Oil of Oregano... a diamond in the rough!

Okay, this is my newest find, and I am so EXCITED about it! I am just sad to know that I am just now discovering it. I wish I had know about it in years past, especially when I was teaching!!! Anyhow, for those of you who have not met, without further a-do, I present to you... Mr. Oil of Oregano.

This little bottle packs a big punch and helps ward off sickness like nothing I have tried before. It blows Airborne and E-mergency out of the water by a long shot. It is completely natural and is derived from wild oregano plants (much different than the oregano we cook with) and is considered a purifier to the body and an excellent early defense mechanism when you feel sickness coming on. It destroys bacteria especially in the skin and the digestive track, increases respiratory health, aides in sinus congestion, and strengthens your immune system remarkably. It also is know to calm and aid in digestive issues and calm irritated gums or itchy skin. If you have kids, work around kids or with the public this is a great item to keep in your medicine cabinet.

If you are in the need for an immune booster, consider purchasing this oil (make sure you get the right kind, Carvacol concentration that is at least 70 %) and be sure to dilute it in a bit of water or juice (when used internally) or oil (when used topically) because of the high concentration levels. You can use olive oil or coconut oil as transfer oil (I used a drop of this in a tsp of coconut oil on my daughters face when she had a bacterial rash on her chin). If you end up taking this supplement continuously then you may need to look into an iron supplement because it can block iron absorption over a long period of time (so thus not recommended to pregnant moms to take continually). The ONLY down fall to this fantastic little gem is the strong taste and burning in your nose feeling you feel for about 30 seconds afterwards (I felt compelled to be a straight shooter with you my readers!) But you would rather a nasty taste for a few seconds or a nasty cold??? That's what I thought!

Cleanse Update...

Here's a NOT-SO-QUICK update on the cleanse I am doing!!! I am still eating a vegan/vegetarian diet (I say that for clarity sake because I have incorporated eggs back into my diet more than once a week and I have continued to cook with chicken broth) AND I did have a "Cheat Day" for about 24 hours because we had a birthday party (and I made & brought dessert = majorly tempting!) and we went to a wedding in LA and didn't think I could ask the waiter man for a "Vegan Friendly Meal".... so I ate the vegetarian one that had cream sauce and cheese. But can I tell you this, I felt like CRUMB afterwards. I had the worse stomach ache, I felt heavy, bloated, and overly full- and it was enough to convince me that I wanted to hop back on my cleansing diet as soon as I returned home because I feel significantly better eating this way.

Now that I am coming up on the 6th week here, I had been mulling over in my head what I will do when my cleanse is through, and for the most part I think I will stick fairly close to what I am doing now. Here's my game plan, not perfected, but what I am thinking as of now:

I will continue with lots of raw fruits and veggies, I will continue to incorporate eggs, brown rice pastas, lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, fish (twice a week) and chicken once a week (this is for convenience sake more than anything else so I don't feel trapped when eating out or away from home). To ME there is a need for balance and flexibility, I don't want my diet to rule my life but I know it plays a HUGE role in HOW I feel in this life and that is where, for me, the balance lies.

One of the important questions that has been on my mind as I have made this shift in my diet is making sure I am doing it in a healthy manner. I wanted to make sure I get enough protein because you can't just stop eating meat and start considering yourself a vegetarian, it's more than that. And actually, many people have asked me what I do for protein now, so here's a quick blurb on the issue of protein:

Dr. Joel Fuhrman, in his book Eat To Live gives an easy way to figure out how much protein you body needs daily, simply multiple your weight times 0.36 g. So, for a 120 pound woman, 44 grams of protein would be sufficient. For a 150 pound male 54 grams would do, and for a 25 pound child 9 grams would be the requirement. (If you are pregnant or nursing you should up your intake by 25 grams or multiply your weight by 1.1 grams instead). A diet too high in protein can be hard on your kidney and cause other complications such as kidney stones.

Here's a Quick List of Protein Amounts (I chose to include foods that I eat lots of, but there are charts all over the Internet if you are looking for a specific food that's not listed here)...

