Thursday, April 30, 2009

I'm in a much better mood today

Things are working like they are supposed to be working, and I'm getting through my lists. Sorry for being such a downer yesterday--I hate being that way. When I get like that, it seems to permeate every aspect of my life. (We had to go to the grocery store last night and I was a royal B.)
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So I mentioned here a while back that I was going to do more raw foods. I have been doing breakfasts, lunches, and snacks raw and doing a mix of raw and cooked vegan for dinner. Physically, I feel really good. I don't get that "full" feeling after raw meals but I'm perfectly satisfied and content with what I've eaten. I get hungry more often, but it's not a "eat everything in sight" type of hunger and an apple or carrot or something takes care of it.
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I've become really fond of dehydrator bread--in fact, I've got some more wheat sprouting right now so I can make another batch.
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And, on another good note, I'm finally heading the right direction on the scale again (I had gained 6 pounds up from my maintenance weight)--I've only got 2.5 more to go.
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Plus, I've had enough energy to exercise regularly again. In two weeks, I've exercised all but 2 days.
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All the reading I've done has talked about nasty detox symptoms when first going raw. I haven't experienced anything, but I was already eating a fairly healthy vegan diet with quite a few raw fruits and veggies anyway.
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I was reading in my latest issue of VegNews the other day an article about the meaning of "Vegan" and how it encompasses the commitment to a compassionate lifestyle as well as the dietary aspects. I thought it was well said, but I thought that maybe the author should have acknowledged that sometimes the commitment to all aspects of the lifestyle evolve from what started as a "diet". Even if one commits to being a "vegan" because of health issues, the ripple effect will result in fewer animals getting killed and possibly more people moving toward the vegan lifestyle. Also, I think that what starts as a movement for "health" can't help but evolve as the person learns more about him/herself and our environment.
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I started for a combination of reasons--both health and horror at the atrocities my former lifestyle was promoting. As I've evolved over the last 10 months, I've certainly found that my thoughts and feelings in both areas have strengthened.
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Well, I had better get back to work.
Ciao for now.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Major Frustration today

I tried to get started working this morning only to find out that I had no Internet or phone service! AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!
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I don't have high speed Internet in my house to play--I have it to work. And today promises to be a busy day.
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So I spent better than 30 minutes on the phone w/ tech support during which I found out that the problem is caused by a short somewhere in the line. If it's on the house side of the phone box, we'll be responsible for paying for it, if it's on their side, they'll be paying for it.
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So after all that, I went outside and found the problem--the pup has chewed on the wire where the phone service comes into the house. I called hubby, asked him to come home and fix it so we wouldn't have to pay the repairman. He said he can't come right now--he's busy. I'm MAD! I'm the one that needs to be able to work right now cuz I'm the one getting paid!
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So I messed with it and got it working--the phone has lots of static and the Internet blips in and out, but at least I can work, now.
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I found an interesting website yesterday evening--Raw for 30 Days. They took people with type 2 diabetes and put them on a raw foods diet for 30 days--no sugar, caffeine, or tobacco either--and they were able to get off their diabetes meds in 30 days. I wish hubby would be open to something like that. I don't think he even needs to go that radical; he just needs to get better at eating healthy overall.
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OK, I was gone for an hour there and now I'm back continuing my post--Now I'm even madder! I called Verizon regarding our bill--they charged us for services that I had cancelled. When I called in, they wouldn't talk to me because I wasn't listed on the account. HUBBY PUT ME ON THE ACCOUNT BOTH AT THE KIOSK AND AT THE STORE--ISN'T 2 TIMES ENOUGH????
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So I had to call him again (again, he's too busy to talk to me) but after me throwing a fit, he called in and put me on the account so I could call and get the thing taken care of.
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I am trying to save money here! I'm not going to pay more than I need to--for anything!
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OK. I have got to quit complaining and get to work.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Pumpkin Pie smoothie/soup for breakfast

