Merry Merry Month of May

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  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 3,914 Member
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    Spent a few hours in the office, ran errands, came home and did some cooking and chores. Need to put in a longer day at the office tomorrow so I better get more energetic about accomplishing things around the house before bedtime.

    B - sprouted grain English muffin with a little peanut butter
    L - big ol' salad, watermelon
    D - leftover bean and veggie tostadas, watermelon
  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,574 Member
    edited May 2019
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    Hey @Mihani, I hope your evening is being fun and productive!

    I had a busy day -- chores and serious housecleaning for game night this evening (we are hosting), transporting the teenager to a Scouts meeting, plus a panic when we thought our cat had gotten out. It turned out that he had found a new hiding spot -- phew!

    B - spinach and blueberry smoothie
    L - collard greens, black beans, pickled onions, steamed baby bella mushrooms, apple slices
    S - apple slices and walnuts (100 calories total)
    D - steamed butternut squash, big salad (massaged kale, roma and mini tomatos, green cabbage, red bell pepper, cauliflower), dressing (cilantro, tomatillo, cashew milk, onion vinegar, spices), minced apple and blueberries for dessert
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 3,914 Member
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    Didn't finish my cooking last night so I think I'm going to run to the office for a few hours then home to finish cooking and work the rest of the day from here. I'm going to try a simplified version of the Hello Nutritarian week one plan.

    Austin, hope game night was fun!
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 3,914 Member
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    I really like the concept of the Hello Nutritarian plan, but it is a lot of work to do all the cooking, and I left out 3 recipes. I am going to try it on certain weeks and other weeks stick with my very simple cooking/eating habits. I think it would be excellent for someone not used to prepping and eating ETL, but with the huge salads I like to eat it's way too much food for one person even not making all the recipes.

    Anyway this took longer than I thought and I really need to get some more work done before bedtime so I'd better get at it!

    Happy Mother's Day to the moms in the group!
  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,574 Member
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    Hey @Mihani ! I have never signed up for the Hello Nutritarian plan, but it certainly looks gorgeous and elaborate. I can completely sympathize with wanting to make it simpler! I think I do what you do -- have some basics, and then add on with new recipes as I have the bandwidth!

    I am a mom, so thanks for the Mother's Day wishes! And I'll echo that -- Happy Mother's Day to any moms!

    Speak of such things, I made a super simple dessert this evening that I thought was really delicious: about an ounce of fine diced butternut squash and about 3.5 ounces of fine diced apple (I used Kanzi). I microwaved that on high for about 2 minutes, sprinkled a generous helping of cinnamon on, let it cool a bit, and enjoyed.

    My menu today
    B - spinach and blueberry smoothie
    L - spinach, black beans, pickled onions, steamed mushrooms, homemade sauerkraut, apple slices
    S - apple slices and walnuts (100 calories total)
    D - big salad (massaged kale, romaine, pickled onion, small sweet tomatoes, raw broccoli, parsley, red bell pepper); dressing (nooch, dijon, cashew milk, Mrs Dash Garlic & Herb, cilantro, tomatillo); apples and butternut squash for dessert

    Back to work!
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 3,914 Member
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    That dessert sounds really good, Austin. I meant to ask you, do you avoid grains for the most part? Doesn't seem like you eat many grains or bread.

    I enjoyed having dinner all ready to go tonight!

    L - big ol' salad (baby spinach and kale, arugula, leftover refried beans and sauteed broccoli, peppers and onion) with un-honey mustard dressing, balsamic roasted mushrooms, clementine
    D - cup of split pea soup, baked tofu, roasted green beans and peppers with lemon tahini glaze, chia pudding

    The "pudding" is just something I made up to get my berries and chia seeds in. A little almond milk with a tablespoon of chia seeds over blueberries. I have liked all the recipes from the Hello Nutritarian plan so far, and really like seeing all the containers of ready to go food in my fridge.
  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,574 Member
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    Hey @Mihani ,

    Your food prep work is so inspiring! That refrigerator full of containers of ready to go food sounds delightful!

