Tastes do change over time!

I can remember a couple years ago when my bfff Kristie told me she was going to follow the Eat to Live program.  I thought she was crazy and I thought to myself, "I could never do that, I can't give up cheese!"  I remember she even let me try some of her Almond Milk.  I would have never bought it unless she let me try it, because let's be honest, it sounds weird and gross or at least it did to me.  :)  Now I exclusively use Almond or Rice milk.  Thanks for hooking me up btw!
I am living, walking proof that tastes can and do change!  I never liked fresh mushrooms and would sometimes tolerate the ones in jars.  Now I eat fresh mushrooms almost every day!
There are a couple things that helped me be willing to try new things:

• My pickings were slim--I had eliminated meat, dairy, and most processed foods.  Once I did, I realized that was the majority of what I ate!  So I had no other choice but to find new foods to eat because I still love food and was still hungry!
• I wanted to get healthy--I suffered from GERD, migraines, and sleep apnea.  I was in pain all day, everyday.  Pain is a powerful motivator for change!
• I wanted to lose weight--I was tired of letting life pass me by because I was too heavy to do anything.  I used to hate summer because I couldn't wear shorts and would just sit and sweat.  Ugh that is no way to live.  Now the more weight I lose, I hate winter because I'm so cold all the time, but I would never gain the weight back.  I'll take summer now!  :)  I'm not saying that I rock the summer wear but at this point I feel good about the 146 pounds I have lost and if anyone wants to look at the fat I have left, go for it, because it will be gone too, sooner or later!
• I wanted to feel good about my choices--I do feel better about the food choices I am making because it physically and mentally makes me feel good.  How can you not feel good about eating healthy foods?  The more colorful they are the better they make me feel!

Today was a rough day with all kinds of stuff going wrong (took Charlie to the vet for a bad leg, washer flooded the laundry room, and I got a migraine on top of it all).  Normally I would have just said let's order a pizza.  I actually considered it today but then thought about how bad it would make me feel.  

So I had a spaghetti squash that needed to be cooked.  I poked it with a fork a few times and threw it in the microwave for 10 minutes.  While it was cooking, I cut up two onions, 10 cloves of garlic, a pound of mushrooms, and a handful of cherry tomatoes.  When the squash was done I cut it open and let it cool.  Meanwhile I sauteed my garlic, onions, and mushrooms.  I scooped the seeds out of the spaghetti squash and then used a fork to get the "spaghetti" out, which I added to my pan.  I added a can of diced tomatoes and some fresh parsley and let it all cook together for about 5 minutes.  This was so yummy for my tummy!  

With everyone around me getting sick, I kicked up the dose of the garlic because I know it helps build your immune system up.  I have yet to get sick this year or last when everyone else was passing around the flu and nasty colds!  Plus garlic helps when you are suffering from arthritis!  The parsley is also an anti-inflammatory and helps you build a healthy immune system!  Not to mention the health benefits of mushrooms and onions...according to Dr. Fuhrman, we should be eating G-BOMBS everyday!  What are G-BOMBS?  Greens, Beans, Onions, Mushrooms, Berries, and Seeds. Check out his article to learn more about why you should do your best to eat these foods everyday!