Juicy Joyful July!
Replies
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Mark, I think it is very common in the beginning to feel overly full on all the raw veggies, fruit, beans, etc. Your body adjusts over time.
Another super busy day at the office but I'm still feeling hope that with the new employee we're going to be catching up little by little.
B - oats with chia seeds, turmeric and black pepper, blueberries
L - Dr. McDougall soup cup
D - big ol' salad, an apple
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Mark, I think it is very common in the beginning to feel overly full on all the raw veggies, fruit, beans, etc. Your body adjusts over time.
I hadn't considered that! Anyway, I woke up ravenous at 5am and stole some trail mix which I'm forgiving myself for
Ate the same today as yesterday, cept switched out Dr F's balsamic sauce for regular white wine vinegar and was much happier. Certainly replete enough and tasty enough ETL so far.
I like the sound of your breakfast, Mihani. Not normally hungry in the morning, but loving blueberries, I'm going to figure out a low starch version maybe with a veg smoothie thing? I'll share if I work out a recipe and don't die from the trials 1 -
@00markw - I make Blueberry Chia Pudding for breakfast at our house sometimes. In case it's of interest:
Blueberry Chia Pudding (3 servings)
2 cups unsweetened cashew milk
1 cup blueberries
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chia seeds
I mix the milk, berries and vanilla using an immersion blender, pour into a bowl, sprinkle the chia seeds on top, stir a bit to get them wet, and put in the fridge to sit for at least 20 minutes (more time is better; overnight is great).1 -
FYI
Alrighty then...I have to say...OATLEY is everything everyone is saying...it is so good...but really expensive....$5 1/2 gallon at Target. Had several gift cards (never go in there)...so I decided to try it. OH gosh...my oat milk does not taste that good. Very little oat taste actually...really creamy.
Today's Plan
black coffee
Joe's Mean Green
Oatmeal, flaxmeal, homemade oatmilk, organic wild frozen blueberries TJ's, cinnamon and raisins
romaine salad and air fried tofu
rice broccoli tofu
nice cream
Used the OATLEY to wet the tofu before I dredged in corn starch. Had a taste. Oh gosh, so good. Darn it anyway.
https://us.oatly.com/1 -
That sounds good, Austin. I haven't tried any nut milks yet not being a big fan of regular milk, so I'll have to be brave and expand my horizons.
Day 3 and still on it! Met all my health targets except two today, lol, but ETL was a near total win. Cut the salad to 75% cuz I'm kind on me and am in it for the long run. Moroccan Chickpea Soup (with lots of spinach, extra cilantro and peppers) was a win - and easy to make enough for tomorrow and to freeze. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1499/moroccan-chickpea-soup
Anyone notice the debate about how much salt is healthy? I'm going to stick to Doc F for the 6 weeks (fingers crossed), but there's some interesting recent research.
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Anyone else have trouble signing on...I get on but can't get to the Community page. I wrote to them...just got on finally.
Today:
black coffee
Joe's Mean Green minus the kale
oatmeal, cinnamon, flax meal, blueberries, raisins, oat milk
stir fry veggies with jasmine rice, air fried GF panko-crusted tofu
fruit
grilled eggplant, onions, cauliflower, broccoli, kale salad
nice cream0 -
@magic71755 - I had trouble yesterday for a few minutes, then got back on. Phew! 😌
Your menu looks delish -- as usual! 😋
@00markw -- Hurray for Day 3! 😊
If alternative milks don't appeal to you, I would not work at learning to like them. You could try that chia pudding with just water, or maybe water plus some additional juicy fruit like apple. Now that you mention it, I think I'LL try that when next I make it!
