I found the Ultimate Resource Guide

Today I found the Ultimate Resource Guide for Plant Based Eating. It has a section for favorite websites, books, and free recipes. It looks like a great compilation of resources.

Check out the books on their list that I've read

• The Starch Solution –I read a library copy.
• Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook. -I read a library copy and decided a needed a copy of my own.
• The China Study-- I  read a library copy.
• The Happy Herbivore cookbooks –I bought the kindle version of three of her books.

 Check out the books on their list that are on my wish list

• The Forks Over Knives Plan - I only read the original Forks Over Knives book from the library. 
• The Vegiterranean Diet 
• Let Them Eat Vegan

There are a lot of great websites listed. I haven't visited Plant-Powered Kitchen or One Green Planet, so I hope to check these websites out later this week.

Rice Milk

Rice Milk is a dairy alternative. You can buy rice milk from the store or make it on your own at home. So far, I've only ever made it at home. It's very easy to make and very inexpensive. You don't have to pre-soak the rice like I've seen for some homemade nut milks. I've found simple recipes on-line that use only two ingredients: rice and water.

How much does the recipe cost?

I believe it cost me less than 50 cents to make somewhere between 2- 3 cups of rice milk. (Sometimes I make is stronger or weaker (by one cup of water), depending on what recipe I'm using it in. I buy my rice online either at Vita-Cost or Amazon.

How long does it take and what tools do I need? 

If I had a high speed blender, this process wouldn't take very long. I don't have a high speed blender, so it probably takes me about 10 minutes to pull of the blender, measure, blend and strain.You can either use a nut bag or a paint strainer. I picked up a one gallon paint strainer that I use(as shown above). I store my rice milk in a glass container in the fridge.

How do I use rice milk?

On the Protective Diet website, Julie often lists the option to use unsweetened soy milk or rice milk. I use rice milk whenever I can to save costs. I make it ahead and store it in the fridge until it's time to use in my recipe. You will need to shake it up as it tends to settle in the jar. I sometimes use it with oatmeal, but not very often.

Where do I find recipes to make rice milk?

Protective Diet has both a written recipe and a video for making rice milk. She starts with dry rice.
Don't Waste the Crumbs has a rice milk video that starts with cooked rice. I've only tried the Protective Diet recipe so far and it's worked for me.

Weekend Research: Food Over Medicine Interview

Food Over Medicine: The Conversation That Could Save Your Life. I listened to this YouTube video interview over the weekend by Elena Wilkins (Vegalicious). This is an interesting interview about Pam Popper's book Food Over Medicine. This book was just released in December and I have it on my wish list but haven't read it yet.

What I like about the interview

I found this interview to be very enjoyable. It was like a casual conversation between two friends. I like to listen to Pam Popper's ideas/messages about nutrition, supplements, and taking care of our bodies. I mostly like her way of thinking that we need to get more people over to eating healthy. I think she said either in this video or another video that we can get really sick people to do just about anything. It's the other people she would also like to encourage. The people that are going to get sick that just don't know it yet.

Pam Popper's Message

I liked her attitude that people need to just start eating plant based and we can't require them to be all or nothing. I think she said if salt helps get your broccoli down, eat it with salt and if you need to wean yourself of meat products to get going, then try her method of tapering off meat. Also, if you are at a party, eat the cake. We can't be offering a way of life that looks horrible to others because who would want to try it. She knows eating this way will help people feel better, get off their medicines, and have a better quality of life.

I looked up this book at Amazon. It appears the book also contains recipes by Chef Del Sroufe (author of the bestselling Forks Over Knives The Cookbook).

Today I start my search for the perfect bran mufin

Why a healthy bran muffin?

I love bran muffins. What started me on bran muffins you ask? Well I think it was in the early 90's that either McDonald's or Dunkin Donuts had a bran muffin. They are my comfort food. They are heavy and filling and satisfying to me. I love to eat a heavy, filling muffin for breakfast. I also recently watched a PBS episode of Martha Stewart making these delicious bran muffins.This sparked my taste buds again, but of course, her recipe calls for eggs and buttermilk.

