When Life Gives You Lemons…

In general I try to be positive, at least most of the time.  It’s not possible for anyone to be positive all the time, that would be strange.  Lately I’ve been using the phrase “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”, either in article writing or various posts.  Funny thing is, we actually made lemonade with our lemons.

My daughter has been asking for lemons and lemonade for most of the summer.  However, lemons are extremely expensive compared to other fruits, even limes.  For most of the summer we have procured limes at some amazing prices, 20 for $1 was the cheapest, we bought 40.

I stumbled upon a $1 off coupon for a bag of lemons at the grocery store.  I love coupons for produce because we don’t eat much pre-packaged food and it gives us a chance to save money on our grocery bill.  My daughter was so excited to have lemons in the house, and so we decided to make lemonade on one of these rather hot days we’ve been having.  Here is my easy lemonade recipe that even a 6yo can help with:

Homemade Lemonade

1-1.5c lemon juice, fresh squeezed

We used about 1.25c, it depends on how lemony and sour you like it.  That’s what we had from 5 lemons.

6c water

2/3c sugar

Ice

-Heat up the water in a pot and add the sugar to dissolve.

-Once dissolved, turn off heat and let cool.

-Add lemon juice to pitcher with about 1c of ice.

-Add sugar water to pitcher and add more ice.  Put pitcher in the refrigerator to cool completely.

-Wait about an hour and Enjoy!

The same recipe can be used for limeade, just replace the lemon juice with lime juice.  It takes about 10 limes to get 1c of lime juice.  When we bought 40 limes we squeezed them all and froze what we didn’t use right away.

Tip:  Wear gloves, the juice can be painful if you’re squeezing more than one lemon or lime.

Yum!

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Pseudo Vegetarian

Looking for a healthier way to eat and a new appreciation for vegetables, I have decided to include more vegetables in my diet and eat the meat that makes me happy.  There is a part of me that feels as though we (humans) are not meant to refrain from eating any animal products.  There are many nutrients in animal products.

There are necessary omega-3s that come from fish and some plant foods.  However, the amount of plant foods with omega-3s we would have to consume is a larger amount than the consumption of fish with the same omega-3s.  With a preference to eat a mixture of foods with omega-3 fats I can’t believe that it shouldn’t include fish and seafood.

When thinking about the treatment of animals I disagree that because we are superior beings it gives us the right to treat them inhumanely.  A farm should not include warehouses or waste management systems.  Animals should be allowed to be animals and live healthy lives.  It provides us with sustenance that is free of disease and full of nourishment.  Don’t misunderstand me, I know that well taken care of animals do not contain more vitamins and minerals than mistreated animals.  No more than organic vegetables do not contain more vitamins and minerals than similar non organic vegetables.  The difference is not what they have, but what they don’t have.

Well treated animals given enriching lives and organic or vegetarian feed are without disease, antibiotics and other medications.  It’s not as much about what you are getting as it is about what you are not.  I feel the same way about fruits and vegetables.  I am not looking for more nutrition, but the absence of pesticides and other chemicals.  Additionally, organically grown fruits and vegetables helps farmers trying to create a better environment and economy.

Technically I am a pseudo vegetarian.  I eat fish and seafood that is low in mercury but high in omega-3 fats.  I consume meat, but prefer humanely raised  without chemicals or medications, and have enriching lifestyles.  Also, I am working on adding in more vegetables for my family and I.  Not only are vegetables added for snacks, but new recipes are experimented with to provide variation and diversity.  Luckily, I am blessed with a family that is willing to try almost anything and share in my loving embrace of food.

A Christmas Bounty to Make Me Healthy

Having received a bounty of wonderful Christmas presents this year I am pushed all that much closer to a healthy lifestyle.  I’m already a firm believer that my boyfriend is the greatest person ever, only second to my little one.  After this particular Christmas, however, I don’t know if anyone will be able to come as close.  Did I receive diamonds and pearls?  Perhaps rubies and emeralds?  Or maybe something as simple and silver and gold?  The answer is “no”.

In order to prepare meals in a quick and easy way it helps to have something to cut, dice, and smash foods appropriately.  I am now the proud owner of a food processor which does all of those things I listed.  A small food chopper was one of my previous gadgets that was beneficial, but rarely used due to the small amount produced for the large cleanup required.  Although, that may have been in part to the fact that I did not have a working dishwasher!