So yesterday afternoon, I was perusing some blogs and came across one about a pumpkin pie tasting soup. That got me thinking.........
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This morning I was totally out of greens (except for some iceberg lettuce and broccoli which I don't like in smoothies) but I wanted a smoothie. So I used one banana, one small peeled sweet potato, some pumpkin pie spices, and some water. I blended it and, viola, a pumpkin pie smoothie! I blended it a bit longer until it just started to get warm (I love the Vita Mix for being able to warm things up) and then poured it into a big mug and had pumpkin pie soup for breakfast.
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It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. I am definitely going to have to do this more often! I wish I had taken a picture, too. It was such a lovely orange color. Next time, I will.
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Well, that really was quick, this time. Of to get some work done.
Ciao for now.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Sunday

OK, so I found out that my raw broccoli soup isn't very good the second day. (As usual) I put too much garlic in it and after soaking all night long, the garlic was too strong. I thinned the soup with water and then it was too watery but still was too garlic-y. So instead I dumped it and made a banana and spinach smoothie--that was better anyway. I had lunch early again (11:00-ish) because breakfast was watermelon and I was hungry again. (Oh but the watermelon was so good.)
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I really need to remember to go light on garlic. I like garlic, but it seems to get too strong for me too easily lately.
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So we went to the banquet last night; a friend and I brought vegan take-out. No one said anything so I guess we didn't attract too much attention.
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Daughter won a Harry Potter Scene It game. I won a gardening basket that came with a gift certificate for an overnight stay at a local hotel (mini-vacation!). Hubby won a group of stuff that included a gift certificate for a tattoo (for me), a shake powered flashlight (for son), and a book, t-shirt, and hat. Son didn't specifically win anything, but we share. It was a long night, though--we were there from 4 til 10. Hubby was there from 8am til almost midnight.
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It seemed like they made pretty good money last night. In the past they have used the money they raised to plant bitter brush in winter feeding grounds and to work with the BLM and Fish & Game on land management and wildlife management issues. Hopefully, there will still be wild Mule Deer around here for our kids' kids.
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Well, that's all I have.
Ciao for now.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

LLamas and Watermelon

Just a quick post here; not much to say......... (yeah, I've said that before and gone on and on and on and..............)
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We took son and dropped him off to go on a Boy Scout camp out last night then got dinner (salad and pasta w/ tomato sauce) and then went to walk around Costco. At Costco we got a huge watermelon.
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After that we started home and saw a llama in the road--yes a "Llama". On the last Friday of the month is a horse sale at the Livestock Commission Company and our guess is that this fella was an escapee. We watched as the cops got him caught (hubby helped a little-he was a cowboy in his former life). Then we decided to go to the horse sale to watch for a while. Daughter was crying at one point because we absolutely refused to buy her a horse.
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Then home and daughter made "no bake cookies" (she even veganized the recipe for me:

She used vegan margarine instead of butter and soy milk instead of cow milk. They came out pretty good (she got the recipe at school--note the doodlings of a 9 year-old girl)

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This morning, hubby left early; Mule Deer Foundation banquet tonight and he's a big part of the committee and workforce. Mule Deer conservation is his baby although if you ever called him a conservationist, he'd probably argue to the high heavens. He eats meat and hunts and is all man; those conservationists are hippie, tree hugging, long haired granolas--that's his perception, anyway.

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So anyway, right now it's daughter and I. We'll go pick up son after while and then go over to the fairgrounds for the banquet (I am bringing take-out from the good Thai place since the food there is not to my liking.)

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I had watermelon for breakfast. It was so good but it didn't stay with me very long. I was hungry again so just a few minutes ago (around 10:30-ish) I made a raw broccoli soup in my Vita Mix (broccoli, miso, almonds, garlic and salt blended until just warm). It needed something so I added a bit of sugar (I don't know why, but that little bit of sugar made it better.) So I ate about half of that (I made way too much) and then had one of daughter's cookies. Pretty good.

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That's all I know, so

Ciao for now.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Friday again.......

