I Could Never...

This morning found this post to be interesting!  I thought I would just share the link.  So many times people think it is close to impossible to eat to fuel our bodies.  What is the alternative?  We are the ones that choose for ourselves!

Enjoy!

I could never do that!

POSTED ON MARCH 13, 2013 BY EMILY BOLLER

The following post was originally published on Disease Proof about two years ago. I thought it’d be helpful to dig it out of the archives for some inspiration again this time of year. Even now, I still hear, “Oh, I could never do that!” in response to the way I eat, and I’m sure that many of you do too. It’s good to be reminded on a regular basis of the many medical problems that we nutritarians get to bypass, and the many wonderful pleasures that we get to enjoy as a result! Some of the comments at the end are funny, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking all rolled into one. May they encourage and uplift heavy hearts, and cheer everyone on in the pursuit of excellent health. Cheers to all!

In the Fall of 2008, after I had dropped 40 lbs in three months, my peers started commenting and asking questions about the noticeable changes. By the next Spring, when 100 pounds were off, complete strangers such as clerks in stores would comment and ask questions as well.

Everyone’s question was, “How did you lose weight?” 

Of which my reply would always be, “By following Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s book, Eat to Live;. . . . basically eating lots of high nutrient, plant-based foods.” 

“You mean no meat? No cheese? No pizza? No McDonald’s? . . . . Oh, I could never do that!” 

Now, over 2 ½ years later, the majority still say to me, “Oh I could never do that!” in response to anything remotely related to the idea of eating meals primarily composed of plant based nutrition. 

Well, the following is what I think in response to, “I could never do that”:

• I could never blow the family budget on unnecessary test strips, insulin, medications, doctor and hospital bills, or bypass surgery.
• I could never carry around expensive medical supplies and meds while traveling.
• I could never ask a loved one to mow the lawn for me due to fatigue and ill health.
• I could never turn a child away from playing a game due to a migraine headache.
• I could never miss out on the joy of a wedding celebration due to obesity and depression.
• I could never ask someone to drive me to kidney dialysis three times a week.
  
  

 

Dr. Fuhrman added:

• I could never have heartburn and burping half the night.

• I could never sit in the bathroom for 15 minutes trying to painfully squeeze out a hard log.

• I could never watch a volleyball game at the beach instead of playing in it.

• I could never have rubber bands put on painful hemorrhoids by a rectal specialist.

• I could never worry about running to catch a bus, for fear of having a heart attack. 

• I could never have such severe stomach cramps that emergency room personnel would assume it was a heart attack. 

• I could never fall down and fracture a hip because my blood pressure medications dropped my blood pressure too low.

• I could never be intubated in the ER with a tube put down my throat and hooked up to a breathing machine after suffering a heart attack.

• I could never be in a nursing home unable to talk after a stroke or move the left side of my body. 

 http://www.diseaseproof.com/ = link

Homemade Black Bean Burgers

Here is a snack or meal that will give you 9 whopping grams of fiber and 9 grams of protein per burger.  Even my youngest gobbled her burger up with a side of organic ketchup!  This recipe made 10 patties and we cleaned the plate.  I made these with my homemade black beans made in my crock pot...easy peasy!  Here it is:

Black Bean Burgers

3 cups black beans or black refried beans (2 cans - if whole beans then rinse and drain)
2/3 cup onion
1 cup mushrooms
1 cup oats
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cumin
2 TBSP worcheshire sauce
3 tsp. garlic, minced

Combine ingredients in food processor. Add more oats if needed. Form Patties
Saute the patties in a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, over medium high heat for 7 minutes per side approx.

Serve with romaine lettuce to wrap them up in and top with mango salsa.

Notes :

Super Yummy! Family favorite!

 

do it

"whatever there be
of progress in life
comes not through adaptation
but through daring,
through obeying the blind urge."
----------------henry miller

"trust your gut
and jump."
----------------gail shingler

the light of the world

if i am tempted 
to hold anything 
against anyone 
today, 
i will remind myself 
that my grievances 
hide the light of the world that is in me, 
from myself and from others.

fundamentals !

Brilliant Asian Kale Slaw

Brilliant Asian Kale Slaw

Salads

 

The Greens:
2 bunches kale 
1 pkg. shredded cabbage mix

The Dressing:
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar (or whatever vinegar you have)
2 Tablespoons Sesame oil  (I used roasted because that is what I had)
1/4 cup brown sugar (I know, you can brush your teeth later)
1 Tablespoon (heaping) minced garlic
2 Tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos or Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
1 Tablespoon of water (if desired)

Instructions: 

The Greens:

Wash, dry and chop the kale into bite-size pieces and place in a large salad bowl.  Add cabbage mix and incorporate with kale.  Set aside.

