Oooh... pretty colors!

I figured that since it's been a while since I posted that I need to bring a peace offering. So, I bring you some photos of food I've made lately.

This was a portobella mushroom topped with brie and sun-dried tomatoes on a bed of bulghur. I brushed the mushroom with balsamic and pre-cooked it a bit in the oven before adding the brie. I added a little Italian spice mix to the bulghur. It was all delicious!

From Drop Box

This was a great stirfry with tofu, red cabbage, kale, and asparagus. I served it over brown rice, and it was delicious. It just tasted so clean and healthy and good, and I'll definitely make it again.

From Drop Box

Tonight's dinner was Corn, Potato, and Mushroom Soup from The Great American Detox Diet. I randomly paired it with a Roasted Veggie Quinoa salad from the same book. It's one of my favorite recipes.

For the soup, I used red potatoes and cremini mushrooms. A wonderful, hearty soup for a cold Memorial Day Weekend!

From Drop Box

Here are the onions, carrots, beets, and parsnip all cut up and ready to be roasted.

From Drop Box

This is the finished product:

From Drop Box

I spent some time making a list of meals today and doing a little shopping. I'll post that tomorrow in the "Meals and Checklists" section. I'm using the Moosewood cookbook this time around, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Protein intake check

In carrying on with the theme of protein this week, I decided to look at my protein intake for just a day. Since I read that most people get 4 or 5 times too much protein per day, I was interested to see where I fell in that. I was surprised at the results!

As a woman, I'm supposed to have 25 to 50 grams of protein a day (oddly wide range, huh?) For breakfast, I had my tea with milk (9g) and toast (5g) with peanut butter (1 tbsp.=3.5g) and flaxseeds (1 tbsp.=1.5g). I was shocked that my breakfast was already 19 grams of protein! I then had a cheese stick at lunch (6g) and the Thai Protein Salad with tofu (5.5g). For dinner, I had a portobello mushroom with brie (not sure) and bulgur (6g), plus a glass of milk (9g). So, just with that, I had had at least 36g of protein. That's with no meat and relatively little cheese or other major sources of protein. I can see how people overdo it.

Now, I'm not really going to change my intake, because I think it's fine with the running I do and for my lifestyle in general. I'm definitely not overdoing it. I was just shocked to see how quickly it added up. I will definitely consider my balance of protein to complex carbs and healthy fats.

A couple of news items of interest:

Someone on Facebook posted this article: 7 Foods So Unsafe Even Farmers Won't Eat Them. I was nodding along with these but am feeling a little panic at the canned tomato thing. I haven't yet found any non-canned tomatoes that are easy to store and use. Any ideas, anyone? (And yes, I know canning is an option. Just not a likely one for me.)

On a related note, I found this article "Pesticides on Produce Tied to ADHD in Children" quite interesting.

Checking In

I've been a little MIA the last week due to being just swamped at work with a big project. It's all done and submitted now, so I can get back on the blogging wagon. Not that I have a million followers of the blog, but I know a few of you are reading. Thanks!

I realized that though I've still been following the principles of The Great American Detox Diet, I haven't caught up on my reading! I'm in week 6, which is all about protein: how Americans eat too much of it, how dangerous some of the common sources can be, and what alternatives there are.

It seems like in society we're inundated with messages about getting enough protein. Just think about those milk ads and the whole idea of building strong bones and muscles. It is true that our bodies need calcium and protein for a strong body, but we Americans consume way too much of it! It's recommended that men eat between 30 and 60 grams of protein a day, while women should eat between 25 and 50. Most Americans eat between 100 and 120 grams a day, so well over twice as much as the recommended amount! Eating too much protein can have serious health effects, including certain cancers, asthma, and migraines.

Another issue is that our most common sources of proteins (animal products) aren't always the most safe. Many fish have high mercury content, which can be very dangerous if it builds up in your system. Cows can carry E. Coli, and chickens can carry salmonella. Many cows are treated with rBGH, a growth hormone to bring the cows to adult weight quickly. This hormone ends up in the milk and meat, and though long-term studies of this effects of this have not been concluded, it's certainly not smart to be adding unnatural hormones to our body.

In addition to the issue of protein, having too much calcium is bad. As I said, having calcium is necessary for strong bones and teeth, but too much in your system can actually leach calcium from your bones! How weird and counter-productive is that?

What it all boils down to is that people need to work on getting protein from non-animal sources. There are many yummy, healthy foods that are great sources of protein and calcium. Here is a great list of these sources.

