Yummie Oatmeal Bars!

I decided this week I wanted a goal to eat the least amount of processed stuff I could! So I decided to make these Yummie Oatmeal Bars! I had a recipe from a long time ago but couldn't find it and really forgot so I had to make up my own. 

Yummie Oatmeal Bars

9 Cups of Old Fashion Oats
2-16 oz of fresh Strawberries
3 Very Ripe Bananas
1 1/4 Cup of Organic Unsweetened Coconut Shredded
2 Cups Unsweetened Apple Sauce

I mashed the strawberries and banana together real good.  Then I added it to the Oats.  Then added all the rest of the ingredients! I lined a cookie sheet with parliament paper and spread the mixture on the paper! (note it all didn't fit I had to get another small dish to put the rest of mixture in.) Bake for 30 mins on 350 degrees.  It makes 26 bars and according to my fitness pal 160 calories!  Enjoy

I also made some Vegan Ranch Dressing! It was so good as well! I got it from Denise and forget where she got it.  I changed a couple of things but this is how I made it today! I figure it up to be 49 calories for 1/2 cup that is way better for you then regular ranch!

Ranch Dressing

(makes a little over 2 cups)

12 oz (1 package) Mori-Nu lite silken-firm tofu

3/4 tsp each garlic powder and onion powder

1 tsp dry dill

1/3 cup water, or more or less depending on desired thickness

scant 2 T apple-cider vinegar

1 and 1/2 vegetable broth cubes

2 T fat free milk

Throw all the ingredients in your vitamix or high speed blender and enjoy

 

I think I am ready for the week! I am excited!

Envisions

Can you envision yourself where you want to be?  I can!  I think envisioning myself at my goal weight keeps me motivated to persist through all of the cravings.  By the time I'm 40 (a lil over a year away), I picture myself to be a picture of health!  I envision a glowing, youthful face and me standing tall and proud.  It's not about reaching a certain number on the scale for me but about having the energy to do whatever I want to do and not having pain to deal with every day!

I'm reading the Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates and I've been stopped on page 79 for a couple days now.  I keep re-reading it and be like oh I already read this but then say wow that's really good and then read it again!  Lol Come on, I'm not the only one who does this am I?

Anyway page 79 says, "Beginning the diet is similar to climbing a mountain.  When you're at the bottom, at the first step, you can't see the health, happiness, and prosperity that may await you at the top.  But as you progress up the mountain, the top reveals itself more and more...when you master the principles of the diet, you'll be at the top of the mountain--vital, knowledgeable, and healthy.

That's why it is important to use your inherent ability to envision yourself in perfect, glowing health, radiating positive energy, feeling strong...Just remember how beautiful the world looks from the top of a mountain."

So can you see yourself at the top of the mountain, "radiating positive energy and feeling strong"?  I can and I imagine it to be a wonderful feeling!

Keep climbing!

Candida is a Bitch!

I have completely changed how I eat over the last couple of years.  I went from eating the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) to a vegetarian, to vegan, then to nutritarian.  Now I have to restrict my eating even more because of Candida overgrowth.  I have had this Candida problem for so long now that I also suffer from Adrenal Fatigue.  There are many symptoms that come with both of these conditions but the ones I suffer from are:

1. Fatigue 
1. I find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning even if I did have a good nights sleep, which is usually about 4-5 hours a night
2. I'm also usually tired throughout the day.  I feel like I could take a nap but never can.
2. Headache
3. Depression
4. Irritability
5. Dizziness
6. PMS
7. Joint and muscle pain
8. Nail fungus 
1. I've lost part of my big toenail and part of my middle fingernail
9. Fingers peeling
1. My thumbs peel every 2 weeks.  This can be very unsightly not to mention painful when the new skin is exposed and old skin is ripping off.
10. Intense sugar and salt cravings

So that's a lot of crap to deal with on a daily basis and has motivated me even more to not just lose weight, but to get healthy!  

I recently started a cleanse and ant-candida diet.  Let me just say it's not easy!  I have to give up some of my favorite foods now like peanut butter, sweet fruits, and starchy vegetables!  I know it won't last forever though and even after 4 days of this, I can actually tell a slight difference.  My muscle and joint pain actually has been tolerable the last two days.  Most of the time my back and feet hurt so bad that I can't concentrate on other things which also makes me extremely irritable.  Last couple of days though I have actually not noticed it as bad.  So I know there is light at the end of the tunnel!

