Rose colored glasses, veggie bootcamp, and I’m going to piss some people off. May 20, 2010

For some unknown reason, I woke up in a unbelivably good mood.  I just feel like today is going to be a good day!  I have a cute little field trip with my son today.  For those that follow and do not know, yes, I have a son, he will be 2 in June.  He is an unholy handful.  Like mother like son.  *insert maniacal laughter here*  Anyways, we are going to play with some fish at a local Marine wildlife center.  Right now he’s running around my desk chair hollering, “Here fishy fishy”, so today should be quite, uh, interesting…  Lord, I apologize if I should happen to laugh my ass off when he acts a fool at the Marine center.

Last night we had Black bean burgers on Sprouted buns with handbreaded Panko Onion Rings, and they were fabulous.  Seriously, addictive.  I’m both grateful and hating myself for only making enough black bean paste to make one dinner.  And the onion rings, better than the best onion rings I have ever had at Sonic.  For some reason, Sonic is the epitome of onion rings for me, I have no clue.  Maybe because I worked there for a small stint and got to see how those delicious rings of fried goodness were made, but who really knows?  Had a side of my raw carrot salad, which by the way I CANNOT STOP EATING!!!  My deadly sin would most certainly be gluttony, but oh what a way to go!  I wish I would have had the sense to take a picture of my beautiful meal before I mowed it down, but, alas, I did not.  I was really hungry last night, my fault for waiting til 8:30 to eat dinner, I know.  Yes, I will post the recipe and pictures later.  Since they are readily frozen (both the burgers and the o-rings) they are a GREAT make ahead meal to be stashed in the freezer for one of those “lazy-bitch” days.  That’s right, even I have lazy bitch days, where I stay in my pj’s and play Xbox all day. 

For breakfast this morning, Mocha Carob Chip Muffins – which are outstanding.  They remind me of sipping a mocha latte.  Party in my mouth! Woot!  It’s just a variation of the orange cranberry muffins I posted earlier but, I’ll repost with these directions.

I’m also proud to report that yesterday I got my son to eat apples, strawberries, AND cherries!  Operation fruit and veggie boot camp may actually be succesful.  My kid was a junk food junkie.  I am ashamed to admit, it was just too easy to throw those prepackaged little bags of shit-food into the diaper bag and go.  But, honestly it only takes a few second to cut up some fruit, toss in some vegan cheese and crackers, and he is a happy camper!  Who knew?!  Eventually, kids will get hungry enough that they will eat whatever green food you put down in front of them.  While I am not advocating starving your kids, using the “my kid is picky” excuse is weak and lame.  My kid was picky, until I stopped giving him to option to be picky.  Now he eats just about everything!  He loves trying new things, at TWO!  Unless you have documented proof that your child is allergic to a certain food (not just, “He’s allergic because I say he is, he’s never been to a Dr or shown the slightest sign of having a true food allergy” ((and yes, I do know people for real, who are like that))) stop being a pushover parent and start feeding those kids some REAL food!  I’ve been there, I truly know how easy it easy to just grab a baggie and toss it in the car.  And, like an idiot, I could never figure out why my child would never sit to eat a meal with us, never even try a piece of fruit.  Look at the example I was setting for him!  In a month he is the complete opposite when it comes to eating!  So amazing.  Let me go ahead and put it out there, I did take him to an allergist and was SHOCKED to find that he was moderately allergic to milk and eggs.  The BULK of his former diet.  No wonder he was always so cranky, and why he was constipated!  But, no allergy fruits or veggies.  Go ahead, take a guess at what the top allergens are:  Got it yet.  Milk, then eggs. 

“Milk allergy is one of the most common food allergies in children. Although cow’s milk is the usual cause of milk allergy, milk from sheep, goats and buffalo also can cause a reaction. And, some children who are allergic to cow’s milk are allergic to soy milk too.

A milk allergy usually occurs a few minutes to a few hours after you consume milk. Signs and symptoms of milk allergy range from mild to severe and can include wheezing, vomiting, hives and digestive problems. Rarely, milk allergy can cause anaphylaxis — a severe, life-threatening reaction.

Avoidance is the primary treatment for milk allergy. Fortunately, most children outgrow a milk allergy by age 3.”

So, wait, you’re telling me that we parents are having it bashed into our heads that our kids NEED cow’s milk to thrive, yet the most common allergy in children under the age of 3 is cow’s milk?  Wh wh what?!?!?!?!  Clearly, just as human milk is meant for baby humans – cow’s milk is meant to be fed to BABY COWS.  So what’s the next excuse, your child is “allergic” to soy too?  Well, you are in luck my friends, Rice and Almond milk make fantastic alternatives.  Auston was cleared but his pediatrician to have all three alternatives, when at 16 months it was discovered that he had a TRUE and DOCUMENTED milk allergy.  I was very concerned at first, but, his doctor assured me that soy, rice, and almond were all just as healthy as cows milk.  On my way out of the office I asked him, “Why do we push cow’s milk if all the alternatives are just as ok?”  He just shrugged and said, “Cow’s milk is cheap to produce, under Government control, easy to regulate, and distribute.”  You could have knocked me over with a feather!  Here all along I had been (unknowingly) feeding my child toxic cow’s milk because that was the “norm”.

