Review: From Oil to Nuts

Today started off rainy and it ended rainy and then there was rain in between. It was one of those days in the Mid-Atlantic that made you wonder if you need to go into the back yard and start building a boat. On the bright side Sunday is reported to warm and sunny and that will be great after our cold rainy Saturday. Not to mention tomorrow is farmers’ market day. Woo hoo!

Dan and I decided early today to run a few errands and then go out to lunch. Knowing we were lunching out I skipped breakfast and had a few large glasses of water instead. Dan had his usual big bowl of oatmeal with berries and walnuts. There is some consistency in the universe.

I know that all of you have already guessed who was in charge of lunch. Yes it was Ian was there any doubt at all in your mind? We had not warned anyone at the restaurant that we were coming it meant that we needed to make up our own food. After all it isn’t a vegan place so it is the least we can do. ;-)

We asked that the antipasti platter be made vegan since it normally comes with meat and cheese. We love this platter it comes with chickpeas, artichokes, roasted red peppers, olives (my favorite …. shhh), house-made pickles, hot pickled peppers and garlic flat bread. Delicious and no one would miss the meat and cheese. Luckily for me Dan isn’t crazy about the peppers and olives which I love. We do have a symbiotic relationship as you can see!

Next we ordered the lentil mushroom soup since it was naturally vegan. Way to go Dani, thanks for vegan soup on the menu today!

Our last course was a whole wheat pizza topped with marinara, roasted veggies, more olives, and finished with fresh arugula. It was very good and I thoroughly enjoyed my slice and Dan had trouble finishing off the rest since we had a lot of food for lunch.

We washed the meal down with our usual tea blend of hibiscus, strawberry and green tea.

We took the second half of the marshmallows into the restaurant with us today. Since not everyone works weekdays and weekends we thought that by splitting up the marshmallow shipment more people would get some. I made sure Ian got some to take home to his kids. 

When we came home there were more mugs of green tea this time combined with rooibos and orange. While we sipped tea we listened to jazz and the rain. I decided to do a little on-line shopping and ended up buying concert tickets to: Ottmar Liebert, Peter White, Gerald Albright and Euge Groove. Can you tell we like instrumental jazz? We have been fans of Ottmar since the 80’s so that I very jazzed (pardon the bad pun) about that concert.

Dinner tonight was a big salad since we had a heavier than usual lunch. This salad included: mesclun, cucumbers, tomatoes, red pepper pepper, artichokes, marinated mushrooms and a lentil salad.

The lentil salad is one that I made variations of all the time. I don’t measure everything but I can give you a good idea of what I do. Start with 1 cup of green lentils and cook them until tender, then drain and dress with the zest and juice from 1 lemon and 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard. Add finely diced red onion (about ½ cup), finely minced walnuts (about ½ cup), 3 grated carrots, finely diced fresh parsley (about 1 cup) and black pepper to taste. This gets better as it sits in the refrigerator and the flavors marry.

Review: From Oil to Nuts

I finally got around to watching this DVD the second time so that I could review it for it. Before I tell you much about it I should say that I thought it was well done and definitely worth what it cost to purchase. I tried to find it on Netflix and at the library and it wasn’t available.

The DVD covers the following topics:

• Basics of Fat: Discussion of various forms of fat in organic chemistry terms. Jeff does a nice job of explaining hydrogenation and cis versus trans fats. There is also a nice chart showing the saturated, poly and mono composition of various oils. It still boggles my mind that coconut oil, palm kernel oil and palm oil all contain more saturated fat than lard.

• Interesterified Fat: This was the first time I had heard this term which is sad since these fats are already in the food supply. Ever wonder what modified palm oil, modified soybean oil or fully hydrogenated coconut oil was?  Well now we all know. *ugh*

• Essential Fatty Acids: the reason why we need Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids and the quantities of each that is required. According to the National Academy of Science we need much less than you expect. There is also a nice chart about the amount of omega-3 in various beans, nuts, veg and fruit. I also liked the chart of the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 in nuts and seeds. The bottom line is that walnuts are still your friend.

• Mediterranean Diet: The reason why this was originally found to be healthy and how the diet tested is very different from what we have been told.

• Longest Lived People: A comparison of the standard diets of the US and Okinawa is given.  When you see them compared side by side is become very obvious why the average American is taking so many meds.

Overall it was a good DVD and one that I think most of you would learn from. The speaker goes into a good bit of detail but does it in an entertaining way that doesn’t make it feel like you have gone back to school. Even if you are like me and have spent a lot of time studying nutrition I think you will like this DVD. If nothing else it may help you to convince your loved ones to consume a healthier diet.  I am going to try to encourage my father to watch this DVD.  I will keep you posted on how that goes.  Wish me luck, I think I am going to need it.  LOL

Happy thoughts:

• In spite of the cold rain Saturday was a good day. Dan and I had a nice day together. We enjoyed spending time together and hanging out. We both enjoyed running errands and having lunch out with the gang at the restaurant.

• Seeing this beautiful tree in bloom reminded me that the cold April rain brings May flowers. I love how beautiful, lush and green this part of the country is in the spring.  Isn't the grass a beautiful vibrant green?

• Spending the late afternoon and early evening at home was the reason we are going to a few jazz concerts soon. Everything happens for a reason is my motto.  ;-)

• I picked up some good stuff at the library today that I am looking forward to getting into next week. As you all know I love to read and learn new things.

• The last few weeks have been very hectic and that made me appreciate our laid back Saturday even more.

• I am looking forward to the farmers’ market tomorrow. It is great to be back in market season. Personally I can’t wait to see what local produce awaits us tomorrow morning. ;-)

Signing out:

It is getting very late here and we need to get up early tomorrow for the farmers’ market. I hope you had a good Saturday. The weather here is supposed to be lovely tomorrow. Who knows we might even find time to get out in the garden if the ground isn’t too wet. Have a great evening; I will talk to you again tomorrow.

Happy, Happy Friday and Dinner Out Again Plus a Review of the 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart

Woo hoo! Friday is almost always my favorite day of the week. Now my Friday started much earlier than usual since I didn’t get the tofu post up until about after 2am meaning I was dragging Friday morning. Gee I wonder why? ;-)

Needless to say I was a little sleep deprived and not highly functional in the morning. Lucky for Dan I can make a green smoothie in my sleep (which is basically what happened). His smoothie this morning contained: 4 kale leaves and stems, 2 frozen bananas, 2 tablespoons wheat germ, 1 tablespoon freshly ground golden flaxseeds, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon powdered ginger, almond milk (approx 2 cups), a pinch of stevia and ice.

