Yesterday I mentioned that I added seaweed to my green smoothie... yeah, not a good idea. I have some dehydrated seaweed that you put into water to rehydrate .. it's delicious and I love it, but not mixed into a sweet drink! I threw the dehydrated pieces in the smoothie and they plumped up, but the blender couldn't pulverize the seaweed completely so while drinking my smoothie I'd every so often encounter this salty, chewy piece of seaweed! LOL. Well, lesson learned. Seaweed = good for savory food, not sweet!
Now the zucchini pasta... yum! It's been literally months, maybe years, since I've made this dish and it's so simple and easy... but somewhere along the way I forgot how GOOD it is too! I slice the zucchini into about 1 inch pieces then run it through my "saladacco spiral slicer" and it makes the zucchini into thin "noodles". Here's a Youtube video I found that demonstrates this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTfTKJdjjUc
I then made a homemade tomato sauce with just some roma tomatoes, salt, italian seasonings, and a tiny bit of red pepper flakes. It's not like the tomato sauce you are used to from a jar.. it's more juicy and runny and not as thick but it's delicious when added to the dish. Then I just sliced up some kalamata olives that I had bought at the store (not raw) and had made earlier a cashew "sprinkle cheese" by grinding up raw cashews in my food processor with a tiny bit of lemon juice and salt. It really takes on the consistency of a sprinkle parm cheese.
I've got all the ingredients in the fridge and when I want some all I have to do is throw it together in a bowl.. the noodles, put some sauce on top, some olives, and some cheese and voila! You've got a raw zucchini spagetti! It's really delicious actually with lots of different flavors in there and tastes so fresh and clean and won't weigh you down.
Here's what I used:
1 zucchini (maybe what? 50 cents? 75 cents?)
2 roma tomatoes (maybe 1.00 or 1.50)
0.25 lbs of raw cashews ($1.75)
probably 0.25 lbs of olives (can't remember the price but I'm sure it was under two bucks)
and the rest of the spices, salt, etc I had at home already.
so what is that? about 5 dollars? and it's a TON of stuff once prepared.. It's actually enough for me to have two big servings. I have leftovers in the fridge right now and when I make my second serving tonight I'll take a picture and come back and add it to the bottom of this post.
I'm so excited that I'm getting back into raw food!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Holiday Hell!
Ok, so it's not really hell around the holidays but nutritionally speaking there is so much temptation! I don't have to tell you about this I'm sure. Most people not only have holiday parties and family gatherings to deal with but usually around the holidays there is always someone at work that is more than happy to bring in platters full of cookies, chocolates, and unhealthy snacks. This is one reason I am so happy I'm currently not working. At my old job everyone would bring in these treats and I had a hard time resisting them. If you really stop though and look at the people you work with, you might change your mind. More than likely the people that are bringing in these foods are overweight themselves with health problems. Now, I'm not trying to be a grinch or anything, I know the holidays are a special time of year and people like to splurge and celebrate but honestly, think about the calendar year and how MANY holidays and reasons to splurge there are! Maybe what I'll do is choose one holiday to be my splurge and only allow myself that time to enjoy the treats of the season.
So, the point of this post is that I've been over doing it with the chocolate and cookies of Christmas ... but the good thing is my body has had it and all I've been thinking about and wanting to eat today is healthy, fresh food to counter balance it. I'm drinking another green smoothie right now.. this one with spinach, fruit, agave, and I added some seaweed to it which really thickened it up and also some ground flax seeds. I'm going to make myself a raw "pasta" dish with zucchini noodles that are spiral sliced and then I'll make a home made tomato sauce to pour over it with some cashew "cheese" and some kalamata olives to add some flavor. The only thing in the dish that won't be raw is the olives, but I'm not going to be so picky about it as I have been in the past.
I had a doctors appointment yesterday and when I weighed in I was 243 pounds I believe. Ugh, I hate to think about that number really but I'm going to try my best to stay under the 250 mark. I think if I am careful with what I eat over the next 3 weeks I'll be ok.
So, the point of this post is that I've been over doing it with the chocolate and cookies of Christmas ... but the good thing is my body has had it and all I've been thinking about and wanting to eat today is healthy, fresh food to counter balance it. I'm drinking another green smoothie right now.. this one with spinach, fruit, agave, and I added some seaweed to it which really thickened it up and also some ground flax seeds. I'm going to make myself a raw "pasta" dish with zucchini noodles that are spiral sliced and then I'll make a home made tomato sauce to pour over it with some cashew "cheese" and some kalamata olives to add some flavor. The only thing in the dish that won't be raw is the olives, but I'm not going to be so picky about it as I have been in the past.
