Birthday Party Menu

Yesterday we had a little birthday party for my baby {who isn’t a baby anymore}, who turned 2!

I was excited to try out some new recipes from a book a friend gave me,  Clean Start.  It is mostly all vegetarian, some vegan recipes. They all look so pretty and colorful, and I didn’t want to gorge myself on typical birthday party food.

Here is what I made: (Sadly, no pictures!)

- Tomato and Basil Pasta (mozzarella cheese slices on the side, optional)

-Toasted Baguette slices

-Grilled Veggie Kabobs in a Smokey bbq sauce

-Lemon Seared Tofu w/brown Rice

-Chips & Salsa

-Strawberries w/Strawberry Dip {The dip was the most un-healthy thing on the menu, but I was craving it, my grandma used to make it every summer}

-Angel Food Cake w/ Strawberries, and then a yellow birthday cake

 

I wish I had taken some pictures. This was all food I don’t normally make, and some of it, I’ll either try it again but with some changes. I don’t know why, for a 2 year olds party, I decided to make some pretty grown up and difficult to make food, but I felt like it!

My favorite thing was the pasta. The recipe called for a lot of extra steps, like wrapping the garlic cloves in foil pouches and roasting them in the oven, but I was way too lazy for that, and rushing to get the food done. I pretty much took her ingredients and just made them my way. I saved about an hour!

I am sorely disappointed about my tofu. I took great care to drain and press it in the fridge for 24 hours, but it still tasted bland and rubbery to me. I’ve always had a texture issue with tofu, and I tend to like it more when it’s been marinated for a long time. This didn’t call for that, so it didn’t soak up the lemon flavor like I wished it would. Not many people at it. I didn’t blame them!

The veggie kabobs were fun! Fun to assemble, and my husband had fun grilling them on our friend’s borrowed camping grill (We don’t own a grill, and didn’t want to go buy one to make some veggie kabobs!) But if we ever buy one, I’ll make these all the time! The only thing was that I felt the BBQ sauce tasted like glorified ketchup…I think I would have liked a sauce that was more light and more like olive oil and lemon and herbs…Not a heavy ketchupy, bbq flavor. I guess she was going for that bbq taste so it reminds you more of a meat flavor, but if just covered up the vegetable’s flavors to me. Sorry, that was a long opinion!

I also had water in my awesome dispenser from Sam’s Club that you put fruit in, and it diffuses it into your water. We had Strawberries, Raspberries and Limes. It was so good!

 

Here is my water dispenser when I hosted a Valentine’s Party- hence the decorations… It makes such yummy water! I never need to buy lemonade or sodas again for parties!

I guess I did take a couple of pictures- of course, the cake!

And, the inside of my fridge- see the tofu being pressed between two cookie sheets and some heavy books? I just learned that trick and was excited to use it! It did make my slices of tofu extra firm and no water in them- I liked it! Too bad it just didn’t have enough flavor…

Maybe next time I make a huge spread of food, I’ll take more pictures! It was fun making healthy food for a party instead of your typical birthday food- which in my family was usually a roast or meat grilled up with our favorite fixins’! My kids are too excited at a party to sit down and eat, anyway- so they didn’t care!

Very Personal….

I’m going to share some pretty personal things on this post. I am not trying to complain or get attention or anything of that nature. You know how when you get out of touch with yourself, you just need to purge, and get it all out? Well, if you don’t want to read about me letting it all out, you are excused :)

I’ve basically had a pretty rough year. Personal relationship ups and downs, stress, moving, kids, death in the family, you name it. But really, that is just life. Everyone has their trials and tests. I feel like I’ve learned and grown from everything that has happened, and that’s more than I thought would come from it while I was living it…

I digress. So over this past year, I’ve felt myself slowly slipping away. At times, I couldn’t even put my finger on it… I’ve had feelings of depression. But what I always think is, “Who doesn’t?” So I try and not dwell on things.  Then I started noticing it was hard for me to get out of bed. I could sleep 9 hours and feel like I was hit by a bus when morning came. I’ve been grouchy to my kids more than I would like to admit. I’ve been a lousy housekeeper, wife, friend, etc.… I know we are our own worst critics, but I’ve really not felt like myself in a while… And I was starting to really think that this is just what getting older feels like. A shell of your former self… I would sporadically go to the gym, and feel great, and then again- felt like I didn’t have energy to get off the couch all morning on a different day. It really made no sense to me.