The Dressing: Combine vinegar, oil, brown sugar, garlic, Bragg Liquid Aminos or soy sauce and Housin Sauce in a sauté pan.  Simmer the mixture over moderate heat for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately pour the warm mixture over the kale slaw; mix well to thoroughly coat all of the leaves with the dressing. Allow the kale slaw to sit for 10 minutes or more before serving.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Survey Says:  My family licked the bowl clean. There isn't many kale dishes that my family has this reaction to.  This is definitely a family favorite.  It is great to pack for lunches the next day...IF there are any leftovers.

up for a challenge ?

"The search for love 
is but the honest searching out 
of everything that interferes with love."

when we pray for-
or ask for-
love, 
patience, 
courage, 
forgiveness, 
strength, 
humility, 
peace, 
cheerfulness, 
gentleness,
mindfulness, 
self control, 
or any other thing...

we do not get it!

what we DO get 
is the opportunity 
to call up that which is already resting in us,
that which was gifted to us at birth,
that which we have access to any time we really want it!

so if we ask for help in any form,
we do not get tapped with a magic wand 
or touched on the shoulder with a sword by a queen
and honored with-
or bequeathed 
that for which we ask...
God does not say, "NO PROBLEM, HERE YOU GO!"

we get an opportunity in the form of "a situation"...

a situation that seems to challenge 
what we asked for!

and we get that "situation" in order that we may step up to the plate,
call on that character trait we most desire to exhibit,
and be an active participant in experiencing our request.

those more bold, 
do not just ask and wait for the opportunity.

those more bold seek out those situations, people, and opportunities
that challenge us!  
those situations, people and opportunities that challenge our capacity for love,
for patience,
for strength, 
for forgiveness, 
for cheerfulness, 
for mindfulness,
for peace.
they actually seek out that which would interfere with all these things!
they are not content to keep company only with those who make it all easy.
they are not content to only "stay put" in situations that are comfortable.
they are not content to miss opportunities to grow and to change,

they are willing to accept all the unknowns, and freefall into all those unknowns in an effort to tap into all that they are and all that is already in them!

are you up for a challenge?

the mirror of life

 -If you love yourself, others will love you.

- If you respect yourself, others will respect you.

- If you trust yourself, others will trust you.

- If you are honest with yourself, others will be honest with you.

- If you appreciate yourself, others will appreciate you.

- If you honor yourself, others will honor you.

- If you enjoy yourself, others will enjoy you.

borrowed from allisawesome.com

Workouts

Well, I must confess.  I used to be the one at the gym with my clipboard writing down sets, weights, and reps.  Anal City!  There was a great satisfaction I felt when I went up in weight.  I counted my protein grams and calculated my time on the cardio machines.  Don't roll your eyes!  Okay go ahead!  I have come a long way.  I am learning to tone down the anal tendencies and open myself up to mixing it up.  I no longer count protein grams or time on the cardio machines. FREEDOM REIGNS!  

So here is a typical week for me.:
 I try to hit each body part once a week with intense weights.  I mix up the exercises each week so my muscles don't have time to acclimate.  If I am not able to make it to the gym each day I double up the next time I'm in, (legs and shoulders).  I try to get in around 30 minutes of cardio about 4-5 times a week.  Just long enough to work up a sweat and truth be told catch up on a few TV shows (we don't have TV at home...built in incentive).  The last few weeks, if I can't make it into the gym, I do what my friends call Burst Training.  It is a fun quick workout that has left me glowing with sweat and sore the next day.  I  love to feel the burn!  I know!  You set a timer for 20 - 40 sec. and you do an easy exercise like crunches for 30 sec. as fast as you can while still maintaining good form.  You then take 30 sec. off to rest.  You do each exercise 3 times.  So I might do:  

1.  Jumping jacks
2.  Mountain climbers
3.  Squats
4.  Bicep curls
5.  Tricep extensions
6.  Overhead press
7.  Crunches
8.  Plank
9.  Push ups
10.  Burpees

My kiddos did the burst training with me last night and we put on some kick butt music and had a blast!  Every once in a while I try to go to hot yoga as a special treat and to mix things up a bit.  Exercise is "my time."  I listen to "my music."  I watch "my TV shows."  I chose what feels good to me. 

 I do miss classes.  The gym I am a member of doesn't have group classes and I really miss this component.  But for this season, I embrace the flexibility of whatever I want to do, when and how I want to do it.  Classes will always be there for another season.  Grateful for the ability to just work out. Now go out there and glow people!

I love me some HUMMUS!

