"everything in moderation" I know better.

You know the biggest thing I hear is "everything in moderation" when people think I'm being too strict or "obsessive" about this diet. It REALLY bothered me at first, I had another post about it earlier on. Then Jordan and I, a couple weeks into this, broke down and had one cheat. At this point, all I had read from Dr. Fuhrman was his "Eat To Live" book and "Disease Proof Your Child". I pulled out all the stops. I cleaned the house, of all the SAD foods. I donated things to neighbors, and 100% cleansed the home of anything not on his plan. I spent time restocking slowly since we are so broke, by purchasing common ingredients that show up in his recipes a lot, one or two at a time as I could afford it, BEFORE I purged the house of the other food. So that when the day came to begin, all that was there were the healthy foods, and plenty of ingredients to make new things. Now a couple weeks in, Jordan and I had our cheat, and made sure it was outside of the home, like doc Fuhrman suggests he says never bring it into the home. Then a couple days later after the kids were in bed we had another breakdown and went to the store. This time we brought it into the home. The problem was we didn't want the kids to see it so we couldn't go out and cheat during the day, because the kids are so young, 2 and 3, and have done so well with this diet we don't want to ruin anything for them or create in them the emotional battle with food Jordan and I have. ANYWAY as this worked its way downhill, us cheating at night but eating right during the day, for Jord it turned into him cheating at work, not eating well during the day, waiting for the kids to go to bed and cheating at night. He suddenly lost his belief he could do it, and I started to feel that way right along with him. Yet somehow we both knew we never wanted to go back to the SAD permenantly and we needed intervention with ourselves immediately.

So in desperation for some support, I joined the forums on Dr. Fuhrmans website and bought a Gold membership. Its only 10 bucks a month and I can post on the forums and talk with other members and have access to his HUGE library of recipes posted by him and other doctors, chefs, as well as members. ALSO a MAJOR plus is I can view the "Ask the Doctor" forum where members that have Platinum memberships can post questions for DR, Fuhrman himself and his doctors that work in his clinic. Dr. Fuhrman  responds to the majority of them himself I would say as far as I have noticed, and though I can't POST in this section without the higher membership there are so many I so far have searched and found answers to all of my questions Ive had.

So success, my determination and motivation returned. and I started eating the right way again, but yet I found it a THOUSAND times more difficult without Jordan on board so I would cheat at night after the kids go to bed with him. Because I was getting depressed and frustrated, Jordan began feeling that way himself. He went online and found another book by Dr. Fuhrman Called "Eat for Health." He said this presented a more gradually journey to eating this way and that if I would order it he would follow that plan. So I hopped online and ordered it for him.

Here is the GIST of it. Doc F was smart to write one like this for people who are the "everything in moderation" responders. I mean lets break down that response really. Would I be doing this diet, if I did not read over 10 books now laying out on the line the scientific research and studies that have gone on to prove that these foods are the leading causes of our heart disease and cancers that are killing 80% of americans?? No. So when we say, "everything in moderation" and my response is...well then you are saying "cocaine, but in moderation.....smoking....but in moderation...." that response is FAR from overreacting, when the SAD (standard American diet) has been scientifically proven to be the #1 cause of all non smoking related cancers, heart disease, diabetes, MS, Alzheimers, the list goes on and on and on. BUT to go back to why this approach is GOOD.

Jordan is a VERY picky eater. He is a cheese monger lol. His taste buds have been over salted, over sugared, and over deep fried so that only fattening slabs of meat and butter and cheese and sugar taste even close to anything edible to him. So when you choose to switch over to a diet like this. Whole foods have a much more subtle taste and you can only appreciate those and LOVE the food, after your taste buds have "learned" to love them. Its not like people in the various regions of the world all have DIFFERENT taste buds from each other. Our taste buds are simply taught to enjoy the foods in our own cultures. The people studying these things have all found, including Doc F, that our taste buds need to try something....at LEAST 12-15 times before we will actually begin to PREFER that new flavor over the other things in your diet. So his approach in this new book is steps....starting with simply adding a 1/2 pound of veggies and a 1/2 pound of fruits to your diet everyday. I wont go through all the steps, but this is the way we are going to go with Jordy for now. The steps make a TON of sense. They are about learning to Chew your food better until every bite is liquefied. He says when we eat salads 60-80% is undigested because we don't break down the cell walls in the food well enough. One reason Green smoothies are super duper awesome blossom:)


SO after rambling and rambling here is the reason for my post. When switching to a diet like this you can choose to do it one of these two ways. You can go all out right off the bat and make the permenant change. You will go through a few weeks of some uncomfortable symptoms of detox, and cravings, but they will subside much faster, and ALSO you will likely begin to enjoy the food MUCH quicker and prefer it to the SAD far sooner than the other way because you are stripping your taste buds of the OVER salting and sugaring and greasing fatting. I've read testimony after testimony of bloggers on his forum, reporting their results and I've experienced it for myself. It works. I know the other way works too, and the detoxing is slower and less uncomfortable, the only reason that I think it might be the wrong approach for someone like Jord is he is SO bothered with eating things he doesn't love 100%. So I think it will be difficult for him to continue to force the veggies and soups down while continuing to cheat and therefore never RE-sensitizing his taste buds. I know that no matter the cheating or not, as long as he DOES force himself to eat the healthy foods, his taste buds will acclimate and he will no longer have to force himself he will enjoy them, but the cravings wont go away. And THAT battle will have to be fought in the "all out' mode whether its now or later. There are tons of people on Doc F's site, who get on and tell their story, and they mention they have been nutritarian for YEARS (someone who eats to maximize nutrients per calorie) and they say they still crave sweets because they never fully cut them out in the beginning and RE-SET their taste buds. When you go through and truly cut  them out, and after a long time has gone by eat a donut say, it will taste wayyyyy sweet and you likely wont have any cravings again for it. If you do they will subside nearly immediately within a day or so. you HAVE to reset. now or later. I am choosing now.

