I caved. Not out of a craving, but out of what I thought was the need for something I don't feel like I'm getting from my diet lately. I feel terrible and completely disgusted, almost like I could very easily vomit it all back up without much effort or thought at all. I ate salmon. It's been eight months since the last time I touched fish...but last night, for some reason, I made myself do it.

I'm weening off of wheat products. It's amazing to see that there are so many gluten free choices out there on the market. They are definitely more expensive, but worth it. I know that I should just stop eating wheat all together if I'm going to do this the right way, but I happen to love crackers and bread, so until I get used to the taste of their brown rice counterparts (which aren't too bad, I must say), I'll have to sneak a cracker here and a bread roll there.

Sometimes, I wonder what will be left for me to eat once I do eliminate all animal soy and wheat products from my diet. Will I just be munching on veggies and fruit? What if I do decide later on (since I've thought about it many times in the past) to go raw? I've never considered myself to be an extremist. I think I just like the challenge of it all.

Now, to get my butt up and exercising again like I used to. Wishing everyone a beautiful day... :)

Bone Density and me...

Ok, so today I volunteered for a health fair event in one of our local school districts. I provided massage therapy and was happily kept busy, busy, busy. But once in while my hands needed a break so I took the liberty of walking around the room and checked out all of the other vendors. There were many, and I spoke with most but only one offered me a bone density test. I'd never heard of this test and never thought of having myself testing for something (osteoperosis) I thought might only effect the elderly, but I sat down with the Dr. and sacrificed the heel of my foot (through which a painless lazer beam was shot which would determine the denisty of my bones overall).

And guess what??????? After examining the results, the Dr. told me that I scored the highest number of the day and that he couldn't even give me my score because it was "off the charts" (literally). :) That made me so happy. Can you imagine? A vegan who scored off the charts on a bone density test? Really? Ok, so I haven't been at it for that long yet, but according to the doctor and of course other research I've done in the past, calcium comes from many sources...not just dairy. Needless to say, I'm proud...now, here's to keeping it up!

The Best Soup Ever

OK...I must say that I've outdone myself. I've made the best soup ever!!! (well, that I've ever made anyway). I don't really measure ingredients and just go by how I feel, so I'll let you in on what went into the pot and I'll let you decide (if you choose to try it) on how much you prefer in your own creation. Here goes:

I started with a pot of water (a large pot which I filled about 1/2 to 2/3 full with water). I added a splash of olive oil, some mustard and collard greens, garbanzo, black and white beans (already soaked and softened the night before), chopped onions, carrots and celery, spices of parsley, oregano, garlic powder, pepper, salt and a bit of cayenne pepper and let these all boil for a bit. Then, I added a small can of tomato paste and a few small white potatoes (chopped with skin and all) about 15 minutes before we were ready to eat so that they would not become mushy (though I don't think the small white potatoes even really can get mushy).

I'm not a soup lover by any means, but be it the fun, peaceful time I had cooking it or the love and good energy I poured into it, or maybe just the proper combination of ingredients and spices...I LOVE THIS SOUP!!! And so do all the meat lovers in my life :). Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving

It's been a while since my last post. I thought I'd keep up with things better than I have and I suppose I can always use the excuse that the holidays are upon us, but I don't really believe in excuses, so I'd better just say..."sorry" and work on getting better at staying on top of my posts. :)

While on the topic of the holidays, I'm hoping everyone's Thanksgiving was filled with love and the giving of thanks. Mine was beautiful. I'm German/Swiss, and don't normally celebrate Thanksgiving simply because it is not a tradition outside of the USA. Of course, I love the ideals behind the holiday...I mean, the thought of giving thanks to all of those we are truly grateful for is a beautiful thing. The sad part for me, of course, is the fact that we slaughter 'gazillions' of turkeys and think nothing of it besides the fact that our tummies are full and our bodies content (well, I'm guessing that's what turkey eaters would be feeling anyway).