I had a doctors appointment yesterday and when I weighed in I was 243 pounds I believe. Ugh, I hate to think about that number really but I'm going to try my best to stay under the 250 mark. I think if I am careful with what I eat over the next 3 weeks I'll be ok.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Better late than never
We are 5 weeks away from the birth of our baby boy... and we finally got a scheduled C section date... January 18th, 2011 will be his birthday (as long as everything goes well and we don't need an emergency C section somewhere along the line). I'm so excited and ready for him to come.. my body and tummy feels so stretched out right now, I can't imagine growing any more than I have but I know I will over the next 5 weeks. At our baby care classes I always feel like the biggest mama there.. everyone else is so cute with their skinny legs and hips and little basketball bellies poking out.. and meanwhile I look like a watermelon. lol. I'm not upset about it though at all because I know I'm growing a healthy baby boy and I know when he gets here I know the keys to getting healthy again. I will admit though, that I haven't been eating as healthy as I could have been throughout this pregnancy. I have had the occasional McDonalds cheeseburger (horrible, I know!) and my husband and I have eaten our fair share of Ben and Jerry's, that's for sure! My husband has even gained some weight with me along the way, poor thing. I know he hates it too and is ready to get started on losing some of it. He, however, will continue to eat meat, bread, etc after the baby is born while I'm going to try to stick to more raw fruits and veggies.
So at last weigh in, which was yesterday, I'm 238 pounds. Creeping up to the 240, I can't believe it. It's the biggest I've ever been in my life, but there's a baby in there so it's okay. I have a feeling by the time Jan 18th rolls around I will definitely be pushing the 250 mark. Since I mentioned that I really didn't want to get over 230 (and already have) I've decided to go ahead and start trying to eat a little healthier right now, 5 weeks before the baby's birth. It can't hurt right? I'm actually drinking a green smoothie as I type this and it's delicious. For those that don't know, a green smoothie is a way to get in your leafy green vegetables for those of us who aren't huge salad eaters like me. You blend a liquid like water or coconut water with the greens of your choice (today I'm using collard greens but there is a whole world of greens to choose from!) then you typically add fruit and maybe even a little agave syrup or honey to sweeten it up if you so choose. I used a frozen fruit mix of strawberries, peaches, pineapple, and mango then I added a frozen banana as well and agave syrup. Mix it all up and drink. When I was doing green smoothies a few years ago my tastebuds could handle a more "grassier" type taste and I didn't have to use much sweetener, but it's been a while so I needed more agave syrup this time around. That's what's so cool about eating healthy/raw.. your taste buds really do change over time and you start to find things you used to eat too sweet/greasy/heavy. I can't wait for that change!
So I thought I'd do at least one green smoothie a day for a meal... it really does fill you up and tastes good and has a lot of great nutrients in it than a growing baby and mama needs. This is what I'm going to do over the next 5 weeks and maybe I'll throw in a raw meal/dessert/salad in there on occasion. Of course I'm going to try to eat more fish rather than red meat or chicken if given a choice and cut back on bread/dairy. Confession, I've been BAD about the bread/dairy lately.. but then again, I do need a lot of calcium at this point in the pregnancy.
Ok.. off to drink some more of my smoothie.. Will update later with more!
So at last weigh in, which was yesterday, I'm 238 pounds. Creeping up to the 240, I can't believe it. It's the biggest I've ever been in my life, but there's a baby in there so it's okay. I have a feeling by the time Jan 18th rolls around I will definitely be pushing the 250 mark. Since I mentioned that I really didn't want to get over 230 (and already have) I've decided to go ahead and start trying to eat a little healthier right now, 5 weeks before the baby's birth. It can't hurt right? I'm actually drinking a green smoothie as I type this and it's delicious. For those that don't know, a green smoothie is a way to get in your leafy green vegetables for those of us who aren't huge salad eaters like me. You blend a liquid like water or coconut water with the greens of your choice (today I'm using collard greens but there is a whole world of greens to choose from!) then you typically add fruit and maybe even a little agave syrup or honey to sweeten it up if you so choose. I used a frozen fruit mix of strawberries, peaches, pineapple, and mango then I added a frozen banana as well and agave syrup. Mix it all up and drink. When I was doing green smoothies a few years ago my tastebuds could handle a more "grassier" type taste and I didn't have to use much sweetener, but it's been a while so I needed more agave syrup this time around. That's what's so cool about eating healthy/raw.. your taste buds really do change over time and you start to find things you used to eat too sweet/greasy/heavy. I can't wait for that change!