Of course, now that I'm back, I will be off for a couple of days as I head to Spokane to run in the Windermere Half Marathon. I'll try to check in tomorrow, but I'll be back for sure Sunday night!

Mindless Eating

I've been very busy at work these last few days and have been desperate to relax when I get home, so I've been spending a lot of time in front of screens. Television and computer screens, that is. I've been eating in front of them more than I'd like to admit, taking my lunch at my desk as I've been working and eating dinner at home in front of the TV. I've found myself not paying attention at all to what I'm eating, just mindlessly chowing down as I eat.

Through a friend, I found another blog that I'm just loving: Real Food is Good Food. She has wonderful, delicious-looking recipes and gorgeous photos of the process to make it all. I highly recommend it!

Another is Smitten Kitchen. Ditto on the recipes and the photos. I can't wait to find out some of the things I'm finding on these sites! Namely, Homemade Pop-Tarts. I've never wanted a pocket pastry so much in my life!

Our dinner tonight was a Thai Protein Noodle Salad from The Great American Detox Diet. I can't find a recipe online, but it had bean sprouts, tofu, rice noodles, avocado, red bell pepper, and a yummy dressing made with peanut butter, ginger, and soy sauce. I can't even tell you how good it was and exactly what I needed to prep for the race this weekend!

From Drop Box

Food, Inc. Part I

I watched Food, Inc. last night. It was shown on PBS and you can still access it on their website here. I found it just incredible to watch and learned so much more about our food and food supply here in the U.S. So much of it was astounding to me and I feel pretty well informed already. So many Americans just have no idea what they're putting into their mouths and the mouths of their children!

Some notes I took and a little commentary:

The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000. - This wasn't a surprising fact per se, but hearing it really brought home the seriousness of the Standard American Diet. Why are we messing with what's worked for 10,000 years? Convenience? Taste?

The top 4 beef producers control 80% of the market. - Well, we know where our meat is coming from. Not that that's a good thing.

Many of the chickens “raised” never see sunlight. - This fact, along with the shots of the poor chickens in the poultry house made me sad. My heart just aches for mistreated animals and I wonder what it says about our humanity that we can do this to other creatures.

The chicken has doubled in size in the last 50 years, due to production needs. They go to full size now in 7 weeks. They grow so fast, their internal organs and bones can’t keep up and they can barely walk. - See above.

We eat 200 lbs. of meat per person, per year. - Now that's just gross.

Corn is being fed to cows to fatten them because it’s cheap and abundant, but cows are really grass-eaters. Mutant, more dangerous E. coli is formed by their eating this diet. Normally, grass would keep the E. coli out of their system for the most part. The runoff from our farms is contaminating other products, like spinach. - Now this fact made me nervous. I can make better choices, such as organics or buying from certain companies, but the lax USDA standards and inspections really are scary. I may think I'm making the best decision, but it could have terrible consequences.

The food regulatory agencies have often been led by the former heads of the largest food companies and lobbyists. - Being a history major, this surprises me not at all, but it makes me really sad. Really, really sad. Plus, it makes me wonder about other industries as well.

Kevin’s Law, which would give the USDA the ability to shut down plants with numerous failures of microbial tests, has not been passed in the 6 years it’s been in circulation. The lobbyists keep making sure it’s defeated. The bill is named after Kevin, a 2 ½ year old boy that died of hemorrhagic E. Coli. - See above. Kevin's story just broke my heart, especially since my daughter is not much older than he was when he died. It blows my mind that our government cannot regulate its own industries. Is the tail wagging the dog here or what?

I took so many notes that I'm going to have to finish up for today and give you the rest tomorrow. It was definitely worth my time to watch and I hope you will as well!

I picked up some more books at the library today, so be prepared for much more information! Man, my reading list has grown!

From Drop Box

The other day, I posted a not-so-great photo of the whole oat groats I had for breakfast. Though this is steel-cut oats, I fixed it the same way, with a little flaxseed oil, a tiny bit of milk, chopped almonds and walnuts and golden and regular raisins. This is Lauren's portion, not mine. Clearly, I hope.

From Drop Box

This was tonight's dinner: Walnut and Lentil Salad from The Great American Detox Diet. I can't find the recipe, but it has spinach, lentils, walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes and various oils and spices. Very filling and very good!

From Drop Box

Carb Week!

No, I don't get to eat lot of them, though that would be fun.

Last night, I read the next week's chapter out of The Great American Detox Diet and found that this week is about carbs. I was actually excited about this, as I don't know much about carbs, besides hearing that they're bad for you and then that they're good for you and then bad for you again.