Fast forward to a doctor’s visit a few weeks ago. After sharing my concerns about my weight gain over the past few months (about 15 pounds and counting) and my low energy, my doctor wanted to do a blood test.

I am severely vitamin D deficient. Like, so far below the “low” range that it is pretty worrisome. Maybe living in the state of Washington had something to do with it? Not getting sun for almost 2 years might do that, who knows?

Needless to say, it was a huge wakeup call for me to snap out of my horrible habits that have happened as a result of having very little energy- a veggie/ vegan junk food diet!

My friends and family don’t want to hear me complaining about gaining 15 lbs. when I can  fit into size whatever pants that they think I should be happy about. But it’s not about the size of my pants. It’s about feeling good and feeling like I can run around with my kids and not get tired… I don’t think these pictures can really do justice to compare how I’ve changed in appearance, but mostly because I delete any picture of myself that highlights my torso!

Last summer, on my birthday at the beach- about 130 lbs…I had lost most of my baby weight with out “dieting” or serious exercising…I’m really not trying to toot my own horn or anything, but for a basically “healthy” 26 year old who hasn’t changed much besides suddenly losing energy, it doesn’t make sense to me to gain 15 pounds in less than a year…

I truly don’t think that I obsess over my body more than most people… But since this picture was taken in January, I’ve gained about 7 more pounds…Straight to my tummy and bottom. I’ve heard that weight gain to your middle is deadly…It kind of scares me! I can no longer suck it in, or flex my abs- they are gone! I’ve been told that this is what happens after having children, I just don’t buy it since I’ve been blessed my whole life with an athletic build, that I should just give up, since I’m “within normal weight range for my height.”

 

I still need to do some more research into how this happened, and what I can do to get better. Obviously, I'm spending more time in the sun, which is the best way to get Vitamin D. I was also prescribed some supplements, but I haven't been able to find out if they truly are healthy for me or not...I saw a vegan brand from Garden of Life today, but I had just picked up my *free* prescription (military health benefits) and didn't want to drop $20 on a different bottle of pills until I know what's what...I don't really feel like eating sardines or the other gross things to eat to get it from food. I'm ok with an occasional egg, but I really am starting to feel led to truly commit to healing my body from all of my "problems" through my diet.

I still struggle with sugar. I'm an addict. I admit it. My mom has been telling me for years. But I just love it so much! I realize that I've been relying too much on vegan/vegetarian junk food for myself and my kids. I've had no energy to cook for so long. But I'm tired of feeling tired and carrying this extra weight. To some, they think I'm crazy when I tell them. But to me, I've never in my life gained weight this suddenly and this much, unless I was pregnant! So it is a little bit of a vicious cycle...I am tired and depressed, so I eat junk, gain more weight, and get more tired and depressed! I'm ready to break the cycle!

I was thinking about checking out Eat To Live. I saw it at Whole Foods today, but didn't want to pay $18.99. I'll either check it out from the library or order it on Amazon.

I've also recently started working towards a goal that I set to start working this year. I'm a Massage Therapist  and I want to focus on working with pregnant women. I have a passion for helping women stay as relaxed during pregnancy as possible, and I have taken a course to become a Massage Doula. I feel like since I'm promoting health and wellness, I should have it together a little bit more! I want to try and be a good example of being healthy and taking care of your bodies, especially at such a crucial time- when you are expecting!

I need to start reading my vegan blogs again. You all inspire me and give me motivation I need to do better. I know people are struggling with much more severe problems than a vitamin deficiency. I'm sorry if it seems like I am just complaining and whining. I really just need to vent and re dedicate myself in this area of my life. It is a journey... I've never been a believer of becoming perfect overnight. Actually, I know I'll never be perfect... I just want to be my best self!

I really do like having an active lifestyle…I like exercise, I like playing outside, hiking, camping, all of those things that keep you moving- it’s just that I physically did not have the energy to even have a desire to do any of these things in recent months. I just want to get back to where its fun for me to cook healthy meals for my family and have the energy and drive to do things like that- it’s all I can do to boil pasta lately, and we’ve eaten out so often, it’s ridiculous. My three year old will wake up and request a different restaurant a day! It’s not like every day we go out, but maybe a couple-few times a week, and that really ads up. I’m excited for the summer, to be outside more, and to get more sun, and I hope to see my energy levels increase so that I’m able to start living and start losing weight again!