I've told Jord he can cheat outside the home, but that he cant bring any of it home, and he wants to do the "eat for Health" slower step method .I will support him in that.  I'm going back to all or nothing. I believe it needs to be that way in the beginning and I don't care what crap I get from people about it. THOSE people don't have to watch their 2 and 3 year old refuse every single thing you spent hours and money you have very little of  making, and throw it in the ground, and cry that they are hungry and pull on my heart strings....all because they got a fried food from somewhere else the night before and they don't want the healthy foods this morning. YES it only lasts a meal or maybe 2 at the most now days they don't hold out near as long as they used to (when we began the strike went on nearly 2 weeks eating tiny bits of things)  they are learning to recognize we just don't have that stuff in our house and they don't strike as long.  But even for that morning, it fills me with panic, and heartache for their hunger, frustration at cleaning up food off the ground, frustration that I got angry at them for throwing it and they are now in time out and crying, and now I'm in my room with the door closed crying and on my knees praying for strength to continue so that my children wont fight the battle later that Jordan and I are fighting now.  So the next one of you who tells me "everything in moderation" well I'm just going to smile and nod. I have to learn a more positive inner response for people who just don't understand. I cant feel bitter and that "implosive" feeling every time someone close to me lectures me or tries to show me that I'm being too radical.  I hate that word. Do we try our hardest to keep ALL the commandments, even though we sometimes fail and repent? or is that too radical? I don't think so. We try our hardest , to live the way our knowledge we continue to gain teaches us is the best. we fail, and we get up and try again and we never quit. The savior forgives, we forgive others, and we forgive ourselves. I cant go back and UN-read the book of Mormon, I cant change that I know my savior lives, and so I cant release myself from my obligation to always give my best effort to living ALL of the commandments All of the time, to my best ability, and use the atonement to make up for where I am a weak stubborn imperfect human. Why do I include my testimony? Does this seem random to you?? Well it isn't. General conference gave me all of the strength and comfort I prayed for, and guess what I was praying about? nutrition and our family diet. You didn't hear anything about nutrition? I did. It was a tender mercy from the lord, straight from him to my heart to tell me the burning desire that has been lit in my heart, is good and right, and to keep going.

I can't un-read the china study, or the worlds healthiest foods , or prevent and reverse heart disease or all of Dr. Fuhrmans books and all of the blogs and testimonials. I cant change what I know. And because of that,  I can't release myself, from my responsibility to teach my children and apply the knowledge with them at home. I can't find any excuse in my heart to release myself from my responsibility to get healthy lose all the weight, and show those around me the life long happy effects of being healed from the inside out through diet. This is why when I do stray, I am anxiety ridden, and full of nerves and depression and anger. Because I KNOW better. The same thing happens when I stray from the gospel, if you have never strayed I guess you don't know. But when I am being lax, and not reading like I should and not investing in my relationship with heavenly father through prayer, I am a wreck. I know better.


Lastly especialy after bringing the gospel into it, because it is so tied to it for me, the last thing I have to be very careful of, we find BIG time in the gospel too. Living the way you feel is right, being an example, without judging or criticizing or making others feel badly for not being in the same place you are. This life is a journey. We all read, and learn and become better and work on different things at different times in our lives. I have begun to realize that people most often say to me "everything in moderation" to help themselves not feel guilty for not wanting to eat the way I am trying to. That is not wrong, they SHOULDNT be made to feel guilty for that. All you should ever do is live the way you feel is right, and it will show on the outside how happy it has made you, and healthy in this instance, and others will see that and desire it. Of course after reading the books and continuing everyday to read more and more, JUST like with the gospel, the more you know the more you want to share, the more you want those you love to experience the happy benefits. That will come with time. But for now I have to find a way, to answer questions, without everyone getting so defensive of their own diets. People ask because they are interested. But no one wants to be preached to they should read the books for themselves if they are interested in change. After all that's what got ME interested, knowledge. It truly is power. I feel like when I refuse my children things, that all the other children around them are eating, I cant avoid the parents getting offended. I don't know how to avoid it. We all want what is best for our children, and we get easily offended if we think another parent thinks they know better or thinks our way is wrong simply because we all care about our children. The other side is the parents feel badly for my young children. I need to simply bring things the kids can have that I have made for them, like a chocolate date ball or something, so that they wont feel so deprived. Like I said a small cookie at an event doesn't hurt them. its the main part of the meal I don't want them eating usually and how do you not offend. sure just stay away, but that's not the life I want for my children obviously. One of the best parts of this culture is the deep family ties, and the wonderful get togethers and meals we share and events we celebrate with each other.  And its not occasionally its all the time. So If I give in and they can have some junk food at EVERY little sports game or birthday or family dinner...they will be eating it far more than occasionally. I don't know the answer, I am going to post on the Fuhrman forums and see what success other parents have had with that. Im sure thankful for that support line. WELL worth the 10 a month and if I had the money I would even do the 50 per month to be able to post in the ask dr. Fuhrman forum. But having access is good enough for me right now.

I just ordered "super immunity" of doc F's ....Im excited to have a new one to read I am getting to the point where when I finish one I am sad and already ancy for another

onward ho

Broccoli Lentil Soup and a new way of thinking

I made this because it includes so much of Livies two favorite things lentils and broccoli. Livy will eat just a giant bowl of lentils cooked in Vegebase all by themselves at night and the same with broccoli so I was excited to see if she liked it. Noah likes it even more than her it turns out but it went over well with both of them and it is super filling.


So this soup is JAM packed with nutrients. And I think that is why I will make it again in the future it was really filling, and you know that you are spending your calories with the highest nutrient dense foods possible so there is no guilt.  Holy crapper it is so thick in the end because there is so much in it. While I was making it I was saying under my breath I would never make it again after every ingredient I had to prepare and add because there is so much in it. But it was Yummy and turned out worth it.

This way of eating is becoming like Dr. Fuhrman said it would as you practice it. We have by FAR been by NO means even close to perfect, except really with the kids because we have more control of their diet for now lol. But just training my brain to look at the food I am putting in my mouth, and wondering if I am totally wasting calories or if I am getting the most "bang for my buck" nutrient wise. It really does just take time and practice like he says! He so smart:) When I know that the bulk of my calories for the day ( at least 90%) are coming from the most nutrient dense possible, meaning highest amount of nutrients packed into each calorie, I don't feel guilty having a little bite of something not really nourishing. But I am looking at that food appropriately now. Instead of seeing BULK as the best way to get calories into my kids, I see the "meat and potato" approach for what it is, mainly empty macronutrients, just fillers in my kids belly, devoid of micronutrients and phytonutrients and yes sure keeping them "alive" but not improving that life at, not helping the body have the nutrients it needs to properly get rid of waste and build up and handing them a possible disease ridden painful future,

The more people that ask about this diet, and I watch their response, the more motivated I am and determined, and even proud to be a nutritarian. Healthy food is not addictive. If the most fit and trim person, says there is no way they want to give up sweets or junk food, you tell me that is not an addiction. To live the SAD (standard American diet) is to live with food addiction. I for one don't want to be controlled by food in ANY way EVER again. When my ENTIRE day brightens up, at the thought of that pint of icecream at home in the freezer, and some Better Cheddars and my Thursday night t.v shows to watch with them, that is power taken from me. That is food addiction. That is a chain to this world I would rather live without.

