I think this would be a fitting name for an all-natural, organic, mostly (if not completely) vegan diet. If a diet rich in vegetables and fruits and a modest amount of complex carbohydrates were marketed in this fashion, it would be all the rage.
Never, in my wildest dreams, could I have imagined that I would have so much energy that I could barely sit still nearly every day, just because of my diet. My sleep is peaceful, I wake up happy and ready to roll, and I am not "just making it through" the day now. I take my kids on walks, run errands, cook, clean, and work out. This is fantastic!
My next goal is to tailor my vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements to my diet and health needs and wants. What a blessing it is for the Lord to have opened my eyes. I thank Him every day for showing me the path to health and happiness. May I show Him all the praise through my dedication to treating my body as a temple and encouraging others to do the same.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
My Favorite Peanut Butter
We have tried so many different kinds of natural and organic peanut butters in the past year, and we finally found the one to call our favorite: creamy Maranatha Organic Peanut Butter with a hint of sea salt. Love this stuff!
Friday, March 2, 2012
My Favorite Gluten-Free Bread Recipe
I have been searching and searching for a great-tasting gluten-free bread recipe for years. Through a little combining of recipes from here and there, plus a good deal of experimenting, I have finally hit upon a family favorite:
Ingredients
2 c. warm water
1/4 c. expeller-pressed canola oil
1 t. apple cider vinegar
3 T. agave nectar
3 T. ground flax seed*
1-1/2 c. brown rice flour*
1/2 c. coconut flour
1 c. quinoa flour*
1/3 c. cornstarch
4 T. Dari-Free non-dairy dry milk
1 t. salt
1 T. xanthan or guar gum
2-1/4 t. yeast
*These ingredients can be made at home with a spice grinder.
Directions
For a bread machine:
Place water, canola oil, vinegar, agave nectar, and ground flax seed in the pan with the paddle already attached.
In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, except yeast, and mix well.
Pour dry mixture into the pan, make a small trough in the dry ingredients for the yeast, place in bread machine, and use the 2-lb, gluten-free setting. If your machine does not have a gluten-free cycle, the white bread setting should work just fine.
For a conventional oven:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour pan.
Place water, canola oil, vinegar, agave nectar, and ground flax seed in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
Mix the remaining ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl.
With the mixer on low, slowly combine the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Mix only until combined, as gluten-free foods are easy to over-mix.
Transfer dough to greased pan, lightly greased with shortening and dusted with gluten-free flour or cornstarch. Place pan into the oven with foil in place, and bake for 50-55 minutes.
Allow bread to cool thoroughly on a wire rack before slicing. Store in tightly-sealed bags or freeze.
Ingredients
2 c. warm water
1/4 c. expeller-pressed canola oil
1 t. apple cider vinegar
3 T. agave nectar
3 T. ground flax seed*
1-1/2 c. brown rice flour*
1/2 c. coconut flour
1 c. quinoa flour*
1/3 c. cornstarch
4 T. Dari-Free non-dairy dry milk
1 t. salt
1 T. xanthan or guar gum
2-1/4 t. yeast
*These ingredients can be made at home with a spice grinder.
Directions
For a bread machine:
Place water, canola oil, vinegar, agave nectar, and ground flax seed in the pan with the paddle already attached.
In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, except yeast, and mix well.
Pour dry mixture into the pan, make a small trough in the dry ingredients for the yeast, place in bread machine, and use the 2-lb, gluten-free setting. If your machine does not have a gluten-free cycle, the white bread setting should work just fine.
For a conventional oven:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour pan.
Place water, canola oil, vinegar, agave nectar, and ground flax seed in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
Mix the remaining ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl.
With the mixer on low, slowly combine the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Mix only until combined, as gluten-free foods are easy to over-mix.
Transfer dough to greased pan, lightly greased with shortening and dusted with gluten-free flour or cornstarch. Place pan into the oven with foil in place, and bake for 50-55 minutes.
Allow bread to cool thoroughly on a wire rack before slicing. Store in tightly-sealed bags or freeze.
Vegan Potatoes Au Gratin
Today was a day for experimentation, and both recipe experiments were a huge success. I will share my gluten-free bread recipe in another post, because this one is all about my first real attempt at making a vegan dish without a recipe. Boy, is my family happy I did. These potatoes were gobbled up in record time this evening, and they were a breeze to make.
Ingredients
4-5 medium russet potatoes, preferably organic, peeled and sliced
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
3 T cornstarch
olive oil
salt, pepper, garlic, onion, etc. to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 350º.
Lightly coat the casserole dish with olive oil to coat the side and bottom.
Place sliced potatoes into casserole dish and set aside.
In a small saucepan, bring the vegetable broth to a boil, saving a little in a separate bowl. Whisk into the boiling stock the nutritional yeast until well mixed. After combining the cornstarch with the small amount of stock in a separate bowl, whisk this mixture into the stock and yeast sauce until well-mixed.
Add salt and pepper to taste, and try using your favorite spices to flavor your cheese mixture.
Remove the sauce pan from heat, pour the cheese over the potatoes in the casserole dish, and cover with aluminum foil.