And as far as eggs go, think about what an egg is.  No, really crack open an egg.  You see that yolk?  Thats is a would be chicken fetus.  That hen was not coupled with a rooster, so it layed an unfertilized egg, or a dead baby chicken fetus.  A recent study of over 50,000 people showed a very strong correlation between consuming eggs daily, and developing Type 2 diabetes.  Studies show that ”ONLY” 1 in 30,000 eggs contains salmonella.  Will that egg you have at IHOP for breakfast be that 1?  1 in 30,000 doesn’t seem like such a huge number but, according to the American Egg Board there are 75 billion eggs produced and eaten each year.  Puts it in a bit more of a perspective huh?  Not to mention, all of the numerous studies that are now emerging that show that people who regularly eat eggs are showing severe antibiotic resistances.  That couldn’t possibly be because the chicken growers, like Tyson, pump chickens full of toxic shit to make them grow 4 times the normal rate and when the chickens get sick they just shoot them up with every antibiotic they can, now could it?  The very thought of how I used to slather a dead chicken embryo on a piece of toast makes me want to wretch. 

Anyhow, that’s my rant for this morning. 

Know better, do better.  -Lindsy

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/milk-allergy/DS01008

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_(food)

The Addiction Society. May 18, 2010

We are a society of addicts.  The faster we get this through our heads, (mine included) the faster we can solve many of the looming crisis that face us.  We are addicted to TV, to sugar, to food, to big houses, fancy clothes, pretty shoes, ugly purses (hahahahaha), things with expensive labels, big cars, fast cars, fast food, fast ANYTHING!  Cigarettes, drugs, alcohol these are things we hear about everyday.  But the rest, it’s almost as thought no one wants to confront the problem!  Well, I do.

A sign of the times, no pun intended

In the interest of being completely honest, my addictions are shopping at Target (God knows I cannot come out of that store without spending at least $100), super cute peep-toe heels, and sugar.  Oh yes.  Sugar.  One of the very first memories I have is of being in my Grandma’s kitchen sneaking Christmas sugar cookies out of her red tin she hid in the cupboard (but all of us grandkids knew was there), then taking my sugary treasures to the coat closet in the entry and savoring each bite.  Grandma would allow us 2 cookies after dinner, but the lure of those delicious little morsels called me back to the kitchen time after time.  I knew even as a child having more than 2 was wrong, and if I got caught stealing them I would surely get a spanking so eating them in the closet made it even more naughty!  Oh the thrill!  A few years ago I was at my Grandma’s for a wedding reception, and I found myself in her kitchen face to face with the infamous red tin in her cupboard.  I opened it, and the smell of sugar hit me like a welcome home hug.  I took one cookie, put the tin back, and sat there for a minute thinking of the probable hundreds of cookies I had snuck from that very same red tin.  As an adult, I knew that Grandma had to have known that we stole those cookies…  they weren’t just disappearing into thin air.  Yet, every time we came over, that tin was magically full again.  I stood there with a smile of satisfaction on my face, and bit into that sugar cookie only to realise with a huge amount of dismay, that it was stale.  Then it dawned on me.  I had been putting all of these hopes and expectations into this tiny stale lump of processed sugar and genetically modified grain.  What a total disappointment.  I expected that cookie to take me back to time when I didn’t care about calories, or politics, or food.  And when it didn’t I felt empty.  Have you ever experienced food let down?  As far back as I can remember, food has been the one thing that has constantly stood by me.  Food is never mad at you, it doesn’t judge you, it makes you feel good…  It’s no wonder we are addicted to it, its like that best friend you can always count on to be there for you.

There is a huge science behind this.  Food companies know that we are addicted.  There is now undisputable proof and insurmountable evidence that highly processed sugar, such as High Fructose Corn Syrup are addictive.  Many experts belive these refined sugars are more addictive than nicotine, morphine, even heroine!  Basically (and this is a VERY basic explanation) what happens is:  When we consume a highly processed sugar (and there are hundreds and this goes for saturated fats as well) the receptors in our brains go nuts.  They send out dopamine, the feel good natural drug our body creates, among other things.  This in turn gives a sense of satisfaction, which we learn to crave.  The end result is a cocanie-like addiction, in which we must keep eating more to keep those receptors pumping, we’ll never be happy with just one more bite.  If I am going to be blatantly honest with you, I know that addiction.  I know that once an addict, always an addict.  And I know that the food addiction was killing me.  Why is this acceptable in today’s society?  We are killing ourselves.  Our children.  For the first time in over 200 years, our children have a SHORTER life expectancy then we do.  Let that sink in for just a minute.  There is a good chance we will outlive the next generation.  Childhood obesity is a scary scary statistic.  Heres a very small snapshot:

60% of children in the US are obese.  22% are overweight(as of 2002).  That means that at the VERY least at least 82% of children in our country at either at risk for or are already Obese.  Of those obese children, 40% will become obese adults. If that child remains obese as and adolescents the risk rises to a 70% chance of that child becoming an obese adult.  By the time a child turns 6 years old, his chance of becoming obese is over 50%.  So these are just the numbers.  So what- we have some chunky kids right?  Here’s the problem with fat kids…  Heart diseases, Stroke, Type 2 Diabetes, Breast Cancer, Sleep apnea, Bone and Joint Problems, Mental disorder like Depression and poor self-esteem are a couple of the risk factors associated with childhood obesity.  Children are now DYING of things that most adults would never even dream of having to deal with.  I myself at 25 have what was called “early onset Heart complications”- and is now being called childhood Heart Disease.  I’m living proof that these issues are real.  They exist whether we want to remain ignorant or not.  And they are not going to go away on their own.  I can promise you that.

So, who’s to blame?  Everyone.  No, seriously, stop rolling your eyes.  Me, you, our parents, the Government, the big food corporations,Walmart, the farmers, the marketers, the restaurant business, Hollywood, musicians, literally everyone.  Do the research for yourself. 

Yes, we as parents have a large responsibility in our kids diets.  But, how can we effectively parent our kids if the Public schools feed them crap.  (Literal crap but that’s another subject for another day)  I cannot leave the house without my 2 yr old son saying, without him saying ‘donads!’  Which is toddler for McDonald’s, which is extremely puzzling to me, as we don’t even eat there!  When we pass by those Golden Arches he goes nuts, screeching, “DONADS” at the top of his lungs.  Where in the hell did he learn that?  Television, that I let him watch.  Sit with your child and watch the programs with them.  I was fucking stunned.  Short of PBS  (wait, I take that back- I just saw an Arby’s commercial)- there was not one single show/station that didn’t advertise food!  And horrible food at that!  A new study found the average person sees 51 hours of food commercials per year.  That during Saturday morning cartoons, there is 1 food commercial each five minutes.  Needless to say, he no longer watches much TV.  Parenting fail on my part.  But shame on the television marketers, as well.  The Government is also to blame.  No matter what your political persuasion is, there is no denying its role in our obesity epidemic.  This is HUGE, so I will only touch on the surface of it- but, the Government subsidises farmers to produce as much corn as possible, which is then processed down into every thing imaginable, but mostly high fructose corn syrup.  Next to the Army and the Navy, the USDA is the largest entity in the Government.  Yet as a nation, we have some of the poorest food choices available!  Think about that.  I’m not a huge conspiracy theorist, but there has to be a correlation.  Don’t even get me started on NCLB – which I shall refer to as ”No Child Left without a fat Behind”.  The Government puts pressure on the schools to perform in academics, punishing the schools that don’t.  In turn, the school’s cut health classes and physical education.  Leaving the children to suffer.  Massive retailers (IE:  China-mart) slash prices on cheap unhealthy foods.  For 1$- you can buy 1200 calories of snack foods or 250 calories of produce.  In our country, the people with the least amount of money actually consume the MOST amount of calories!  The Farmers are also to blame.  They are the ones who are willing to use unhealthy practices (for us, animals, and the Earth) like the use of pesticides, genetically modified seeds, oil based fertilizers, cross-country shipping, early harvests and unnatural ripening methods.  This is all done for money.  Don’t fool yourself into thinking that any entity of the Government current or past Administrations actually give a rats ass about you, your children, or anything other than money.  As a matter of fact- when I buy organic produce the USDA stamp of approval means jack shit to me.  Not kidding.  That is the LAST thing I would trust on anything I buy.  All that stamp means is that someone, somewhere paid a large amount of money to the USDA to get ahold of a stamp.  All the CEO’s of all the big food companies are in bed with the FDA/USDA.  Many serve or have served for both at the same time, conflict of interest much?  Why not- when there is so much money at stake?      

Yes.  I know this is a lot to take in all at one time.  If you have made it this far, I congratulate you.  You are beginning the process of education.  Ignorance is NEVER a good excuse for what we put into our bodies.  I belive that whole heartedly now.  We are all capable of learning, really, it’s a matter of opening your eyes.  If you cannot pronounce it, do NOT put it in your body.  It’s really that simple.  Buy local, organic if possible.  Be smart – if its organic, but shipped from Costa Rica….  does that make any sense?  I’d much rather support local farmer where I can go and visit to see how they grow the produce, then get something from another country that required fossil fuels and planes to get to my table.  Even if it’s not stamped USDA organic…  Make small changes, and that will lead to other changes.  Or make BIG changes, whatever suits you and your family. 