We are experiencing unseasonably cold temperatures again today. Friday morning it was 36 (with a wind chill in the 20s) when Dan left for work which meant that I was not feeling like stepping outside this morning. When I texted Laura Jill to ask her to give me some words of encouragement to get outside the first thing she said was don’t wear capris. LOL, she knows me too well I couldn’t stop laughing. We both decided it was just too cold to head out in the morning. I opted to ride my exercise bike in the warmth of the house instead because I really don’t like cold weather. I will admit it … I am a cold weather wimp. ;-)

 

Since I had a lot to do on Friday I did a very quick strength training workout with the TRX and then got myself breakfast. No one will be surprised to hear that I had savory oatmeal again today. When it is cold outside savory oatmeal is my breakfast of choice.

Knowing that we are going out for dinner I had an orange and two Brazil nuts for lunch, which I didn’t photograph since they never change. ;-)

I have been looking forward to dinner for weeks. Months ago we planned to meet our friend Deirdre for dinner this Friday since this is her spring break. Deirdre very bravely quit her high level federal government job to become a full-time student. I am still in awe of her for following her passion. Then our mutual friend Walid suggested dinner with him and his wife Jackie. Fortunately everyone knows each other which meant we all got together on Friday for dinner.

I don’t have to tell you who cooked tonight do I? Of course Ian and company made dinner you didn’t think I was going to convince my friends to eat vegan did you? We had warned Ian last week that we would be in on Friday so the guys had a chance to think about what they would make for us. Like always when everyone one was ordering we didn’t have any decisions to make. I really love the mystery of going out to eat now.

 

Our appetizer was very interesting dish that combined veggies and fruit, sweet and savory, crunchy and soft with the aroma of toasted sesame oil. This dish contained: fresh green onion, raw red pepper, leeks, avocado, shitake mushrooms and roasted pear dressed with white miso, rice wine vinegar and toasted sesame oil. Delicious! ;-)

 

While we had the veggie dish above the rest of the table was munching on marinated olives and calamari with spicy aioli. Though I will admit that Ian’s calamari is amazing (they were a favorite when we were omni) I enjoyed our healthier appetizer just as much. Who said that? ;-)  The reason I am showing you this is for the aioli.  If you like spice try adding sriracha to either cashew creme fraiche or vegan mayo.  Great stuff I promise you. 

 

Our dinner was Ian’s version of samosa which you have seen us get the last two times and darn are they good. The cilantro dipping sauce just takes this dish over the top. Ian is a master with sauces of all types but I suppose that comes with his job description. This dish has been very popular and I think it is going on the regular menu. I happen to know that Ian is working on adding a few vegan items to the regular menu. *happy dance* You have no idea what a huge step that is. Ian is a classically trained chef that loves his meat and complicated meat based sauces so this really is big. Personally I am over the moon that Ian is adding vegan options to the menu. Last night in fact he had a vegan soup, appetizer and entrée on the specials menu. Woo hoo! Go Ian!

 

In addition to the samosas we also got a stir-fry dish that we shared. This one contained: shitake mushrooms, snow peas, jalapenos, scallions, edamame, carrots, cilantro, nori, toasted jasmine rice and a spicy brown sauce. It was delicious.

 

Walid ordered the crispy skinned bluefish over Riesling braised cabbage and potatoes and topped with an onion, golden raisin and allspice relish. This dish had the most incredible aroma that was probably the Riesling and allspice. I love seeing how Ian’s mind works because it always gives me great ideas for things I can make vegan and healthy. I will be making my own version of this with tofu or tempeh soon.

 

Jackie ordered the chicken medallions and vegetables (snow peas, roasted potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms and  lots of olives) in a white wine sauce  Can't you just imagine this dish with tofu, tempeh, seitan or large lima beans? My girl Jackie and I both have weakness for olives. ;-) I guess you could say we both have a little bit of a salt addiction. LOL

Deirdre ordered Sicilian meatloaf with smashed potatoes and broccoli which is her usual order. Clearly we all have different food preferences as you probably noticed.

After dinner Ian came out and sat down to chat with us for at least 20 minutes before he left of the evening. We talked about what everyone has been up to, food in Bolivia, and when we were coming back in for dinner. It is always great to see Ian and spend a little time with him. I know I have mentioned this before but Ian tends to be a little bit of an introvert which still surprises me since he isn’t that way with us in the least.

Jackie and I were chatting this morning and she remarked what a great chef Ian is and Dan and both agree. He was kind enough to share the recipe for the chicken and olives dish with Jackie while he was at the table since she wants to make it for Easter. Are you starting to see why we always end up here for dinner?

We also got a chance to see Donna (one of the restaurant owners) who we haven’t seen since Christmas Eve. It is always good to see Donna and catch up. We chatted for at least 30 minutes about what we both have been up to. Donna told me this morning that "I am always inspiring" which absolutely made my day.  :-)

When we were finished with dinner Deirdre ordered something chocolate for dessert, which I didn’t hear because I was too busy talking.  I am sure you can't imagine that can you?  LOL

 

Donna brought Dan and me a plate of fresh fruit for dessert since we don’t eat traditional dessert any longer. Everyone takes really good care of us at the restaurant don’t they?

After Deirdre, Walid and Jackie left we chatted with Will about his week. I am SO jealous of everything he got to do. Can you believe he met with Jose Andres on Monday and then Eric Rippert on Tuesday? Talk about my dream week I just can’t wrap my head around it. He was interviewing them both for his master’s thesis. Personally I can’t imagine a better week.

When we finally got home we had a “potential cat emergency” which fortunately has been resolved. Thank goodness I knew Jackie was awake so that I could call her. The cat situation was why I didn’t get the post up last night. I get very upset when my fur babies are not themselves which I am sure all you cat and dog parents understand.

21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart: My Review

Sorry for the delay on giving you my review of the latest book by Dr. Barnard. I needed to write this quickly because it was due back at the library today (Saturday) and I haven’t ordered it from Amazon yet (though I will). The premise of the book is to try a healthy vegan diet for 21 days and see what impact it has on how you feel, your health, and your weight. My favorite part of the book is all the science that is sprinkled throughout the book. Dr. Barnard categorized the book as follows:

1. Power of Your Plate

2. Foods That Tame The Appetite Demons

3. Understanding The Calorie Burning Secret

4. Cardioprotection: Health for Every Part of You

5. A Healthy Menu

6. On Your Marks, Get Set …

7. Let’s Go!

a. Day 1. Jump IN
b. Day 2. Beyond Meaty Diets

c. Day 3. Beyond Dairy Products

d. Day 4. Keeping it Low-Fat

e. Day 5. Quick Breakfast Ideas

f. Day 6. Mastering Social Situations

g. Day 7. Eating for Energy

 

8. Getting in Gear

a. Day 8. Tackling Cravings and Destructive Eating Habits
b. Day 9. Heart Health

c. Day 10. Convenience Foods

d. Day 11. Travel

e. Day 12. Fighting Cancer with Food

f. Day 13. Our Friend the Bean

g. Day 14. Choosing Good Carbohydrates

 

