Sometimes I'm Not Hungry

Yesterday I wasn't all that hungry.

First thing in the morning I walked on the treadmill for 1.5 miles, packed and went to the airport to fly from Texas back to Florida.

I had my morning smoothie with fresh pineapple, apple and banana plus Barley Max.
At the airport I had one crunchy bean taco.
On the first leg of my flight I had an orange/cranberry snack bar and some tomato juice.
At the Atlanta airport I had 2 sides: green beans and collard greens.
On the second leg of the flight I had water and a cranberry blast survival bar.
Once home, I had 6 raw rainbow organic carrots. I love to much and crunch.

Sprinkled in between was some herbal mint tea and some distilled water.

That's it.

I was full. No sense eating when I'm not that hungry.

I love my eating program, simple and healthy.

On this business trip my colleague had the end of the flu and then a very bad cold. I am healthy.
Yea! 

What Will Others Think?

I recently discovered that some people eat foods that are bad for them because they don't want others to think they are being critical.

It goes like this. "If I don't eat the meat that my friend just served me, they will think that I am criticizing their diet. I don't want them to think that I don't like what they do. So I will eat what they give me for dinner and avoid that confrontation."

That doesn't work for me. That kind of going along with the crowd is peer pressure at it's finest. I will do what you do so you think I'm nice and just like you.

What will it take for us to have the courage to stand up for what we believe despite what others think or do? If I don't eat the steak you just gave me, I might say, this is not on my eating program. May I have some more vegetables instead?

I don't have to tell them that they are at risk for cancer or other disease. But I don't have to eat it.

Think about this and let me know how you handle this kind of pressure.

Readers All Over the World

  I now have readers in several countries: South Africa, Norway, the UK, India and the US.

  I'd like to know what states in the US my readers represent. I know about Florida, Virginia, Indiana, and NJ. Where else?

  If you are reading this and you live outside the US, please let me know. It makes me feel good:)

  Thank you all for being interested in knowing what to eat and what to avoid. A healthy world will be a happier world. We are doing our bit for world peace.

I "Almost" Got Sick

   I have "almost" gotten sick a few times this year and I am so proud to report that in each case I never did get sick.

Let me explain.

First, just yesterday, I was sneezing in the morning and my nose was running. That was odd since I eat no dairy which promotes the production of mucous. I drank fresh orange juice and ate an organic blood orange. The sneezing stopped and my nose was clear and that was that. In an hour when my husband called to see how I was, I didn't remember what he was talking about. I was not sick.

Several times within the last year I have felt that I was about 2 seconds away from a urinary tract infection. Once I actually thought I had one. When I get busy, and I have been very busy, I forget to drink enough fluids which, in me, can cause a UTI.

In each case, the minute I could sense the condition coming on, I drank lots, made myself a raw cranberry salad with oranges, unsweetened shredded coconut, apples, oranges and maple syrup and probably ate more than I should have. Who cares? I did not get sick. The one time I thought I actually had a UTI, I followed this regime and could feel the infection subside within a few hours.

I never had to go to the doctor and I never took chemical medicine. I just ate God's medicine, healthy foods, and my body's immune system did the rest.

If you get sick frequently, colds, flu, UTI"s, pneumonia, sinus infection, headaches, those symptoms are warning signs to stop eating something that is compromising your immune system and to start eating foods that help your amazing body heal itself.

Supplements You Must Have

    When following any eating program, you must take supplements. Eating a plant based diet is not exception.

     These are the supplements you must have:

• Barley Max (R) - This is the replacement for the amino acids we are not getting when we give up meat, chicken, pork and fish. I put 1 Tbsp. in my morning smoothie and then try to take 1 tsp. twice more daily in water, carrot juice or anything. Some even just eat it on a spoon. 
• Vitamins B 6 and B 12 - I get this 2 ways. One is in a sub-lingual pill, meaning you put it under your tongue and let it dissolve. I do this daily. The second is in a powder. It is mixed with Flax seed and I put 1 Tbsp. in my morning smoothie daily.

Other supplements that I take are antioxidants, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, biotin, digestive enzymes, probiotics, Vitamin D,  and Vitamin E.

I buy my supplements from www.hacres.com  Remember if you buy from them, I am your health minister and p lease use my number FTP so I will get credit for your order.

What happens when you don't take these supplements? It is likely you will be deficient in essential nutrients and get sick. That's the simple answer.

I have been on this regime for 2 years and I haven't gotten sick once. I have "almost" gotten sick and that will be the second post I will write today. Check it out in about a half an hour.

How Much Should I Eat?

   I am responding to a comment that portion sizes are not usually listed in vegan recipes.

   Here's the good news. When eating a plant diet, rarely do you need to watch portion sizes. I don't know anyone who ever got fat on vegetables:)

   Use common sense. One or two slices of bread are more than enough. One small potatoe or half a jubo sweet potato would be enough for me. don't eat a whole bag of Tostitos or 6 vegan cookies. When making a raw sweet potato pie or avocado chocolate mouse pie, just eat a slice.

   When it comes to raw food, I never measure my portions. When I am eating cooked food, I eat in moderation.

    When switching to a vegan regime, your taste buds will change and you will learn different signals to pay attention to about hunger, feeling full, and frequent snacking. I snack every day on a Hallelujah Acres cranberry orange snack bar in the morning with a cup of mint tea. In the afternoon I snack on a cranberry blast survival bar and my  mint tea again. I sweeten the tea with a packet of Stevia and I am satisfied. Occasionally I crave salt and so I snack on a whole grain pretzel snack or carrot sticks dipped in dijon mustard. Okay, I'm weird, but it's healthy and I like it.

    Please don't hesitate to ask specific questions as you eat your way to new health. I am so proud of you.


 


 

Why Bill Clinton is a Role Model

Some of you know that Bill Clinton has not been a favorite person of mine, for years. And so, you are wondering, why in the world would I have changed my mind.

It's not politics, I am talking about; it's food. Bill Clinton has become a vegan. His dramatic diet change has been widely publicized so I may not be telling you something new. Since the news media have stopped reporting on his dalliances, we don't know if he has changed changing partners. But he has stopped eating Big Macs and french fries and the plant based diet he enjoys is about the healthiest you can get, in my opinion.

It's hard to change your eating program and I give credit where it is due. Congratulations ,Bill, for giving your future grandchildren a chance to know you. You are following in your daughter's footsteps. Chelsea has been a vegan for more than 10 years that I know about. She "got the flick" way before you did. It's nice that you are teachable and that you have decided to give up some bad habits. We can all learn from that.

Obesity

How do children become obese? They may have big bones and big heads. What about their arms legs and stomachs?

I have seen parents or grandparents feed children, over-stuff them with food that makes them fat.. Have you seen it, too?

The children are fed with processed foods that have lots of fat and sugar and they don't satisfy. I know because when I used to eat those foods, I ate way too much of them because I was always hungry.

If I eat food that is raw, under 105 degrees, the food is in a natural state, no additives, sugars or fats, I become satisfied easily without making a pig of myself. On the contrary, I remember eating roasted or fried chicken and not being able to stop. It was not feeding my body with what it needed and the fat was addictive.

Studies have shown that if you offer children an array of foods. a mixture of healthy and non-healthy choices, children will eat the healthy fare and enjoy what they eat. If there are no healthy choices, children become accustomed to the food you give them. They also become addicted to the fats and sugars and it's not far from that they they become obese.

We do that to children. They don't do that to themselves.

If you know any obese children, please talk to their parents. Talk about nutrition. Refer them to websites that will give them more information.

Children do not become obese on their own. They are taught to make poor choices.