Does the muffin recipe that I'm looking for exist?

So today I start my search for the perfect bran muffin recipe. Does it exist? I don't know. It may not even be possible without it turning into a brick. These are the criteria that I would consider in the perfect muffin:

• contains wheat or oat bran (I would prefer wheat as I have a huge bag of Bob's Red Mill Wheat Bran)
• no white all purpose flour
• no oil
• vegan (no milk or egg)
• no corn syrup
• no white sugar

On top of that, it would be great if they were delicious, but that might be asking too much. LOL.

Sometimes searching on the internet for a recipe is like searching for a needle in the haystack. It's there, but you can't see it. If a recipe doesn't exist, I might have to be creative and take a couple recipes and experiment in the kitchen.

If you run across such a recipe in the future, can you share it with me? Thanks!

Frugal Tip #2 - Make your own Buns and Soft Pocket Bread

I love saving money!

I save a lot of money by making things at home instead of buying them already made. One example is bread. On the list of P.D. approved recipe ingredients is Amazon Ezekiel Bread made by Food for Life. If you click on that link you will find that one loaf of bread costs $17.50. Ok, so that's just a crazy price. I did however find Ezekiel bread in the frozen section of a Natural Food grocery market that is a 4 hours round trip for me. It was somewhere between $4-5 a loaf. But, I couldn't bring myself to pick up a loaf for that price.

What are my options?

I know some people don't bake or have a fear of baking. That's not the case for me. I bake regularly and have made homemade bread for the last few years for my family in the bread machine I received as a wedding gift from my mother-in-law. Homemade bread doesn't scare me, but making my own buns and pocket bread did. I found two recipes at Protective Diet, that use whole wheat flour, as options. I was very skeptical that this could work. I tried my first batch of pocket bread back in January and I was hooked. It was easy & tasted great!

How much does the recipe cost?

The basic ingredients for the Protective Diet Burger Buns and Soft Pocket Bread are exactly the same. I've calculated that my cost for the ingredients is $1.25. This doesn't take into account my time to make the buns/pockets are the cost of energy. The soft pocket bread makes either 8 regular ($.15)/each or 12 mini ($.10/each). The burger bun recipe yields 6 buns ($.20/each). Since these recipe are part of her premium recipes collection. You do have to have subscribe to the site see the recipes and the video.

How long do they take?

Burger Buns: Prep Time 20 minutes, Inactive Time: 60 minutes, Bake Time: 11 minutes
Soft Pocket Bread: Prep Time: 20 minutes, Cook Time: 10 minutes: Ready in: 1 hr and 30 minutes

How do I store them?

After my buns/soft bread is cooked, I put them in freezer bags and put in the freezer. When I need a pocket/bun I just remove the quantity I need. I either leave out to defrost or toast it up to eat.

What tools do I need?

1. Baking Pan(s)
2. Silicon Mat(s)/ parchment paper
3. Measuring Spoons/Cups to measure ingredients
4. Small and large bowl
5. Fork for mixing
6. Rolling pin
7. Oven for baking

Why do these bread recipes appeal to me?

• I think this is a great option since I know that the bread buns/pockets have healthy ingredients, no preservatives, only the ingredients that I am adding. 
• I can make the bread buns/pockets up on the weekend and save them in the freezer for later use. 
• They are easy for me to make. I don't find the skill level to be difficult with lots of steps and I don't dread making the buns.
• I'm using ingredients that I always have on hand in my pantry. I always have whole wheat, white whole wheat, and whole wheat pastry flour stocked up.
• If I went to the store to buy buns for $1.25, the quality would be very low. So I think I'm getting great tasting buns for a very nice price.

I hope you might consider making your own bread products at home to save money each month. I haven't found an actual loaf of bread recipe that meets my standards: whole wheat flour, vegan (no dairy, honey), no oil. etc, but I'm always on the search. If I find one, I'll be sure to post.

