Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.
—Albert Schweitzer, French philosopher, physician, and musician (Nobel 1952)

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Breakfast Time


Here is an example of a vegan breakfast that I make for myself several times a week. The main protein is tofu mixed with vegetables and the sides include Ezekiel toast with peanut butter (peanuts and salt only--be sure to check your nut butter labels!) and a quarter of a cantaloupe. 

Sometimes people find mornings rushed and busy so this kind of meal might seem intimidating to make when you've got kids to feed and work to get to. I try to prepare as much as possible the night before so I don't have too much work to do in the morning. 

For example, when I buy my tofu, I drain it, slice it, and put it in a tupperware container. Then I can just grab a couple slices, crumble it up and saute it with veggies. And speaking of veggies, I slice up onions, garlic, and tomatoes and put all that (along with a handful of spinach) in a separate tupperware container. By the way, that slicing, and then washing of the knife and cutting board, takes all of five minutes out of my life. When I am ready to cook in the morning, I just dump the veggies into the pan, let it cook a little and then add my tofu. I also like to add nutritional yeast (sounds appetizing right?) to give my tofu a little bit of a cheesy flavor. Although I wish they would come up with a different name for it, nutritional yeast is great for flavoring and also for adding a little vitamin B12 to your diet. When all is said and done, you have a nutritious and yummy way to start your day!

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Are You Fed Up?

I have a confession to make...

I love sugar.

It is so, so good. I love sugar in my coffee, chocolate chip cookies, fruit cobblers with ice cream. Even the fruit snacks I buy on occasion for Christopher don't last very long in my pantry.

I just love the sweet stuff.

But here's the thing. I know it's not healthy to eat a lot of sugar. Everything in moderation right? And really when it comes down to it, we don't eat a ton of sugar in our household.

Most days...

When I cut most sugar out of my life, I don't even crave it--isn't that crazy? I am completely satisfied with having a small bowl of pineapple after dinner for dessert. Getting in this kind of routine is awesome and I never feel healthier and more energetic than when I get past my sugar addiction. And that's ultimately what my relationship with sugar is: an addiction. When do I reach for sugar the most? When I am stressed. When I am home and the baby is napping. When I am bored. When I haven't eaten enough fruits and veggies or had enough water to drink.

I watched a documentary last night with my cousin called "Fed Up" and, to basically sum it all up, the major cause of obesity, poor health, inflammation is sugar and processed foods. I've been thinking this for a long time, since I began this journey into true health, and it was great to hear my gut feeling put into words. I know how amazing I feel when I cut those two things out of my life and concentrate on eating real food that grows in the ground.

It's been a long time since I've watched a food documentary. Several years ago, when we were just starting to research ways to improve our health, I went a little nutty with food books and movies and kind of got burned out.

Oh and I had a baby!

So for the last several months I've passed over the "Fed Up" documentary when I searched Netflix because I simply wasn't in the mood. But, oh man, am I glad I watched it last night! It was just the motivation I needed to remind myself that I want to avoid added sugar as much as possible. I'm not talking about fruit and I'm not saying no more cookies ever (that would be madness!).

I'm talking about eating real food. As much as possible. And so I'm recommending that you watch "Fed Up" and visit their website at http://fedupmovie.com/#/page/about-the-issue?scrollTo=facts.

I'm picking back up on this blog to share as much as I can as we continue on this journey to true health and happiness. It's great to be back!