The thing I cant wait for the MOST, is when this diet is so second nature, and we've been doing it long enough our cravings and addicitons to different foods are totally gone, and the kids are happy and prefer the healthier food, which is already happened a lot for them, and we can eat when hungry, be satisfied and look forward to every other activity and uses of our time this world has to offer. That might seem to someone else weird to even think about, but because I have to learn and entire new way of cooking and thinking, my days are consumed with new recipes, food chopping, cooking and shopping for food and FEEDING the kids lol. I do it happily don't get me wrong, I am truly enjoying this. I love filling my little book with new recipes, following new blogs and reading along the forums on dr. Furhmans websites. But it is still a GIANT battle with the kids. They have been gone from me for 3 days now while I work for Jord at the shop and I have no idea what next week will hold with the kids and their attitude towards food. I only know I am filled with optimism today. I wont let food be a bad experience with them next week. It is inside my head the real battle exists, I feel about to implode when I start worrying they are refusing things and hardly eating. But I have to remember I just had their wellness visits and their pediatrician said they are a perfect picture of health. Both of their BMI's are exactly in the middle range, they haven't been sick once all winter except for a little runny nose. Life is good. I am so glad to have such a wealth of knowledge about nutrition today. I just finished Dr. Fuhrmans Eat for health. I think the only one of his I haven't read is the "super immunity" so I shall get online and order it right now! wee haw I am loving learning this stuff.

so on to the recipe haha
Broccoli Lentil Soup

 

 

Serves: 8

Preparation Time: 45 minutes

 

Ingredients:

8 cups water

2 cups carrot juice, fresh or bottled

1 pound dried lentils

2 pounds plum tomatoes, chopped

4 cups chopped broccoli

2 onions, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

3 small zucchini, chopped

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 yam, peeled and chopped

3 tablespoons Dr. Fuhrman's Riesling Raisin Vinegar or balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup raw cashews or 1/4 cup raw cashew butter

Instructions:
Place all ingredients except yam, vinegar and cashews in a large soup pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes. Add yam and simmer for an additional 15 minutes or until lentils and vegetables are tender.
Remove from heat. Add vinegar.

Remove 2 cups or more ( I suggest you double that) of soup and puree with the cashews in a food processor or high powered blender. Stir back into soup.

Breakfast (or anytime) Apple Cinnamon Butternut Soup

YUM, this is by far my favorite Soup of Dr. Fuhrman's so far! I didn't grab a pic but I am making it again tonight and I will make sure to take one! I'm pretty sure I will be making this really often its super yummers and the kiddos loved it too.

Winter Butternut Soup

Serves: 6

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

 

Ingredients:

4 cups frozen butternut squash

2 medium apples, peeled, seeded and chopped

4 cups (packed) kale, tough stems and center ribs removed and leaves chopped or frozen, chopped

1 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons Dr. Fuhrman's Pomegranate Vinegar or other fruit flavored vinegar

5 cups carrot juice, fresh (5 pounds of carrots, juiced) or refrigerated

1/2 cup unsweetened soy, almond or hemp milk

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/4 cup hemp seeds

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions:
Place squash, apples, kale, onion, vinegar and carrot juice in a soup pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or until kale is tender.

Puree 1/2 of the soup with the milk and cashews and hemp seeds in a food processor or high-powered blender. Return blended mixture to soup pot. Add cinnamon and nutmeg.

This soup is great anytime. It makes a quick and delicious breakfast. Make it the night before, refrigerate, and then reheat before serving.

Getting kids to just TRY

So doc fuhrman mentions in "disease proof your child"which that you should have fruit and  veggies and dip out on the table throughout the day and they would just disappear. I thought ya right. But getting so frustrated with them throwing everything on the floor they dont like while in their high chairs....I decided to get this little dish and give it a try......turns out he is right!  When they dont feel forced they do get up and try.. and EAT....on the first day doing this i had to refill this thing 3 times! They didnt eat much st meal time but who cares its getting them to try things!

Also I found this blog and the lady was talking about turning your kids into taste testers. Every book I have read so far lists these crazy high numbers for how many times you need to taste something before your taste buds are used to it and you will start to prefer it. Im going to go with 15....because that's the one I see the most. With adults fine...easy...if we want to teach our taste buds to PREFER healthy things then just tell yourself you will try each thing a minimum of 15 times before you judge it. But how do you get a 2 or 3 year old to try something again they tried before and didnt like .....not impossible. She suggested making it a game. She says in her house they have a one bite rule With everything, always. She says to tell the kids they are taste testers and tell them they are allowed to spit it out after they analyze with you....is it crunchy? Sweet? Salty? Do u like it? Even ask them to rate it...and write down the results and watch how their preferences change over time.  So far so good With Livy .....ya she always spits it out so far.....but the important thing is they taste it...because its tasting....not swallowing....that trains the tastbuds. She also made the food suggestion of switching foods often not having the same thing every day so your kids will learn to enjoy variety and not refuse new things later in life. Goos advice! I will find her blog again ans post the link I really enjoy all of her advice even though she doesn't eat according to this diet the kids/food advice is awesome!

The negative calorie effect....and banana walnut dressing

<p>So I learned today about the negative calorie effect in dr. Fuhrmans new book eat for health which im LOVING. Man alive I love this man im so thankful he is following his true calling in life because surely he was sent here for this. ANYWAY lol....so the negative calorie effect means that a vegetable you are consuming contains LESS calories than the amount required for the metabolic processes to digest that veggie. Like green vegetables.  So this means you can eat huge portions of these and still lose weight because your body has to burn excess fat to meet its basic metobilc needs to digest the bulk of the food you are eating! That is an amazing concept to me!  In all of his books he has been saying all along the salad is the main dish ...eat more salad eat more greens.....turns out that's why you actually can lose wieght by eating MORE......you film your stomach to the max with these nutrient dense low calorie foods....burn excess fat just to metabolize them....and cram more cancer/disease fighting nutrients into your body than you ever have before.  Im going to started fresh with this concept and more salads....my goal is going to be two a day....like he says...one before lunch and one before dinner .....but I gotta tell you I just ate my lunch salad and I couldn't possibly have anything in addition to it lol. I shredded up some romaine and baby kale ....strawberries oranges raisins shredded carrot and raw sunflower seeds.and sone lentils I had cooked...and made his banana walnut dressing and YUM YUM!

Here is the easy peazy recipe!

Dr. Fuhrmans banana walnut dressing/dip

2 bananas
2 tablespoons walnuts
2 tablespoons raisins
1/4 cup fruit type vinegar....(I have peach so I used that and YUM)

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor until smooth and creamy;) took 60  seconds total to make seriously

Our First Bi-monthly Healthy Sisters day! Date-Nut Balls, Healthy Chocolate nut dip

How much fun is Healthy sisters day!! I'm so excited to share my new lifestyle and swap recipes with my favorite girls on the planet!!

