Modifying food choices even further

A few weeks ago I decided to eliminate dairy products from my diet just to see what would happen. I've had one common recurring health issue that many women get that has plagued me since I was in my 20s off and on. I found out that this issue is likely caused by milk and its other by-products.

I don't drink milk, but I do consume plenty of dairy: yogurt, cheese, half n half in my coffee. It's not a whole lot, but enough just the same. So I bought some soy creamer and a couple cartons of almond milk and coconut milk at Trader Joe's. I tried coffee with just the almond milk one afternoon and it was rather nasty. Half soy creamer and half almond milk was good. I don't want to go too heavy on soy products because that can be unhealthy too, so I try and balance it out.

A week ago I got the book Skinny Bitch from the library. In the past I was was put off from reading it because I had heard it was rather vulgar, but in the end, the salty language made it funny and not much different from how I hear people talk today anyway. But the basic message in the book is to recommend a vegan diet because it is the healthiest and most morally responsible way to eat.

So now I've been eating vegetarian as often as possible, filling up on my fresh fruit and vegetable juice in the morning and eating a big salad before having lunch or dinner. I've been trying out tempeh and making more vegetarian dinners. I've eliminated Diet Coke and have seltzer water or club soda if I want something bubbly. I put away the Splenda and now use raw agave nectar and use my steevia more often - no more artificial sweeteners.

I've lost SEVEN pounds!

I'd like to lose another 10-15 pounds, even more if possible. I've never been very overweight, just a little bit, and those pounds added up slowly over the years beginning with my happy comfort 5 pounds I put on just before getting  married. It needs to come off.

My husband is not vegetarian, nor contemplating a vegan diet, but to his credit (and he deserves a lot of credit) he has also modified his eating habits. This is a man who used to insist on meat for every meal and he'd eat big portions of meat. His weakness was beef.

He's now open to having beef only once a week, (I'll eat a different vegetarian meal on that day). The rest of the week has lighter meats with less portion sizes and a vegetarian meal once a week. He incorporates more vegetables into his meals and even joins me with a morning juice, something unheard of earlier!

Here are a couple of websites I enjoy reading that has been helpful:
Vegan Coach
Green Smoothie Girl
Forks Over Knives (great movie you MUST see. Their articles and recipes are terrific resources.)
Happy Cow

Do you have any recommendations? Success stories? I'd also love to hear comments if YOU are vegan or vegetarian with a non-veg spouse.

Summer Happenings

Since Aidan got out of "regular" school a few weeks ago, I've been spending a majority of my time with him. It's given me some time to think about the direction my life has taken and I'll sum it up as follows.

Health

Golf is getting on board for a healthier lifestyle and I couldn't be happier. But our eating schedules are exactly opposite as are our sleeping habits, and that is a challenge.

I need to lose at least 15 pounds, preferably 20,  and it's becoming an urgent matter, mostly because I can't stand myself any longer. A friend of mine at the Thai temple says she simply does not eat after 4 pm. I like her idea and I'm considering giving it a try. However, Golf eats his main meal at night and if I have to cook, I will have to forbid myself to eat a bite.  Maybe I will have to eat a nice salad before 4 o'clock and then I won't be tempted.

I'd like to know if you've successfully committed to a lifestyle change regarding food when having to cook for your family. How did you do it?

I still juice every day, and now Golf's interested in joining me, so I've been getting lots of fresh produce at Berkeley Bowl for good prices and running them through the juicer every morning. I drink a liter of juice and I give a pint to Golf, who is still getting used to the taste.

I have not yet done a juice fast, because I think it might be too challenging having to fix meals for Aidan and Golf, but I might check out the Reboot forum to see if anybody there is doing that and finding support.

But I still get very tired, and I think that part of it is my mental state regarding work.

Work 

I feel utterly defeated with my online businesses. Last month gave me a total of $365 in earnings after 3 years of hard work. I don't have to tell you what kind of ROI that is. I have three websites right now and I'm letting one go. I'm not doing much with the other two because I feel so badly about them. The business model sucks, that's all I can say, and every webmaster and business owner is a slave to Google's whims. That's the bottom line and I don't want it any more.

The new business venture is definitely promising, and it incorporates art and writing. I am enthusiastic about the possibilities and I already have a story and am working on the preliminary sketches.

