My daughter had a class project to do for school. She needed to reproduce a family recipe and share it with the class. We don't really have a family recipe that has been handed down, especially one that is vegan so we decided to create our own. We came up with a cookie that tastes pretty damn good. My daughter calls them VEGAN LIMA CHEWIES.
Cookie:
2 1/2 cups flour
1teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups original applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon ground flax seed
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
Sift flour and soda together and set aside. Mix remaining cookie ingredients together and stir in dry flour mixture. Mix well. Drop by teaspoon full on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake 350 F for 12-15 minutes. Frost while warm
Frosting:
1Tablespoon applesauce
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime rind
Juice from 3 limes
3 cups powdered sugar
Mix all frosting ingredients together and drop by teaspoon onto warm cookies.
These turned out good. Normally I would not have eaten any but this was a special occasion. The next time I make these I'm going to try adding a mushed re banana into the cookie mixture to see how that affects the cookies texture. A side note the cookies do not spread while baking so make sure they look how you want them to before you put them in the oven.
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Monday, May 23, 2016
Fat Chance
Fat chance that I was able to cut out all overt fats out of my diet. I have eliminated oils out of my diet but I still enjoyed avocados and some nuts. I tried to eliminate avocados as well but have failed miserably. I noticed that by eliminating the extra fat I felt famished. It could be withdrawals, I'm just not sure. I do know my normal amount of food wasn't cutting it. I ate more and found myself feeling hungry sooner. I usually experience the second meal effect from the beans I eat which would last till mid morning the following day. With out the overt fat I haven't noticed the second meal effect. I'm bringing back my avocados tonight!
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Sprouting Has Me Boiled Over
I'm toying around with sprouting my grains and beans. I've learned that sprouting could be a healthy option to pack more nutrients into my food. Sprouting breaks down the seed before you consume it. That means less work on your body's digestive system. Sprouting is also less allergenic to people with grain protein sensitivities. I'm not worried about E.Coli, salmonella or listeria because I'm going to be cooking all my sprouts. I'm not sure how cooking will affect the nutrients though.
I found some interesting information about sprouting and cancer. As pertaining to breast cancer there is a study where raw bean extract, boiled bean extract and sprouted bean extract were dripped into a Petri dish of cancer cells. There was no amount of raw bean extract that appeared to totally stop the growth of the breast cancer cells but just small amounts of boiled beans and sprouted beans can. The same is true for melanoma. Against kidney cancer though, raw and boiled beans worked but the sprouted beans did not.
What about protecting the brain? The most abundant type of cells in your brain are called Astrocytes. These are little star shaped cells that keep our brains running smoothly. Damaged astrocyte cells may play a pivotal role in neurodegenerative disorders such as Lou Gerhig's disease, Alzheimer's, or Parkinson's.
In a Petri dish they tested healthy astrocyte cells to see if the different bean extracts affected the cells. Boiled beans did not hurt the cells and sprouted beans seemed to even help them grow a little. How about damaged astrocyte cells? Boiled bean extract offered the damaged cells protection whereas the sprouted beans did nothing for the damaged cells.
After finding these results I have decided to mix sprouted beans with non sprouted beans when I cook them. I will play around with the ratios but I think I will start with one part sprouted and two parts unsprouted. I will most likely do the same thing with my grains, but only if I have time to plan out my cooking for the week. If I forget or miss judge my timing on when to start the sprouting process, screw it. I'm cooking regular.
I found some interesting information about sprouting and cancer. As pertaining to breast cancer there is a study where raw bean extract, boiled bean extract and sprouted bean extract were dripped into a Petri dish of cancer cells. There was no amount of raw bean extract that appeared to totally stop the growth of the breast cancer cells but just small amounts of boiled beans and sprouted beans can. The same is true for melanoma. Against kidney cancer though, raw and boiled beans worked but the sprouted beans did not.
What about protecting the brain? The most abundant type of cells in your brain are called Astrocytes. These are little star shaped cells that keep our brains running smoothly. Damaged astrocyte cells may play a pivotal role in neurodegenerative disorders such as Lou Gerhig's disease, Alzheimer's, or Parkinson's.
In a Petri dish they tested healthy astrocyte cells to see if the different bean extracts affected the cells. Boiled beans did not hurt the cells and sprouted beans seemed to even help them grow a little. How about damaged astrocyte cells? Boiled bean extract offered the damaged cells protection whereas the sprouted beans did nothing for the damaged cells.
