New recipe!

Day 11.....I can hardly believe that we have gone 11 days without eating meat and we have NOT MISSED  it.  Crazy! Today, I was in a cooking mood.  It all started with cabbage! Add some rice/tomatoes, baked sweet potatoes, and to top it all off - cornbread muffins!  I tried a new cornbread recipe that I tweaked along the way.  I honestly tried to follow the directions the first time since it was a new recipe, BUT it never fails....I start tweaking.
It was a basic cornbread recipe with a few additions:

Sun dried tomatoes added

I changed the flours to make it gluten free

Jalapenos: I took a lot of the seeds out so it wouldn't be too hot for others eating it.

Corn niblets and a touch of honey added with the milk/eggs

Stir it up and throw it in the pan

Sprinkle with cheese and bake.

I LOVE cornbread! Bill doesn't, so all I can say is, I thought they were great! I actually froze the ones we didn't eat. I have a friend who adds bacon too.  Since we are are eliminating meat, it wasn't a big deal not to have it.  The sun dried tomatoes gave it enough texture. You could probably just use your recipe and then add whatever "extras" you like.  

We got off work late yesterday, had an errand to run in town so we decided to eat lunch at El Toreo.  I was pleasantly surprised to find several vegetarian items on the menu.  While we were discussing what to eat, a girl next to us joined our conversation, suggested some things she tried and then told us she stopped eating meat several years ago.  She mentioned how much better she felt since then.  It seems more and more people are choosing the vegetarian lifestyle.  Yesterday was the first time I had had a bean taco - quite tasty! 

Cheese enchilada, bean taco, and rice

We both felt like we needed to clean out our system after a few indulgences on our anniversary. We are juicing breakfast and supper for a few days.

We are loving this journey and encourage you to try it for yourself!

Vegetarian...will travel?

Day 8.....Hey Everybody!  We have been out of town celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary! We took a few days off to just relax - our biggest decision was whether to go to the pool or to the ocean.

The challenge on our vacation was to see how easy it would be to find places to eat and still maintain our vegetarian challenge.  Well, it is day 8 - and we have succeeded! Most fast food places were limited - we could find baked potatoes, french fries, salads (if you asked to take the meat off); not exactly, a well balanced meal. Fast food places were very limited and not the best choices.  We did find some fun places in Jacksonville to eat that were healthy and gluten free.  We also brought our juicer for breakfast and made a make shift kitchen.  It has been fun! A few of our favorite meals: veggie thin crust pizza, zucchini grillini sandwich, and rice/bean/veggie stuffed burritos.  After 8 days, we have not missed the meat at all! Way easier than juicing!

Zucchini Grillini

How are we doing with exercise?  Bill has kept his running up on the beach, I've been happy to just walk.  Do you remember the scene from Jurassic Park where the dinosaur is chasing them in the jeep? There's a close up of the side mirror with the words, "Objects are closer than they appear".  It never failed, we'd pick a destination to walk to that seemed relatively close - but was so much further away!  I used muscles walking on the sand that I apparently have not been using!!

I haven't seen the scales in quite a few days.  Who knows what I will numbers will be! Yikes?!  The key to eating a vegetarian lifestyle is making good food choices.  You cannot have a diet of french fries, frosty's and mac/cheese.  Good choices make strong healthy bodies.  

If eating vegetarian seems overwhelming at first, try one day a week.  Baby steps......

You have got to try this!!!!

Day 3.....Tonight's supper was Russ's Mexican Lasagna.  It was fabulous!

30 min preparation + 40 min cooking

Serving Size / Yield

6 servings

Ingredients

• one 16-oz. can refried beans
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• one 14 1/2-oz can diced tomatoes and green chilies
• 1/2 C. red onion
• 3 oz. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 6 lasagna noodles, cooked
• 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 C. fresh cilantro leaves (optional)

Directions

In a medium bowl, stir the cream cheese, chili powder, onion, and Monterey Jack cheese. Spread 1/2 cup diced tomatoes with green chilies in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Spread each cooked noodle with the refried beans and cream cheese mixture. Roll up jelly-roll style and place seam side down in the baking dish. Top with the remaining diced tomatoes with green chilies and cheddar cheese. Cover the dish with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until it's hot and bubbling. Sprinkle with the cilantro.

The only thing I did differently from the recipe was I did not make the rolls.  I just layered the ingredients like regular lasagna.  Give it a try!!

Have you been brainwashed?

Day 2......of our vegetarian adventures. Today, we watched the movie Forks over Knives.  You need to stop and watch it....NOW........it's free on Netflix and several other venues. Watch it with an open mind and see if you find validity in their claims. "The feature film Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods." For more information after the movie go to http://www.forksoverknives.com/


For the first time, we are wondering if 21 days will be long enough for us to tell a difference?

We haven't missed eating meat (but it has only been two days). Bill sure wanted some fried chicken today at a luncheon meeting.  He didn't give in; he even picked the ham out of his turnip greens!