I'm actually following the candida diet on this website .  I've been doing the detox drink which is just water, lemon, apple cider vinegar, and cayenne pepper.  I'm not going to lie, it's nasty and it burns going down!  But it only lasts a couple of minutes and if it will make me feel better, I'm going to do it!  

I also bought the Body Ecology Diet book and am excited to learn more about this.  I'm sure a book review will be in a future post! 

Since I can't have any sugar and am really craving sweet foods, I searched last night to find something that would be a good alternative.  Let me tell you this stuff is awesome and you should make it even if you don't suffer from Candida!  Sunbutter chocolate bars from Sketch-free Eating.  Very simple to make, coconut oil, sunflower seed butter, stevia, vanilla extract, and carob powder.  I topped mine with more raw sunflower seeds and unsweetened shredded coconut!  Yummy, balance has been restored! lol :)  

Trying new things and giving up the old

Cheese was really hard for me to give up when I decided to be a Nutritarian.  Parmesan was probably the hardest of the cheeses to give up because it adds a distinctive texture to dishes.

Today I made homemade Vegetable Pasta Salad with homemade garlic bread.  I started with this Minestrone Pasta Salad as a base and then altered it.  I used bowtie pasta because that's what I had.  I added baby kale to the pasta water about 1 minute before it was done.  I also added fresh mushrooms and onions.  Instead of using italian dressing with oil in it, I used this recipe from Vegan Coach and let me tell you, it's delicious!  Instead of using regular Parmesan Cheese I made a recipe for Cheesy Sprinkle from Plant Powered Kitchen.

I think I'm in love with the Cheesy Sprinkle recipe!  I took a loaf a bread I got on sale from the bakery and added garlic and sprinkled the Cheesy sprinkle on top and broiled it for a few minutes.  Yummy!  Now I have plenty of Cheesy sprinkle and italian dressing for salads for the rest of the week.

The Scale is Evil!

I don't know about you guys but I think the scale is Evil! When I am doing well it gets my hopes up to find out the next day I am not doing that well.   It messes with your head! The scale is not your friend!!! I lost 1.4 lbs this week now I should be happy! I exercised my butt off as well!  I am proud of myself but I figured all the hard work deserved more than 1.4 lbs.   So I start to think of ways I can get rid of it! I could set fire to it.  I could blow it up:) I day dream about all the ways I can hack away at it.   Stupid thing it is so small and it controls how you feel for the day or week sometimes! I like to think I am better but who knows! After I think I will give the scale again to my hubby to hide from me then I get a panic attack.  What the heck is wrong with me?  I really want to start focusing on how my clothes feel! I still want to weigh myself but its more for if what I am doing is working! I hate to go 3 months and realize what I think is working does not.  I probably have all the excuses in the world.  So my words of wisdom get rid of the scale and weigh once a month:)

week one 7.4 pounds lost!

Today I am really excited because I lost 7.4 lbs since last Monday! I know it could be water I don't care the scale went down.  I did it with yogurt and a muffin for breakfast. Lunch was a PB & J sandwich and carrots and hummus.  Dinner was usually chicken and veggies. I usually had turkey pepperoni and cheese as a snack.  If I did get hungry I just add another yogurt.  So far it is working for me so I am going to stick with it!  It is simple and that is what I need in my life right now. I do exercise everyday as well!  I won't lie though I am scared I might mess up! I mean I do all the time that is why I usually can't keep my weight off!  I do have a lot of people though that are encouraging me and helping me.  I am so blessed:)

I would say week 1 success:)

Slow and steady wins the race

I hit another milestone today...151 pounds is gone (and never coming back!).  I have to admit that this is a very sweet moment for me because it seems like it has taken me forever to get here!

When I first started Weight Watchers the weight was coming off pretty fast (although at the time I didn't think so).  I watch shows like Biggest Loser and wish I could have numbers like that every week.  But I know I can't because I don't put the work in like they do.

I am very proud of this moment though and I realize that in order for me to keep the weight off, it's going to have to be slow and steady.  I'm ok with that because I have also completely changed my lifestyle, from what I eat to what I do.  I even do Pilates while I watch TV so that I can get in some extra exercise.  I would have never done that before!

I told myself a long time ago that I would set goals and rewards for myself because sometimes the scale is just not enough (we all know it lies!).  When I hit my 150 pound goal my reward was to buy the TRX training system for home.  It's been in my Amazon wish list for awhile but now I can buy it!

2008 on the left (with Charlie), 2011 in the middle and 2013 on the right