Read a book -Lindsy   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_addiction  (I only link to wiki to give you other links with more information.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/17/health/17obese.html

http://obesity.ygoy.com/overweight-chidren-in-america-childhood-obesity-statistics/

http://healthyliving.freedomblogging.com/2010/02/09/study-finds-junk-food-ads-not-tv-make-kids-fat/16047/

Midnight Musings – Closed doors and open windows. May 18, 2010

Hello again!  Sorry for the extended break from blogging, I had a crazy busy weekend.  I wanted to blog last night when I got home from a raw cooking class  but, I was so exhausted I just went to bed.  While I was laying there attempting to quiet my mind enough to fall asleep, I came to the conclusion that every time you close a door, God (or whomever you follow) really does open a window.  I know it’s totally cliché.  And, you’re probably wondering what this really has to do with being vegan.  A LOT. 

When I first made my decision to live a vegan lifestyle, everyone kept telling me how hard it would be.  How I would miss my old life.  How I’d never be able to go out to eat anymore, or go to their houses for dinner parties, or drink my Venti Skinny Latte’s at Starbucks…  I was intimidated, I wont lie.  Shopping in a whole foods store is kind of like stepping into a foreign country.  There were lots of reasons for me to quit, to give up.  But, there were lots of reasons for me to stick with it.  A 40 point drop in my cholesterol without the aid of medication, being just one.  The fact that I wake up refreshed every morning, I feel better.  My moods have evened out, I don’t have debilitating headaches anymore, I have energy.  All of these have kept me going, and more.  But, the greatest motivation, for me, has been the opening of God’s windows (as I like to call them).  No matter what your religious persuasion is, you will find that cutting bad stuff out of your life will reward you in unimaginable ways.  Call it karma, whatever you want.  But, the VERY SAME day I cut out unhealthy meats pumped full of who know’s what, and processed foods that aren’t even fit for animal consumption, I saw the reward.  It started with my body rewarding me for my good choices.  I went from a once a week pooper (too much information, too bad) to a daily one.   I’ve lost nearly 20 lbs in a month.  My hair, skin and  nails are all stronger, shinier, healthier looking and feeling.  This was the first month I can remember not being doubled over during my period.  No cramps, no bloating, no mood swings.  But these are just physical rewards.  Lets talk about the opportunities that have literally landed in my lap.  My baking business has really taken off.  I’m cooking vegan meals for a busy family.  And, I was just offered the chance to teach a vegan baking class!  So, there have most definitely been financial rewards.  The drop in our grocery bill alone was its own reward, the rest feels like “open windows” since I closed the door on my unhealthy and selfish ways of eating.  Oh, and lets not forget the emotional rewards.  I’m more confident, I feel like these changes were the RIGHT thing to do, my anxiety (which had gotten to the point of needing medication) has dramatically decreased.  Because I am more confident, my marriage has improved.  I feel like my husband is on board with me, and when you have encouragement (I did not at first, but now even he LOVES the vegan change) that can make all the difference in the world.  I’m less stressed, even though I have more going on than ever.  Don’t get me wrong, there are days when I am so stressed no amount of “karma-eating” can help.  But, on a whole, since I’m so de-stressed, I feel more loving towards my son and my husband.  He’s most certainly noticed the changes in me.  I’m excited about my future now!  I used to think that this was it for me, being a mom and a wife, the end.  Now, I have so much possibility stretched out in front of me, and I have the energy to tackle it all! 

I want EVERYONE to feel this way.  I can’t help but want good things like this for all of my friends and family.  I think, you’ll find, that going vegan will not be that hard on you, but, it will be much harder on your friends and family.  They will question their own ways of doing things, and they may even feel guilty.  That guilt will in all likelihood be pushed onto you in forms like: “Your child can’t possibly be thriving without meat and dairy” or “I would invite you out for dinner, but I know you can’t eat anything anyways”, or my personal favorite, “I’m allergic to X,Y,Z and therefore can only be sustained by McDonald’s, potato chips, and ice cream”.  All weak attempts at subverting your good choices. 

When and if you ever do decide to go vegan, or if you even voice that you may be thinking about it- be prepared for EVERY negative response known to man.  Educate yourself.  Books I personally recommend are:  Skinny Bitch (hands down one of the best first reads), Diet for a New America, The Food Revolution, and Eating Animals.  All contain valuable information, and will help you build up that defensive wall, for when those negativists (Look, I made up a word!) come knocking, and I promise.  They will.  None of that will matter though, when you feel like I do right now- no amount of “stinking thinking” can bring you down.  Go ahead, close that open door that’s been making you miserable.  Whatever it may be (for me it was my addiction to food).  Allow some “God windows” to be opened, and enjoy that new breeze that comes your way. 

Namaste, Blessed Be, God Bless, Etc – Lindsy

Hard lesson to learn. May 10, 2010

It was one of THOSE weekends.  Where Monday just couldn’t really get here soon enough.  Thank God for understanding girlfriends who are always there for me!  I am so proud of myself and my accomplishments, but, I really struggle with many aspects of my new lifestyle.  Mostly, its hard to make a change so monumental without a good support system.  It can be done, but, its not easy.  The honest to goodness truth is that everyone struggles.  We struggle with pyhsical things, like illness, fatigue, our wieght.  We struggle with emotional needs, friendships, feelings, insecurities- just to name a few.  We struggle with money and day to day life.  Life is not easy.  Its most certainly not fair.  Why am I telling you these things?  You need to hear it.  

