Freekah, Farro, and Kamut

At a potluck event, I brought my usual quinoa salad. Another person brought a similar salad with a meatier taste. I loved it. I asked her what she used in place of quinoa, she told me about the grain Freekah.

I am in love with Freekah. Bob's Red Mill has reasonable prices on it. It is a delicious grain that is high in protein, it is considered a prebiotic. It has other nutrients as well. Freekah is a great alternative to quinoa and it won't give you the gas cramps that many get from quinoa. It does not need to be soaked. According to the package it cooks in 20 minutes...I usually cook mine longer but I am at a high altitude.

After falling in love with Freekah, I tried Farro and Kamut. Both of these I soak overnight in water. Once soaked, the cooking time for farro is about 10 minutes..it is really yummy too. Kamut reminds me of shelled piñons. After cooking it resembles the loom of a shelled piñon. Both of these grains are really yummy...high in protein. They are great meat replacements in vegetarian diets...or supplements in omnivorous diets.

When you place an order with Bob's Red Mill for Freekah, get a bag of Farro and Kamut, you will be happy that you did.

Vegan food review Hilary's Veggie Burgers

Going vegetarian or vegan is easier now more than ever. There are wonderful meat substitute options. My gang love their veggie burgers. One of my favorite brands is Hilary's . I think the adzuki bean burger is really delicious. These taste best when heated in your frying pan with a small amount of oil. The taste is fantastic. This is a veggie burger that even a meat lover will enjoy. Put it on a whole wheat bun with lettuce and tomato and your body and tastebuds will thank you.

We buy these at Sprouts. Natural Grocer might also sell them.

 

Awesome one pot vegan cooking

It is great to find an easy, fun to make, vegan dish.   The recipe by Martha Stewart is once such recipe.   Just omit the Parmesan cheese at the end.   It works perfectly with whole wheat pasta.   The starch of the past makes a bit of a sauce.

http://www.marthastewart.com/1083334/martha-stewarts-one-pot-pasta-recipe

This recipe can be very low fat if you reduce the olive oil!

Giving up animal products is the easy part

Switching to plant based food is tough at times.   Giving up meat and animal products is the easy part...there are tons of unhealthy vegan processed or junk foods out there.   For all purposes potato chips are vegan...tortilla chips.    Chips and guacamole are a vegan food...but it is not a healthy food.   There are many overweight vegans out there..giving up meat and animal products will not necessarily make you thin.   The switch to fruits and vegetables and unprocessed food is what helps...no margarine on that whole wheat bread... And not too much bread, as in many ways it is a processed food. 

  If you spend your days eating broccoli, cauliflower, peas, spinach, and beans..and eating your fruits and vegetables in their natural forms..your body will feel better.. This is what is key to whole foods, plant based living.  Giving up the ease of processed food is definitely the tough part.  I find bulk cooking spaghetti squash helps ... As I can add veggies and beans to it later for a quick lunch.

Green beans are one of my favorite snacks.. I love the bags that steam in the microwave.  

Whole food plant based living

This post is something I want to share with everyone.

One of the many emails I get contained a link to a web site that I feel blessed to know about.

It is http://www.nutritionfacts.org 

The site contains a lot of information about food and it's positive and negative affects on humans. Dr. Greger is all about the science and if new science proves the old science wrong.. He will try to let you know. There are no hidden agendas on this site, just healthy living for all.

His book is fantastic but if you cannot afford it a lot of the information is on the web site in video and articles for all. He has a free email list that gives you a weekly article or video on nutrition. It is a great way to start.

What a gift for all humans.

 

Two weeks - plant based whole foods diet

Well it has been well over two weeks of plant based whole foods diet switch. I feel great. Do not miss meat at all. The challenge of this diet is not eating processed food. There are a lot of vegan processed foods out there... Every day I make myself eat a huge bowl of greens for dinner...if I forget I have it for breakfast. Organic Girl Super Greens are awesome and they are already washed. For lunch I use my old standby Spaghetti Squash. I mix these up by adding different things... Beans, Salsa, Tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, carrots, ..etc all kinds of veggies. Breakfast is everything from oatmeal, tofu scramble, or a portabello sandwich. Sometimes I spurge with rice, quinoa..etc.