Today we did Dr. Fuhrmans Date-nut pop ems

Combine in your food processor or High powered blender
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw hulled sunflower seeds

then mash
6-8 Fresh medjool dates

I keep my dates out because we use them way quickly and dont need to refridgerate, so mine dont always need a fork used, I just mash with my fingers, then pour on your ground nut mixture and knead in until well combine. Form into balls and consume liberally:)

we added 1 tablespoon cocoa powder to make chocolate date balls and YUM and the kids all enjoyed them! It was really fun to watch Wendy's kiddos try them very leary....decide they didnt like them, and then come back for more. The after taste is really yummy so you do find yourself deciding, yes I shall have another!




We also made
Dr. Fuhrmans healthy almond chocolate dip

I made this on Easter, a much simpler version from his other book "Eat to Live" and all the kids gobbled it up. so i will post that recipe first, and then the version we made at Wendy's house I got out of his other book "eat for health" it has a lot more ingredients and is far more nutrient packed! however both are great for you! you can also substitute raw cashews for the almonds, Im excited to try that.

simple Almond Chocolate dip

1 1/3 cup raw almonds
1 cup vanilla soy/hemp/almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP natural non-alkalized cocoa powder or raw carob powder
2/3 cup pitted fresh medjool dates (I always use a little more than the recipe calls for)

Blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy in a high powered blender. adding more milk if necessary.

More nutrient dense version

1 1/2 cup whole raw almonds or cashews
1 cup vanilla soy/hemp/almond milk
2 cups baby spinach
2 cups frozen or fresh strawberries or blueberries
2/3 cup pitted dates
3 tablespoons natural non alkalized cocoa powder or raw carob powder
2 tablespoons Goji berries if desired
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 raw beet or 2 tablespoons beet powder

Blend nuts and milk until smooth in a high powered blender, add remaining ingredients and blend again. can be eaten as a pudding, or a dip for fruits and vegetables

my kids love love this and if i set it out with a fresh fruit and veggie tray it is always gone quickly during the day, and the date nut balls as well!
 

 

Day 23

Well here we are 3 weeks down....jordan and I really have catching up to do weight loss wise. With a 70 lb/ 12 week goal we are like 8 pounds behind because of cheating during week 3. We kinda lost it at night. It just took me realizing I had left some cake mixes in the cupboard!  One night I made one after the kids went to bed....then it ended up happening 2 more nights that week.;(!! You wouldn't think that would affect our weight so much considering we were still eating right during the day....but we also stopped working out and our bodies just did not respond well. We got stomach aches and bloating and just felt terrible. Now we are back on track and I am hoping for at least 10 pounds in week 4.... that would give me 4 of my 8 extra I now  have to lose and if I could do 2 pounds extra per week for a couple weeks after that I will be caught up. So thats the goal.
Its weird even with cheating like that....there is never any question that we will ever go back from this new lifestyle. I mean give up on it. I know we will have times we give in to things. I am actually excited for things like easter or christmas times I can give the kids a little chocolate and they will be ecstatic because the never get it. I think its all the reading.  Its just neither of us can change what we know now. And the more we read from dr. Essy or dr. Fuhrman....the more resolute we are that this is how we will eat forever. One thing is im feeling like the MORE I read and understand, the less easy it is to explain to anyone. I never know where to start anymore because the more we learn there is no ONE major reason to adopt this lifestyle there are like 100 major reasons haha! And people get such fragmented nutritional advice from things like health shows.When you really learn how the nutrients in  whole foods work together like a symphony....one helping the other absorb better, and one making another more powerfully because they are made perfectly by our creator to all work together in that particular food. When u think about supplementing just one of them in a pill by themselves it is just so pointless.  Then sometimes people hear something that is in agreement with our lifestyle.....like " dairy can be bad" haha but they only think its bad for certain things.....or that we are extreme for cutting it out entirely .....infact I would say that is what we here the MOST from everyone....."well everything in moderation" akkkk that one drives us both nuts! Really? Everything? So cocaine....but in moderation? Cigarettes in moderation? When you learn what something is doing to your body......would u really want to continue but in moderation? I feel like its peoples way of making us seem like that extremist in their heads. Perhaps because its such a drastic change they don't want to conceive of the possibility for themselves so they justify it. I really believe its just lack of knowledge .....we have been raised with big government propaganda our entire lives......milk does a body good.....it helps your bones be strong and you to grow big and strong.
It just feels like its really difficult sometimes to live this way without offending people. Im trying to find the perfect response that wont incite more and more questions which leads to them feeling judged or like im being too extreme. But in the end I just don't care. Our new lifestyle in our opinion is perfectly cradled by our religion by the mormon word of wisdom. It spends a tiny couple sentences about things to make sure to abstain from......and the entire rest of it about diet. Eating of the bounty he has put here and using meet sparingly.  That is obviously left to interpretation.  It also says only in winter or times of famine....but we love to skip over that haha. It just happens that these 4 books I've been focusing on....ALL of the research they present showed that there is scientific evidence to support using meat very sparingly. Dr fuhrmans food pyramid feels the best to us. He says white lean meats can be weekly maybe even twice a week.....but its like a 6 oz piece divided between the whole family in a stirfry or soup or other meal....its flipping animal protein from being a daily staple....to being an occasional seasoning to your food. And red meat very rarely....like once a month and in the same small proportions. It feels right. We are at peace with this change, we feel happier, healthier,  and we have the peace to know that we are giving our kids the best chance we are able at a disease proof life, the rest is up to the lord.
Made dr fuhrmans pea/ bean soup last night, all of our favorite so far! And very filling ;) yum;)

Day 20

Weehaw!!! Sing the hallelujah chorus day 20 is an AWESOME DAY in the snell house! I made hummus from a recipe that appeared on my blog because I follow "fatfreevegan" lady. It was a recipe u just throw all the ingredients in the vitamix and poof 5 minutes later yummified hummus!  A great recipe and the BEST part is that  the hummus ended livies veggie strike!  I could shout from rooftops my girl loves her broccoli and carrots again!! Oh man this last week has SUCKED ahhhh im on cloud 9 for a moment. Yum;)