9. Going to the Max

a. Day 15. Protecting Every Cell, and Slowing the Aging Process
b. Day 16. Foods That Conquer Pain
c. Day 17. Eating Your Way to a Good Night’s Sleep
d. Play with Your Food
e. Extra Motivators: Environment and Animals
f. Thinking About Our Loved Ones
g. Graduation Day

 

10. 21 Day Kickstart Menus

11. Recipes by Jason Wyrick

• Breakfast
• Soups and Stews
• Salads
• Wraps, Sandwiches and Burgers
• Main Dishes
• Sides
• Sauces
• Spreads, Dips and Snacks
• Desserts

The best way to give you an idea of what this book is about is to share a few quotes from the book. I have selected a few that were meaningful to me. This book is full of information which helps the reader to want to make dietary changes. In my opinion improving your diet (from a health perspective) become easier the more knowledge you have. Ten years ago I knew very little about nutrition, only what you hear on the news or in mainstream publications. Slowly over time I learned more about nutrition bringing me to where I am now. My diet would not be as healthy as it is without a lot of reading and research about nutrition. This book does a nice job of condensing research in one compact package. Here are a few very telling points from the book:

Doctor Barnard explains that “Between 1909 and 2007 meat intake rose from 124 to 200 pounds per person per year.” Well, no wonder we have seen the size of the average American increased so dramatically during that same time period. *shakes head*

“ Americans now eat more than one million chickens per hour and…chicken’s fat content isn’t much different than beef’s (about 29 percent for lean beef, 23 percent for skinless chicken breast, compared with less than 10% for typical vegetables, fruits, and beans).” These statements may seem obvious but did you ever think of it this way before?

On the topic of fat consumption and trying to lose weight Dr. Barnard had some very interesting information that I also wanted to share. “Normally, your cells can burn up some of the fat you are consuming. Each cell has tiny particles, called mitochondria, which are like little fat burners, and they their best to metabolize fat.” Scientists in Baton Rouge (LA) changed the diets of 10 healthy men from 1/3 to ½ fat and test muscle cells to see the impact. The fatty diets partially turned off the genes that produced mitochondria making it more difficult for these men to burn fat.” I will be thinking about that the next time I want a handful of nuts. Yeesh!

Omega 3 fat is a hot topic among most people interested in health. I will admit that it is something that I think about as well since plant omega-3 fats contain ALA and those have an unpredictable but low conversion to DHA and EPA what do you do? The book talks about fish and here two quotes I wanted to share with you:

“Of course, some people eat fish specifically because it has “good fats”. What they are thinking of are omega-3 fats, which are reputed to fight inflammation and prevent blood clots... most of the fat in fish is actually not omega-3. All fats – including fish fats – are mixtures. From 15-30 percent of the fat in fish is plain old saturated fat, and most of the rest consists of various other fat with no health benefits at all.” This is another one of those things that you never hear anyone else talk about. Whenever some brings up fish all you hear is omega-3 fat as though there is no other type of fat in the fish even though all fats are a combination of different types of fat.

Another quote that I think many of you will find eye-opening was “In a recent studies, a switch from a beefy diet to a chicken-and-fish diet lowers LDL cholesterol only about 5 percent... an entirely plant-based diet can cut LDL by 20-30 percent, or even more.” – (Jenkins, DJ, Kendall CW, Machie A, et al. Direct comparison of a dietary portfolio of cholesterol-lowering foods with statin in hypercholesterolemic participants. Am J Clin Nutr 2005;81:380-7) I have read this many times and in many places and I have to say I believe it based on what we have personally experienced. Dan’s total cholesterol went from a high of 280 to 141. How can you argue with a dramatic and sustained decrease like that? This healthy vegan diet that we are on has made a huge difference in our health.

“Cleansing your body and treating it with respect requires a shift in thinking, one in which you create an empowering relationship with food.” When I read this I knew that I had to share it because I thought it was very well explained. The book is full of little nuggets like this that make you take notice.

As you have probably guessed by now I enjoyed this book for the health information and links to scholarly articles. I liked this book very much and will be adding to my next Amazon order. While I don’t plan to follow the 21-day plan, for obvious reasons, I do like having the book for reference (particularly the endnotes) and for lending to others.

Happy Thoughts:

Friday was a great day for us even though it was very busy. Here are my happy thoughts:

• In spite of the unseasonably cold weather Friday was a great day. It was a productive day that ended in great fun. I loved seeing Deirdre, Walid and Jackie on Friday. Good friends and good food who could ask for a better end to the week? As always we also loved seeing Donna, Ian, Corey, Jen, Jeannine, Michael, David, Ahmed, Will, and Jonathan. Now I am worried that I left someone out. :-/

• It feels great to have the tofu post up. That was hanging over my head for a while so I feel good about getting it finished. I hope I have inspired a few of you to try making your own soymilk or better yet your own tofu. The taste difference between homemade and commercial tofu is huge!

• I am also very happy to have the “21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart” review posted. Now when I get “Oil to Nuts” finished I am current. Woo hoo! ;-)

• Facebook is going well so far, I think. Give me another week and I will be ready to share with all of you. I want to make sure I have a reasonable idea of what I am doing first. LOL

• As I type this I am thankful for mushroom ragu which I have simmering on the stove for lunch tomorrow with my parents. There is something very comforting about the smell of mushroom ragu to me.

 

Signing out:

Saturday has been hectic so far with a trip to the library (yes more books) and a lot to do at home. Dan is downtown at his office working so that he can take a day off next week to go to DC with me to see the Cherry Blossoms. I am using today to get more things at home and get ready for next week which is going to be crazy busy but in a good way.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend. I will talk to you again tomorrow

Soymilk Without a Soymilk Maker, Homemade Tofu and a Soap Review

This post is long overdue and I apologize for the delay. The first time I made homemade tofu I didn’t take pictures of the steps because I didn’t actually expect it to be this simple or that it would work the first time I tried it, but it did. That meant I needed to make tofu a second time to photograph everything. Oops. ;-)

First here is what I was up to today. For some reason it is unseasonably cold now with Thursday being colder than Wednesday. It was only 41 this morning when Dan and I went for a walk before breakfast. Good thing we were moving fast or it would have felt much colder outside. On the bright side even though it was gray outside at least it wasn’t rainy and that was a very good thing.