 We all have roses, that is, things that make our lives wonderful.  And ALL roses have thorns.  Thorns often keep us from achiveing our dreams.  We feel that sometimes the thorns are too big too carry around so we stuff them under the rug, and act like nothing is wrong.  But, I hate to tell you- that rug is pretty damn lumpy.   Sometimes we put our thorns on pedastals, and hold them in higher regard then our hopes and dreams.  The shadow that the thorn casts is so big, we never really get to shed light on anything else.  And there are those of us that wear our thorns like badges of destinction.  You know who you are, your thorn is bigger and heavier and harder to deal with then everyone else’s- and poor you for having to heft that thorn around.  We are deniers, martyrs, and pessimists.  You either fall into one or all of these catergories.  Its a hard lesson to learn.  Not everything will be perfect ever.  Its up to us to decide what to do with our thorns- and the three above option really suck. 

I am most certainly not perfect, not in my life- or in my attempt at vegan”ism”.  But, I will try my hardest.  I want to set an example for all of those in my life- you included.  This is something we ALL need to be reminded of.  Setting a good example is probably one of the hardest things to do.  When the whole wide world is telling you that its too hard to do something… the problem lies in with the world, not in the thing you are trying to do.  People, by nature are lazy.  We want the next biggest, fastest, easiest thing.  People, by nature are defensive.  Take it from me, the second I mentioned to certain people that I was going vegan – I got the whole “where are you getting your protein, its too hard, nothing tastes good, its too expensive, i can’t live without meat” run around.  Some people even got REALLY mad at my choice.  The bottom line is that it is my choice, a freedom I still have.  But, what most amazed me was how quick people were to offer up excuses for me.  In all essence, peope were telling me that wouldn’t blame me for failing!  What seemed like an attempt at support, was in all fairness, an underhanded way to dismiss something that was REALLY important to me. 

Hard lessons to learn.  Sometimes, the right thing is not easy.  And most of the time, the right thing to do will piss off alot of people.  There are times where you will feel like you are in it alone, carrying that thorn all by yourself.  Do not give up.  A phrase I live by:  I will stand up for what is right, even if it means I am standing alone.  I often end up standing alone.  (As many of you who know me can testify.)  Which is alright. 

Not always right, but I sure as hell try- Lindsy

220. A number I never want to see EVER again. May 5, 2010

220.  Two Hundread Twenty.  Pounds.  Let that sink in for a minute.  Thats how much a Baby Blue Whale weighs at birth.  Thats how much I weighed at my heaviest.  I’m five foot seven inches tall, on a good day.  While I have always carried my weight well, there was no denying to myself in the mirror, I was fat.  I still am fat.  I’ve lost 32 lbs since I’ve started caring about myself, and its honestly disheartening to think that I still have SOOOO much left to lose.  My goal?  Right now its 150lbs.  WHEN I get there (not If) I will reevaluate that goal. 

Reevaluate.  This needs to become a word that you make yourself comfortable with.  It means to review and renew one’s assesment.  Grab a pen and a sheet of paper quick, I promise this will be easy.  On the top of the paper write the word:  Goals.  In the middle: Review.  Towards the bottom:  Renew.  Got it?  Good.  What are you goals.  Little, big, huge?   Write them down.  Quickly!  Don’t take time to think about them, I’m serious, JUST WRITE!    Under review, take a few minutes to review those goals.  Write down why they are important.  Write down how close you are to accomplishing them, how important they are.  Hang it up on your fridge.  On your bathroom mirror.  Wherever you will see it everyday.  After one week, read that list – and under renew- Write in BIG BOLD WORDS:  “I CAN”.

I know it sounds silly and simple.  By sometimes all you need is something silly and simple to gently remind you that yes, you are capable of accomplishing anything.  With enough time and effort- you are able to do anything.  Life is changing, all the time.  We never sit in one place for any amount of time, we need to constantly reevaulate ourselves, our situations.  Its when we become TOO comfortable that we run into ruts.  We get too comfortable in our skins- and we let ourselves go.  We get too comfortable in out realationships, and we let those go too.   By constantly revising ourselves, we keep ourselves fresh. 

I have  a pair of beaten down jean shorts.  They are 2 sizes too big.  They are holey, ripped, and completely unflattering.  My husband hates them.  He literally cringes when I put them on.  But, they are SOOOOO comfortable.  Recently I went shopping for new shorts, on his insistence, and I thought, “there is no way I will find a pair of shorts that are as comfortable as these.”  I tried on a pair, and when I looked in the mirror- it was amazing.  It was like God had created these new shorts for my ass.  I’m not kidding!!!  The new shorts were perfect!  They were flattering, the right cut and size, the perfect color…  and I kept looking at the nasty old jean shorts on the floor thinking, “I really don’t want to put those back on.”   Just like in life, I had gotten too comfortable in those nasty ratty jean shorts, I had been missing out on these really flattering new shorts.  These shorts represented my old life.  Frumpy.  Ratty.  Old.  I will never wear them again.  I now think, what else did I miss out on by being TOO comfortable? 