    I, too, love blueberry chia pudding, and so does my husband. I need to make some! My son wants me to make tapioca soon, too. Mmm, puddings!

    Yes, I do eat more way more starchy vegetables than grains. Dr. Fuhrman has said that there's no nutritional requirement for grains. Foodwise, I am happy with starchy vegetables (I really love butternut squash for example!), and I figured out years ago that avoiding breads/baked goods is a requirement for me to lose weight, and that I have to keep that low to maintain. I love baked things, and wish this weren't the case, but so it is. I do like whole grains occasionally. I have a batch of quinoa cooked in the fridge for something this week!
  • bisky
    bisky Posts: 989 Member
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    Yay Carla - good job on getting the blood sugar down and losing 11 lbs!

    Austin - Awesome that you were marked resolved issue...that is fantastic.

    I have not been able to find owner of the big dog but I did find him a great home. A friend of mine and her husband came to see him over the weekend. I showed them the best and the worst of this sweet dog. He is an escape artist but has separation anxiety. They are moving into a bigger house with a few acres close to me so I am keeping him for a month. We have him scheduled to get neutered next week.

    This Triathlon was the most mental hard event I have done. Saturday morning it was raining with a slight wind, 62* and we are lined up at 0700 to get in the pool. Everyone has a bathing type suit...not a wet suit...people are turning blue as we are only allowed to get in one at a time...45 minutes later I finally got in. The good news the pool was slightly heated and was wonderful. I had a PB in the 400m swim but I really think timing was off. I never swim that fast. By the time I was biking the rain had stopped and the run/walk was actually a bit tiring...zigzagging down a hill and then straight up. Brooks gets a gold star because he went home and got me a change of clothing, a jacket plus a thermos of coffee. I did not warm up until I took a hot bath and had hot tea.

    Finally meeting people my age who are active! Really makes a difference to have someone to bike with when Brooks is at work.



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  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 3,914 Member
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    Great job on the tri, Donna! And yay for finding a good home for pup!

    I have trouble restricting breads and pastas, Austin, so I have to avoid them also. I never really crave sweets, although I like them now and then, but bread, potatoes and pasta I always go overboard. I am okay with sprouted grain breads and whole grains. I've had bean pasta a few times and it's not bad at all. I even found the Lundberg rice cakes were starting to get hold of me so I had to give them up for now.

    L - sliced cucumber and carrot with un-honey mustard dressing for dipping, couple pieces of baked tofu, green beans and peppers with tahini lemon glaze, balsamic roasted mushrooms, apple
    D - big ol' salad (romaine, beets, peppers, carrots, radishes, broccoli, sesame seeds, balsamic, nooch), banana and berry chia pudding

    Been better lately about remembering to take B12 and D vitamins. Need to get more EPA+DHA.
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 3,914 Member
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    I forgot about the snack... 2 rice cakes and a lara bar. I was really hungry this morning and I didn't have my "emergency" container of oats in my desk. Had the rice cakes and that didn't do it so I had the lara bar. I should have just eaten my apple. Lesson learned... always have a container of oats in my desk and don't buy any more rice cakes or lara bars.
  • magic71755
    magic71755 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    Morning, mates! Just a quick fly by...Lulu and I have been busy uncluttering our home...big job, but I made big progress yesterday. Thankfully. Wouldn't you know it, the kitchen is a mess again. I just have no organizational skills in there. I need to really work on that.

    Anyway, off to Sprouts...doing totally good eating WFPB...watched an amazing talk by Dr. Klaper yesterday...will leave the link at the bottom.

    Love that you found a good home for that beautiful dog, @bisky ! That is a win win all around.

    I will take much more time to look over posts later. Please know how much I respect this group and your commitment to eating WFPB and ETL. You are truly my lifeline.

    Have a wonderful day, everyone.

    Dr. Michael Klaper! (I like just playing it in the background as I work in the house...so inspiring...what a great man!) Note, you might have to move cursor back to beginning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxs7V0I2q1Q&t=2961s
  • Cindy781
    Cindy781 Posts: 329 Member
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    Hello everyone! I’m a new vegan. I changed my diet nearly two months ago. I eat the same breakfast nearly every day. It’s a combination of healthy cereal such as Ezekiel cereal plus fruit, chia seeds and nut milk.