Watch the movie and post your comments below.

What?! No meat?!

It began today! Our journey into the world of vegetarians......a 21 day journey.  Why?  Because we are considering all options on our road to better health.  We love juicing, and that has easily been incorporated into our daily life, but what about meat? Can avoiding it make you feel better?  What about all the talk about eating for your blood type? (Bill and I are both A negative.) We are going to do an experiment and see how our bodies respond.  The important factor is choosing healthy foods and having a balanced diet.

Day 1...Our schedule today just got way off, my carefully planned meals became non existent.  We did eat lunch in town - no meat - and it was good and filling.  We ate at a Mexican restaurant and had eggs/rice in  tortilla shell with beans on the side. Breakfast will be a glass of juice. Lunch, I'm thinking about doing the 1/2 and 1/2 - choosing between soups, sandwiches and salads. Supper, I have a variety of simple, quick recipes and some new recipes to try.  I'm rather excited about this challenge, I'm not quite sure what Bill thinks.

We have several movies that have been recommended to us. We'll try and watch them on Netflix and then pass them on to you.   At the very least, we need to consider what we are eating and the results it can have on our bodies. If this lifestyle just seems to foreign to you, consider having one day a week that is meatless.  Start small and simple and you'll be less likely to give up.  Remember, it's all about baby steps.

Side note: We tried a NEW juice today that had apples, carrots, lemon and CABBAGE! It was supposed to be a tart lemonade flavor.  I wasn't too crazy about it.....I like my old standbys best!

Get your facts straight!

Time for another adventure!  Becoming a Vegetarian! We have heard the pros and cons for years.......like, "You can't eat that way, you won't get enough protein" "It's too radical" "You just make it harder to hang out with your friends" OR "It's the ONLY way to eat" "You'll feel better and be in better health"  We have heard from both sides, so we'll be guinea pigs for you and see if we can tell a difference!

You've heard the hype, now let's get the facts.  According to the Harvard Medical there are different varieties of vegetarians:

Strictly speaking, vegetarians are people who don't eat meat, poultry, or seafood. But people with many different dietary patterns call themselves vegetarians, including the following:

Vegans (total vegetarians): Do not eat meat, poultry, fish, or any products derived from animals, including eggs, dairy products, and gelatin.

Lacto-ovo vegetarians: Do not eat meat, poultry, or fish, but do eat eggs and dairy products.

Lacto vegetarians: Eat no meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, but do consume dairy products.

Ovo vegetarians: Eat no meat, poultry, fish, or dairy products, but do eat eggs.

Partial vegetarians: Avoid meat but may eat fish (pesco-vegetarian, pescatarian) or poultry (pollo-vegetarian).

For our trial we will be Lacto-ovo vegetarians! (Bill doesn't want to give up his cereal or ice cream!) Check out this link from Fox News that gives the basic pros and cons of this lifestyle. We'll do some more research as we go.  Our plan: 21 days!

Someone recently asked, "Well, weren't you on a vegetarian lifestyle when you were juicing?" Well, yes we were. The purpose of juicing was to "reboot" our systems.  We will continue to juice as we go.  The benefits are great! Juicing can have its limitations though. It's hard to eat out or go to someone's house for supper - unless you plan on drinking your juice and watching them eat.  Juicing only uses fruits/veggies and is healthy.  The vegetarian lifestyle can be very unhealthy and lead to health problems if you make poor choices - like eating ice cream and Twinkies all the time. Don't you love the food people??  Haha! Kerry sent it to me.  She will be joining us on this journey.  Do you want to try it with us? Let's find how easy it is (or isn't) to have a  vegetarian lifestyle, interact with others, and see what the benefits are.

As always, if you have any health issues, consult your doctor.

Recipes and other great info to come! We will start next MONDAY.  We'll spend this week getting our "ducks in a row"!

We're gonna do what?!

Well, round two of juicing is officially over! I cannot tell you how happy I was to actually cook and eat food - for lunch and supper! WooHoo!

Here's the wrap up of this journey:
We will continue to juice for breakfast and for our mid morning snack.  We plan on eating healthy for a few weeks and then I'll do another round of juicing.  I probably will not do the 21 days for a while, but rather, 5 days at the time.  I still have weight to lose, so I will keep at it. Sooner or later I will reach my goal!

Square foot gardening - Bill put in some zinnias, I'm hoping to have another large crop before frost.  The peppers, basil, oregano and sweet potatoes continue to do well.  I'm wondering why I can't have fresh tomatoes all year round?! We have a greenhouse - what more do we need?! Maybe that will be an experiment to try this Fall.

 
We have juicing down pretty good - now what? Well, we have been thinking.  We have heard all the hype about being a vegetarian.  There are those who swear by it and others who think it is totally ridiculous.  Well, that should be our next venture.  We will do some research and try it!  This week I think we will work on getting some recipes together and start some research.  Is it really better for your body?  We will start next Monday.  Want to try it with us? Come on, why not?