I have recently watched two documentaries. One called "Fat Sick and nearly Dead" and "Forks Over Knives". I am so interested in these topics they discuss mainly introducing more plants in your diet. I don't think I could cut out meat entirely but I would like to eat a lot less. I know some of you do this but I would like to know more. Anyone have any good sites or recipes they can point me to?
I am not sure where to start and it is all very overwhelming.
Fing's Journal
My Podcast Link
10/15/2011 21:58 #55313
Plant based diets10/06/2011 00:00 #55244
Things seem different nowAbout a month ago I suffered a pretty nasty head/face trauma. Long story short I ended up with a broken nose and some swelling in my nose and face which still has not totally subsided. After a lot of tests and some Dr. appt it turned out to be a vasovagal episode. I pretty much passed out because I stood up to fast.
Since then I feel like things have been different in my life. I know that is a pretty broad comment but I have yet to put my finger on it. I tend to have a little more anxiety then I have ever had and I feel overwhelmed quite a bit. I have even read that some people who have head trauma go into temporary depression. I don't feel depressed but I feel like I can't get enough done lately. I usually tend to not start working on something because I don't have enough time to finish. The last few days I have been trying to do a little bit at a time when I have time.
I don't know what is changing in me but I feel the need to change my life a little bit. I want to be excited about work, life and be happy with where I am. It's been a long time since that has all come together and maybe this is a wake up call. Perhaps this broken nose will start something new for me.
Time will tell.........
Since then I feel like things have been different in my life. I know that is a pretty broad comment but I have yet to put my finger on it. I tend to have a little more anxiety then I have ever had and I feel overwhelmed quite a bit. I have even read that some people who have head trauma go into temporary depression. I don't feel depressed but I feel like I can't get enough done lately. I usually tend to not start working on something because I don't have enough time to finish. The last few days I have been trying to do a little bit at a time when I have time.
I don't know what is changing in me but I feel the need to change my life a little bit. I want to be excited about work, life and be happy with where I am. It's been a long time since that has all come together and maybe this is a wake up call. Perhaps this broken nose will start something new for me.
Time will tell.........
metalpeter - 10/06/11 18:11
Depending on how things went down what happened can change your perspective on life.... PTSD (not saying you have it) isn't only in war it is can happen from any Trama... Of course now if you know something is wrong you could be worried that it could cause that same problem again and so the worry even if you don't know you are worried could cause the stress... But also when ever you have a close call it can make you look at how you are living your life and if you want to live it that way.... Of course you know you better then I do but just a few ideas.....
Depending on how things went down what happened can change your perspective on life.... PTSD (not saying you have it) isn't only in war it is can happen from any Trama... Of course now if you know something is wrong you could be worried that it could cause that same problem again and so the worry even if you don't know you are worried could cause the stress... But also when ever you have a close call it can make you look at how you are living your life and if you want to live it that way.... Of course you know you better then I do but just a few ideas.....
tinypliny - 10/06/11 08:53
Hope you feel better soon!!!
Hope you feel better soon!!!
libertad - 10/06/11 08:13
Sorry to hear about your injury. Perhaps the answer to your problem is psychedelic mushrooms? New research shows that it can cause lasting positive personality changes. :::link:::
Sorry to hear about your injury. Perhaps the answer to your problem is psychedelic mushrooms? New research shows that it can cause lasting positive personality changes. :::link:::
04/28/2011 12:05 #54165
The topics are all looking different to me lately
04/03/2011 11:47 #53966
Running HazardsTwo summers ago I fell into the street while running. i tripped over the curb and luckely no cars were coming. i cut my knee pretty bad and also put a hole in my sneaker and sock. Every so just by chance they come back together for a reunion.
tinypliny - 04/03/11 12:31
hehehee that is hilarious for some reason. And wow, that must have been some fall! The small statistician in me wants to calculate the probability of that happening. (Combination shoe-sock of interest/all possible combination of shoes-socks)
I have tripped over many times and every time I tear my knee up. If ever I had dreams of having smooth knees, those dreams are over. I have so many road-battle scars on my knees and small holes in my jeans or yoga trousers or whatever I was wearing at that time. It is worse when you trip over wearing one of these hole-ridden clothes. It hurts more because there is nothing in the way to take the impact.
hehehee that is hilarious for some reason. And wow, that must have been some fall! The small statistician in me wants to calculate the probability of that happening. (Combination shoe-sock of interest/all possible combination of shoes-socks)
I have tripped over many times and every time I tear my knee up. If ever I had dreams of having smooth knees, those dreams are over. I have so many road-battle scars on my knees and small holes in my jeans or yoga trousers or whatever I was wearing at that time. It is worse when you trip over wearing one of these hole-ridden clothes. It hurts more because there is nothing in the way to take the impact.