⚠️ Research Geekiness Ahead ⚠️
I have seen a recent kerfluffle about salt. Not sure if it is what you saw? I saw a WSJ opinion piece: Are You Getting Too Much Salt in Your Diet? Probably Not that references a letter to the journal The Lancet: Urinary sodium excretion measures and health outcomes. I did a little digging. One of the authors of that letter to The Lancet has apparently been a consultant to the Salt Institute. See Dr. Michael Greger's video Sodium Skeptics Try to Shake Up the Salt Debate ). If you are interested, Nutrition Facts (Dr Greger's website) has a whole series of articles/videos on salt. Greger is the author of How Not to Die, is careful about not taking industry funding, and whose website includes a lot of reviews/explanations of research articles.
I personally allow a little sodium in, in pretty small amounts. I see that the 3/8 cup of unsweetened cashew milk I had at lunch had 60 mg sodium in it ( I used it to make a kind of pudding with steamed butternut squash, apples and cinnamon). Hmm! Spinach happens to be contain sodium, and I eat some spinach most days, so there's that. Overall, I stay well below the American Heart Association's rec of 1,500 mg/day, and my blood pressure, pulse rate, sodium and other numbers look great, and had radically improved when I got checked after 7 months of ETL.1 -
I adore Dr. Greger, Austin! I have read and re-read HNTD and really like the cookbook. Looking forward to his new book.1
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Back to work menu
Black coffee
Oatmeal raw GF with all the extras
Massaged kale salad
Jasmine rice stir fry veggies
Joe’s Mean Green
Yogurt with granola Love Crunch Vegan
Have a great day everyone!0 -
No trouble signing on today for me -- hurray!
Good ETL day yesterday:
- B: black coffee, blended veggie & fruit smoothie (spinach, cauli, blueberries, flax seed), small side of goji berries
- L: roasted Brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar and pepper; steamed mushrooms with spices; savory baked tofu; steamed mustard greens; zucchini, onion & tomato salad; steamed butternut squash and apples with a splash of cashew milk
- S: apple slices & walnuts
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big massaged kale & romaine salad with tomatoes and beets; avocado, lime, cilantro & tarragon dressing; zucchini, onion & tomato salad; squash and apples
Today is on track to look similar.
I just started reading a new book, Undo It by Dean and Anne Ornish. People who recommend it include Beyonce (!), Dr. Greger, Neal Barnard, T. Colin Campbell, John Mackey, Alice Waters ... wow! Anyway, so far it is being a good read.0 -
AustinRuadhain wrote: »⚠️ Research Geekiness Ahead ⚠️
There's so much [conflicting] information around these days, I think personal research skills are necessary for the modern thinking adult. That said, I'm not really able to evaluate my sources on this.
I read Dr. Greger's page, thanks. The challenge to common advice on sodium intake I'd seen was on Healthline and Nutritionmyths (no idea if they're reputable sites or not) both claiming that underconsumption of sodium is as bad as overconsumption - and both referring to the same Pubmed published experiment (which looks pretty convincing to me, but I'm no professional): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27216139
tldr conclusion:Compared with moderate sodium intake, high sodium intake is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events and death in hypertensive populations (no association in normotensive population), while the association of low sodium intake with increased risk of cardiovascular events and death is observed in those with or without hypertension. These data suggest that lowering sodium intake is best targeted at populations with hypertension who consume high sodium diets
Or, too little salt can be bad for people who don't suffer from high blood pressure AND are on a high salt diet. The take away seems to me to be that hitting 2300 - 3000mg/day is the best advice IF blood pressure is not high.
I had a terrible day on ETL yesterday! Put on 2 lbs in the first 3 days of ETL! Forced myself to eat a 150 g salad for lunch and then could not face any more salad at all! Ending up chopping up the kids' leftover burgers and putting them in my chickpea soup!
I had thought that ETL 6 week would be a good kickstart to healthier me, but I can't consume this amount of salad right off the bat. I literally smell of vegetation! New Plan: continue with no salt, no oil, no meat, but add in limited cheese and tuna for protein and continue to eat 90% (in terms of calorie density) veg - but significantly less salad!!! (at least for this week, lol). Ugh! Continue to believe in ETL theory, will have to work out my own version I think.