My goals this year:  Stick with this blog.  Run a 5k.  Get down to 150lbs (39 to go).  Start a vegan cookbook.  Improve my relationship with my husband. 

What are your goals.  What goals have you had to review?  What goals do you need to renew?  What are you missing out on because of your ” old jean shorts’?

Pondering whilst running,  Lindsy

Sneaky ways to save. May 2, 2010

Ok, so lets just say you need to go grocery shopping.  Here in my household it happens once a week.  Lets also say you have a fixed grocery budget.  Mine happens to be $100 from friday to friday.  Yes.  I am feeding a family of 4, 3 healthy meals a day for around $400 a month.  Impossible?!  I can hear you shouting now…  On average, my vegan meals cost about $1 per serving.  Honestly, I spend less on groceries, by FAR then I ever did as a meat-eater.  I can just imagine you shaking your heads in disbelief.  Lets get right to the point:  How do I do it?

1.  I buy local produce.  If there is ONE thing you take away from reading this it should be “BUY LOCAL PRODUCE”.  It will ALWAYS be cheaper to buy local produce then to buy something that’s shipped from Costa Rica.  Not to mention, did you ever stop to think about how that Apple you are eating got from Costa Rica to your plate?  Bet not.  Here’s how.  The apple is grown in filth, literally the farmers of other countries (esp poor latin american ones) have no standards/codes/enforcement/or regulations for how they grow that produce.  When the US banned the use of pesticides like DDT – we (the US Government) sold the leftovers to the poor latin american countries since it’s not illegal for them to use the pesticides there.  We had HUGE quantities of these pesticides,  and it would be very unfair of us to ask these still developing countries to stop using these pesticides, since they grow food that is eaten by their masses as well.  Solution.  Buy and eat local AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.  It’s very simple.  Start by reading labels.  Does your broccoli say “Grown in USA”?  If not, put it down and continue searching for something that is at the VERY LEAST grown here in the US (But, set your sights on things grown within a 2-3 hour drive of your store).  I challenge you to do something better though.  Visit the website localharvest.org*.  Look up your nearest Farmer’s Market or Pick your Own.  And GO.  Just go check it out.  I think you’ll be amazed at how much food you can get from a source like these for very little money. 

2.  I pay attention to stores sales and use coupons.  My local Publix is very good at pairing sales with current coupons on everything from crappy boxed food to yummy organic soups and cereals.  I JUST got 2 boxes of Organic Kashi Wheat Cereal (Island Vanilla, and Cinnamon Apple – which are not only WAY BETTER tasting then sugary cereals, but they are loaded with fiber which is ESSENTIAL for losing weight) that were 2/5$ (Originally they are about 4$ a box) plus the boxes as $1 off peelie stickers which Publix allows you to use on EACH box.  I just got those 2 boxes of cereal for 3$.  Less than I would have paid for MaltOMeal.  And, with each box having 12 servings, there is 24 breakfasts for $3, or about 13 cents a serving.  Obviously, that’s just ONE example, but by taking a few minutes to gather sales ads and coupons you can cut your grocery bill in half.

3.  I make a shopping list.  YOU MUST MAKE A LIST.  Do NOT let your perfectionism spoil this for you.  Just get a damn piece of paper and decide what you would like to eat for the next week.  EVERY MEAL.  Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, plus  a FEW snacks.  If you decide on what you want to eat before you go to the store, you will spend less, stick to your list, buy nothing extra.   That alone will save your tons.  Picture of my partial list for this week below.

4.  Stop buying meat.  The last time I bought chicken breast I think I got 3 measly little boneless skinless breasts for 6$ (Thats about $2 per serving, for those who are wondering).  Meat is a money sucker!  We are trained to think that a meal is not a meal unless you have meat.  Why are we the one of the fattest countries?  It’s no coincidence that we also consume the most meat.  Our plates should be filled with grains and veggies!  The two cheapest things you can buy!!!  

5.  Buy in bulk, IF you can.  If you have a bulk grain dealer nearby (I happen to have a Greenwise, and WholeFoods, and several little retails of bulk grains)  USE it!  I am currently able to buy whole grain brown rice for 1.99$ a pound.  One pound of rice equals roughly 2-3 cups.  Considering a serving of brown rice to be 1 cup cooked, which is 1/2 cup uncooked.  So in each pound of brown rice there are about 4-6 servings.  Or, 33 cents per serving.  33 CENTS!!!!!  You can’t get much cheaper than that!

It’s really not that much work, it may require a little more driving around then one stop at the local Chinamart.  Do a minimal amount of research and your savings will skyrocket!  I Promise.  Just put in a tiny amount of effort, don’t be a lazy ass.  I know it’s easier the way you are doing it now, but change isn’t easy.  But, it doesn’t have to be THAT hard.  Its worth it.

