Thursday.

There are two main things I'd like to share this morning:

#1-I think we all need to take control of our lives and make a change, if that's what we're looking for.  Many of us just sit idly by as our lives continue on or worse yet, many of us wish away our time, how many times have you said, 'I wish it were Friday! Or please let this week go quickly I hate what I'm doing!' Probably more times than you can count. This isn't the way we should be living, we should be excited or least decently happy to get up in the morning do something for the next 8+ hours. My family and I discussed this last weekend, what makes certain people wish to change the world and others just content to mosey along until the next event in their lives? A question I'm sure many have analyzed. We must try to live to our potential, to listen to ourselves and figure out what the next step is in our lives to really fulfill our destiny, our desires, our true and happy lives. 

#2-A lovely dinner from last night:
This beautiful picture below is courtesy of my best friend Brittany, she has been cooking so much lately, and such amazing things! This is a tofu stir fry with bell peppers and brown rice-YUM. You can obviously sub whichever veggie you want, I enjoy sautéing the grain that I use in the same pan (after it's cooked of course) as all my veggies and garlic, it gives it fantastic flavor! Many complain that tofu is too soft or not tasty (even though it takes on whatever flavors you give it) but I figured out a way to make it crunchy last night for my own dinner! Of course I forgot to take a picture of it, even though it was beautiful green kale with garlic and crispy tofu on top. To make it even more ridiculous, my wonderful boyfriend had just gotten me a new camera!

A bit on Tofu:
Buy organic! Or a brand that says it doesn't use GMO soy beans. I will be continuing to discuss the issues I have with GMO products, who wants to eat something that isn't actually from nature? Can't even be made with nature's ingredients!? It's all CHEMICALLY engineered (this means chemicals and science projects to figure out what's in your food)! No thanks. I kept the rant short :) Many take issue with eating soy everyday; the jury is still out on this. The idea that too much soy causes an excess of estrogen, which can help cancer cells grow if you have them, however they still haven't proved this without a doubt, and my personal opinion is you would need A LOT of soy to cause this issue. Just keep your diet varied, that's the key to everything!!

 

I took extra firm organic tofu, put it in a bowl with panko bread crumbs, covered it as much as I could (tofu doesn't always allow things to stick to it) then I put it into a pan in the oven. I topped it with a little bit of the garlic I had been sautéing and a little bit of olive oil. I put it in there for about 20 minutes on 350 degrees but you could probably cook it lower, this was my first time trying this so feel free to try your own way as well.  I had been sautéing my kale on VERY VERY low heat with a little bit of olive oil (I need to cut down on the oil, my body was less than thrilled with it), such a beautiful green! The finished kale was then put on a plate with the now crispy tofu, delicious! All in all Brittany and I had wonderful meals that we were excited to share! Promise I'll get my act together with the pictures :)

Faux sausage

A good friend of mine put together the connection between what she eats and the way she feels which obviously thrills me! I am so happy when people come to this conclusion on their own! So she asked me about faux meat, now I really haven't had much, not that wasn't homemade anyway. So below is a photo of this fantastic sausage that I had during my first weekend experiencing vegan food, so tasty and clearly better for you than the regular pork version, which by the way I always hated, like HATED. So, this sausage was a pleasant surprise, the ingredients in the apple smoked one that I had, and again really enjoyed! are below:

Ingredients (Smoked Apple Sage): Filtered Water, Wheat Protein (Vital Gluten Flour), Expeller Pressed, High Oleic Safflower Oil, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Non-Sulfured Washington State Dried Apples, Yeast Extract, Onion Powder, Barley Malt Extract, Fresh Garlic, Torula Yeast, Natural Liquid Smoke Flavor, Black Pepper, Spices, Rubbed Sage.

Well today my co-worker decided to bring in an AMAZING vegan cupcake. I was slightly skeptical that it would be just as amazing as an animal ladel one  (skeptical because most I've had are quite delicious but they have a different taste) but IT WAS BETTER. No joking here. As a child I adored Hostess' Chocolate cupcakes with a vanilla cream center, not really a good idea for an overweight fifth grader, but we all have our issues, those and the little debbie brownies, YUM. Back to the cupcake, this cupcake was just like pure heaven, it was insane, with a moist texture, a perfect, just perfect chocolate taste and amazing vanilla filling! I can't rave enough about it aside from the 21grams from fat inside it, however, I'd rather eat this animal free, preservative free ball of heaven then the animal and things I can't even pronounce laden one from your local deli. Lovin the Moo-Cluck!