My Thanksgiving too entailed a turkey...a 22 pounder...and all of the trimmings, like mashed potatoes (with butter and milk), a fat juicy slab of smoked ham, green beans swimming in cream of chicken soup, potato salad (with real mayonnaise), bread rolls made with milk and butter, chocolate cream pie, apple pie, and pumpkin pie (with whipped cream smothered all over them of course).

But, I had my own recipe on the side and didn't suffer of starvation a bit. My rolls were not made from dairy products, and instead of the mashed potatoes, I roasted some yams in olive oil and various spices. Green beans were left out for me before the rest were doused with chicken gunk and my mom brought one of my favorite dishes, Rotkohl (cooked red cabbage)...yumm. Oh, and after the (very casual) meal, we grilled up some stuffed chili peppers, some filled with Cotija (a Mexican cheese) and others filled with a mixture of soy churiso and soy cream cheese. I think that was my favorite part of the whole meal. If you've never tried stuffed chili peppers and love spicy food, you MUST try these. Just mix up some soy churiso and some soy cream cheese, cut, slice and gut a few yellow chilies and stuff them with this mixture. Grill them (outdoors, not indoors...EVER, because you will never stop coughing and tearing...trust me, I speak out of experience) and eat them....they are heavenly!!!

Though the food was wonderful, the company was what was really needed and the thing for which I am the most grateful. I'm so lucky to have such beautiful, wonderful, genuine, good and loving people in my life. In the end, that's really all that matters.

I thought it might be harder to live my vegan lifestyle while having an out-of-town visitor stay with me, playing tour guide and being out all day eating at restaurants and such, but so far so good. I figure, there are salads wherever you go, right? Just order them without dressing. Only vinegar and oil on the side and I'm good. Since I've been out and about though, I've realized that there really are vegan options wherever you go and if you plan it just right, you can travel with your own vegan side substitutes so that you don't even feel like you're missing out.

At Trader Joe's I discover a gold mine. I'm hungry. It's lunch time. I have a small (already not the healthiest) snack waiting for me in the car (popped veggie chips) but decide that I do need something of substance. Money is tight but nevertheless, I know that I need to eat something while I'm out playing tour guide so that I can function and keep my strength up. For $3.99 I find a tray of two wraps filled with spicy (I love spicy) red lentils, cabbage and tahini sauce. I think I've gone to heaven. They had other vegan wraps there as well...some filled with humus. I could do that myself at home, is what I'm thinking! Yum.

Lunch was wonderful today and for some reason it set the scene for the evening at home. I was, once again, so motivated to cook up a storm. The whole house was loving it. First, I made my second batch of 'super moist pumpkin bread' (which, on purpose, wasn't as sweet and moist as the first batch because I decide to use a bit less sugar and leave out the walnuts since I didn't have any handy...though it was praised nonetheless). Then, I whipped up a week's supply of humus, half of which was gobbled up immediately. And after that, I slaved (and I do mean slaved because of the lack of a sharp knife to cut and peel the pumpkin...my hands are killing me) over a festive pumpkin soup (using coconut milk instead of cream). I thought the substitution would matter, but it didn't bother me a bit. My family isn't into this particular soup anyway, and never has been, so I don't have much to judge it by. My friend seemed to enjoy it, though she could have just been saying that she did just to make me feel good. Either way, I loved it and would make it again even though I'm not a big soup fan myself. I do think that I should consider being one though. Great stuff!

In the past few days I've eaten some homemade soups that I know could possibly save me in my vegan lifestyle. They are packed with EVERYTHING my body needs. Yes, I should get used to them. For instance, my mother made a soup on Sunday. She added tomatoes, potatoes, lima beans, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, parsley, salt (very little since my dad had his heart surgery) and black pepper. In addition, I added black beans, kidney beans and kale. It was sooooo good. Even more so knowing the variety of vitamins and minerals it was packed with. Woooohoooo!!!!

Final note for the day: I was gifted with a book called 'The China Study' by a dear friend named Cynthia. I've only read the introduction and the first few pages but as far as I can see, this is exactly the book I need to be reading at this very moment. I'm scared but excited to read it. Excited, because I know what I'm about to read and I've been living it (if not physically, then mentally, for many years (for the most part, anyway) and scared because I know that I have to make this a reality for my son again (it used to be, but we've been living under different circumstances in the past two years...I need to take back control...another obstacle...always doable but never easy). I look forward to the read and welcome the challenge.