Dreams of homemade protein and snack bars, easy to prepare desserts, and chopped foods for fresh vegetable dinners have filled my head for a long time.  Now that particular dream has come true.  This gift leads to the need for something else that can benefit both my health goals, as well as his goals.  I will admit he has not often directly spoken of such goals, but having to tighten his belt (literally) he is open to my crazy antics and unique eating style.

Unable to provide a big surprise on Christmas morning due to a lack of knowledge and compassion on the part of a salesperson, I was still quite excited while picking up my other very large gift.  It was a gift for the whole family, but let’s face it, I’m the only one who is excited to receive a 5 cu. ft. chest freezer for the garage.

How does this lead me on the path to health you ask?  Well, I can make large batches of soups and stews (healthier and less sodium than store bought) and freeze them in small portions for daily use.  Not only that, but I can purchase larger amounts of frozen vegetables at lower prices and I have a place to store them.

Not exactly a vegetarian, I eat much less meat that previous years and I make somewhat better choices with the meat that I do consume.  The freezer adds the ability to purchase the more expensive meat when it is on sale by providing much more storage space than the small example of a freezer residing above our equally small refrigerator.  But I’ll leave meat preferences explanation for another post, soon.

By no means do these two gifts negate or downplay any of the other wonderful gifts I have received from my other family and friends.  These two just provide me with extra tools and motivation on my healthy lifestyle journey.  Wellness is a way of life, not just a fad.

 

Vegan Breakfast Potluck

One of the most enjoyable activities for me is getting together with friends.  It is not something I am able to do often and neither are they.  These particular friends are from college.  However, we are not the typical students.  We are adult students, not relying on our parents for tuition, and we worked while attending school.  Even our gatherings are not typical.

Due to our fast paced lifestyles (not necessarily by choice) we chose a breakfast potluck as our activity.  It was a great idea, however I was too busy to make anything.  Although I showed up with all of the necessary supplies to provide a dish there was enough food already prepared.  They may not believe me, but I did feel pretty bad about that.

During the hustle and bustle of the days leading up to that morning I realized eggs & bacon, or a quiche were not appropriate ideas.  Not only do I refrain from eating meat most of the time, two of my friends are vegetarians, and one is a vegan.  That made traditional breakfast ideas out of the question.  I couldn’t show up with a dish only I could eat, slightly worse than showing up with no dish at all!

Turning to the great invention of the internet I came up with a simple yet filling dish.  Originally from the book Chef MD’s Big Book of Culinary Medicine, I acquired the recipe from a website while doing much needed laundry.  The website is 101cookbooks.com, and the recipe title is warm and nutty cinnamon quinoa.

Quinoa is cooked similar to rice, but it only takes 15-20 minutes.  Compared to brown rice which takes almost an hour, quinoa is a quick alternative that I find to be delicious and versatile.  If I was making a main dish or side dish for dinner I would have used water and vegetable stock to cook the quinoa.  For a sweeter breakfast the recipe called for water and milk, of which I used almond to accommodate my friends and I.  Once cooked I added cinnamon, nutmeg, toasted and chopped pecans, raspberries, and blueberries.  Over the top I drizzled organic dark raw agave nectar.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it to taste as sweet as it did.  I feel agave has a very sweet flavor and I generally use a small amount in what I am preparing.  The recipe called for one teaspoon per bowl and that was about how much I used. I am sure my little one will enjoy it despite its lack of a significant amount of sugar.  In addition, there are enough leftovers for her and I to enjoy over a day or two.

Feeling upset with my current pattern of eating I am well on my way to good health.  I have the knowledge, I just need to make the time and make it consistent.

If anyone has any unconventional recipes for breakfast or otherwise that are “good for you” I will accept them with the greatest sincerity.

 

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/warm-and-nutty-cinnamon-quinoa-recipe.html

It’s All About The Food

I am passionate about health, wellness, and especially nutrition.  However, even I can get caught up in the hype over the next big product that’s going to fix me and all of my ailments.  Despite marketing’s wonderful ability to make us think we really want something when it comes to nutrition and feeling good, isn’t it really all about the food?

We have all heard the phrase “you need to eat to live”, but most of us are eating to die, literally.  Some of the food we eat is killing us!  Of the top five leading causes of death on the CDC website four are related to diet and lifestyle factors (Leading Causes, 2015).  What does that mean?  We can do something about it!