01/24/2011 13:34 #53488
Shaved for the first time in about a monthI decided this year I really was going to grow out facial hair. I am a pretty low maintenance guy and I like this keep things simple. This was very new for me. I usually shave 2 to 3 times per week but don't mine a little scruff in between.
Here is me before:
After:
I feel kind of naked now. You know that feeling that you get in the spring when you don't wear a coat outside? Like something is missing. I did kind of like it and will probably make it a yearly thing in the winter.
Here is me before:
After:
I feel kind of naked now. You know that feeling that you get in the spring when you don't wear a coat outside? Like something is missing. I did kind of like it and will probably make it a yearly thing in the winter.
paul - 01/24/11 18:23
You had a nice beard. I can't imagine shaving everyday. Then again, I think guys look way better with beards.
Which file upload wasn't working?
You had a nice beard. I can't imagine shaving everyday. Then again, I think guys look way better with beards.
Which file upload wasn't working?
Slow. I have been doing the best I can to replace whatever I can with something veggie or fruit. This morning I made a protein shake with grapes instead of my usual bowl of cereal. Lunch was skipped (not on purpose) and I made some Barley Mushroom soup for dinner which had chicken in it. So really just had some meat for dinner.
I have also made myself eat a salad for lunch if I don't have enough time to pack lunch. The next trip to Wegman's will probably yield more veggies.
How it it going??
Another super fast meal I made: :::link:::
Experiment. It's hard to go wrong once you have some basics and combinations down.
I don't know if you like soups, but they are my favourite food. Today, I made a tomato based soup in around 15 minutes. You need a rice cooker to compete with :::link:::
Take any beans or lentils (dal in hindi) Orange lentils cook really fast without need for presoaking so they might be best for this. I used mung dal - a yellow tiny lentils that also cooks fast. Wash and add a pinch of baking soda, and cook in a rice cooker (or over stove top). This takes around 20 minutes depending on how much you are making. Meanwhile roughly chop
- a couple tomatoes
- a bunch of well-washed kale
- any summer squash - zucchini?
- a red/green pepper
- garlic pods - a few
- fresh ginger
Season with a little olive oil and cumin seed (if you don't have cumin seeds, thats fine, chop in the garlic and ginger into the olive oil (a couple tsps), stir fry for a minute or so, drop on the tomatoes, and kale, stir around till tomatoes start to look cooked, add chopped squash, stir for a few minutes, add chopped peppers, stir around till lentils are done, pour the lentils in, add some water, bring to a boil, add salt and pepper to taste. And you are done! Delicious soup! You can add boiled potatoes for carbs. Or ladle this over rice or dip toasted bread in it.
Try this:
Chop apples (preferably green, but if you don't like green, you could go red or yellow or whatever), carrots, toss in a few strawberries, maybe a peach, chop in some basil, sprinkle some shredded unsweetened coconut on this, sprinkle with powdered flax seed, half a tsp honey, some roasted almonds - SUPER AWESOME SNACK/dessert/fun on the go mix meal.
Actually, it's super easy to get proteins in a vegetarian diet. I wouldn't recommend going vegan since its somewhat extreme. But EVEN in a vegan diet, its easy. Take a look: :::link::: Lentils, legumes and nuts have a ton of protein. All are plant based. Examples of plant based stuff that contain complete proteins (much like an egg) are soybeans (and soy based products) and quinoa. I think cheese and eggs are great accompaniments to vegetarian diets. However I would gradually go easy on them.
Almonds are super nuts. If you incorporate more almonds in your diet, not only are you getting protein and essential fats but also a lot of fibre.
Let's see.
Breakfast: Raisin Bran --> I would add at least 2 (or maybe more) different types of sliced fruit to this. Eg. granny smith apples, peaches, plums, cantaloupe, blueberries, strawberries, carrots (yes! they are awesome with apples) Any seasonal fruit you can get - the more varied the better. Try to keep away from canned or frozen fruits etc. They are not necessarily all that great, though they may come to the rescue in a cinch. Breakfast NEEDS to contain more protein. It's your first meal and needs to tide you over carb/sugar/crap craving mid morning. I would also add maybe a hard boiled egg or maybe a slice of low fat/skim mozzarella, or even a glass of soymilk - if you like it (I love it!). With the addition of at least 2 different fruits and a source of protein you have effectively balanced out your breakfast to make it equally split between the carbs (bran + fruit), fiber, protein and essential micronutrients and some fat.
A good breakfast really does wonder for the metabolism. You are more likely to burn the heavy meals more efficiently if your breakfast has been substantial. Because your body is not expecting a drought situation in the morning, you gave it enough food so it burns with abandon instead of assimilating and making you lethargic.
What to avoid
== Desserts
== donuts
== danishes and whatnots filled with sugar. They just spike up the glucose, make the insulin rush out and end with you feeling hungry and empty less than an hour and a half later. The idea should be to aim for a slow and steady energy release breakfast - something achieved by a properly balanced meal.
