Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead & Jesse Wong's Kitchen

I don’t know how many of you have watched the movie “Fat,Sick and Nearly Dead” but it is on my 10 ten list of must watch movies about health.  Talk about an inspiration, this movie has it from start to finish.  I doubt there are many people who could watch this and not think about adding juice to their life.  I will admit that I was one of those people. As soon as the movie was over I immediately thought that I needed to get back to juicing at least part time as a supplement or a single meal replacement once per day. 

If you haven’t seen this movie it is on Netflix and our local library even has a copy.  Both my husband and I think this is one to watch.  If you haven’t yet seen it I hope you will give it chance.  We were most impressed with the health improvements people made but they also dropped a huge amount of weight in a very short time. We have been recommending this movie to everyone we know and even gave it to some of our health conscious friends for Christmas.  This movie is great for anyone who needs a little inspiration to make lifestyle changes in order to improve their health.

Juice Fast

After watching the movie a few times I ended up doing a 16 day juice fast in November and dropped 14 pounds.  What? I know crazy right?  While I did regain 4 pounds once I started eating (as my colon refilled) I have maintained the 14 pound loss since I dropped a few pounds again after the juice fast. Here is the crazy part of juice fasting I felt amazing while I was doing it.  I woke up refreshed and ready to go which is nothing like me on a typical morning. Additionally I slept well and was full of energy and was alert.

If anyone is interested in trying a juice fast let me know and I will post more about what I did.  Heck I may even do another one and post my recipes if there is enough interest in juice fasting.  It was a great experience and one that I wouldn’t mind repeating because I felt wonderful!

In addition to juice fasting we both started adding juice back into our diet like we did a couple of years ago. Here is the crazy part of this entire story. Our Johns Hopkins oncologist (an MD and PhD) is completely on board with this and even said he should buy a juicer.  Yes that really happened and Dan and I both were blown away. If that isn’t an endorsement for juicing I don’t know what is.  In fact the last time we saw the oncologist he commented that Dan’s blood work results were fantastic.  Go plants! Don’t you just love results like this?  *happy dance*

Jesse Wong’s Kitchen in Hunt Valley Mall

We have been spending ridiculous amounts of time at JesseWong’s lately. Dan purchased 10 Living Social Coupons and that is a lot of eating out let me tell you.  However now we know a few of the servers by name and the hostess greats us with “weren’t you just here”.  It sounds like when we go to visit Ian at the restaurant doesn’t it?

If you are local and get to Jesse Wong’s ask for a table in Dan’s section.  He is great and knows how to point you to the vegan options since we ask for him when we make a reservation online (they are on Open table). Also Dan is really nice and working his way through college so please be good to him at tip time.  If Dan doesn’t have an available table you should ask for Mike. He is also a nice guy and we get him often too so he is familiar with the requirements of vegan diners.

Since we have become regulars at this restaurant I can point you to some of our favorite vegan items on the menu.   I thought those of you who are nearby would appreciate the guidance.  Those who aren’t nearby might get ideas for things to make at your house.

If you are a soup person order the vegetable soup which comes with tofu.  This is light and not salty.  I think it is perfect way to start your meal.

If salad is more your thing I have four suggestions.

 My favorite is the seaweed salad which I realize isn’t for everyone.  But it is a great source of trace minerals, particularly iodine which most westerners are low in.  We ordered it last week when we met our buddy Louis for dinner and he tried it.  Apparently it wasn’t bad because Louis ordered seaweed salad a few days ago at a different restaurant.  I am sharing this because I want those of you who haven’t tried seaweed salad it give it a chance.  It is very healthy for you as well as being tasty (in my opinion).

Another salad option is the sweet and spice cabbage that I also love. This one is made with bok choy that is shredded and a spicy and sweet vinegar based dressing. There are also strips of bell pepper and it is topped with sesame seeds.

Then there is the Vietnamese salad which Dan likes. This comes with a vinegar based dressing, romaine, rice noodles, fresh mango, carrot and Dan’s favorite a fried spring roll.

I prefer the Nippon salad which also has romaine, mango and carrot and comes with a ginger, carrot and walnut dressing (mostly carrot).

In terms of appetizers there are three options that we like.

The first is the edamame light on the salt.  You need to ask them to go light on the salt when you order these.

Dan’s favorite is the Asian lettuce wraps made with faux chicken. This isn’t on the menu so you have to ask for it.

Another one of Dan’s favorites is the steamed veggie dumplings.

If you are still hungry there is always the veggie sushi.  Your options are avocado, asparagus, cucumber, shitake, seaweed salad roll (my favorite), Japanese squash, tempura sweet potato (Dan’s favorite) and at least one more which has slipped my mind.  See what happens when you get old.  LOL

We also like the Veggie Hunan Chicken made with faux chicken.

 

There is also a steamed veggie side that you can order which I often ask for.

Don’t forget that you can order brown rice instead of white. Also any dish on the menu with real meat can be made with faux meat or tofu if you wish.  Again you just need to ask.

One thing I have learned about going out to dinner is that if you ask for things the kitchen is typically happy to honor your request.  Whenever we go out whether it is a new restaurant or not I always ask questions and ask items to be prepared differently than they are found on the menu. Once you get used to doing this it is easy.  Not to mention if you tip well no one minds.  In fact most servers have told us to ask for them when we come back so I think they are okay that we are a little high maintenance (a reference to my favorite movie of all-time “When Harry Met Sally”).  ;-)

Happy Thoughts

I am writing this on January 1st to be posted on the third and my first thought was that tomorrow was back to work which is not a happy thought. However there are always things to be happy for so here goes:

1. At this moment I am very grateful for jazz.  I am listening to East Bay Soul 2.0 while I write this post. The song “The Love of My Life” is one of my favorites and it reminds me of my precious husband.  I have included a link to it on YouTube in case you want to listen to it.
2. As always I am grateful for my wonderful husband.  I know I have said this many times but he is the perfect match for me.  I can’t imagine my life without him in it. 
3. I am thankful that I have such precious little fur kids in my life.  While the felines are not well-behaved they are mine and I adore them.  As I type this all three of the kids are within 10 feet of me. Whoever said that cats are standoffish never met ours. They love their humans are always close to us.
4. Another thing I am grateful for that I know this one sounds odd is the slippers Dan bought me for Christmas.  I got a pair of slippers that are tall like boots. These little babies really keep my feet and ankles warm and that is huge this time of year.   ;-)  I suppose this could be one of those signs of being old, like appreciating socks for Christmas.  LOL
5. The scale continues to be my friend for which I am extremely grateful.  It is wonderful knowing that my habits impact both my health and my weight.  I can’t tell how great it feels to know that I am in control in a healthy way.  After years of struggling with my weight and my emotions regarding my weight this is a huge accomplishment for me.
6. I am also thankful everyone who wants to improve their health even if it means going against the grain and trying something “crazy” like a healthy vegan diet.  I still remember how difficult this was when we did it and I want to commend everyone who is willing to give this a try.  As I like to say if you want radical improvement you need to make radical changes.  Remember what seems radical when you start becomes easy.  In fact it just becomes your new normal.  Dan and I talk about this often and we both say that we wouldn’t go back to the way we used to eat because we feel so fantastic now.  After you have adopted this lifestyle for a month you will know what we mean.  I never want to go back to those days of a food coma after eating, a slow GI tract, more visits to the dentist, or having elevated blood pressure.

Signing out

Thursday will be hectic for me.  We will be starting our day at Johns Hopkins and then I have a few appointments and errands to run.  I hope to get a post up on Friday but it may be brief.  However I promise to do my best and will get something posted.  Wishing you a wonderful day.