Day 1 of My Partial Juice Fast

For breakfast I enjoyed a juice consisting of one largish sweet potato, two apples and a huge handful of spinach. I realized something...juicing is fun! I love shoving the solid food into the thingy and watching the juice pour out...and watching it "poop" the pulp, as Titus puts it ;).

Lunch was again, two apples with lots of spinach...but instead of sweet potato I did carrots. YUM!

Dinner was not well planned...or not planned at all I guess. I ended up scarfing plums, peanut butter on corn tortillas and steamed brussel sprouts. Anyways...;) This whole vegan thing is a little bit more challenging than I am used to since I can't have wheat. LOVE YOU JUBY! (she has a wheat allergy;))

Snacktime was some fresh green beans and almonds. And I almost met my "drink half your body weight" in water!

Important for me to log: Mid-morning I developed a pretty bad stomachache and it still has not gone away (at 11pm). I read all over the internet about side effects people get in the first few days so this is totally normal. TMI but important also...to help with the cleansing aspect I have incorporated a cup of Smooth Move herbal tea into my plan.

Tomorrow morning we are heading to Costco to stock up on more veggies!! And diapers, and wipes, and...oh you know how it goes:). Goodnight and may God bless your socks off!!!

My Very Own 10 Day Partial Juice "Feast"

I have been looking forward to doing my own juice fast for a while now! I am SOOOO excited!!! (I am referring to using a juicer to juice whole vegetables and fruit, not juice purchased from the store) Since I am a nursing mommy it is not wise for me to do a total juice fast, so here is my plan of action for the next 10 days!

Fast: processed foods, sugar, coffee, alcohol, animal products
Snacks if I must: carrots or almonds
Inhale: water

Breakfast: Juice mainly veggies and some fruit
Lunch: Juice mainly veggies and some fruit
Dinner: A vegan meal involving either beans, brown rice or quinoa

I am super excited to give my body this gift of a juice "fast" ;)... this is going to be like a cleanse, a digestive reboot...and hopefully I may even lose a few lbs of baby weight :)

I will post what I juice for each meal and also what I eat for my vegan supper!

If anyone is curious about juicing, but not ready for a complete jump into a fast maybe give my strategy a try! If you think about it, it can't hurt you at all... instead of having a cup or two of coffee in the morning and eventually eating something later in the morning/ afternoon (or binging on junk) I will be inhaling vitamins and water pretty much :). And as for starving myself...I think I have that covered with snack options and a filling meal in the evening. I am also open to switching the vegan dinner to a lunch, and juicing in the morning and evening...we'll see.

OH!! And FYI my starting weight is 141.8 lbs (I'm 5'4")

This is my 10 day plan. Here I go!

Prioritize the Extras!

Eating fresh fruit and veggies every day is sooo important!!! Seriously though sometimes a green salad just doesn't sound yummy, you know? I have decided to fork out the money at the grocery store for those extra little things that make salad go from blah to mouth watering. I stay stocked with feta and parmesan cheese, ranch dressing, red onion, tomatoes and yummy deli meat...sometimes I add chopped green beans or sugar snap peas. The idea is that even though ranch (or whatever) may not be so great for you, spinach leaves and mushrooms are! So get over your thriftiness and splurge on bacon bits or whatever it is that makes you smile! Okay, thanks:).

A YEAR LATER?!

Hey friends :)

So my last post was over a year ago (by three days)...what happened??!! Well, I got pregnant and SUPER sick for a long time. Then after my interest in food came back I was restricted in what I could eat because of gestational diabetes. I tested positive for GD two different times and was able to test a third time because I'm special and God loves me ;). The third test was NEGATIVE!!! God totally healed me from the diabetes THANK YOU JESUS!! After that I ate whatever sounded yummy and had no interest in eating super healthy, let alone blogging about it.

