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.

Interesting and delicious Artichokes

Last night I made an artichoke for the first time. I had no idea what to do with it. I didn't know if it was super good for me, or high in fat (like avocado & olives). How I cooked and ate it is below the nutrition facts. Be sure to use the garlic, bay leaf, and lemon (or lemon juice). Eat it by itself. No dips. Don't forget to eat the heart! It turned out to be a perfect appetizer to our meal.  Its slow to eat so you can socialize while eating, and didn't fill us up. I only ate a little because I was POSITIVE it had to be a fattening vegetable. It was delicious!

The typical American diet is notoriously lacking in fiber, due to the heavy reliance on processed foods and meat products.  Adding a large artichoke to the daily diet would add 6 grams of dietary fiber or ¼^th the amount recommended by the USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services.  One medium artichoke has more fiber than a cup of prunes!   

---

I think the first chart is if you consumed the whole thing, which is hard to do. The second chart is the "edible" part. 

California Artichokes are a low calorie food, a fat free food, a cholesterol free food, low in sodium, a good source of fiber, a good source of vitamin C, a good source of folate, and a good source of magnesium. How to Cook and Eat an Artichoke METHOD How to Cook an Artichoke 1. If the artichokes have little thorns on the end of the leaves, take a kitchen scissors and cut of the thorned tips of all of the leaves. This step is mostly for aesthetics as the thorns soften with cooking and pose no threat to the person eating the artichoke.   2. Slice about 3/4 inch to an inch off the tip of the artichoke. 3. Pull off any smaller leaves towards the base and on the stem. 4. Cut excess stem, leaving up to an inch on the artichoke. The stems tend to be more bitter than the rest of the artichoke, but some people like to eat them. Alternatively you can cut off the stems and peel the outside layers which is more fibrous and bitter and cook the stems along with the artichokes. 5. Rinse the artichokes in running cold water. 6. In a large pot, put a couple inches of water, a clove of garlic, a slice of lemon, and a bay leaf (this adds wonderful flavor to the artichokes). Insert a steaming basket if you have one. Add the artichokes. Cover. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 25 to 45 minutes or until the outer leaves can easily be pulled off. Note: artichokes can also be cooked in a pressure cooker (about 15-20 minutes cooking time). Cooking time depends on how large the artichoke is, the larger, the longer it takes to cook. How to Eat an Artichoke 1. Pull off outer petals, one at a time.   2. Dip white fleshy end in melted butter or sauce. Tightly grip the other end of the petal. Place in mouth, dip side down, and pull through teeth to remove soft, pulpy, delicious portion of the petal. Discard remaining petal.   Continue until all of the petals are removed.   3. With a knife or spoon, scrape out and discard the inedible fuzzy part (called the "choke") covering the artichoke heart. The remaining bottom of the artichoke is the heart. Cut into pieces and dip into sauce to eat.

Tacos

WOW! Neither one of us were expecting these to be this good! I couldn't put my tongue on which ingredient I loved the most. I could've eaten more if we hadn't finished it off!

Served: 2 adults 


Tacos

1. Big Stuffer hard taco shells (they are bigger than regular, therefore easier to get the filling into)

-Or-

1. Whole wheat soft tortillas for a healthier choice- and it will taste healthier :) Depends what you're going for.
2.  bean filling (recipe below)

     3. Guacamole (recipe HERE)

     4.Chopped tomatos

     5. Chopped spinach -or- romaine (much easier to eat when its not big pieces)

     6. Limes -or- lime juice in the green lime bottles

Assembling the tacos: You need to heat the shells in the oven according to package. If you use tortillas, you MUST heat them on a skillet. They taste much better. Once done, add beans, then guacamole, then tomatos, then spinach (as much as you can get to stay on top). Top it off with lime juice.


Bean Taco Filling
1 medium onion- chopped
2 tsp minced garlic from jar -or- 2 garlic cloves minced
1 can pinto beans- rinsed
1 can black beans- rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz) vegetable broth
2 Tbls. Taco seasoning (from packet)

Saute onions without oil. If needed, use non-stick spray. Cook until soft. Add garlic. Cook 30 seconds before adding both cans of beans, vegetable broth, and seasoning. Let boil, then simmer covered until most of the moisture is absorbed, about 30 minutes. I stir and scrape bottom with spatula every few minutes to prevent sticking and to check the moisture level.

Processed food

My friends husband asked her what processed food is. When she told me that, I was shocked! And then I tried to define it. Wait... do I even know what processed food is?

Processed food is a real food that has been altered in any way in order to lower its production cost, lengthen its shelf life, resulting in the reduction of its nutritional content and/or the increase of toxins. 

Okay, sooooo...... what isn't processed?