Day 17

As I go day after day now, eating so many fruits and vegetables....especial eating the creamed kale and assortment of greens for salads and smoothies, I cant help thinking how ironic it is. I never really thought about it before. You know it used to be that if you didnt live near a farm that produced a certain fruit or vegetable, well the odds you'd ever eat it were slim. And certainly you didnt get a variety of any kind in the winter. We are so lucky and blessed to live in a time when our supermarkets receive shipments of every kind and variety of produce all year long. And the irony is that at the same time, the disease causing, but convenient, processed and refined foods are what we mainly consume. All of our diet related diseases,  heart disease, diabetes, cancer, alzheimers, strokes, arthritis and so on,  could be largley prevented by a diet rich in the produce that only people of our time have the privelage to have available year round and right in our neighborhood store.
I feel such peace and happiness with this decision. I don't feel worried when my kids are around a sick child, I know im giving their little bodies the minerals and nutrients they need for a superior immune system. Of course they aren't completely  virus proof....but they sure seem to be holding up well against the onslaught of viruses around this winter and there have been so many. I need these moments to keep me feeling empowered to keep going. This one today especially feels motivational. To remember how blessed and lucky I am to live when all of this produce variety is at my fingertips and I actually HAVE the option to eat  a nutritionally superior diet. I don't want that blessing to be wasted on me or my children. I hope they can pass this lifestyle on to their children as well. I will do my best to continue to study and pass on the education to accompany it so they have that to keep motivated too.;)

Day 14 / end week 2

This have been going well. Jordan and I caved on one of his days off and went out to eat for lunch. We spent the day regretting it and jumped right back into it. Our week 2 weigh in went terrible....we both are exactly at the weight we were last weeks weigh in. Which tells me we need to really get on top of working out.
Today I had some different foods on the table....the kids just started snacking on whatever was out....including the cherry tomatoes which Livy used to love but she started refusing a while back and wouldn't eat any since. Yay! Why didnt I listen to dr. Fuhrman...he says he always has fresh fruit and veggies out on the table including plain romaine lettuce leaves and he says they always disappear. I thought, ya right! But here's the proof, they may refuse stuff when I have them locked in a high chair but when they are hungry they will eat what is out on the table. I then made a big bowl of washes grapes and strawberries and peeled oranges....all disappeared! A good day today. We are realizing stir fry will likely be our staple. It fills us up...and is easy to stuff into pitas for lunch with some hummus.
You know I used to buy veggies and just hope they didnt go to waste....but so so much always did. That has been the most fulfilling part of  this diet for me. No veggie is ever wasted it all gets used. It is so satisfying. We went to costco and I was sooo excited to see they carry fresh medjool dates! This has to be the largest cart of produce I've ever crammed in my car....and it is so satisfying to know all of this stuff will be in my families bellies! We wont waste any , and we will be healthy.
Week 2 weight.......Jordy 286 lbs .....Stephy 234 lbs
Yep embarrassing....but on the decline.

Day 10

Day from hell so far it feels like. My frustration with the kids has turned into an emotional melt down for me. Its getting worse....WHY IS IT GETTING WORSE. They ate vegetables FINE before I started this ....what the crap is that all about? They got more and more picky. Now today Livy refused her oatmeal all morning...then at lunch.I put her back in her highchair and told her she didnt get a sandwich until she ate it. She takes one tiny bite and will sit there. I have to sit and spoon feed every bite to her or she wont eat it. I made them a sandwich which I shouldn't be doing everyday but its my home made whole wheat bread and sunflower butter and usually a fruit inside but today I used honey. I need them to freaking eat vegetables again. Why did they stop suddenly what the HECK I can't stop bawling. I can't take this frustration over them refusing food. And now I have to work with jordan tomorrow and so I have to just hope those who take care of them will refuse them any processed foods or candy and make me have to relive these 10 days only WORSE because they will hold out longer next time! I can't do this anymore. I got out some baby carrots...they LOVE CARROTS AND HAVE EATEN THEM ALMOST EVERYDAY OF THEIR LIFE....yes they were from a can. So I steamed the baby carrots to make them soft....they threw them on the ground. I got out some cashew cream sauce for them to dip them in...the dipped them and sucked it off then threw them on the ground. I feel like im headed for a breakdown. I feel like my only two choices are to not allow them ANY food except vegetables until they start eating them. I swear they will just whither away they are already skinny little kids. Or I can allow them to continue like this.....letting them have whatever alternative they want as long as it is a whole food or grain. Livy will eat tons of fruit and tons of bread and almond milk and never touch anything else. I need to re read his book I feel like im going to snap. This is a good time to go in the garage and do insanity while the kids nap. Im slightly insane myself maybe it will be a better work out. I cant even start thinking about it or I start bawling again. I just dont know what to do

Day 9

Today started out really well. I got up early and made the apple walnut surprise for breakfast.  It was way quick and super yummy. The kids gobbled it up and a half a grapefruit each. Jordy liked it...I liked it. Great.
Lunch went way easy like usual. The kids had some more of the breakfast apples and a sandwich. This feels like getting the kids to eat fresh veggies is going to take forever. Tonight I made veggie meatloaf and asparagus. We used the left over cashew cream sauce we had from the "California creamed kale" and oh my gosh! Winner! The best ever way to eat asparagus diet or no diet! Far  Better than butter or cheese  if you can believe it. The kids fought the meat loaf. Not fans, they wouldn't eat the asparagus at first. Noah tried one and wouldn't try more. Livy was slow and picky with hers. But eventually she ate it all after she tasted the cashew sauce. The meatloaf....maybe half eaten for both of them. This is so long and drawn out it feels like. I know they snack all day on oranges and banana and strawberries and raw almonds and sunflower seeds and cashews and almond or soy milk. I remember a part of dr. Furhmans book that said....if they are snacking on all these healthy things its okay if they don't eat as much at meal times. So that does make me feel better, but it is still so slow with the veggies. I thought I was feeding them healthy before by feeding them so many veggies from the can. My only reason was they were softer and and easier for them. The transition to fresh veggies just isn't going well. All the things they used to eat on a consistent daily basis, like carrots and green beans and peas that they loved so much from a can, I just can't get them to eat them fresh. They try one or two things.....and by try I mean one bite. Its only been 10 days....perhaps im stressing too much? Man I wish Dr. Fuhrman was out there reading my blog lol and could offer calm to my anxieties. If I withhold fruit and nuts they love....to force them to eat veggies.....they hold out and go days with hardly any calories....I can't do that so if they refuse I just let them have any others whole food...mainly fruit and whole oats or whole wheat homemade bread. They wont touch lettuce of any kind....the only greens they get are broccoli because Livy loves it so much and spinach in their smoothies. If I keep letting them take one little bite then refuse..them give them fruit or something else...will they NEVER like the veggies? ?? Harrumph onwards to day 10

Day 8.1 Making Nut Butters

So the rest of the day went really smoothly! Livy was still picky but she is going to give in more and more. I am realizing I truelly just have to  stay away for most parties and stuff.
I was so nervous about money with this diet. I planed 3 days of meals on Sunday, and monday went shopping and spent 160 bucks! And I ONLY bought the ingredients I needed. I was really disheartened but here is what I realized. We are simply not going to eat these perfectly planned out meals 3 times a day. I look at my menu board and sometimes I pick one of those things to make and sometimes we go more simple ....a cashew butter date jelly sandwich for lunch...oatmeal instead of walnut apple sunrise for breakfast. I still have SO many ingredients and its Wednesday night. I will easily make it through the entire week with that shopping and plus I bought things like flavored vinegars that you only need to buy a couple times a .year ...
AlSO ....raw cashew butter is something dr. Furhmans recipes use a ton. It is 18.99 for a tiny little jar anywhere you can find it even online....totally not in my budget or any near future budget! Well im buying alot of cashews anyway  for snacking and cream sauces he calls for so I found online how to make it myself! So so easy...just requires some patience with the food processor and voila!  I made a pound of cashew butter and a pound of almond. Cashews I found were like 7.99 /lb at smiths.....so Yayyyy cheaper alternative!  Woohoo go team snell!

