Health Journey

At the beginning of April, my sister gifted me with a month membership at our local gym.  I had also begun the vegan journey as well.  I've worked out consistently only missing a few days here and there.  As of today, I am down from 220 lbs to 191 lbs.  I can't tell you how excited I am about that.  Sadly my membership ends Sunday, but I won't let that stop me on this journey of getting healthy and fit.  I'm doing it for my health and well being, not for the slimming factor...that's just a bonus!!!

So now I am looking into extending this journey by adding juicing and raw.  I don't think I ever want to be 100% raw, but I am considering raw as a large portion.  Right now my daily routine is a green smoothie for breakfast, a snack if I want it, which I haven't.  I have actually had to force myself to eat lunch because I'm just not hungry.  I usually just force myself to drink another green smoothie. and then dinner (which is vegan).

The change I'm considering is green smoothies for breakfast every other day, juicing on those off days, and continue my green smoothie for lunch or a raw lunch and then a cooked meal for supper.  I'm thinking that I will kick start this regime with a 3 day juice fast and clear my system out and then add back in the smoothies for 3 days and then add in raw for 3 days and then introduce myself back into that one cooked meal.  AGAIN, this is not for weight loss, though that is the perk.  I simply want to lower my blood pressure, cholesterol, and get my body to the best optimal health that I can. 

I love that I'm losing weight and my ideal goal is to be 145 lbs.  But I won't do the weight loss and sacrifice my health.  Health first, weight loss second!!!!

I'll try to post a before picture and a current picture soon!

Tasha

Stuffed Poblano Peppers....Vegan Style

I have been having loads of fun trying out new vegan recipes and thus far we haven't found any we DON'T like.  Tonight's recipe was Stuffed Poblano Pepper.  The original recipe I got from The Vegan Zombie.  My son and I have watched every one of their videos...him for the zombie scenes and me for the recipes!  Although he's been checking out the recipes too telling me which one's to try next. 

When I think of it I'll try to post our weekly menu, just to give you an idea of the things we're eating.  This week so far:
Sun:  Spicy Black Bean Burgers with chips
Mon:  Spicy Black Bean Burgers with homemade fries (yes when they like something really well, they ask for repeats the next night!)
Tue:  CousCous Salad...I thought there WOULD be leftovers for the next night....NOT!!!
Wed:  Fried Rice...I thought there would be leftovers of this as well.....
Thur:  Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Fri:  Stuffed Shells (also a Vegan Zombie recipe)
Sat:  Not sure just yet, maybe I'll double the recipe on Friday and we'll have leftovers.

Each morning is a green smoothie and lunch is usually a green smoothie too.  I actually have to force myself to drink it because the breakfast smoothie keeps me sustained until about 4:30 and by then I'm cooking supper.

I was watching some other cooking videos and discovered a product that looks like shrimp but it's NOT shrimp.  I'm thinking Sunday will be Jambalya, "Shrimp" Scampi, or something like that.  It's called Sophie's Kitchen.

I also discovered a new vegan restaurant about 12 or so miles from us AND a health food store!!!  The closest one WAS about 30 miles away, but not anymore!!!!

Now feast your eyes on these babies!!!!  

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

The filling is so delicious and would be great in a burrito.  Since we have a huge batch of it left over, I think I'll go get some flour tortillas for supper tomorrow.

I did make a few changes to the recipe.  I didn't cut my peppers in half.  I also added the vegan queso to the mix.  I used fresh corn instead of frozen.  I also added avocado to the mix!  And since we like spicy, I added 3 chipotle peppers to the mix...I could have added 2 more, this was not spicy to us at all!!!


Tasha

400th Post!!!!

It's hard to believe that this is post 400.  I've moved blogs several times only to come right back to this one.  This one blog has been my trusted friend and holds a lot of my most cherished memories!

There's no great give-away...I'll save that for the 500th post.  However, there are some things I want to share.  I'm currently working on this project that I saw on another blog.  And I've gotten all of the vegan recipes I've collected over the last 3 months all saved onto my computer and I'm just needing to print them out and get the rest of the organization part done.  I did get the magnetic calendar, but the other stuff will have to wait until I have more income. 

I also treated my children to dinner out tonight.  We haven't gone out to eat in 6 months!!!!  We went to Chipotle and I was a bit worried there wouldn't be much for me to choose from.  However, when I saw I could have the same thing, just minus the meat, cheese, and sour cream, I got excited.  They even have brown rice for you to choose now!  It was DELICIOUS!!!!!!