Grams of Good Protein: (everything is measured in 1 cup unless otherwise noted)

Lentils- 18 g

Adzuki Beans- 17 g

White Beans- 17 g

Split Peas- 16 g

Black Bean- 15 g

Kidney- 13 g

Pinto- 12 g

Kidney- 13 g

Quinoa- 9 g

Peanut Butter (2 TBSP) - 8 g

Almonds (1/4 cup)- 8 g

Sunflower Seeds (1/4 cup) 8 g

Pistachio (1/4 cup)- 6 g

Couscous- 6 g

Oatmeal-6 g

1 Egg- 6 g

Steel Cut Oats (1/4 cup)- 5 g

Cashews (1/4 cup)- 5 g

Brown Rice- 5 g

Spinach- 5 g

Brown Rice Noodles- 4 g

Broccoli- 4 g

Brussel Sprouts- 4 g

Potato- 4 g

Sweet Potato- 3 g

Ezekiel Bread (Cinnamon Raisin)- 3 g

Kale- 2.5

Rutabaga- 2 g

Squash- 2 g

** For reference, a grilled chicken breast has 42 g of protein and aFillet Steak has about 30 g and a Salmon Steak has about 25 g (per 100 grams).

As you can see, it is quite easy to fulfill your protein intake even without the consumption of any meats. Other questions I got asked was do I eat any carbs and do I get enough calories? I do eat carbs such as Quinoa, Brown Rice, Brown Rice Pasta, Couscous, Harvest Grains, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, other roots, spelt or corn tortillas, Ezekiel bread, nuts and seeds, and more that I am not thinking of right now. As far as calories go, I get plenty of them! I am snacking all day on baby carrots, hummus, fruits, veggies, a handful of nuts and I eat 3 good meals each day. I do feel like I have more energy than normal (plenty of energy to work out to answer Christy's question!) and feel lighter and "overall better" consuming these foods than the ones I was eating pre-cleanse. Hope that answers some of the questions I've been asked that maybe were floating around your head too, but keep them coming and share your wisdom with me, this is all a learning process!

*** One last note- regardless of the diet I choose, I always make it a priority to continue my intake of supplements. One of the most important supplements you can take, especially for women, is Vitamin D. See this post for more.

New Year Cleanse....

So, it has been awhile since I have posted, the holidays kept us busy with lots of cooking and baking, delivering and traveling, and eating, too much eating- so I am just now getting a moment to post my newest New Year's Plan- I am doing a vegan cleanse to kick off the New Year. I have done a handful of cleanses in the past and love the way I feel physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally when I follow through with it. If you've never done one, it's a great challenge in discipline, it helps you see what you REALLY are eating, the "detox" part helps you see how many toxins you have built up in your system, and the clear mind, energy, restful nights, and overall good healthy feel makes you realize how much food really does impact your day to day life.

So, here's my 6 week plan for the cleanse, I am already finishing up week 1 and feel great- honest, really, REALLY great (although I felt really junky the first 4 days, not going to lie about that) but it was evidence to me that my body needed to detox and get rid of the junk in my system and get a fresh start. I am not claiming to be a "certified anything" on here so look into what would be right with you, especially if you have previous health conditions, but I think you would be amazed at the results- so if you feel up for it give it a whirl, join in the fun! For clarity sake, I have cut out all animal products (including meat, dairy, cheese, butter, limited eggs- I per week) as well as sugar, processed foods, and minimal wheat (like 2 pita's a week). Any snacks or munchies during the day are raw fruits and veggies. And when I am about to loose my marbles on any given night... I sneak a bite of 71% dark chocolate bar to help me with my sanity!