Day 8

I got major cravings last night for the first time since starting this diet. And I realized I hadn't spent the day snacking as much as usual. Normally I've been stuffing carrots ans other veggies and fruit down as much as possible and DUR turns out that's why I've been able to resist! So I better keep snacking until the craving for that other food is out of my system.
Spending the day babysitting at a friends house turned out to be a less hard than I expected. The kids are young and I can simply tell them they can't eat the other kids' food. Im so glad we are doing this this young so I don't have to explain in front of kids who are older why my kids can't eat what they are eating.  I hope I can explain well enough at home they learn not to make others feel bad

Day 7

<p>Its early a.m. for a post. But thought I would share that our week 1 weigh in this morning went AWESOME! We both lost the same number 9 lbs each!! Woohooo!! For jordan its really only like day 5 of doing it all out so he lost quicker than me, but we only did insanity 2 that week. This week it will be 6 times so weehaw im so excited to get moving and get losing! </p>
<p>It was hard being out and having to deny the kids things people around them are eating. It will be hard to find the right way to explain to the kids why we eat this way, and teach them at the same time not tofeel be critical of how others choose to eat. They will have to learn with us I guess. Im guessing we will offend alot of people without meaning to of course. But we will just deal with each day as it comes. </p>
<p>
I feel this incredible burden lifted. Yes I have to spend all day long planning meals and reading recipes right now, but I will get the swing of this and this eating will come more naturally and easily;) after reading the china study 3 years ago, I felt anxiety with every feeding with the kids. Some of this would have come naturly as a first time mother, but the rest was just awful. I cant count the times I spent in my bedroom crying while she was in her highchair because she wouldn't eat what I offered and I was nervous she wasn't getting enough. Then I learned she wont starve to death, she'll just have to go hungry for part of the day then she will eat it. But then jordan and I couldn't keep up the diet and then I would feel bad the kids were hungry because they didnt eat their veggies or something and I would just give in and give them mac and cheese or whatever we were eating. Everytime I finished a meal with them I would feel terrible, feeling like I was shoving poison in their mouths and creating future diseases for them. Which I was.
Now, the burden is gone wondering if I am feeding them the best I know how. However im dealing with the aftermath of what I did with them. They eat plenty of the healthy stuff, I know I have it better than I alot of moms going into this,  but a couple times a day they do just flat out refuse certain veggies or meals I make. And i feel stress because I think....okay this isn't just one day....its been an entire week of them being very picky about which veggies and fruit they will eat, and especially getting whole grains in them and making sure they get fat from cashews and avocados and walnuts and anywhere nature offers it. I need to stop this over analyzing. They are refusing their oatmeal this morning...which they ate wonderfully yesterday morning, and its stressing me out. I have to stop trying to force them and make this a better experience for them. I will just cover the oatmeal and offer it again at lunch time. I just hate how long this is dragging on. I expected a couple days of refusal but I guess it will be more like a month.  I just never know when to draw the line. Like, " put the oatmeal away and they get offered that everytime they are hungry until they eat it? Or offer other healthy things they like....but they will eat fruit all day long if i let them.  It took being stuck in the car for 2.5 hours yesterday for them to break down and snack on the raw carrots. Uggg I wish dr. Furhman was MY family doctor and he could give me the advice on this. I need to re-read his "disease proof your child" and see if there are more tips im not remembering.
8:30p.m
Well today turned put to be my best day yet! I told them it was okay and they didnt have to eat it. I gave them strawberries and oranges to hold them over. Then at lunch I reheated their oatmeal and Noah scarfed it down...Livy was picky about it still. She took s couple bites and I spooned her a couple. Then she got strawberries and a sandwich made on homemade wheat bread with sunflower seed butter and honey. They both ate so much Ahhh it was wonderful. We had such a great day. We listened to our productivity CD. The kids played nicely with each other, I got so much organized, and made California creamed kale and carrot cream soup for dinner....WHICH I the kids ate willingly! Okay except the kale....Livy asked for broccoli not gonna turn that down;) but Jordy and I liked the creamed kale. The soup was great too. Ended the night with insanity. We happy!!;)

Day 6

Well I dreaded day 6 all week because I knew I was going to have to go out of the mountains for the day and go get the food shopping done. I knew I would be gone all day and I wouldn't be prepared enough for what to eat. I got up early and packed some of the left over homemade bread and some hummus and raw cashews and sunflower seeds. I was out of everything else, but i had somw spinach and frozen berries,  so I stopped at the small store back here and grabbed some snack foods. Bags of mini clementines and apples and carrots and broccoli and cauliflower. Jordan left to go work for the day and I sent him of with a snack pack for driving around and crossed my fingers. The kids and I shopped and snacked on fruit and veggies and nuts. After lunch and naptime as went to the whole foods that was further away and trader joes. On the way back we got stuck in bad traffic for 2.5 hours! They ate all of the clementines in the car and some raisins and gave in to snacking on a few carrots even which was great. They LOVE canned carrots and eat them like crazy they used to go through a can a day everyday. I know that was a bad decision but I thought I was just helping them eat veggies that were easier to eat. I should have just steamed fresh veggies because they just are being slow to experiment with raw carrots and veggies . That's okay to me. I just wanted to get through the day. Jordan did AMAZING all day and he was HAPPY not ornery and deprived. Im so happy and proud of him. I feel so so blessed that heavenly father is blessing him with the motivation at the same time as me, that we are able to do this as a family and change for the better together. I could never have done it without him.