When we got back home I made Dan’s breakfast (wild blueberry oatmeal) and packed his lunch while he got ready for work. I considered going for another walk by myself later today after Dan left for work, but I needed to warm up since it was darn cold outside this morning. Who knows I might even wear pants that go to my ankles for my second trip. It is funny that I was cold yesterday in capri yoga pants and still wore them today even though it was colder outside. Earth to Alicia, do you ever learn that you get cold? LOL, apparently I am too stubborn for my own good. ;-)

I used my TRX for a little strength training this morning which also helped me warm up. Then it was time for my breakfast. I can’t tell you how nice it is to eat whatever I am in the mood for. Can you tell I am not good at following a structured diet? Honestly I don’t know how anyone stays on them I find them to be entirely too restrictive. Not to mention why would any diet restrict vegetable consumption? I still can’t get over the fact that a diet would restrict how many vegetables someone could eat. *rolls eyes* ;-)

This morning I was in the mood for savory oatmeal, made my way with loads of veggies. Today my oatmeal included the following: ½ cup oats, approximately 1 cup water, 2 tablespoons wheat germ, 1 tablespoon freshly ground flax, approximately 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast, some cumin, some oregano and no-salt seasoning to taste, 3 cups baby spinach, salsa (about ¼ cup), marinated mushrooms (about ¼ cup). This is my idea of breakfast. Savory oatmeal you will never know how much I missed you, LOL. That assumes savory oatmeal can think but you get the idea. ;-)

For those of you that haven’t noticed I tend to eat a big breakfast. My body seems to work best when I make breakfast the largest meal of my day. I am always open to experimenting with both my food and exercise to see what works best for me. I can’t remember where I read making breakfast your largest meal works for some people and I seem to be one of those people. The concept originally made sense to me since you go longer between dinner and breakfast than any other meal. Also if breakfast is your biggest meal you have all day to burn if off. Conversely when you eat a big dinner normally none of us are very active and needs that many calories to fuel our evening of sitting on the couch. If that makes sense to anyone I hope you might give a big breakfast a try.

After I finished my savoy oatmeal and my cup of tulsi and white tea I started making another batch of soymilk and then tofu so that I could photograph the steps for the blog.

Lunch was leftover French Market Soup from yesterday. What would I do without my intentional leftovers? Seriously if I didn’t always make leftovers I could never eat a diet this healthy. Intentional leftovers come to my rescue all the time.

Next I decided to start playing around with Facebook. For those of you that just fell out of your respective chairs I am sorry for the shock. I have no idea what I am doing at the moment but according to my friend Laura Jill I haven’t made a faux pas (yet) and she promised to keep an eye on me which is good. When I feel like I know what I am doing I will post a link. It may take me a couple weeks since I am a technology dinosaur. ;-)

Dinner? Oh yeah we do need to eat don’t we? Oops … guess who didn’t plan dinner again? How we ever manage to eat is sometimes beyond me. I often get so busy doing things that I forget completely about dinner. I decided to make something easy for dinner namely a big salad. The good thing about forgetting dinner tonight is that Dan doesn’t need lunch tomorrow since it is training day at work and lunch gets brought in which means I don’t need leftovers. Thank goodness for small favors right?

Making Soymilk Without A Soymilk Maker:

The first step to making soymilk is to soak soybeans overnight in your refrigerator. I used 1 cup of organic soybeans (the only ones I will buy) and placed them in a quart mason jar and covered them with filtered water.

 (soybeans with hulls)

 (pouring hulls off the soybeans)

(soybeans without hulls)

The next morning drain the water from the soybeans and move them to a large container (one you can easily get a hand into), hopefully this container will have a spout. Now use your hand to smush the beans between your fingers like you are making bean burgers or meat loaf. This smushing action will release the outer skin from the beans. Now add water to the container and the outer skin (hulls) will float to the surface and you can pour them out of the container. Continue to do this until you have removed most of the hulls which will take about 5 minutes. Removing the hulls isn’t absolutely necessary but it results in a soymilk that has less of a bean taste.

(straining okara from the soymilk using a jelly strainer)

Drain the hulled soybeans and place them in your blender (I used a Vitamix) add 4 cups of filtered water to the blender. Now process the hulled soybeans and water on high for two minutes. Pour this thick liquid into a large pot and cook until the mixture foams then strain the solids form the liquid. I used a jelly strainer and that works faster than the strainer that came with the soymilk maker. While the soymilk is straining clean the pot ,the milk will have formed a tough film inside the pot no matter how low the heat and how often you stir. Return the strained milk to the clean pot and bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes to make the soymilk digestible.

If you are fortunate enough to have a soymilk maker use that to make your milk because it makes for much easier clean up. You need to strain this like you are making soymilk since that is the first step.

Making Tofu:

No matter which method you use now you need to heat the strained milk to 180 degrees then turn off the heat.

(nigari to coagulate soymilk)

(curdled soymilk)

While you are heating the milk combine 1 teaspoon of nigari with ¼ cup of water and heat to dissolve the nigari. Pour the nigari and water into the milk and stir once or twice to combine then leave the milk alone and let it sit for 8 minutes. You will see the milk curdle and the whey begin to separate.

You can use a strainer lined with three layers of cheesecloth to make your tofu which will result in a round tofu.

Or you can use an old tofu container that you punch holes in with a knife and line that with cheese cloth (3 layers). Be sure to put this inside another container so you don’t end up with whey in your refrigerator.

(coagulated soymilk after 8 minutes)

(soymilk solids before being pressed) 

(homemade tofu in water ready to be refrigerated)

Pour the curdled soymilk into the cheese cloth. Fold the cheesecloth over, press out any water, put a weight on top of the “tofu” and place this in the refrigerator for 1 ½ to 2 hours. Remove the tofu and store it in filtered water in a covered container in your refrigerator. Homemade firm tofu is that simple. 

The best part of homemade tofu is the taste which is subtle and fresher tasting. For those of you that ever made fresh ricotta cheese and remember how different that is from the commercial stuff fresh tofu is very similar.  It will be very tough to use the commercial stuff now that I have had homemade. Fortunately I only have a few packages of the commercial stuff in the freezer to use up.

Now that I have made soymilk in my blender and in my soymilk maker I definitely have a preference. When Dan first wanted to buy me the soymilk maker I thought it was extravagant and unnecessary. Here is where I have to eat those words and admit that my husband was right, and therefore I was “less right”. Okay I was wrong, but I hate to say it out loud since he will never let me forget it.

The problem with making soymilk without the maker is the clean up. Each time you cook the soymilk it scorches on the bottom of the pan and is a pain to clean. If you plan to make your own soymilk you will say a lot of time if you have a soymilk maker. I can safely say that I am now very happy to have my soymilk maker. Thank you Dan for insisting on buying it for me even though I wasn’t sure it was necessary. Mea culpa, LOL.

Angelic Soap: A Review

As all of you know I haven’t been very keen to accept products for review in the past because I didn’t want to appear biased. However when Teresa contacted me about reviewing her soap there was something in me that immediately said yes which was completely out of character. I am not sure if it is because Teresa is a blog reader, or because I am not fond of commercial soap but either way I am very happy that I said yes. Now I need to give you a little background before I get to the review, please bare with me.