Here's the deal...I'm not all too interested in researching and then rewriting the scientific reasoning behind various studies done on soy (or anything else to be honest) so instead, I've gone to youtube.com to inform myself (and you if you're interested) on what others have found. That way, along with doing your own reading on the topic, you (and I) can come to your own informed conclusions and decide for ourselves weather or not we find soy to be healthy and beneficial or not. Below you will find two opposing takes on the subject. Enjoy.

Is Soy Healthy? A Registered Holistic Nutritionist Talks Soy

Soy Health Benefits - Breast Cancer Prevention

Soy bean research in layman's terms...

OK, here's what I've found on the topic of soy beans and the possible negative effects they may have on the human body. Interesting stuff.

Soybeans contain enzyme inhibitors which block the action of enzymes like trypsin which are needed for protein digestion within the body. Since these enzyme inhibitors are not completely deactivated in the process of normal cooking, they can cause serious gas, reduced protein digestion and chronic deficiencies in amino acid uptake. In addition, soybeans contain high amounts of phytates, organic acids that block the uptake of essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc in the intestinal tract. Luckily, soy products such as tofu, miso and tempeh go through a fermentation process and it is in this process that most of these very enzyme inhibitors and phytates become deactivated. Sadly, this still does not mean that products like tofu, miso and tempeh are nutrient rich, it only means that they are not as bad for our bodies as their unfermented (usually processed) counterparts.

Hmmmmmm. Well, that was the very short, not so scientific explanation of why I'm experiencing these rumbles in my tummy.

That being said, I woke up this morning feeling much, much better...no rumbling, no gas. So, what do you think I did? Yes, of course, I opened up that tube of soy breakfast sausage I had laying in my refrigerator, crumbled it up into a frying pan sprayed with olive oil cooking spray, added some left-over couscous, a bit of baby spinach, some shredded rice cheddar cheese, a splash of hot sauce and, ummmmmmmmm...well...the rest was heavenly bliss. Yumm!

But as you may have guessed, though my taste buds cheered and applauded my breakfast choice, my intestines once again waved their fists at me. I should have known. I did know. Sadly, I'd still say that it was kind of worth it. Have I already mentioned that it was really yummy?

It's 10:30 pm now and the rumbling continues, though to a much lesser degree. It seems to me that my body may be getting used to the soy and the effects seem not to be lingering as long or as intensely as before. Still, I'd like to wean off of it slowly, or at least off of the processed soy products. I went vegan in hopes of living a cleaner, healthier life, not to make myself sick now or in the future.

You see, in my researching the effects of soy, I found some other alarming information. Some say that it could be linked to breast and pancreatic cancers, but don't quote me yet, I still need to look into this more thoroughly. As usual, you find one bit of information and continue on to the next only to find that they totally contradict one another.

I'm starting to feel a little sorry for the soy bean. It really is getting a bad wrap in many of the articles and at this moment in time, it most certainly finds itself at the center of a whole lot of controversy...poor thing.

*sources for information included: www.rheumatic.org/soy.htm, www.thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/19/is-soy-linked-to-breast-cancer/, www.campaignfortruth.com/Eclub/230304/CTM-soy.htm, www.diagnose-me.com/cond/C212360.html

Again, I laid off of the soy products for the day (well, besides the bit that went into my coffee this morning), but the gastrointestinal rumbles of unhappiness continue nonetheless. I feel bloated but otherwise energetic and motivated, so I spent most of this beautiful California fall day indoors glued to the computer, researching vegan recipes and, of course, the side effects of soy. Now, I have some good news and some not so good news. The good news is that I'm not alone (although, I suppose that could be viewed as the not so good news as well). The real not so good news, though, is that, overall, soy products may not be as healthy as we are led to believe they are. I'll get into it more tomorrow. For now, I'm off to bed. Goodnight.