Day 5

Today has not been the best. We ran out of most fruit and seeds which I was using to snack on throughout the day. Jordy takes all the left overs with him to work from dinner the night before so I have to make new things for lunch....which is fine I would rather he stick to the diet and im glad he is. I just am craving instant potatoes and beef and rolls and butter. Im trying to satisfy that craving in a healthy way. Im making quinoa and lentil cutlets and vegan gravy and garlic broccoli and homemade whole wheat bread with hummus as a condiment. I know I will feel satisfied....but I also know I will want dessert. Which I've been having fruit at night as dessert and we are out. I can do it.....we can so this. Ohhhh I have some icecream that I made by putting frozen bananas and strawberries through the foodprocessor....we can eat that yum;)

later...
Dinner went great! I loved loves the quinoa/red lentil cutlets.....Jordy was so so....Noah loved them...Livy hated them haha. But Livy is so in love with broccoli im not concerned about her protien.
Insanity went well tonight. I can't believe 5 days are gone! This I unreal and to boot I am ENJOYING cooking and planning meals again. I thought this would stress me more. The lord must be blessing me extra. Its a huge adjustment and has its stressful moments. Really the biggest anxiety for me is that I have to leave this property one day lol. I mean I leave to shop for food. But im focused and quick. I am dreading spending a day out away from home. Packing whole foods for on the go is actually easier than packing anything....but trying to think what the kids will eat for meals.....without offending anyone who offers them things. I just want to live here on this little patch of land for like a month until this is all second nature and I can plan for time away from home. If we lived a little closer we could just always insure we get home in time for meals. But we try to budget our gas and want to make the most of time we get with family so we usually spend the day. I feel my heart rate increase just thinking about it haha. I am sure its easier for others. But if I had self control with those yummy fast food places I wouldn't feel be in this situation!

Day 4

Woohoo day 4 and already 6 pounds down for me! My weight fluctuates so easily I really shouldn't be weighing myself this often but its hard not too.  Jordan has even started mentioning his new diet to people ...which tells me he is committed, im so excited! I think I can say today with a surety....those are the last day 1..2...3s....I will ever have with dieting! I know I can stick to this. I know we can as a family. Fruit...or oatmeal with fruit in it or grapenuts in it for breakfast...sometimes a green smoothie for breakfast. Salad and fruit for lunch,  snacking on fruits and nuts and seeds and veggies all day....a water sauteed stir fry for dinner and rice..we've kept it WAY simple to start....but I will experiment with more and more meals. When we started this before I made these qinuoi and lentil cutlets and veggie gravy...they were yum I want to try them again.

I know this time is different. I've read more books, spent alot of time cleansing the house and bringing in the healthier ingredients.  I feel so positive today. And im so thankful to have the gospel I don't know how I would do this without it. Yesterday when I had my little meltdown I sat outside on the porch for a second and I could feel his love and support. I went inside and prayed and the feeling of love and comfort and I don't know...the feel he was proud of me, it was so overwhelming I snapped right out of it. I felt rejuvenated and ready to keep going. I know with his help I can do anything, even this;) here's to health, and my last day 4 ever. I know its he last time because we can make mistakes. As long as we use dr. Fuhrmans 90% rule...that 90% of our daily diet comes from fruit, veggies, nuts seeds and whole grains.  We can stick to that for life....and one cheat will never equal a total lapse ever again. Because we will pile on the veggies and whole foods the next day and our bodies will continue to have the high nutrient foods it needs.

Day 3

Im surprised day 3 is here and I don't feel out of control desires to cheat. I did begin with a fast,  but I've begun all of my diets that way for added strength. I think part of the difference this time, is a determination to prove I am in charge of myself. But also the snacking.  Dr. Furhman talks about having fresh fruit and veggies and homemade dips and nuts and home made trail mix out all the time for snacking. He says you should never worry that your kid snacks throughout the day and doesn't eat as much at meal time with this lifestyle,  because the bulkier whole foods fill your stomach much quicker than grease oil and sugar,  so you are hungry sooner and more frequently. Also the" snacks " are carrots, celery, broccoli, oranges, strawberry, melons,raw  cashews, raisins, raw sunflower seeds, they are packed with vitamins and other micronutrients.
I can't explain it, but before where I spent the day pining after icecream or candybars or even bread and butter, now, I feel satisfied,  and my house only has good things in it. There is nothing to cheat with, and sure I could go to the store but I just force myself to snack on fresh fruits and veggies all day. Dr. Fuhrman says carbs should be our main source of calories not fat and sugar and protein, that carbs only get a bad wrap because the refined overprocessed carbs are so bad for you and for your bloodsugar and especially for your wieght.  So I don't feel restrained from eating whole grain toast or whole wheat pitas. Now I can't slather my toast with butter anymore, but his dips are yummy and satisfying. I can spread some avocado spread on my toast or some hummus which I love.

Its hard to see advertisements or other yummy foods at the store. But I have to turn away my thoughts immediately from it like I would accidentally stumbling on nudity or something else. I have to master my thoughts. I can't dwell on that food for even a second.....I have to turn and grab some cachew or even some olives. Last night I got my regular night time craving for icecream....I always thought it was the sugar cravings....but im realizing its my body craving fat...because I got out some olives and dipped them in some hummus, so weird I know but yummy and after just a few I didnt have any cravings anymore. Off to bed I went with another day behind me.

I need to start exercising BIG time though if im going to lose 5.8 pounds a week lol. Jordy and I are going to do insanity in the garage at night. Ill do my situp routines in the house in the day and jog in the morning. That's the plan.

Tonight did not go as all as the day. Had a little melt down over my food processor breaking haha but still managed to stick to the diet. Did NOT manage to master my reaction to the food processor breaking !  Feeling the stress of realizing how much food my family is going through with this lifestyle. The kids and I are snacking on the fruits and veggies all day which is great, but I cant believe how fast it disappears! I sent Jordy to work this morning with what I thought was at LEAST a couple of days of snacking veggies and fruit...and he said he ate it all today haha! Which is wonderful.....yet wallet busting. And yes right now he and I are snacking more to overcome cravings....but we will always eat more in this lifestyle. Thats the price of high nutrient low calorie eating.  Hope we can handle the cost because we cant turn back now

Day 2

Day 2 was a huge unexpected success. I felt happy and motivated most the day. I Chanted my mantra that I wrote for myself a couple times throughout the day Out loud, It gave me such a feeling of power. I felt like by being so conscious of the things that I chose to think about, and do with my day, I was empowered with the ability to choose which traits in myself will become part of my overall character. I feel so driven by an unrealized power of choice. I can choose how to react to things, I can choose what I put in my body, I can choose whether I spend my day being acted upon by circumstance or gut reactions, or whether I act on the circumstances of the day consciously and end my day closer to being the person that my Heavenly Father had hoped I might become by coming here to this earth in the first place. I had my first success tonight with food with Jordan. Over the last couple of years everything that I have tried to make from this type of diet plan has been met with discust and even refusal to even try some of them. I made the tofu ranch dressing from doctor Furmans book to eat to live. Then I made a simple black bean, tomato avocado, type salad to go on top of the bed of spinach. Despite his total assumed disdain for tofu....( I say assumed because he hasn't even tried it) he loves the dressing loved the salad and said he felt satiated and full! He was happy because he felt like perhaps he could do this with me and still enjoy what he eats and I am happy because I am reveling in my first ever success with this lifestyle. I'm more excited to try other things now ...the California creamed kale in doctor Furman's book also went over really well with the kids and was okay for Jordan! I'm far more excited now than I have been ever over these last couple years after starting to read these books. I now know it's possible, attainable and enjoyable. It doesn't have to be starvation , and I don't have to spend my day wasted away craving processed sugars and fat and dairy. So here's to day 2! Hopefully, even though I expect set backs. it will only get better from here.

