Active April

Mihani

Hi all! Happy April and all that. My goals this month are to continue the 6 week plan (1 full week down so far) and to get some form of exercise every single day.

Carla, are you still doing the Clean Food Dirty Girl meal plans? I get recipes from that site sometimes and they are always good.

Austin, I love collard greens! Have you ever tried adding a bit of liquid smoke to your greens or bean soups, etc.? It's a nice touch. I'm not sleeping well either, but I did manage to do a little better last night.

My salad prepper is on the case so I will have my salads tomorrow. Woohoo!

I had another good day. I seem to be having no cravings for my favorite salty crunchies like pretzels and blue corn chips whatsoever lately. It's odd, but very nice. I haven't got on the scale as I tend to start dwelling on numbers and the loss becomes my focus. I am trying to focus on how I feel and health rather than just losing pounds, but I have noticed my clothes are getting a bit loose.

Looking forward to hanging out with y'all another month.

AustinRuadhain

Hi @Mihani I am happy to know another fan of collards. Thank you for the reminder about liquid smoke. I just put it on my shopping list. It is a lovely touch and I had forgotten. (Does that ever happen to you? Stop eating something for a while and then you get to rediscover that you love it?)

Hurray to those salads! I missed my evening salad and went with raw fruit for dinner today. I ended up eating much later than usual after taking my son to a Maundy Thursday church service. I stuck with healthy DrF-plan food (despite 3 1/2 hours on the road), so I am calling the day a win. Back to including my yummy salad for dinner tomorrow.

My food goal is to continue on the Dr F plan and keep working on fitness (cardio, bodyweight exercise, some yoga & stretching).

I can't remember if I shared that I have a new vice -- guavas. Mexican guavas are in season, and I tried them and kinda love them.

Thanks for being here! I am looking forward to hanging with you guys, too!

Mihani

Austin, I do that all the time... will not eat something for quite a while then I have it and think why? ... WHY??? ... have I not been eating this every day? LOL

I think I tend to go through stages of wanting certain foods. Right now I'm totally into broccoli. I mean I want broccoli every day and I feel like my day isn't complete without it. So weird but hey it's healthy so crave away right?

That's awesome that you stuck to the plan on such a busy and out of the groove day. I haven't tried guava as far as I know. I'll have to take a look for those.

I have loads of work to do this weekend, but at least I can work from home. I'll get laundry and some other housework done tomorrow when I take breaks from work, plus prepping and cooking. I plan to steam broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and brussels sprouts. A pot of quinoa and a WFPB mushroom gravy with all those steamed veggies will make delicious bowls for the week.

Carla, Magic, hawksgirl and jennyoofu, hope ya'll are doing well!

AustinRuadhain

Happy Saturday, all!

I had another reasonably on-plan day yesterday. Not perfect but calling it good enough. I had such a busy evening that eating a salad for dinner was going to push eating way past 9 pm, so I settled for some fruit instead. I was under calories for the day and stuck with healthy choices. Looking forward to a salad today, though!

@Mihani - I dug out the Liquid Smoke, which had been pushed to the back of my spice shelf at some point, and added it to my lunchtime greens. Thank you for the reminder!
Like you I go through periods of craving this or that food. I have eaten all the guavas and want more, but don't think I want them enough to go grocery shopping the day before Easter!
I am craving cabbage, and may make a cabbage soup this week. Yum!

Carla_wfpb

Hi guys! I too go through periods where I am craving a specific food. It can last weeks or even months and then suddenly I'm done for a while.

Cute bike, Austin!

Nice job getting past the cravings, Mihani. I love it when I get there.

I did some yard work today and I hope I don't pay for it tonight with my hip and butt! Makes for a rough sleep.

I had a doctor's appointment (virtual) this Friday and my doc was impressed with my lab results (blood sugar)...especially when she found out that I very rarely take the diabetes medication...only when I know I've overdone bad foods, rather than every day. My blood pressure is on the high side, so I have to go in for an in-person appointment so they can test the accuracy of my monitor, but that isn't until I've been vaccinated in May.

So excited to be signed up for my COVID shots! First one is this coming Wednesday and the following one is also scheduled for one month later.

