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 #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.

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!

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.

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.

What's your plan for your day off?

Saturday and Sunday are my day off. I realize that some people have to work weekends, but I Iove my job where I get two days off in the row with the kids.

Today, I plan on cooking and reading/skimming two cookbooks I got from the library. I belong to a couple plant based FaceBook groups that I love to follow. Some folks have been raving about a book by Isa Chandra Moskowitz called 'Isa Does It!", so I HAD to check it out.

I found that my library was able to get me two cookbooks by Isa:  'Isa Does It!' and Veganomicon, The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. I'm excited to see what recipes in her cookbooks qualify/fall under a Protective Diet (no oils, sugar or white flour) or if they can be modified to qualify.

At first glance, Isa Does It! looks like a wonderful book; it's 311 pages with beautiful pictures on almost every page. I have to admit, I'm a bit of a recipe hoarder. I love collecting healthy recipes that taste great. I'm always on a search to add something else to my binder or a new cookbook to my shelf. I try at least 4 new recipes each week. Some I like, others I don't. The ones that work, I keep; the others I'm ok with cutting ties with. Happy reading. . .

Friday - What's for lunch?

My Lunch: 

Friday's lunch was soup and salad. I like lunches that are easy to grab in the morning. I don't have a lot of extra time in the morning to put together my lunch and it's so much better for me to take my lunch than to try to find a healthy lunch eating out.

So for lunch I had the following

• Protective Diet Veggie Chili
• Salad made with romaine, spinach and cabbage, cucumbers, carrots
• Protective Diet - Daily Dressing
• Apple

PD Daily Dressing:

 I'm so glad I found Protective Diet (PD) , especially for yummy dressings for salad. Before I signed up for Protective Diet Premium Recipes, I searched for alternate dressings to make on my own that didn't have bad ingredients: soybean or other oil, sugar, etc. I hadn't found a dressing that I liked. So far I've tried two PD, the daily dressing and the French Dressing. They are both very, very tasty and healthy. I can't wait to try the others.

What I learned Today: 

I found that I ended up not taking enough for lunch today. I was really hungry in two hours and ate a tangerine. Then an hour later, I had a banana. I always make sure I have something healthy to snack on in my bag so I don't go grab a candy bar or anything else non-healthy from the vending machine at work. I'm still in the phase where I'm trying to figure out how much food I need to eat to feel me up. So for Monday, I'm definitely taking a larger lunch.

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.

How do I start out my day?

Most days I start out my day with oats. I eat either rolled oats or steel cut oats. I love that oats are heart healthy. I need something that will fill me up, so I can make it to lunch without my belly growling at my desk.

One easy way to cook my steel cut oats is by using my Instant Pot (which I LOVE!!!).

I find the biggest pain of cooking oats is watching it on the stove or microwave to make sure it doesn't boil over. I've solved this by using my Instant Pot. I put my oats in and leave it. I continue on with my morning tasks without having to babysit my oats.

Today, I'm trying a new method I found on Protective Diet. Julie has a Steel Cut Oats Recipe for the stove top. I invite you to give this a try also. I'm going to add in Mixed Berry Chia Seed jam with my oats. I can't wait.

How do you start your day?

Until next time. . .

Protective Diet Journey

Since my November post, I've done lots of reading and researching. I've found that I really like Protective diet recipes. So I've decided to blog about these exciting new recipes as I try them.

I've been subscribing to Protective Diet for about a month. I first started with a free login to review her recipes. I tried some and I really liked the taste of her recipes and her helpful videos. About two weeks ago, I signed up for a premium subscription. I love that she is your coach thru this journey to be healthy. She spends many hours each week making recipes for the group that are healthy and tasty. I've been getting a newsletter each week with at least one new recipe. There is a PD Interactive support group meeting online each Tuesday night and a coaching hour each Saturday morning.

Today, I made Baked Apples for breakfast. I added these warm yummy apples to rolled oats, cinnamon, and soy milk. It was a wonderful warm breakfast for this cold Michigan morning. These apples are so tasty, I'm going to make them every week.

For lunch, I had beans and brown rice with some fruit on the side.

For dinner, I was in the mood for pasta, so I tried Guiltless Baked Mac n Cheese. It sure is a wonderful recipe. The kids weren't super excited about it, but that could have been because of the parsley and onions. I love that once you follow the list of PD items to stock in your pantry. you can make lots of PD friendly meals just with only a couple fresh ingredients each week. I had greens on the side of my mac n cheese to make it a complete meal. I had leftovers, so I already have my lunch packed for tomorrow.

Until next time,


Click here for other Protective Diet recipes.