Cooking for Mental Health

I have to say something about changing my eating has sparked a new interest in cooking. It could also be that I can create something lovely, pampering, and maybe even indulgent looking amidst all the chaos here. Perhaps I feel the need for feeding my soul/emotions as much as my stomach. I think instead of reaching for a "treat" to reward myself for a hard day or upset, I am moving towards cooking. Yesterday I made Tabouli from scratch. There was something so fulfilling about stirring those finely hand chopped veggies into the grain that I had soaked until soft. I loved seeing the green of the pepper, the circling onion bits, and the bright red of the tomatoes all glistening from the carefully measured oil. Yes, I did have oil--actually more than I would have normally allowed because I also lightly fried the falafel in oil. I wonder if I can make falafel without oil? Anyway, I just felt so great after making that meal. A strange sense of contentment from this one accomplishment carried me through even the most overwhelming feelings of despair as I worked at unpacking and sorting today.

There is NO WAY that number is true

There is NO WAY that number is true
So, I like a goodly portion of all other stay at home moms am thinking about what to make for dinner tonight. I am also thinking about an e-mail my sister sent about birthday/harvest party--then that got me thinking about cake. Now all I can do is picture cake. Chocolate cake, vanilla cake, carrot cake, yellow cake, oh sweet food of the dessert gods. I mean, what would a celebration or holiday be without lots of food? We Jews have that-It is called Yom Kippur- and let me tell you- it is not exactly a fun fest. I love food. I love to go places that want to give you food: book club, open houses, in my former town: costco, happy hours, board meetings, and yes, I will admit I sometimes will be persuaded to endure yet another kid's birthday party just for the simple promise of that iced, heavenly spongy cake. As I sit here and admit this I feel some shame-but console myself that you all do the same thing. You know who you are putting "just one more" mushroom puff in your mouth before you go home.

But really, I must face it. My celebrations have extended to almost every day--some times a couple times a day. While, this is fun and brings some enjoyment; it is wrong. Celebrations are SPECIAL occasions. When every get-together, trip to the store, Friday, or quiet evening becomes about the food, a problem develops. Aside from being slightly mentally ill for being so motivated by food, you get plump, or if you prefer:chubby, porky, chunky, plus sized, overweight, portly, fat, or obese. I am fat. For months I have been calling myself voluptuous, curvy, or convincing myself that my dearest husband loves my huge breast and would never want me to shrink. Men want a little meat on the bone, Right? Here's the truth-meat equals muscle, not fat. Ouch.

My plan: 1. Move more-duh....ok, more specifically, I want to walk daily and walk any place that is less than one mile from my home. I want to exercise 45 minutes 5 to 6 days a week. I want this exercise to include cardio, weights, yoga, and stretching.

2. Follow as closely as possible Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live Plan. His plan is quite remarkable. I honestly feel that if everyone ate the way he describes, we would be a fit, healthier, and longer lived nation. My problem is sticking to his plan. While, I enjoy almost every vegetable and luscious piece of fruit-I never go long enough without caving in to some "special" moment. I will be working on redefining what constitutes a true special occasion and how much I really need to make it a celebration.

3. Get consistently good nights of sleep.

4. Journal what I eat. So I can see possible issues and not wonder why I did not lose any weight the week I ate the finished off the cake, gobbled down the chocolate chip cookie dough, worked my way through the carton of ice cream, and a devoured half a pizza (even though, those are by no means on the ETL plan in the first place).

5. Find support. Some will come from my family, from this blog, from encouraging reading materials, from looking at wonderful clothes, and other sources EVERY day.

Oh, and if you read this far and are still wondering what the number said, I will tell you: 200 even-scary and so painful to admit. It really was true (I got off and weighed myself two more times to be sure). My sweet, closest friends would say they would have guessed a much lower amount. I have let myself go. In my defense, I am a very muscular person and my fat is equally distrubuted all over. My chest is within a inch of my hip size and I have a very defined waist. The doctor's weight chart says I should weigh: 95 + 4 or 5 pounds per inch above five feet tall: 107-115.......hmmmm. Then another chart for BMI says I should weigh between 110 (bmi of 18 to 140, bmi of24.7) Whatever the case, I better get started.

The beginning of Veggie Momma Monster

Day 1
So to start with I wanted to pay tribute to one of my favorite super heroes: Captain Vegetable! What a great character from Sesame street. "It is I, Captain Vegetable, with my carrot and my celery. Eating crunchy vegetables is good for me...".

Supported with information on wellness from Dr. Fuhrman, fueled with cauliflower and corn, and motivated after watching "Forks over Knives and "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead", I have decided to make drastic changes in my life. I have decided I am tired of being fat, lethargic, and in pathetic shape. I am going to commit fully to eating a nutritionally dense, plant based-whole foods diet and exercising. I am cutting all animal products, processed foods, white flour, white sugar, fast food, and other lacking food items. My exceptions to this will be for the grain-fed,cage-free eggs we use in our baking and weekly Saturday morning pancakes (DH has been making the pancakes every Saturday for over 14 years for us using his time tested recipe-and is not ready to change this) . I also am including honey, for this reason I say I am almost vegan--perhaps 95%? My main focus is currently my personal health, however I do have many ethical reasons to not use animals for silencing stomach grumblings or fashion wants.

I call this day one because, although I have adding a huge amount and variety of vegetables and fruits to our diet for years, I have not been excluding the unhealthy foods. Today feels new--new home, new school year, and new mindset. I filled the shelves today with many healthful foods. This was an event in itself. We moved two weeks ago to MI. We now live in a small town where I am able to walk to almost everything I need: grocery store, library, YMCA, parks, and downtown. I am completely in love with our new town. So keeping with my commitment to walk every place under one mile, we brought our canvas bags to the friendly market to shop. We did pretty good, however, for variety I will have to supplement with farmers market (when open) and larger stores (there were no fresh greens-think kale--but we did find some frozen collard greens). The kids and I carried our food home to unload it in the fridge, counter, and on the wire shelves lining the far kitchen wall. I can not use my cabinets right now as we are in process of painting them and then they will have to cure.

So now for the meal...nothing fancy--remember I did just moved and have not unpacked most of my kitchen.
Dinner tonight:
Large Salad (Romaine lettuce, spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes topped with Balsamic vinegar and oil.)
Cauliflower steamed
Corn--We ate the whole box of pasta and everyone was still hungry so Ted cooked some frozen corn to fill the gap.
About 3/4 c of whole wheat pasta topped with roughly equal amount of tomato sauce and beans and a sprinkling of nutritional yeast.
water