Squat Jumps

My trainer's name is Shireen. Twice a week she shows up on my doorstep with a big smile and a cheerful "Good Morning!" She is making me stronger and tougher and more confident. Sometimes she tells me to do things that I think I can't do. Like jump up onto things. Jumping up onto things scares me. But we did it today and I survived. 

She does the workout with me. My old trainer at Lifetime just watched me (and gazed around the club) but Shireen is doing it along side me and breathing hard with me and it feels more like a team effort and less like I am suffering alone. She laughs at my jokes about how wobbly I am on the bosu and that makes me feel better. 

I dread exercises with the word "Jump" in it: Jumping-Jacks, Side-Jumps, Jump-Up-Onto-This-Scary-High-Thing. Shireen makes me do Squat Jumps (squat, hands on floor, then jump and try to touch ceiling). I hate them and always complain and we joke about how terrible they are. They are terrible. Just try to do 10 right now. But a few weeks ago I decided to say "Yay! I love these! I only get to do 24 of them!" and smiled and acted like it was fun and guess what? It was SOOO much better! Really, it was such a huge change I was almost embarrassed that it worked so well. 

The power of self-talk is amazing. 

That picture of Shireen was taken at the top of the incline. Shireen is going to drag me up to the top one of these days. I am already starting the positive self talk about this. Lots and lots of positive self talk!

One Grain More

Here is a little video to make you laugh:

Turkeys or Wieners?

Which one are you?

When I googled "Turkey and Wiener" this was the image I found. Ha!

My friend and super-sonic-woman, Sharon, told me there are 2 types of people when it comes to making big changes, turkeys and wieners. Turkeys go cold turkey when making a change and wieners slowly wean themselves off the old and into the new.

I've been a wiener the first 2 weeks of 2013 but today I decided to go TURKEY STYLE! Why? Well, I did my Monday morning weigh in and found that I lost 3 lbs last week. I credit that to working out 5 days in a row because I certainly was taking my sweet time weaning myself off the corn chips and roasted cashews (ahhh salt!) along with other "treats" that really aren't treating my body very well.

So, how well will I do eating E2L perfectly? Very well, thank you! I'll weigh in next Monday and let you know.

Also, can I get a back pat for working out 5 days in a row?

It's Citrus Season!

Yum.

This is my favorite breakfast. It goes something like this:

Stumble downstairs, grab large glass of water and check emails - take care of critical stuff first. 

Notice hunger pains

Think about toast with butter and jam 

Decide no

Make green smoothie

Drink XL green smoothie

Eat a orange & grapefruit salad

Ahh. No hunger for 4 hours (but you do need to drink that water!).

This is how I make the salad: 

1. Make sure your knife is sharp. I have a sharpener and will happily do yours.

2. Slice citrus into wedges

3. Cut citrus off the peel

4. Cut citrus into bite-size pieces

5. Eat it all. 

An orange and grapefruit for breakfast is a lot of fruit, but I used to eat sugar cereal for breakfast, I like a sweet start to the day. This start keeps your blood sugar stable and your tummy satisfied for hours. 

Citrus Season will last into March and almost into April. Then you will notice the quality starting to deteriorate. So enjoy them now!

A New Year, A New You

New Year's Eve found us recovering from a big dinner at our house for our son and his 

friends. After they left for a dance Roland and I cleaned up the mess and parked ourselves on the couch to watch TV. 

Nearly every commercial on every channel was for

 weight loss, viagara, and online dating services. But mostly for weight loss. 

So we got off the couch and did a little exercise on New Year's Eve. 

Much better than TV

 (have you noticed how lame tv is? Blah!)

I completely buy into the whole New Year's Resolutions thing because 

I am all about setting goals and crossing off lists. Losing weight seems to be the 

#1 resolution for most Americans and I am one of them. 

2013 will be a big year as we take several international trips 

(not vacations! no laying around on the beach!) 

and prepare to climb Machu Picchu. 

We need to be in top shape! Join us as we renew our Eat To Live commitment and exercise our butts off. 

Literally. 

Who wants to run Bolder Boulder with me this year? !

Exercise

Amen

Zucchini!

This has to be the best time of year! My kitchen is full of fresh local produce. I am very happy about this.