But instead of going at the task wholeheartedly with vim and vigor, I prefer to chat with other moms at the temple. When I do work I get sidetracked easily and find excuses to do something else. What is going on here?

I feel like I'm floating in some sort of weird void when it comes to financially contributing to the family. This has been an issue ever since we moved back from Thailand and it's a spiritual/emotional block I need to work through. Maybe I'm still reeling over my online failure.

Spirituality

I'm supposed to be meditating every day. I don't.
When Aidan was in regular school I would meditate every morning, but something about his summer schedule is not making me do it. I have plenty of time during the three days he's off, but instead I check FaceBook and now I'm writing in my blog.

When he goes to Thai school I am pretty good about sitting for half an hour in the main room, so I do feel good about that and it is helpful.

I have been listening to inspiring dharma talks where I want to work on myself and also change the world. But I also feel like I can't do much when my first responsibility is to take care of my family. And my family is my priority, so all things in good time. I'm not stressed about it, for taking care of Golf and Aidan gives me so much peace and satisfaction. It feels wonderful.

And so these are the three areas in my life that need some work. Writing it down gives it clarity and I see what I need to do. Hmm.. maybe once summer vacation is over, I'll update this to chart my progress.

Let the Juicing Begin!

I've been holding out, waiting for the right time to get a new juicer. Not just any juicer, but a Breville, the brand used on the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. That was the movie that really inspired me to try juicing.

Although I've been making green smoothies for almost a year and a half, the limitations are that I can't use harder vegetables. I blend apples, cucumbers and celery, but certainly not root vegetables like carrots and beets. The juicer, I believe, gives me more variety, but it does not juice greens.

So I finally found a Breville on Craigslist. I'd been waiting patiently because yo can get a pretty good deal - sellers who've used it only a handful of times before discovering they aren't into the juicing lifestyle. I got the one pictured at right, it is the Compact version that I found for only $70. It has a tiny crack in the bowl and is $20 less than retail, though on Amazon it costs more than $150! (So much for cheaper on Amazon!) Luckily the seller lives in the same town, just two blocks away, actually, and she still had the user manual and cleaning brush. Woo hoo!

And it works quite well, though one of the complaints I've read in reviews is that bigger chunks of fruit and veggies pass through into the pulp instead of being juiced. My model does indeed do that a little bit, so what do I do? Scrape it out and run the pulp through once more. I'm able to get a little bit more juice!

So yesterday evening I made a concoction with apple, celery, and carrot with a nub of ginger for a kick. It was so good, I mean incredibly delicious! Unfortunately, Golf and Aidan are not as enthusiastic as I am. They take a sip here and there and don't like it so much.  Amazing how our tastes are so different!

Anyway, I made a bunch of this recipe and put it in the fridge for breakfast. The juicer sounds a bit like a vacuum cleaner and I figured that a sleeping husband and neighbors wouldn't appreciate the sound at 7 AM!  Plus it's a bit of work cleaning it afterward, and since I have to fix Aidan's breakfast and lunch, I just don't have the time.

What I will do this morning, though, is put some of the juice in a blender, then run the rest of my Swiss chard through the blender, then mix that concoction - a combination of juice and green smoothie! Yummers!

Right now I'm just playing around with getting more vegetables and fruit in my diet, but I'd like to go on a juice cleanse at some point, where I don't eat any food or have any coffee/caffeine for a number of days.

Just a few days of incorporating fresh juice into my diet I have markedly increased energy. It's wonderful!

Pampering for my Birthday

Photo credit: The Daily Obsession

 Am I one lucky lady! Last week was my birthday (the 12th) and my BFF for over 20 years informed me that she'd like to take me to her favorite spa for a day of pampering! The last time I had a day of pampering like this was for my birthday in 2009 when both my bestest buddies, M & C, took me to the Clairmont where I had a body scrub AND a facial.

This year M took me to a spa near her place of work in the Presidio in San Francisco. It's called SenSpa and it's got a tranquil, Asian theme throughout, which I totally love. The picture above is the Warm Room where you lounge and wait for your appointment. Behind the giant coin sculpture is a cascading fountain over glass. The heater in the middle has a moving, spiral flame, which I'd never seen before but looks utterly magical.

When we first arrived, we got into our robes and headed to the steam room. We each took in a glass of lemon cucumber water, which was delicious (I'll have to make this at home!) and a cold iced wash cloth. It felt lovely opening up those pores.