Basically, carbs aren't the enemy as long as you're eating the right ones. Same with fat, actually. It comes down to refined and unrefined carbs. Unrefined carbs are those that have not been processed down, so it's your whole wheat pastas and flours and brown rice. Your body takes longer to process these, giving you a steady stream of energy throughout the day. This is the opposite from refined carbs, like white flour, pasta and rice. Those go into your system and process much more quickly, giving you a quicker high of energy but then also a faster dip. Unrefined carbs also help you feel fuller longer, so you don't feel tempted to snack.

So what did I go out and eat today? Sushi with white rice. You can't win them all.

I will, however, be working to include more complex carbohydrates in my diet. The tally so far: more water, less sugar, less caffeine, more healthy fats and fewer bad ones, and more unrefined carbs. Check, check, check. I think I can handle this.

Observations from the guinea pig: Three of the six pounds I had gained were already gone this morning. I knew it was mostly water but was still disturbed. I'll be interested to see how long it takes the other to go away.

Tonight's dinner was a Chicken Not-Pie from Food Matters. It was decent. I think I'd need to tweak it a bit. I served it over some whole-wheat pasta, so the whole thing was a little bland. It also had a little too much chicken and I had cut my veggies too big. Live and learn. I definitely will try making it again.

Starting the Morning Off Right

Every morning I walk into the kitchen and think, "Dammit! I meant to make some oats last night!" I adore steel-cut oats, but they just take so, so long to cook that I've been wanting to make them in the evenings to have in the morning. Until I get distracted by Lauren or cooking dinner or something shiny and then forget, of course. I've been eating whole wheat toast with a little peanut butter, which is good but no substitute for oats.

Finally, last night I remembered what I wanted to do, so I made another recipe from The Great American Detox Diet: Hearty Morning Oatmeal Porridge. Basically, it's just whole oat groats (pre-steel cutting), simmered for a (really, really) long time in water and a little orange juice with some nutmeg and cinnamon. When it's done, you stir in some maple syrup and top with chopped nuts. I used almonds and walnuts and also added a little flaxseed oil and raisins. It was delicious and kept me full right up until lunch time.

Pre-fixing up. Not very pretty, but delicious!

From Drop Box

Tonight's dinner was awesome. I made the Spinach and Sweet Potato Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing from Food Matters by Mark Bittman. I mean, c'mon, everything is better with bacon, right? It was heavenly, and was certainly enough to eat for dinner. I highly recommend it! Now, what was it I said about maybe going vegetarian?

Once again, my photography talents make the food look much less appealing than it was, but you get the idea!

From Drop Box

I picked up two new cookbooks tonight at the library that I'm excited about. One is an old familiar: Mooosewood Restaurant New Classics. I also got Skinny Bitch in the Kitch which is actually a vegan cookbook. I never would have guessed from the title, but there you go. You can't judge a book by its cover, right? I'll let you know when I try some of the recipes out!

On to Fat Week!

I wrapped up my week of cutting out sugar on Sunday and sat down that night to read up on what's next: caffeine. I honestly wasn't sure what to do about this one, since I don't consume much caffeine. I've stopped drinking pop because of the aspartame. I've stopped eating chocolate. My one last vice is my Earl Grey Tea Lattes in the morning (just tea and milk, no more vanilla syrup), and Earl Grey is black tea which has caffeine. I love my morning drink, though, so I wanted to go without giving it up if at all possible.

So, I decided to conduct a little science observation. On Monday, I drank my tea as normal in the morning and paid extra attention as to how I felt throughout the day. I felt pretty even-keeled all day. None of the ups and downs of caffeine that Alex Jamieson writes about in her book. So, I think I'm going to keep the caffeine in for now. Just the one cup a day, and I'm steeping it less than before. Once I run out of these tea bags, I'll just buy decaf from now on. I'm drinking the tea for the delicious warmth in the morning, not for the jolt.

That means, then, that I'm on to fat week! The gist of the week is to try to eliminate the bad fats and bring in more of the good. I finally learned what hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils are and why they're bad for you. Ditto on trans fats. Basically, they're just harder for your body to process and can end up just sitting in your liver, diminishing its function. Never mind it clogging your arteries. The disturbing thing is how much those trans fats are hidden and so how much we're eating them. Ick.

To counteract that, I'm trying to eat more healthy unsaturated fats. Nuts, fish, avocados, and certain cooking oils (especially olive oil) are all good sources of healthy fats, as long as they're eaten in moderation. Did someone just tell me to eat more guacamole?!?! Okay!