I tried this recipe online and it turned out great. (here is the recipe) This is not completely vegan - I did use a little parmesan. And also olive oil. But oh. It was so yummy and healthy! I think I will make it again this week! This would be a good dish to make in advance and use your oven's time bake feature. It smells wonderful when you come home after a busy day to the smell of a hot meal! Here is my variation of the recipe:

Pesto Potato, Tomato, Zucchini Bake

Saute until olives are tender:

• Small splash of olive oil (optional)
• sliced onion - small

To make pesto process the following:

• large handful of fresh basil (from my garden!)
• large handful of spinach
• 1/4 c of pinenuts
• 3 cloves garlic
• water - enough to make it smooth

Spread the pesto in bottom of pan - reserving 1/4 cup)

Top with sautéed onions

Layer sliced tomatoes, potatoes (sweet red ones are great) and zucchini (I used yellow and green) over the sautéed onions.

Spread the rest of the pesto on top of the layered veggies, sprinkle lightly with Parmesan, salt and pepper (I didn't use any salt), and pinenuts. Cover and bake at 375 for 1 hour (or more) until tender remove cover and bake 20 minutes more.

Serve with fresh melon and a quinoa salad. 

MenoPause

I went to the Dr this week and she told me I am peri-menopausal. I was disappointed. I wanted to be in menopause and just get this whole thing over. But she said this could go on for 10 more years. I skipped my period in July (yes, I bough a pregnancy test, yes it freaked me out) and so I was hoping I was all done! My mom had her hysterectomy when she was about my age, 47, but the Dr said because it was a hysterectomy we don't know at what age she actually stopped menstruating so I could last a long time. She also said that changing my diet and lifestyle was awesome and most likely will help me avoid lots of the unpleasant parts of menopause (hot flashes, emotional ups and downs, foggy thinking, irritability, aches and pains). She was surprised and thrilled for me when i told her I rarely have hot flashes (maybe 8 in the last 6 years). The only hot flash I had since we started ETL last year was at Christmas (hello sugar!) and she agreed that a poor diet increases hot flashes. I can't imagine how terrible I would feel right now if I hadn't changed the way I eat! Most recently I quit the sugar (again). No sugar for a week now. I don't even think about sugar now. I do have to be careful with the peanut butter (I feel great affection for p-nut butter) and bananas. I have been eating lots of fresh peaches - ahhh. so good. anyways, the Dr cheered me on and told me she was proud of me. As she left the room she said, "I can't tell you how wonderful it is that you have made such a huge change! You have really made your life better. Good luck! Keep it up!" it was super satisfying. Later I heard her consulting with a patient in the hallway and tell her to eat more leafy dark greens. :) I get my blood/urine test results back this week and I am looking forward to seeing the changes and also wondering what my B12 results will look like because I have been kind of tired. The End.

5 Days A Week

I set a goal this week to attend 5 classes at our gym. Today is day 2 and so far, 2 classes done! Yesterday was yoga and it left me a little sore but not miserable. Today I did the barbell class where I learned how to do the clean and jerk just like you see on the Olympics! Well, ok, I probably didn't look Olympic-like mostly because my barbell weighed a massive 9 lbs. But I can tell I am going to be sore tomorrow. Really sore.

The ladies in the classes are friendly and nice (and use MUCH heavier weights), quick to introduce themselves and say a few encouraging words when I tell them it is my first time in the class. Some even invited me back to the next class and I am totally accepting that invitation.

I have a theory that exercise makes it easier to eat healthy. People say it is because they don't want to eat junk after working so hard, but I think it is because of the good endorphins released. I just feel happier and more in control after I exercise.

Tomorrow I plan to go to a Zumba class, it will leave me all sweaty for a meeting, but that's ok. Right? I'm also considering a spinning class. I went spinning years ago and didn't like it, but Kelly tells me I should go and she is usually right.

I think I will sleep well tonight!

Starting the UP

via pinterest

Ups and Downs.

When I started the healthy plant based diet last year I worried that like any diet, career, relationship, long term commitment, I would have ups and downs. But after 4 months I believed I would only have ups! I felt so great and only wanted super healthy food and I was sure I would never be tempted by food again! It was a glorious feeling. Definitely the highest up of the whole life style change experience. Then slowly, quietly, almost invisibly, I started flirting with sugar and that led to the up and down part of the experience. I was a little embarrassed to admit it on this blog. But my goal with this blog was to be real about the whole experience and being real includes the parts where it didn't go as well as I wanted it to.

I dusted off the key board, thought long and hard about what has happened, and realised that I am happier when I take care of myself and feed myself the good stuff. So. I am back. You know how when you make a decision to do something and you can tell that it is going to really happen? That's where I am!