Tips for switching to a plant based whole foods diet:

For smaller folks you still need to measure and watch portion size with beans and whole grains like quinoa, rice, ..etc.

Why would anyone quit on this diet ? Easy ITS MORE WORK! Grabbing cottage cheese or a yogurt is way easier. Take time to take care of yourself!

Cooked beans are way tastier than canned. They can be cooked easily in a crock pot.

For now grocery shopping takes a lot longer.

It ok not to be religious about the vegan part. If you happen to buy organic tomato soup and notice it has milk in it.. Go ahead and eat it. This is a lifestyle change.

Watch fat intake..hummus can have a lot of fat and calories! So do nuts.

Getting rid of GMO's and eating more organic unprocessed food is the goal.

If it's too hard try simply adding more plants to every meal.. You will end up eating less of the other stuff.

VB 6 results

While the food on VB 6 was delicious I gained 5 pounds. This caused me to decide that this eating plan was not for me, when you are short and well under the standard 150 lbs... I think you need to count calories...VB 6 made that hard to do because the recipes did not have any nutrition information.

Fast Forward several months.. Lost the weight gained on VB 6 ready to try something more conservative. I love the book by Lindsay S Nixon, The Happy Herbivore Lean and Light. This book has a plant based approach but also has nutrition information as well as is focused on lower calories...yeah. I am doing this along with logging into myfitnesspal and using my fitbit.

I will certainly use some of the ideas gained in VB 6 for vegan eating. I really believe that switching to a plant based diet and getting rid of processed foods..even vegan ones is an important life change for anyone trying to live a healthy life.

 

VB6

Have you heard of VB6 ? I do not mean Visual Basic 6. VB 6 means vegan before 6. It is an eating lifestyle, not a diet, where you eat vegan before 6 pm every day. You avoid processed foods..no junk food.. No sugar, white flour..etc..before 6 pm. Mark Bittman has two books out on it. The recipes are delicious...you will not miss meat and dairy.... Really... What is nice about VB6 is the sensible approach.. Moderation. You can switch it up and have breakfast be your after 6 meal..just skip meat and dairy with dinner.

So far I have tried Sweet Green Quinoa Salad...fantastic.

Peas and Carrots Salad, and homemade whole wheat bread... I plan on making more... They are all wonderful...filling such that you will forget about missing meat and cheese.

 

Not only is this eating change good for you but it also helps the planet!

Low Calorie chocolate muffin

This recipe is delicious!

1/4 Cup ground flax seed
2 tablespoons Cocoa
1/4 teas baking powder
3 tablespoons Spenda or Stevia
3 Tablespoons egg whites
2 tablespoons water

Mix well in coffee mug and microwave 1 minute.     Dump onto plate and enjoy.
About 120 calories.    If you omit chocolate about 100 calories.  If you want to use sugar' sugar is about 48 calories a tablespoon.... I would try it without the cocoa and with only 2 tablespoons of sugar..this would give you a plain muffin of about 95+96 191 calories still a good breakfast option!

Food Review: Veggie Egg English Muffin by Lean cuisine

The veggie egg white English Muffin by Lean Cuisine is awsome!   It tastes great and has less than 200 calories.   To cook it, I take off the cheese and microwave egg and muffin for one minute.  Put muffin in toaster for light toasting.  Put cheese on egg and microwave for 20-30'seconds.   It's a little bit more work but I get a nice slightly crunchy breakfast sandwich!

Lower Calorie Potato Chip Replacement.

I love potato chips. But they are really high calorie. Cheese-its has these great 100 calorie packs. I love the snack mix version. It tastes just as salty as chips and it comes in a nice portion control size. I save them for when I cannot fight off the potato chip urge.