After finding these results I have decided to mix sprouted beans with non sprouted beans when I cook them. I will play around with the ratios but I think I will start with one part sprouted and two parts unsprouted. I will most likely do the same thing with my grains, but only if I have time to plan out my cooking for the week. If I forget or miss judge my timing on when to start the sprouting process, screw it. I'm cooking regular.
Friday, May 20, 2016
Water Fasting Fridays
Fridays I do water fasting. From Thursday evening till Saturday evening I only drink water. I do it for spiritual reasons, but find overall I just feel better. Find your purpose and everything will fall into place.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Stress Eating
I would like to say my life is perfect and I am 100% compliant with The Vegan Fast, but life happens. One of my eating triggers is stress. It doesn't matter if it's family stress or work related stress. As soon as stress kicks in the urge to eat cranks up. Sometimes I am able to beat the urge back and sometimes I'm not. I keep healthy foods around the house for just these types of situations. When I stress eat I eat a small bowl of fruit or raw broccoli dipped in guacamole (which is amazing by the way). And I don't beat myself up, I move on.
It's not about willpower, it's about purpose. What is your purpose for doing The Vegan Fast? Purpose gets you a lot further than willpower ever will. Purpose gets me back on track when I have a stress eating session. Purpose keeps me from beating myself up. Apply purpose to your grocery shopping habits too. It causes you to make better buying decisions so you don't end up with a lot of processed food laying around.
It's not about willpower, it's about purpose. What is your purpose for doing The Vegan Fast? Purpose gets you a lot further than willpower ever will. Purpose gets me back on track when I have a stress eating session. Purpose keeps me from beating myself up. Apply purpose to your grocery shopping habits too. It causes you to make better buying decisions so you don't end up with a lot of processed food laying around.
Monday, May 16, 2016
To Hell With Statins!
Judging by the title I am obviously not a fan of Big Pharma. It's all business with the pharmaceutical companies. Drugs don't cure, they only treat, and all man made drugs are poisons to our bodies. The number one killer of the United States is heart disease. The best kept secret is the fact that the number one killer need not exist in the first place. We have literally dug our own graves with our forks.
Cholesterol is a great marker to check to measure your risk of heart disease. You should have a full lipid panel done several times a year to keep score. A full lipid panel consists of a few minutes and a finger prick. I get mine done at my local grocery store every three months for $29.99. The full lipid breaks out your cholesterol into three components HDL (Healthy),LDL (Lethal) and TRIGLYCERIDES. Any calories not used immediately are turned into fat (triglycerides) and stored in your fat cells to be burned as fuel later.
Before I went on The Vegan Fast experiment I had come to the conclusion my high cholesterol was just inevitable. I didn't know how to lower it. I was a distance runner. It was nothing for me to run 26 plus miles in a training run. Why was my cholesterol so high? All my doctor would tell me was continue to exercise and watch what you eat. What the hell does "watch what you eat" mean? So I switched from red meat to chicken and instead of all whole eggs I would use more egg whites. My cholesterol wouldn't go down! What the hell?!
Nothing drives a point home better than watching a loved one wither away and die. While I was half assed trying to figure out my cholesterol my dad had a heart attack and withered away into a frail version of the man he used to be. It wasn't long afterward he died. To this day I will never forget the sight I saw when I went to see him after his open heart surgery. I do not wish that pain and suffering on anyone. At that moment I decided I'm not going out like that.
Fast forward to today my research has gotten me to the mindset that we were meant to eat a plant based diet and we are over nourished. Before The Vegan Fast my total cholesterol was 298. Just plant based eating 3 plus times per day my total number was 202. At the beginning of the fasting process my number went to 166 and now 3 months into the fast my new number is 158. My goal is to get it under 150. There is virtually no risk of heart disease below 150. I am doing this without any big pharma poison such as statins.
Too many doctors are too quick to pick up the prescription pad. They only know what the pharmaceutical rep tells them in a lot of cases. It's a damn shame big broccoli doesn't have any reps. Statins are bad news. Yes they lower LDL, stabilize blood vessels, reduce the risk of narrowed arteries, help fight inflammation and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke, But on the other side of the coin they also are linked to type 2 diabetes, confusion and memory loss, liver damage and kidney failure when mixed with grapefruit and muscle damage. The side effects of The Vegan Fast are lowering blood pressure, lowered cholesterol levels, stabilized blood glucose, stronger immune system, less need for medications, lower grocery bill and dropping of excess weight.