This is just what I have mapped out from my reading, research and studies- mostly from some favorite places and people :

• Dr.Furhman
• Eat to Live, Disease Proof Your Children (Furhman's books)
• Dr. Mercola
• Clean Food (cook book)
• Gearsen Therapy

So, for this 6 weeks I have made it my task to remove any animal products from my diet- which seemed daunting at first, but with a few new recipes and my new Christmas Present Cook Book "Clean Food", I felt encouraged and like I had some direction. I would challenge you, even if you aren't up for the cleanse to see if you can eliminate some animal products from your meals, maybe just one meal a week- to not only save around your waist line, your internal health, but also in your pocket book!

My cleanse started out with a 24 hour water fast... that's right, nothing but water from 3 pm until the following days dinner. And like with any fasting, break your fast gently with something light like a baked sweet potato or light bowl of soup.

Here's what my breakfasts will look like for the week these 6 weeks:

Sunday: 1 piece of Ezekiel (cinnamon raisin) bread, almond butter, 1 piece of fresh fruit

Monday: Green Smoothie (kale, tomatoes, carrots, flaxseed, brewers yeast, + fruit) & 1 handful almonds

Tuesday: 1 cup steel cut oats, 1 oz raw cashews, 1 piece fresh fruit

Wednesday: 2 egg whites or 1 egg, 2 oz raw walnuts, 2 pieces fresh fruit

Thursday: Green Smoothie (kale, tomatoes, carrots, flaxseed, brewers yeast, + fruit) & 1 handful almonds

Friday: 1 cup steel cut oats, 1 oz raw cashews, 1 piece fresh fruit

Saturday: 2 pieces fresh fruit, 2 oz. mixed nuts, 1 TBSP flax seed

* I also start the day with a glass of water with a half of fresh squeezed lemon juice.

When I first looked at that line up I thought "yeah right I will starve" and the first few days I did feel super hungry, but as my body adjusted to the new "normal" I felt really content, light, and energized by these breakfasts.

You may also have noticed I did allow myself 1 egg per week (not very vegan of me) but it was allowed by Dr. Furhman in his book, "Eat to Live" in which he reminds you to give yourself some room for adjustment- I chose to allow myself 1 egg and the use of chicken broth in some of my soups. That was worth a cheat for me.

As for lunches and dinners, I got a few recipes from my sister and used a few recipes I already had on this blog- using some small modifications where necessary. I will list some recipes I used and then post some new ones as well. Even if you're not doing in the cleanse, you still might enjoy the change up, you would be surprised how tasty they are!

Vegan Recipes Already on this Blog:

• 17 Mixed Bean Soup (minus the ground turkey)
• Spinach Salad with Nuts, Crans, & Apples
• Black Bean Soup
• White Bean Salad
• Roasted Brussel Sprouts
• Brown Rice Medley
• Grilled Veggies
• Swiss Chard
• Harvest Grains (minus the butter)
• Mango Sorbet
• Santa Fe Salad (minus chicken & chesse)
• Oat 'Nana Pucks (minus the chocolate chips... or not, I won't tell!)
• Green Veggie Salad (Lots and lots of this!!!)
• Guacamole
• Snappin' snap Peas
• Asparagus
• Confetti Slaw
• Cucumber Salad
• Artichokes
• Strawberry Salad (minus the chicken)
• Steel Cut Oats
• Taco Salad (minus the meat & cheese)
• Kale Smoothie
• Split Pea Soup (minus the ham)
• Harvest Potato Soup

***The only thing that would disqualify any of these recipes would be the use of chicken broth (so you can use veggie broth is you prefer) or a pinch of sugar in a salad dressing.... but I never was one to comb through things with a fine toothed comb anyhow ;)

Let me know if you try it out.... I will tell you that you won't feel the results of the cleanse without doing it with complete commitment (24 hour detox first, then the healthy eating to follow) how do I know this??? Reason # 1. because I used to think I would have an eternal headache if I didn't eat meat and I don't- I actually feel WAY better off of meat than I every would have imagined. AND Reason # 2. because my sweet husband is eating what I am eating for the most part (with the exception of some lunches and snacks) and he's not feeling it like I am! Thanks for being a good sport honey, I always seem to drag you into my crazy ideas!