I completely understand that eating healthy, getting regular exercise, and drinking plenty of water (sound familiar?) can seem like insurmountable obstacles for some.  Nevertheless it can be done, at least to some extent.

-All of your groceries do not need to be purchased at a health food store for you to be healthy.

-Playing outside with your children IS considered exercise (as long as you are actually moving around).

-Water is necessary for the body and does not need to be purchased in small plastic bottles (Bottled Water, 2015).  Plus tap water is significantly cheaper (this is a hot issue, I can talk more about it later).

I’m not sure about the rest of you, but if I can prevent myself from four different ways of dying just by making some changes in what I eat and my exercise habits I’m going to do it.  Although I want to make sure I pass on before my children that doesn’t mean it has to be now, or an embarrassing decline of most of my bodily functions.

The moral of the story is prevention over medical intervention.  Why wait until we have a disease?  It’s all about the food and lifestyle to get us on the road to prevention.

 

References

Bottled Water (March, 2015)  Sam’s Club.  Retrieved from http://www.samsclub.com/sams/bottled-water/1501.cp

Leading Causes of Deaths (February, 2015).  FastStats.  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm

Cooking for One, sometimes Two

Since I’ve decided to abstain from eating meat I have found it much more difficult to quickly whip something up, other than a sandwich (veggie of course). To avoid eating out at almost every meal I am now preparing large amounts of food ahead of time and eating the meals over the following week. This method seems to work well for me. Unfortunately I spend a good amount of my time at home cooking food. I say unfortunately because my little one likes to see her mom. Not only see me, but she prefers it if I play with her too!

In an effort to combine two things I must do I am working on different tasks that she can help with in the kitchen. For a child just under the age of five it is hard for her to help with most things. She can’t chop, grate, or use the stove. However, she is the most superb with measuring cups and spoons. I have found myself using my measuring spoons for herbs and spices more than ever, but not at a rate adequate to keep the attention of a four year old.

This particular evening I made dinner from a new recipe as I have for the last couple of weeks. In addition, I made a good decision to wait until after my little one went to bed before making another meal. It’s not her fault I need food to last the week and it takes hours to make it all, and then some. To help curb some of her attitude and discipline problems it is in my best interest sometimes to wait until after bedtime.

For now this is a good idea, but once school starts I’m not so sure. I hope to have a better grasp of cooking without meat in the next couple weeks in order to avoid starvation or an empty bank account. It’s difficult to realize how much money can be spent on eating out until you do it once or twice each day. So as my countdown to school reaches the end I will be plugging along with my lentils and beans.

For now I’m thankful my little one enjoys plain sliced cucumbers so much!

Mini Vacation-New Vegetarian

I decided a short trip was well overdue for the little one and me. A mere two nights at a hotel and a whole day of Thomas the train (in 90 degree weather) was a great learning experience. Both the little one and I learned so much is such a short amount of time. She learned that screaming and yelling do not get her the things that she asks for (or demands rather). I learned that being a vegetarian on vacation is slightly difficult and not all that healthy!

I found myself eating an excessive amount of bread and bread like flour containing products along with a substantial amount of cheese. Does that sound healthy? I imagine from the way I felt most of the mini vacation that these were not the most healthy eating habits I could have engaged in.

Continental breakfast at the hotel was more of a quest for me to get my money’s worth than it was the path to ultimate health as a start to my day. I did enjoy a banana each morning provided by the hotel. However, I also enjoyed the danishes and mini muffins (banana also), as well as a waffle I made myself on the second morning. The little one didn’t have anything to do with the waffle. I was a bit worried by this until she ate two mini muffins, most of my hard boiled egg, juice, and milk.

I was smart enough to pack snacks for us which consisted of squeezy applesauce, granola bars, apples, carrot sticks, and cashews with dried cranberries. While at restaurants I did make an effort to choose better options, even so, my options were quite limited. Trying not to eat a salad at every place I went I aimed for anything meatless and the slightest bit healthy. Spinach and garlic flatbread with feta cheese. The flatbread was not crunchy and the garlic was spicy, but I made due even eating the leftovers.

I managed to find a veggie wrap for dinner the second night. Lots of spinach so I was a happy camper. A big surprise compared to all of my choices from the places we visited. One of the many lessons I learned; food courts are not meant for vegetarians, unless you count the cinnamon rolls!