This week- what we've been eating

Okay, being pregnant and trying to go back vegan is harder than I though it would be. I've had maybe one, or two days that have been 100% vegan in the past week. I am eating MUCH MUCH healthier though. I was overeating before I decided to change my ways (hence all the weight I've gained), so I am also eating less. I am trying to change my pregnant way of thinking. You know, the idea that "I'm eating for two" or "I have the right to eat whatever I crave while I'm pregnant". This week, luckily, I have been craving Cheese quesadillas on whole wheat tortillas, and pb&j sandwiches with natural peanut butter, Simply fruit jam, on whole wheat bread. That combo is actually not to bad for me with no added sugars, or fake sugars, so I'm happy I crave that. 


For Breakfast- Chris has been making green drinks every morning which contain a crazy amount of vegetables and fruit. His weird concoction is different every day, and tastes pretty great. The one day that it was unbearable was the day he put in fresh green beans. YUCK! He puts in different combinations of tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, cucumbers, carrots, frozen strawberries, bananas, peaches, oranges. He usually does more vegetables than fruit. I also love Oatmeal (old fashion, not quick. 1/2 c. oats, 1 c. water, microwave about 2 min.) with diced up strawberries, or peaches. I add them  after it is cooked. 


For lunch Chris usually eats raw fruits and Vegetables. Just plain. I snack on that stuff through the day, especially fruit since we have an abundance with it being summer. I have had canned soup a couple of days, which I really like. Especially since its already prepared. My favorite right now is "Tomato Garden" or any other vegan ones from Campbells Select Harvest (soup aisle). 


Favorite yummy treats- Costco trail mix, minus the M & M's. I have to get a handful and put the rest away so I dont get out of control. Also, I LOVE peaches and Mango right now. In Season and perfect!


Dinners we have liked this week:

Savory Quinoa and Vegetable Soup

(Click on title to see recipe) Leave out the coriander, I didn't like it. I also didn't have nutritional yeast or fresh herbs so I used dried ones from my spice cabinet. I served it with homemade whole wheat rolls. Vegan, of course :) Chris LOVED it. 

Stir Fry- 

I loved it because it took 20 minutes start to finish and filled our stomachs. I use the awesome blend that they sell at Costco in the freezer section, with brown rice, and Yoshidas sauce (also from Costco). I mix it all together once everything is done. Make sure you dont over do it with the sauce.

Vegetable spaghetti with whole wheat pasta- 

    1. Empty a jar of marinara sauce into large skillet that has a lid, or pot. Heat until bubbling. Meanwhile...

    2. Coarsely chop vegetables( I like ours very chunky):

•      Green pepper
•      Zucchini
•      Mushrooms
•      Olives(leave whole)
•      Carrots(thinly slice)

    3. Add Vegetables to sauce, simmer on low for 30 minutes, covered.

    4. Cook whole wheat spaghetti while sauce is simmering. 


Most importantly, I am trying to overcome my addiction to sugar and sweets. I have done really well, and I'm happy for my progress. My failures were at a yucky buffet (so stupid) and at grandma's house... of course :)

Pregnancy: Vegan and Vegetarian

Throughout my pregnancy (I got pregnant in January), I have reverted back to my same junkie eating. Consequently, so have my husband and kids. Vegetables and Fruits were my main source of calories when we were attempting to be Vegan for the months of August-December 2010. In my first and second trimesters, vegetables made me want to gag, just thinking about them. Chris and I have gained quite a bit of weight :) Chris is up about 20-25 lbs from his lowest, and I have gained 30 lbs this pregnancy (and I am 31 weeks). Chris has begged me to cook Vegan for him again but I had NO desire. I told him if he wanted to eat healthier then he could do it on his own for breakfast and lunch, and just eat what I prepared for dinner. He didn't want to do that. I don't blame him at all. Its hard to do something 60% of the time. Plus, If a person doesn't cleanse out all the food our bodies crave, "dieting" is very difficult.What I am saying is that when we eat 100% good on most days of the week, it comes very easily and we don't have a mental battle every time we see a cookie or hamburger. Now, my third trimester, I feel more in control of my pregnant self. I don't crave things like a crazy woman anymore. In the beginning I CRAVED meat, cheese, cereal, and anything sugary. I decided that now is the time to take control of myself, not wait 2 more months until "I'm not pregnant anymore". For the sake of my overall health, and my out of control weight gain.


