Day 11: Discovering the wonders of Lentil Soup and Banana Walnut Ice Cream!

I have been on a blogging frenzy these last couple of days but I am having so much fun trying all these new recipes I just had to share with you! I am enjoying some banana walnut ice cream right now as we speak and lemme just tell you..amazeballs! As my best friend Christina would say...."it's heaven in my mouth!!"

I made a wonderful Lentil Stew tonight, using some of my aunt's recommendations, the book's recommendations and improvisations based on the available vegetable choices in my fridge. The only thing is my lentils keep getting fatter and fatter as they soak up the vegetable broth! wtf! I won't have any soup left by tomorrow! I shall call this recipe: Aunty Linda's Lovely Lentil Stew

Aunty Linda's Lovely Lentil Stew

Serves 4

2 cups dried lentils

6 cups water

1 quart vegetable broth, low sodium

1 medium onion, finely chopped (I like to use the sweet onions)

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon dried basil

3 large, ripe tomatoes, chopped

2 celery stalk, finely chopped

Handful of mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup green onion

1 tablespoon cumen

Rinse lentils. Cook the lentils according to directions on package (for each lb of lentils, simmer with 6-8 cups of water for 20-30 minutes). Drain lentils and place back into pot. Add 1 quart of vegetable broth, onion, black pepper, basil, tomatoes, celery, mushrooms, green onion and cumen and let simmer an additional 15 minutes or until lentils are tender. Enjoy!

For dessert I made a surprisingly simple but absolutely tasty Banana Walnut Ice Cream!! Um, yum. Who knew three lil ingredients could taste so good together! PS Don't judge it by it's unexciting appearance it tastes much better than it looks!

Banana Walnut Ice Cream

Serves 2

2 ripe bananas, frozen (see note)

1/3 cup vanilla soy, hemp, or almond milk (I used almond milk)

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (I substituted brazilian nuts)

Blend all the ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth and creamy.

Note: Freeze ripe bananas at least 24 hours in advance. To freeze, peel, cut into thirds, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.

Man if I knew that food would be this simple and fun to make AND tastes good, I would have made this transition a long time ago! I'll admit the first week or so was a little overwhelming. The whole process of writing down all the food items needed, going on the longest scavenger hunt ever for these items at the grocery store and the momentary feelings of hungriness for "real food" as you eye your vegetable/fruit filled fridge in despair definitely did not go by unnoticed but it just really served as a motivator to try new recipes in anticipation of tasty food you can eat without feeling guilty! Once you have the basics and a routine down, things will be faster, more efficient and definitely less daunting!

Do it for your life!

Day 10: What exactly is a nutritarian?

Is it a vegetarian? vegan? raw food diet? It's actually neither of these things. The first six weeks of the plan call for the person engaging in this transition period to eat a diet that would fall under the "vegan" category in order to cleanse the body, and jumpstart the person's health. But after that there are options if you'd like to remain vegetarian/vegan or a plan that includes slowly introducing animal products back into your diet. But there's a catch! Ok, not really a catch but a change in perspective needs to occur. Dr. Fuhrman says that it is helpful to think of your main dish as being the nutrient dense food ie the salad, vegetables, fruit and the animal products as being your new sides instead of what you would typically see at meals with meat based dishes being the main component and salad and vegetables as your side. He says to think of it as 90% of your daily diet being nutrient dense foods and 10% being animal products (ie a tablespoon of salad dressing, a small cookie, etc), occasionally eating meat products once a week or fewer and in small quantities.  The best part about being a nutritarian is that you get to eat constantly and in copious amounts if you desire, as long as it's nutrient dense food. The longer you eat a nutrient dense diet the more your tastebuds will grow to really love the natural flavors of the food as well as become adjusted and accommodated to this new way of eating. Throw in the additional bonus of optimal health and consider yourself sold!

          I personally like this perspective because it is decreasing consumption and reliance on meat, but still allowing some flexibility to enjoy it from time to time as well as opportunities to occasionally indulge in your favorite foods without going overboard or feeling deprived. I have tried being a vegetarian in the past (for an 8 month run) and this was fueled for health reasons, yes, but also because of the inhumane killing and treatment of animals. This new way of eating fortifies my beliefs in being green and kind to all things but allows me to indulge occasionally without feeling like my beliefs are being compromised. To me, having meat in my main dish is definitely not a priority and I actually prefer the vegetarian friendly option!

Here is a final thought I'd like to leave you with. I found this sentiment on a google search and it is written by Darryl from the Fuhrman forums (SAD stands for Standard American Diet):

I like to think of being a nutritarian as simply choosing to live in a better food universe than most people. SAD foods taste good, but they do not taste better than nutritarian food. SAD foods are preferred by our society at large because people are habituated to them. They are habituated to them because those are the foods that are marketed.  Those are the foods that are marketed because they are very cheap (in price per calorie, not price per nutrient) and easy to ship, store, and prepare. To ensure that people remain habituated, food companies load them up with taste triggers like salt, sugar, and fat. When you change your food universe to nutrient-dense, health-promoting foods, it will probably take a long time to truly recalibrate your tastes until you truly enjoy them just as much, or more. But it will happen. I love my nutritarian food. My SAD-eating friends love their SAD food. The difference is that I get to eat three times more food than they do. And I don't get sick. So why in the world would I eat SAD foods now?

Day 9: Jumping back on the wagon

The past week and a half was off to a roaring good start, eating right, feeling healthy, trying new recipes....until Easter hit.

 Fresh Strawberries...delicous!