So I thought I'd do at least one green smoothie a day for a meal... it really does fill you up and tastes good and has a lot of great nutrients in it than a growing baby and mama needs. This is what I'm going to do over the next 5 weeks and maybe I'll throw in a raw meal/dessert/salad in there on occasion. Of course I'm going to try to eat more fish rather than red meat or chicken if given a choice and cut back on bread/dairy. Confession, I've been BAD about the bread/dairy lately.. but then again, I do need a lot of calcium at this point in the pregnancy.
Ok.. off to drink some more of my smoothie.. Will update later with more!
Friday, December 3, 2010
It's best to begin at the beginning.
I'm 32 weeks pregnant tomorrow and I'm definitely at the point where I'm ready to have this baby. This is my personal journal, mostly to hold myself accountable and to keep track and look back on where I've been. I'm a 34 year old, soon-to-be first time mom, who is looking to get healthy and lose some weight after I have my baby boy, who is due Jan 29th. Due to having placenta previa, I am having a planned C section which we are figuring will be happening around Jan 14th though, but we have yet to actually schedule the procedure date. I will be honest with you, when I first heard I had to have a C section I was quite bummed. I had this image in my mind that I would be this earth-mother, hippy pregnant woman who would have a natural birth and experience some sort of mystical birthing experience, but after coming to terms with the idea that a C section was in my future I have come to relax about it and just accept it. So far this pregnancy has been a fairly good one (besides the placenta previa) and I've only had small, normal complaints like hip pain, being gassy and bloated, waking up to pee every few hours as I sleep, not being able to get comfortable in most positions, getting out of breath easily, and just recently I'm getting some acid reflux. I'm realizing I need to eat smaller portions now to avoid that "food stuck in my throat" feeling since my stomach is probably all pushed up into my upper chest... but I am trying to look at this as learning/health tool. I'm hoping that over these last 6 weeks of pregnancy I will learn to eat smaller portions and it will become a habit that I stick with even after the baby is born, as it's probably just a healthier way to eat in general anyway. Maybe I can put this baby discomfort to some use huh?
So about me. I've been overweight my whole life.. from somewhat chubby to downright fat... you know that moment when you look at an old picture of yourself and you say "OMG, was I really THAT fat back then?!? Why didn't anyone say anything?!". Yeah, that's happened to me. The smallest I've been in recent years was about a year and a half ago when I managed to get my weight down to about 184 pounds... then I got pregnant in December 2009 and gained weight... figuring "hey, I'm pregnant!". Shortly after in February 2010 I had a miscarriage though which only led to more weight gain since I was feeling depressed and sorry for myself.. and I ballooned up to about 200 pounds. Well, my husband and I realized that if we did want to have kids, we didn't have time to waste so April 2010 we were back at trying to get pregnant and miraculously by May I had a bun in the oven. Which brings us to now.. I'm 32 weeks pregnant tomorrow and my weight is hovering at about 235. I know, scary. I can't believe I'm actually typing these numbers right now and am going to publish them for the world to see, but what good would it do me not to face reality? Besides, when I get to my goal weight I know I'm going to feel so good and will be able to laugh in the face of that number, muahahha! I'm hoping in the next 6 weeks that I only gain possibly 5-10 more pounds... I REALLY do not want to go over the 250 mark with this baby!
So... back to me.. geeze, how is it that everything always goes back to this baby? Um, yeah... so I've always been chubby but funny thing is I'm SERIOUSLY interested in all things health and nutrition. I have a theory though that most fat people already KNOW what is healthy, they just don't USE the information they have. That's at least how I am sometimes. So I feel I'm pretty well educated on how to eat healthy.... maybe even more so than your average dieter. Back in 2007 I started to really get into raw foods and eating a whole food/vegan diet. I researched a ton, bought a lot of raw food books, and tried to jump into the deep end and eat a 100% raw food diet. Guess what? It didn't work. I think I got maybe a week into eating 100% raw before my husband came home one day to me crying saying "I want to eat real food!" (he'll never let me forget that moment). Now I know that, as you've probably heard, "everything in moderation". Raw food IS good and healthy and wonderful for you but most people will not be able to transition from a normal diet to a 100% raw food one overnight like I was trying to do.
My game plan for after this baby is born is to attempt to eat at least a 50% raw diet.. which may be a fruit smoothie in the morning, a big salad for lunch, or maybe I'll make a gourmet raw meal now and then, and then the other 50% of my diet will be whole foods with possibly some fish thrown into the mix. I'm going to also attempt to limit my bread and cheese... ah cheese... let's not start on that, it's going to be really hard for me to give up the cheese, but give it up I will try! Let's just put it this way, growing up I used to eat all the cheese in the house (still do on occasion) and my dad was constantly telling me to stop eating the cheese. Over the years though I have learned about cheese's nasty little secret like how it's seriously, physically addictive and one of the biggest cancer promoting foods you can eat!