This Sunday, Chris randomly started watching some YouTube videos about a raw food couple. That means they are vegan and don't eat anything cooked. That's pretty intense! (Which, by-the-way, Chris' Mom is "Raw".) On Monday morning he started his new way of eating, with or without me. I really admire him for this because Chris doesn't cook or prepare anything in the kitchen for himself. I have been feeling so miserable (tired, headaches, sinus infections, move around like my limbs weigh a hundred lbs each) that I decided it was time to start doing better because I have NO energy to even live life. I have been using pregnancy as my excuse, but I woke up and realized that I really shouldn't feel this rotten! I know what food does to me because I experienced for a short time how good I can feel on the right diet. I first gave up sugar and white flour because those are the things that effect me most. I did that for a couple days, then decided I would cut out meat. I did that for a couple more days, and now I am thinking of cutting out dairy. This week hasn't been any better because my body is withdrawing from all the junk I used to stuff myself with. My eyes even look worse. I know from last years experience that the first week or two are really bad, then it becomes SOOOO easy.


So I was looking online to find info on "pregnancy and vegan" to see if it would be safe. I felt like an idiot when I read the following quote:


Vegans too can safely continue with their chosen diet. But you do need to pay attention to what you eat. A poor vegetarian diet could be just as harmful as a poor omnivorous one. (Feeding on food of both plant and animal origin.)


POOR OMNIVOROUS ONE!!! That was me! Why do people think that vegans/vegetarians cant be healthy, but the typical american diet low in fresh produce, high in meats, cheeses, processed foods, and plenty of sweets is perfect for growing a baby in the womb?! "Because at least you're getting your calcium and protien!" which are also in fruits and vegetables (in case you didn't know). I know that in order to be very healthy, I need to consume a lot of calories from fruits, vegetables, and some from beans to get all the nutrients  I should have. If I want to include some healthy dairy (I don't consider "yoplait" healthy with all the sugar added, or ranch dressing for example), I will. If I am feeling a bit low on energy or just cant get full, I will have meat.


I have produced nearly 3 babies living off lots of junk food, especially sweets. I don't think I can go wrong by eating tons more produce and cutting out the junk. So this is my argument FOR Vegetarians and Vegans! Who's going to disagree with me? Probably my dairy farmer parents :)

Veronica's Questions, Answered

Letter from Veronica: 


Hey Andrea! I'm glad to hear you are still doing the diet, i am sooo curious about it. I might be tempted to try the diet but I don't know how to start! And I would really like to see some new pictures since you say you have lost 16 lbs! Good for you girl!

I know everyone can choose what level of vegan they choose to be, but I have a few questions for you:

1. what are your favorite vegan recipes? what is a typical day in meals (because i totally wouldn't know what to eat...)