Protein Sources for vegans

This is one of the more common questions that I am asked, how do you get your protein? Well folks, it's super easy! And for the record, protein deficiency is virtually unheard of in America, we're just taught 'protein, protein, protein' which of course protein is necessary but we never really have a shortage of it. Recently it's been proven that too much animal protein causes everything from cancer to high blood pressure to blood clotting (there is more and I'm sure I'll have another blog post on here in the future but this is it for this second)

Sources:

PROTEIN IN LEGUMES: Garbanzo beans, Kidney beans, Lentils, Lima beans, Navy beans, Soybeans, Split peas

PROTEIN IN GRAINS: Barley, Brown rice, Buckwheat, Millet, Oatmeal, Quinoa, Rye, Wheat germ, Wheat, hard red, Wild rice

VEGETABLE PROTEIN: Artichokes, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Green peas, Green pepper, Kale, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Mustard green, Onions, Potatoes, Spinach, Tomatoes, Turnip greens, Watercress, Yams, Zucchini (I LOVE KALE, best vegetable in the world!)

PROTEIN IN FRUITS: Apple, Banana, Cantaloupe, Grape, Grapefruit, Honeydew melon, Orange, Papaya, Peach, Pear, Pineapple, Strawberry, Tangerine, Watermelon

PROTEIN IN NUTS AND SEEDS: Almonds, Cashews, Filberts, Hemp Seeds, Peanuts, Pumpkin seeds, Sesame seeds, Sunflower seeds, Walnuts (black)

Note from website:

One excellent ingredient to look for is hemp seed protein. Hemp seed is an nutritious dietary source of easily digestible gluten-free protein. It provides a well-balanced array of all the amino acids, including 34.6 grams of protein for each 100 grams. The fatty acid profile of the hemp seed is extremely beneficial, containing omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in a virtually ideal ratio. Other beneficial aspects of hemp seed include a strongly favorable unsaturated-to-saturated fat ratio; a high content of antioxidants; and a wide variety of vitamins and minerals

Pesticides-the hidden devil

Hi everyone! So this post is outlining the pesticide situation that happens on our fruits and vegetables. Pesticides cause many issues including but not limited to; pesticides are known to be toxic to the nervous system, cause cancer, disrupt hormones and cause brain damage in children. I know we all love having these issues! So to lower your consumption of pesticides it's best to buy your fruits and veggies organic! Now I realize that buying organic can seem too expensive, but is there a price on you or your children's health? However, as many suggest buy the clean 15 non-organic and the dirty dozen organic, hence the creation of these lists :)

The Dirty Dozen
1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Nectarines (imported)
7. Grapes (imported)
8. Sweet bell peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Blueberries
11. Lettuce
12. Kale/collard greens

The Clean 15
1. Onions
2. Corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Asparagus
6. Sweet peas
7. Mangoes
8. Eggplant
9. Cantaloupe (domestic)
10. Kiwi
11. Cabbage
12. Watermelon
13. Sweet potatoes
14. Grapefruit
15. Mushrooms

Hi everyone!

Just wanted you all to know how amazing cinnamon is for you! it's crazy! I got this information from http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/10-health-benefits-of-cinnamon.html, there are many more places out there that support the claims though, so google away!

Studies have shown that just 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon per day can lower LDL cholesterol.

Several studies suggest that cinnamon may have a regulatory effect on blood sugar, making it especially beneficial for people with Type 2 diabetes.

In some studies, cinnamon has shown an amazing ability to stop medication-resistant yeast infections.
In a study published by researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Maryland, cinnamon reduced the proliferation of leukemia and lymphoma cancer cells.

It has an anti-clotting effect on the blood.

In a study at Copenhagen University, patients given half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder combined with one tablespoon of honey every morning before breakfast had significant relief in arthritis pain after one week and could walk without pain within one month.

When added to food, it inhibits bacterial growth and food spoilage, making it a natural food preservative.

One study found that smelling cinnamon boosts cognitive function and memory.

Researchers at Kansas State University found that cinnamon fights the E. coli bacteria in unpasteurized juices.

It is a great source of manganese, fiber, iron, and calcium.<-----check that out!