Asian Salad

Wow, everyone. I don't think I've gone this long without sugar before. Even when I had gestational diabetes, I sought every opportunity to "cheat". And not saying it's been easy....it HASN'T! But it feels so good to go to bed feeling good, not feeling crummy. The pounds are still coming off (I know this rate won't last forever, but I'll take it!).

I love the weekends because I don't feel like I'm rushing when I cook dinner! The kids are home and have time to help, and dinner is relaxing and fun. I admit, yesterday was a tough day for me on many levels, and we had Tuna Helper (with a big salad! But still....).

Today.....was DIFFERENT! We have church in the afternoon, and don't get home until close to 5, so it's usually a late start, but let me tell you, dinner was FANTASTIC! Cami isn't hot on raw cabbage, but ate everything else. I'm hoping that eventually she'll like it, if I continue to have it as part of dinner.

I've also told the kids that if they can go the week without sugar, we'll have a special non-sugar treat on Sunday! Here are the recipes and some pictures. Ohhhhhh baby! I found the recipes on Simple Healthy Tasty (see the link), although I made a some adjustments, as seen below:

Asian Salad

1/2 head green cabbage
1/2 head purple cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
2 cups frozen peas (run under cool water to thaw)
2 cups cashews
1/2 cup celery, chopped
2 cups fresh pineapple, chopped
1/2 cup sesame seeds (1/4 cup in the salad 1/4 cup sprinkled on top)
1/2 recipe of Teriyaki Sauce (see below) depending on how much dressing you like

Take all ingredients except for sauce and other half of sesame seeds and mix together.  Pour desired amount of sauce over to coat well but do not drown.  Sprinkle top of salad with the rest of the sesame seeds!  Tastes great fresh or marinated a while! 

Teriyaki Sauce

1/2 cup sesame oil (can use olive but sesame tastes more "authentic")

1/2 cup agave nectar

1/2 cup tamari

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder (or you could use fresh minced)

1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes, optional

 

Mango Pudding and Berry Parfait

5 Cups Fresh Mangoes
3 Tablespoons Melted Coconut Oil 

1 teaspoon Vanilla
Zest of one small lime
Juice of one small lime
1/2 Cup Agave 

Pinch of Salt
1 Cup fresh berries (I used strawberries can use any mixture of fresh berries you want)

Blend all ingredients except for the Berries and some of the mango (if you want it in with your layers of fruit) in a food processor or blender until smooth and creamy. After it is all mixed and creamy, transfer to a bowl and then Chill it in the fridge for at least 1-2hrs or overnight. Fill the cups with a layer of the pudding, a layer of fruit, then another layer of the pudding, doing as many layers as you want until full.  Top with a layer of fruit and fresh mint leaves (opt). 

Green Smoothies!!

Some of our symptoms so far: difficulty sleeping, sluggish, major cravings!!!, grumpiness. I got up early and made green smoothies. The kids reported feeling great after drinking them, and actually didn't fight on the way to school this morning. My cravings have lessened since I drank mine this morning.
 
We make ours with a BlendTec which really gives it a nice smoothie consistency:
Stuff handfuls of spinach (organic if you can afford it! Regular spinach carries more toxins then many other fruits/veggies) in your BlendTec. (You can also use kale or swiss chard-both are milder greens. We usually mix the greens up, but spinach is definitely our staple!)
Put filtered water into the blender, up to the 2 cup line. Blend until it is a lovely green looking water. Next add the following:
1/4 of a lemon-including the peel-don't get me started on the benefits of lemon peel!
1-2 bananas
Some frozen berries-this turns the smoothie purple
Agave nectar or stevia as desired
any other frozen fruit (peaches, pineapple, strawberries, mango, melon, whatever!)
Press the Whole Juice button and watch it go! The younger kids especially love to watch it change colors--"like magic!"

This keeps in the fridge for up to 48 hours, just make sure you shake it up before you drink it.

**you can add lots of different things. Here are some ideas: hemp protein powder, nuts, flax seed or flax seed oil, sprouts, get creative! I promise you that you can't taste the greens...all you taste is fruit fruit fruit! 