    I recently got an Instant Pot and am making my own soy yogurt. I also make cashew ice cream on occasion in my Cuisenart ice cream maker.

    I look forward to learning a lot here and am looking forward to getting to know everyone. 🤗

    Cindy
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 3,914 Member
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    Hi Cindy, welcome to the group! Most of us here follow Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live, but some (myself included when I'm not being more strict) are more generally going for WFPB. I got an IP for Christmas and I'm still afraid of it and haven't tried it yet. :# I've been vegan for over 7 years, and was vegetarian for a long time before that, but I was not a healthy vegan for a long while!

    I wondered where you got to Magic, good to see you. I will check out the video when I have a moment to breathe. Still working like a maniac, but left a little early and brought work home for tonight because I was sick of being interrupted at the office. I feel like some days I don't get anything done at all in that place. Well done on the progress on the house projects.

    Had a better day today. Not sure what got into me yesterday but willing to bet falling into my stress/fatigue munchies and I didn't let it happen today.

    L - big ol' salad (romaine, beets, carrots, pickled red onion, balsamic roasted mushrooms, radishes, un-honey mustard dressing), split pea soup
    D - chickpea "tuna" salad and arugula on Ezekiel English muffin, apple and blueberry chia pudding


  • magic71755
    magic71755 Posts: 3,794 Member
    edited May 2019
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    Welcome Cindy! This group really is dedicated to Eat To Live -- Dr. Joel Fuhrman. I am not quite there EXACTLY. But I am all about Whole Food Plant Based...and have never been happier and more in love with what I make...which is always mostly simple.

    I got here by way of Juicing and Fat Sick and Nearly Dead--Joe Cross. I still juice (invested in a vertical slow juicer Kuvings last Christmas...once a week, I make about three quarts and vacuum seal and it lasts a week. Just a 16 ouncer each day about. I never did do a juice fast. I like to eat too much. But I love how I feel when I flood my body with all the greens...(kale, celery, cukes, lemon, ginger, granny smith). But that is certainly NOT part of Eat To Live. I don't think too many of the docs in this arena recommend juicing.

    Speaking of Ezekiel, today I just took a Sprouted Wheat Tortillas, spread some Trader Joe's Refriend beans on it...microwave and voila...add a little hatch green chili. Seriously! That is good eating.

    Also a huge romaine lettuce salad with more beans, pico de gallo, cilantro...(I LOVE IT)...Ezekiel corn tortillas cut into strips and heated in air fryer...then crumble with hatch chil again mixed in. Another winner.

    I am big on watching Vegan--NOT JUNK FOOD VEGANS/WFPB youtubers...so much fun...they are so creative. Love the meal preps, food hauls, mukbangs ---but those make me really hungry--especially when they are eating Pho.

    Biggest thing to report today...MY KITCHEN IS GETTING THERE. I got rid of so much clutter.
    Will run the diswasher later tonight (electricity goes down after 7 ...I live in the desert)...and then will do the remainder of the dishes. Will finish up tomorrow...wiping down all counters and steam mop the floor, and organizing a drawer or two.

    Today, while eating...well, I just felt so peaceful...no harm came to any animals for the meal I was eating. It was such a good feeling...it actually is making me choke up right now writing this. My reason for going WFPB was for health. But now...now the focus is on the animals and the envirorment. Dr. Klaper talks about that in the video above. He said: Now you know...before you didn't. But now you know...so you do the right thing. Today was lot about growing into this lifestyle. Very emotional.

    Later, guys.

    PS For awhile there I worried about going to family get togethers and how was I going to deal with the whole thing and the questions....you know what I mean. I don't feel that way anymore. This is my life, my choices. Besides, I know I will always have you guys to talk to when it gets tense. FAMILY can be the worst at accepting this way of eating.
  • bisky
    bisky Posts: 989 Member
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    Rant: I know on the scheme of things this isn't a big deal put I am trying not to drown my anger out with food.