November 7, 2011

I think my stomach misses cheese. Anyone have any ideas as to why it's so unhappy ? It should actually be proud of me...not grumpy and grumbly :( . Today, I didn't eat any soy at all and though I'd say I'm itching less, it hasn't helped my tummy any. Still gassy. How annoying. The good thing is that even though my stomach may miss the dairy, my mind and the rest of my body doesn't. No cravings yet. Yay!

Today's food intake included toast with tomato, avocado, sea salt, ground pepper, cayenne pepper and parsley for breakfast. Spaghetti with tomato sauce, chili flakes, cauliflower and broccoli for lunch. A snack of humus with organic tortilla chips, and for dinner, a toasted brown rice tortilla with avocado, spinach and shredded rice cheddar cheese.

Also, I've been getting back into the habit of drinking tea, so I had a cup of green tea, a cup of chamomile tea and a cup of acai mango tea.

I'm not sure why I'm still not craving cheese, eggs or milk but I'm not. I thought that by now, I'd at least have had thoughts of them, but no...nothing. I mean, I'm not complaining. I'm just not quite understanding this since I was truly so madly in love with them. One question I do keep asking myself though is...why did I decide to go vegan so close to the holidays? Really? What am I going to feel when I see my mom's cheesecake displayed on the holiday table? And her homemade eggnog....ummmmm...better stop writing now, or else I'll have to retract my earlier statement about not craving anything :) .

There are so many topics I want to research and write about regarding nutrition in general. All in due time. I'd just like to make it clear here and now that this blog isn't just supposed to be about me and my food intake, rather I want it to be a place where we can all come together to learn about and discuss various ways of making ourselves and the planet healthier.

Thank you again, Matt, for commenting on my first post here. Thank you also for the information/statistics you added into it. That was perfect...a perfect beginning to this blog.

OK...I just went into the bathroom and discovered a toilette full of undigested bok choy. I asked my eleven year old son what happened (I thought he liked it as we ate dinner together) and he said that he just couldn't continue to chew it. Poor thing...sounds like me with the meat my parents used to make me eat. I asked him if he'd try it again if I cut it up into bite-sized pieces rather than leaving it in full-leaf form. He said he loved the taste of it...it's just that his jaws could no longer keep up with the chewing. OK, we'll have to try this again. Bok choy is way too healthy not to keep trying for...night.

Today's menu:

Breakfast

--A brown rice tortilla (these are sooooooooo good...much better and lighter tasting than flour or

corn)

--A bit of shredded soy cheddar cheese (I'm at the end of the package and have purchase

shredded rice cheddar cheese for my next tries...ps. I just tried a bit of it today and found

it much better tasting than the soy cheese substitute...I believe Sprouts just started carrying

it and I hope this means the beginning of many more rice substitute products)

--Baby spinach

--Leftover soy churiso

--Homemade humus

...Damn...I should've added an avocado now that I recall all of the ingredients for my breakfast quesadilla. Oh well, next time.

During the day, I itched, as has been the case for about a week or so since I've started including soy in my diet. My tummy grumbled a bit, but not enough to keep me indoors. I had a lovely fall day shopping with my son, enjoying his company both inside and out of the house. A beautiful gloomy Sunday.

I didn't eat anything for lunch, which is abnormal since I started with all of this. I've come to realize that I need to focus on my vitamin and mineral intake via the foods that I eat and so I've been religiously eating at least 3, if not 5, times a day. But for dinner I made the following...an experiment which excluded soy and actually unexpectedly included a variety of root veggies which of course would be reminiscent of the season...beautiful fall. I love it. I cooked in tune with the season, in tune with what local farmers would be selling this time of year. Another belief and dream of mine...to live in accordance with nature. Here's what I made:

Dinner

--Roasted potato and sweet potato strips in oil, fresh oregano and basil (from my garden), sea

salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder (only because I was out of fresh garlic) and parsley

--Roasted organic carrots (with the same seasonings as the potatoes)

--Roasted bok choy (again, with the same seasonings as the potatoes)

More tomorrow...grrrrrr...now I just need to resume my walking, tai chi and exercise program. Everything's getting flabby despite the vegan menu. How is this possible? Ha. Just goes to show that it really does all work together. Well, for some of the less fortunate of us at least. So be it.