If you are new to Protective Diet, you have to create a login to see her yummy recipes. She has two types of recipes on the site: free and premium. I invite you to create a free login on the Protective Diet site to try her free healthy recipes. I'm confident that you will love them like me plus save money buy eating at home. Click on the Getting Started Video. Protective Diet Education may qualify as a Health Savings Account expense.You may need a pre-existing diagnosis by a physician such as: obesity, hypertension, diabetes etc.

Frugal Tip #1-Save money, make your own corn tortillas

I love saving money!

I save a lot of money by making things at home instead of buying them already made. One example is corn tortillas. I picked up 4 lbs of Instant Masa Corn flour at the grocery store for about $3. I can't tell you how many times I've made tortillas in the last couple month and I still have a little bit of flour left in my bag. The other ingredients for corn tortillas are water and salt. You might want to consider making your own corn tortillas at home to save money each month.

How long do they take?

Tortillas don't take very long to make especially if you follow the recipe at Protective Diet. A different tortilla recipe I found online has you leave the mixture to rest, but this recipe doesn't. This Protective Diet Premium recipe is perfect when you want to save time. She estimates 15 min prep time and 15 minute cook time.

Do I need a press?

No, you don't even need a tortilla press to get started. I have a cast iron tortilla press that I picked up from Amazon to quickly press out the tortilla shells.Check out the two videos that explains how to make hand-pressed corn tortillas. My first time I watched the video and printed my recipe. It was so exciting to make fresh corn tortillas by myself. Since this recipe is part of her premium recipes. You do have to have subscribe.

If you are new to Protective Diet, you have to create a login to see her yummy recipes. She has two types of recipes on the site: free and premium. I invite you to create a free login on the Protective Diet site to try her free healthy recipes. I'm confident that you will love them like me plus save money buy eating at home. Click on the Getting Started Video. Protective Diet Education may qualify as a Health Savings Account expense.You may need a pre-existing diagnosis by a physician such as: obesity, hypertension, diabetes etc.

Winter Seasonal Vinyasa to Start the Morning

This morning I started my day with a Winter Seasonal Vinyasa video by Melina Meza. She's a yoga instructor at Gaiam. Here's the description of the video as they describe it " The winter season in Ayurveda is associated with the dosha-uneven energy pattern called Kapha, which is composed of the elements Earth and Water and which promotes stability in our body and mind."

Even though it's supposed to be Spring, I felt like this was a perfect yoga practice to start my Friday with. I feel at peace and not rushed to get the morning going. She has a wonderful soothing voice during the practice. I have this one included in my favorites and usually do it once a week.

I was only able to squeeze in 20 of the 37 minutes, but it was perfect for me.

Let's start the day!

Kapha imbalance during December through February, such as weight gain or depression, the main intention behind this winter seasonal vinyasa practice is to help raise your core temperature and metabolism and increase circulation with dynamic, invigorating, rhythmic, sequences. This practice with Melina Meza includes sun salutation variations, back bends to open the front of your spine, forward bends to stimulate the backside of your torso, and inversions to promote blood circulation to the brain. - See more at: http://www.gaiamtv.com/video/winter-seasonal-vinyasa#sthash.vQUwW1xq.dpuf

Kapha imbalance during December through February, such as weight gain or depression, the main intention behind this winter seasonal vinyasa practice is to help raise your core temperature and metabolism and increase circulation with dynamic, invigorating, rhythmic, sequences. This practice with Melina Meza includes sun salutation variations, back bends to open the front of your spine, forward bends to stimulate the backside of your torso, and inversions to promote blood circulation to the brain. - See more at: http://www.gaiamtv.com/video/winter-seasonal-vinyasa#sthash.vQUwW1xq.dpuf

$1.99 Kindle books at Amazon

I admit that I'm a recipe hoarder/collector. I like to collect physical cookbooks, kindle cookbooks, and online recipes. I was checking out Amazon today and I saw that there are a couple plant-based books at Amazon right now for $1.99 for the Kindle version. Amazon prices change all the time so I'm not sure how long these will last.