After a summer filled with local and international travel I am finally home to stay, at least until Thursday when I will be in LA for the day, but otherwise I am HOME TO STAY for 6 weeks. And guess what? 6 weeks is how long Phase One of Eat to Live lasts. Coincidence? I think not!

I went to the farmer's market on Saturday and loaded up on fresh local veggies. Breakfast was a green smoothie (with beet greens and carrots and the usual stuff) and a small bowl of garbanzo beans (hey, I like them. A lot.) and there is a huge salad on the menu for lunch and tonight we are having burritos, roasted green beans and beets, and local sugar baby watermelon (it really is amazing that anyone can grow anything here).

Oh, and I am SO glad that I started last year. SO thankful. SO filled with gratitude for all those wonderful people who encouraged me and nudged me along.

Are you ready for this up?

Hot Yoga

Have you done hot yoga? Sounds like a terrible idea. I went to my first hot yoga class today. It was hot. Michelle, my running coach (she likes when I call her that) taught the class and it was amazing! I was amazing because I went to the class but I was not amazing in the class. Apparently everyone in the class can balance on their pinky toe. It was quite a talented group of very fit ladies.

I was inspired! I want to get good at yoga! So I will start going regularly (but maybe to a few classes that aren't so advanced) and build up to Michelle's class.

Hot Yoga seems like a terrible idea but it really is nice! Even in the summer but I think it would be especially nice in the winter. My goal, when I am back in town, is to go to the club 5 days a week and do exercise that won't hurt my foot: yoga, spinning, swimming...hmmm, what else?

I need to start posting regularly. After my upcoming trip I will start posting more consistently. I promise.

The Joy Of Eating Clean!

It's just so awesome that summer is here! So many lovely things to eat. I look back at the bleak months of winter and how oranges were really the only treat that was in season. Now, there is so much to eat!

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Big fat bowl of watermelon before I gardened for 2 hours
Snack: Large (20 oz) green smoothie with lots of frozen blueberries
Lunch: Gabe's delicious veggie curry with garbonzo beans and wild rice
Snack: more smoothie (leftovers) and small handful of corn chips and large bowl of watermelon
Dinner: Large green salad with roasted veggies and hummus

For dessert: Strawberries and blue berries

Those green smoothies are like caffeine for me. They just power me up. I have been so super productive today, checking things off my list that have been there for weeks.

And I feel fabulous! This is the cleanest eating day I have had in months! WOW! I feel great! Exclamation Points!!!

Corndog Super Power

"If I could have any super power I would be able to shoot corndogs out my wrist, fully cooked, with mustard. Awesome!" - Ike, age 14 after his first corndog for a long long time.

You may wonder, is that why Robin hasn't posted for 7 weeks? Has she been on that new corndog/twinkie/county fair diet? Of course not. I've been around, eating my veggies and fruits and nuts and beans and seeds and grains. Lots of grains. Probably too many grains. And maybe too much fat and sugar. But I am back from my blogcation and ready to share with you all the enthusiasm I can muster up!

Roland and I hit the very first farmer's market this week and brought home a cooler filled with garlic scapes, spinach, baby greens, bok choy, head lettuce (a little bitter - but it will do), sweet peas, kale, and freshly laid eggs. Today I made a huge breakfast fruit salad with watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, and blue berries. Our 21 year old son is living at home with us and between him, Ike, and Roland you have to fight for the fruit! And the avocados!

Here is a delicious summer dinner for you:

Grilled veggies kabobs, fruit salad, green salad, roasted sweet potato fries, and grilled pineapple for dessert.

Here are all the kabobs waiting to be grilled. We fed 9 people with these delicious beauties.  My sisters helped make them:

These are  (some of) my sisters - they are both eating a plant diet and you will notice how cute and healthy they are! Bright sparkling eyes and vigorous health comes from all that spinach and kale!

One Last Gasp of Winter

It is snowing today. 

Sigh.

This is probably my favorite go to meal in cold weather and while I realize that most of you are basking spring sunshine I still have to share this meal.

If you've been here before you will know that I have posted several variations of this already but it never gets old and it is super easy.

Saute: (in lightly sprayed pan)
onion
garlic
carrots
celery
green pepper
4 leaves of kale stemmed and chopped fine

Add:
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans (or what ever bean you have handy)
1 large can diced tomatoes (toss in some fresh ones too if you have them)
water as needed

Season to taste:
Chili powder
roasted paprika powder
cumin
pepper
balsamic vinegar
green onion

Serve with sliced avocado and limes. So good. My boys like to crumble tortilla chips on top and I like mine with lots of avocado.

