Monday Yumday!

I woke up feeling very excited to prepare and try some of the foods I bought at the grocery store yesterday. I overate last night (on non-vegan foods) and so only had a banana and a cup of black coffee to begin my day. Side note- it is important to always begin the day with something to eat/drink in the morning because it is what breaks your sleeping fast and starts your metabolism. It is important because it is a way of waking up all of the body's organs and processes so it can preform at it's optimal level. Even after slipping up as I did and pigging out on junk food the night before and waking up full and nauseous, it is still important to get something in the body. I did feel significantly better after eating the banana and coffee. I don't mind black coffee, I actually have preferred it ever since I spent a summer in Spain and became accustomed to it there.

This is what I had for lunch....and I LOVED it! Spicey refried beans with tortilla chips! The beans were made with jalapenos, garlic, pinto beans, and sea salt. I have been eating Garden of Eatin' blue corn chips for years now, they are organic and made with 3 or 4 simple ingredients. I love them and the combination of the chips and beans were out of this world.

For tonight's dinner which will also last me 2 more meals for the week I prepared....


a brown rice, bean sprout, broccoli, and tofu combo. For seasoning I used garlic, lemon juice, and lemon & pepper salts. This is a recipe I completely made up, I love it but I am not sure it would win any taste tests for the general public. I fried the tofu and boiled the broccoli and of course the rice. I threw in the bean sprouts just as they were without adding anything to them or cooking them. It's very light and delicate in taste with an extra zing in it due to the garlic.

Fun Fact Time: "Garlic is nature's wonder drug. Its medicinal value has been understood by herbalists for at least 2000 years. While modern research is confirming this ancient tradition, don't expect to hear much about it from the pharmaceutical companies or their puppets: allopathic doctors (i.e. "conventional medical doctors"). Garlic cannot be patented and exploited as such. They will attempt to find an "active ingredient," derive a drug from it, and patent and promote that. Vitamin and supplement companies, on the other hand, are extolling some of the virtues of garlic and promoting their "deodorized" products. But these products are not nearly as effective as raw garlic. Once again, the best source for proper nutrition comes from food itself. "
Consuming it as a food can:

• Prevent cancer
• Lower your cholesterol level
• Reverse high blood pressure
• Boost your immune system
• Overcome fatigue
• Resist colds and flus

(http://quanta-gaia.org/reviews/books/powerOfGarlic.html).

For snacks today I prepared...



A mixed bowl of cucumbers, grapes, raspberries, apples, and clementine pieces. I also cut up some celery that I plan to use for dipping in hummus. Not featured is a bag of unsalted pistachios that I also plan to munch on throughout the day.

No, I am not timing out meals or snacks and no I am not worried about the amount of calories I am consuming. Whatever I don't finish I'll save for the next day and if I find myself feeling hungry I'll add more healthy snacks. I am eating when my body feels hungry and choosing the sweeter or more salty items, or the softer or more crunchy items to munch on whenever my body calls for it or a craving strikes. Part of eating healthy and naturally is listening to what my body desires and when. I am not doing this to deprive my body, to punish it, or to make it fit into smaller clothes, I am doing it to nourish it and show it love (a little hippyish I know but true!).

That is all for now folks! Questions and comments are always welcomed!