And by the way, I'm still cutting out refined sugar and most sweeteners as a whole, and it's going great. I feel really well and am not suffering any cravings. I haven't had chocolate in a week and a half, which is likely the longest I've ever gone in my life. People have been really nice about not offering me treats at work and I've been keeping my hands in my pockets a lot. Besides looking like a weirdo, it's going well. Ditto on the drinking more water. I read somewhere that if you're feeling a little tired in the afternoon to drink more water and take a little walk, and that's really helping!

Finally, I've been following the recipes in The Great American Detox Diet for almost three weeks now, so I'm practically living as a vegetarian, with the exception of a little ground turkey and some fish. You know what? It's really not that bad and actually quite doable. Something to think about...

I'm Pleasantly Surprised

I went to Costco today to stock up on a few things and thought I would take a spin around the store to see if there's anything that I could find that would fit in with this whole whole foods thing. Not likely, right?

Actually, I was wrong. There are a few things at Costco that I could buy, mostly in the fruits and veggies section. They have organic carrots, spinach, salad mix, and apples, which are all staples that I buy reasonably often. I did find a great whole wheat bread there without any nasty stuff that was considerably cheaper as a two pack than buying a single loaves at the store. I was disappointed that none of their frozen fruits and veggies were organic because I know I've seen them there before. We have two Costcos near us, one for businesses, and perhaps that one doesn't carry the organic brand. I'll have to make a trek to big Costco and see. I'll let you know how that comes out.

I've learned some interesting facts lately that have really backed up all of the changes I've been making and are encouraging me to learn more:

-Every pound of waste diverted from a landfill saves 2.5 pounds of carbon dioxide. After reading this I immediately started composting all of my kitchen waste, since luckily we can just put it in our yard waste bin.

-1 pound of beef generates the equivalent of 36 pounds of carbon dioxide. First, I'm glad we get all our beef from a family friend in Idaho. I know it doesn't fix things, but it helps. I'm also glad that we're trying to cut back pretty drastically on our meat consumption. I'm thinking red meat once a week is more than enough. And, surprisingly enough, Jeremy seems to be going along with this!

- We lose 2 acres of farmland to development every minute. Reading this hit me like a ton of bricks. As I said before, I'm from a long, long line of farmers and the tie to the land is still in there somewhere deep. We have to support our local farmers and keep small farms running in the United States. I'm so excited to get my box from Full Circle Farm on Wednesday and hope that it helps in some little way.

-Organic farming uses 30%-50% less fossil fuels. Now, I'm a big ol' hypocrite with my medium-sized SUV out in the driveway, but this is important to me. Things like this do add up. Ever since I had a child, I'm understanding this more and more.

Add to that that eating organic keeps pesticides out of your body and out of our water supply, and you have more than enough good reasons to buy organic. I'm going to be reading a book about organic farming by Maria Rodale as soon as it comes from the library, so I know I'll have more information to inundate you with.

Dinner tonight isn't really worth writing about. We just had a turkey enchilada casserole from the Weight Watchers cookbook. It's good, but it's nothing new to us and therefore not that thrilling. I also made great smoothie out of kefir, a banana, some frozen strawberries, and some ice cubes. Well, I thought it was great. Lauren declared it "yucky" and decided to put all of her veggies in it before dumping it out on her plate. Not thrilled with that one, but I'm going to continue to expose her to new things.

Listen up, ladies! Women who eat white bread, rice, pizza and other high-carbohydrate foods are more than twice as likely to suffer heart problems than women that eat fewer of these foods, according to a study recently released. Nothing surprising there, but it helps to see it in print. Also, notice the foods that are listed at the bottom as being good for you: all whole foods, unsurprisingly!

Early Mid-life Crisis?

So this evening, I was standing in the kitchen, hand-making veggie burgers and a roasted veggie and quinoa salad while wearing my running clothes and singing along with some song on Sirius' AltNation. It suddenly hit me like a bolt of lightning: I'm a totally changed person in the last couple of years. Heck, the last few weeks have been a massive change. Two years ago, you wouldn't have been able to make me run more than a mile and it would have taken some serious motivation for me to do that (like, being chased with a machete). I definitely wasn't an "alternative" music person; I've always tended more towards to pop music. And this whole cooking with whole foods thing is a total change. I mean, I've always liked cooking and have cooked mostly at home, but really paying attention to labels and using organic produce and cooking with whole grains... very new. I'm a little young for a mid-life crisis (nearly 32) but what else could it be, this total change? I guess it's not so bad as mid-life crises go; it's not like I'm running off with some sleek Spaniard named Alejandro. Not yet, anyway.

