani, I make the salad the day before, but not the dressing, because it (a) aborbs into the salad too quickly and loses some of the flavor and (b) it will crystallize if you mix the dressing too soon - ask me how I know...
So what I do is I mix the oil and the maple syrup in advance. Then I measure out the garlic in a little container and the salt and cumin in another little container. I don't squeeze the lime until it's time to mix it all together. So I have 3 little containers and 2-3 limes and then the salad itself all prepared the night before. Then all you need to do is just slap it all together and pour over the salad before you dig in.
So I'm on day 3 of the meal plan, but it's gonna be my 3rd day of Day 1. If that makes sense. I decided I'm going to repeat the day until I run out of the ingredients to do so. So it looks like tomorrow I'll have everything I need except the salad for supper, so I'll just buy a salad kit. Easy peasy. So whenever a recipe yields 4 servings, I'll be repeating that meal plan for 4 days. I LOVE that I won't have as much prep this way. And the Day 1 was tasty. So far, so good.
Of course this motto will change if I don't enjoy the recipes...
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Thanks for the recipe, Karrie. It looks good. What did I miss? Which meal plan are you on? E2? Leftovers is definitely the way to go for ease! I keep saying we're going to freeze half of our doubled recipe for bean burgers, but when they are already made and ready to go, it's so easy to just grab.
Mihani, is the receptionist back next week? Sorry about your tooth. It will be a relief to have it fixed!
I made the cumin quinoa salad yesterday and it turned out good despite me only having 1 juicy lime. I suspect that it might need some zip added to it today, so hopefully a lemon does the trick!
I have some rainbow chard I'm going to cook up with some garlic as a side for dinner to boost our greens. Not sure what else I'll be making but since there are 2 bean burgers left, I'm guessing I'll add a salad and call it good!
I finished spinning a yarn to coordinate with the other one I posted earlier. It is the same dyed locks, spun a little smaller/tighter and plied with a shimmery gold fabric with sequins on it. This probably isn't the best pic, but I wanted to show it today and it still needs to be washed and dried.
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It's the meal plan from the nutritionist that I got a couple of years ago. I've never managed to stick to it because it's sooooo much food and sooooo much prep when I follow it as directed, and I'm the only vegan in the house.
BUT, I finally clued in to just repeating day 1 until the food is all gone, and then go to day 2 after that, etc. This is definitely going to be the way to go for me. I might actually make it all the way to the end of the 30 day plan this way (but it will take me 120 days to get there at my rate!!)
I just really don't like to cook, so only doing 1/4 of the cooking sounds right up my alley!!!0 -
Those meatballs sound really good Karrie, thanks for sharing. And for the tips on the salad. I think I will make it Saturday night and then make the dressing and mix it in just before I leave for the lunch. I am assuming you had a bad experience. Glad you’ve found a way to make your meal plans work for you.
Carla, yes, secretary back Monday. I will be glad not to answer the phone, and I have let the filing pile up for her, but I’ve kind of enjoyed this week just me and the boss, we’ve made a few decisions and got some things aired out. How did your chard turn out? I just love all the stuff you are doing with your yarns. So beautiful.
I had an off day, just wasn’t feeling that great, it has been hot as hades, humid, and air quality warnings all week. I saw someone post something on facebook “it’s so hot the birds are using potholders to pick up worms” lol. Plus a couple friends having difficulties and health problems getting me down.
B – half a baked potato and some broccoli, 2 walnut halves
L – big ol’ salad with super spinach, arugula, chickpeas, steamed broccoli, salsa,1/4 of an avocado
D – going to have a pita with E2 hummus, steamed asparagus, huge slice of tomato
S – a handful of pistachios in the morning, and a vegan cookie a friend brought to me at the office in the afternoon … I just ate it, what can I say.
It was good, but I sensed I was just eating it because it was there, not because I really needed/wanted it. I remember a friend saying that something tasted like guilt. That was sort of how it tasted lol.
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Tasted like guilt. I like it.
I read something this week that really stuck with me. It's actually already created some change in my behaviours...
Saying "I'm too busy" is the same thing as saying "It's not a priority."
Yikes. That takes away my biggest excuse right there... Crap...0 -
I just heard that recently too, Karrie! That 'too busy' should be re-worded as it's not a priority right now. It must have been in some health video that I saw it, because the person saying it was talking about exercise.
I downloaded the Daily Dozen app from Dr. Gregor and under exercise, in order the check the box you need to do 40 minutes of vigorous activity or 90 minutes of moderate intensity. (There was no option for low intensity ) So, for now, exercising to that extent is not a priority for me! I am happy that I'll be doing the yoga starting tomorrow though. A good way to ease back into things.
Mihani, I didn't end up making the chard. Poor chard! I'm going to make it today. I had something that tasted like guilt yesterday too (and good description for it!). I had a pecan pie Lara bar. I was having an off day like you, worried about Joe's dad who was admitted to the hospital yesterday (he's okay) and just waited too long before finding myself food. I ordered a whole box full of those bars less than a week before we decided to go on plan and they've been out of sight but sitting in my office this whole time.
