Live Simple

My mantra these days. How I strive to live. I have to remind myself all the time to slow down and enjoy these simple, carefree days with my children. With that being said, this is another reason I decided to adopt this eating lifestyle. I wanted to eat simpler foods, whole foods, foods that I know where they came from. I just read a quick read by Michael Pollan, Food Rules, and it hit the nail on the head for me as far as eating goes. Know where your food comes from, don't eat foods with ingredients that a 3rd grader can't pronounce, don't eat foods that have been passed through your window, etc. I'm not perfect in ANY way and those that know me well, know that I have an enormous sweet tooth. But this lifestyle has taught me to slow down, cook my food with care, involve my children in the process and realize that I am giving them the best gift possible as a parent, the gift of healthy eating and living. It may sound corny, but when 1/3 of all children in this country are obese, with that number climbing every day, it's a little bit scary. In our house, we are going back to the basics and living our lives as simple as we can. Taking more time for each other, spending less money, having more game nights, making s'mores in the backyard, family dinners nightly.

Last nights dinner was incredible, so good that I am going to post the recipe here. I did add diced turkey (free range! of course) andouille sausage to everyone's elses bowls...the light coconut milk MADE this one dish meal. I highly recommend it. It made tons, so we are eating it again tonight. I imagine it will taste even better tonight. It's from the Whole Foods Market Cookbook, which I've had for about 8 years.

CREOLE RICE AND BEAN SOUP
Whole Foods Market Cookbook
by Steve Petusevsky & Whole Foods Market Team
Serves 6 To 8

Even in steamy South Florida, this soup is popular year-round. Many people from the Caribbean make their home in Miami, where this soup provides an inexpensive and nutritious meal. The combination of scallions and fresh thyme can be found in many island dishes.

1 tablespoon canola oil
2 large carrots, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 small green pepper, seeded and diced
1 small red pepper, seeded and diced
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes with their juice
4 cups cold water or vegetable stock
1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk
1/2 cup brown rice
1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups chopped and washed kale
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas
3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste


Heat the canola oil in a large pot over medium heat; saute the carrots, onion, celery, peppers, and dried thyme for 5 minutes, until the vegetables are crisp-tender.

Add the tomato puree, whole tomatoes, cold water, and coconut milk to the pot; simmer for 5 minutes. Break the tomatoes apart with a spoon and add the rice.

Simmer uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes, until the rice is tender.

Add the kidney beans, kale, peas, and fresh thyme; simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the parsley; season with the salt and pepper.

PER 1-CUP SERVING: Calories 110; Calories From Fat 30; Calories From Saturated Fat 20; Protein 5 G; Carbohydrate 16 G; Total Fat 3.5 G; Saturated Fat 2 G; Cholesterol 0 Mg; Sodium 120 Mg; 27% Calories From Fat

Today's Meals:

Breakfast:
acai berry banana smoothie with vega protein powder and almond milk
ultima replenisher (all natural electrolyte beverage since I ran this morning)
coffee with coconut milk creamer

Snack:
gRAWnola bar (locally made in Charleston!) filled with pumpkin seeds, apples, dates, figs, walnuts, orange essence, vanilla
Vita Coco coconut water with passionfruit (delish!)

Lunch:
Kashi Mayan Harvest bake (in the freezer section, I love this product line)
of course..So Delicious mini coconut ice cream bar (my daily treat!)

Snack:
1 oz raw almonds

Dinner:
Creole Rice and Bean soup



You are what you eat!

Live life to the fullest, it's the only one you've got!

time, time, time

I know most of us out there barely have enough time in a day. It seems as if we are all running around from school drop off, to grocery shopping, other errands, parks, playdates and other school or sports activities. I don't know about you, but I actually kinda like being busy like this. However, I do appreciate the down time too. I make sure that my kids and I have downtime together some part of the day every day.

Someone at the park this morning asked me how I had time for it all. I guess I really don't know the exact answer, but I will tell you what works for me. I am a lover of schedules. I live and breathe by a schedule, not a rigid one, but one that is flexible for myself and our family. I guess it all started when the twins were born. We went from this 3 person family unit to a 5 person family that included 3 children under 2 1/2 overnight. I knew that I had to be organized and on a schedule right away. Since the twins have been born, they have pretty much been on a schedule. Lucky for me, they are not too rigid about it and have learned to be go with the flow children.