So here we are, October 2011 and so incredibly blessed! God is bringing us into a new season in our lives. Before Jubilee Lariene was born God showed me that with her birth would come a new season. He also showed me that she would be a super peaceful and joyful girl... I have never felt such a stong sense of things before from Him so questioned it a little bit. Well, it really was God because both of those things are completely true. Juby is the most chill peaceful baby ever! And we are MOVING TO NORTH DAKOTA!!!!!!! Wow God is so faithful and amazing! He has been preparing our hearts for a long time for this and He is still humbling us and strengthening us every day as we transition into this new part of our life. Starrsky is working as foreman for his brother's construction company in Crosby and we will be joining him as soon as our house sells. It is the most amazing feeling, knowing that we are in God's will and feeling confident that we are on the path He has for us. The only other time I felt so much confidence was ten years ago when I fell in love with Starrsky and knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was the right man for me, my future husband.

So I'm not going to blog about food just yet since we have so much going on...but don't worry, I will!! Keep posted for Stubbs family updates as well as my future cooking adventures. You are all a blessing to us, but most of all you are loved dearly by God and He has a plan for you that is wild and awesome and full of Him.

Until next time, Renae

Rice-Cooker-Dude is My Friend!!!

I am SO excited to see how this turns out!!! It's 5:40pm on a chilly Sunday and I have not put a single thought towards dinner. Then I realized that I have a lot of fun veggies that would be great with rice so...

In my rice cooker I put brown rice with the correct amount of water and added:

a scoop of minced ginger

a few shakes of garlic powder

a bit of salt

a bit of grape seed oil

a splash of soy sauce

After my rice is done I am going to mix it up with fresh chopped:

onions

bell peppers

spinach

baby tomatoes

Man I wish I had fresh cilantro!!!

With some sliced avocado on the side and a sprinkle of salt, this easy dinner is going to be super yummy!!!

Vegan-Dairy Free-Egg Free-Wheat Free-Gluten Free-Barely any Additives or Preservatives

What a Beautiful Day!

Well, I am sorry to all my readers for being so distant! The kids and I have been following Starrsky around Alaska all summer as he switched from one job to another with the company he works for. First Juneau, then Delta Junction. Now we are back in Anchorage as it is way too cold to stay in a camper in an R.V. park! I am SO blessed to have been able to be with him! It was a blessing in more ways than I can express...for another day :). So let me just tell you about this day. The sun is streaming into my livingroom as I sit here on the computer typing this and listening to worship music. My kids are finishing up lunch in the background and, oh! Fighting about something... Okay it's taken care of :). Many things have changed for me this summer, mainly in my heart which I will get into in another post. A huge thing that is different is in my diet. I have decided to avoid soy products (except in my coffee :) ) and incorporate fresh fish into my diet. I am very pleased with this decision! I still feel amazing, actually better! I no longer stress about vitamin deficiencies and lack of protein. I know that it is very possible to get all you need through a total-vegan diet, but that's not what it's about for me. I really don't care about being "vegan". I care about making healthy and informed choices about what I eat. For me it's about feeling good about myself and not feeling sick :). Some have criticized me for this, but you know what? It's not their body or their business! Wow, I'm really not that fanatical :). So anyways, cheers to a new chapter in my health! My hope for this blog is to provide interesting ideas for meals and food for thought. I love you all and pray that God will bless you SO much in this beautiful fall season!!!

Here is what I am having for lunch:

I chopped up some leftover baked red potatoes and sauteed them with grapeseed oil and salt. Then I added fresh chopped campari tomatoes near the end. After sauteeing them a tiny bit longer I poured it all onto my plate and added a couple scoops of canned sweet smoked salmon from this years catch. Simple, but AMAZING!!! The potatoes soaked up in the tomato juice and the smoked salmon makes this a succulent lunch!

Baked Potatoes Are Totally Back!!!