Today is day 7 without refined sugar and I think I made it. I had a bite of a cookie that Lauren was eating, but it was from PCC, so I'd suspect it has evaporated cane sugar crystals or the like. Ditto the apple crisp I just had a few bites of. Jeremy really wanted me to have a little bit of a sweet treat and I agreed that was a good idea. That I know was made with florida crystals, which is unrefined. So, I think I made it! Tomorrow is the beginning of the caffeine week of The Great American Detox Diet; I'm not a big caffeine drinker, so we'll see how that goes.

I have a couple of (clickable) photos for you! Tonight's dinner: Veggie Burger patty on whole wheat bread wit dijon mustard and lettuce with Roasted Veggie and Savory Quinoa Salad (both from The Great American Detox Diet:

From 2010-03-25

And from last week, the veggie loaf with mashed sweet potatoes and green salad:

From 2010-03-25

Tomorrow, I'm going to post about why I've chosen to go with organics. Until then, I have a couple of articles for you to read. One is an amusing send up of this whole "Double Down" business by KFC. Seriously, that sandwich is everything that's wrong with our food culture.

The other is about artificial coloring in food, from the perspective of one mom. The Spoonfed blog is fantastic and really shows how it can be a struggle to kick off our society's bad habits with food. She's the Militant Food Mommy of which I speak, but the milder version I wouldn't mind being. The advocate, not the crazed-letter writer. I can hang with advocacy.

I've Bought the Farm

Okay, not the whole farm, but a share of it. A tiny, tiny share, but it makes a big difference to my family! More about that in a minute.

Day 4 of no refined sugar, and I'm doing really well. I've had temptations all around and have avoided them all. I was out at a school and was offered cookies that I didn't take. I had sushi for lunch and decided not to eat the spicy tuna after seeing HFCS in the spicy sauce (!). I love spicy tuna, so that's huge. At a late meeting, I was offered cookies and other sweets for snacks, and I didn't eat them. I'm figuratively keeping my hands in my pockets, and I'm proud of myself. I've been feeling really good, too. No mid-afternoon sleepies. Now I just have to keep going.

In addition to kicking the sugar and drinking much more water(much, much water), we've been eating all whole foods for the last week. That's going really well. It's all been easy: buying the food and fixing the recipes really hasn't taken me more time. Plus, given that it's all so filling, I'm finding that I'm eating a little less. Tonight I made a gorgeous Corn and Kidney Bean Chili with a Lemon Chickpea salad (both from The Great American Detox Diet) and could barely eat half. It's so good, too!

Back to the farm thing, I've decided to try buying a box of fresh produce from a local farm every two weeks. I was able to get all the produce I needed from our local PCC market, but for quite a high price. Plus, not much of the food was local. Organic is my priority, but I'd like to do what I can to support our local farmers too. After a chat with a friend, I've narrowed it down to two: Full Circle Farm and Klesick Family Farm. Spud.com is an online service from which you can order organic produce as well as other groceries, but not enough of it was local for my taste. I might come back to that, though. I think of my two final choices, I'm going with Full Circle because they actually grow most of their own produce on site and I really like that. I'm going to order my first box this weekend, so we'll see how it goes! I don't get to choose the mix, but can tailor what we eat each week based on what's in the box. Also, because the market is so close, I can also supplement. Another piece is clicking into place!

Jamie Oliver's third "Food Revolution" is available now. He gets the high schoolers involved and it's just heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. A must watch! Just be prepared to cry.

Don't Pour Some Sugar On Me

Not a moment too soon, just post-Easter, is my week of limiting sugar from The Great American Detox Diet. After how crappy and tired I felt last night after consuming my body weight in attractive pastel candies, I couldn't be more thrilled about this.

In reading the chapter to get ready for the big day, I learned quite a bit about sugar that I didn't know. I mean, I always knew that my body felt sluggish after a large amount of sugar, but learning about the whole process of your body making insulin and then not being able to keep the balance was really interesting. It makes me sad that so many people in the U.S. are keeping themselves on this scary cycle of sugar highs and lows that are just wrecking their bodies. No wonder Type 2 diabetes is on the rise, especially in the younger population! That adult disease isn't just for the over-30 crowd anymore!

I also finally learned why High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is bad for you. I mean, I've always heard that it's bad but didn't know why. Turns out it gets stored directly as fat when it goes into your body, unlike regular sugars that are used as energy first. Also, HFCS doesn't trigger the "I'm full" feeling that we all should have, so it's actually tricking us into eating more of those nasty things. Shun!

I was amazed by how many other names for sugar appear on food labels. No wonder we eat it all the time without knowing! I even noticed that florida crystals aren't even on this list, and I'm sure others are missing. Plus, the artificial sweeteners: aspartame, xylitol, saccahrin...we're awash in empty calories!