Sometimes I wonder if the people that make processed foods are bitter people that want everyone to suffer. Or if they think to themselves, "I'm not gonna eat this!" cause they know whats really in it and how its made. Or if they are just dumb dumb people that think our bodies will accept anything that is not posion. What does it really come down to? We pay to eat their un-natural concoctions, feel so gross that we go back for more thinking its "hunger pains" when our body is withdrawling from the junk. And they are rich. Interesting how that all works out.

Even though I have tried to cut out processed food, I still crave it every now and then. Like when I remember the devine taste of an Oreo. Or when I look in the pantry for something to eat (which isn't where I should be looking) and see the garlic Triscuts I bought for a "healthy snack".  Or when I want to use "this" in a recipe because it will taste better than whats called for. Plain ol' white corn tortilla chips are my downfall. Santita's for $2. Oh yeah. Sometimes I just want a quick fix for my hunger and its tempting to stop for some cheap fast food. You know what sounds real good right now? Olive Garden Breadsticks.

Will my tongue ever forget the succulent taste of junk food?

Top Ten Reasons to Avoid Processed Foods

10. You're Not Listening to Your Mom
Mom said eat your veggies, not processed foods. And she was right!
9. They Ruin Your Taste
Processed foods contain refined sugar, extra salt, and other flavor enhancers. Not only are these often unhealthy, but they dull your taste buds to natural flavors. the result? A need to eat more processed foods to get the taste you want, and natural foods that don't taste as good as they should.
8. Unhealthy Additives
Unhealty chemical additives are added to foods so that they will stay fresh longer, or to enhance color.
7. Hide and Seek
Processed foods often contain hidden sugar, salt, and fat. All three of these contribute to health problems!
6. Mystery Ingredients
Many processed foods are filled with strange parts and pieces. For example, hot dogs contain "edible offal": animal skin, snouts, ears, esophagi, etc.
5. What Nutrients?
Processing takes a lot of the nutrients out of nutrient-rich foods. You get little that your body needs.
4. Fortified with Synthetics
To make up for the loss of nutrients during processing, synthetic vitamins and minerals are added. although helpful, these synthetics are not as healthy as their natural counterparts.
3. Wrong Market
When you spend money on processed foods, you encourage growth in this market. spending your money on fruits and vegetables, preferably organic, encourages others to enter this market.
2. Lose Money
Although fruits and vegetables often appear to be expensive, they are often less expensive than processed foods. Fresh broccoli can cost $0.78/lb, while frozen broccoli can cost $1.19/lb.
1. They're Dead!
Much of the goodness is cooked or processed out of our foods. We do not benefit from the enzymes and nutrients the foods normally contain.

Life as a Vegan (5 1/2 weeks)

Excerpted for my personal blog September 18, 2010


Great! I really feel a lot better. First of all, natural food is a.m.a.z.i.n.g! Too bad I have been so addicted to sugar-y, chocolate-y, carb-y, delicious JUNK my whole life, and not appreciated the good stuff we're blessed with to eat. I eat about 5-10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day! I used to eat less than that a week. I know, I was disgusting.  I also eat whole grains, like plain old fashioned oatmeal without sweeteners, Cracked wheat mush, Dave's killer bread, Whole wheat tortillas, and Santitas tortilla chips :) Okay, I cut those out today. I make a lot of dinners with beans (black, pinto, garbanzo, kidney). We love Mexican food so its not hard to incorporate beans into our diet. I eat nuts only a few times a week. Usually for a snack, or when they're in a recipe. I have found so many Delicious things to eat and make. Eating this way seriously isn't hard. When we go out to a restaurant, which isn't very often for me, I will have meat if I feel like "splurging". I love vegi subs at subway and Quiznos. I never have cheese or other dairy products though because I think that is what causes my headaches, along with sugar. So basically I'm allergic to dairy.

Okay, so here is a breakdown of how my symptoms have changed:

Fatigue- amazingly better. If I could only get myself to bed before midnight I would feel even better. I NEVER take naps, whereas I was taking them at least 3/7 days. When my kids wake me up in the morning, I get up and get going instead of turning a movie on for them in our room so I can sleep another hour. 

Headaches-  Almost never. I never take ibuprofen anymore. I used to take 600-1000 MG/day! I also used to drink Mt Dew to get through the day and only have 3 times in the 5 weeks! When I do have a headache that is as bad as the ones I used to deal with every day, its because I ate something I shouldn't have the day before (example-A big helping of peanut M&M's).

Muscles and joints- feel less tense. I'm not feeling awesome, but I'm not in pain. This has helped with the tension headaches.  I've been to the chiropractor once in 6 weeks, whereas I was going once a week before ($30 a time!). My muscles instantly relaxed once I started eating this way.

Sinuses- I have TONS less mucus ( sorry, TMI). My face/head feels clearer.