Three plant-based Kindle books for $1.99 at Amazon!

I found the two cookbooks listed below by Lindsay Nixon. Lindsay's recipes are plant-based with no oil. She does use nuts, avocado, dried fruit, peanut butter, coconut and some other ingredients in her recipes that don't qualify under a Protective Diet. Many times I can either alter the ingredients (leave them out), replace them (like replace the coconut with more fruit), or just don't use that recipe. I think that for $1.99 even if you found a couple recipes that you love, it will be worth the price of the book.

• Everyday Happy Herbivore: Over 175 Quick-and-Easy Fat-Free and Low-Fat Vegan Recipes 
•  The Happy Herbivore Cookbook: Over 175 Delicious Fat-Free and Low-Fat Vegan Recipes

 T. Collin Campbell's follow-up book to the China Study. This one isn't a cookbook, but I picked it up to continue on my learning about a whole food, plant based diet. I plan on diving into this book this weekend. Yeah!

•  Whole: Rethinking The Science of Nutrition 

House Mayo Recipe

I stopped eating mayo this summer when I started reading food labels. Most packaged mayos contain soybean oil and I'm trying to avoid that product. At first, I didn't think I could eat a healthier version of mayo, but I found a House Mayo Recipe on the Protective Diet website.

It's actually a super easy recipe to whip up. I used  my blender and it took my less than 5 minutes from start to finish, including finding my ingredients. There are two recipes on the website for mayo. I picked this one because it has vinegar in it to help it to stay fresh in the fridge longer. That part is important to me. I don't use a lot of mayo or keep mayo on hand at all times, but I am going to use it in a different recipe later today. I'll keep my mayo in the fridge in a glass canning jar.

If you are new to Protective Diet, you have to create a login to see Julie Marie's yummy plant based healthy recipes. She has two types of recipes on the site: free and premium. I invite you to create a free login on the Protective Diet site to try her free healthy recipes. I'm confident that you will love them like me plus save money buy eating at home. Click on the Getting Started Video. Protective Diet Education may qualify as a Health Savings Account expense.You may need a pre-existing diagnosis by a physician such as: obesity, hypertension, diabetes etc.

Tools for a Protective Diet

I have to admit that you will need more tools to cook healthy than to eat freezer meals or canned soups. Over the last 9 months, I've been gradually adding more items to my kitchen to help me prepare meals.

Here's some of the things I've purchased that I think you'll need

• 2 Silicon Baking Mats (Buy these right away...these are very important when not cooking with oil) and 2 baking pans
• Sharp knives for chopping
• Storage containers (I like the 4 cup glass bowls with plastic lids for soups and salads for lunch. I find I need more containers now that I did before for storing food.)
• Blender - One day I'll get a high speed blender, but so far I have a Ninja Mega Kitchen System
• Silicon muffin liners (a silicon muffin or ceramic pan would work also, but these were a lot cheaper).
• Mixing Bowls
• Measuring spoons and cups 
• Rolling Pin
• Pots and pans for cooking soups/onions, etc.

These are not essential but I like to have

• Instant Pot (pressure cooker for making rice, vegetable broth, etc.) 
• Cutting board
• 1 Gallon paint strainer (I picked this up just recently to make Rice Milk).
• Cast Iron tortilla press (this was only $20 at Amazon. I used my points and have already recouped my cost by not buying premade corn tortilla shells since January.)
• Food processor
• Flour sack towels (for wrapping and storing your herbs and green onions)

Protective Diet Education - Teleclass every Tuesday

Tuesday Live Teleclass at 8pm CT.

When you join Protective Diet Premium Recipes you also get access to Protective Diet Education which includes Tuesday weekly teleclasses and 74 archive teleclass videos (all an hour long). This week's class is Oven tips.

If you are unable to watch at that time, they are always recorded and added to the archive section. If you are able to join along, you are able to learn and chat along with others all over the world. You can ask your questions on the topic in the chat box that she can answer for you during the class.