So I woke up, all strident and ready to go! I'd already kicked most of the sugary stuff out of the cabinets and was feeling all empowered. Until I realized that I really hadn't thought through breakfast. I usually eat instant oats, but those have artifical sweeteners. The Honey Nut Cheerios are sugary as well. I didn't have time to make steel cut oats. So, after I stood there for a couple of minutes, I decided to make an English muffin with some natural peanut butter. I was thinking the combination of the protein and carbs would get me through the day, and while there is some sugar in the English muffin, I do like them and anyway need to finish the package. Down they went. I even made my morning tea latte without the vanilla syrup and could definitely get used to that in the future.

I took my lunch with me (leftover halibut and pasta with veggies) but Carol the lunch lady had my favorite salad today: Strawberry Spinach. Damn the siren call of that salad! I ended up ordering it, but realized that the dressing probably had sugar in it. There really wasn't any good alternative, so I lessened the impact of the sugar by just dipping my fork into the dressing before each forkful. That worked well and I felt cool.

Dinner was easy (see below) and my book group without knowing my sugarfreeness assembled a delcious dinner that had little to no sugar involved. I did have a pint of beer, which does contain sugars, but overall I avoided refined sugars for the most part today. I think the main thing is changing my mindset that stress = sugar or that sugar = treat. That's going to be the harder work.

Incidentally, I learned that 1 teaspoon of sugar is about 4.2 grams. That's quite a lot when you start looking at the labels! By the end of breakfast, for example, I'd already had a teaspoon and a half, and that was eating something that was reasonably healthy. Just imagine what a Pop Tart would have been!

Tonight for dinner I made a delicious Veggie Loaf with mashed sweet potatoes and a green salad on the side. I was very pleasantly surpised with the Veggie Loaf, which comes from Alex Jamieson's book. It was pretty labor-intensive but enjoyable to make and the flavor was great. Even Jeremy the meat-eater said it was great. Lauren the picky toddler of course refused to eat it, but it's a process, right? The mashed sweet potatoes (with just a bit of flaxseed oil, maple syrup, and chili powder) were divine! I think I could get to liking this.

Oh, and I'm still drinking water. I think I need a bigger bottle at work, as the trips to refill are pretty distracting. At least it's a healthy distraction!

Adventures in Shopping

I feel kind of guilty posting this while my head is feeling all buzzy from the sugary Easter candy I just ate, but it's that time of year, right? Yum, Blue #5! It's funny how I immediately feel different after eating even just a small amount. I think the detox diet's week of weaning off sugar can't come soon enough!

I did do something right today: we had a great dinner. We ate halibut baked with just a little dill and lemon with asparagus and some whole wheat pasta with vegetables that were left over from a previous meal. It was delicious, especially the asparagus. I need to run to the store and get some more! Between that and the leftover chili I had for lunch, it was a good eating day. Minus the Easter candy, of course.

As I said yesterday, I did my first shopping trip with this new mindset and it was quite the experience. I ended up going to three stores and I had Lauren with me. While she was very patient with the whole process, it was difficult to juggle her and the amount of thinking I was having to do. I'm discovering this isn't easy!

Yesterday morning I sat down and planned my meals for about the next 10 days and made a grocery list. Most of the meals come from The Great American Detox Diet and a couple from Weight Watchers. We're eating ground beef twice and chicken and fish once each. Otherwise, we're going pretty veggie! We'll see how it goes, especially for my husband. (I'm putting all of those meals and my shopping lists on the page with that title. Just look at the top of this page.)

So, with the list in hand and toddler "driving" the plastic car attached to my cart, I started my first PCC adventure. I also had my list of foods that I need to find substitutes for (e.g. ketchup) and the list of additives to stay away from. I was juggling quite a bit!

I started in the fruit and vegetables section and immediately got nervous. Everything there is organic, so I didn't have choice in that way. I know there are things that you don't need to buy organic, so I immediately began to worry that I was buying too much organic. But, I also didn't want to go anywhere else, so there wasn't a choice. Add to that that I couldn't find parsnips and I was a bit stymied. I finally got out of that section, though, with everything I needed (except the parsnips) and just a little sticker shock.

I then began to look at cheeses. The prices there were nuts! I could buy regular Tillamook for quite a chunk of change or go fully organic for even more. I reluctantly grabbed the Tillamook, but ended up putting it back later and deciding to buy it at another store.