Back in 2005 I came across a book “Toxic Overload” and read it cover to cover with great interest. This was interesting to me because the doctor had said the cancer was probably due to an exposure to a toxin. When I pressed him for what type of toxin could we possibly have come into contact with the doctor explained that it could be something simple like artificial flavors, preservatives or something in our environment like cleaning products. Given my propensity to go at something 100% I tried to educate myself regarding where these toxins were lurking in our life. This book was a great primer on what I should be avoiding. Reading the section of the book that talked about beauty products was simultaneously enlightening and horrifying. After reading that book I became much more conscious of the things that came into the house. This resulted in my eliminating many items that were previously always in our house.

It seems second nature to me now but I was initially shocked when I realized now many chemicals and known carcinogens are found in beauty products. Before you think it doesn’t make a difference since you aren’t eating them think again. Many items you put on your skin are absorbed into your body. Think of nicotine patches to stop smoking or birth control patches. Once you think about things being absorbed through your skin it is difficult to put carcinogens on your body. What are some known carcinogens in beauty products: coal tar (shampoo), benzyl violet 4B (shampoo and moisturizing body bar), formaldehyde (shampoo, sunscreen), phthalates (moisturizers), parabens (moisturizers, sunscreen, foundation, etc.), sodium lauryl sulfate (shampoo, body wash), and resorcinol (shampoo) to name a few. I could have listed many more items but I think you get the idea. I started using the Environmental Working Group website to select the healthiest products for us to use. Finding soap that we liked was extremely difficult. I tried Dr. Bronner’s and using our organic shampoo as body wash but nothing was quite right. I always had it in the back of my head to try making soap for us to use but it seemed a little scary and I never got around to it.

When Teresa suggested that she would like to send me some of her homemade soap to try I thought this was marvelous. I will admit that had no idea what to expect when I said yes. Then I went to her website and I was blown away. Not only is the soup made using old world techniques but each of them is a little work of art. When I said that to Teresa she told me she has a Master’s degree in Fine Art and think that is very obvious in the look of the soap.

I image you are thinking being beautiful is great but how does it work? From the first time I used the soap my skin felt hydrated and soft. I can’t say I understand how this is possible exactly but it is true. Teresa explained that her soap has a high fat content and is made from the highest quality ingredients. Additionally Teresa explained that her handcrafted soap retains all the natural vegetable glycerin which increases the humectant factor. All I know is that I love her soap which is more than enough for me. It is gorgeous to look it, smells wonderful, doesn’t include anything I that don’t recognize and it leaves my skin feeling smooth and soft. If you haven’t checked out her website please do. Other than a few obvious items which contain goat milk or honey her products are vegan. I have been completely blown away by the quality of her products. In fact I don’t think that I can go back to any commercial products again.

You can find out more about Teresa's products at her blog and her etsy shop.

Happy Thoughts:

• It was great to get up early enough this morning that Dan and I could go for a walk together before breakfast. This needs to happen more often at our house. With spring there is lots of rain in the forecast but hopefully that will prompt us to the go to the gym together on days when rain is scheduled for the morning. *fingers crossed*

• It was great to be back to my food, woo hoo! I had no idea that I would miss it so much. Before the diet guinea pig project started I expected to be able to do it a week which would give a good idea of the diet. Little did I know I would get so cranky on that diet. I suppose this proves that willpower alone is not enough. However I will say I am happy that things turned out the way that they did. I firmly believe that only permanent lifestyle changes are what any of us should be making. I realize that we are all in a different place when it comes to nutrition but I hope my attempt to use myself as the experiment helped at least one person think about lifestyle changes versus a diet and what that means.

• Today I made soymilk using my soymilk maker which means I am very thankful for it today. I am also thankful for my wonderful husband who insisted on buying the soymilk maker. Love you!

• I decided to confront my Facebook fear and jumped into today, hopefully not head first. I am proud of myself for just doing something. Also I am thankful for Laura Jill who graciously volunteered to keep any eye on me to hopefully keep my stupid mistakes to a minimum, LOL.

• We had another beautiful sky this evening. I love to watch the sunset each night. Do any of you do that too?

• We are having dinner with some good friends tomorrow which I am very much looking forward to. I can’t wait to hear all about Deirdre’s new life as a student since she bravely checked out of the work world and went back to school full time to follow her passion. Walid always makes me feel appreciated and his wife Jackie is one of the funniest people I know. Doesn’t it sound like it will be a great evening? As you can tell I am really looking forward to it? ;-)

Signing out:

Even I can’t believe I wrote this much today. Sorry for the long post. I hope you have a good sense of how to make soymilk and tofu. I also really hope that you check out Teresa’s soap it is amazing.

Tomorrow is Friday *woo hoo* and I can’t wait for the weekend. Come on Friday night you can’t come soon enough. I hope the week has treated you well and that you are looking forward to your weekend. Talk to you again tomorrow. Have a great evening!!!!!

Rice Diet: The Review – Thank Goodness that is Over

It was wonderful to wake up this morning and know that I was no longer going to be fooling around with The Rice Diet. I was cranky for various reasons, either not enough total food or too much grain and the GI discomfort that came with the excess grain. I am very happy to be back to my normal routine. However being on that diet for two days did force me to look at my overall nut and seed consumption which I am going to moderate just a little. I never measure my nuts and seeds but I am going to for a few weeks to make sure they haven’t exceeded what I consider a reasonable amount for me (1/4 cup) in a day.

Like Monday we woke up to a very gray overcast day. This wasn’t a big surprise since the weather people were calling for thunderstorms and rain today and tomorrow. Thankfully the rain was running north and south of us this morning which meant I could go for a walk. Once I made Dan’s breakfast (oatmeal with wild blueberries) and packed his lunch I decided to head outside to get my blood pumping and ramp up my immune system. I did a quick 1.5 miles before breakfast. It was a little cold out there this morning, 43 degrees. Needless to say capri yoga pants were probably not the best selection. Oh well, at least I wore my gloves. ;-)

While I was walking I was listening to my IPod which probably looks odd at my age, LOL. I also took a few pictures this morning to share with you. I love it when the cherry blossoms start to bloom. The picture above is the best one from this morning. It was gray and rainy and it is hard to get a good close up picture with a cell phone. However I think this gives you an idea of what the trees look like now. They should be in full bloom in about a week.

Here are my miniature daffodils in full bloom and covered in rain. I think these are so cute. They are only about 4 inches tall. There is something endearing about miniature things to me.

