o_O Free Time Please???

The last three months have been INSANE! (Caps lock and bold doesn't even begin to cover it!) I have not been sick so many times in such a short span of time for ... I can't even remember a time that I got sick a lot! *Sigh* Every time I turn around, the dishes haunt me and the piles of laundry (dirty and clean) taunt me.

However! I am really enjoying life up here! The snow is a nice change of pace and everyone is far more relaxed! My favorite part of living in Cheney: I have windows in my house! Huge windows! On all sides of the house! In every room except for one! It's wonderful. :^)

As for my diet, I'm finally getting back to vegetarian. It's nice! I've had a lot of fun cooking veggies and looking up or making up new recipes. I'm also having to force myself to cut out dairy because my daughter is showing signs of having an intolerance to milk.

One of my newest projects is to type up my favorite recipes so I can access them easier. It's really nice! But free time is ... nonexistent. Like right now, I could and should be doing dishes or laundry or vacuuming or cleaning or gosh, who knows! But I needed a break! ;^D

I'm figuring out the best way for me to organize meals and grocery lists, and have made up a couple excel documents based off of forms I found on the internet!

Grocery List

Meal Planner

So That's what I've been up to lately! I'll update with recipes and other fun stuff!

Here's to tomorrow!

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Hello! It's been so long! The last month has been INSANE! I kid you not! We moved at the end of September. The first week of October, Jairus got sick and I was about three days behind him. Then Juriah ended up with croup and spent two nights in the hospital and a week later, Jessenya was hospitalized for one night for croup. This last week we have been recuperating.

Okay, so that aside, I have joined a gym! Yay! It's right across the street and so far I've been able to go after the kids go to sleep. It's AWESOME! The first day I did some cardio and focused on my legs and today I did more cardio and focused on upper body. I'm having a lot of fun and really enjoying the time to myself.

As far as diet goes, I haven't been doing so well--when everyone's sick, you eat what is easy to get to. There's been a lot of fast-food chicken, pizza, and junk food in general. But I'm super excited because I made a fantastic vegan meal for Halloween! Butternut Squash & Pear soup, Cumin & Cayenne Mashed Potatoes, Citrus Collard Greens, and Chocolate-Pecan Pudding Pie. Sooooooooooooooooooooooo good! The left over pie makes it easier to pass up my brother-in-law's cheese cake! I have decided to go back to focusing on eating healthy first and vegetarian/vegan second. Thing are just now settling down so focusing on getting back to eating real food is more important right now.

I've been incredibly inspired by the show The Biggest Loser! I know I'm right on the edge of being obese (The last Dr appointment I had I weighed in around 195!) and watching people who have decided to change their lives made me realize that if they could do it, so could I! I'm super excited because I finally have the motivation to take care of myself and get healthy! Well, at least to the point that I'm doing something about it! I'm only going to be able to afford 2 months at the gym at $30 a month--our income is going to be going bye-bye soon--so I have to make them count. It's going to be fantastic though! And who knows, maybe I'll find a way to make some more money!

I really do have to thank my friend, Becca Sue! She's been working so hard to get healthy and has done such an amazing job! Knowing someone who has changed their own life so much has made it easier to believe that I can do the same for myself!

Oh! Also, I can now share who's getting married!!! My bestest friend in the whole world, Jillian Kellett, is getting married to her boyfriend, Jason Ackley, in August (the date changed when they made the engagement official). Woot!

Well, that's it for me today! Here's to tomorrow!

As for the Diet

I have a new recipe! Woot! I got it from Vive le Vegan! by Dreena Burton.

EASY PLEASIN' OAT BARS
Makes 10-14 bars (depending on how they're cut)
Brackets [] are mine

2 cups ground oats (can be made in a blender with whole oats)
1 cup quick oats
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup fruit sweetener or other thick honey alternative [I used Agave Nectar]
1/4 cup vanilla or plain non-dairy milk
1 1/2 - 2 Tbsp canola oil [I used coconut oil! SOOOOO GOOD!]
[1- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract]
1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.
3) Add the wet ingredients into the dry mixture, stirring until well combined. [I think it would work better to mix all the wet ingredients separately and then mix them into the dry mixture--the dry tends to suck up the liquid really fast!]
4) Transfer the mixture to a lightly oiled 8"x8" or 8"x12" baking dish and press it down until evenly distributed.
5) Using a sharp knife, cut to mark out the bars before you bake them to make it easier to fully cut and remove the bars once baked. (I usually mark out 12 rectangular bars, but you can make whatever size you like.) [I cut them into tiny little bite size squares for Juriah!]
6) Bake for 19-21 minutes, then remove and let cool in the pan.7) Once cool, use a sharp knife to fully cut the bars, then remove with a spatula.

My first batch came out really dense! But that was because I kept having to add soy milk. Juriah and I absolutely love them and Jairus really enjoyed the taste but not the dense texture. I'm sure that would be fixed by mixing the liquid ingredients on their own and then to the dry ones! Burton (I love her last name--it always makes me think of snowboarding! Which is another reason I need to get in shape! We've got a trip planned for Dec!) mentions in a side note that 1/4 cup of dried fruits or toasted nuts can be added! I told Jairus about that and (being the Coast Guard chief that he is) he mentioned that I would want to soak the fruit in water for an hour or so to keep the bars from drying out! He said that it works wonders for oatmeal cookies! I'll have to let you know what I find out when I try it! I love this recipe because I can have maple syrup and agave! So it's a nice sweet treat without adding so much to my weight issue!

As for the diet, all is well! Okay, except for the break down I had at Home Depot today. It was the third errand today that took longer than I expected it to and Juriah was cranky because we skipped his nap--I know, I know, bad idea! Anyway, I've had my green lemonade--OH! and so did Juriah! I have a picture!