Knowledge is Power

Through the nutritarian way of eating I've been able to kick my addiction to caffeine, dairy, and meat. But my addiction to sugar keeps raising it's ugly head. I've found that if I have absolutely no sugar for 5 or more days I completely lose my taste for sugar and a taste of sugary food turns me off. I much prefer fruit over sugary treats. But once I let myself have more than a few tastes I quickly spiral into cravings for sugar and it is super addictive.

So how do we get those cravings under control? I believe it comes down to 3 things Knowledge, Power, and Self Respect. 

When you experience a craving and you are in the middle of the overwhelming need to satisfy that craving it feels impossible to be rational about the craving. That's where KNOWLEDGE comes into play. Once you understand why you are experiencing cravings then you have the POWER to control that craving (in my experience it takes about 2 days to stop craving) until the craving is gone. Then you have the SELF RESPECT to care for your body and never subject it to that craving again. This creates a positive cycle that makes you feel wonderful!

Here is a wonderful video to help you get the knowledge you need to kick that sugar craving. Yes, it is 1 1/2 hours long and life is short but I think it is well worth your time to watch this video - or play it while you do some mindless task.

Thanks to my sister, Emily, for this link!


What has helped you kick your sugar addiction?

Headline: 14 Boy Craves Fruit! (experts baffled)

It's true! When we got home from our travels we picked up Ike and I thought he would be happy to see me but he seemed more excited about the bowl of cantaloupe in the fridge! Turns out that he missed all the fruits and veggies we eat around here. I was delighted! He didn't miss the green smoothies, because I make them really green, but after 2 weeks of no smoothies he can feel the difference the difference they make and now eats them without complaint.

Ike - making his messy Green Smoothie Face.

Yes, I did say "eat" the smoothie rather than "drink". That's because my smoothies are really green with nearly a pound of spinach and 5 - 7 leaves of kale, making about 3 servings of thick smoothie.

Ike also bragged to me that in his health class the teacher asked who gets more than 3 servings of fruits and vegetables a day and Ike was the only one. And I will brag to you and tell you that at the allergist's appointment yesterday his symptoms were much improved (and this is high pollen count time) and his eczema is almost completely gone! The doctor asked what he thought the difference was and Ike said, "I eat better than I use to" and then went on to tell the doctor that he doesn't really like meat!

I was so proud.

Eating in Europe Report

Roland and I just got back from a trip to Brussels and Berlin. I blogged the details about it on my other blog but I was thinking about you while I was traveling and took pictures of some of my favorite meals.

Before we left I researched vegan/vegetarian restaurants on the Happy Cow website and found lots of great options for dinner. I found that in most cases the vegetarian restaurants are hip and cutting edge with food and the presentation of the food. Whenever I saw the words "Biologisch" and/or "Vegetarisch" I knew I was in for a delicious healthy meal.

I also found that most non-vegetarian restaurants had creative and satisfying options for vegetarians but they were loaded with fat and it was difficult to eat vegan. And then of course I had to try the Belgian Waffles and the German Strudel and the chocolate. That sweet tooth has a hold on me.

So many chocolate stores.

Roland said the only disappointing meal he had was a business dinner at a fancy underground restaurant in Berlin that was famous for their meat. He requested a vegetarian meal and received a plate of steamed veggies. Bummer. I think that was the night I ate at an organic vegan Indian restaurant - divine.

Of course, when I get around really good food I forget about my camera, and the last thing I want to do is stop eating and take a picture. But then Roland would say, "Hey, don't you want to blog about this?" and so what you will see are pictures of half eaten food, so you may not see how fabulous it looked before I attacked it.

 Lunch in Berlin at the Super Good Vegetarian Restaurant. Polenta fries with a savory dipping sauce.

 Super Good  again - My basil and tomato sandwich and Roland's Veggie Burger. Roland also had a mushroom soup that was fabulous.

 Breakfast at the Reichstag Parliament building. The only way I could get into the building was with a reservation at this restaurant. It was pretty fancy and I could totally visualize world leaders eating this excellent food. In Berlin the breakfasts like this were called "Fit for the Day" breakfasts.  I ordered them several times.