I try to manage my time as wisely as I can. This is why I hit the gym or a morning run by 5:15 am. Why? Well, with 3 little boys, it's really the only time I can do it and get it done for now. I know that it doesn't work for everyone, but right now it works for me. I just have to make sure I am in bed by 10ish, which usually ends up being 10:30ish. If you do the math, I certainly could get more sleep and hopefully will one day. My workouts are my time. They keep me going, make me stronger, feel good about myself and make me a better mother to my boys.

Another time management area is the computer. For instance, I only allow myself 3-10 minute periods a day on Facebook. I get on FB in the morning, lunch/naptime, and and in the evening for only 10 minutes each time. I actually set the timer on my microwave because otherwise I'd waste so much time. As a social person, I LOVE social networking and think it's genius. It has grown our photography business two-fold and best of all it's free.

Another time management area is meal planning. I do all of our meal planning for the week on Sunday afternoon. I look through cookbooks, magazines and internet sites to get my meal ideas for the week and make my list for that week. This way I only have to do one trip to the grocery store each week. Laundry is another way I try to manage my time. With 3 boys and exercising 6 days a week, there is a lot of laundry. My system may be similar to lots of people. I wash sheets towels on Sunday, (usually 2 loads) whites on Wednesday (usually 2 loads) and darks on Thursday (2 loads). This way I don't have to do laundry every single day. It makes me feel better about it.

When I have photo editing to do for clients, I do this during naptime. Naptime is also when bills get paid online, this blog is updated and any online shopping (dog food, clothes for boys, etc), searching for new recipes or any other nutrional/foodie/fitness/photog blogs I enjoy reading are done. Just like on FB I usually only allow myself about 15 minutes or so to surf these sites.

This gives me the afternoon to spend time with my boys either playing inside or out (hopefully soon!) and cooking dinner. We have our family dinner routine when Daddy gets home and then it's bath and bedtime for the boys. Nights are usually not spent on the computer unless there is work that has to be done. I try to either read, catch up with my husband or veg on my fave tv shows as a guilty pleasure (Lost, Modern Family, Grey's). So there you have it, not a glamourous life by any means, but a life that I love!

On the vegan front. It's been 1 week today. I feel amazing, CLEAN and refreshed. Absolutely no stomach issues or headaches and I actually feel lighter. Woo hoo!

Today's meals:
Breakfast:
Pure Organic Chocolate Brownie Raw Bar
Banana
coffee with coconut hazelnut milk creamer

Snack:
1 oz raw almonds

Lunch:
Food for Life veggie burger on a sprouted whole grain bagel with sliced avocado, tomato, horseradish mustard and veganaise (Yum, yum, extra yum!)
handful for Whole Foods veggie chips
1 mini coconut milk ice cream bar (I do love a sweet treat! These are mini, only 100 calories each.)

Snack:
blueberry mango smoothie with vegan protein powder and almond milk

Dinner:
Creole Rice and Bean soup from The Whole Foods Cookbook (will add turkey andouille sausage for my family)



You are what you eat!

Live life to the fullest, it's the only one you've got!

How could I forget?

So in yesterday's post I forgot to mention the other reason I was doing this...duh...to lose weight. I don't have that much weight to lose, but for someone who is 5'3" on a good day and a small frame to boot, it is enough. This 5 pounds has been with me for a while. I gained it when we first started trying to get pregnant with Harrison, gained 55 more lbs with him, lost 55 said lbs (not the 5!), got pregnant with the twins, gained 63 lbs with them, lost it all and still have these 5 stinkin' pounds!!! Nothing seems to work. I already run a gazillion miles a week, do strength training 3X a week and it's still there. So I decided a lifestyle change in nutrition was what I needed, not a diet, but a new way of looking at what goes into my body. Enter the vegan option. Once I lose this lingering 5 pounds I will be back at my, wait for it, WEDDING WEIGHT! And that, my friends will make this happy girl even happier.

