wow, long day at work. started at 9 am and did not get out of work till 9 pm.

Finally, sat down for some dinner. Dr. F. Hearty minestrone soup over greens w/ sunflower seeds. Almond milk

Since, I have upped my greens I feel my energy coming back. Been so tired since I went vegan and trying to give up coffee.


today:
steel cut soaked oats w/ blueberries
greens

chickpea tuno salad dr. fuhrman recipe
over greens

and dinner stated above.

Hoping to break the barrier this weekend and have some time to go to the gym. Will see
have company coming for xmas so need to do a lot of cleaning and preparing again.

Finished all of my Xmas shopping except for one thing. Will have to pick it up this weekend or forget about it.

1 week till xmas eve and counting. We are staying in a swank hotel for xmas eve. and going out to dinner. (although there will not be much for me to eat). On xmas may try to make GF vegan ravioli.

My VL7#3 probiotic arrived today. Dr. Benson wants me to try this probiotic for 1 month and if it works do no add any more supplements if not add omega 3 4 capsules daily.


Everyone have a nice evening.

I certainly feel like I’m “dashing” in December. So much to do and so little time left! Grandson’s band concert, a trip to the theater to see a Nutcracker performance, a trip downtown to see the Christmas Market and Tuba Christmas, and then hosting Christmas dinner — that’s what’s left on my schedule!

That Chickpea Cocoa Almond energy bars look delicious. I will give them a try (without the syrup) with peanut butter. Thanks! I can get unsweetened coconut at the health food store. Almond butter is so expensive right now — $25 a jar here! This might make a nice after-dinner Christmas “cookie” for the gang.

My roasted root vegetables with thyme were a mild hit at Thanksgiving, so I will make that again. My parsnip mashed potatoes were not so well received, but my wild rice pilaf was a good dish. That said, I don’t mind at all that there were plenty of healthy leftovers for me. I’ll start planning Christmas meals tomorrow.

Loved the dress story! I have to say that shopping for myself is so much more pleasant now that I don’t see my mother in the mirror. I have started buying dresses, too, and I am also not a dressy kind of gal, but now I own four dresses.

I eat a full meal before going out to any party, because (like tdh1991 says) a no-meat, no-diary, no-sugar lifestyle does make going out harder. I try to focus on the event, the people, the social aspect, and stay clear of the food table. But I definitely EAT before I go. It gets easier the more I do it.

I wanted to go see TSO but hubby wasn’t interested. Not his thing. Fooey!

tdh1991, thank you for sharing your trip to Fuhrman’s office. Very interesting. Glad to hear you can ditch most of those supplements. What a pain! It does sound like you are in very good hands. How exciting to actually meet Dr. F (I want to treat myself to one of his seminars someday soon).

Even though we deliberately tried to keep December from not being a rush of events, it has still been more hectic than we prefer. We still don’t have our tree up but I did get the lights on the outside at least. They look really pretty in the snow!

I didn't make any goals in December, even though I am back up to 10 pounds above goal weight. Ugh. Portion control is something I need to work on. I've had way too many nuts and peanut butter lately, and eating late at night doesn't help. I need to be able to fit one of my party clothes so I will be trying on things today so I'm not stressing about what to wear 2 hours beforehand.

I made the nacho dip, and my hubby really liked it. I actually didn't like it all that much, personally... I REALLY loved the strawberry (and mango? I think) guacamole - so he had his dish, and I had mine.

I, too, am going strict -- starting today! I've eaten myself up 10 pounds and it has to stop. I gave away all my "fat" clothes and I am NOT going to buy any larger size clothes. I even had some chocolate, which usually isn't something I crave, and then I kept going back for "one more." Which ended up being 7 or 8 pieces. And 3 slices of pumpkin pie. Oh, and don't forget the bread. Oy! The bread, home-baked by a wonderful pastry maker friend, that really got me going. It will take me a few days of detox to feel myself again.

I made this dish for Christmas dinner and it was well-received by carnivores in attendance. I personally loved it. It's from an old Vegetarian Times cookbook I use often for family get-togethers. I omitted the salt and cut back the oil and I'm glad I did; no one noticed. It's quite low-calorie if you're careful with the olive oil and is pretty filling. I'll definitely make this again.

Green Beans with Mushrooms Marsala (p. 133, Vegetarian Times 1998 "Complete Thanksgiving Cookbook" Harvest of Side Dishes) - Serves 6

---

1 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed
1 tbsp olive oil (I used 1 tsp)
1 clove minced garlic (I used jar minced garlic, @ 3 cloves worth)
1 pound white mushrooms (could use brown mushrooms) sliced 1/8-in thick
1 tsp salt (I used no salt)
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup sweet Marsala wine (or sherry or cheap white wine)
1/4 to 1/2 cup slivered raw almonds (optional)

Steam green beans (I steam my veggies in a rice cooker.) till crisp-tender.
While beans are steaming, heat oil in skillet and add garlic, stirring till garlic is cooked through but not brown. Add mushrooms, stirring till mushrooms begin to brown, @ 7 minutes. Add seasonings and wine (or sherry); stir. Continue cooking till alcohol evaporates, @ 2 minutes.
Place steamed beans in a serving bowl (or serving plate). Pour mushroom mixture over the beans. Sprinkle slivered almonds on top. Serve immediately.