OK, doesn't that salad look just yummy? Zucchini cut with my spiral slicer on a bed of spinach. Over that is a tomato sauce (tomatoes, Italian seasoning, yellow bell pepper) and a dollop of "cheese" sauce (almonds, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, garlic, onion, turmeric, water). All of it raw.
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I thought it was just perfect; in fact, that was dinner last night and it was so good I had it for lunch again today. Of course, I laid it out all pretty but I mixed it all together before I actually ate it. Son at his and half of his dad's. No surprise that hubby and daughter didn't eat it very well.
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By the side of the plate is piece of dehydrator bread (2 cups sprouted wheat, a date, a bit of salt, a handful of almonds, a handful of flax seeds, and a bit of water--all processed into a dough in the food processor and then spread into rounds on the silpat sheets and dehydrated at 105 for 10 hours, flipped partway through).
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I told you I was going to try to eat more raw. Tuesday was one meal cooked, the rest raw; ditto for Wednesday and yesterday. Maybe I'm imagining things, but I think I do feel better--not as heavy after eating.
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I have been having raw soups--yummy. Here are a couple of the combinations I've had lately:
--cauliflower, garlic, 1/3 an avocado, water, salt & pepper
--cauliflower, a few almonds, water, salt & pepper
--zuke, carrot, ginger, chili powder, 1/3 avocado
I just put everything in the Vita-mix and blend until just slightly warm. These have all been really good. The avocado or almonds make it creamy and I don't add very much water so it's really thick, too.
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I've also been doing green smoothies more. Usually banana, spinach, ice & water, and one of the following--almonds, oats, quinoa. I really like those, too.
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I had a class in Boise Wednesday and went up there on Tuesday night. Met a good friend up there--I always enjoy that. I wish I could take more classes up there just for that. My cooked meals on Tuesday and Wednesday were with her.
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Tuesday we ate at Mazzah Mediterranean--I had falafel, dolmas, and tabbouleh--really good. It was like a Mediterranean fast food place so that's the kind of atmosphere it had.
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Wednesday for lunch we ate at PF Chang's--I had Buddha's delight (I think that's what it was called--5 spice tofu and veggies w/ brown rice)--excellent!
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I'm reading a new book--Living Cuisine: The Art and Spirit of Raw Foods by Renee Underkoffler. It is like half cookbook, half reference book. I'm in a section now that gives all sorts of detail about all the different types of produce there are. For instance, we got some little round fruits at the Asian market last weekend called "longans". I found out how they grow and that they are related to the lychee, and when they are available, etc. This book has a lot of information that ranges from what modern farming methods are doing to our environment to how to cut and store the foods you buy. It has preparation method descriptions and kitchen set-up information. I am really pleased with this book!
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As a mom, I really put my foot in my mouth Tuesday night. Daughter had a paper in her hand and came up and asked me "Mom, what is "sex"?". OK, hubby was there, but son was off somewhere so I decided I could start THE TALK. I got as far as "when a man and a woman love each other..." when she interrupted me with a strange look on her face and a loud "HUH?" She held the paper out to me, pointing to a box on it and said "it says 'Sex: F'." So now hubby almost falls off the chair laughing and I have to pull myself together--Oh, "gender". So I went on to tell her that it just meant whether the paper was talking about a boy or girl--F for female and M for male.
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OOPS.
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I think that's all I can think of.
Ciao for now.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Savory oatmeal, family upset, and sleepwalking