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@00markw - Wow, it sounds like you had a challenging day yesterday. Good for you for formulating a new plan! We all have to work out something that works for ourselves, our body and our environment. Hang in there! 👍
Does anybody have big plans for the weekend? @magic71755 - I know it's not your weekend yet! I hope you work week is going well! @Mihani - I hope you get some downtime this weekend!
My son has been wanting a vegetarian pizza, so I will be tackling that as a fun cooking project tonight. I have a volunteer project I am working on (big meeting tomorrow, need to get a bunch done today - eep!), and am also hoping to get some gardening done. If all goes well, I'll do a little of that this evening, and more tomorrow morning and on Sunday.1 -
I really like Dillon Holmes...he has a facebook group and a youtube channel. Well Your World website as well.
He likes to keep it simple...this is an example of his philosophy. He knows all the heavy hitters ...interviewed them all...he's good. Lots to choose from his library of YOUTUBES...I like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7cvv1vD1s4 1 -
Here is his YOUTUBE channel. Lots to see...fun stuff...great sense of humor...he hates making it complicated. This might be something that appeals to you @00markw . Look around his library of youtubes...lots in there...play in the background as you prep meals.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8fG5eV1Q5res0BoQsF6-3g/featured?disable_polymer=1
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Vegan Health - It's The Food
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaU7YUbdtvY&list=PLKhuC_bnruhqUjIiMYiac5NMQvgBVoLh9&index=2 1 -
Actually @magic71755 - that Simplify video might have helped me turn this around. Not too different from ETL, but so clearly articulated.
I'm going to need to be cute about getting enough raw veggies at first - and total veggies everyday generally, but will keep trying. Thanks a lot for that.2 -
I just like his approach...uncomplicated it...this diet aka woe lifestyle is for the long haul...not something to go on and off...so make it easy and accessible.
Today
Black coffee (I subscribed to Black Rifle Coffee Company...owned and operated by veterans...if you are interested, let me know...I will send you a discount code.)
Joe’s Mean Green
Kale Salad
Lavva yogurt with Love Crunch granola
Oatmeal
Ezekiel Follow Your Heart Cheese panini
The end.
If I have time, I will cut up a cantaloupe and take to work.
Have a great day.
vacation starts 2pm this monday...four days off...but with my weekends book ended around it...it gives me ten days off
Goals for vacay. SWIM daily
LONG AM walks for Lulu
Focus on lots more veggies ... home for all meals... make the ten days a retreat kinda thing.1 -
At work...having my kale salad. I had looked up preparing massaged kale salad ahead of time and how long it will keep. Really good info in that it said great idea to prepare ahead...gives it time to break down a bit and soften up. So:
This past Thursday I made up two bunches of organic kale...stripped off the stem, torn into pieces, lots of fresh lemon squeezed into it, a bit of Lemon/Tahini dressing, nutritional yeast and raisins.
Cut up fresh avocado each day I portioned it out for work...with extra squeeze of lemon.
OH MY GOSH...so good. Flavors pop...avocado nice and green ...cut up in the skin and then broken into the salad so to speak. Really good.
Much better to make four days in advance on Thursday for my four day work week.
Thanks for listening. HAGDE!0 -
I think you are as big an oats fan as I am Magic. I really don't feel the same if I don't have my oats and berries in the morning. Thanks again for all the great links.
Austin, let us know how your pizza turns out! You making your own crust? I keep seeing frozen cauliflower crusts and have been tempted but haven't tried one yet. Sounds like you have a full weekend. Did you get all your work done for your meeting?
Mark, you might just need to rethink your salads a bit or eat more cooked veggies for now. Also, a pair of salad scissors is a great investment. Makes your salad so much easier to eat because it cuts the volume down so much. Also, just throwing some raw spinach or other veggies in smoothies, making blended salads, tossing some greens in soups or stir-frys, etc. are good ways to get those veggies in. It does take time for a lot of people to build up to eating this much in the way of raw veggies and you have to give yourself some time. Adding some lightly steamed veggies to your salads is nice too, not so much raw in one meal. Experimenting with yummy dressings helps too. I am a big fan of cashew based dressings and make a batch pretty much every week, but I am fine with balsamic and some nooch too.