When I got home all I wanted for breakfast was salad. I guess that is because I couldn’t have it the last two days. I made a huge salad in a serving bowl that contained: organic baby spinach, a red bell pepper, a small amount of the lentil and quinoa salad I made on Monday and leftover Sicilian artichokes and peppers (which involved a tomato sauce with fennel) in tomatoes that Dan had for dinner last night (only his was hot and over quinoa). I finished the salad with a sprinkling of white chia seeds (for the omega 3). It is nice to be back to my own food. I missed salad the last two days. Since you were only allowed 3 servings of veggies that wouldn’t make much of a salad. I had at least that much in spinach alone this morning but only what they would call 1 grain serving (1/2 cup). *shakes head*

For a late morning snack I had a little bit of okara that I flavored with almond butter and fresh ginger and carrot dippers.

Lunch was a big green smoothie which I was craving. This smoothie included: 4 raw kale leaves and stems, small frozen banana, 1 tablespoon freshly ground flaxseed (for the omega 3), 2 Brazil nuts (for the selenium), ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon powdered ginger, 1 cup almond milk, ice and a little water to process. You may need to add a little stevia.

I was busy in the afternoon talking to a friend who wants to get a little healthier and increase her knowledge of nutrition and health. Can you imagine how much I loved this conversation? In my opinion there is nothing better than talking about health. ;-)

Like usual time got away from me today and I needed to make dinner in a hurry. I decided to make a batch of French Market Bean Soup (no oil or seitan sausage) in the pressure cooker. Since the soup has many different types of beans in it I cooked the beans for 20 minutes under high pressure and then the finished cooking the beans normally. Once the beans were soft I added the tomatoes, rehydrated dried mushrooms (for the immune boosting impact), flavorings (onion, garlic, no-salt seasoning, thyme and black pepper) and finished it with fresh lemon juice and zest. Thank you Sue for introducing us to this, it is one of Dan’s favorites and perfect for a cold dreary day like today.

We also had a small spinach salad with salsa, cucumber and marinated mushrooms topped with a few raw pumpkin seeds.

After dinner Dan was convinced that he hadn’t had enough calories today. I bet everyone knows what that means. If you guessed that he asked me to make a batch of strawberry banana soft-serve you would be right. Some things never change!

I can’t begin to tell you how much I missed my food over the last two days.

Rice Diet Review:

Initially I had planned to do a week of this before reviewing it but I couldn’t do it. Then I decided to do three days and in the end two was enough for me. If you were following along the last two days I am sure you know why I had to bail on this. This diet was not meant for someone like me that eats a healthy no oil, no salt diet with lots with produce.

Okay I probably should have stayed on this diet more than 2 days before writing the review but honestly I was missing my Brazil nuts, wheat germ and seeds. Day two of the diet was better than day one since it allowed veggies but I had been on it long enough. Here are my thoughts:

Pros:

• Focuses on whole food, no processed junk.

• By eliminating salt it should help anyone overcome their salt addiction.

• No oil is used in this diet which should also help people overcome their fat addiction.

• Restricts unhealthy animal protein to 3 ounces per week during the weight loss phase, and six ounces during the maintenance phase and that can be avoided completely by substituting beans or tofu (I added the tofu).

• Encourages daily moderate exercise.

• Promotes meditation to reduce stress thereby reducing stress eating.

• Provides a template for food journaling which is also encouraged.

• Discourages the use of artificial sweeteners

• Promotes eliminating soda due to the additives. Specifically soda is high in dietary phosphates which results in calcium loss and therefore bone loss.

Cons:

• The one day detox of starch and fruit is miserable because it does not contain enough food or variety of food to be sustainable even one day a week.

• Far too much grain per day in my opinion. I had trouble eating the amount of grain they suggested but since the overall calories were so low I felt like I needed to eat it.

• Why a limit on vegetables? This seems illogical to me. Vegetables are the nutritional powerhouse of the food world why would you ever want to limit them? The entire day’s allotment of vegetables on days 2-7 of this diet is one meals worth for me.

• Makes no distinction between sizes of people in the plan. For example men and women eat the same amount? That really doesn’t make any sense to me.

• No flaxseeds, hempseed or chia seeds is a problem.

• Total calories per day seems light 800 on day 1 (which happens once per week) and 1,000 days 2-6, with 1,200 on day 7 during phase one. Phase two isn’t much different. That can’t be enough calories for men or active women.

• Incredibly structured with allotments for all the food groups at each meal. I found this to be annoying but if you like structure this could be a plus for you.

• The book itself talks about people traveling back to North Carolina periodically to get a “diet tune up” which I interpret as they weren’t able to stay on it long term.

Overall, if you have a lot of weight you want to lose fairly rapidly and you like whole grains this would probably get the job done. I say probably because I didn’t lose weight on it, but I am only one person and was on it for a very short period of time. The one I think this diet is missing is the flaxseed (or chia and hemp) for an adequate amount of omega 3. Nuts and seeds as a condiment for a little textural variation and healthy fat would have also been a good idea in my opinion. I also think that raw undressed vegetables should be unlimited. Not too many people are going to overeat veggies.

I am curious, did seeing what I ate for two days on this diet help the review have more meaning?  If not do you have any suggestions on how to make this type of review more meaningful?

Happy thoughts:

• I am very happy to be back to my usual food. You have no idea how much I missed my veggies. The quantity of veggies that I typically eat in one meal was the total allowed for the entire day on The Rice Diet.

• It was great to get outside and get some fresh air before the storm rolled in.

• I love seeing the cherry blossoms starting to bloom. That is always a sure sign of spring in spite of how cold it was today. Brrrr!

• I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation with my friend early this afternoon and am thrilled that she wants to learn more about health and nutrition. She may be sorry so mentioned that because I will be suggesting as many books as she can read. ;-)

• Later today I had another great conversation about health that has my wheels spinning with ideas. Don’t we all love thought provoking conversations?

• I am thankful that Dan made it home safely from work before the thunderstorm started.

• We are planning a trip to DC to see the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom this year. Since we haven’t gone since 1997 I am really looking forward to this. Of course I will take lots of pictures to share with you.

Signing out:

I am looking forward to tomorrow. I have a few things on my to-do list that I am actually looking forward to. Crazy right, who looks forward to their to-do list? LOL, I always say that I am not right. I didn’t forget about the homemade tofu post, that is coming. I got busy and didn’t have time to make another batch of tofu to take pictures of but that should happen tomorrow. *fingers crossed*

I hope you had a wonderful Wednesday, I know I did. Talk to you again tomorrow.

Tuesday is for Life Administration and a Book Review

Happy Tuesday! I woke up on the right side of the bed for some reason this morning. I think it was because we had such fun last night with our friend Phil. He is always a ton of fun to be around.

This morning it was another one with temperatures in the 30’s. Brrrr! I am seriously looking forward to spring. Come on Mother Nature have pity on us will you please?

For breakfast this morning Dan had a big bowl of oatmeal that I cooked with water and to that I added: wild blueberries (previously frozen and more nutritious than cultivated blueberries), wheat germ (for the vitamin E and fiber), freshly ground flaxseeds (for the omega 3s and fiber), cinnamon (to help the body process the sugar), powdered ginger (for the antioxidants), walnuts (for the omega 3s and calories) and a touch of stevia to sweeten it a little since Dan has a voracious sweet tooth.