You'll find she has lots of great tips to help you save money and keep your fridge, freezer and pantry stocked. My favorite topics to date were'Beans, Beans, Beans.', Protective Diet spices, and PD Staples are stocked.

Keep track of what you eat!

 My Food Journal

I found it helpful to write down what I eat each day especially since I'm very new to a Protective Diet. I find that it makes me more accountable for what I'm putting in my mouth. I bought myself a spiral fat book on February 6th to keep right in my purse. Each day has a dedicated page.

I make three columns on each sheet

• food/drink
• was it PD
• count of vegetables/fruit

 For example, February 17th was Fat Tuesday and I can see that I slipped. This was my journal for that day:

• Tea
• Oats        
• SoyMilk
• Frozen berries                                    1
• Cooked apples                                    1
• Paczki (bad)              NO
• Mixed vegetables                               1
• Potatoes
• Tea
• Spinach/Romaine Salad with Veg     2
• Sloppy Jerries                                    1
• Whole wheat P.D. Burger Bun
• Tea

 Paczki's

I come from a Polish heritage and Fat Tuesday is the day for Paczki's. This is a pastry similar to a doughnut that my grandma would spend hours making and then cooked them in oil. The traditional reason for making pączki was to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house, because their consumption was forbidden by Catholic fasting practices during Lent. My non-polish mother tried to learn how to make them from my grandmother, but they were a lot of work. It was a special treasure if grandma sent some to us that day.

A co-worker/friend brings them into work each year for our entire team. In my head a little voice said  "it is something I indulge in only once a year". On one hand, I almost felt like I was letting down my deceased Polish grandma looking down at me from heaven and my co-worker if I didn't eat it. On the other hand, I was letting down my body if I did eat it. It was a strange mental struggle. Yes, I joined in on that Fat Tuesday celebration and yes I wrote it down in my food journal. I did select and eat one Paczki that morning from the deli box, although I felt horribly guilty afterward. Now that I look at that page, I feel bad that I wasn't strong enough to just say "No thank you".

Focusing on the good

On  the other hand, when I look at my journal page, I can see a rough number of fruits and vegetables that I consumed on that Tuesday. In previous years in winter, the number of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed would have been maybe zero or one. When you are consuming meat, cheese, and dairy your grocery bill is expensive$$ and you don't have money left over for the fresh fruits and vegetables section. I avoided that section like a plague. If I bought anything during the winter it might have been a tomato, iceburg lettuce, a bag of oranges or a couple apples. Since last May, I always have spinach, kale, romaine/mixed greens and other colors in my fridge. I calculated that I probably ate 6 that day which is just amazing to me. It is definitely cheaper to buy these fresh items in the summer, plus they taste better in the summer, but it's now a special treat for me to eat the rainbow all year.

Each day is a new food challenge so that's why I record my food journal for me. Do you use a food journal? Does it help you stay accountable?

Kale is the bomb!!

My first adventure with kale

It's a little embarrassing to admit that I had never purchased kale before the Summer of 2014. At first, I played it very safe. I made kale smoothies hiding it with sugar and frozen fruit. I got a little adventurous with kale chips, but then I read an article about kale being bad if you had thyroid problems. I was having my thyroid tested so I pretty much gave up kale. I decided that Spinach would be safer. After getting the results that my thyroid was normal and joining Protective Diet, I'm happy to report that I'm eating kale again.

Trying kale a second time

This time, I'm find that I like kale in different recipes. For example, I now eat and enjoy kale for breakfast. It makes for a quick and different breakfast when I need a change from oats. I always have cooked potatoes on hand. I heat up the potatoes in the oven while I shower. I then chop up my potatoes into little pieces and mix up my kale and Protective Diet Daily Dressing in a bowl. It's a warm tasty treat for a Michigan winter morning.