Had my friend here today to help me with house projects. He's awesome. He got the whole basement done while I worked on my kitchen. I am getting rid of SO many things and it feels great.
Given my busy day my meals were a bit odd...
B - steamed broccoli and toasted sprouted grain toast
D - bowl of brown rice, sauteed kale and onions, broccoli, lemon tahini dressing
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I am getting rid of SO many things and it feels great.
Haha, we've been Kondo-ing our clothes today. It does feel good!
Yes, I'm finding ways to adapt to full time PBWF. I liked the simplify explanation a lot - partly because it makes the basic framework so clear.
Today I started on my quest for breakfast smoothie excellence - and discovered I CANNOT do Almond milk
Ho hum. Apart from that, I skipped the raw veg entirely and made some really delic cauliflower and spinach veg curry. Not ideal, but total calories is way under what I need, and I feel full - also no oil and very low salt.
Working Lessons so far:- How to skip oil by using veg stock.
- How eating 3 - 4 pieces of fruit a day makes me less hungry for meals - and that's a direct replacement for processed snacks for me, so that's a big lesson.
- To plan raw food better starting from little things: tomato, onion, balsamic and leaves, grated carrot and lemon and leaves, for e.g. rather than huge great dishes of leaves swimming in vinegar
Hope everyone has a great weekend and doesn't have to work too hard
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Morning all...(my Thursday)
Today's Plan:
black coffee
Joe's Mean Green
Oatmeal - my day and my tummy just love this stuff... @Mihani Kinda little pac mans that scrub my colon
Kale Salad
Cantaloupe
yogurt and granola
Great job, Mark, analysing your plan and readjusting. I plan on making changes over my ten-day stretch of days off.
Good job thinning out the heard, @Mihani ...another thing I need to do.
Trying to keep my TO DO list on my days off not overwhelming so I do get some things done. Such a good chunk of time to make a difference. My second vacation week will be the first week of September.
Have a good one everybuddy!
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*thinning out the herd. oopsie0
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Happy Sunday morning, all!
@Mihani - Thanks so much for asking about things!
🍕 The pizza was for the 13 year old, who is interested in eating vegetarian, but not vegan. It did come out really well, based on the fact that I made him 2 14-inch-pizzas, and that all but 2 pieces (so 1/8 of the batch) was gone in 24 hours. The crust was gluten-free, made by starting from a Bob's Red Mill GF mix I found when Kondo-ing my pantry (it was so old that I used a newer packet of yeast, just in case!). The big thing about it taste-wise was adding in Italian herbs (rosemary, oregano, basil, thyme). I also made my own red sauce with lots and lots of onion and chunks of tomato, so each pizza included a red onion and about a pound of chopped tomatoes. Toppings were chopped yellow bell pepper and mushrooms (both partly cooked ahead of time so I could drain them and not have soggy pizza), plus a few tomato slices to top. Anyway, it was not strictly an ETL cooking project, but it was super fun, and I did manage to feed The Boy a lot of good veggies.
As a follow-up -- I need to try making a cauliflower crust for myself sometime! That's a great idea!
💪🏽 Yes! I did get lots of project work done, and the meeting went well. As a result of the meeting, I now have a huge stack of additional to-do's, and am working to see how many I can get done today! I just got off the phone with someone about one of the items. Moving it all along! And something I would count as an ETL victory -- despite feeling more than a little stressed about it all, I took care of myself by sticking to good food choices.
🛒 Side note - Shopping victory: I stopped by the health food store yesterday to pick up nutritional yeast, and realized they have bulk spices. This is awesome, as I have been going through lots of some spices that are not cheap at the regular grocery store-- tarragon and celery seeds, for example -- and not carried by the south Asian market I get many spices at inexpensively. So one of the things I will do today is make a jar of this Savory Spice Blend (like a homemade Mrs Dash).