WATER is extremely important. I cannot stress this enough. You need at least a GALLON of water a day. 1.5 gallon would be great. Carry a bottle with you. Keep drinking!
Lunch also needs to be more balanced. What was in the sandwich? What did you have on the side? A chopped salad of tomatoes, carrots, apples and onions tossed with lemon juice and little pepper is a good lunch side. All plant based. Add a few cubes of feta, a few cooked garbanzo beans or any of the 36 different kind of lentils and legumes you can get, and you have a lunch in itself. You can get rid of the sandwich bread.
Dinner should be your lightest meal. What was in the bowl? I am not sure I know. But I would add a super generous side of vegetables - any vegetables, raw or cookes along with any beans (take your pick, kidney, garbanzo, black eyed peas, navy, great northern, black, edamame, lima -etc) to the veggies and reduce the pure carbs. Toss all of this with tomatoes, lime juiice, chopped basil, or cilatro and you have more plant based stuff on your plate than other things!
I think doing a meal a day might be a good start. I might even just do up to two but I know I am not the type of person to cut out meat entirely. I could see myself eating meat just a few times a week and not every day. I have always been the type of person that needs protein to function. Sometimes I will feel out of of or cant concentrate. If I have some peanut butter or a piece of cheese I am back in business.
Right now I don't eat a lot of crap really but lately I feel like I am eating more carbs. Maybe I am just more in tune with what I am eating but it seems like I need a change or it might turn out to be habit. I would like to eat a little better and drop a little weight in the process.
Today I started with a bowl of Rasin Bran, Lunch was a sandwich and dinner was a Burrito Bowl from Chipotle (chicken, no cheese and light sour cream), Guac and some chips. I know does no sound like a great day but that was today. I seem to also eat heavier toward the end of the day but I think if I eat less food more often that might help out a lot.
That's great. So how do you want to start it? Do you want to make one meal a day completely plant based for starters (I think you might already be on such a diet). What is your diet like? Can you, for instance, tell us what you ate the whole of today starting from breakfast? Which meal would you like to change and why?
Yeah sorry I had something typed up the other day but forgot to save it. There is not much I don't like besides peas (which I am learning to like) and olives. Probably want to try to stick to things I can get at Wegman's.
Welllllll????? I was all excited about your enthusiasm!!! Where have you vanished??
Where is the list?? :)
As someone who doesn't eat well at all I can say I like my meat and lots of that stuff that is good for you I don't like the taste of well unless it is Buttered.. Taste is a big factor and I think for that reason you need to ease into things and try different things... It is also important to know that things taste very different raw and cooked and how they are cooked.... For example I never buy them but love carrots as soon as one starts to cook them at all there is no crunch and they don't taste right.... Onions on pizza have to be the purple onions white onions I don't like.... Also some things I might not eat when mixed with other things (again on Pizza) I don't mind..... But in terms of helping you eat more of them not much help there really..... Other then to say if you like meat things like soup, stew, or chili you can work vegetables in there but understand it will taste different.... I wish you luck.....
Sorry but Vegans are nuts.... No meat I get... But nothing that comes from animals at all so out goes all milk products what does one eat? So also no leather or anything cow hide..... How does one get a belt? kidding a bit but........
I like vegetables a lot. I tried being vegan for years but it ended up not working out. Now I just eat a balance of vegtables and animal products although I still think I eat more vegtables than most Americans. Just nowhere near as much as (e:tinypliny).
So if you are really serious, go ahead and post a list! Let's see what makes it on there!
This is an interesting blog: :::link:::
Just pick a random recipe and follow whatever you can. :) Most vegetarian recipes are very forgiving, the results are mostly good.
This is a good round up of the best out there: :::link:::
If you are interested, you should come and cook with me and (e:Paul) someday. It'll be fun. :)
Oh and these are some more fun recipe sites I occasionally check out, mainly to drool over pictures and make my own hash of the recipes: :::link::: :::link::: :::link::: :::link::: :::link::: :::link::: :::link::: :::link::: :::link::: :::link:::
Great idea. I knew you would reply but didn't want to single you out. I am sure there are a lot of good fruits and veggies out there I don't even know about. I try to keep things simple but I think that could get boring pretty quick.
It is EXTREMELY easy to eat a predominantly plant based diet and not overwhelming at all. 101cookbooks is an extensive and well-written site of vegetarian recipes for starters: :::link:::
There are MILLIONS more that I can possibly recommend, but the best way to incorporate more vegetables in your diet is by consciously increasing them on your plate.
For starters, why don't you make a list of veggies and fruits you like and post them here? We could easily take it from there. If you are motivated you could easily switch to a ~90% plant based diet in less than a month.