Keeping cooked potatoes always on hand

This is a trick I learned either in December or January. I cook up 5-6 potatoes at a time in my Instant Pot; then store them in my fridge. I'm able to add them to salads  to bulk them up or just have them handy for a snack. (I just eat them cold at my desk or on my commute home.) Potatoes are so economical to buy, easy to find at my local grocery stores and easy to add to my diet. Potatoes are often on sale, so I pick up the bag that is on sale that week. I've gone thru a lot of potatoes since the beginning of the year. I haven't kept track of the number of pounds, but I know it has been a lot.

Free Live WebCast - Fundamentals of a Protective Diet

Research, Research, Research

I listen to Chef AJ's Teleclasses whenever I get a chance. It gives me an opportunity to continually learn while I'm working in the kitchen or driving. I listen to other teleclasses even for diets I'm not interested in like Paleo, Mediterranean, Engine 2 Diet, Macrobiotic, Grain Brain, Natural and Organic, Atkins, Juice detox diets and the Raw Rood diet. I don't like living in a bubble. Listen to all sides. Listen to what others believe and teach. I think it's important to have lots of information in your toolbox to make good decisions.

I figured out by researching that there are patterns to the diets above. Lot's of the diets above are plant based where each are developed with just a different twist.Some diets have actual doctors with research that you can look up, but others do not. I honestly knew very little about most of the diets a year and a half ago. Atkins was the no bread diet in my mind. I knew there were vegetarians but I didn't really hear about starch plant based diets. I don't ever see my research stopping. I am continuing to learn something new each day.
 

Julie talks with Chef AJ

One week Chef AJ had Julie Marie from Protective Diet. This webcast took place on December 15, 2014. So sometime after that I listened to the teleclass and got interested in learning more about her Protective Diet.

Fundamentals of a Protective Diet

Then I watched the free video Free Live WebCast - Fundamentals of a Protective Diet. This is a great start for anyone to learn about this new way of eating. Julie Marie's PD diet is a plant based starch based diet.She talks about why this diet removes such as include nuts, fats, sugar, food additives, etc. You do eat lot's of whole foods (wonderful fruits, vegetables, beans) and  whole grains (brown rice, whole grain pasta, whole wheat). You are eating foods to help protective your body from diseases and toxic chemicals. She also covers how her life style differs from other plant based diets.This is a not a change for a short period of time, this is a way of life.

How has a PD Lifestyle affected me? I lost all that baby weight!

Even if you are not interested in a plant based diet, I invite you to listen to this video to learn more about why I eat this way. Each of us are on our own path and no one can make you do something you don't want to do. I just want to share with you a life style that I found earlier this year that has made dramatic changes in my life. I wish I had found this way of eating years ago!!

• I have lost weight without even trying. This has never happened before!! 
• My husband keeps telling me I look sexy. He said just the other day that I look just like when he met me in 1991. This makes me feel very good to hear.
• My skin looks AMAZING (the best in 40 years). 
• I sleep every night like I never have before, plus I am NOT starving myself; even though my mother thinks I must be ("since I'm so skinny").
• I now fall on the lower end of the weight/height chart. I'm finally right where I'm supposed to be. I fit in the clothes I did before I had babies and I feel wonderful!

Friday's in Lent, what a challenge they were

I grew up Catholic and every year during lent we had the hardest time trying to find meatless dishes. My mom was like 'what are we going to eat?'. 

Really for her there are only two options: eggs or fish. You have to have the main meat or meat fill in (eggs or fish) and then the side dishes. It was a horrible challenge we dreaded each year.

Now I  think, "OMG!, there are so many meatless options for Lent, what where we thinking all those years?"

In fact, I had this conversation with my mom again last week. I said "Mom, there are so many options!", but I don't think she takes me seriously. Where would she get her protein?

I think Fridays in Lent are a perfect time for my family (yes mom, that includes you) to try healthy vegan dishes.

Some simple ideas to start with:

• chowders/soups
•  meatless pasta dishes
• salads
• stir-fry

Some more complex dishes might be some bean dishes such as:

• beef-less tacos
• Mini Burgers
• Mexican Pizza

To begin looking for recipes, sign up for a login at the Protective Diet website. You can search for recipes by name or ingredients or just go up to the top and select All Recipes. All recipes lets you look for recipes by category. My first time on the site I went directly to Soup and Stew since that's my comfort food. I make soups all year long. Probably because I find soups go a long way. I cook on one day and eat for many. If I'm over three meals on a dish, I usually freeze the left overs for another day.