Mihani

Austin, hope you enjoyed your salad! Did you make that bicycle? Very cute.

Carla, that is so awesome that you have your diabetes under control. Hope you aren't sore from the yard work. I get my first Covid shot this week. I can't say I am excited about it, but I feel like it's the right decision for me. I did a fair amount of research before my age group came up. Then it took persistence to get an appointment.

I realized I couldn't do everything I wanted for cooking since I am still in kitchen chaos here. I couldn't find my fine mesh strainer for quinoa or my steamer for veggies. Also couldn't find the juicer cup for lemon in the hummus. I was going to make mushroom gravy but I couldn't find whole wheat flour or a whisk. Seriously, I want my kitchen back!!!

So I roasted broccoli and brussels sprouts, which are SO good, made brown jasmine rice, baked tofu, skillet steamed asparagus with bragg's aminos and garlic, cut up a cantaloupe. Also a big batch of onions, mushrooms and kale that should last all week. All set for a good week of healthy eating, although I think I will need more broccoli. I am all about the broccoli lately!

today was good...
B - oats with berries and chia seeds
L - roasted broccoli and brussels sprouts, rice, clementine, a few walnut halves
D - baked tofu, asparagus, apple with almond butter

hawksgirl229

🐇🌷 HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE 🌷🐇

Mihani

Happy Easter to you hawksgirl!

I got up and got busy with laundry, ran to the grocery for a few odds and ends, so I forgot breakfast and just now sitting down to a big salad. Red and green leaf, carrot, radish, zucchini, beet. Made a simple mixture of bragg's and dijon for dressing. Will also have a handful of pistachios and some cantaloupe.

Tonight I'll be having some of the stuff I prepped yesterday. I also got some corn tortillas and will be making fajitas or tacos with pinto beans, sauteed peppers and onion and lettuce this week. I am looking forward to those. And I wanted to make sure I had plenty of broccoli so I got more. I kind of like that I panic at the idea of not having enough broccoli to get through the week.

A lot of veggies I just throw on a parchment lined cookie sheet, sprinkle with coconut aminos and no salt seasoning, then bake at 400. The roasting and coconut aminos give them a deliciously sweet flavor.

AustinRuadhain

Happy Sunday, all! And Happy Easter @hawksgirl229 and to all who celebrate it!

The bike was just a cute thing I found. My bike is up and running again, and it called to me.

@Mihani - Your panic at the idea of not having enough broccoli to get through the week is FABULOUS!
And all your food prep sounds awesome!

@Carla_wfpb- I hope your hip and butt were not too unhappy today.
A HUGE congrats on doing so well with your diabetes! That is so SO fabulous! What an immense accomplishment!

I got through the day staying on plan, and passed on the unhealthy-for-me holiday food options.

I am just finishing a tasty Dr F dinner-- greens & beans with chopped raw garlic and fire roasted tomato; a steamed veggie bowl; and a bowl of steamed acorn squash and turnip with chopped apple and jicama.

I need to do a tray of roast veggies soon. My son loves those, too.

Carla_wfpb

Mihani, we're in sync. We've been eating a lot of broccoli over here and I just ordered some tortillas! Not sure if I'll be making tacos or pinto bean burritos.

Congrats on staying on plan this Easter, Austin! That's awesome.

I made a pumpkin pie, lightly sweetened with dates for Easter. I went all out and even made some cashew cream using just cashews, water, vanilla extract and a few dates. So creamy and decadent! I did yard work all weekend, but took it easy and took plenty of breaks in between. I got sore but it wasn't unbearable.

This morning I made some Tu-No salad (actually Egg-No since I subbed the kelp granules with black salt for an eggy flavor) to have as an easy topping on salads. I've been wanting to up my bean consumption and this does the trick.

Mihani

Austin, do you use a basket steamer or an electric one? I have a double-decker electric steamer... somewhere in the piles of stuff still waiting to be unearthed once the kitchen is done. I can't really complain as at least I have a sink now and I'm able to cook and prep again. I keep forgetting to look for jicama. I only had it that one time and really enjoyed it!