Per Serving: 80 cals.; 3g protein; 3g fat; 11g carbohydrates; 0mg cholesterol; 393mg sodium; 4g fiber

lisabinco wrote: »

I, too, am going strict -- starting today! I've eaten myself up 10 pounds and it has to stop. I gave away all my "fat" clothes and I am NOT going to buy any larger size clothes. I even had some chocolate, which usually isn't something I crave, and then I kept going back for "one more." Which ended up being 7 or 8 pieces. And 3 slices of pumpkin pie. Oh, and don't forget the bread. Oy! The bread, home-baked by a wonderful pastry maker friend, that really got me going. It will take me a few days of detox to feel myself again.

I made this dish for Christmas dinner and it was well-received by carnivores in attendance. I personally loved it. It's from an old Vegetarian Times cookbook I use often for family get-togethers. I omitted the salt and cut back the oil and I'm glad I did; no one noticed. It's quite low-calorie if you're careful with the olive oil and is pretty filling. I'll definitely make this again.

Green Beans with Mushrooms Marsala (p. 133, Vegetarian Times 1998 "Complete Thanksgiving Cookbook" Harvest of Side Dishes) - Serves 6

---

1 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed
1 tbsp olive oil (I used 1 tsp)
1 clove minced garlic (I used jar minced garlic, @ 3 cloves worth)
1 pound white mushrooms (could use brown mushrooms) sliced 1/8-in thick
1 tsp salt (I used no salt)
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup sweet Marsala wine (or sherry or cheap white wine)
1/4 to 1/2 cup slivered raw almonds (optional)

Steam green beans (I steam my veggies in a rice cooker.) till crisp-tender.
While beans are steaming, heat oil in skillet and add garlic, stirring till garlic is cooked through but not brown. Add mushrooms, stirring till mushrooms begin to brown, @ 7 minutes. Add seasonings and wine (or sherry); stir. Continue cooking till alcohol evaporates, @ 2 minutes.
Place steamed beans in a serving bowl (or serving plate). Pour mushroom mixture over the beans. Sprinkle slivered almonds on top. Serve immediately.

Per Serving: 80 cals.; 3g protein; 3g fat; 11g carbohydrates; 0mg cholesterol; 393mg sodium; 4g fiber

This looks yummy as heck!

Hi everyone - sorry for being MIA... Especially to you, Lia - December TOTALLY got away from me...

I know it's STILL December, but I'm going to lay out my plan & goals for January a day early, just 'cuz I wanna...

I started juicing again - today is day 3. I was WIPED OUT last night and went to bed at 10 (I never do that). I'm glad that right now I'm on holidays and I don't go to work until Monday, so I've got a few days to adjust before real life kicks in. I'm really going to give it my all this time around. I'm going to try my best to stick it out for a good 30 days - with my ultimate goal being 60 days if I can hack it.

I've already discovered that the juices are much tastier if I fill my glass with ice cubes. And I've started a journal (never done that before), so I can track what juices I've made, make notes about my progress - which recipes I like/dislike, and I plan to get a bunch of new recipes in there too from the website. I just need a few hours of free time first, because there's well over 100 recipes to go through!!

I haven't started workouts yet, but I will start either tomorrow or the next day. I'm going to do morning workouts on the treadmill, finally. But I'm also going to do Beachbody's CIZE program with my kids. We saw the informercial about a week ago and ordered it - my kids totally want to dance. So I said we could all do it together. That'll be fun. My brother is joining the adult swim club again, and I used to do that with him before and I enjoyed it, so I'm thinking about doing that again too. I haven't decided yet - I have to look at the swim schedule and make up my mind...

So that's my plan for January. Juice. Treadmill. Dancing. And maybe swimming.

I have some events coming up to keep me on track.
Jan 22 - going to BC for my brother's wedding
Feb 12 - going to Mexico for a family vacation
Feb 23 - my 43rd birthday
Mar ?? - my hubby will still take me to Vegas if I stick to this plan!!

(if you recall, my hubby said he'd take me to Vegas if I lost 30 lbs before Dec 31st -- a goal that I did NOT meet...)

The 4 lb loss so far is a great motivator. I find it easy to juice at home. My hubby has promised to help with the food prep for the family so I don't have to be around food as much. I've also said that I'm not going out socially or to any movies in January so I don't have to watch people eat or smell any popcorn. I think that'll help.

Plus, when I do go out socially again, I'll be able to WOW 'em!!

I just realized it has been over a year of the new ETL group after the original was accidentally deleted by the prior owner.

Lia, yay for the 6 week plan! I’m excited you’re going to be doing it too. I think it will help me stay on track and get through that first week, which is always toughest for me. Once I get through the first week I feel like okay that’s behind me, the next couple weeks are easier, then by the 4th week when I am feeling like temptations are growing stronger, I think hey I’ve stuck with it this long I can get through a few more weeks. Hope you have a fun NYE… I had dinner with my brother and we were going to watch a movie but I was tired and I plan to go to the office in the morning so we’re going to watch the movie another time.

Happy New Year Sabine!

Karrie, well done on starting juicing. It always seems like once you get on a roll there’s no stopping you so I think you’ll do great. I forgot about the Vegas trip. I’m sure you’re going to get there!

Lisa, I enjoyed my fitbit, sad it got lost. Good for you getting back at it without letting it get too far. I have now put on 20 pounds from where I was a couple years ago. I’m not happy, to put it mildly, and I really want to get back where I was. I figure the 6 week plan will get me most of the way there, and the discipline and healthy food will be really good for me after being all over the place lately.

I’ll get the new thread started.