    I went to a very nice place for an expensive haircut. I told the guy I wanted a bit of a bob...shorter in back and long in front but not too short as my husband does not like short hair and I like to tie my hair back when I bike and swim. Well....I will be wearing a hat for the rest of the summer. I have not had this short of hair since my mother made me get a pixie when I was 10.
  • magic71755
    magic71755 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    @bisky I’m sorry 😐. Did you speak to the manager? You obviously explained to the stylist what you wanted...and he did not listen.

    Sometimes when I get a bad cut.. if I come home and wash it and style it my way , it’s not so bad.

    It will grow. But for now ...just smile more and no one will notice! 🤗
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 3,914 Member
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    Ahhhh... sorry Donna. That really sucks.

    Magic, it's so great how you've immersed yourself in the WFPB lifestyle! Love your energy and commitment.

    I ordered one of Dr. Barnard's books yesterday and think it will be here today. I always learn something new from all the vegan doctors, though I tend to follow Dr. F more than the higher starch plans of the other doctors. I often recommend the Engine 2 diet (at least at first) for people who really struggle with Dr. F's plan.

  • Cindy781
    Cindy781 Posts: 329 Member
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    Good morning! Thank you for the welcome! I probably won’t be following Dr. F completely. Hope I’m still welcome. I like some of my veggies a bit cooked. The rest of the rules I can follow. I also like the Engine 2 recipes.

    We will be traveling in a few weeks, I’m already trying to figure out how to navigate eating out. We usually take our healthy cereals with us for breakfast. There’s rarely a lot of healthy choices at the hotels...but fruit is usually available at the breakfast bar. We travel by car with our two fur babies....

    Mihani, I too was afraid of my IP. Jill McKeever has some great YouTube videos using it, plus a “how-to” video which made a world of difference helping me get used to it. It’s great for cooking beans quickly.

    I grew up on a farm and fell in love with all animals. It’s really hard to love those animals and then find a chicken on the table or a beloved steer in the freezer, but that was life then. I was heartbroken when my Dad sold my favorite calf...my parents did what they had to do to feed 4 kids in rural Oklahoma. I’m so glad I can live a “kind” life now.

    Have a wonderful day everyone!
  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,574 Member
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    @magic71755 - Congratulations on the kitchen progress!

    @bisky - I am so SO sorry. Bad haircuts are so frustrating. They pass eventually, but in the moment are just the worst!

    Hey @Cindy781 - Yes, you are definitely welcome! This is a friendly, supportive group. Follow as much as works for you. It's all directional, and different things can work a little differently for different bodies. Dr. F actually has a little handbook where he suggests 3 levels. I think we are like that, with each of us finding the level that works for us in our lives.
    Engine2 does indeed have some really great recipes! There's a Ripped Salad that I serve as a family dinner about once every week or two. Roasted veggies make it hearty enough for the non-vegan guys at my house.

    @Mihani - Which Dr. Barnard book are you reading? I have enjoyed his videos, and might enjoy a book of his.
  • Carla_wfpb
    Carla_wfpb Posts: 1,336 Member
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    Hi Cindy, welcome! I love my IP too, especially for beans and grains. Traveling makes eating this way harder for sure! Molly Patrick has some excellent tips for wfpb travel https://cleanfooddirtygirl.com/?s=travel

    Donna, that is too bad about your hair. How annoying!!! Hopefully after a few days of working with it yourself, you'll start to find a way of styling it to your liking. Congrats on the triathlon. You are a badass! So happy that dog was lucky enough to get scooped up by you and will be going to a good home.

    I'm behind on the posts. I have to get back into the habit of posting daily so I can keep up with you gals.

    Today I'm making more quinoa & black bean falafel patties. After this run it might be time to switch up to another recipe. The talk about Engine 2 reminded me I want to try making some of the E2 bowls. I like having all different bits of healthy things and just tossing whatever is appealing into my salad or bowl on the fly.

    today:
    green smoothie
    salad w/ falafel & tofu, red wine vinaigrette
    apple w/ nut butter
    fajitas - veggies, tofu, ezekiel whole ground tortilla