Cholesterol is a great marker to check to measure your risk of heart disease. You should have a full lipid panel done several times a year to keep score. A full lipid panel consists of a few minutes and a finger prick. I get mine done at my local grocery store every three months for $29.99. The full lipid breaks out your cholesterol into three components HDL (Healthy),LDL (Lethal) and TRIGLYCERIDES. Any calories not used immediately are turned into fat (triglycerides) and stored in your fat cells to be burned as fuel later.
Before I went on The Vegan Fast experiment I had come to the conclusion my high cholesterol was just inevitable. I didn't know how to lower it. I was a distance runner. It was nothing for me to run 26 plus miles in a training run. Why was my cholesterol so high? All my doctor would tell me was continue to exercise and watch what you eat. What the hell does "watch what you eat" mean? So I switched from red meat to chicken and instead of all whole eggs I would use more egg whites. My cholesterol wouldn't go down! What the hell?!
Nothing drives a point home better than watching a loved one wither away and die. While I was half assed trying to figure out my cholesterol my dad had a heart attack and withered away into a frail version of the man he used to be. It wasn't long afterward he died. To this day I will never forget the sight I saw when I went to see him after his open heart surgery. I do not wish that pain and suffering on anyone. At that moment I decided I'm not going out like that.
Fast forward to today my research has gotten me to the mindset that we were meant to eat a plant based diet and we are over nourished. Before The Vegan Fast my total cholesterol was 298. Just plant based eating 3 plus times per day my total number was 202. At the beginning of the fasting process my number went to 166 and now 3 months into the fast my new number is 158. My goal is to get it under 150. There is virtually no risk of heart disease below 150. I am doing this without any big pharma poison such as statins.
Too many doctors are too quick to pick up the prescription pad. They only know what the pharmaceutical rep tells them in a lot of cases. It's a damn shame big broccoli doesn't have any reps. Statins are bad news. Yes they lower LDL, stabilize blood vessels, reduce the risk of narrowed arteries, help fight inflammation and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke, But on the other side of the coin they also are linked to type 2 diabetes, confusion and memory loss, liver damage and kidney failure when mixed with grapefruit and muscle damage. The side effects of The Vegan Fast are lowering blood pressure, lowered cholesterol levels, stabilized blood glucose, stronger immune system, less need for medications, lower grocery bill and dropping of excess weight.
Friday, May 13, 2016
Water, Water Everywhere ...
What to drink and how much? Water. Water all the time. Or at least most of the time. I will occasionally splurge and enjoy a bottle of cold brewed hibiscus tea, but only a few times per year. I have been on a water only routine since the end of 2012. I haven't felt better. Your skin will be one of the first things you notice a transformation in. Before I was a slave to Monster Energy drinks. I had to consume one or two every four hours just to keep the headaches away. It's hard to believe I was so addicted to such a toxic cocktail that my body would go into withdrawals after four hours. Choose your addiction: coffee, soda, artificial fruit juices, sports drinks or alcoholic drinks.
Our body is an amazing machine. Always working to repair itself. But do we allow it the opportunity? Imagine constantly hitting your thumb with a hammer. You go to the doctor for relief and he prescribes you pain pills. You go home and continue to hit your thumb with a hammer. Just because you no longer feel the pain doesn't mean your not destroying your thumb. You also need to remove the hammer or in this case remove the toxins that enter our body through our mouth.
What is the best type of water to drink and how much? Whatever type of water you enjoy enough to drink it all the time. Worry about tap water vs. purified water vs. distilled water once you have already established the habit. How much water should you drink in a day? Drink when your thirsty. Don't over think this.
Our body is an amazing machine. Always working to repair itself. But do we allow it the opportunity? Imagine constantly hitting your thumb with a hammer. You go to the doctor for relief and he prescribes you pain pills. You go home and continue to hit your thumb with a hammer. Just because you no longer feel the pain doesn't mean your not destroying your thumb. You also need to remove the hammer or in this case remove the toxins that enter our body through our mouth.
What is the best type of water to drink and how much? Whatever type of water you enjoy enough to drink it all the time. Worry about tap water vs. purified water vs. distilled water once you have already established the habit. How much water should you drink in a day? Drink when your thirsty. Don't over think this.
