Strange Brew

Morning brew

I won't list all of my imperfections here but I will share some . . . I don't eat breakfast. Actually, I think I've already shared that about me but it bears repeating because people often see this as a very negative 'habit'. It's true I don't eat breakfast, I drink it. Typically my day begins with a green drink which includes aloe vera juice mixed with alkaline water. While I'm putting this together I am heating water for my Yerba Mate brew. 

greens for cats

Greens are important for cats as well as humans. Cats derive essential enzymes from munching on grasses that help them to digest their high protein diet. I purchase organic seeds at Whole Foods Market and grow the grass at home.

making raw almond milk

Raw almond milk is a mainstay in my diet. Almond milk is the base for my famous smoothies.  My husband would like to wean himself from my smoothies because they include fruit that is not alkaline but they are difficult to resist and although not high on the alkaline scale, they are full of healthful ingredients.

frozen bananas for smoothies

A key addition to my smoothies are partially ripe bananas. Ripe bananas add too much sugar. When bananas are ripe they are actually rotting.

mama's famous smoothie . . .

In the works is my recipe page that will include almond milk smoothies. In the meantime I highly recommend Chef Chloe's website . . .

Chef Chloe is not only adorable but the girl can cook too! Chloe's website is professional and fun to peruse. Chloe creates beautiful, tasty vegan food and keeps it simple. She is delightful to watch and one busy chef! Obviously I am a huge fan . . .    

Bon Appétit! xxoo

Day 14 ~ It's a New Day

his breakfast

My husband stayed home and fixed his own breakfast this morning. On our beach walk this afternoon he shared that he was feeling 'off'. Doesn't surprise me that he's feeling funky. . . after two weeks off meat, dairy and sugar, he decides to eat a plate of cheese and heavy meat protein yesterday. His body was in a stupor. 

my brunch ~ avocados with capers

Food for the rest of the day was simple. I added Salba grain  to our dinner salad along with shredded raw beets and carrots.

Salba is grown in Peru and are similar to chia seeds. They are high in Omega-3, 6, and 9 essential fatty acids, antioxidants, fiber, protein, calcium and iron. Salba is expensive, $16.00 for a 12.7 oz. bag at Whole Foods Market. Before I buy another bag I will research online for a better price.

I roasted two kinds of squash, both from Laguna Farm; Butternut, my favorite, and Delicata, another favorite. I scooped out the Delicata and stirred it into a sort-of puree that we ate alongside quinoa. My favorite way to prepare Butternut squash is slicing it into 3/4" thick rounds and brushing both sides with melted Earth Balance and a bit of pure maple syrup. Squash prepared this way has always been a big hit with my son.

 My husband brought this post on CNN to my attention: CNN's eatocracy ~ Vegan on the Silver Screen.  Of course I couldn't pass up the opportunity to 'comment' on the post . . . I was so excited about speaking on a subject I feel so passionate about I accidentally double posted. That will fuel the fire. There's nothing that gets people more fired up than talking about the food they eat and this post has generated quite a lively discussion. It's disheartening to see so much misunderstanding about the vegan diet. Agriculture lobbyists from the meat and dairy industries are powerful and persistent and they have a lot of purchasing clout to get their message out into the hungry public and we've eaten it up unquestioned . . . until the last few years. With growing awareness through the Internet and documentaries like the upcoming , Forks Over Knives, people are educating themselves and making healthier choices. 

Eat well 

xxoo

Day 13 ~ Recommit Every Day

Today was an early day  . . . we were up, showered, fed the cats and out the door. Not a great recipe for a healthy start on the day. After my morning dentist appointment I grabbed a salad at Whole Foods. That baby cost me $12.00! It was a big heavy thing and it filled me up for the entire day. 