Carla, I'm going to try making taco shells with the corn tortillas. I have read several recipes where they talk about draping the tortillas over the oven rack and baking until crisp. Excited to give it a try since the ready made always have oil. The pumpkin pie sound wonderful! Would love the recipe.

I went off and left my lunch on the counter this morning. Fortunately I still had some fruit left at the office and I keep Dr. McDougall soups on hand for just such emergencies.

B - smoothie (power greens, frozen berry mix, 1/4 frozen banana, chia seeds, turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon, water... I set up baggies in the freezer yesterday with everything but the spices so I just have to dump into the blender and add water and spices in the morning)

L - Dr. McDougall soup, apple with a smidge of PB

D - big ol' salad and added some chickpeas (Carla, I've been slacking on the bean consumption too), some of the cooked veggies (broccoli and asparagus tonight), cantaloupe, a couple walnut halves

I finally got on the scale over the weekend, which I've been avoiding, and I'm down 14 pounds since the first of the year. Not bad considering I haven't really been that focused and have had a LOT of days that I was wildly off the WFPB bandwagon and eating too much vegan junk food. I'll stay off the scale again until I get through the 6 weeks.

AustinRuadhain

Happy Tuesday, all!

@Mihani - I have a simple basket steamer. I have heard good things about the electric ones, too.
And a big WOW to being down 14 pounds this year! Even with those off days, you must be averaging out well!

@Carla_wfpb - I hope you are doing well today! Your pumpkin pie sounds divine!

This is a quick check-in as today is a busy, busy day. I am headed off to work, and out to stay on my Dr F plan today.

B - coffee
L - beans & greens with chopped raw garlic and picante; steamed veggies; fruit
S - apple slices and cashews or pb (10g)
D - big salad, homemade wfpb Dr F-style dressing, fruit

Carla_wfpb

Happy Tuesday!

Yesterday was a gorgeous day with a light breeze. Joe and I had a couple of burn piles going to get rid of more branches and brambles. We interspersed working at our desks with going outside to add loads to the fire. It made for a nice break from the sitting. Today I'm going to power wash the driveway. It has quite a bit of moss build up on it from the wet weather and shade. If I have time and 'oomph' left after that, I'll give my car a bath. It has been a long time.

I'm also trying to make as many cards as I can while I'm into it - cards for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I am making unique ones for most occasions, but I had my Cricut Maker do 6 copies of a more generic card I designed, just to have on hand. Speaking of cards, has Donna been on the forums at all? I am reminded of her because she made such beautiful cards. I wonder if she has gone out of retirement temporarily to give vaccines.

The tu-no salad hit the spot yesterday for lunch. I had it over nappa cabbage, cucumbers and shredded carrot with some dill sprinkled on top. For dinner we had roasted yams, onion and bell pepper burritos with brown rice and un-fried pinto beans on the side. Yummy but I overdid and it was stuffed!

@Mihani here's the pie recipe. I've made it a few times and find that 2.5 tsp of pie spice is too much for my taste. My cinnamon was very fresh though so maybe that's why it was overpowering. I added a little at a time and tasted it in the blender the 2nd time around.

Pumpkin Pie recipe:
Ingredients

Crust:
2 cups almond flour or meal
3 tablespoons flax meal
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Filling:
1 14 ounce can of pumpkin puree or 1 3/4 cups mashed cooked pumpkin
1 1/3 cups pitted dates
3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk (or plant milk of your choice)
1/4 cup arrowroot powder or corn starch
2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cashew Cream:
1 cup cashews
3 dates
1/2 - 3/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Steps
Before you start, soak the cashews and dates for the cashew cream in a bowl of water for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°
For the crust, mix the almond flour and flax together and add the vinegar and water slowly until it forms a ball.
Press this mixture into the bottom and sides of an 8 1/2 inch pie plate to form the crust.
Poke a few holes in the bottom with a fork.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Add the filling ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour into the baked crust.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Pour the water off of the cashews and dates for the cashew cream.
Add all of the cashew cream ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
Let the pie cool.
Serve each slice of pie with a spoonful of the cashew cream on top.

jennyoofu

Happy Tuesday! Looking back over March, I'd call it a very successful month. Stayed active, finishing off with a spring break backpacking and camping trip. Funny how when you're moving steadily all day, you don't get hungry until you're truly hungry, and then it's easy to portion control. I should start wearing a backpack all the time! I attached a photo of our campsite one night. We had a fire under the giant rock overhang.