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Counting The Calories
How many calories do I eat every day? How many calories do I burn in a day? I couldn't tell you if my life depended on it. I know my life actually does depend on calories on a biological level but I couldn't tell you how or why. It's not something I'm going to concern myself with or waste any significant time over. One meal per day fasting keeps me from over nourishing my body. I like to call it marketed gluttony. When it comes to the one meal per day if I'm hungry I make it a big plant based meal. If I'm still hungry I will have a little more. If I'm not that hungry my meal is small. I'm learning to tune out the marketing noise and just listen to my body. Your body tells you what it wants. Unless it's cravings, those are your micro biome yelling at your brain and a topic for another day. Start listening and your body size will naturally correct to your frame.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Eyes Open
Oh how eye opening this lifestyle is. The more I delve into it, the more I realize I was and in many naive ways still am a marketing whore. Without realizing it the more you hear a statement advertised the more it just becomes truth. Protein! Lord we can't get enough protein in our diets. You have to have high quality sources of protein in order to be in optimal health. Or at least that's what is being advertised to us. The truth is we get plenty of protein from the plants we eat. Not only is it sufficient but it is the best quality. Animal derived protein turns acidic in our bodies. In order to buffer all the acidity in our system the body leaches calcium from our bones. Hello osteoporosis and kidney stones.
How many meals per day are we supposed to eat? 3, 6? Are we over nutritioned? Fasting isn't starving. Fasting is burning through your glucose and fat reserves. Starving is burning through your muscle tissue. I'm currently experimenting with one plant based meal per evening Monday through Thursday( Vegan Fasting), not eating Friday (Extra Fasting for my Catholic Faith) and then eating one meal Saturday and one meal on Sunday. Once a month I will do a 3-4 day water fast. One of God's gifts and little known secrets to fasters is that the feeling of hunger (not true hunger) goes away after day 2 or 3. Most of us have never and will ever experience true hunger which is a sensation in the back of your throat similar to thirst. Also in my experience after doing this lifestyle for a few weeks your body adapts and adjusts so you don't feel hungry. 80% of your energy goes towards the process of digestion. When you fast you free up this energy and blood supply to allow your body to heal itself. Humans are the only animals who eat when they are sick or injured. All other animals avoid eating, or only eat small amounts. The body is an amazing machine. It's always trying to heal itself. One of these days we will step out of the way and allow it to.
Do you have the need for speed? So much misinformation being circulated about metabolism. Speed up your metabolism! The fast metabolism diet. Eat six small meals per day to maintain your metabolism. A speedy metabolism also speeds up the aging process. New information is showing up that points out a slower metabolism may be a better health benefit. Your body isn't as hungry on a slow metabolism either. But wait, that goes against the consumer based marketing we are constantly being fed. Consume,consume, consume tends to be a common thread in many if not all aspects of our lives.
How many meals per day are we supposed to eat? 3, 6? Are we over nutritioned? Fasting isn't starving. Fasting is burning through your glucose and fat reserves. Starving is burning through your muscle tissue. I'm currently experimenting with one plant based meal per evening Monday through Thursday( Vegan Fasting), not eating Friday (Extra Fasting for my Catholic Faith) and then eating one meal Saturday and one meal on Sunday. Once a month I will do a 3-4 day water fast. One of God's gifts and little known secrets to fasters is that the feeling of hunger (not true hunger) goes away after day 2 or 3. Most of us have never and will ever experience true hunger which is a sensation in the back of your throat similar to thirst. Also in my experience after doing this lifestyle for a few weeks your body adapts and adjusts so you don't feel hungry. 80% of your energy goes towards the process of digestion. When you fast you free up this energy and blood supply to allow your body to heal itself. Humans are the only animals who eat when they are sick or injured. All other animals avoid eating, or only eat small amounts. The body is an amazing machine. It's always trying to heal itself. One of these days we will step out of the way and allow it to.
Do you have the need for speed? So much misinformation being circulated about metabolism. Speed up your metabolism! The fast metabolism diet. Eat six small meals per day to maintain your metabolism. A speedy metabolism also speeds up the aging process. New information is showing up that points out a slower metabolism may be a better health benefit. Your body isn't as hungry on a slow metabolism either. But wait, that goes against the consumer based marketing we are constantly being fed. Consume,consume, consume tends to be a common thread in many if not all aspects of our lives.
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