Before I became vegan topping my baked potato was a totally different story than it is today. I needed lots of ranch dressing or butter and loads of salt. Bacon bits maybe, cheese, some steamed broccoli... but definitely the ranch :). If there wasn't enough creamy sauce on top it was too bland and I didn't enjoy my food. Basically I was in it for the toppings. I never considered eating baked potatoes to be healthy. Hmmm... I wonder why. I am so excited to say this, I want to scream it from the rooftops! FOOD TASTES AMAZING! Since switching to a vegan diet food tastes like ten times more flavorful and interesting than I ever imagined it could. That said, here's what I topped my potatoes with tonight:

Olive oil
Fresh ground sea salt
Fresh sliced campari tomatoes (not refrigerated!)
Fresh chopped cilantro

How simple is this meal?! Nothing to hoot about for sure! Let me just say that I am so excited to finish this post and eat my dinner!!! Love you all! Peace out!

Brown Rice With Curry and Slightly Sauteed Veggies -Juneau, Alaska Style!

We are staying in a hotel here so the kitchen isn't quite my own... but I did bring like half of my kitchen from home with us. I have been cooking large meals every other day and then we just eat off the leftovers. It's a great plan because we have been able to play outside a lot more! We have been very active here, walking through town, along beaches, and up to glaciers :). About a five minute walk from our hotel is a great market with more natural and organic foods than Freddies! It has been very easy and convenient to eat healthy. I only wish there was a farmers market, maybe that comes later in the summer. In addition to being active and eating healthy we have been getting a lot of sun! So to sum it up, the Stubbs family feels GREAT!
I will post recipes only if the day is not totally sunny and amazing :)

Here is what I threw together for dinner about 30 minutes ago:

In my rice cooker:
-about 2 cups of brown rice with the appropriate amount of water
-1 tbsp coconut oil
-1 tbsp yellow curry powder
-a couple shakes of garlic powder
-a couple shakes of onion powder
-1 tsp salt

In my pan:
-1 tbsp coconut oil
-1 clove chopped garlic
-1/8th onion chopped
-4 baby bell peps chopped
-2 yellow zuchini chopped
-1 jalepeno chopped

I didn't sautee the pan stuff for very long at all. The less cooked your veggies are the more nutrients you will get! Then I mixed up the rice stuff with the pan stuff and added some fresh chopped cilantro. Salt to taste, salt helps bring out all the flavors!

gluten free-msg free-vegan

Trick your family into getting more vitamins!!!

I just made a blender full of the most amazing Banana-Berry Smoothie! Hidden inside this vat of creamy goodness is a secret ingredient... spinach leaves! My hubby and his brother were surprised to learn the truth, but thoroughly enjoyed their vitamin and antioxidant-rich refreshment! Pulse fresh veggies in your blender and mix into anything...spaghetti, chili, guacamole...smoothies :). No one will ever know! Unless you are like me and after the first taste ask "So, can you guess the secret ingredient?"!!!

Banana-Berry Smoothie

6 large strawberries (fresh or frozen-Costco :))
1 cup of frozen mixed berries (Costco)
1/2 cup of organic apple juice (Costco)
1 cup of organic soy milk (Costco)
1 handful of fresh spinach leaves (Costco)
3 bananas (I have no idea where I bought these :))

Blend and enjoy!

Note: I prefer to use organic when I can, but whatever you have on hand is great! Add and take away ingredients...more or less of whatever...and try blending some fresh carrots in too!!!

Curry Lentil Soup

This morning I realized that in order to get my protein requirements for the day I have to plan ahead. So at 9 am I plugged in my crockpot and filled it up with hot water. I added a few tablespoons of indian curry powder (bulk at Freddies) and a cube of veggie boullion. Then I rinsed about two cups of lentils and added them to the pot. After scrubbing and cubing a few red potatoes I threw them in as well. As an afterthough I addes some tomato paste, onion and garlic powder and salt. It cooked in four hours and then I left it on warm to keep hot for later. To go with our Curry Lentil Soup I threw a spaghetti squash in the oven which I will scoop out and toss with olive oil and salt. Now for tomorrow...maybe I should soak some pinto beans before I start the bedtime routine... Hmm...that sounds like a great idea.