The keys is eating more simple and back to the basics of what The Lord has blessed us with. Whole foods. For Breakfast I have either a bowl of oatmeal (1/2 C old fashioned oats, 1 C water, microwave for 2+ minutes) or a bowl of Grape Nuts with Almond Milk. Sometimes I microwave it. I also eat at least two fruits. This morning I will have an orange and a banana. For Lunch I eat more fruit. Today I'll have an apple and a pear. If we have leftovers from the night before, that's what I have. If not, I'm not big on making myself something so I just pick at stuff. Sugar snap peas, steam some broccoli, piece of toast with Simply Fruit jam by Smuckers (found that at Walmart). The BEST bread is Dave's Killer Bread. I get it at Costco. I really like the frozen edamame from Costco. You just microwave it in its pouch and they're tasty! Its hard for me to tell you what I eat for lunch, because I don't really know. Every now and then I make a salad. Some "better for you" salad dressing is Annie's Naturals because it doesn't have sugar in it and its vegetarian (some dressings have cheese). I found that at Winco. I just try to make extra food for dinner so we have leftovers for lunch or else I never know what to feed myself or to send with Chris to work. Sometimes we have 2-3 leftover meals to choose from because I made so much. That might sound "unappetizing" to some, but we really like leftovers :) Once a week he gets a footlong Vegi from Subway for $5. For dinner I always make a meal. I need to put up some recipes. Chris is easy to feed, but he LOVES everything I make and even brags on his facebook status :) He has lost about 20 lbs. If we want a snack later on, we usually have fruit. I have made sorbet made in the vita mix, sugar free whole wheat oatmeal cookies (that are actually really good, i think), or home made granola. We rarely eat after dinner though because we eat pretty late- around 8:00, and we stuff ourselves at dinner. I don't crave sweets on most days. Like I have said before, I crave them when they are sitting right in front of me.

2. do you still try to exercise?

Yes, I LOVE exercising. I honestly don't think that is how I lost my weight though. I had already lost about 13 lbs when I started working out. I am much more toned though. I am not in great shape, but I feel good, and the endorphins I feel throughout my day are amazing. Plus, I love taking the kids to the daycare for an hour. With it being winter, we all love getting out and going to the gym. 

3. do you allow any sugar? what about brown sugar and baking and stuff?

I don't allow sugar when I am being good. If a recipe calls for sugar, I use honey. Brown sugar is just as bad as white sugar, it just has molasses added to it. I haven't tried to bake anything healthy. I just don't bake anymore. I know, that is sad but its better that way. Also, I spend a lot of time making dinner so I don't usually want to make anything else afterward. I did find that recipe for the sugar free oatmeal cookies and I'll put it up soon. I still do have sugar though. I am having a really hard time. For example, we had friends over last night and they brought cookies. I LOVE COOKIES! I started by having a half, then after they left I ate 3! While they were here I made hot chocolate, and we ate spice drops!!! What is my problem? If I had control of my life, then NO, I would not allow sugar.

4. WHAT ABOUT BUTTER??

There is this Margarine that is more healthy than regular margarine. I really like the taste too. Its called Earths Balance. I bought it at a health foods store for $5! Yes, spendy, but we rarely use it, so It has lasted a long time. I don't eat bread and butter like I used to. My kids mostly eat it.

5. how do you make sure you get enough protein?

The amount of protein we actually need is between 10-30 grams a day to replace was is lost. That is much less than people think, and what we're told. My oatmeal in the morning has 5 g. That is nearly half my needed intake if I'm shooting low. It we have mexican for dinner, I easily surpass what I need with the black beans. In a can of black beans, there are 21 g and when we have tacos (see my delicious recipe below), I eat a cans worth of beans. That's another thing. I don't hold back. If I want to eat, then I do. If I want to stuff myself, I do and I don't feel miserable because everything is low fat and so fresh.  Nuts are a great supplier. The edamame I get from Costoc has a ridiculous amount of Protein. Fruits and Vegis have some protein as well. Here is an awesome chart I just found to give you an idea how much protien is in stuff. It amazes me that I dont need meat to get what I need, because that is not what I learned growing up. We eat meat though at least once a week. And YES, I still love it. 