Cook the casserole dish in the oven for 60 minutes, or until potatoes are thoroughly cooked.
Remove the casserole dish from the oven, uncover, and let stand for five minutes. Serve and enjoy.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Passion
I never dreamed I could feel so passionately about food and exercise. When I see others making poor food choices, crash dieting, or being sedentary, I want to scream, "Don't you know that you are the one in control? Don't you know that you can change your life? Don't you know what you are doing to yourself?" I fear I am becoming one of those obnoxious health nuts.
Excuse me while I try to remember to carry my soapbox instead of stepping upon it at every opportunity.
Romans 15:7 “Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.”
Excuse me while I try to remember to carry my soapbox instead of stepping upon it at every opportunity.
Romans 15:7 “Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.”
Thursday, February 23, 2012
The Silver Rule?
Today is one of those days when I wonder what happened to the saying, "If you cannot say something nice, do not say anything at all."
When did we, as a people, stop supporting one another? When did we begin shooting down other's efforts to better themselves? When did it become offensive to choose a different dietary path than the one with which a person was raised?
What it really boils down to, for me, is why others judge first and close their minds to new foods rather than asking questions or sampling new foods before forming their opinions. If one does not understand my choices in food, ask me about them. I have worked very hard to study nutrition and cooking techniques in order to make healthy and great-tasting food. I will not feed guests in my home foods I know they do not like, but I also expect them not to ridicule my choices in food for the rest of my family.
Junk food is not "normal food." My children are not suffering. They do not live some sort of sad existence where I only feed them dandelion greens and parsnips. They do enjoy eating organic foods a lot more than they ever did processed foods. They do learn about new vegetables and from where their produce came. They do take part in preparing meals. They do feel better and act better.
Good nutrition is not a form of punishment to others; it is essential to clean living. At some point, I hope that our extended families will accept that we are just living our lives in the way we deem best and not in defiance of them; they never entered our decision matrix. It was not as if my husband and I looked at each other and said, "What can we do to our diet that would offend and impose upon our families the most?"
Eating organic, mostly-vegan food just feels right. I love the way I feel, I love the way I look, and I love the clarity of thought I have now. This is a choice. MY choice. This is me.
When did we, as a people, stop supporting one another? When did we begin shooting down other's efforts to better themselves? When did it become offensive to choose a different dietary path than the one with which a person was raised?
What it really boils down to, for me, is why others judge first and close their minds to new foods rather than asking questions or sampling new foods before forming their opinions. If one does not understand my choices in food, ask me about them. I have worked very hard to study nutrition and cooking techniques in order to make healthy and great-tasting food. I will not feed guests in my home foods I know they do not like, but I also expect them not to ridicule my choices in food for the rest of my family.
Junk food is not "normal food." My children are not suffering. They do not live some sort of sad existence where I only feed them dandelion greens and parsnips. They do enjoy eating organic foods a lot more than they ever did processed foods. They do learn about new vegetables and from where their produce came. They do take part in preparing meals. They do feel better and act better.
Good nutrition is not a form of punishment to others; it is essential to clean living. At some point, I hope that our extended families will accept that we are just living our lives in the way we deem best and not in defiance of them; they never entered our decision matrix. It was not as if my husband and I looked at each other and said, "What can we do to our diet that would offend and impose upon our families the most?"
Eating organic, mostly-vegan food just feels right. I love the way I feel, I love the way I look, and I love the clarity of thought I have now. This is a choice. MY choice. This is me.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Thirty-Five Already? Sure
Thirty was a difficult milestone for me. Really difficult.
I thought thirty-five might be difficult, too, but it has not been. So far. It has only been one day since I turned thirty-five, so I will have to give it more time to settle.
Perhaps thirty-five sounded more ominous a few years ago, because it signifies a distinct difference in care during gestation and delivery of a child. Perhaps that is the reason why it has not been too difficult, because I am done birthing children. Perhaps I have accepted my thirties and their benefits, because I feel great.
Ten years ago, I was ready to give birth to my first child, weighing in at nearly 250 pounds and losing muscle mass along the way. I was in good shape underneath, but I had put on quite a bit of weight.
Four years ago, I had four children, I weighed in at 270+ pounds, and I had very little muscle mass.
Today, I still have four children, I weigh somewhere around 240 pounds (and dropping), and I have more muscle than I ever have in my life. I can do push-ups and planks and run and bike and lift weights and all sorts of athletic activities. I have never felt better in my life!
Four years ago, I had four children, I weighed in at 270+ pounds, and I had very little muscle mass.
Today, I still have four children, I weigh somewhere around 240 pounds (and dropping), and I have more muscle than I ever have in my life. I can do push-ups and planks and run and bike and lift weights and all sorts of athletic activities. I have never felt better in my life!
This is why thirty-five is going to be a year of celebration in my life. A year to focus on continuing my quest to be as healthy as I can be. A year to start my masters degree that will help me to pursue my life's passions: music and education. A year to watch my daughters learning about food and how it affects every aspect of their lives. A year to grow in my relationships with my Savior, my husband, my children, my parents, and my friends. A year to celebrate.
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