For the Vegan Mom-To-Be

If you're a momma-to-be, this one is for you. I've had a couple friends mention they were eating vegan...until they got pregnant. The concern and pressure of properly taking care of the bun in the oven was the driver in leaving the lifestyle. The article below is a quick read, written by Corinne Bowmen, contributor to Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Life site. While I'm not pregnant, I found this piece interesting and completely worth sharing.

UPDATE: Taking it Vegan

Go look at the date of the very first post i did on here. A while ago. And guess how long I stuck with it? A very short 4 months. Since then, I have put on the pounds, experienced, exhaustion, fatigue, binge eating, meal skipping, sweets-packing. I never changed my life. I just created a "diet". All my thoughts were spot on. Just poorly executed.

The saturday of Thanksgiving, i had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with a close family friend. I'm pretty sure we covered all the conversation bases that day and I'm guessing that she never imagined her quick mention of her new vegan lifestyle would change me within 48 hours.
Following her visit, Matt (husband) and I decided to watch the same documentaries she watched and felt inspired by:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/279734/forks-over-knives
http://www.hulu.com/watch/289122/fat-sick-and-nearly-dead

This decision (and it was a pretty big one for us) didn't come with any hesitation or resistance. Type 1 & 2 Diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, and more have taken the lives of a few family members. I have living relatives that have had numerous warnings from doctors. And we all share the common job of struggling with our weight and the discipline needed to do something about it. I knew immediately that not only I could benefit from this change, but that my parents could turn their lives around with it as well. Within two days i had researched recipes for 1 week's worth of meals, cleared the pantry, shopped for all the fresh ingredients we were going to need and set aside some time for Matt and I to begin prepping food for the week.

The menu for week one was (I'll post recipes):

Steel-cut oats for breakfast
Bananas, apples, grapes, and pears for snacks
Leftover dinners for lunch
4 options for dinner:
Butternut Squash soup
Loaded veggie pasta
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Chickpeas & lentils in salsa
And...
Homemade popcorn and hot tea for evening snack if we were hungry.

The food was incredibly satisfying.

Breads were completely cut from our diet (until we can learn to make the right choices). Sweets were gone for that first week. Dining out wasn't an option. I was so worried I would miss all these things. And you know what? I didn't miss a thing. I went a whole week and had no cravings. The biggest change i noticed: my body's reaction to hungry. I used to have this horrible breakdown in my body when I got hungry. I would skip the hunger pangs and go straight to weak and dizzy. Most days I would have to sit, or stop for food immediately, or leave the grocery store for a moment to eat a banana, or I'd binge thinking it would make me better. I was irritable. And I was out of control with my eating habits.
But all of that is gone. And it's only week 2.

Here's what I'm trying to say here. We're going on a week and a half since beginning our new life. We're feeling better than ever. Energy is up. Weight is already down. Hunger is under control. We don't need anyone's permission or opinions. I have no intention of pushing my beliefs on anyone. I will happily share, but there will be no judgement placed on the meat-eaters of the world. Now...if you're eating fast food more than NEVER....i might have to speak up:) But seriously. This blog isn't for the doubters. My actions and results will speak for themselves. I'm blogging for the interested folks. The friends that have said they'd love to give it a go and need help with recipes, tips, and planning. And, quite frankly, for myself. I need something to look back on. A way to track my progress. And an archive of the amazing recipes I get to play with!

If you care, stick around as I post tons of recipes, tons of photos, lots of tips and resources, and new adventures. We're giving a garden a try this spring, so we'll be sure to share:)

So, thanks, Anne for sharing a little piece of your life with me that one unseasonably warm saturday. You may have saved mine.

Lets eat!
LB

Trying almond instead of peanut butter

Recently, we stopped buying peanut butter... for the time being. Almond butter, unlike peanut butter, tends to be *slightly* healthier for a number of reasons. But before just quoting them off the cuff, I'm looking for a great article to post in the comments for you so you can see for yourself. It's nothing diet shattering, just slight. Plus, we love that raw taste of almond butter. We're trying it out for now. We'll see how it goes:)

So, last night I wanted veggies and rice with peanut sauce. I took the typical peanut sauce recipe and changed up the ingredients a tad bit to work with what I had on-hand. And it came out GREAT! So here it is...
Byrdy's Steamed Veggies and Brown Rice with Almond Sauce

INGREDIENTS - makes 2 servings:
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Baby carrots (or large whole carrots sliced)
3 tablespoons almond butter
2.5-3 teaspoons sugar (adjust to taste)
2.5 teaspoons Minced Garlic (i usually used canned)
1 tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1 1/4 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
Brown Rice

DIRECTIONS:
- steam chopped cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots just until slightly tender. I still like a decent crunch so I tend to go shorter on the steamer time.
- Cook brown rice according to directions on box.
- In a small bowl (or mini food processor), combine almond butter, garlic and sugar. Mix well.
- Add in the soy sauce, water, vinegar, and cilantro. Mix or pulse until smooth.

Layer rice, some sauce, veggies and more sauce over veggies. And there you have it! A heathy, colorful, very easy and tasty meal!

I LOVE avocados

Obsessed, I say. I buy 2-3 a week just to put them on salads, sandwiches AND to make guacamole (my fave use for avocados). Usually when I make guacamole, it's the typical Chipotle-style guac - red onion, cilantro, garlic, salt/pepper, avocado, lime juice - but tonight I was making veggie burritos with brown rice, black beans, tomatoes, green onion, yellow onion, yellow pepper, and guac. I had to get creative w/out cilantro and red onion...but I didn't really want that taste anyway. I wanted something fresh and a little more natural tasting. And as it happens often, I just looked at what I had and threw it together, tasting often until I had the EXACT flavor I was looking for. So, here you have it. My version of guac. Simple Guac but it was SOOOOO good. (btw, I'm sure there's a recipe in the world like this. If you find one, please share so I can compare and vary mine!)

- 2 avocados chopped
- 1 inch slice of a whole yellow onion, diced
- About 1/4 cup green onion
- 1 small vine ripened tomato (could be roma or cherry) seeded and diced
- Roughly 1/2 tsp of salt but please salt to taste...everyone likes a different amount.

Mash all these ingredients together in a bowl until combine. It will be chunky...but if you'd prefer it smoother, mash with a fork until you get the desired consistency.

And, the final product:)