I went on the frozen fruit section to see what was there. It was all on sale so I bought mangoes and cherries. I already have strawberries and raspberries in the freezer, and the blueberries were just too expensive.

After that, it kind of became a blur. I put in my cart and then ended up deciding to buy enchilada sauce somewhere else, as well as the canned tomatoes. Those just seemed overly pricey and I want to do a little more research before I buy those things organic or otherwise. I did end up buying quinoa (once I found it), chickpeas, cupcakes for Lauren's class, and numerous other things that I thought were a good price. I even found cage-free eggs for a great price and yogurt for a decent price that I'm putting on my list for next time.

Beans, canned tomatoes, cheese, flaxseed oil, whole flaxseeds, the missing parsnips, some delicious peanut butter, ketchup, and organic frozen blueberries ended up coming from either Trader Joe's or Albertson's. I'm hoping to not have to go to three stores next time!

Overall, it turned out well. I bought lots of gorgeous produce and have great meals planned. I ended up spending more than I normally would, but that's to be expected. I'm still learning and will do more research on cheaper ways of buying these things. I'm looking at buying online and having it delivered on a weekly or biweekly basis, so if anyone has ideas, let me know!

Now I'm going to go have even more water to dilute this sugary sludge in my blood.

The Breakdown and the Breakthrough

Before I get all ranty and rave-y, I need to share what I made for dinner tonight. It's the Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili from The Great American Detox Diet and it was delicious! The sweet potato adds just the right counterbalance to the cumin and the lime adds just that little bit of freshness it needed. I served it over brown rice, so it was really filling and I ate less. Between needing a smaller portion size, it also makes a ton so I have food for tomorrow. My meat-loving husband said this vegetarian recipe was a keeper and I found it pretty easy to make. The most time-consuming thing was cooking the rice, but all told it was done in about 50 minutes, even with my toddler "helping." Yay for trying new things!

Now to the ranty and rave-y:

Today was an interesting day. I'm still on Spring Break, so I have the luxury of a little extra time to do some learning about all of this and then some planning and shopping. I decided that today was going to be a learning day, and it really brought me to some interesting places emotionally.

High: I bought a bunch of Easter candy. I love candy, and Easter candy in particular. The pastels get me.
Low: Blue #5? Artificial flavors? What the heck? I thought I was going to do better than this.
High: This is a learning process and I can't change overnight. However, I can take half the candy back tomorrow and enjoy the other half. Everything in moderation, even Blue #5.

High: I found Food Rules by Michael Pollan and Food Matters by Mark Bittman at the bookstore today, so no waiting on the library holds list.
Low: Crap. I have more to read.

High: I felt virtuous sitting in the Barnes and Noble coffee shop, learning about healthful things.
Low: Crap. I have a lot to learn. Phytochemicals, antioxidants, and MSG, oh my! I'm making light of it now, but I got a little wound up about this. I'm someone that likes to lay everything on the table, learn as much as I can, and then synthesize it down into something I can read and understand. There's just a lot to learn.

High: Food Rules is really clearly written and totally pragmatic, which I appreciate. He's taken all the science and whittled it down into these "rules." If you want to read the science (which I do), you can read In Defense of Food or The Omnivore's Dilemma, both by him. I learned a ton and read about half the book in just 30 minutes. That's even with writing in the margins.
Low: Crap! What have I been doing all these years? Why have I been putting this junk in my body and feeding it to my kid, whom I love more than life itself? I'm a bad person!!! (This is where I got a little teary at the bistro table. Breakdown time, as much as I could in public.)

High: What's done is done, right? I can't go back, but I can go forward. I'm learning a ton and will put it into practice.
Low: Ain't nothing wrong with that feeling. This was my breakthrough.

It was time to pick Lauren up from daycare, so I went on my merry way. She and I stopped by the grocery store and there were a few highs and lows there too.

High: Lauren loves to shop and she's a good little helper.
Low: It takes forever to do anything with a toddler and add to that that I was having to figure out the organic vs. non-organic thing and how to get the best prices. If I'm going to do this, some streamlining is in order.

High: Lauren knows what a tomato is on sight and said, "Yay, broccoli!" when I was getting her out of the car to go in the store. I didn't even tell her to say that.
Low: None. That just feels good.

High: I felt virtuous when I watched all the nasty nasties roll down the conveyor belt of the patron in front of me. Not that I was judging what she was eating, but it made me feel good in comparison.
Low: I might just be a bad person for that. I'm not sure. I didn't say anything out loud, though.

Tomorrow I'm going shopping. On the blog side, I'm going to share some of the things I'm learning out of Food Rules. In the meantime, I'm also going to update my Goals and Checklists page (see under the banner) because I'm rethinking my approach to this.