I no longer find meatless Fridays in Lent a challenge.

It's the first day of Spring, Yeah!

Yeah! It's the first day of Spring. 

 

Here in Michigan, that means that we will be getting less snow soon. It was actually above freezing today. It was supposed to get to 50, but only made it in the 40s. I had high hopes of finally walking outside, but it's also dreary and raining. We still even have snow on the ground and 30 inches of ice on our lake.

I have to admit. . . I've been thinking about my garden already, though. We usually put plants in the ground after June 1st. This year, I plan on having more herbs. In the fall, I brought my parsley and mint inside. I've been able to keep them alive thru the winter. It's so fun having herbs on hand to use in fall and winter dishes. This year I want to get rosemary, oregano, dill, and basil plants. I also need a couple more parsley plants since lots of recipes on the Protective Diet site call for parsley.

Last year we had good luck with green beans, carrots, radishes and zucchini. Our tomatoes, squash, cauliflower, potatoes and cauliflower did not do very well.

My Favorite vegetable is zucchini. 

I never had too many. I never got sick of eating zucchini. I used my zucchini from my garden, my mom's garden, from the farmer's market and from the store. I experimented with lots of different recipes last year. I put some grated in the freezer, but I ran out way before November. So this year, I need to plant more and find new recipes that will qualify under a Protective Diet.

I might even be a little bit adventurous and try spinach, beets or lettuce. Do you have a garden? What do you grow?

Oats, Oats, Oats

I've always loved oats. In fact, if I had oats as a child they were a special treat. I wasn't raised eating oatmeal in the morning. My mom doesn't like oatmeal, thus we never tried oatmeal. I was probably 12 when I first tried oatmeal at my grandma's house. I really liked it there, so I went home and told my mom. She bought us a package and made it really thick and gross. I never ate oatmeal again at home.

After leaving home, I ate oatmeal occasionally. It was usually the pre-flavored oatmeal in the little packages. It was probably only 3 years ago that I first tried steel cut oats and realized I really like those also.

It amazes me that oats are so healthy and taste so good. I read an article on www.whfoods.com talking about all the health benefits below and much more.

• Good source of copper, biotin, vitamin B1, magnesium, dietary fiber, chromium, zinc, and protein.Lower Cholesterol Levels
• High Fiber
• Enhanced Immune Response to Infection
• Stabilize Blood Sugar
• Health promoting activity equal to or even higher than that of fruit and vegetables

Yes, it maybe a little boring, but I eat oats almost every day. If oats are on sale, I pick up 4lbs+ from the bulk food section.

Here's some ways I eat my oats:

• Steel Cut oats (cooked on stove or Instant Pot) with frozen fruit (usually blueberries)
• Cooked Old Fashioned oats with frozen blueberries, frozen mixed fruit or bananas (sometimes I add some vanilla)
• Homemade Granola
• Cooked Old Fashioned oats with baked apples (or applesauce), cinnamon and nutmeg
• Soaked Overnight oats with chia seeds and soymilk. In the morning, I add banana slices or frozen fruit.
• Chocolate Bird Seed P.D. Premium Recipe

Do you eat oats? How do you eat your oats?

Crispy, Oven Baked, Fat Free French Fries by BrandNew Vegan!

You have to try these healthy Oven Baked Fries by BrandNew Vegan! They are the best. I made them for me and my husband and we ate the whole pan.

Here's the link to his blog. http://www.brandnewvegan.com/recipes/crispy-oven-baked-fat-free-french-fries/

I cooked them on my silicon mat and they came out tasty and crispy. The whole process took less than 40 minutes. So it's definitely something you can manage on a week night. It's amazing that you can make crispy french fries without oil.I also believe that with the seasonings that these are better than any oil cooked french fries I've ever had.