Ok, so limit the cheese and bread, eat 50% raw and 50% whole foods (whole grains, steamed veggies, etc) with some occasional fish and seafood thrown in.
sound good? it does to me!
Then of course you throw in exercise into the mix (Zumba which I love, walking, pilates, whatever else I can do) and hopefully this will be my formula for a lifetime of health.
I will be blogging over the next 6 weeks periodically about the rest of the pregnancy and then once the baby is here and I am healed from the C section it's time to put this plan into action! And I don't want to hear any complaining or whining from myself.. right now I can barely walk 1/4 of a mile without getting out of breath (because of my big baby belly) so I am really looking forward to the day I can get in a good, hot, sweaty, hard core work out! yay!
So... until then... I'll keep cookin' this little baby boy in mah belly!
So about me. I've been overweight my whole life.. from somewhat chubby to downright fat... you know that moment when you look at an old picture of yourself and you say "OMG, was I really THAT fat back then?!? Why didn't anyone say anything?!". Yeah, that's happened to me. The smallest I've been in recent years was about a year and a half ago when I managed to get my weight down to about 184 pounds... then I got pregnant in December 2009 and gained weight... figuring "hey, I'm pregnant!". Shortly after in February 2010 I had a miscarriage though which only led to more weight gain since I was feeling depressed and sorry for myself.. and I ballooned up to about 200 pounds. Well, my husband and I realized that if we did want to have kids, we didn't have time to waste so April 2010 we were back at trying to get pregnant and miraculously by May I had a bun in the oven. Which brings us to now.. I'm 32 weeks pregnant tomorrow and my weight is hovering at about 235. I know, scary. I can't believe I'm actually typing these numbers right now and am going to publish them for the world to see, but what good would it do me not to face reality? Besides, when I get to my goal weight I know I'm going to feel so good and will be able to laugh in the face of that number, muahahha! I'm hoping in the next 6 weeks that I only gain possibly 5-10 more pounds... I REALLY do not want to go over the 250 mark with this baby!
So... back to me.. geeze, how is it that everything always goes back to this baby? Um, yeah... so I've always been chubby but funny thing is I'm SERIOUSLY interested in all things health and nutrition. I have a theory though that most fat people already KNOW what is healthy, they just don't USE the information they have. That's at least how I am sometimes. So I feel I'm pretty well educated on how to eat healthy.... maybe even more so than your average dieter. Back in 2007 I started to really get into raw foods and eating a whole food/vegan diet. I researched a ton, bought a lot of raw food books, and tried to jump into the deep end and eat a 100% raw food diet. Guess what? It didn't work. I think I got maybe a week into eating 100% raw before my husband came home one day to me crying saying "I want to eat real food!" (he'll never let me forget that moment). Now I know that, as you've probably heard, "everything in moderation". Raw food IS good and healthy and wonderful for you but most people will not be able to transition from a normal diet to a 100% raw food one overnight like I was trying to do.
My game plan for after this baby is born is to attempt to eat at least a 50% raw diet.. which may be a fruit smoothie in the morning, a big salad for lunch, or maybe I'll make a gourmet raw meal now and then, and then the other 50% of my diet will be whole foods with possibly some fish thrown into the mix. I'm going to also attempt to limit my bread and cheese... ah cheese... let's not start on that, it's going to be really hard for me to give up the cheese, but give it up I will try! Let's just put it this way, growing up I used to eat all the cheese in the house (still do on occasion) and my dad was constantly telling me to stop eating the cheese. Over the years though I have learned about cheese's nasty little secret like how it's seriously, physically addictive and one of the biggest cancer promoting foods you can eat!
Ok, so limit the cheese and bread, eat 50% raw and 50% whole foods (whole grains, steamed veggies, etc) with some occasional fish and seafood thrown in.
sound good? it does to me!
Then of course you throw in exercise into the mix (Zumba which I love, walking, pilates, whatever else I can do) and hopefully this will be my formula for a lifetime of health.
I will be blogging over the next 6 weeks periodically about the rest of the pregnancy and then once the baby is here and I am healed from the C section it's time to put this plan into action! And I don't want to hear any complaining or whining from myself.. right now I can barely walk 1/4 of a mile without getting out of breath (because of my big baby belly) so I am really looking forward to the day I can get in a good, hot, sweaty, hard core work out! yay!
So... until then... I'll keep cookin' this little baby boy in mah belly!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
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