Then on our way home, I noticed a sign in the window of a business.  Veggie House!  I did a U-turn to go check it out.  What did my eyes behold?  14 miles from home is a vegan/vegetarian restaurant.  They've only been open a few months, but it smelled so yummy in there!  I was upset I hadn't seen this before I got Chipotle!  They're menu boasts of American, Italian, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Mexican Cuisine Vegan/Vegetarian style!!!!!!!  The smells that wafted through that building were exhilarating and I can't wait to have a bit more income to give it a try. 

I'm all set to take my exam for school on May 4th!  I'm excited about the possibilities.  A year of nursing school and then midwifery training!  It's all invigorating!  I can't wait to see what God does in the next few years and to think I could be delivering babies!!!!  Amazing!

Well, I'm off to work on another creation the Lord gave me.  I'll share in a few weeks.

Vegan Eating

Over the past 2 weeks we have been eating vegan meals.  It's been fun and tasty.  I've found so many vegan cooks on YouTube that it's been pretty easy to find meals for each night.  We started the first week with many vegan Mexican dishes.  We LOVE Mexican food.  My camera is broke so I didn't get to take any pictures.  We ate tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and nachos.  On a few of those nights we had enough left over for the next night.  This week we started with the Vegan Corn Dogs and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Ummmmmmmm, Yum!!! That's all I can say. 

Seriously, they were just that good and the kids made more for lunch the next day.  Last night I made 2 batches of the Vegan Shepherd's Pie.  They devoured the first one last night and wanted to dig into the second one for lunch.  I had to veto that. 

For lunch today and most likely dinner tomorrow, it was "Chicken" Salad.  It's made with chick peas, relish, and vegan mayo.  The texture is so similar to chicken salad that I totally forgot that's what I was eating.  It tasted like the real deal.  This was our second time having it.  The first time we had it for lunch last week and the kids kept sneaking back into the fridge eating it by the spoonfuls well into the night.  I went for some the next afternoon and there was none to be found.  NONE!!!!

I'll keep you posted on other recipes we try.  Until then, enjoy the links below. 

Trying AGAIN...

I've been gone a while and well, there is no excuse, but I had to just take some time and regroup.  My faith was struggling pretty bad and I had to find me in Christ.  Talk about persecution and torment, the last few weeks were some of the hardest to get through and yet I needed to get through them.

My children and I began to watch the Basic Seminar with Bill Gothard and I have to tell you there has been so much awakening for me and so much freedom gained through it.  There are many that would say he leads a cult, but I haven't found that to be true and I've not taken his word on anything, but looked through the scriptures for myself to back up what he is saying or dispute it if necessary.  I have, thus far, found no reason to dispute anything he has taught.  He seriously takes you right back to the Word of God and the Lord Jesus Christ!!!

So I've started over.  What does that mean exactly?  Well, it means that I've been working on the me God created me to be and some things I HAD to take back to the beginning!!!!  Relearning what God has to say about me.  Relearning what God has to say about Himself.  In all of that, I know there are some things I need to be doing and I've neglected to do them for one reason or another.
Just as things began to get so tumultuous for me and I was on the verge of throwing in the towel (in more ways than one), my sister asked me if I would work out with her for 30 days.  I agreed.  Had no idea how this would rejuvenate me spiritually!!!!  As I've been walking on the treadmill, or riding the stationary bike, or lifting weights, I have had a keen sense that God had some things I needed to go back to and some things He wanted me to change.  In come the promptings on my health and nutrition.

So, I started over with drinking my green smoothies again in addition to working out.  We ate ALL vegan meals for now 2 weeks and I can't begin to tell you how awesome I feel.

We are on the verge of losing our only transportation because I'm still without a job, but praying the local home health care will get at least 3 referrals for a home health aid....basically I have a job, just waiting for clients now.  I haven't stopped applying at other places though.  Our Internet will be off sometime today, but even with all of that, I have a new focus.  I'm concerned, but not depressed over these financial hurdles.  God has provided food we needed to begin this vegan journey.  And after the first week of working out and eating all vegan, I began to research yet again about this lifestyle.

I found.......greensmoothiegirl.com.  I actually found her through YouTube first and watched every video she posted over the last few years.  My son watched with me.  I began to get excited and pumped up about all the possibilities.  I don't believe in coincidences, so I know God had a purpose and plan in all of it.