Does anyone have any tips about Vitamin D or have any recommendations for me? Am I completely nuts? Sometimes I feel like it!

Fear of Change? Or just life…

So as anyone can tell, I stopped blogging last week about my green smoothie detox diet. Well, let me just say that I did like it, but it just wasn’t in the stars for me to finish it right now!

{my 3 year old, turning the blender on to mix our smoothie}

I continued on until day  6, but I was starting to lose my resolve. We ate out for dinner, and I was exhausted making two different things to eat at every meal. Next time I will plan better and do more prep work.

So when the weekend came, and my friend was having a major crisis, and needed girlfriends to sit with and cry with and laugh with, you can bet I was eating some chocolate and all the treats right along with them! I needed it, too. And it also didn’t help that I started my period that same day! I was disappointed that it was a painful one after doing the prep week that entire week before- I thought it would be an easier one from all the whole foods and green smoothies… I will plan around it next time!

{can’t remember if I showed this picture yet or not- a smoothie I made for my friend/ neighbor…Raspberries, celery, and bananas- my favorite so far!}

I decided - that’s just life. I love learning new things and trying new ways to change up my diet and health, and I learned so much about how I eat and view food, and how unhealthy my relationship with food had become- all just from the prep week of the detox… The other thing that threw me was when I found out that I wasn’t 7 days into the 21 day detox. The prep week was completely separate. The 21 days started after the prep week. That was a huge mental blow to me. Next time I will be prepared!

I think that what I will take away from this is that I really need to incorporate more green smoothies/blended soups and a whole lot more whole foods, and raw as often as  I can stand it! I did miss cooked food at dinner time, but during the day, a smoothie for breakfast and salad for lunch really worked well for me and my hunger level.  I am thinking that this summer, when it’s really hot and I am less hungry, I will attempt the cleanse again.

I don’t think I am afraid of change. I actually LOVE change. I get bored pretty fast. But I do need routines. I crave routines. So if I can figure out a way to mix the two of those ideas next time, I think I will be successful… But I heard my sister lost 6 lbs. so far, way to go, Sis!

I wasn’t so much doing this for weight loss, although I have gained about 10 lbs. this past year that I wouldn’t mind to see go away, but I hope that with eating more of the whole foods and raw/smoothies in addition to starting my work out routine this coming week, it will take care of itself. I am starting on establishing my exercise regimen starting Monday- and it involves getting up REALLY early, so that I can go to the gym with out my kids before my husband goes to work… I really am motivated to get started, but I am NOT a morning person…I am going to have to force myself at first, until it is routine. It’ll be rough, I can already tell, but I’m ready.

For right now, I just need a nap. And probably need to take my baby to the doctor- or try a smoothie recipe I saw on another blog to help clean out your sinuses. Poor guy can’t breathe because he is so stopped up, and he slept with us last night…But I couldn’t sleep with him in the bed. He kept squirming off the pillow I had him propped up on, and my husband is a heavy sleeper, so I was afraid he was going to roll over onto him.. It was a long night! I’m hoping for a nap today!

Day 4

So this post will be quick, because it’s late. I’m so tired!

I actually made 4 different smoothies today, I was sharing with 3 other people a few times, and my blender is small! But I had fun. I remade the pink and green smoothie with celery and bananas, and used strawberries instead of raspberries. I liked it best with raspberries, though!

I also had another huge salad for lunch with strawberries and the strawberry dressing I talked about yesterday. It was still rocking my world 2 days leftover! Seriously, go make it, you won’t regret it!

For dinner, I caved, though and ate the falafels that I made for my family.  They smelled so good, I couldn’t resist. I don’t know if I’ll ever get disciplined enough to get the full affects of this cleanse, but I like to think that by eating 2 meals a day and my snacks raw and green, I’m improving my diet and food by leaps and bounds. And I don’t want to rationalize, but even four days in, I’m realizing that this is changing the way I think about food. Today was the first day that for snack time, I wanted to try another smoothie. And it really does fill you up, and the ones I have been making are so stinking good, it tastes like a Jamba Juice, but better!

So go try a smoothie- and don’t be afraid to add some greens!