Things I've learned-spinach is over 40% protein! Spinach is all things fantastic-calcium, B vitamins, fiber, ENZYME CITY!!, the list goes on!  Chlorophyll neutralizes internal body odors and bad breath, and it mops up free radicals that cause cancer and all degenerative disease. Greens are a powerhouse of enzymes, vitamins, and minerals. They are, ounce for ounce, the most nutritionally dense foods on the planet.If you don't know why you need enzymes, just ask my chillens. Okay, well, I'll tell you too: Enzymes are catalysts in all bodily functions, including digestion. Digestive enzymes break down food for storage in the liver of muscles. And while your body’s organs can produce the needed digestive enzymes, those organs typically become exhausted in the body of anyone eating a typical Western diet of dead, processed foods. According to most estimates, you have at best about 30 years’ worth of enzyme production capacity. Eating raw foods, particularly greens that have intact enzymes (heating above 116° destroys enzymes), gives you energy that does not deplete your limited enzymatic capacity. Drinking a quart of green smoothie daily will go a long way in providing your body the enzymes it needs to digest other cooked food.

The last picture was taken around St. Patrick's Day. The kids thought that greeeeeeeeen smoothies were perfect for that!

The Beginning...

Okay, so a few things to start out with. There have been many people who have given us the opportunity to learn from them, and I have to give a shout out to some of them. I admit, my memory stinks right now...blame it on pregnancy hormones....well, I guess post pregnancy hormones, but anyway I know there are others, but these are the ones who come to mind: my bestest friend Jessica Powers, Bethany Peacock-my amazing sister in law, Meghan Meredith Spann, Rochele Bertasso, Tiffany Maxey, Tamra Kriser-all amazing & healthy friends, Green Smoothie Girl, and both of our mothers who love veggies and fruits...the first of many changes to our family's diets.
We have known for a long time that something just hasn't felt right in our family. We've been taught from the time we were small that the body is a temple. Yet, how can that be when we feel sluggish and yucky all the time? A huge wake up call was when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes in my last pregnancy! Gah! I was pretty darn unhappy with the fact that I was working full time, trying to take care of 4 other children, had low platelets and now I had to watch what I ate? :) So, I vowed that after the baby was born and life returned somewhat to normal that I was going to make some changes in my life and in the lifestyle of my family. I'm the one who does the grocery shopping, so I'm the one who brings either fuel or crap into our home.
Okay, another wake up call? The realization of how much sugar/sugar substitutes/high fructose corn syrup and how few fruits and veggies kids eat these days!!  Read the labels, folks! (Myself included!!!)
And friends and family, you know I love ya, but our kids do not NEED junk food! They don't! My husband said to me today that it's interesting that people think they are "spoiling" kids by giving them crap....when in essence, isn't spoiling giving too much of a GOOD thing? Sugar used to be a rarity...a treat! Now, it is a daily occurrence. My kids are so excited to come home and tell me they were good in school, and so their teacher gave them candy. What? Really?
So, after much pondering and consideration, our family has decided to try an experiment: no sugar for 6 weeks. And interestingly enough, all of our kids are on board with it. We have been gradually decreasing what we take in, and last week was my birthday. My husband decided to buy a cake from Kroger, and the interesting thing was that ALL of us reported feeling very sluggish and exhausted the following day, even the kids. Tonight, we gave the kids their Easter candy, since the 6 weeks will be during Easter....our 8 year old son said, "Mom, is it okay if I don't eat all of this? Can I throw it away? I feel really sick." Spoiling, indeed, right?
We have also chosen to follow Green Smoothie Girl's 12 Steps to Whole Foods. We introduced Green Smoothies into our daily regimen last month. This month we are working on salads! The kids know why we are drinking green smoothies, and can tell you details. Having this knowledge makes them more open to trying new things, especially with the experiment approach we are doing. They can tell me what the like and don't like about new foods, new meals, so that we can work to improve them.  We love our green smoothies, especially when the kids help make them. We are going to have the salad at dinner be the main course, followed by a smaller portion of what used to be the main course. By the way, we LOVE our BlendTec. I use it at least twice daily. It is an amazing tool to get more raw whole foods into your daily regimen.
Alright, stay tuned for our sugar withdrawl symptoms! It should only take 2-3 days, but blah. Not looking forward to the headaches!