After that it was shower time, taking a long, leisurely shower with all the jets on massaging the entire body and one of those huge shower heads that dump down water all over your head. AAAAH!

Then we retired to the warm room where we waited for our appointments. M got a massage and I got a facial. My beauty regimen is basic, to say the least, and my skin shows it. After today I have sworn to invest more in my skin.

My technician, or therapist, was Bianca, a beautiful Romanian woman with a flawless complexion. My facial included two things I've been wanting to get done for ages: microdermabrasion and a chemical peel. Both slough off dead skin cells, lighten pigmentation and reduce fine wrinkles.

It felt wonderful and I feel like I got a good head start on my facial upkeep. The recommended products were out of my budget, but I swear I will get them once my income increases in 2012.

The day after my facial my skin felt tender and toward the end of the day it was hot, like a windburn, and red. So I blotted my face with a cool wash cloth and put on more moisturizer.

After our spa indulgence I took M to lunch on Chestnut Street, which has lots of cool little restaurants and shops. We went to a restaurant called A16, where we shared a wood-fired pizza, a tasty salad and a delicious appetizer. No wine though. #1 M was driving and it would be unfair and #2 we were just informed that our skin was very dehydrated, so drinking alcohol would be an unwise choice.

It was a perfect day. By the time we slogged home in the rush hour Bay Area traffic it was early evening.

Thanks again, M! It was a brilliant day and one I won't soon forget!

Eliminating Coffee

About a month ago, Golf and I watched a movie on Netflix streaming called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. The director and creator, Joe Cross, is a lively and likeable Australian who came to the USA for 60 days to do a juice fast and lose some weight. He had a chronic skin condition, not to mention heart and cholesterol problems.

During this time he also talked to Americans about food and what they actually eat. That most of their diets are made up of highly processed grains, too much dairy and meat. Vegetables and fruits, which should make up like 65% of your diet, ranked at only 5%.

Joe Cross also met a trucker during his travels and later helped him lose a tremendous amount of weight and changed his life.

I don't need to lose 100 pounds, though! Only 15 - 20 pounds. I would also like to do a juice fast to jump start my progress, likely a 7 to 10 day cleanse like a lady he interviewed during the movie. She wasn't overweight, but she suffered from migraine headaches and she was doing the fast to help her with that and her overall health.

I love coffee!

But I have an obstacle I need to overcome before I start this purifying cleanse. I'm addicted to caffeine! I've been a loyal and enthusiastic coffee drinker for nearly half my life. I love the taste and the mental boost that caffeine gives me. I drink not only coffee but iced tea (both green and black) and Diet Coke. Love it ALL!

So beginning today I've decided to wean myself down and by January, I'll be caffeine free and ready to do a juice cleanse. I'll also be ready to buy a nice juicer! I'm already on Craigslist looking to buy one for a cheaper price than online.

How am I weaning? Beginning today, I am limiting myself to only one cup of coffee in the morning. Normally I have two. Instead of cup #2 of coffee, I am taking a cup of black tea, English style (a little milk and sweetener). Mid morning I'll have another tea and then no more hot caffeinated beverages. In a few more days I will have only tea. Then from there I will slowly wean myself down from all caffeine. No more Diet Coke. I normally have a glass-and-a-half per day, so it's not out of control, but I would like to give my body a break.

And that's what this cleanse is for - not only for getting rid of some extra weight, but to show myself that I can do this, that it is possible. I'm curious to see how I will feel as well.

January is also a good time to do my juice fast because that marks my one year anniversary of regular green smoothie diet! Yep. I've been consistently having green smoothies nearly every day and while I feel better and have more energy, I do need a big boost with the juice.

I'll report my progress here.

Taking a One-Month Break

Since January I have incorporated green smoothies into my diet. I feel great and what's not to love about fresh greens and delicious sweet fruit blended together.

The only problem is that since January I've gained about 6 pounds! The only thing that has changed is my smoothies - I haven't changed any other eating habits or exercise. So I cannot help but think that there is a correlation, though it MAY be a slowing metabolism, hopefully not.

Just for kicks, I'm going to stop my green smoothie intake for the next month and see if it has any effect. I hate how my clothes fit and how my body looks, so I'm all on it! Wish me luck and I'll report back in a month