OK, here is the one pic I took, I just couldn’t put up a naked blog:

Before I put my dressing on… Baby Spinach, red onion, avocado and sliced strawberries. Very summery tasting, I loved it! I also added some sunflower seeds…

Green Smoothie Detox- Day 3

*For the next 18 days, I will be sharing my experience from participating in a 21 Day Green Smoothie Detox. You can find more information HERE. *

I said yesterday that I would be making a lentil loaf for dinner for my fam. Well, that didn’t happen. I got side tracked baking bread and didn’t give myself enough time. So they got this:

(sorry, I have horrible lighting in my kitchen at night)

Pasta with sautéed veggies, strawberry salad with homemade dressing (I’ll post the recipe for the dressing, because trust me- YOU WANT THIS!), Baked Sweet Potato, and they got homemade breadsticks.  I was trying to stick with the salad they recommended, and they also had a blended soup, but I just was tired of drinking at that point, so I ate the salad, potato, and tiny bit of pasta/veggies.

Yesterday, I didn’t have as many cravings, and I felt better. I woke up this morning tired because I stayed up to late, but still excited for the day, and ready for my smoothie. I really am glad I’m doing this.

Here is what my smoothie looked like this morning:

THE FROTHY GREEN BANANA:

It consisted of bananas, 1 apple, celery. I added some spinach and kale, because I’m addicted. I want to get the most greens as I can into every smoothie. I think the morning smoothies they tried to have be the more fruity ones, but I still like em’ green!

I’m excited about lunch- It’s a wrap of a lettuce leaf filled with yummy raw veggies and a “avocado mayonnaise” sauce that sounds amazing!

Here is a picture:

And here is the report:

I hated it… I think this must be because I’m on Day 3 and still getting used to raw foods- but it felt like I was just eating air…But not in a good way. I was also in a hurry trying to get us all fed lunch and clean up and get out the door to go see this:

{My husband jump out of an airplane}…

So since I was in a hurry, and I had to make the kids their food, as well, and I didn’t want to come home to the mess I made, I was stressed out, and it didn’t satisfy my hunger in the least. I guess I could have made another smoothie if I had the time, and wasn’t tired of drinking my food, but I didn’t have time, and I didn’t feel like drinking it! I think I might need an attitude adjustment. Or maybe my negative toxins are coming out?

I do have to say, though, that the food is pretty. I love seeing all the colors, and am now noticing that most of my unhealthy favorite foods are color-less. I am liking all the color…

So tomorrow- I hope I will lose my sassiness, and be excited to try all my pretty food. Because my fridge is full of raw food that needs to be consumed, or I wasted a lot of money!  I think I might go ahead and make a few different things for each meal so I can figure out what I like, and also use up some food before it goes bad. That might be more fun. But on the flip side- I’m realizing that I am in the kitchen more than ever, and I’m kind of tired of it. But I realize that once I get the hang of preparing food this way, it will probably take me less time  to make then I am spending now.

Here are some recipes that I would like to share:

Strawberry Dressing:

1/3 Cup Strawberries

2 Tbsp. Almond Butter

Blend together- this makes one serving, but I didn’t measure and threw a lot in of both ingredients so that we could all have some. It felt like I was eating strawberry fluffy candy, it was SOOOO GOOD!!!  Put it on your spinach and strawberry salad and add your other favorite things and enjoy!

Avocado Mayonnaise:

1 Tomato

1/2 Lemon (juice)

1 Handful Fresh Basil Leaves

1 Small Avocado

1-2 Tbsp. Kelp Powder (optional)

Blend all ingredients together to put over your veggie roll up, or pretty much anything you want. I didn’t have fresh Basil leaves or Kelp powder, and I think I put too much lemon juice it, so just taste as you go. I might retry this recipe and add more crunchy, filling things to my veggie roll. Enjoy!

Day 2

Today I started out refreshed… The effects of eating so many raw, whole foods has begun- and I can’t be far from a bathroom (sorry, just being honest)!  My kids slept in, and are taking a nice nap today, as well.

This morning, we all started off the day with a big green smoothie! They actually drained theirs very fast, and I didn’t have to coerce anybody to finish. I made the little boys a smoothie of bananas, some blueberries and strawberries, and some spinach and kale. It was yummy. I went ahead and made the recipe for the day two morning  smoothie which was 2 bananas, 3 stalks of celery, water, and a cup of raspberries. I used frozen, since I couldn’t find fresh ones at the store, and I like my smoothies ice cold.

Here it is  pre-blended:

*I forgot I added some extra spinach to make it even more Green!

