Hi all. After a week of being ill, I am back in the saddle again. I have overindulged this summer to the point of ridiculous. Ugh. My body finally started reacting to those poor eating choices and I had a tough week. But, it was a good wake-up call. I ordered three cookbooks to keep me motivated to try new things, although keeping it simple usually works best for me.

The books:
-The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook (LOVE!!!)
-The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook
-The Happy Herbivore

As you probably know, Dr. Esselstyn does not allow nuts or avocados, so the recipes in the first cookbook mentioned above do not contain them. I'm going to focus on using this cookbook for now, but the others are great too.

I'm trying to decide which of Dr. Fuhrman's cookbooks to purchase. The top two that I see on amazon are his "Eat to Live Cookbook" and "Eat to Live Quick and Easy." Do any of you have a favorite between these?

After just a couple days back on track, I'm already feeling better. However, I'm trying to decide if I'm experiencing angina again - I know it's nothing to guess about. We are up to our eyeballs in medical bills already, so every doctor visit just adds to the mounting bill. If I'd kept up with my rigorous walking routine and eating right, I doubt I'd be having issues now. I'm not going to beat myself up, but am certainly motivated to act my age.

Another good day. When I got up this morning I felt a little shaky and I wanted food, but I had a cup of herbal tea and powered through. Took my oatmeal to work to eat when the 13 hours was up, and it was after noon before I remembered the oatmeal and that I was soooo hungry at 5:30 a.m LOL... good lesson learned there. I don't know that I've ever felt what Dr. F calls the true hunger signal, but I am finally learning to recognize the false hunger.

Mihani, are you doing intermittent fasting? I've been trying it out - I've made it to 14 hours.

I got cold feet about accepting the position. It was a strange situation. The job itself was fun (I job shadowed for a full day), but there were a few things I was unsure about. For one, the commute distance combined with low pay meant a chunk of earnings would have gone for commuting. (About 40 miles per day roundtrip with earnings that are at least 30% less than similar jobs in the area.) I would have been working for a husband/wife team. There was no job description, no set guidelines for time off (he said I'd earn one week of vacation after I'd been employed a year, she said take time off whenever you want). No benefits. They are at a critical point in their business growth, and the husband does not have a handle on what it means to have employees. I really think he sees them as an extension of himself, which is not wise, because he is undervaluing them. The person that I job shadowed was doing Admin. Assistance level work and was being paid less than the local fast food restaurant pays for counter help. So, it's back to the application process for me.

As I've looked through the Happy Herbivore I've come to the realization that I ordered the wrong book. I was looking at another title with a similar green cover and ordered HH instead. The other book was geared toward family-friendly dishes, which I found appealing. Oh well, I'm sure I'll glean a few recipes from it.

Donna, I don't envy you the heat. Having grown up in Oklahoma, I understand heat waves. My daughter and I visited Austin, TX last August and felt absolutely assaulted by the heat when we got off the plane. Here in MN, we are heat wimps. We had a week of hot weather a little over a week ago (in the midst of a camping getaway for Wes and I) and I was downright cranky. But a heat wave here is usually upper 80s/low 90s and high humidity - it's the humidity that makes it unbearable. We are now in the upper 70s/low 80s and low humidity. Perfect.

Today we went to a butterfly release along the shores of the Mississippi (350 monarchs), followed by a concert (kind of folk music). Lovely day.

I just polished off a veggie sandwich. So yummy! I got the recipe from a Jill McKeever video. It contained: cucumber, tomato, spinach, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, sautéed mushrooms, and 1/4 of an avocado. Oh! And the bread was spread with cashew cream. YUM! That stuff has to be used sparingly, but it is so good.

Sounds like a really good sammich Jacquie. There's a recipe similar to that in the Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease cookbook. They use homemade hummus rather than cashew cream though. I have that one bookmarked.

Donna, I have been eating a fair amount of fruit the past couple weeks. Mostly watermelon and blueberries. So good this time of year. Hope the heat lets up some for you.

First week back on track results: 7 pounds! I was feeling awfully bloated from indulging in so much salty and snacky, not to mention the beers and wine, so I'm sure half of that is water weight, and this week will be much more reasonable. I'm just happy to be a couple pounds down from where I was when I finished the 6 week plan a couple months ago. I had bounced up a few.

Y'all got me thinking about sandwiches so I threw together a very simple one for dinner. Drained and rinsed a can of pinto beans and mashed 'em up with some salsa then scooped some onto sprouted grain bread with a big pile of lettuce, some onion and a few pumpkin seeds. Tasty! I think would have been even better in a wrap but I don't have any.

Had meetings outside the office this afternoon so I got home at a reasonable time tonight. I brought work home but I think I'm going to give myself permission to laze around and read this evening. I'm kind of burned out.

Good luck on the job Jacquie! I have never done a video conference, I think I would be self-conscious and come across poorly. I'm sure they know people aren't necessarily used to it though. Sounds like a fun day for you.

All stocked up on good stuff for the week. Will be doing some prepping tomorrow. Taking the day away from the office to clean/cook/nap and brought some work home to do.

I was lazy about prepping this weekend Jacquie, but did a bunch tonight. Sauteed a big bunch of broccoli and then asparagus, then some chard. I seem to find sort of assembly line cooking in a skillet easier than roasting or steaming lately. I add a bit of coconut aminos and some spices as I go. Also prepped red and green leaf lettuce, chopped radishes and carrots through the food processor, and made a double batch of E2 hummus.

The neighbor behind me has a huge veggie garden and every summer he leaves bags of tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and green beans on the fence for me. All the rewards of fresh garden grown veggies without the work! Best. Neighbor. Ever.

My weight was dropping really fast the first 2 weeks back on plan but stalled completely last week and then I had a bit of free for all over the weekend. Back at it this week.

Whole Foods and TJ's both have great frozen products so be sure to take a cooler, Jacquie. Oatmeal is my favorite breakfast!

I have had a rough couple days with sinuses all swollen and head stuffed up. Today my throat is sore too. I am hoping it passes pretty quickly. Only stayed at the office about 4 hours yesterday and 7 today, and sure can't afford the time away from the piles of work. Happy I have food prepped. Haven't had much appetite but at least when I do eat I have healthy options. I sauteed chard the other night and going to have some in corn tortillas with homemade E2 hummus for dinner, and watermelon of course. I have been eating watermelon nearly every day the past few weeks. I still have kale, collards, and mustard greens that I need to cook before they get wilty on me. Maybe I will do that after a nap.

Sounds like a great trip to TJ's and WF, Jacquie! I tend to lean more towards E2 myself when I'm feeling rebellious LOL. I totally think Dr. F is brilliant, but the lure of the starchy veggies and pastas and that they are allowed in greater quantities draws me. I just realized we're well into August and still in the July thread. I'll start a new one now.