Good morning all.
Here a while back CCV posted asking about savory oatmeal. Yesterday lunch was leftovers; this was what I had in the fridge--stir-fried teriyaki veggies, spaghetti squash, oatmeal. Not enough of any one thing for a meal so I warmed up the veggies and squash together, then warmed up the oatmeal, then poured the veggies over the oatmeal. It reminded me of teriyaki veggies over polenta. I'll easily do it again if I have leftovers, but not to cook for a meal for my family--they don't like polenta, so I'm sure they wouldn't like oatmeal like that. (My family is uber-picky.)
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Next topic.
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Speaking of picky--I made a bean loaf (vegan lunch box blog) and steamed cauliflower for dinner last night. It turned out really good. But no one would eat the loaf! Hubby had a few bites and then went into the kitchen and put his piece in the dog dish. Son ate about half and daughter ate 2 bites..
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I blew up. At hubby mostly. I told them all the I shouldn't even care if they all get fat, get diabetes and high blood pressure, have heart attacks and die. I ought to just quit cooking for them and let them fend for themselves.
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Then a bit later, hubby was trying to be cute and I told him to knock it off because I was madder at him than anyone else. I expect it out of the kids--they are just kids--I would expect better out of him. He obviously doesn't give a rat's ass that he is fat, has diabetes and high blood pressure, and is heading right for a heart attack, but he needs to care that he is sending daughter there, too.
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It's one thing to eat like crap if you truly don't know any better, but he does. And our most important job in life is to raise our babies to be healthy, happy, productive members of this planet. He needs to get on board and help me with that job. It's child abuse to intentionally make your kids sick. That's what we are doing if we don't feed them healthy food. We are guilty of child abuse! I think I'll put it to hubby that way. Surely, even if he doesn't care about himself, he would care about his daughter........
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OK, rant done--next topic.
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Last night I made date balls. Hubby wanted some (don't ask me why I did anything for him last night, but I did). I used the basic recipe for "donut holes" by Ani Phyo but more or less just winged it--dates, coconut, and almonds in the food processor. Then I decided I wanted chocolate so I added a spoon of cocoa powder. Then I rolled them into balls and rolled them in coconut. YUMMY! Son, hubby and I all liked them--daughter didn't even try, of course.
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Next topic.
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In the middle of the night last night, son came and woke me up. "Mom, I woke up to go to the bathroom and when I went back to bed, my blankets were gone." So I went with him and, sure enough, his blankets were gone! The weren't on the bed or the floor or under the bed or on the bunk. So I started looking around the house. The were on the love seat in the living room! He just couldn't understand how they could have gotten there. I have a pretty good guess--I think he was sleepwalking. Pretty funny.
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I have a class in Boise tomorrow so I probably won't post (unless I do it from my phone). That's all I have.
Ciao for now.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Good Monday Morning

Good Morning,
We got quite a bit done Saturday. We froze through son's soccer game, then daughter and I got our hair cut (she goes shorter every time), then we came home for lunch, then we went to 3 different nurseries and came home and started on the garden.
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We planted all of our cooler weather crops. So far, our garden has cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts (I had never done any of those before). We planted our onion sets. We planted some strawberry starts we got from a neighbor. We planted an apple tree and a cherry tree to replace the peach and cherry trees that died. And we planted a couple of blackberry starts. We also planted zucchini along side the house--it's protected there so we don't need to worry about it and this way it'll get an earlier start.
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We also have seeds for pumpkin (both carving and eating), butternut squash, yellow squash, and beets. I'm going to plant the beets this afternoon. Also this afternoon, we're going out to my aunt's to get more strawberry starts and some raspberry starts.
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We are going to have the biggest garden I think we've ever had and I am so excited. (I hope I can maintain the excitement when it's 100 degrees out and I'm having to weed it........)
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Yesterday, I took the kids for a bike ride. It was daughter's first time riding on a road with traffic. She did really good (other than the fact that she rides a lot slower than son and I do). But we were like 2/3 through our ride and she got a flat tire. We have these nasty goat-head burrs that grow around here. Even though they are considered a "noxious weed" and the city is supposed to make people control them, they are still everywhere--the city doesn't do anything about it. So anyway, we had to walk our bikes from there. She was really bummed and insisted that it was OK, she could ride like that. I had to let her know that she'd ruin the rims on her wheels and then she wouldn't have a bike to ride if she rode like that. It ended up that both of her tires were flat--the back one just hadn't gone flat as fast as the front one did. So we got an OK bike ride and a good walk. (I let son ride on ahead so he could tell hubby what had happened and why we were taking so long.)
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Books--I bought Kristen Suzanne's Raw the Easy Way. It's a good book. I'd like to incorporate more raw foods into my diet. I love green smoothies and most of the raw recipes I've tried. Son loves her "Sweet Potato Mash" from her Easy Raw Holidays book. I also think I'd be healthier. I still feel like I have to fuss so much to maintain my weight. I feel better and don't have nearly so much trouble with my weight when I'm eating more raw foods. So I'm going to try to incorporate more--probably breakfast, lunch, and snacks. And then I'll try for raw sides along with dinner. We'll see how it goes.
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Well, I think that's about all.
Ciao for now.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Happy Anniversary to me!

Yes I got married on Tax Day. It wasn't planned that was just the day we did it (Elko County courthouse basement). But it is weird that I got married on April 15th and went on to become a CPA. (I don't work in public practice anymore and I don't do taxes--except my own--but I am still a CPA.)
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So anyway, today is our 24th anniversary. Hubby came home and took me out for lunch (with some money we had stashed away just for today) and tonight we are going to go out to dinner as a family. We usually don't go out twice in one day, but this way we get a family celebration as well as a personal one. We didn't do gifts this year--nothing we really need bad enough to justify spending money we don't really have--we're just spending time together.

