Thursday, May 20, 2010

Come along girls.....

I am starting on a new adventure.
Won't you come along?
I have this very wonderful sister-in-law who has inspired me to veer towards a whole foods diet.
It wasn't hard she wasn't pushy at all.
After all I have tried them all, I will try anything once ;-))
She has been taking a nutrition class, that is being taught by a physician and his wife, and it is geared more toward coronary health.
She has lost weight in the 5 weeks that she has attended these classes and she didn't go cold turkey on this new eating plan either!! {{enter applause here}}
Just listening to her passion about this new way of eating struck a nerve in me and I changed my way of thinking about food at that very minute, during a short phone conversation.
She mentioned how much better she is feeling, she would not tell me that if it wasn't true either!
How tasty the foods are! That got me! hehehe
The idea is to eat our foods as close to the way they were grown as possible.
Now don't most of us farmgirls do that anyway?
NOT!! I was taught to take a green bean and cook it til it died!
Smother everything with lots of butter, gravy, cream and all those other delicacies.
Sorry Paula Dean, I love me some butter too!

I have had this cookbook for many years and I have made a few of the dishes in here, but just looking thru this book and reading the recipes and the description of the dish makes me drool. I want to run out and pray over each veggie in my garden that they will grow and be as tasty as I have imagined they would be in that particular dish.
This will really come in handy for me now!
I also have this one.......same way, I want it all.
This book has the veggies and fruits sectioned out by each fruit.
Blueberries it's own section, tomatoes their own etc etc etc
The recipes range anywhere from a Fresh Strawberry Pie right down to
Freezing Concord Grape Pie Filling!!!!
From cover to cover it is choked full of some great and tasty recipes.
I think all you gardeners out there would like to have these on your cookbook shelves too!



I don't have this one yet, but I am going to order it.
It seems to map out a diet very similar to the one my sil described.
I will probably never be a vegan or a strict vegetarian but we have to get healthier.
I am sure you guys are thinking "Poor Danny"!!
Quite the contrary actually, he is very happy that I am not killing him with my cooking anymore! hahaha
His slight kidney disease, (barely into the non-functioning zone now but irreversible)
and his very high cholesterol and high blood pressure leave him no choice but to try and eat as healthy as he can.



Yesterday was filled with preparing for this new chapter in our lives, a trip to the farmers market, the grocery store and the Mennonite health food store!
I came home with rhubarb, fresh onions, red potatoes, white potatoes, spices, whole wheat pastry flour, flax seed, carob powder, fresh roma tomatoes, garlic, fresh broccoli
dried black beans, lemons, Bragg's Amino Acids and many many other healthy items too numerous to mention!
I made whole wheat tortillas, filled them with a black bean and cheese filling for bean and cheese burritos for supper last night! Yummo!!
I was trying to mimic the Chimichanga served at our funky little international foods restaurant called aptly "Odd Fellas" which was previously called "The Three Legged Cow" !!!!
This is the first dish I got the first time I went there and I get it every time I go.....or if I know someone is going I have them bring me one back!! I can't even explain how good it is but I sure came awfully close to it last night!! I did not have guacamole in mine cause I forgot!
Danny was very happy and said that I never was going to get another meal out again!
That was truly a compliment!!

So come on girls.
Won't you join me on this new adventure?
If you have any healthy, low fat low cholesterol, delicious recipes will you please share them?
BTW all these books are available at Amazon.com!!

This way of eating is not completely new to me, however sticking to it for a long period of time will be new to me! I went on this whole foods kick about 4 years ago and I lost 28 pounds in 32 days! (back when Danny promised to buy me my Jaguar if I lost down to my goal weight, I got the flu and ended up in the bed for almost 2 weeks and went off my diet and never went back on it, I cried on his shoulder til he let "me" buy the car myself)
It was very easy to stick to and I felt so full all the time.
I am sure I was the healthiest I had ever been in my life too.
I also lost a total of 23 inches and 4 full dress sizes.
I was going to the gym everyday and doing calisthenics at home.
Actually it wasn't just me it was us!
Danny was right there beside me every step of the way, except for the flu!
We are a team and if I eat fattening foods he eats them but if I eat healthy he eats healthy too.
Thank you my dear sil!!
(BTW dear sil, you can leave an anonymous comment if you would like ;-)

WISH US LUCK!!!!!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very endearing message to begin my day. Thank you.I love you and you know we have to figure out how to stay healthy so we will be around to grow old with each other.
I have more recipes to bring to you that I really enjoy and I'm anxious to check out your cookbooks.
Yesterday was my follow up with doctor since beginning my lifestyle change. I've lost 11 pounds in 5 weeks and 3 inches in my waist. Even though the weight change isn't drastic, i can really feel the inches melting and I feel SO MUCH BETTER! I believe quite by accident, I've stumbled onto a new passion and possibly a true lifesaving experience --how to become A HEALTHY ME and I'm ecstatic that you and Danny are as excited to begin this journey as well. See you soon---SIL

OurCrazyFarm said...

Good for you! Now I am even more excited to get that huge garden planted again:)))

Unknown said...

Well dear sil I love you too!! Thanks for the help in lighting the fire under me again!! We will be looking good next year on the boat, well you will this year but it will take me a year!!

Terri if you get too many good fresh veggies this season be sure to box them up and mail them to...........ME!!! I can't wait for the garden gooooodies either!!

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

It's so much easier to do when ya have the food growin' outside your back door. Good for you...you go girl!

Ya'll have a terrifically blessed day!!!

Leslie said...

I'm on board too. Thats basically what I was doing back before the end of the year and I quit. Supper tonight was delicious and I felt really good. We can do it!!!

We all we be getting them "tattoes" soon:)

I have to get to hauling dirt for my garden! That should burn some calories!!!

Chanda said...

Rebbeca, I really enjoyed your article on the whole foods. My friend had a bout with cancer herself and she is onto it and had mentioned it and how healthy and heeling it was. I need to study up on this more.

The comments about the 3 small children in your area...oh gosh, that is so horrible. That should be on every news channel in America. There is something bad wrong happening there it seems. How scary.

Sorry about your chicks, that happens alot it seems to folks. Thers isn't a farm lady around who hasn't had this happen and yes it is sad and it does bother us, Bless your heart, Just try again and be extra nice to the ones you raise someday, thats about all you can do.

Hope you have a great sunny weekend, our rainy spell is hopefully over with here..Hello sunshine.
Shanda

Unknown said...

Nezzy, I can not wait til I have a harvest coming in out back!! The farmers market is not the best that is open fulltime. The best I am sure are the fri and Sat markets but it's hard for me to get to them. I'll have to change my ways tho! I did pull a lot of weeds from my veggie patch tonight, with a new fever for gardening. Didn't mind pulling those weeds at all!

Leslie~ Supper was great tonight, who woulda thought eating so healthy could taste so good? I even had enough energy for a good weeding of the garden afterwards. Being able to bend over so soon after the evening meal and not throw up was an accomplishment too.LOLOLOL!!! Glad you guys were here to enjoy it too!

Shanda~ That's part of the beauty of the whole foods way, is healing. Sil says they really promote it for healing of heart disease, diabetes, joint pain and many other ailments. I need a complete overhaul too!! Actually I am a very healthy overweight person! hahahaha!!!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!