Most holidays take two days in my family due to two sets of divorced parents  so I was hit with temptation after temptation! I did manage to exercise some aspect of control and kept meat away from my mouth while indulging in more vegetarian friendly dishes but I did indulge in a few bites of chocolate cake and a whole piece of yummy apple pie!! But now that that's over with, I'm refocused back to my transition to a nutritarian lifestyle and take comfort in knowing that the next big holiday is months away! As an additional bonus, my waistline also shrank! Now how is that for motivation?!?

I have had the pleasure of attempting a few new recipes, a vegetable tofu fry (loved), bean enchiladas (yum!!) and my favorite that I made today, tomato bisque...all from scratch!! I will include the recipes for the bean enchiladas and tomato bisque soup in case you might want to try them yourself! The best thing about this recipes are that they are 100% healthy and completely guilt free! On a nutritarian way of eating the best part is you can eat as much as you want, as long as it's the "good stuff!"

Bean Enchiladas

 Serves 4

1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup sliced onion

1 8oz can tomato sauce, divided (no salt added or low sodium)

2 cups cooked or canned no saldt added or low sodium pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed

Fresh corn off the cob

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

6-8 corn tortillas

Saute the bell pepper and onion in 2 tablespoons of the tomato sauce until tender.  Stir in the remaining tomato sauce, beans, corn, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, onion powder and cayenne; simmer for 5 min. Spoon about 1/4 cup of bean mixture on each tortilla and roll up. Serve as is or bake for 15 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Tomato Bisque

 

Serves 6

3 cups carrot juice

1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, no salt added or low sodium

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small bay leaf

1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled

2 tablespoons garlic powder or other no-salt seasoning

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

5 oz baby spinach

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients except the cashews, basil and spinach. Simmer for 30 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Remove 2 cups of vegetables and set aside. Puree remaining soup and cashes in a food processor or high powered blender until smooth. Return reserved vegetables to pot and stir in basil and spinach and let spinach wilt. Voila!

--Recipes taken from Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. --

Day 2: The Basics

Today I went to the grocery store to pick up "the basics" with an intent of trying a new recipe everyday from the book. The recipe I tried for today was delicious and surprisingly simple!

Banana Almond Lettuce Wrap
1/4 raw almond butter
12 romaine lettuce leaves
2 bananas, thinly sliced

Spread about 1 teaspoon cashew butter on each lettuce leaf. Lay a few banana slices on the butter and roll up like a burrito.

According to the book I'm reading, the MD states as a good rule of thumb, a man should not have more than one-half inch of skin that he can pinch near his belly button and woman should have no more than an inch, almost any fat on the body over that minimum is a health risk. If that's true I'm definitely at risk!

Also, he says that a common formula for determining ideal body weight is approx 95 lbs for the first five feet of height and then four pounds for every inch thereafter (for a woman). So, that means at 5'2" my ideal weight is 103 lbs. ?!? Seems a little extreme to me, but we'll see how close I get after the first six weeks! I weighed myself on the Wii today, and as of now I'm 124 lbs.

Oh yeah, I picked up a whole bunch of types of beans today but I have never cooked any in my entire life. Does anyone have any tasty recipes for beans? I'm soaking black beans right now.

to be continued...

Day 1: Facing Reality

This is my very first blog I have written in my entire 25 years of life so please excuse my lack of "blogger etiquette".  I suppose I should start by introducing myself! My name is Emily and I reside in sunny California.  Past occupations of mine include (in no particular order): lifeguard, swim instructor, black jack/roulette dealer, go go dancer, import/promo model, cookie connoisseur, bank teller, student, cocktail waitress, bartender, receptionist...

While my past occupations are colorful in nature, a real passion of mine includes experimenting with different ways of healthful eating...all really to help fuel my quest in achieving optimal health and a killer physique and I have yet to find a method that is truly satisfying and permanent in nature that delivers the exact results I want AND holds up against the qualms of time.

Now granted, I must reveal that I am definitely no sloth. Exercising is a way of life for me, and keeping busy is almost as essential to me as breathing. But despite my athletic prowness (mostly in part due to a fitness bootcamp class I attend at least 3x per week) and natural athleticism in running and swimming, my weight continues to rise up and down like a yo yo on crack. I am not fat according to American Standards but bikini season is 'round the corner and the thought of donning a two piece is enough to make my hair curl! Which might not be a bad look...anyways...

Like most young twenty-somethings I have my fair share of vices. I too am stuck in the perpetual eat good, exercise good (weekdays) vs. binge eating, drinking (weekends)  except my cycle forces much of my "good" phase to double as the recover phase, which kind of sticks me in this rut I simply cannot crawl out of. And I have had enough!

Now that I am embarking on this new chapter in my life (finishing grad school, turning 25) I am welcoming a new change to my life that will hopefully carry over it's good effects into all the areas of my life, and I'm doing it now while I have this dead period between finishing school and graduating.

I have read much on the subject of food and nutrition and I have stumbled upon a book that was recommended by my former anatomy teacher. I believe this book will be the answer to my quest to optimal health and physique. It's called Eat To Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. and it endorses what is called a nutritarian lifestyle, basically a diet that is rich in nutrient dense foods. I invite you to join me on this journey of self-discovery as I write about my day-to-day struggles, discoveries and adventures. This book encourages me to give it a try for at least a solid six weeks but with that I must also temporarily end my love affair with caffeine and alcohol consumption. The latter is something I have been wanting to abstain from for quite awhile now but have never quite had the willpower to abstain for longer than 2 weeks. It's been a week and half so far. Anyways, hope you have fun reading my first entry and I hope you'll come back for more! Please feel free to refer this blog on over to those that may be interested or have similar quests. I would be happy to answer any questions or read any comments you might throw my way! :) Until tomorrow,