@00markw -- Good for you for continuing to work on WFPB, and figuring out for yourself how to ease in to more plants in a way that works for you! Switching out fruit for processed snacks is a big change -- awesome!!
@magic71755 - I love those Dillon Holmes videos. Thanks for sharing! I'll be sharing those with a couple of people that have expressed interest in the plant-based eating.
@LizLovesVeggies - How are you doing this weekend?1 -
That pizza sounds yummy Austin! Congrats on getting all your work done and hope the rest goes well also. Glad you found a good source of spices.
Mark, sounds like you are on the right track! Any steps we take to better diet and health are good.
Magic, my to-do list was sooo overwhelming that I started to make a new page for each room or area of the house rather than it all on one page which made me feel hopeless. The mind games we play with ourselves LOL! I'll be happy when it is all done that's for sure.
I went to the office just about half a day because I wanted to go visit friends I haven't seen in several weeks. Had a nice visit and now it's time to cook! On my agenda for tonight: glowing spiced lentil soup, golden french lentil stew, roasted cauliflower, roasted fingerling potatoes, clean and prep salad lettuce and veggies. I still have some of the steamed broccoli and sauteed kale/onions that I made on Friday so this additional should set me up for the whole week.
B - sprouted grain toast, broccoli, spring mix with a balsamic/brown mustard dressing
L - cantaloupe, lara bar
D - probably a little of this and a little of that as I cook
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That pizza sounds too good, @AustinRuadhain!
I got back on the horse and had half a pound of salad today. It was nice with just a touch of lemon juice, garlic and black pepper to go with my leftover Cauli Curry. Had a glass of wine more than I should have, but half made up for it with a 4 mile walk.
Right now it looks like weight and bp have done silly things this first week of ETL, but I'll confirm tomorrow.
Happy healthiness, Etlers!1 -
My Friday...day before vacay...10 days with my weekends bookending.
Sounds like there is a great report coming our way, Mark.
@Mihani I am going to go room by room and try and stay focused. Major declutter mission.
@AustinRuadhain sounds like your focus to get the kiddos to have more veggies totally worked with the pizza! Anyway to get more veggies in them is a good thing.
Today for work:
Black coffee
cantaloupe
Joes Mean Green
baby potatoes with Hatch Green Chili Salsa
Will update later Need to make my own oat milk and almond milk. So oatmeal later today, and most likely bean tostadas for dinner.1 -
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend.
Mark - I hear you re: veggies. When I first started eating ETL I also had an issue eating the amount of raw veggies recommended. Soups, stews, curries and starchier veggies helped me and hopefully that will make you feel less like a lawn mower lol.
Magic - LOVE kale salad and LOVE avocado. Good for you for prepping the salad in advance! I almost never make kale salads because they do take some time to break down and I always want to eat right away.
Mihani - Getting someone to do salad prep is sheer brilliance. WTG and thanks for the idea!
Re: Batch Cooking --> One thing my husband and I are doing that has been AMAZING is pressure cooking a big pot of beans once a week and then incorporating into meals throughout the week. We put them in the pot with some better than bouillon (yes it's got salt in it - a little goes a long way but def skip if you're avoiding salt entirely) and an onion cut in half (that we remove later - gives it a nice sweet taste). I've been incorporating those beans into buddha bowls, soups, tacos, on salads and just plain as a snack. They are super filling and it's been a game changer. I've lost fat (not focused on losing weight - just focused on losing fat because I'm trying to build muscle!) since going on the beans kick.
Austen & Mihani - YES! I love Dr. Greger. Read HNTD several times and listen to his podcasts (which I'm pretty sure are the audio content from his youtube videos). I also downloaded the daily dozen app which I use occasionally and try to keep in mind daily. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.nutritionfacts.dailydozen
Magic - ENJOY VACATION! Swimming is one of my favorite things. Have the best time!
Speaking of Game Changers, the movie, I did get to see a full length special preview of it and it WAS amazing. Can't wait for it to come out already! It's going to be a HUGE deal for getting people to move towards healthier plant based eating, especially for men.
