Convenience Foods

Today I discovered Vega -- bars and shakes for vegans. These products are all or mostly raw and are designed for athletes. While I would not yet consider myself to be an athlete, I am working on it. I must say that both the bar I had and the shake were quite tasty. I guess they have always been at my local Whole Foods Store, but I only noticed them for the first time today. It is so nice to have high quality whole foods with convenience!

Sometimes the very thing that keeps us from eating healthy is the idea that we don't have the time to prepare healthy meals. I am a very busy mother of three who knows what it is like to juggle 20 things at a time. When my doctors first suggested to me that I become vegetarian almost one year ago fear and dread ran through my mind as I thought, "What am I going to eat and where am I going to buy it?" As someone who spends most of her afternoons as a taxi driver, convenience foods (read - fast food standard American Diet) were a huge part of our lives. I thought that either I would have to learn to like fast food salads or starve. Boy was I wrong. I found it is just as quick to run into the grocery and pick up an apple or banana as it was to wait in the drive thru line. I also discovered nuts and seeds, and almost all grocery stores sell well made organic salads. There are so many raw bars and snacks out there that I didn't even know about -- I just had to look for them and ask where I could find them.

Now, I don't have time to not eat a healthy meal. Now, I can't even imagine eating the way I used to eat -- I realize that the standard American Diet was sucking the life right out of me!

One way to see what you are really putting into your body is to keep a food journal. There are so many easy to use websites that have free calorie counters. It will open your eyes when you see that one cup of low-fat soup and half of a cafe sandwich at a local "healthy fast food alternative" contains over 100% of your daily sodium, or how just one hamburger can destroy your fat and caloric intake. There are so many better choices out there, and they are just as easy. You are so worth putting just a little effort into eating well. You can do it! I promise, it will change your life.

E.R. Adventures and Cooking with Jake

Wayne and I decided to have a date night tonight. We went to see Avatar at the I-Max. We have already seen the movie once, but not in I-Max. Of course, you can tell that we like the movie. I have heard some say the graphics are awesome but the plot a bit shallow. I did not think that. I likes the plot and the graphics which were, by the way, AWESOME (and I am not a graphics person, believe me). Anyway, we got to the movies and watched all the previews and then Wayne got a phone call from his brother. He didn't answer it, but his brother just called right back and Wayne decided he better answer it. Turns out Wayne's mom fell and dislocated her hip (she has had 2 hip replacements in the past, and presently has a broken foot) and they were waiting on the ambulance to arrive. Needless to say, we did not get to see the movie. We left for the hospital immediately.

We actually beat the ambulance to the hospital, but they were not far behind. She was in a good deal of pain and popping it back in was pretty tricky because she did such a good job dislocating it. They gave her lots of pain medicine and then about twelve people manipulated her for quite some time before they got it to go back in. Luckily, she was pretty much out of it. When it was all over she didn't remember a thing even though she was awake. I told her it was too bad because she had 4 or 5 good-looking young paramedics in the bed with her. That part is true, they were actually standing on the bed trying to manipulate her hip back into the socket. She is going to be a bit sore for a while, but they will release her later on tonight.

So we had an adventuresome night! Not exactly what we planned, but I am so glad she is going to be okay. It is a little scary whenever a loved one is injured, and my poor husband and his brother are a bit wimpy when it comes to stuff like that. No one likes to hear their mama screaming. Their instinct is to look away and not touch, even though they wouldn't be anywhere else. Mine is to hold her hand and get her warm blankets. I am glad we were able to be there for her.

On another note, it was Jake's turn to cook tonight for he and Emma and Phillip. He made vegetarian chili covered baked potatoes. He gave himself a 5 out of 5, and Emma gave him a 4 out of five. He did a great job, even though he would not wear an apron and I had to bribe him to let me take his picture cooking. We discovered Jake has my knack for crying at the first slice of an onion (Wayne hardly ever cries). He ended up dry chopping the onion in the Vita-Mix (Gosh, I love that machine!) so we didn't drown one another out of the kitchen. The chili made the house smell very good, but I took his word that it tasted good. He was very proud of, and possibly even impressed with, himself.

By the way, Wayne is doing good on his renewed raw vegan diet, despite all of the cooking going on in my house. I am proud of him.

Grocery shopping, weight loss stories, and hot yoga!

I went to the grocery today and stocked up on all my favorite fruits and veggies. I can't believe I am saying this, but it was actually fun! The kids were behaving and so many things looked good! I buy a lot of frozen organic fruit at Costco during the fall and winter and we went there first. The Vita-Mix demonstrator was there today doing his thing. He made a great drink -- 3 cups of grapes and a slice of lemon (peel and all). Jake and Emma couldn't wait to get a sample. We all liked it; needless to say we bought some grapes and lemons. I'll be making that again!

Today I saw a couple of people I haven't seen in several months. They were astonished at how much weight I have lost and wanted to know how much I have lost and what I have been doing to lose it. It felt so good to get such a reaction! I told them all I had done was become a raw vegan. We ended up having a 20 minute conversation about what kinds of things I eat and how much healthier I look and feel. One girls mind was ticking, I could tell she was considering it. It is such a joy to share my story with other people.

I am thinking about enrolling Jake, Emma, and I in a trial hot yoga class. They are willing and I am interested. My sister-in-law used to take a hot yoga class and she loved it! I am wanting some fitness for myself and some physical education for the kids. If you've ever participated in a hot yoga class I would love to hear from you about what you thought! I talked to a teacher this morning and she thought the kids could definitely do it. I will let you know what we decide.

Thanksgiving preparation is underway!

I should have known that either Jake or Emma was going to get what Phillip had last week. Emma was the lucky one. She has been sick all day -- cough, sore throat, fever, and throwing up. I took her to the doctor, and they said it is just a virus and we have to wait it out. We are hoping that tomorrow will be much better for Emma. I have been loading her up with fluids, vitamin C, and homemade vegetable soup. She really isn't hungry, though, and has been sleeping most of the day. Sleeping is good and healing!

I had two delicious smoothies today. One was kale, pineapple, strawberry, banana, papaya. The other was apple, banana,strawberries. I also ordered a Thanksgiving meal this year. Wayne's mother and brother are celebrating Thanksgiving with us. In short, am the only raw foodie. I did not want to spend the whole day preparing food that I cannot eat. I ordered from Central Market, so my family is going to eat good! Not only will their food be delicious, it is also organic and the turkey is a free-range turkey. I feel good about feeding them good stuff, and I also feel good about staying true to myself and the goals I have for my own health.