I talked to a dear friend of mine today who went vegan earlier this year - I thought she would be a good resource for why I'm so tired after a month and a half of eating this way. Unfortunately, she said that after 2 months of eating vegan (her diet included fat from nuts, avocados and vegetable oils) she was so tired and run down that she opted to go vegetarian so she could add dairy products and eggs to her diet - she feels much better now. I completely understand where she is coming from however, I don't have the chose to go vegetarian at this point in my life (if ever again...).
She is worried about my health especially since I'm eating this way to stave off further heart and artery disease and to ultimately avoid surgeries. I just have to believe that eating this healthily is doing what Dr Esselstyn claims - to stop AND reverse heart and artery disease so that you don't have to have surgery. It may be in my best interest to contact him to verify that I can avoid getting stents put in my arteries all together if I continue my diet change. I may be playing with my life at this point by not having this key information.
Yesterday I traveled to San Jose for the day and spent most of it in airports. I was pleased to see that San Jose finally opened their Terminal B for Southwest Airlines and that there were several eating options. The best one was Sushi Boat that offered edamame (they even warmed them up for me), salad packed with vegies (even asparagus!) and a sushi chef who was willing to make me a cucumber roll with the rice on the outside ('kappa' maki usually is prepared with the kelp on the outside and they are a lot smaller with less cucumber). I was thrilled.
For dinner I opted for a 'Margherita' salad from Unamas though I had to ask them to not put a dressing on it and not include the cheese, tortilla strips, and meat/poultry. I did ask for more salsa fresca so I could use it as a dressing. It was ok but not as satisfying as my Japanese lunch, that's for sure. Thankfully I packed snacks (black sesame rice crackers, pretzel sticks, Kashi wheat/whole grain cereal with vanilla) and an apple for the trip so I was able to round out my meal. I also had a small "all fruit" smoothie from Jamba Juice - they don't add dairy products but did offer to add plain soy milk to make it creamy - and it was! It just goes to show that if you seek out options to maintain whatever diet you're on, you will find things.
I have been doing research on a number of issues surrounding "truly healthful eating" and will be sharing them with you in the weeks to come. Some of the topics include:
- Mastication (good ol' chewing)
- Portion Control & Meal Planning
- Acidity
- Sugars
- More condiments/sauces
- Skinny Bitch, the book and cookbook & other helpful vegan cookbooks
- Organics - essential and not so essential fruit and vegetable lists
- GMO products (genetically modified)
- Dry Goods (think rice, lentils, peas, beans, couscous, pasta)
- Glycemic Index
- Soy, Soy Products, Soy Isolates
- Protein Protein
- Vegan Survival Kit
I have always loved to research whatever I've been interested in but I have to say that this latest adventure is the most productive and meaningful to me.
FOOD
So I'm still addicted to vegie sushi and edamame for lunch but I have wondered if there is such a thing as 'excessive soy' in a diet. I've been researching this and there is some differing thoughts/research on this topic so I'll keep researching before I share what I've found.
I noticed that I've been so consumed with fantastic flavor in my meals that I may have gotten away from the core foods - fresh fruits and vegetables. For this reason I have gone out of my way to incorporate fresh items in every meal. Not only is this healthier but I've noticed that I lose a little more weight than usual because of it.
Thanksgiving is coming up and my twin brother and I will be preparing the meal for our family. There are regular, vegetarian, vegetarian/vegan and fat free vegan (me) eaters this year so it does present a challenge but I'm up for it. I'll be writing up the recipes and/or providing links to the recipes very soon.
Our menu so far is (subject to change based on final negotiations with the other chef, my brother):
Main Course
- Turkey - Regular (Roasted)
- Field Roast Turkey - Vegetarian/Vegan
- Mashed Potatoes - FFVegan (Mixed Potatoes/Vegie Broth/Almond Milk/Spices)
- Stuffing - Vegetarian (Vegie Broth/Mushroom/Onion/Garlic/Earth Balance/herbs/spices)
- Stuffing - FFVegan (Vegie Broth/Mushroom/Onion/Celery/Zucchini/Jalapeno/Red Bell Pepper/Garlic)
- Gravy - Regular (Mushrooms/Turkey Broth/Cream of Mushroom soup)
- Gravy - FFVegan (Mushroom/Almond Milk/Vegie Broth/Whole Wheat Flour/Gravy Master)
Sides
- Chopped salad (lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, radish, red bell pepper, tomato, celery) - avocado on the side & homemade FFVegan as well as vegetarian dressings
- Corn - FFVegan - sauteed with onion, mushrooms and garlic
- Scalloped potatoes - FFVegan - sliced potatoes/almond milk/onions/spices/jalapeno
- Slow-cooked green beans with tomatoes/garlic/onion - FFVegan
- Cranberry Orange sauce - FFVegan (homemade with fresh cranberries/fresh squeezed OJ/spices)
- Stuffed Mushrooms - Vegetarian (bread crumbs/garlic/onion/roasted vegies/herbs/
spices) - Sauteed Spinach - FFVegan - Garlic & Lemon
- Sauteed Pearl Onions - FFVegan
Other
- Pickles (variety)
- Olives (green and black)
Dessert
- Pumpkin Tartlets w/Cool Whip - Vegetarian - recipe coming soon!
- Chocolate Drop Cookies - FFVegan (but taste much better!) - recipe coming soon!
- Berries w/Berried Treasure Sorbet - FFVegan (fresh berries and Ben & Jerry's Berried Treasure FF sorbet)
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What I ate today:
- Seedless green grapes
- Carroway FF crackers
- Cucumber & carrot sushi rolls
- Edamame
- Green apple
- Bubbies
- Red plum
- Fiesta Bean Dip (see FF Recipe link on the sidebar) & Salad (romaine, amarosa & grape tomatoes, red & green bell pepper, zucchini, red cabbage)
- Fresh & Easy Noodle Bowl - Sweet Chili flavor w/added corn, mushrooms, onions & chopped spinach
- Tangerine
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