Introduction .....Wake up call

At the very end of my pregnancy with Livy, my brother called me with a new good read. He was reading a book called The China Study, and thought I should check it out. From this point on my thinking about food was changed forever. I don't want to go into the specifics too much about the different books and the information they present. I wanted to blog my journey, to adapt to the new information about nutrition that is out there and my parallel journey to get Jordan and I healthy and to lose weight. I suggest you read 5 particular books on your own. Form your own opinions, and adapt the information to your own families particular beliefs and needs however you feel the necessary. These are: Eat for Health, by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Eat to Live, by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Disease Proof Your Child, by Dr. Joel Furhman, The China Study, by Dr.T.Colin Cambell, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D., also the DVD Forks Over Knives shows the correletion between these 3 doctors.

This was 3 years ago. So, as I am still hugely fat, if not more so, you must think the book clearly had little impact on me. Not true at all. I knew now what my goal was for our family and our diet. I knew what it Truelly meant to be healthy and I knew the steps to get there. I tried. So so many times. We did succeed in doing a month long juicing type fast where we drank green smoothies, juiced, and allowed ourselves any whole fruits and vegetables. We felt amazing, Jordan lost 35 pounds and I lost 30. We broke it and although we didn't dive right back in to crappy eating all the time.....we slowly migrated back to our old eating habits. Unlike other diets however, the weight took almost a YEAR to come back fully....it clearly was healing our bodies and changing our body chemistry for the better.

The drive to adapt these 3 different doctors lifestyles into ours stayed with me and has never left. If anything it has gotten stronger and more desperate feeling. Knowing that I could at least control what the kids ate, while we tried to succeed ourselves, I have at least succeeded in keeping their diet a consistent majority of fruits and vegetables and whole grains. I've xdfinately had periods where I've been lax about what they eat because jordan and I are eating crap.....but because I've been fairly consistent they gravitate  back to fruits and veggies easily. They are young still. With their age in mind, I keep feeling more and more strongly we need to make the change ourselves a final one. We've tried every single way I swear. Adapt one new recipe at a time....just add more veggies into our existing diet, just cut back on specific things fats or just quantity. But the truth is, Livy is old enough to know we are eating something different than her. Thank goodness she still likes the healthy things, but it isn't going to work anymore. We have to make the change.  And honestly you just cannot take a diet filled with animal products, dairy, processed and refined fats and sugars....and just try to play with it and make parts of it more healthy. That is just an excuse. Besides, the more subtle flavors of natural whole foods can never compete with concentrated sugar, fat, and dairy. You have to strip out your diet completely. Go back to basics, and start fresh. You have to reverse the roles, and make dishes that are primarily whole natural fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds ans whole grains. If you want to use animal products as a flavoring, THAT is their rightful place in our meals.

A few times before I have tried making the switch for us as a family....by taking fat free vegan recipes and simply adding a little lean  meat if desired, or animal based broth, or simply some olive oil orI other oil. Everything I've tried has been met with disgust from Jordy, the flavors just cant compare for him and I spend so much time making one elaborate dish that I throw in the towel in frustration when he hates it and the kids wont eat it.

Well I decided this is more a journey about self mastery, than anything else. Together,  Jordy and I decided the best thing to do was set goals, both physical and spiritual to make it a more well rounded journey,  and strip it down to basics. Eat raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and smoothies, and try out one different recipe however often I feel the motivation. Experiment, but not to feel overwhelmed with cooking this new way every night. If we eat rice and broccoli for dinner one night and fruit as desserr with some seeds sprinkled on top, well that day was a success and the cooking and experimenting will get easier and easier. It feels right, and its time.

Since we are poor and can't afford to waste food we first used everything we had on hand that is not in the new lifestyle. The cabinets now cleaned out I spent a couple weeks using what money I could to slowly stock the house with things in the recipes, and seasonings and nuts and seeds and beans and legumes to stock pile. Next step we wrote out goals. We each want to lose 70lbs in 12 weeks. Huge goals but why not shoot for the stars. We set spiritual goals, character goals, I set goals that had ANYTHING at all to do with self mastery, how I spend my days, how I react and with what emotions, how I will lean on the lord and invite the spirit in every possible way. Use the addiction recovery program, because Truelly this food addiction has taken the control away from us. The ability to chose health, to chose physical  activity, to choose happiness.

I believe journaling is important in all aspects of life but ESPECIALLY in trying to overcome an addiction or any major obstacle. I chose a blog for a couple reasons,  I can print it off later for a hard journal,  I know others struggle with food as if it were heroin the way we do and perhaps could use the motivation from hearing our struggle, and having others KNOW about the goals gives us more responsibility for them.
So here we go. And just to clarify we are taking the information from all of these books and using recipes from all of them. They all have their own sort of extremes they come to, in the china study he determines if going from 20% animal protein to 5% turns off cancer and so many other disease.....then none at all should be best. I agree,  however I think a little doesn't hurt and is sometimes a more convenient way to get those B vitamins. The research proved the cancer turned off at 5% and that's enough for me. Now in "how to prevent and reverse heart disease, he finds the same conclusions as dr. Campbell from the china study, however he finds that he successfully prevents heart disease and even halts progressed disease in its tracks.....but finds he can actually REVERSE the build up and disease by eliminating fat all together, including natural fats. Im good with just halting it haha;). The one who embodied the least extreme diet but still works in the same circle as these other doctors and still prevents sickness and disease and has become my favorite is doctor fuhrman. His books "Eat to live" and especially "disease proof your child"  are the ones we are using the most. I highly suggesting reading both of these books. I have to keep rereading to retain it all, and also its helping me keep motivated and stay on track.

So day 1 went by very simply. Whole foods, and rice and broccoli for dinner. The kids weren't happy about dinner but they gobble up raw fruits and veggies so readily all day that im not the least bit concerned that they didnt gobble up dinner.  I had to read my written mantra and goals outloud a couple times, and have some really intense prayer a couple times. I know I can so this. Im going to be going to bed ALOT earlier for a while hear because night time and chilling in front or the t.v. before bed will get me everytime. So its off to bed early. That's okay. Its all for health anyway.