I had hoped to drop 5 lbs in March (not doing this for the weight loss, doing it for overall health - but you gotta measure something, right?) I lost 8.5, stayed active, and found myself wanting non-compliant foods less and less. I tried shifting the menu for Easter away from the straight butter-starch-fatty meats that I grew up on. It was a big shift, but we kept some classics on the table for the rest of the family for tradition. Easter week has traditionally been my worst eating week of the year, one time it landed me in the hospital with a gallbladder attack.

For April, I'm aiming to break up with 5 more lbs, and have a big increase in outdoor time with nicer temps. I'm considering getting a Fuhrman membership for the recipes - has anyone done this and found it worthwhile?

hawksgirl229

Hi everyone...My mom ended up having another uti and after starting her prescription continued to get worse( fever, nausea ,fatigue etc) I got her hospitalized very early Monday morning..Doctors think she will be released tomorrow.They changed her prescription and she is receiving it thru an IV... I've been reading all the posts and just now got time to type...

I've been sticking to fruit for breakfast, large salad with beans for lunch and dinner has been more veggies and fruit..lots of water..exercise fri, sat and Sunday walks in the forest preserve with my husband..Nothing on Monday because I was most of the day at the hospital with my mom..Today was 1/2 hour cardio dvd and 1/2 hour upper body dvd (21 day fix -beachbody series).

All the menu's look very tasty..❤ roasted veggies and the pie sounded yummy...congratulations on the weight loss Mihani and carla_wfpb glad to her about your labs. My husband and I are on the list for shots but we haven't been contacted to schedule an appointment yet. We are hoping we can schedule mid to late May..My husband will have some time off work then. Just thinking ahead if we get side effects..

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY EVERYONE 🍄

Mihani

Austin, I really like the electric steamer. Now that I have so much more counter space I think I will get even more use out of it. Good luck with your busy day!

Thanks for the recipe, Carla. That sounds wonderful. And Donna is off to Japan with her husband! Her latest adventure. Haven't seen her around the forum for a month or more so I figured she was busy with arrangements. Hopefully she will check in again soon.

Good to see you jennyoofu. Your campsite looks lovely. Sounds like you had a great March and looking forward to hearing how April goes for you.

hawksgirl, hope that your mom is doing better. It's so great that you are able to devote the time to taking care of her, and you're still managing to stay WFPB!

I had a good day. Got my shot early this morning before heading on to the office. It was fine but just the whole process of dealing with the unknown and being herded around (not to mention my needle phobia!) spiked my anxiety. I remembered to practice my mindfulness while waiting in the after-shot corral and kept myself calm until I could get out of there. Now I just feel a bit wiped out and my arm is sore. I left work a little early and going to take a nap here shortly. I admit I'm indulging in a small glass of wine. My stomach is a bit unsettled so I will likely just eat a slice of toast and maybe a little more cantaloupe.

B - some of the cooked veggies, cantaloupe, 4 walnut halves (didn't feel like dealing with the blender and a smoothie this a.m.)
L - more cooked veggies, a couple wasa crackers
D - as mentioned probably just some ezekiel toast

Mihani

Hi all, slept a loooong time and was back to normal today, which is good because it was an extra crazy day at the office.

B - skipped it
L - leftover broccoli, leftover sauteed greens/onions/mushrooms, an apple, a few walnut halves, 2 wasa crackers
D - big ol' salad topped with chickpeas, some cantaloupe

Carla_wfpb

Yesterday was vaccination day. 1st one done. a bit of a sore muscle at the injection site but other than that, feeling good.

I had to adjust my expectations on power washing the driveway. There is quite a bit of moss build-up and it is really hanging on, so I had to get up close which means doing a very small area at a time. Much like cleaning the floor with a toothbrush! I have an attachment for doing large areas that I'm going to try out. Fingers crossed that it is powerful enough to remove the moss, otherwise this is going to be a 10 hour process.