Shawl without border

I am in the process of adding a knitted on border to this shawl

 

 

Untitled

 

 

Food review Taco Bell Doritos Taco

I am usually not a big fan of Taco Bell but I really like salty foods. I had to try one Nacho Cheese Doritos Taco. At about 170 calories I would count it as a big snack or a small meal. If you like salty food you will enjoy this.. It has the extra punch of flavor from the Doritos Taco shell that gives it some kick. According to myfitnesspal ipad application it has 9g of protein. It is a nice treat that won't kill your diet. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars

 

 

 

Almost three months of fitbit

After three months with my fitbit I have lost about 12 pounds with the majority of it being fat loss.
I have walked over 1000 miles.   Here is proof:

It can be exhausting at times.   Definitely one thing that helps is to log all of the food I eat.  When I stop logging is when my weight loss plateaus.   Just the simple act of logging food seems to help me to eat less.  I am not sure why that works but it does.   Other things that help are to always walk while talking on the phone... seems silly but really adds on the points.  I try not to sit for too long.   I will
only watch HGTV while I am on the treadmill or elliptical.   I don't always have to be doing fast cardio but  I force myself to keep moving.

I have added in more biking lately.. I am hoping that will help keep Achilles tendon issues at bay.    I would like to lose about 7-8 more pounds.     It might take longer.. as the less you weigh the harder you have to work to lose weight.

Shoes to help with achilles tendinitis

If you are having Achilles tendinitis and still want to get your walking in there is really only one shoe to help that I have found.  This is the MBT shoe. (not sandals)   The MBT rocker bottom shoe allows you to walk without stressing your Achilles tendon.    This is important.. the Achilles tendon can injure easily so protecting it is important.

I have tried other "rocker bottom" shoes and they do not compare.  I do NOT love MBT shoes.   I feel like they are heavy and ugly but when my achilles is bothering me I use them.     The MBT sandals do not help as much.. because they are not as confining as the shoes the sandals won't give your foot the same support.. the sandals do help but the shoes are the best way to go.

If you are new to MBT shoes you might need to start slowly.. a couple hours a day and work your way up.      When your achilles is feeling better try alternating your MBTs with other shoes,  I like Mizuno Wave Rider  Running Shoes.  Karhu Fulcrum shoes are kind of interesting.. they might work for you.. I find they are comfortable and alternate these in with my others.   After wearing my MBTs all of these shoes make my feet feel light as a feather.

Zesty Low Calorie Egg Salad

With easter just passed here is a low calorie egg salad recipe

1 egg hard boiled
1 Tablespoon Miracle Whip Lite
1 teaspoon mustard.
1 teaspoon horseradish
celery chopped - optional

mash the egg with a fork mix in the miracle whip, mustard and horseradish.  Chill in the fridge.  Add the celery right before serving.. otherwise it will make the egg salad soupy.

Calories from miracle whip lite are about 20 plus the calories of the egg about 75, mustard and horseradish - 0 .. for a total of 95 calories.

One Month Anniversary of my Fitbit and I

Well I have been fitbiting a little over a month and so far I love it.   Weight loss is at about 2.5lbs and body fat % is down by almost 10%.       Fitbit is a fun way to get into shape..   It proves that you don't need any fancy exercise equipment.. you can just walk around the house...literally.      I think anyone who has stalled in their weight loss plan should try this.   They just might not ever want to stop.

Fitbit Week Two

I finished my second week of fitbit. So far I like my little tracker. It definitely keeps me moving. The software that goes with it could be better. Not impressed with the iPhone app and since there is none for the ipad, this is the one I use. So far I have walked at least ten miles a day according to my tracker...for today I have logged 12.41 miles. It is a fun little tool and could be your most used piece of exercise equipment.

Buy good walking shoes if you are going to try this. Think of the surfaces you will walk on. A really good pair of running shoes might be your best bet. Change shoes each day or even within a day to give your body some variety. Remember for inflammation ibuprofen is your friend...use it and keep moving... Sometimes the worst thing you can do for pain is to sit.