After I exercised and answered my email I made myself breakfast late in the morning. I opted for a giant bowl of salad that I made in a serving bowl. This salad contained: baby spinach, cold cooked quinoa (a complete protein), cold cooked black beans, salsa, orange bell pepper, grape tomatoes, cucumber fresh cilantro and white chia seeds (for omega 3s and to provide fat to enhance the absorption of the fat soluble vitamins in the salad). I know that salad for breakfast seems a little unconventional but you can’t deny that it is nutritious and healthy. This salad was filling enough that the only other meal I had today was dinner which was good after the big meal at the restaurant last night.

I washed the salad down with a big mug (a double) of matcha green tea which I added a little ascorbate C powder to after the tea had steeped for 10 minutes (to extract the most EGCG). This also gives the tea time to cool down so the kill doesn’t destroy all the vitamin C. I had two more of these throughout the day since I have read that you need to have 5-7 cups of green tea per day to realize the health benefits from green tea.

While I sipped my matcha tea I read another chapter of the book “Healing Through Exercise”. Well that was the plan when I started reading but I ended up finishing the book because I enjoyed it that much. My review is found at the end of this post.

Speaking of books here is the stack that arrived today. The top two are additional courses from “The Great Courses” this time on anatomy & physiology and stress. I am looking forward to getting into all of these but I need to plow through the library books first since they have a time frame to be returned.

Since our refrigerator was bare, well not bare but not well stocked either, I knew I needed to do a little cooking today, darn it. ;-) Our weather is still a little cool so I though soup would make a nice dinner to warm us up. Tomorrow we are going to DC for the screening of “Pig Business” so that means dinner out again poor me, LOL. It doesn’t look like there will be a lot of cooking happening this week at our house does it?

During the afternoon I made a pound of chickpeas in the pressure cooker. Half of those turned it fat free hummus and the other half went into a pot of soup that became dinner. The soup was very simple it has a tomato base, dried mushrooms (to boost our immune systems), onions, garlic, no-salt seasoning, mixed whole grains (from the Asian market the other day), frozen organic veggies (corn peas, carrots and green beans), paprika, lemon juice and lemon zest. Like normal I made a vat of soup so you will be seeing this turn up for a while in my meals.

Book Review: “Healing Through Exercise”

I picked this book up on a whim at the library and thoroughly enjoyed it. I read the entire book in two sittings. If you are looking for a reason to start or continue exercising you need to read this book. It is very motivational.

The book is categorized as follows:

1. The Healing Power of Exercise
2. The Dangers of Going to Bed
3. Unemployed Bodies, New Diseases
4. Walking Off Diabetes
5. Muscles and Metabolism
6. What the Heart Desires
7. Growing Bones
8. A Sporting Cure for Back Pain
9. Exercise and Brain Power
10. Lifting the Spirit
11. A Foundation of Youth in the Brain
12. Cancer: A Growing Case for Exercise
13. Longevity, Potency, and Resilience
14. Panacea for Every Day

You will not be surprised to hear that the first chapter I read was number 12. I had to go right to the issue that concerns me. Then I went back and read the book start to finish, rereading chapter 12. I found this book to be both motivatal and empowering and recommend you read it for that reason if no other. If you are familiar with Miriam Nelson “Strong Women Stay Young” and the studies at Tufts you will not be surprised to read that even people in their 80’s show tremendous physical improvement when they start exercising.

The author does a nice job of explaining the difference between different types of muscles (type-II-b and type-1) and the influence they have on our health as well as how to change your muscle composition.

Additionally the author discusses the impact exercise has on the following biomarkers:

• Basal Metabolic Rate
• Relative Body Fat
• Aerobic Capacity
• Blood Sugar Tolerance
• Bone Density
• Internal Temperature
• Cholesterol: Amount and Type
• Blood Pressure
• Biological Age

Regarding exercise and cancer there are a number so studies now that show that exercise not only improves the quality of life of those with cancer, extends life (by slowing progression), and reduces all cause mortality (death). I don’t know about you but that sounds like a wonderful reason to be active most days to me.

For those of you that are concerned about Alzheimer’s there is also research that suggests that exercise reduces cognitive decline (chapter 11). By combining cognitive and physical exercise you can delay or prevent the degenerative process in the brain.

There is similar research reference in the book that shows similar things for diabetes, those with heart disease, depression, back pain and osteoporosis. No surprise, exercise seems to be effective in preventing, reversing or delaying many of the chronic diseases of the Western World. This should not be surprising since those of us living in the Western World generally don’t get much exercise.

I enjoyed this book very much and I have added to my next Amazon list. I liked that there are 23 pages of endnotes most of them from scholarly journals. I love looking up the articles that sound interesting. Can you say health nut? LOL, yes that is a good description of me.

Overall this book is a good read and one that I think will encourage you to get up off the couch if you are sedentary or motivate those that already exercise to maybe do a little more moderate activity.

Happy thoughts:

I had another good day which mean I have many things to be happy about today:

• As crazy as this sounds I am grateful that I lost my desire to the standard American fare. I love that I can make myself a huge salad for breakfast and am completely content and well nourished. Sounds like a win-win to me.

• Today I am also grateful for a well stocked library. A girlfriend recommended the library to me a few years ago and I have been going regularly ever since. I have no idea why I stopped going to the library after grad school that was very foolish on my part. I love reading and the library saves me from buying as many books as I used to (shocking right). It is also wonderful to be able to check out exercise DVDs to preview before buying. We also like to check out movies and TV series.

• Our local PBS station MPT is having a pledge drive and just aired Dr. Barnard’s “Kick start Your Health” program; the same book I picked up at the library this past weekend. I was thrilled to see a “healthy” vegan diet gets mainstream exposure. Woo hoo!

• This evening I had a chance to talk to another blogger and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It is very nice to be able to put a voice to a face and a blog. There are lots of incredible people in the world if you look for them.

• I just adore my fur babies. Here is a picture of Masi today warming himself on the bed. I don’t have to tell you that the electric blanket was on meaning he was nice and toasty. All cats seem to like sleeping in a warm place.

Signing out:

My day has been a bit of a blur and tomorrow will be more hectic since our trip to DC that will turn into a late night. I may not have a post up tomorrow evening but I will try. I hope you had a great Tuesday. I will talk to you again either very late tomorrow or Thursday morning.