My husband caved. Pepe's Mexican Restaurant combo plate; chicken taco and cheese enchilada with chips and a glass of water. He says he's not focused on vegan right now, more about staying away from sugar. He agrees that vegan will have him more successful in lessening the cravings he has for sugar. Snacks for my hubby throughout the day were cashews, pistachios, dates and several of oranges from my mom's tree.  

Recommitting every day to your vision, whatever that may be, will have you tend to be more successful. An old friend of mine was a big believer in written affirmations. She had pictures plastered all over her fridge and bathroom mirror . . . visions of herself attaining all sorts of things . . . svelte body, fancy car, dreamboat guy, nice house. She even had post-it notes stuck all over her truck interior with messages like, "You are beautiful", "You have everything you want in life", etc. 

We don't have stickers posted all over, well, that's not exactly accurate . . . my husband does save my little love notes and has them stuck to his bathroom mirror . . . but those aside, we use a white board. In our old house we had a big whiteboard hung on the laundry room wall so that we saw it every time we went out the door to the garage. We used the board for messages, reminders, chores for my son, and loving messages to one another. The white board in our beach house is in the office tucked off to the side so it's not all that visible. 

Tomorrow's a new day. Maybe I ought to rethink the placement of our white board or maybe write different love notes to my husband reaffirming how much I support him on his path.

Vegetarian, animal activist, environmentalist girl falls in love with meat-eating hunter . . .

My friends and family were a bit taken back when I started dating my husband several years ago. One close friend did not understand how our relationship could withstand the dichotomy between my boyfriend's hunting animals and my commitment to saving them.

I never judged my husband's choice to hunt. It was his passion until he met me. Now, he says, he 'hunts' me . . . I am his passion. He hasn't hunted since our first date. I never asked him to stop, he's never agreed to stop. 

When we began dating, I told my future husband that I was vegetarian, he said, "great! I've always wanted to eat that way." He had a stint with the veg lifestyle as a young man but for lack of 'partnership' in his quest, he went back to eating a sugar laden, carnivorous diet.

When we met he weighed in at about 210 lbs. with a 6' 2" large boned, muscular physic. His face was 'puffy' and his skin and hair dull but he was gorgeous and I adored him. Because he was motivated by love, my future husband stopped eating candy bars and drinking soda and in less than 2 months he dropped 40 lbs. His face was sculpted, his hair was thick and glossy, and he had abundant energy . . . he looked like an Adonis and he felt fabulous.

In the Spring of 2004 I was diagnosed with Melanoma. My husband encouraged me (pleaded with me might be a better verb) to follow an alkaline diet based on the guidelines of Dr. O. Robert Young from his book, 'The PH Miracle'. My husband stayed on a mostly alkaline diet for several months and dropped down to his high school weight of 165 lbs.  I began at a weight of about 114 and went down to 108 (at 5' 5"). We both felt healthier and more energetic.  It didn't last for long. I stayed vegetarian and about 75% raw, my husband came home one day with a bag of candy bars and soda. Throughout his life my husband has struggled with his sugar and caffeine 'addiction'. His weight jumps up rapidly when he makes a choice to add sugar and caffeine back into his diet. I've been through this roller coaster ride with him a few times. In 2005, after reading 'The China Study' I decided to go one step further to eating vegan. My sister-in-law and I began with a one week challenge; no dairy, no eggs. I've never looked back.

On Sunday, my husband tossed out the bags of licorice and boxes of See's candy. He dumped out the plastic bottles of Mountain Dew and threw away the half empty bags of kettle corn. He's off sugar and caffeine and I am thrilled.

We are on this journey together. I love him, I want to live a long, vibrantly healthy, active life with him. Supporting my husband in his quest gives him the 'partnership' he desires and gives our marriage a 'zest' that I crave. Doing this together has me feel a connection with my husband that is diminished when he is on (what I see as) a self-destructive path.

We agree that journaling about and sharing our experiences will help us both stay focused on our progress. We hope that publicizing our journal might also help others who are struggling with food addictions or health issues to feel some sense of 'partnership'.  So we begin . . .