 Close up of the Reichstag breakfast: I ate the green breakfast salad so fast (see the balsamic dressing on the left side of the plate) that I forgot the camera. The red cup on the left is a very loose yogurt with a tart fruit sauce, the spelt crepes were filled with zucchini and green onion and drizzled with a balsamic reduction, a little cottage cheese with herbs, a honey pot for sweetening as needed, a fresh fruit salad, and what you can't see is peppermint tea and freshly juiced carrot/apple juice (they make the juice right there where you can watch). And bread, lots of bread with nuts and herbs. Excellent breakfast.

 Potsdam Lunch at Cafe KeiselStein - so fresh and satisfying. This tomato soup and chamomile tea hit the spot on a cold rainy day.

 Cafe KieselStein again - My lunch of crepes filled with leeks, zucchini, and white asparagus and a side of very fresh salad with a lemon mustard dressing (I am salivating as I type this).

Cafe KieselStein again - Roland's lunch of falafel, hummus, bean salad (huge beans!), grilled eggplant, salad (and one of my crepes - we share).

The charming street in Brussels where we had our first night dinner of salad, pasta, and vegetarian pizza with pesto sauce. And bread, lots of bread. I'm still coming off all the bread we ate. Oh, it was worth it.

I found that it was much easier to eat healthy vegan in Beijing. In Brussels and Berlin there was always butter, cheese, and bread at every meal and I was usually very hungry so it was hard to resist! In Beijing it was vegan - all the time!

Recovering from jet lag is so much easier when you are eating healthy. When we went to France I was eating the SAD diet and I remember how terrible I felt the entire time! This diet kept me cheerful and energetic and forced me to find some awesome restaurants that are off the beaten track.

It was a great trip but I was so happy to get home to my Green Smoothies! And I am looking forward to re-creating some of these meals here at home.

Food As Medicine

Probably one of the most amazing changes that we experienced when we switched from the SAD (standard American diet) to a nutritarian style of eating was the nearly immediate improvement in annoying on-going health issues such as allergies, colds, fatigue, aches and pains, high cholesterol and of course the obvious weight loss. My mom reported that her arthritis improved dramatically and she went off most her pain killers and cholesterol meds.

It really is amazing and you have to wonder why doctor's aren't recommending this to all their patients.

Here is a fascinating article about being obese in America and how one woman saved her own life. It really is worth reading.

Being Fat in America

Thanks to Sharon for sharing the link.

Vegan Bragging

We just spent 5 days with our 3 college kids (report here). They are darling and they are all taking good care of themselves. It was quite satisfying as they each complimented us on our healthy eating style and told us how they brag to their friends that we are vegans. We are not vegan. Vegetarian, yes. But not vegan. I would say vegan-ish. We mostly eat vegan but occasionally something will have egg in it or a bit of cheese and I will eat it.

We ate at lots of yummy healthy restaurants - college towns are famous for healthy trendy restaurants - and were treated to a few delicious healthy homemade meals. One thing that I am going to make is sweet potato hash browns: 

We ate quite a bit before I decided to snap a photo. Sweet potatoes, onion, and green pepper. Delicious. This was the same breakfast where I ordered the vegetable medley: 

It came with 2 vegan sausage patties and the sauce on this veggie dish was warm and comforting. I could taste a bit of cumin. It was a wonderful way to start the day and kept me full for a long time!

Here is a joke my son Gabe told me:

How can you tell if someone is vegan?

Don't worry, they will tell you.

Ha.

Normal Dinner

During dinner the other night Roland asked me what I thought about the way we eat now. I looked at our meal of steamed broccoli, green salad, and Garbonzo Delight and laughed.

"You mean, the fact that this is a normal meal now?" I asked.
"Yes." - Roland
"I think its great that this is normal. No cheese, no meat, no sugar, and we are happy and satisfied at the end of the meal. We don't even think about it anymore." - Me
"I think it is great too." - Roland
"We have changed our lives for the next 40+ years! Oh, the adventures we will have!" - Robin
Roland nodded his head because his mouth was full. :)

You can see why I haven't written a book. My dialogue is not very interesting.

Anyways - I realised this at the grocery store the other day when I had to leave the produce department for bag of brown sugar. How long had it been since I was in the baking isle? A long time. I realised that this lifestyle is normal now. We no longer think about it - well, okay, we do think about it and talk about it (and I even blog about it!) but only because we are so happy and pleased with ourselves for having tried it and we like to pat each other on the back and tell each other how great we are.

Its very satisfying.