He even asked me for more! Well, that's it for today! Here's to tomorrow!

Stats:
Weight - Probably the same!
Green Lemonades - 16! Woot!

My mind may be slippery, but it's awake!

My son drank Green Lemonade yesterday! And he liked it! Woohoo! I cannot fully express to you all how excited I am! He barely tolerates veggies and there he was yesterday, sipping on his grandma's Green Lemonade! Talk about awesome "whole food" baby vitamin!

Aside from that, the diet has been going well! Last Sunday was the only time I've had meat since the sushi incident and it was only turkey. I would have been able to make myself a veggie sandwich, but I waited too long to go make it. As for "sugar-free," I'm doing well with that also--it has been hard though! I keep forgetting what that I can't have things: soda, lattes, chai lattes, most chocolate--I'm even giving up stuff with evaporated cane juice in it! That limits things even more! Thankfully Jairus has been helping me keep an eye on things. Yesterday we went to Dutch Bros and I brought my own cup with some vanilla extract and agave nectar. Unfortunately, the gentleman making my order dumped dirty water in it and I had to have a plain iced latte instead--which it didn't taste too bad! He was incredibly sorry and gave us the drink for free and extra punches on our punch card! It could have been worse.

Overall, I'm feeling very empowered by this diet change--even if I'm only doing baby steps! I'm feeling more alive and ... functional? I feel like I'm actually interacting with my spouse and children! I'm enjoying the activities of day to day life! I'm taking a yoga class and I went out on my own to run an errand! I am healthy! There have been so many times in the last week where I could have given into the depression and I didn't! Every one of those opportunities, I have met head on with honesty and determination. I caught myself spiraling, took action and dealt with the real issue in a healthy manner. My mind may be slippery, but it's awake! Yesterday, I weighed myself and I have lost 4 pounds! I'm feeling more mobile and a tiny bit more trim! The results are fantastic and it's only the second week! I'm so excited!

Stats:
Weight - 181!
Green Lemonades - 9

Yesterday... sucked.

So I skipped blogging yesterday because I didn't do much of anything healthy. I did get up early with Jairus and drink my Green Lemonade. But let me back up and share how my night went.

I took a detox bath --late, but I got it in! The recipe (for those who are interested) is:
-16oz lemon juice
-1 box baking soda
-2 scoops Arbonne Unwind Bath Salts (optional)

And before that I used a natural bristle body brush for a detox method that Natalia Rose suggests on page 58 in The Raw Food Detox Diet. I felt great after! And I noticed the next day that my stretch marks didn't look as pronounced! It was awesome!

We got to sleep late but I was feeling great! We went to bed around 11:30 and an hour later I woke up thinking that the detoxing was working--it turns out that I had food poisoning. How cool is that. *Sigh* So I got even less sleep then I would have and I was really weak when I got up in the morning. So the whole day I did virtually nothing. I didn't eat right, I didn't do anything around the house--it sucked. And it sucked because at some point I was feeling better physically but emotionally I was checked out. It's probably because--despite the good start that I had--I didn't follow through with the "goodness." I fell into old habits and didn't listen to the promptings from within to do something healthy, mostly turn off the TV. And again I didn't go to sleep when I should have! Grrr.

But today I forced myself to do stuff around the house! And eventually I started to feel better! I ate right (maybe not enough to eat, but I ate right!) and I got stuff done and (more importantly) I spent 45 solid minutes reading to my son! And then 15 minutes playing with my daughter! It was amazing! Yay!

So not so much about diet for the last couple days, but one day at a time! See you tomorrow!

Stats:
Weight - Low 180s
Green Lemonades - 4
Properly combined meals - 5

My Experiment Day 1

In January, I have the pleasure of standing next to a dear friend of mine on the day she gets married! I am so excited for her and her fiance but I'm nervous too because I REALLY don't want to be a frumpy matron of honor who has just let herself go. Therefore, I have decided to try a detox method that's safe for nursing mommies and their babies. It's called the Raw Food Detox Diet (the book is by Natalia Rose) and it's safe because it's a life style change rather than a traditional diet. My husband, Jairus, and I have decided to start off small. On page 48, Rose presents the Green Lemonade recipe and suggests drinking it on an empty stomach a half hour before eating a breakfast of fresh fruits. We have decided to try this for one week and see how we feel! Here's the recipe for those of you who are interested in trying it (as from The Raw Food Detox Diet--brackets [ ] are my addition):

GREEN LEMONADE
Makes one serving
1 head of romaine lettuce or celery [we're sticking to romaine for this experiment]
5 to 6 stalks of kale (any type)
1 to 2 apples (as needed for sweetness--I recommend organic Fuji)
1 whole organic lemon (you don't have to peel it)
1 to 2 inches fresh ginger (optional)

I know, it's a lot of lettuce! You should have seen the looks on people's faces when we bought 6 days worth for 2 people!

This morning was our first day trying it out--well, Jairus has had it before, but that's besides the point. It really didn't taste too bad! Mine was about 24 oz and I drank all but 4! To get the most enzymes, we have to drink it within the first 15 minutes of juicing so I was gulping it down as fast as I could. I actually felt tingling in my extremities when I was about half way through, it was very strange. Half an hour later I had half a plum and about an hour after that I had about two cups of cherries. I'm really proud of myself! I was able to stick to the fresh fruit breakfast and wait the recommended 30 minutes before moving on to a lunch of yummy tofu and brown rice! It was an awesome experience and I'm sure I would have more to say about having more energy but I stayed up WAY too late last night watching Harry Potter. As a side note, I've noticed that my milk production has been doing better today after having the Green Lemonade!

Stats:
Weight - 170ish (I don't currently own a scale)
Days of drinking Green Lemonade: 1
Properly combined meals: 2