I discovered a lump about 4 weeks ago.  I've been keeping a close "eye" on it and I haven't noticed it growing, but I do know it is there.  Only one of my children know that I have discovered it.  I called the free clinic and they have no openings until July.  My blood pressure was through the roof and I was having panic attacks nightly.  My weight was 220 lbs.

However, after changing my eating habits and then dipping into a vegan food quest, I noticed my clothes were beginning to fit differently.  I weighed myself as we began to work out last week and I was astonished to see that the scale read........... WAIT FOR IT................ 198 lbs.  So in 4 weeks I've lost 22 lbs.  I have a total of 53 lbs to go to get to my goal.  I feel great!  Oh I think I said that already.  The food tastes great that we have been eating and I'm noticing that I don't need quite as much to fill me up.

So back to these green smoothies.  I've done them off and on for the past 6 years.  The longest I've done them is about 18 months.  I got lazy and didn't think they were making such a huge difference.  However, the last time I lost a whopping 47 pounds, that's exactly what I was doing, having a green smoothie every morning and working out for an hour 6 days a week.  If it worked then, why did I stop?  I got lazy...... no excuse and no other explanation.

The only difference now in these green smoothies is I'm following green smoothie girls advice by putting in MORE greens.  Previously I had put in spinach and various types of lettuces.  Now I've omitted the lettuces and I'm doing kale and collards as well as the spinach.  I'm adding frozen fruit, an apple or pear, and 2 bananas.  I thought with the additional greens that I wouldn't like it so much, but I guess because we've curbed our sugar intake for so long the taste didn't phase me one bit.  Well, actually, that's a lie.  It tastes superb!!!  I love the richness in flavor and the life of the greens.  The fruits, though not a lot, add just enough sweetness.  If you decide to give them a try for the first time however, I would suggest doing more fruit than greens and working your way to decrease the fruit and increase the greens each week.

I've also noticed that my palate is changing.  We had cake for my nephews 4th birthday and I totally could not eat the icing on it.  Way too sweet.  I am not craving sugars and sweets as much either, only right before my cycle.  I haven't denied those cravings, but I can't wait for them to be gone.  Green Smoothie Girl has this cake I so want to try, but I don't like chocolate, so I'm going to have to figure out how to change it to a white cake.  It's a beet chocolate cake and everyone on her site raves about it.  So in the next few weeks I hope to give it a try and make it a white cake...well, with beets, it will most likely be pink. LOL

I'm also working on starting to journal my vegan journey through videos on my YouTube channel, NeedingASavior.   There's nothing on there now, but I will be working on it in the next few weeks and with no Internet, I will only be able to post videos when I take my daughter to class or we head to the library.

I'm excited about the changes.  They are very much needed and I only wish I had done them head on 6 years ago.

In other exciting news, I'm going back to school.  I'm needing to take a placement exam and need the money for that by the 4th of May.  Summer classes begin on the 24th of May.  I've already gotten my financial aid for summer, fall, and spring classes taken care of.  Summer classes will consist of prerequisite classes, then I will take another exam in the fall to get into the LVN program.  After a year I will have completed that program and plan to work and save to begin the midwifery program.  That's the goal at this point, we'll see if God changes that or if this is indeed the road He has for me.

I Am Still Around

It's been several days since I've blogged and I've missed it.  It can be very daunting to blog when you feel you really don't have much to say to inspire or encourage others and that is what I'd like my blog to be about...as well as just showing the real side of who I am.
I'll try to give you a "brief" run down of what's going on in my world without boring you to death, or just maybe I will bore you...sorry in advance.  ;-)

We've been dealing with a nasty stomach bug that hit my house twice in two weeks.  SO NOT FUN!!!  However, we are all on the mend now.  I hadn't done much sewing to begin with in the past month and the illness didn't help much either.  I've made some decisions in the past 20 days.  I'm closing my online shop.  I'll actually NOT renew my web thing-a-ma-jig.  I will make a few business cards and as I give items away for gifts, I will include a card with it and people can come to my blog to see pics (I'll put up later) to see some of the things I've made.  I just don't feel motivated any longer to do mass sewing on a continuous basis.  I don't mind doing mass sewing for a craft fair or bazaar, but aside from that, it takes all the fun out of it for me and I want it to still remain enjoyable.  So I guess that answered my question....I am NOT cut out for being a salesman.  Not in the sense of having a shop.