Above is what we woke up to. This picture was taken out my front door just before I took the kids to school. On the seat of the swing it was 3 inches. It snowed a whole lot more after that but never got any deeper because it was just warm enough that it was kind of melting as it fell. Since I've been married, I don't remember ever having snow on April 15th.

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I sprouted some wheat and now have dehydrator bread drying. In addition to the sprouted wheat, I added some almonds, some flax seeds, a little salt, and a little cane syrup. Then I just processed it in my food processor (added a little water to make it more doughy) until it was like dough. Then I made flat rounds on the silpat sheets (dipped my fingers in water so the dough wouldn't stick). I'll dry them for a few hours and then flip them off the silpat and continue drying until they are done.

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Last time I made this bread it was pretty good. The dough tasted even better this time so I'm betting the bread will be even better, too.

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Ciao for now.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

I'm testing the mobile blog set-up. It'll be cool if it does......

Roasted Red Pepper sandwich

This is a sandwich I ate a few days in a row for lunch--really good.
One piece of Ezekiel bread
red pepper nut cheese (Rhio's recipe)
Kale
Red bell pepper
Put the nut cheese, kale and red bell pepper on the bread and broil (I do it in the toaster oven) until the pepper is as done as you want it.
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The kale got crispy where it was not tucked under the pepper. I really liked it that way. On this day, I put some carrots beside it and called it lunch.
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Ciao for now

I'm back

It has been a long time since I blogged--a lot going on! Unemployed hubby, issues at work, family stuff, etc. I get "too busy" to do this, but I forget the sense of catharsis that comes from letting it all out. Honestly, when am I really "too busy" to take a few minutes for myself? If I get that way, I need to re-prioritize my life. If I don't take care of myself, I can't take care of the people in my life.
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So in a couple of ways, hubby's unemployment has been a good thing for us. Number one is that we are being forced to re-connect as a family. We were so busy running all the time that we really didn't spend any family time. Now, with our schedules cleared up a bit (and cable cancelled), we have more family time.
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And, with no excuses, we are getting things done around here. We cleaned out the back yard (a little bit anyway) and took 2,300 pounds of scrap iron to the recycle yard--didn't get much money for it, but it was better than a kick in the pants. We got the part of the roof that leaks re-roofed. Yeah, it cost money for the roofing, but it needed to be done really badly. We have a really big garden spot this year and it's all ready to go. Hopefully, we'll be planting our cool weather crops this weekend.
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Hubby's unemployment has been hard in other ways, though. We HAVE to have insurance. Unemployment take home is a little bit less than his after insurance take home was before. It is cheaper to get individual policies than to go through my employment so that's what we did. Even after cutting all the extras out of our budget (music lessons, karate, cable, cell phone extras, housekeeping, etc.) we are going to be around $200 down each month after paying for insurance. We'll still do OK--that was our "play money" for dinners out and occasional weekend trips. If, however, he doesn't get a job before unemployment runs out, then we'll be hurting.
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Had Easter over at my mom's. We did a BBQ. I took my own burger (an "Amy's" 1/4 pound vegan patty) and no one even commented. I also took a veggie plate with a nut cheese dip and blondies. My brother and his family didn't even taste the dip or the blondies. Mom and Dad both commented that the blondies were good, but only just tasted the dip. Mom got out the ranch dressing and everyone dipped in that instead. It hurts my feelings, but oh well. I commented to hubby that my family runs and hides when I cook. Although it's funny, my folks love my vegan chocolate cake and my homemade bread.
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Oh well, enough family complaining. The kids are doing good. Son is raising money for scout camp. His troop is doing a spaghetti feed. Son has sold enough tickets to pay his way. They are trying to get each kid to sell enough tickets for camp plus some extra for food, etc. (anybody want to buy a ticket?)
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Daughter is home sick today. She has been in the bathroom puking at least 6 times already. Poor baby. There's nothing worse than throwing up in my book.
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Work has been crazy. Today is finally kind of slow and I don't mind at all.
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That's all I know of for sure.
Ciao for now.