It was so delish! My 19 month old, who already had his own smoothie was begging for this and going mad for it! I liked that it was pretty and pink, too.

Now it’s time for my mid-day smoothie which is a little bit exotic compared to what I normally make. Here is what is in it:

2 cups papaya ( I couldn’t get papayas, so I’m going to use my mangos)

5-6 medium dates

2 frozen bananas

1 handful parsley

add water to get desired consistency

I’m excited! I feel good today, just need to go a lot. I’m not stressing over the fact that I accidentally ate some bites of my kids mac’n cheese without thinking while I gave them lunch! Oops- it was just a couple of bites, and when the last box is gone, I’m not buying them anymore… At least until I have the strength to not eat them!

I forgot to mention that ALL DAY long yesterday, I had a headache from these knots that have been going on in my neck for the past few weeks… I got a massage a week ago, and that seemed to help, I’ve been working on them, too, and my husband has been giving me a back and neck rub every night. I don’t take medicine for it anymore, because it makes me dizzy and sick to my stomach.. I wouldn’t call them migraines, but I can feel it coming from my neck and around both sides of my head and then pulsating so hard, like my head is getting squeezed from both sides!  Anyway, I’m telling you, because yesterday, my DAY 1, it was the worst! I tried to ignore it and just power through, but when I went to bed, it was there… The interesting thing, is that today, it was lingering this morning, but I feel so much better now.. I’m hoping that the detox will help get rid of it! I think as the toxins leave, so will some weird aches and pains and ailments that have been bothering me… I can’t wait to feel good enough to start working out- the headache has made it so I can’t even imagine getting more blood pumping through my head, or  it might explode!

For dinner, I’m making the family Lentil Loaf ( a neat recipe found in my Vegan Table Cookbook.) I’m probably going to have a small portion of that and eat a steamed sweet potato or something else that is on the menu for the first week. They have guidelines and examples for you to follow- but ultimately, if you feel like you MUST eat some hot food, they have suggestions for what to eat- like a sweet potato or other whole veg. So I’m excited to have some comfort food- and get rid of the lentils that I didn’t know what to do with… Stay tuned!

{and now that I fixed my computer glitch- I’ll be sharing even more photos of my food for the next 19 days- and details of my detox}

Day 1

 

** This is now one day late, because my computer is doing strange things**

Today was a great day- My kids played super nicely together with all of their new Christmas presents, enabling me to relax and clean my house without breaking up fights every 2 seconds.  I was also able to relax and take my time chopping and mixing up my food for Day one of my cleanse! I’ll show you what I ate, and how I felt:

Breakfast: Turns out I forgot to take a picture. But imagine in your mind, a big, frothy green smoothie made up of only 1 banana, 1 apple, some kale and water. It was actually pretty good, I only added some ice to make it cold.

On the menu for lunch was something called “Fruit Soup” I could either eat a huge bowl full of cut up fruit, or add some greens and blend… I was rather starving from cleaning my house all morning, so I opted for  a salad with tons of veggies and I cheated and had some hummus on it. I didn’t feel like making my own dressing, and I felt like I would pass out by that point, so I loved the hummus on it. (Plus, my kids were dipping their veggies in it, and I was foaming at the mouth over it.) Oops- it’s only day one! I hope I get stronger :)

I was so full from the salad that I went ahead and put the fruit soup in the fridge for later. I’m glad I didn’t try and eat it for my main lunch, because after a few bites of it, I started to get hurt on my tongue from all the fruits- ya know, like when you eat too much pineapple? It was good, though, but it was SO MUCH fruit! A bowl like that would usually last me a few days of munching on… But I guess that’s the point…

I don’t know if its the fact that I’m just coming off a massive binge from the past month’s festivities, but I just didn’t feel full today. They warned that would happen.  I’m  really trying to be strong, and just go to bed early and not feel the hunger.  I am so wimpy- though!

For dinner, I went ahead and had leftover soup from 2 nights ago. It was homemade vegetable soup, and it was pretty hearty, so I’m glad I ate it. My kids have been soup eating machines lately, and it feels so cozy to have hot soup for dinner. I hope I can do better next week and keep it more “raw” and not cooked.

I’ll take better pictures tomorrow!  I think there are some good things coming up that I am excited to try… Plus, my Hubby is picking some stuff up from Whole Foods tonight on his way to get his friend from the airport… Whole Foods and other specialty stores are about an hour away. I can’t wait to live closer someday :)