BTW - anyone else trying to build some plant based muscle? I decided I needed to do this when I couldn't open jars without help and carrying heavy grocery bags became difficult.
Question for the group - What are some of your favorite ETL desserts??? I'm still in the mood for something sweet after dinner and have been eating frozen cherries or blueberries but looking for something with a little more pizzazz.1 -
PS - Austin (with an i!), thank you for asking. Weekend was great. It was VERY hot so reading indoors was my primary activity. Read Ariel Levy's The Rules Do Not Apply & am 1/2 way through The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith - pseudonym for J.K. Rowling - which I'm listening to while I do dishes, take the dog for walks etc. I love to read & book recs are welcome!
Memorable meals this past weekend:
B- Smoothies every day with bananas, frozen blueberries, chia seeds, frozen spinach, vanilla extract, water & plant milk. One day we added Vega protein powder.
L- Salads with lentils & grilled veggies.
D- Tacos (I make a taco salad bowl on soft corn tortillas) with beans, seitan, lots of veggies, tofu, pico de gaillo, guacamole & hot sauce.
Snacks - blueberries, plums, apples and hot chocolate with cocoa powder & plant milk (it was hot outside and this made no sense but I enjoyed it anyway)1 -
@LizLovesVeggies
A bit richer deSsert than just NICE CREAM...
Nice Cream...bananas, plant milk, unsweetened cocoa in the vitamix
spoon into these* little cups half-way or so (6 oz for portioned control)...
dollop in some natural peanut butter...
fill with more nice cream
maybe three walnuts OR PEANUTS chopped up as a topping.
freeze
take out, let set for a bit...and then enjoy.
PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
***********************************.
CUPS FROM AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/StarPack-Portion-Control-Freezer-Containers/dp/B07KC2J7HT/ref=sr_1_59_sspa?crid=31SIN94NWN1NP&keywords=starpack+home+silicone&qid=1563804454&s=gateway&sprefix=star+pack+home,aps,214&sr=8-59-spons&psc=11 -
@Mihani - I hope you had fun with your friends, and then fun with meal planning and prep!
Oh, and I like your room-by-room To Do List. I might try some version of that.
@00markw - I hope your check of weight and BP numbers today went well. I wasn't sure if numbers doing something silly was a good thing or a bad thing! But it does sound like you are on a path to improve them! As @Mihani commented, any steps we take to better diet and health are good! Dialing back on raw veggies and easing back in as it seems appealing all sounds super smart!
@magic71755 - Yes, with the kiddo, I try to support him in eating more plants to the degree that he is interested. Since he wanted vegetarian pizza, I got him to choose toppings (onion, tomato, mushroom and peppers were all his choices) and then did my best to have it be delish. He asked for several salad lunches this week, so yay for that!
@LizLovesVeggies - I am paying attention to building muscle. I recently started weight training 3 times a week.
I also love to read, both fiction and non-fiction. A few recent fiction favorites:
The Jewels of Paradise (great audiobook!), The Eight Mountains (also a great audiobook!) , and All Systems Red.
@LizLovesVeggies - Mmm, a dessert discussion! (Oh, and no judgement as to hot chocolate!)
Things I love:
- Warm up some frozen blueberries and add a little cashew milk/oat milk/ etc plus some cinnamon.
- Warm up blueberries and some frozen tart cherries and add a little cashew milk/oat milk/etc plus some cinnamon.
- Dice up a big bowl of butternut squash, add a little diced apple. Microwave until the butternut is tender, then stir in a little cashew milk/oat milk and cinnamon to taste.
- Vegan strawberry banana nice cream; or do the nice cream with raspberries or some other fruit
- More ideas: The Ultimate Guide to Nice Cream
- Mix up a cup of cashew milk/oat milk/etc, a frozen banana, a teaspoon or so of cocoa powder, and a teaspoon or so of peanut butter. Mix with an immersion blender.
- Oatmeal Peach Dessert
- Blueberry Chia Pudding1