I tightened up my diet a bit, reducing snacks to little or none, being more careful with salt intake, and not eating after 5pm. So far I've had very encouraging results. Also in the encouraging results arena, I put on pants that I haven't worn in a while (need to do laundry!!) and they fit nice and loose.

@hawksgirl229 hope your mom continues to improve and is out of the hospital now

@jennyoofu your camping spot looks amazing! love that overhang for having a fire. i've always wanted to do multi-day hiking and camping excursions but I'm terrified of bears. My husband and I want to spend a month in New Zealand some time post pandemic to do that, since they don't have big scary wildlife but we need to prepare for it by hiking around here.

Grats on your shot, Mihani. After all of your talk about cantaloupe I am putting it on my grocery list. I'm into plant based yogurt lately so I'm going to chop it up and put it in there with some cinnamon. Yum.

Mihani

Carla, hope your cantaloupe is good. The ones I've been getting are wonderful. I hope it is a sign that this will be a good year for melons all around. Yay for pants that fit! I like the idea of intermittent fasting but it is hard for me to eat dinner early enough. I have been skipping breakfast the past couple days though, and eating lunch a little earlier. I won't follow that on the weekend. I enjoy a nice leisurely bowl of oats or a tofu scramble for weekend breakfasts.

B - nope
L - the last of the broccoli (yikes, gotta buy more!), 2 wasa crackers, apple, a few walnut halves
D - big ol' salad with chickpeas, the last of the cantaloupe (must buy more also!), some pistachios, sauteed greens/mushrooms/onions

Loved having everything together this week and not having to think at all about eating. I made too much of the greens/mushrooms/onions and will probably have to throw some out after tonight, but very little went to waste this week.

Mihani

Hi All! Work is crazy crazy!!! I made it through the week. Brought home work to do tomorrow and will go to the office on Sunday for a while just to try to get a handle on things.

Picked up my salads from my prepper friend on the way home, and had some other groceries delivered. They forgot my broccoli. I am soooo disappointed as I am all about the broccoli these days, but I realized I have so much other food that I shouldn't rush out to get broccoli. I have lots to prep as it is, and of course have my salads. I had so much food this week that I never even got around to making my tacos so I'll get everything ready for those tomorrow. Will need to take time tomorrow to do some cooking and laundry when I'm not working.

The painting got done yesterday... still some touch up and a second coat to do, but things are moving along. The kitchen should be completely finished next week.

B - skipped
L - a container of the cooked veggie mixtures from my freezer stash, an apple
D - not positive yet but probably a pita pizza ("recipe" follows) and some honeydew melon

I came up with a pita pizza a few years ago that is super easy, WFPB and delicious. Mash cannellini beans then mix them with tomato sauce and add seasonings like garlic, oregano, basil. Spread the sauce/bean mixture on a sprouted grain pita, add lots of veggies, maybe some baby spinach or arugula, sprinkle with nooch and bake.

Carla_wfpb

Happy Saturday!

Sunny but chilly day here in the PNW. Today I'll be mowing and power washing. This morning I played with Adobe Illustrator to create some custom images for card making.

I juiced some kale, carrots, apple and ginger, and prepped a big ol' bowl of Garlicky Kale Salad. It is delish, especially after sitting in the fridge for a few hours.

@Mihani I hope you manage to get in some personal time this weekend. Good luck with all of your work! I'll let you know how the cantaloupe is. I'm using up the strawberries first before they go bad.

Here's the salad. The best thing you can do to make it a wonderful experience is to massage the life outta that kale.

Garlicky Kale Salad

2 large bunches kale
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp bragg liquid aminos or coconut aminos
1 Tbsp ACV
1 lemon, zest and juice
2 to 3 cloves minced garlic
1.5 cups or 1 can garbanzo beans (optional)

Remove stems from kale and rip into bite sized pieces. Rinse well. Massage kale 5 minutes or longer until it really softens up. After massaging, I use salad scissors to really mulch the kale up, but that's optional.

Mix all ingredients into a bowl and let it marinate a few hours or overnight.