* http://www.localharvest.org/

Partial Menu

Midnight Musings – Why we fail. May 1, 2010

Have you ever heard that saying, “first thing’s first”? Its wrong. If you ever catch yourself saying it, tell yourself, “Lindsy said this is wrong, last thing’s first.” Have you ever gotten so bogged down in something, anything, that you can’t seem to figure out where to start to fix the problem? I have. After a particular big party on weekend, my house was a disaster zone. I mean, there was beer bottles everywhere, some had gotten shattered during the course of the night so that I literally stuck to tile as I walked out of my bedroom. Food had been left sitting out. The trash was overflowing. Where was my cat? It was enough to make me want to crawl back into bed and sleep off my hangover. Last things first. I sucked it up and got to cleaning. First I took out the recycling so I could start out with empty bins that I wouldn’t have to stop in the middle of cleaning to take out. Then I swept, making sure I got up all the glass shards so that when I started to clean – I wouldn’t have to stop halfway through and tweeze a shard out of my foot. Then I did the dishes, so that when I started cleaning I would have an empty sink to shove shit in, and so that I wouldn’t have to stop halfway through cleaning and do it. Are you seeing the pattern yet? By the time I was about done “preparing” to clean, the cleaning was about done.

I think that we have this mentality (I know I did) that unless you are completely prepared to do something – you cannot. When I was in High School I had a history teacher who had a plaque on his desk that read: “Failing to Plan = Planning to Fail”. You know, he was the MOST unorganized man I have ever met! Often he was late to his own classes! Its engrained in us, to plan, to make lists, to prepare. This is the FIRST time I’ve kept up with a change in my life, EVER. I didn’t plan for it at all. Figure that one out. Well, if you can’t – I did. Its this awful little thing I like to call perfectionism. I know some of you are wondering, “How can an obese slob possibly be a perfectionist?” . Here’s the answer: Perfectionism DESTROYS us. Because I was a perfectionist, when I looked in the mirror I could pick out 500 things that were wrong with me. Being 10lbs overweight was just as imperfect as being 100lbs over, so what did it matter? I was never going to be one of those perfect skinny bitches airbrushed in a magazine, so why bother trying? I was comfortable with being fat. Going into a gym, or a clothing store – now those were things that made me uncomfortable. We get into this rut, where we think- “Oh, my diet will start on Monday.” And, that particular Monday never appears. So Last things first. Change your thinking, not your doing.

1. This IS NOT a diet. It is a permanent change in your behavior. No diet on Earth will make you skinny and pretty. Oh sure, you’ll lose weight, but as soon as you return to your routine habits – those pounds will pack right back on. Chronic dieters know exactly what I’m talking about. You lose 20 pounds, start to feel good about yourself, so you slip, and that leads to packing it all back on – often plus some! But, we keep doing it. Anyone ever heard the definition of insanity? “Doing the same things repeatedly and expecting different results”. WE ARE INSANE. Stop being insane. Start changing your behavior.

2. There is NO magic pill/food/vitamin/workout. Pills are manufactured by the same companies that poison our water and food supplies. Coincidence? I think not. Phillip Morris, cigarette behemoth dumps billions of dollars into anti smoking/quit programs – they know that chance are you are SO addicted you will fail. And when you fail, you will turn to their foods (Oh yes, Phillip Morris owns Kraft foods) to stuff down your suffering. When you get sick from the cancer sticks, or the nasty food – you’ll turn to medication to fix the problem. Funny thing is Phillip Morris also contributes millions to “researchers and drug developers” , think about that for a minute. Why would a company that makes/distributes/and sells a product that KNOWINGLY causes cancer – give money away to make medications to counter the effects of the products it sells? A little unnerving no? And, before you smokers go ape-shit on me. Yes, I used to smoke. I’m not picking on smokers, or Poor Phillip Morris. I’m just saying shut your trap for one minute about how you CANT quit, or how its your RIGHT to smoke, and exercise your RIGHT to use your damn head! Anyhow, there is no shortcut. Cold Turkey. Period the end. Whether its your diet, your addiction to caffeine or nicotine, or sugar. Go cold turkey. You will have a few uncomfortable days- but seriously, SUCK IT UP. What’s a few days or weeks of being uncomfortable, compared to having to be lifted out of bed by a crane, or having a tube shoved down your throat to suction out your lungs, or hey, DEATH (I got the “pleasure” of watching my grandmother die for about 2 years in front of my eyes since she lived with us from cancer/COPD/emphysema – if slowly drowning to death in your own spit is your thing, LIGHT UP!).

3. What works for me, may NOT work for you. I recognize that we are all different types of people. But, chances are it will work for you. Maybe you’ll need to modify it to suit your tastes and needs. Common sense tells you that when you put nasty things into your body- your body will become nasty. What happens to mice in radioactivity labs? They grow twelve ears and four tails, and die. Why do you always feel like shit? Why can’t you find the energy at the end of the day to make a good healthy dinner? Why does your sex life suck? Why is your skin constantly breaking out? Why are you fat? Why are you unhappy? Last things first. What was the last thing you ate? There is your answer. I cannot believe that it took me 25 years to figure this out, since its now so glaringly obvious to me now.