I've been brainstorming...trying to remember all the foods I've been eating since I started on this venture. One thing's for sure. There've been lots of soy products going into my body and this has been a big adjustment for me physically. A not-too-pretty adjustment, might I add. Not too long ago, I'd heard that soy isn't exactly as healthy for our bodies as we've been led to believe, and that many people suffer from side effects after eating products containing soy, but even so, I've given it the benefit of the doubt and made it part of my diet anyway. Some of these soy foods just taste soooooooo good and when you've cut out so many other foods that your body was accustomed to and you truly loved the taste of, well...you cave...at least I did (and still am). I think my favorite soy find is Trader Joe's soy churiso. Yum. It's so spicy and flavorful and you can include it in just about every recipe you could think of. Tacos filled with this stuff in place of meat are absolutely amazing (this wasn't my idea, I got it from Alicia Silverstone's book 'The Kind Diet' ). I sort of modified this recipe and threw together a taco salad instead (not so messy and easier to eat). I've also been adding it to my breakfast quesadilla's (using soy shredded cheese, of course) and cuscous with beans for lunch or dinner. I've made grilled cheese sandwiches with sprouted bread, Earth Balance soy butter and soy cheese slices. Soy yogurt (I've only tried raspberry so far) isn't too bad either. Then of course there's tofu, which I've had in the past but not yet since I've gone vegan. I have purchased some thought, of the sprouted variety, so I plan to experiment with that soon. Since I've noticed some changes in my body within the last week though, I've slowed down with the soy, eating less of it on a daily basis. I realize that going vegan doesn't mean eating soy...it means eating green. So now I've loaded up on bok choy, lettuce and spinach as well as a butternut squash and a pie pumpkin out of which I'll be making pumpkin soup (just as soon as I come up with a similarly creamy substitute for heavy cream.

So, I've mentioned that the soy has been doing a number on me, right? I guess now, it's time to reveal how. Well, let's just say that my tummy's been grumbling lots lately. You'd think that this would have been the side effect of all that cheese I used to eat, but no it's soy that gives me gas. Yay! In addition, I can honestly say that I will no longer need to take that Chinese herbal slimming tea to help my digestive system function properly. So, so far, I'm gassy and running to the toilette every couple of hours. Double yay! As if that weren't enough, I'm itchy. Yes, itchy. My whole body itches and no, I'm absolutely positive that this has nothing to do with fleas or lice or hygene whatsoever. It's the soy.

Of course, this is a transition...a huge one. To completely change my diet from one minute to the next cutting out foods that I've eaten all my life and adding foods that my body has never experienced before...it's no wonder it's acting up. It's confused. In time, I'm sure things will calm down and the systems will regulate. Hopefully sooner than later.

Just a thought: "When you throw something away, it doesn't really go away"--unknown

Day One

OK, I cannot tell a lie...it's not really my first day of veganism. That day actually took place about a week ago...but I didn't get the idea to blog about my progress until today. So, after my little introduction, I'll browse through the mental pictures in my mind , of the meals and snacks I've prepared since that fateful day. But first, a bit about myself and how I've come to the decision to follow this path...a path which so many people disagree with, don't fully understand and, oftentimes, find completely absurd and outrageous.

My name is Sandra. I was raised in the United States in a strictly German/Swiss (yes, Swiss...not Swedish) traditional household. My mother embodies the stereotypical strong-willed German woman (would you believe that her name is Helga? It is.) while my father, Heinz (yes, like the ketchup), truly does exude the peaceful, neutral Swiss nature we've all heard of.