What I really want to do (I don't think any of my friends or family know this) is teach others to sew, even if it's just basic things.  I wish I could start a sewing studio, set up with 5-8 machines at all times and teach beginning sewing.  Then I wonder, do people really want to learn how to sew?  I'm looking into classes at our local homeschool coop as a trial test.  I just wish I had a better place to set up....NOT JoAnn Fabrics.  That's my favorite place to shop, but I don't want to deal with their fees and such.  If I did, I'd basically be making pennies on the dollar....and they'd be taking the dollars. :-/
I know I have to start somewhere, but as a single mama, I need to be able to bring something home with which to feed my children with.

Anyway, I've also been asked to consider doing a devotional.  I'm just wondering, do I have ANYTHING to put in a devotional?  With ALL the thousands out there, WHO would want mine?  Would I gear it towards single moms?  And I'm seriously NOT articulate with my words!  My mother was a word person.  She loved all things words and learning.  I know just enough to get me in trouble!!!  More decisions which to pray about...

And I don't have to tell you, but I will, I'm struggling in my prayer life.  Struggling because I see God at work in my life, but when I look at the massive poverty we still live in and the thought of having to go back to a 9 to 5 in order to provide for my children, it is daunting and I get discouraged.  I'm not even sure which way to pray at times and yet, I keep trudging along...my children are watching.

On to other news.....

The other night I watched a really good and interesting documentary.  Forks Over Knives Now it got me to thinking AGAIN about what we eat.  I had gone the route of trying vegetarian full force and after about 21 days, I went back to my old habits.  Then just this year we gave it a go again, only this time I decided we would only have meet a few times a week.  That went well for a while as well, but yet again, I got lazy and went back to what I was comfortable with.  You know when you know something and are comfortable with it, it doesn't take much brain power to crank out a weekly or monthly menu and shop accordingly and cook accordingly.  It's a serious no brainer, but when you are switching to something so drastically unfamiliar, it takes A LOT of brain power and well, I got lazy!!!
So after watching this documentary, I began to THINK again.  I have heart disease, high blood pressure, anxiety attacks, high cholesterol, and now milk (I LOVE MILK) is doing a number on my stomach.  Now I totally dig veggies.  I enjoy them more than meat, so it's not the meat per say that I'm having an issue with giving up.  I totally LOVE dairy and eggs.  Yet this just may be one of the main culprits contributing to my health issues.  Knowing that, I still want my dairy and eggs.  I can go without milk...sigh.
I can learn to cook with almond or coconut milk, no biggie.  However, I don't know how to go without my cheeses, butter, and eggs!!!!  Well, I have been substituting coconut oil for butter whenever possible...not sure how to do that in baking.  OK, so that leaves me the cheese, eggs, and baking with butter dilemma.  I tried one of those cheese substitutes Daiya......ummm NO!!!!  What happens when I'm craving an omelet?  It doesn't happen often, but we have chickens in our chicken coop and they lay beautiful eggs.  Do I give in to that craving every now and then?  What happens when I want lasagna or a casserole that calls for cheddar cheese?  Or what about Mac N Cheese?  OH MY WORD!!!!!!!  I think this might be a bit easier if I had a nearby vegan friend that I could go to her house and sample her food.  UGHHH

Well, I've given myself until Jan 1, 2012 and I will switch over completely.  I have until then to find things I like to substitute the things I love.  Until then, I am gradually making changes.  I bought almond milk for cooking, not sure what to drink when I have a cookie....:-/  I'm already using coconut oil where I can.  I've switched from whites...flour, sugar, pasta, and rice.  Any vegans following me?  Got any pointers? I have also got to get my garden tilled and begin to compost and fertilize it now so it will be good and ready to go come spring.  Another sad thing is I JUST GOT ALL MY RECIPES CATEGORIZED AND IN 1 BINDER!!!!!  After 3 years I got it done last month and NOW I will have to redo it with vegan recipes. arghhhhhhh ughhhhhhhh

However, I know this is best for my health, so I will do it.  I'm over 260 pounds and I've got over 110 pounds to lose.  Oh My Word...seeing that just made me realize, I'm carrying a whole extra person on me.  No wonder I'm always so tired and lethargic and my heart races out of my chest!!!  Those are some sick numbers.  I've got to be serious about this whole thing...I do want to live a long life and enjoy grandchildren someday.  I can't do that if I'm in the grave because I enjoyed ALL of the things I love about food.

Anyway, that's what's going on in my world.  Ohhhh, and I am still considering moving.  I'm thinking Arkansas or Tennessee.  Just not sure when.  My youngest will be 18 in 2 years.  So then it will just be me moving if he leaves the nest at that age.  We shall see, only God knows!!