Are you still drinking your water? Boy howdy, am I ever! It feels... floaty, but good.

Bring on the Water!

I'm finding Alex Jamieson's The Great American Detox Diet a great, super easy read. It's broken up into eight one-week chunks, designed for you to either add or take something out of your diet. I'm extremely trepidatious about the sugar week (you remove it, obviously), but am excited about the (adding) water week, which is the first one.

I'm already a pretty good water drinker, so I'm feeling like I have this one in the bag. I drink at least 72 ounces of water a day, every day. It's not that I'm really that conscientious about it; I just really like water. I cut out sodas a few months ago and found it quite easy to drink more water. I just keep a bottle on my desk that I refill every so often, usually on the way to the bathroom from drinking so much water!

Now that I've read the chapter on water, I'm realizing just how important it is to drink. Not just the recommended amount of 8-10 glasses a day, but more if possible. That 8-10 recommendation only replaces what you've sweated and breathed out in the course of a day, so drinking 10+ is ideal. It aids digestion, keeps the kidneys and liver happily functioning (and the liver processes stored fat, so you can lose weight by drinking more!), and keeps your lovely brain nice and hydrated. We're mostly water anyway, so keeping that balance is ideal.

Not only that, but it can also help in disease prevention. "In a study conducted at the Centre for Human Nutrition at the University of Sheffield, England, researchers concluded that women who stay adequately hydrated reduce their risk of breast cancer by 79%." What?!?! 79%!?! Why don't we know this? Why isn't it being shouted from the rooftops? Why isn't it posted on the nice little breast self-exam card that's hanging in my shower? What's more: "Another study, done at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, found that women who drink more than five glasses of water a day have a 45% reduced risk of colon cancer compared with women who drink two or fewer glasses of water a day." I recognize that these studies have been small-scale, but the findings are very, very interesting. Definitely can't hurt to drink more water, right?

Who's thirsty now?

Hey! I Resemble That Remark!

Our library is so cool! Today it sent me an email to let me know that one of my thousands of on-hold books had come in: The Great American Detox Diet by Alex Jamieson. (Thanks for the recommendation, Tia!) So, I went down the big hill to pick it up, and I'm already hooked.

Alex Jamieson is the fiancee of Morgan Spurlock of Supersize Me and was part of the documentary. After he complete the 30 days, gaining 24.5 pounds and 65 points of cholesterol(!), Alex helped him detox using the principles in this book. I've only read the first two chapters, but I'm already enjoying it. It's easy to read and has just the right amount of information. (I'm finding it really easy to get overwhelmed with this; there's just so much to know!)

In her introduction, she talks about her upbringing in Oregon on mostly organic and whole foods and how she really never paid attention to what she was eating or how it made her feel. It wasn't until she was a young adult and got into some bad eating habits that she noticed how the food she ate made her feel. Her skin changed, she got more bloated and had other intestinal problems, and she dealt with headaches and periods of depression. Morgan also felt much of the same in his shortened experiment with eating McDonald's for every meal.

As I was reading it, every word was resonating with me. After college, my now-husband and I moved in together and set up house. The problem was, I had no idea how to cook for two and ended up making mostly pastas, big casseroles, and pre-packaged convenience foods. I ended up gaining about 45 pounds in 4 years and just felt awful. I had headaches, intestinal problems, and had a 6-month or so period of dealing with depression. Sound familiar? I know now, absolutely, that what I was eating led me to that. It wasn't until I joined Weight Watchers and learned a new way of being that I started to feel more myself again.

Even now, when I'm eating much, much healthier than I did in those earlier days, I can definitely tell when my body isn't happy with what I've been eating. It is usually through my running that I notice it the most: I just feel sluggish and slow in those weeks that I've been eating crap. Doesn't mean I've changed much since noticing that, but at least I have a barometer of sorts.

Some interesting things I learned in the first chapters:
-Studies have been done that demonstrate the negative effects the Standard American Diet (SAD) has had on various cultures once it's been introduced. Literally, bone structures have changed and diseases have increased. No wonder we've created a generation that will have a shorten lifespan than their parents!
-The average American eats more than 50 pounds of food additives a year.
-Americans buy 50% of their food from only 10 companies.

I found a Facebook group on which people are discussing Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Numerous people like me have started blogs, one of which, Spoonfed, is really great. I've linked it to the right if you have some time. Those of you with kids might be especially interested.

I've also linked to my friend Sarah's blog, Food for Thought. She's a registered dietitian and posts some great recipes with review from her two children. I already want to try several of them!