Some people have asked how I am getting my protein and calcium. For my calcium, I do take a calcium and vitamin D supplement. I always have taken one because I have never really drank milk anyway. For protein, I use Vega vegan protein powder and add it to smoothies. I also get protein from almond butter, almonds, beans, etc. As an avid runner, I need to make sure I get enough protein to feel strong and make it through my runs.

My next post will be about some of my new favorite products I've discovered since starting this journey. And I will tell you, they are so delicious. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed a vegan chocolate chocolate cookie at Whole Foods this morning and it was Heaven in my mouth. Seriously, just as delicious as a standard cookie and didn't feel quite as guilty eating it.

I'll end on my menu for the day, since I've been asked to post this. I'll also be posting recipes soon.

Breakfast:
Food for Life Sprouted Grain Bread
1 tsp almond butter
sliced mango
coffee with coconut hazelnut creamer

Snack:
triple berry blast banana smoothie (frozen unsweetened strawberries, blueberries, rasperries)

Lunch:
brown rice avocado cucumber sushi roll (from Whole Foods) it is the bomb!!

Snack:
1 oz raw almonds (approx 24)

Dinner:
Left over pasta from last night (see previous post, it made tons and was amazing! I think it will taste even better tonight.)

You are what you eat!

Live life to the fullest, it's the only one you've got.

Why Vegan?

This is the MOST asked question that I have been getting...Why vegan and why not vegetarian? Well, I guess there is no real easy answer. I have never given up all meat before, I just don't feel the need to have to have it. All of my life, I've struggled with digestion issues and I've always felt that dairy has something to do with it. As a foodie with a dear love of all things cheese, I honestly didn't feel that I COULD give up cheese. However, after eating it I always found myself feeling bad not only for a couple hours but until the next day. The main culprits were bloating and headaches.

Then there's meat. Good old meat. Oh how I love fish and seafood. But as a distance runner, I found that beef and pork wrecked havoc on my stomach during runs, even if I've had them a couple of days before. So throw poultry in the mix, which I could do with or without and meat has been eliminated too. I will miss fish for this 6 week adventure though. Who knows what will happen after Lent, but for right now I will dream about grilled salmon, seared scallops or fish tacos.

OK, now I've given up dairy and meat and after doing much research it was only obvious that the vegan diet was the way to go. This means no meats or animal products (dairy and eggs, etc). So, this in a nutshell (he, he) is why I've decided to go the vegan route.

Like I mentioned earlier, I feel better than I ever have before. Maybe it's the lack of dairy or the lack of meat, or both but I have not had a headache or stomachache for 6 days now. I feel clean too. I'm craving fruits and vegetables I've never craved before...plantains, mangos, avocados, kale, swiss chard...WHAT? I didn't think a foodie could actually BE vegan, but I am learning that this is quite the contrary. I look forward to planning our weekly meals, learning to cook things that I can add meat to at the last minute for my family. It's quite interesting.

So, what am I eating? I'll give you an example of what I'm eating today:
Breakfast:
Pure Organic Bar (chocolate brownie) *available at Whole Foods
Banana
Coffee with coconut milk creamer (hazelnut)-This stuff is yummy!

Snack:
1 oz (approx) 24 raw almonds

Lunch:
mango, blueberry, almond milk smoothie
whole wheat pita with hummus, red onion, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, avocado
1 mini coconut milk ice cream sandwich (once again, YUMMY!)

Dinner:
orecchiette pasta with mushrooms, diced tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and toasted pinenuts
arugula salad with red onions, olives, and red pepper with basalmic vinegarette dressing

In the evening: a cup of Madagasgar Vanilla Red tea...my fave!!
and 8 cups of water throughout the day.

Live life to the fullest, it's the only one you've got!

Life as I know it...

So here it is...my brand new blog. This blog is not about one subject. I'd like to say it's a blog about life. About things I love...my children and family, my photography, my love for running, eating and living life to the fullest. The catalyst has been my new vegan lifestyle, which started a mere 5 days ago. As of today, I feel better than I ever have in my life...so I feel the need to share with the world about it. I don't know if anyone will read this or not, but here goes something. More to come!


Live life to the fullest, it's the only one you've got!