I just whipped up a quick side salad and I had a complete meal. I encourage you to try these tasty fries.

I have brown rice, so what should I have for supper?

The nice thing about a Protective Diet Premium membership is that you can search recipes by ingredients. For example, tonight I  had a lot of brown rice made up ahead. I wanted to use for supper, so I searched for brown rice on the PD website to see what I could make.

I found that I had the ingredients for Roasted Squash Curry. This is actually a free recipe on the site so anyone can create a login and get the recipe. She has an option to use pumpkin puree, so I actually used that instead of squash.

It was a delicious, tasty and healthy rice dish. It makes a lot, so I will have leftovers for a couple days. Bonus!

If you are new to Protective Diet, you have to create a login to see her yummy recipes. She has two types of recipes on the site: free and premium. I invite you to create a free login on the Protective Diet site to try her free healthy recipes. I'm confident that you will love them like me.

Blueberry Muffins

My kids love blueberry muffins. So finding a healthy blueberry muffin that the kids like is a bonus.

This weekend I tried Protective Diet (PD) Blueberry Breakfast muffins. The recipe calls for fresh blueberries, but I was able to make it just fine with frozen berries. I used a regular muffin pan with silicon muffin liners. The recipe was real quick to whip up & cook. I've been adding these as a snack for my kids this week.

This is a free recipe at Protective Diet and I think everyone should try it. It's a tasty muffin that is oil free, egg free and sugar free. It's heart healthy

If you are new to Protective Diet, you have to create a login to see her yummy recipes. She has two types of recipes on the site: free and premium. I invite you to create a free login on the Protective Diet site to try her free healthy recipes. I'm confident that you will love them like me.

Traveling on a Protective Diet

I think one of the largest challenges I've had so far was traveling on a Protective Diet. I was traveling by airplane with other non protective diet family members, so I think that added complexity to my trip.

To prepare for m y plane ride, I made P.D. banana bread into muffins instead of bread. Also, I took peanut butter sandwiches for my son, peeled oranges and bananas. I loaded these up in my carry on so we didn't have to grab any fast food from the airport since we had one layover.

Once we landed, we had a rental car, so we could travel around the town. My sister and I made a visit to the nearest grocery store. I picked up lots of bottled water, fresh fruits, veggies, salsa and tortilla chips to snack on. My hotel room had a fridge, so I also bought some boxed soy milk and a box of old fashioned rolled oats. My breakfast each morning was a large bowl of soaked oats with banana and a banana bread muffin. During the day, I snacked on a lettuce salad w/ salsa and the fruits/veggies. In the evenings we either went out to eat at a restaurant or ordered in. I just tried to make the best decisions I could off the menu available.

I'm happy with sticking pretty closely to a protective diet on my trip. It was a challenge, but I feel good about how it turned out.

It's the first day of March

Finally, we are getting closer to Spring. Here in Michigan it's 28 degrees today. That's actually very warm. Last week, we had days that didn't get above zero. I'm happy the days are longer and that Spring is not far now.

This type of Michigan weather makes for perfect days to stay in and cook healthy delicious food. I don't feel guilty staying in my kitchen and not going outside. Plus, with having the oven on, it warms up the house. It's eleven am and I've started on a couple things I can eat this week.

Here's what I am working on in my kitchen:

• Protective Diet Chia Jam (I'll use for my oatmeal this week)
• Veggie Broth (cooking a very basic broth in my Instant Pot- onions, leeks, carrots and celery)
• Dried Chick Peas are soaking (I'll cook these up in my Instant Pot when my broth is done.)
• Protective Diet Chocolate Bird Seed

I think I'll make P.D. Chickpea Cucumber Salad later today. I'll look to see what other recipes look good, so I can make up my lunch for tomorrow. Hope you are staying warm and enjoying March 1st wherever you are.

If you are new to Protective Diet, you have to create a login to see her yummy recipes. She has two types of recipes on the site: free and premium. I invite you to create a free login on the Protective Diet site to try her free healthy recipes. I'm confident that you will love them like me.