I laughed so loud when my daughter showed me this comic.   For those who can't read the small print, the 3 big dinosaurs say, "Oh great who invited the herbivore?" Then, the other dinosaur says, "I brought the hummus."  I have a fetish for hummus lately.  My favorite lunch is mini peppers stuffed with hummus.  It gives a crunch and a sweet burst with a salty zing from the hummus.  It is filling and yummy.  For those days when I am needing energy to keep up with the preschoolers at work this lunch comes through every time.  Try it you may just fall in love with it.  

Me

Life seems to race by at quantum speed.  As I age, I recognize the beauty of taking in the scenery and enjoying the journey.  This new year, I am on a quest to detox myself emotionally and rid the "excess" garbage (for lack of a better word) that invades my space, my thoughts, and my perceptions.  It has been an uncomfortable stage but a necessary one.  I have filled my life with so much activity and when I have recently slowed the pace I realized then I must contend with myself.  As I examine and meditate, I see the areas I have covered with entertainment or hobbies.  This sounds really crazy but it is real and honest and where I am at...I do not know if I ever took the time to truly like me.  I have criticized others because in essence I am criticizing the person I see in the mirror.  This is not an I hate myself entry but a realization that I am the only me there is.  I have looked to others for approval without taking the time to check in with myself.  This only bred insecurity and fears which in turn well it has led to crap!  Literally!  I am God's creation, chosen and dearly loved.  I know this logically and I am ready to take back what I have allowed to be polluted.  This is not an overnight ah ha moment but one that takes a process of prayer and discipline in my thinking.  I am taking the time to wrestle with myself (my perceptions and self talk) and wow the clarity that comes after I do this.  God is showing me the beauty that is and can be.  It is easy for me to cram in stuff, activities, conversations.  It is a challenge for me to BE! I have cleared the deck and decided to go on this quest to learn about me, the one and only!  

God left you a note

labels

to the labelers:
"nothing, and no one, is ever as simple as the labels we give them"

and to the label-ees:
"labels only matter if we let them stick"

beautiful people do not just happen

is it true ?

go to the address below and click on the video "he owes me."
my husband art and i were at this event and watched this wife, 
so angry at her husband, begin to see, 
through the work byron katie has designed, 
how her husband "paid her," 
and how distorted her perceptions were 
and how misplaced her anger was, 
and how easily we are moved by our thoughts, 
and how quickly we can change our thoughts 
to support a loving, full, joy-filled life, where we are letting people BE---
who and what and where they are, 
where we are focusing on thoughts that bring us closer to others, 
help us resolve and cooperate and reconcile!  
it was unbelievably beautiful to watch and i am so grateful i was there, 
it was powerful and has stayed with me this whole last year,
reminding me to CHANGE MY THOUGHTS 
when they made life seem sad!

“He Owes Me”

http://www.thework.com/watch.php?cat=watch&yid=B1KpCZGWbL8

i've decided these are my resolutions

1. to fully realize and embrace my exquisite beauty-
god created an amazing creature in me
and a hurt heart has kept me from loving myself fully and trusting myself fully,
which translates into loving and trusting others less fully!
and what a waste of time because
god loves me
and god’s love is enough,
i don’t need to put my faith in others to not let me down-
god will always be my one true source of strength and inspiration and enthusiasm for life
regardless of the thoughts, words and actions of others, regardless of my circumstances
or heartbreaks…


2. to continue to say each day, all day,
“how shall i serve you today? and to respond…
to not miss opportunities placed before me to show great love and care,
whether it is stopping in my rush somewhere to listen to the story of a homeless man and share a laugh and a hug, or to make a meal for someone who is sick when i myself am exhausted, or write that card or make that call so that someone knows they are not alone, that they are thought of, that they are celebrated, my creator will give me all the strength and superpowers i need, and i will be the one truly blessed to serve others!


3. to walk toward, not away from, the people who challenge and frustrate me,
the truth is that they love me enough to come into my life
to teach me the lessons i am ready to learn about myself-
they push buttons to show me i have buttons,
i want to grow and stretch, and stretch and grow beyond my comfort level, to cry and scream and walk straight into life’s “fires,” bravely, to be refined and experience greater depth and meaning in being alive,
i don’t want to have any buttons left to push by the time i take my last breathe!


4. to say ‘thank you’ for every apology i have never, and may never, receive.


5. to laugh every laugh and to cry every tear, to hug "strangers" and talk to people in elevators, and leave things, experiences, people and places lighter and brighter because i was there!

6.  to remember every single day that we are ONE, every single person and creature and growing thing on this planet, they ALL belong to me to care for, to lift, to help along, to hug, to cry and laugh with, to enjoy!  they all deserve the very best of me, those who would strike me down as well as those who think i am neat, they all deserve 100% of what i have and what i am!  no giving to those who give back and withholding from those who don't, EVERYONE DESERVES MY ALL, ALWAYS!