So, if you don't have a New Year's goal OR if your New Year's goal was to eat better or loose weight, you really might want to consider this! ("Eat to Live" says you can loose up to a pound a day up to 20 pounds or more by switching to a vegan life style).

Supplements...

I haven't posted in a few days due to a spontaneous trip to the coast, but here's something I have thought about sharing for quite some time- a post on supplements. My family has always been into learning about nutrition as a way of taking care of your body with a proactive stance, and this so far has been my favorite thing I've tried. 

I know many people have heard of "probiotics" and that term is sometimes linked to yogurt thanks to the media- but really, it simply means "pro" (good) and "biotic" (bacteria) meaning the "good bacteria" that is found in your gut. We all have good and bad bacteria in our guts, some of our ratios are better than others, of course we would all strive to have more good and less bad in order to maintain great health.  So a probiotic adds that good bacteria back to your good to help keep those ratios in good order. So, if you take a well formulated probiotic, you will see a lot of change in your overall health, it will promote better digestive functions (i.e. regularity and softness, if you will) as well as a lower incident of being sick, . A healthier gut leads to a healthier body because many illnesses and diseases start in the gut. It is especially important to add that good bacteria back to your gut after taking an antibiotic, because that antibiotic will kill the good and the bad bacteria in your gut- leaving you susceptible to secondary infections, like a yeast infection (that's why they are so common after you've been on antibiotics). These are also so good for your little ones, my daughter has been taking a probiotic from the get go- try one on your kids for better overall health and digestive regularity!

I think it's also really important to choose wisely the products that you take, you can't assume that all vitamins - or probiotics- will have the same quality, thus distributing the same resuts. So, after much research and comparison, I have chosen to go with Dr. Fuhrman's vitamins and supplements. I have seen and felt the differences! (* This is MY opinion, it's not the only one out there, and I am not even claiming it's the best, but it has been the most helpful to my family and I and my main desire with this post is to get you thinking and headed on a path that will help direct you if you need it. Dr, Fuhrman is not sponsoring me or paying me- nor does he know I exist!) 

Here are the items I order from him, they are pretty "middle of the road" as far as pricing goes. They are supreme quality and when I do purchase them, I order in bulk to receive free shipping. If you have questions, please feel free to email me or leave a comment! These are the things I take along with their benefits:

Probiotic:

• Preventing and ameliorating allergic reaction such as atopic dermatitis and eczema.
• Reducing respiratory infection and ear infections, especially in children.
• Animal studies show a reduction in colon tumor and polyps.
• Improving digestive function and bowel symptoms for those with indigestion, reflux and irritable bowel syndrome.
• Strengthen the mucosal barrier of the bowel and improve immune function.
• These strains have demonstrated documented improvement in Crohn's and ulcerative colitis as documented in medical studies

Multi-Vitamin

Great for all ages

Safe for pregnant and nursing women

Gentle on the digestive tract

Non-stimulating

Complements a healthy diet

100% vegan

Premium quality ingredients

Chelated minerals for maximum absorption

Void of potentially harmful and toxic ingredients

Children's Multi-Vitamin

• Premium children’s vitamin–mineral supplement.
• More than 30 fruit & vegetable concentrates.
• NO artificial sweeteners or preservatives.
• Free of allergens (no wheat, dairy, gluten, or soy).
• Improved great berry taste.
• Fun for kids to eat.
• No isolated vitamin A or beta carotene.

Osteo-Sun

• Essential for bone growth and maintenance of bone density
• Increases calcium absorption to maximize bone health
• Promotes strong bones, hair, and nails
• Formulated to reduce the risk of, and for the treatment of, osteoporosis
• Vital for maintaining a healthy immune system, regulating cell growth, & preventing cancer

DHA:

• Especially Important for nursing and pregnant women
• Improves your child’s intelligence
• Aids depression and Attention Deficit Disorder
• Improves memory
• Important for brain and eye development
• Promotes smoother skin; prevents wrinkles
• Helps prevent heart disease and arthritis
• Lowers risk of Alzheimer’s and senior dementia
• Lowers “bad” cholesterol