Start where you are. Start today. Do what you can, BUT don’t accept your own excuses. Look in your fridge/pantry/cupboards. Pick ONE thing and read the ingredient label. Can you pronounce every single thing in that list. If you can’t – bring that package over here, to your computer and look it up. Is the first thing listed “High Fructose Corn Syrup*”? Get rid of it. Donate it if its unopened and able to be donated, throw it out if you can’t, but START HERE.

-On a Kashi High, Lindsy

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-fructose_corn_syrup

I’m so sick . . . April 30, 2010

I’m so sick of hearing the phrase, “Eating healthy is expensive.”  Let’s cut to the chase, seriously.  Get real for just a minute, what costs more: a pint of strawberries or a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Strawberry Ice Cream?  Yeah.  That’s what I thought.  So next time you are standing in the freezer section at your supermarket- put down the tub of fat loaded, heart attack inducing crap and buy the damn strawberries.  Congratu-fricken-lations!  You just saved yourself 2$. 

Honest to God, it never ceases to amaze me the excuses that used to constantly pour out of my mouth on why I couldn’t clean up my (eating) act.  The number 1 line:  Its TOO expensive to eat healthy.  (Which, by the way, roughly translates into: I’m too lazy to get off my fat ass and make something, its much easier to call Domino’s, or throw a prepackaged something in the microwave.)  My number 2:  I’m too tired, exhuasted from work, too busy to make something for dinner.  (Which, translates to the same as excuse number 1.)  And, my favorite excuse of all, number 3:  Eating healthy tastes soooooo well, healthy. (Which translates to: If its green, not loaded with every chemical and fat known to man, or didnt get hand delivered to my front door by some pimply faced kid in a baseball cap – it can’t possibly taste good.)

Now, before any of you start getting all defensive or holier-then-thou, I’d like you to know, I’ve been there.  I have defintely expierenced the “food coma”, you know the period of time after eating something that is SO unhealthy for you that your body just shuts down.  I used to eat my feelings.  Anytime the slightest bit of stress would come along, BAM!  You could find me in the Pizza aisle at Publix, debating between which 40oz bag of Totinos pizza rolls I would consume entirely by myself (thus, putting me into above mentioned food coma).  I also used to belive that someday, someone much smarter then I would invent a “magic” diet pill, that would just allow me to eat whatever I wanted, continue to laze around on my gigantic ass and viola’, problem solved.  Well, guess what?  Its never going to happen.  Oh, yes, I am quite aware of the pill known as Ally, which I took under a different name before it hit the OTC market – and if you love to involuntarily shit yourself, go for it, but otherwise – there is NO magic pill!  The bottom line is, that if you REALLY want to change, you will.  But no one, not me- not your parents – not a TV host, NO ONE can ever make you change unless you REALLY REALLY WANT to CHANGE.  That’s the ultimate realisation.  And, the sooner YOU come to it- the better off you’ll be. 

My ephinany came in my Dr’s office.  There I was at 24 being told that if I don’t lose at LEAST 50lbs, and drop my cholesterol from 180 to something healthy – that I was staring down the barrell of a very BIG gun.  These words that I would have NEVER thought I’d hear, like ”severely obese”, “early death”, “heart diesease”, “stroke”, “lifetime medication”, “cancer”,  and “diaebetes”.  How did I get here?  I didn’t think I looked THAT fat, but- it was a struggle after I had my son to find anything that wasn’t a plus-size to squeeze my big fat ass into…  I thought, Maybe I do have a problem.  And thats the moment I realised, I needed to change.  Our family history is HUGE.  Literally, Huge.  My mom, my sisters, my aunt’s, my cousins, pretty much everyone I’m related to, save for the lucky few (my brother, that bastard!  Obviously, I say that in the most loving way possible.)  are all fat.  Would my son end up like me?  What about his kids, and thier kids?  If I didn’t belive in generational curses beofre this, then I do now. 

Being fat is addictive.  When you’re fat, you surround yourself with fat friends, food becomes to highlight of everything.  Your fat friends go eat with you and encourage you to be even more fat.  This is proven fact*.  Sugar is addictive.  Companies know this and LOOOOAAAAADDDDD the products you buy with sugar*.  The average 2 Tablespoons of ketchup is HALF sugar.   The chemicals in foods are addictive.  Companies also know this, and try to hide it from us.  The list goes on, and I plan on getting more in depth into it- but not just yet.  I don’t want to overwhelm anyone on thier first day of reading my blog.  I am going to show you how to EAT right, LIVE sustaniably, SAVE money while doing it, and GIVE you recipes that I have personally tested.  I’m also going to give a No Nonsense look at what we eat, why we eat it, and how to change.  Its going to be alot easier then you think, because if I can make the change – everyone can.

“Tough Love Lindsy”

ps:  attached is a picture of the produce I bought today- for 30$.  No, that’s not a typo- I said THIRTY dollars.

Produce.

*http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1649321,00.html

*http://www.sugarstacks.com/sauces.htm