Winter Wonderland and My New Kitchen Toy Reviewed

Wow did we get hit with snow Wednesday evening. It was the craziest weather I have seen in a long time. Thunder and lightning during a snow storm is wrong and creepy. It came down so quickly that many people abandoned their cars on the expressway (83 North) heading out of town and walked out. However Thursday morning we were greeted with a beautiful winter wonderland effect of a foot of wet snow sticking to everything. It is gorgeous but I didn’t have to drive in it so that is easier for me to say than those who did have to come home in it. I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Our breakfast Thursday morning contained: oatmeal, wild blueberries, cinnamon, powdered ginger, cardamom, freshly ground flaxseed, and walnuts. I made mine with water and Dan’s with soymilk.

My lunch was okara sliders I dipped in a quick sauce of salsa and bbq. I liked the sauce because it was less sweet than bbq but also had chunks of tomatoes and more heat. I am not sure what possessed me to combine them but I liked the way it turned out.

The first afternoon snack of the day was a navel orange and two Brazil nuts (for the selenium).

My second snack was frozen grapes and walnuts. In case you hadn’t noticed walnuts are my nuts of choice, other than my two daily Brazil nuts for the selenium. I tend to grab walnuts because they have the best omega 3 to omega 6 ratios of the tree nuts.

For some reason I was hungry today and my third snack was a small bowl of the curried red lentil and tomato soup with a few sliced almonds on top

New Sharper Image Oven:

I had not planned dinner tonight so I decided to make something simple and try out the halogen, convection and infrared oven I ordered last week. Thursday night seemed like a good time to try out the oven. I used it make BBQ tofu since I knew how long that should take in the oven. Here are the pros and cons of the oven:

Pros:

• It preheats very quickly; it took under 10 minutes to reach 350 degrees which is much quicker than my stove. It is also easy to tell when it has reached temperature because the light goes out.

• In 20 minutes the tofu was firm and chewy and that would take 45 minutes in my convection oven

• It has a self clean feature that worked extremely well. You put two inches of water in the base and a small amount of dish liquid and set it to self clean. I was skeptical this would work but it did very well. The steam generated even softened the BBQ sauce on the lid making it easy to wipe off with a damp towel.

• It draws no more power than my Vitamix and uses much less than my oven.

• No VOCs were generated by this machine. I had an air quality monitor set up with two foot of the machine to see what would happen. This is huge for me since I know the oven sets off the air quality monitor every time.

Cons:

• Takes up a large footprint on the counter when not in use. Additionally it requires space on either side so you have somewhere to set the lid down when flipping or removing the food.

• The light coming off and on attracted the cats which wasn’t good since the exterior gets hot. I will have to work on how to keep the felines away from it when it is on. Hopefully they will get used to it and stop being attracted to the light going off and on.

Overall, I am happy with the purchase. If you are someone who uses a toaster oven for a small meal this takes up about the same amount of room and is faster.

Dinner was the BBQ tofu from the little oven and frozen broccoli that I cooked until lightly tender and tossed with tomato and raisin pesto and topped with sliced almonds for crunch.

Carrageenan:

Jenny asked how dangerous carrageenan was in a prior post. I had read years ago that it was linked to cancer in lab animals and then eliminated it from our diet. When you read your ingredient lists I think you will be surprised how often this shows up in processed food, particularly non-dairy beverages, cheezes and frozen desserts. It is also called Irish moss and is used often in raw food. In case any of you wanted to read more on this here is what Dr. Weil has to say about carrageenan.

Vitamin Water and Soda with Vitamins:

These products make me crazy! Why would people what to get their artificial vitamins in water or soda? Does anyone actually think these are natural sources of vitamins? Seriously they are no different than taking a multivitamin only most people that drink them seem to do both as though more artificial vitamins are better than less. *sigh*

Studies are now showing that getting your vitamins from artificial sources (like supplements or beverages) does not have a positive impact on health and in some case can be harmful. If you want to do something healthy eat more fresh whole food because that contains natural vitamins that your body knows how to process and use. There really is no magic bullet you can use to overcome living a less than healthy life.

Sorry for the rant but whenever I see commercials for this junk I get annoyed. As you can guess I just saw that vitamin water is on sale at Whole Foods and it set me off. ;-) *ugh*

Making Dietary Changes Part 2:

Back to this section I started on January 15 with the idea of starting your morning with a healthy breakfast. I wanted to give you plenty of time to work that in before introducing another idea. After writing about carrageenan and vitamin water I think the next idea has to be to reduce the intake of processed food. I can almost hear the collective groaning as I type this. I know it isn’t the easiest thing to do but it will have a huge impact on your health. Don’t believe me? Pull something out of your refrigerator or pantry and read the ingredient list. I will almost guarantee it you includes some chemical word that you can’t pronounce and don’t know that it means (unless you are a chemist). I am not a medical professional but it can’t be good to ingest a chemical cocktail every day. Humans weren’t designed to consume artificial food.

Corporate America has taken something natural, food, and turned it into “food-like substances”. It looks like food, it smells like food but it has been chemically altered making it not natural. When we initially gave up processed food it was difficult mostly because I needed to make more things rather than buying them. However once you get into the habit it really isn’t that difficult. Also now when I take a bite or sip of something processed it takes like the chemical concoction that it is. It never tasted like that to me before, I suppose my taste buds were used to it. But now processed food tastes vile to me.

I would suggest you start by removing the processed food you consume the most and substitute something natural for it. If you are huge diet soda drinker switch to water or tea. If you eat a lot of processed faux meat switch to beans and tofu or learn to make your own veggie burgers or seitan. By removing the thing you consume the most you will have the biggest impact on your health.

Happy Thoughts:

With all the snow we had I spent Thursday at home as you might have guessed. It was a good a day for me and here is what I am thankful for today:

• Thursday was a mostly me type of day. Sometimes you need to pamper yourself to recharge your batteries. I had a relaxing day which included exercising, listening to instrumental jazz, talking on the phone with friends, and a nice long soak in a hot bath with sea salt and essential oils. Doesn’t it just sound like heaven? ;-)

• I loved playing with my new kitchen gadget. I am totally a gadget type of girl so anytime I get a new toy I am in heaven. I am very pleased by how well it worked and love the self clean feature which was a very pleasant surprise.

• I was grateful that Dan made it to work and back this week safely and without incident. There were many travel horror stories which made me very thankful he wasn’t one of them.

• It was also wonderful to be one of the homes that didn’t lose power in the storm. I heard Friday morning that 80,000 in DC are still without power. It made me appreciate that ours very rarely goes out.

• Dan liked the combination of BBQ and salsa that I sent in his lunch for dipping his okara and oat sliders into. This is probably our new favorite sauce of the moment. I love coming up with new sauce ideas especially one that is super quick like this one. *happy dance*

Signing out:

Friday was a busy day but also a good one. Dan even ended up coming home from work earlier than usual. We spent a nice relaxing evening catching up on season 6 of "Criminal Minds" that we had recorded but hadn’t watched. It was a good way to spend the evening.

Talk to you again tomorrow. I hope you are having a great start to the weekend.