Probably not too much time for spinning or making today. I've been putting off some complicated work and today it's just time to push through.
Tomorrow day 1 of yoga!0 -
Credit where it's due ladies lol...... And it is past time to start incorporating regular exercise. I read an interesting blog post by a guy who said that if you are saying you don't have time you probably should just say "it's not a priority" instead, because we can find time. I know I waste time on various things and if I make exercise a priority it'll get done. I've enjoyed reading some of his other posts too. fatmanrants.com/2016/07/03/aint-nobody-got-time-for-that/ He has lost a ton of weight and regained his health with a WFPB diet.
Glad this week is over and the secretary will be back to answer the phone. The week flew by, very busy, got a few projects done, but it's hard to work on more demanding tasks when having to answer the phone, greet clients, make copies, sign for overnights, etc., so I mostly worked on things that don't require much brain power but were piling up and needed to be done. I let all the filing pile up for her though
B - half a baked potato and some broccoli
L - the usual salad
D - not sure yet, probably E2 hummus on a flat with lots of super spinach and a slice of tomato
S - cantaloupe (finally out of watermelon, had to throw out the last of what I had couldn't finish it all)
Need to make a grocery list so I can stop tomorrow to get the stuff for the quinoa salad, and stock up on my veggies for the week. I think I will take a hummus/veggie/pita wedges platter too.
Carla, very glad to hear Joe’s dad is okay! Hope you got through your work project. I’ll have to check out that Daily Dozen thing. You always find interesting stuff. I need to check out the yoga website so I’m ready to go tomorrow. I am going to the office (of course) and then to visit a friend just home from the hospital, but will have time or “make it a priority” when I get home to do the yoga! Really looking forward to the visit with cousins on Sunday, haven’t seen them in a while and they are lots of fun.
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Okay y'all, got home fairly early from the office and decided to do the yoga before doing anything else, because I know me. Ouch. I was really struggling, and it is always so hard to follow videos when you are upside down in a yoga pose lol. I think I'm going to see if I can fire up my old I-pad (it's ancient and hasn't been used in years) or maybe try playing on my phone. Then I can keep it on the floor in front of me rather than trying to twist around to see the desktop monitor.
I have a lot to do yet tonight. Laundry, prepping the stuff for the quinoa salad. Also got hummus, cucumber, baby carrots, red peppers and Stacy's pita chips to make a platter so I'll get veggies chopped tonight. Didn't buy too many veggies and fruits on my grocery run since my brother and I plan to stop at this awesome farm market on the way back from the family gathering. It's gigantic, and they are constantly bringing in more pallets of fruit and veggies fresh off the branch or vine as you are shopping. I can't wait!!! I usually go at least a couple times each summer, but haven't made it yet this year. They also have amish breads, other baked goods, lots of preserves and fruit butters, and other goodies. On some days there's a pickle vendor with a cart out front probably 6 or 8 different types. They are delicious. I told my brother it's a good thing we're taking his SUV so there will be plenty of room for my market haul
B - oatmeal with chopped walnuts and oat milk
L - skipped it, had an apple
D - think it's going to be a huge salad with lots of veggies and some chickpeas, too hot to cook
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Sorry, posting late because I wanted to complete the yoga first. Joe and I both did it! Yay! It was a little dangerous with the two of us in close quarters but there were no wipeouts. I agree, Mihani, it is very hard to keep an eye on the screen and do the moves at the same time. I cast it from the computer to our big screen and that worked pretty well.
Breakfast today was not a smoothie! I had oats cold, with almond milk, walnuts, blueberries and dried goji berries.
Lunch - bean burger, mixed greens, slice of Ezekiel, tomatoes
Dinner - dude bowl (restaurant) - lots of cabbage, tofu, and raw veggies with a spicy chili sauce. I got to go there in person for the first time. We drove to our former 'big' town to feed our friend's cat while he's away and while we were out we decided to treat ourselves. It is an interesting place. LOTS of unusual folks hanging eating there and super loud music playing from the kitchen. their food is fresh & full of veggies, and the 'entertainment' is free 0 -
The I-pad fired up and plays the videos just fine. Should make it at least somewhat easier to follow. The main difficulty is my stiff joints and lack of balance lol. I should try to get back to my Tai Chi classes, they were good for me.
Carla your dinner sounds really good, and sounds like a fun place.
Just finishing up putting food together to take to the lunch today. Excited to have a day off and be around people. I may do a little work when I get home though.
B - whole wheat English muffin with hummus and spinach
L - will be some of the quinoa salad and hummus platter, and whatever else is there that is vegan
D - going to be something from my farm market haul on the way home
It was interesting that the English muffins, a lot of brands use milk or whey, but these were the store brand and they actually had in large print on the back "Suitable for Vegans" which was really nice. Although I still read the list of ingredients, force of habit.
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