Item	Quantity	Protein (g)
Almonds (dry roasted)	1 oz.	4.6
Apple, with skin	1	0.3
Asparagus	1/2 cup	2.3
Avocado	1	4.0
Bagel	1	10.0
Beans, refried	1 cup	15.8
Beans, garbanzo	1 cup	14.5
Beans, navy	1 cup	19.7
Beans, soybean	1 cup	28.6
Beer	1 12 oz. can	0.9
Broccoli	1/2 cup	2.6
Cashews	1 oz.	4.4
Cheese, cheddar	1 oz.	7.1
Coconut	1 oz.	2.5
Granola cereal	1 bowl	3.7
Grapes, concord	1 cup	2.0
Macadamia nut	1 oz.	2.4
Macaroni	1 cup	6.7
Oatmeal	1 cup	6.0
Oats, rolled	1 cup	13.0
Oranges	1	1.2
Orange juice	8 oz.	1.7
Pancakes	2	4.5
Peanuts	1 oz.	6.6
Pistachios	1 oz.	5.8
Raisins	1 cup	5.3
Rice, brown	1 cup	4.5
Rice, white	1 cup	4.8
Sesame seeds	1 oz.	6.5
Soybean	1 cup	28.6
Spaghetti	1 cup	6.7
Tuna (water packed)	3 oz.	25.1
Walnuts, black	1 oz.	6.9
Wheat bread	2 slices	4.5
Waffle	1	7.2
Wheat, enriched	1 cup	11.6
Wheat gluten	1 cup	58.0
Yogurt, plain	1 cup	13.0
Burrito with beans, rice, veggies		42.5 grams
Cereal with soy milk, 1 bowl		26.4
Deli sandwich with meat replacement, bread, and condiments		39.2
Not Dog (hot dog replacment) w/ two slices of bread		15.2
Pancakes (3 pancakes w/syrup)		8.2
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich		19.6
Pizza with cheese, 1 slice		26.4
Potato, baked with sour cream replacement		12.5
Rice, brown with stir fried veggies and soy sauce		21.2
Salad, basic with veggies, sunflower seeds, raisins		19.4
Soup, 1 bowl vegetable soup		10.2
Spaghetti with marinara sauce and meat replacement meat balls		32.1
Tomato sandwich		9.6
Tuna sandwich		34.5
Vegetable chow mein w/Braggs liquid aminos		12.5

6. Have you ruled out processed foods altogether?
For the most part, yes. Sometimes I have a graham cracker, or wheat thins when my kids are. Its kinda a dumb thing, but sometimes I just want to put something "bad" in my mouth. My downfall is tortilla chips. I love them plain, or with guacamole. I eat too many, but its like dessert to me! I have decided I DO NOT like meat and cheese imitations. Soy cheese, tofu, textured vegetable protein, etc. Not good tasting to me, and just adds calories. I have imitation chicken lunch meat sitting in my fridge and I'm not looking forward to trying it :)

7. when you cheat, what do you eat??
Hmmm, you probably don't want to know. When I cheat, I eat whatever I want. Like when we go out to eat... I'm not spending $10 on a salad without cheese and ranch! Therefore I get whatever sounds tasty. I never get dinner made for me, so if we are invited over for dinner, or go out, I eat what is there. Not the best way to go about things, but you would not believe how GOOD things taste when you haven't had them in a while. My tastes have changed so much. I really enjoy things that are meant to be enjoyed. The only thing I try steer clear of is sugar. It really affects me. 

8. do you think about "organic" stuff at all?
I don't because I am already spending more on healthy food, I cant fit "organic" into our budget. Plus, you have to search it out, and I don't have that kind of time with two kids whining in the cart. I know its better for our bodies, but its not a step I've made. I am very open to it though. Maybe someday soon I will. This lifestyle change has been a process and I think Organic is a step I'll take someday.

Veronica, I'll put a picture up someday, but I don't have a good one right now. I'll do my best to put recipes on here. Great questions! I hope this is helpful to everyone.

Yes, I am still at it

I am a terrible blogger. My personal blog is 3 months behind too. UHHH, its overwhelming, but I want to do this so bad. This basically sums up our lifestyle at the moment:

1. The holidays have been hard to stay strict, but we are still trying to be our best... without missing out at family/friend gatherings. :)
2. I have lost 16 lbs overall. I now weigh what a did when I was 15! I have never felt overweight, even though I kinda was. I always wanted to lose weight, but couldn't get the motivation to do a diet longer than a month. Therefore I would loose a little and it was good enough for me. I look at pictures now and see that I did have weight to lose, especially before I got married and, of course, after having babies. Now that I am eating great, I dont even have to try to lose weight! Its super convenient :)
3. Sugar (processed, granulated, etc.) gives me headaches, makes my back hurt, my eyes itchy, and so fatigued that I cant get up in the morning. Why do I still binge on Sugar at least once a week? Its like a drug to me!!! I'm not making jokes. I have a really hard time saying no when its sitting in frot of me. Especially when I'm in a social setting. Food it fun! Conclusion- I am literally allergic to sugar. Bummer.
4. I dont know how meat really effects me, but now that I know how satisfying food can be without meat and cheese... why go back to eating it 2-3 times a day? Also, Meat and cheese have fat and higher calories than vegetarian. So that means I can eat unlimited chips and guac tonight (for example) because the rest of my day is so healthy. We do eat like "normal people" a couple times a week, and when we do.... OHHHHH the flavors and tastes are so much better than I can ever remember. When we eat that way, its because we are out (at someones house for dinner, or at a restraunt, etc.) not just because I feel like ordering pizza, or baking up a batch of cookies.
5. I dont have a ton of recipes, but as of right now I have enough to rotate them so we only have the same thing once every 2-3 weeks. Every week or two I plan out a grocery list of 5 dinner meals, and fruits and vegi's for a week. I do a big shopping trip about 2-3 times a month and I get more produce when needed, but usually we dont run out. We get our fruits, spinach, brocolli, and sugar snap peas at costco and we always eat everything before it goes bad. Those are our lunch foods, along with leftovers. Every time I plan out our meals, I get online and search long and hard for a new delicious recipe.

Vegan Enchiladas

I used two recipes to come up with this one. One of the recipes came from my friend Alanna. The other one came from this older hispanic chef whose video I watched- and I was cracking up the whole 5 minutes. Anyways...

Ingredients:

1Tbls. olive oil
1 C. mushrooms- chopped
1 green pepper- chopped
1 can whole olives- sliced
1 tomato- chopped
1 can black beans- drained, do not rinse
1 C zucchini- chopped
1/4 C green onions- chopped
1 Tbls garlic- minced
1 tsp. Italian dressing seasoning packet
12 corn tortillas
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 sm can red enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a pan saute the mushrooms and green pepper in the olive oil. Once the mushrooms are cooked, add in the olives, tomatoes, black beans, zucchini, green chillies, and green onions. Stir all of these ingredients for a few minutes until they are all warm. Then add in the garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper if you want.

Mix together the spaghetti sauce with enchilada sauce in a bowl.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat to warm up corn tortillas. Do this so they wont break while rolling them up. Put a small drop of oil in skillet, put two tortillas together, then cook on the two outsides. The two insides that are touching each other dont get cooked.

Thinly coat the bottom of a 9x13in pan with some of the sauce. Evenly distribute the mixture into 12 tortillas. Roll the tortillas up and place them in the pan. If there is extra filling, I spread it across tops of rolled enchiladas.

Pour sauce over the top of the enchiladas so that they are all fully covered. I had about 1/4 of I leftover so I put it back in the spaghetti sauce jar.

Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

Serve with THIS guacamole (of course!), and lettuce or chopped spinach, tomato, (if you can handle packing in some more vegetables), with lime on top

the BEST guacamole

Guacamole
2 ripe avacados, peeled, pitted
1 tsp salt
2 Tbls lemon juice
1/4 C onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 C fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped

If you want to make this easy, blend all ingredients in Vita Mix, or blender. If you do that, you can leave the ingredients big and chunky. Saves on chopping by hand. Otherwise, I like to use a pastry blender. Last option would be the traditional fork mashing.

Slimcado

Have you ever heard of a SLIMCADO?! They are gigantic avacado's that have 1/2 the fat and 1/3 less  calories. Yeah yeah yeah, avacados are "healthy fat, but when I eat them, I double my calorie intake for the day just in guacamole. There is a line between healthy and overdoing it. I made our guacamole with one of these. We could definitly taste the difference, but it was still good and we could eat more! I found mine at Fred Meyer's for $3. It was about the size of 3 regular Avacado, so same price overall.