Patience for my children- still waiting on that one.

Weight loss- 12 lbs.

I am slowly transitioning my children to eat healthier, but they are so stinking picky!!! Its hard. They are by no means vegan, but I have limited they're sugar intake and try to get them to eat fruits with most meals. Vegetables are impossible. Hopefully I can fix the damage I've done to them :) My goal is that they will someday eat what I make for dinner, instead of toast and strawberries. Our future children will be much better trained in eating healthy. You live a learn. Sorry, Addysin and Caiden.

One very interesting thing..... I weened Caiden off the bottle a month ago and he wont drink milk out of a cup because its "gross". Before he was weened he would throw up all the time from crying so hard and gagging on mucus in his throat. Especially during the night. I couldn't ever let him cry himself back to sleep because it was guaranteed that he would throw up. He threw up at our family picture photo shoot. He even threw up all on his nursery leader when he got made that I left him. I couldn't ever let him get worked up. I don't know if its coincidence on timing, but he never throws up anymore (and trust me he still cries just as hard)... knock on wood. I think he is intolerant to milk like I am, but he still eats cheese. Maybe I should cut that out too.... hmm.

Why I'm becoming Vegan

Excerpted for my personal blog July 30, 2010


I'm an unhealthy person. I usually feel "not well" or "sick and tired" -literally.

Extremely fatigued, always.

Headache, 90% of the time.

My joints and muscles aches, always.

My complexion, I look like a teenager.

My vision keeps getting worse.

My sinuses are swollen, always. Doesn't help with the headache.

I am ADDICTED to junk food. I eat maybe one serving of fruits/vegetables a day!

I take 3-6 ibueprophin a day!

I resort to caffine probably 4 times a week to make it through the day. 

I take naps 50% of the time when my kids do! And I'm not even pregnant.

I want to wake up in the morning bright and early and have the energy to enjoy life, and get things accomplished.

I want all my aches to be GONE.

I want to have more patience with my kids. I want them to be able to let them be loud without me telling  them that they're hurting my head. Addysin started asking me "does your head hurt?". Sad.

I want to be active.

Chris has type 1 diabetes. He is doing it too, and just in the past few days he uses much less insulin and his blood sugar levels are more in control. With this type of diabetes, he cannot cure it. But he can  help it. He can live longer, avoid losing limbs to amputation, and help keep his eyesight. WOW! 

#1 reason. My whole body and head always ache. My mother-in-law cured her arthritis by going vegan. She has more energy. I believe her, whats not to believe? Doesn't it make sense that the food that God gave us is what we should be eating in its natural form? I'm trying to steer away from processed foods as well.

#2 reason. (which should be my #1 reason) To be healthy, and to have healthy children that enjoy good food.

What am I doing with our kids? I want them to eat 100% better than they do now. I dont know how to do it. They are TERRIBLE eaters. Their favorite foods:

hot dogs
chicken nuggets
pizza
cheez whiz
cheese its
toast and butter
bagels and cream cheese
Candy, cookies, ice cream, junk food of all sorts
strawberries- thank goodness
instant oatmeal 
sometimes bananas
apples with caramel dip
top ramen
yogurt

Yeah, wow, that is what I have to work with. Maybe I need to let them go hungry until they will eat brocolli. Any ideas?
If you want to be healthier and live a better life, read this. Eat To Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. It is so good. Maybe I'm only motivated because I am in constant pain and discomfort.  

I'm so glad I have been "awakened" to the disgusting diet I, and most Americans, live. I dont want to have cancer, suffer a heart attack, develop diabetes, or arthritis. Call me crazy. And I definitly dont want to feed my kids things that are going to cause them MAJOR problems in a year from now, or 50 years. If you want the best for your children, you will be interested in reading this. Its going to be a hard change, but we need to eat more simple, whole foods. Its the way our bodies were designed, but they cant perform the way they are meant to with all the man made junk sitting inside of it. We aren't made to be diseased people. We make ourselves that way. 

Just like the title of the book- Eat to live. If I have to hold back my gag reflex while I'm forcing down spinach and tomatos, so be it. Isn't it obvious? Eating makes us fat and unhealthy. Some people just get away with looking and feeling good while eating the same way I usually eat. 

I'm convinced.

I'm on my third day of the "anti-headache diet" given on pg. 170 in the book. My headaches have been much much worse, which the book warns of. It is recommended that I dont take pain medication. My body is detoxifying. Its a 2 week diet. Its really hard to go through this, but everytime I think about the pain in my head it drives me to continue the diet. After I'm done with this, I will be able to eat a lot more variety. The hard part will be once my headaches are gone and the motivation to eat healthy is just to be healthy. Its hard when everyone else is eating the "normal" way. I need to remember the long term benefits.