In the aforementioned household, the food reflected (and still does, actually) the heritage. Meat, potatoes and veggies or salad comprised every single meal without fail and no one would have thought it to be anything than what it was. Leave it to me to be the "different one". While everyone else's meat melted in their mouths...mine hardened and dried so that there was no other alternative for me than to spit it into a napkin I religiously kept nearby (hidden under the table). You have no idea how many times I was caught mid-spit and forced to keep the meat in my mouth (or put it back into my mouth...yuck!) and continue to chew it until it dissolved enough so that I was able to swallow it. Oh, how I hated (OK, I don't hate).... Oh, how I strongly disliked having to do that. There were so very many times that I thought I'd choke or throw up...and, of course, there were those times when I really did. :)

But, it wasn't just the fact that I couldn't stand the taste of meat that made me convert (don't get me wrong...I'd eat a greasy McDonald's hamburger any time in those days). It was also and most importantly the treatment (or mistreatment) of farm animals that sickened me. You've seen them...those trucks on the highways that transport cows and pigs from farm to slaughterhouse? The ones whose metal sidings no longer resemble metal at all because of all of the feces caked on them? The ones where the animals slip and slide on feces covered floors as the drivers uncaringly slam on the breaks as they come up to stop lights and stop signs? I thought about how scared those animals must be not knowing where they were going or why the ground beneath them was moving the way it was. I thought about my cats and compared the cows and pigs to them, remembering how they shivered as I drove them to their yearly vaccinations at the vet. My cats had me to comfort and protect them though. My cats got to go back home with me.

Those pigs and cows were on route to their death. Can you imagine the fear they must have felt? Then, my thoughts went further...they were slaughtered while in a state of fear. That can't be good. Not for them, nor for those of us who ate them. There is a big difference between hunting for food and mass murdering it. The Native Americans used to hunt, taking only what they needed and then moving on so that the land and the herds on it could replenish themselves. Before their deaths, I could imagine that the hunted animals felt fear as well, but it wouldn't have been felt for as long as those which were being transported cross-country smothered in their own crap...waiting to die. I imagined their fear transferring from them, into the cuts of meat made of their carcasses, into my mouth to become a part of me? Is that what I wanted for myself? To support an unfeeling, money hungry industry and in the process, take on the negative energies exuded by these poor animals which were being treated without dignity and respect? No. It wasn't. In looking back on all of this now, I see that it was at that moment that I truly began respecting myself.

So, at the age of 23, I decided to say goodbye to meat for good. I had no issues with letting go...none, whatsoever. Of course I was constantly being bombarded by people telling me how crazy I was, that I was going to get sick and become deficient in all sorts of vitamins and minerals and most certainly protein. So, partially to please them and partially because I simply didn't take the time to do enough research to calm my own mind, I continued to keep fish as my main source of protein for another fourteen years but, at the age of 37, after many years of consideration, I quit eating fish as well. No more food with a face.

I'm 38 now, and ready to go vegan. About 10 days ago I picked up a book called 'The Kind Life' by Alicia Silverstone. I flipped through the first quarter of the pages in the aile of the bookstore and as is often the case, landed on exactly the page I was meant to read right then and there. Surely you've experienced those moments? The ones in which the whole universe aligns just for you so that you can clearly hear and 'get' the message you are meant to get at that very second in time?

Well, for me what did it, was reading about how I was still continuing to support that same unfeeling, money hungry industry I so despised by buying milk, eggs and cheeses. How could I have overlooked the fact that dairy and chicken farms treat their animals just as cruely as those who send them out to slaughterhouses? How could I have thought that dairy cows were any cleaner or happier than their meat-sacrificing counterparts? Besides, you know how cheese clogs you up and constipates you? Well, that got me thinking too. What is all that cheese I'm eating on a daily basis (I'm European remember...cheese is like a lifeline for us :) ) really doing to my intestines and not to mention, my colon? Whatever it is...it can't be good. So, that was it. No more food with a face, and now, no more food that came from a face.

Here's my story...I welcome you to become a part of it and would so love to hear your comments (please keep them nice). It's my hope that this blogspot will not only be a place for me to record my vegan progresses and downfalls, but also a place of teaching as well as learning about alternative lifestyles. I want to heal the world, to make it healthier and greener, more positive and beautiful and loving in all respects. I'm herewith challenging myself to change my life right along with my eating habits. Healing the world begins with healing myself...I get that. So, here goes....