Wonderful Snow

This is my dog Bandit. Well I guess I should say our dog. My DH loves this little guy too. He is so much fun and has quite the personality. We have had many dogs in our lives from poodles to german shepherds but we have never had one quite like the little guy. He is a miniature pincher. We thought he was a miniature doberman and even looks like a smaller version, but the minpin was actually around before the doberman was.

We got him on our anniversary a year ago. We've been married for 35 years on the 21st of January and got Bandit as an anniversary present. So we now get to celebrate two things on that day.

We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into when we purchased him. We bought him and then went home and looked up what a minpin was and boy were we surprised. They are a bundle of energy. They are a small dog but are fearless, curious, stubborn, sweet, energetic, you name it! We have never had a dog with so much personality. He just doesn't want to sit still during his waking hours.

Last weekend we went up to the mountains to see the snow. We just love snow and don't get to see it all that often. Afterwards we came home and we ended up with snow at home a few days later. That was such a wonderful site. Unfortunately it didn't last very long. Poor Bandit was so cold but wanted to stay and play in the snow. He tunneled with his nose as you can see in the picture. After a few minutes he raised one paw and then the other telling us he was freezing. One thing minpins are known for is that they get cold easily. They are missing some of the fur that other dogs have.



Here is another picture of him sitting on our dash in the Tahoe. He loves laying up there because he like to watch where we are going and view all the sites as we pass by. He is quite the character. Plus its usually warmer up there. If he isn't laying up there he likes to sit on the console between my husband and I. So we velcroed a little pad there for him. Yes, he is so spoiled!.... and so much fun too!



So what is going on with E2L? Right now I'm doing well with the diet. I've found lots of new recipes that are delicious and that makes it successful.

I am struggling with not eating cashew butter. It is such a temptation for me and I eat it like candy. I eat way to much in one sitting. So at the moment its in the freezer. I am debating on whether I should give it away to friends or try to try and overcome the tempation and not eat so much of it. I use it in creamed soups and it can be used in sauce recipes and dressings. Oh it is so delicious and I bought 4 jars. Two of them have been eaten by me within a two week period. I haven't weighed myself but I know I've gained some weight because of it. That was really a stupid thing to do. I am not buying any more from now on. I'll just use the raw cashews instead of the butter in recipes.

I also was able to clean the house all by myself. That is a great accomplishment for me. It means I have more energy and less pain of which I am so thankful to the Lord. He is the one who is helping me through all of this. I should say that the house at the moment is an RV. If you've read my past blog posts you know some of my history and why we are living in our RV. One more year and we should be able to move into a house. We sure hope so anyway.

Okay I guess that's all for tonight. I posted this last night and tried to publish and lost it all. I don't know why I have so much trouble with blogger. I guess I should ask others if they have some of the troubles I do. Its really allot of work to type all of this and add the pictures and then loose it all. Its very discouraging. I hope Blogger can get some of their issues fixed soon.

Well its time to get to bed. Hope to see you soon! Eat To Live everyone!

Hoping to fast soon

In a couple of weeks I will see my doctor and find out if the liver enzymes are still up and if it would be okay to begin the 10 fast. I really can't wait to do this. I have a friend who thinks I'm crazy for doing this. She continues to discourage me with a doom and gloom outlook. She says things like I'd be afraid because you will probably fall and if I were your husband I wouldn't let you do it.

I've tried to get her to read the book because she if vegan but she won't. I just would like her to read it so she understands where I am coming from but she won't read it. Anyway, I don't need that type of discouragement right now so I want to avoid the topic with her.

She also says that if I'd only follow what she recommends I'd probably be cured by now or feeling so much better than I do. She wants me to follow super mega doses of supplements from a book she read. I tried to explain to her that because of the way I eat, I am getting all the nutrients I need for optimal health. She just doesn't get it. But that's okay. Maybe one day she will.

I made a great creamy lentil soup this week. I'll post it hopefully tomorrow if I can sign in to blogger. Sorry I've not been posting. Sometimes I still have trouble with the blogger program and being able to sign in. It is frustrating. I have had some problems today also but perservered and here I am. :-)

Eat to live everyone!

Eggplant Parmesan

I tried this recipe last night and it was so delicious. Even my SAD husband liked it too!

A few things I did or would do differently. If you like sauce like I do double the sauce recipe. That is what I did and both my husband and I liked it better. We tried it first the original way except I didn't broil the eggplant. I also cooked it for about 45 minutes and another thing I would do differently is to not use the breadcrumbs in the layers but just add them to the top for the crunch. I think that is all I changed. I'll hope you'll try it either way and enjoy it as much as we did.

Recipe courtesy of:Fatfree Vegan Kitchen

Vegan Eggplant "Parmesan"1 large eggplant, sliced 1/4 inch thick2 pieces of whole grain bread, toasted and made into breadcrumbs2-3 tbsp. soy parmesan (or ground almonds)fresh basil leaves, chopped or torn olive oil spray

Tomato Sauce:1 medium onion, chopped3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes1 tsp. oregano1/2 tsp. basil1/2 cup vegetable broth2 tbsp. tomato pastesalt and pepper to taste

"Cheese" Sauce:
1/2 cup extra-firm silken tofu1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk1/2 cup vegetable broth2 tbsp. cashew butter or tahini1 tsp. onion powder1 1/2 tbsp. nutritional yeast1/2 tsp. salt (optional)1/8 tsp. white pepper2 tsp. corn starchSalt the eggplant slices and put them in a colander to drain.


Prepare the tomato sauce by sautéing the onion in a non-stick saucepan until it becomes translucent (you may use a little water if you like). Add the garlic and sauté for one more minute. Add the remaining tomato sauce ingredients, and cook for 15-20 minutes.


Prepare the cheese sauce: Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Blend again right before using to make sure that the ingredients haven't separated.Rinse the eggplant slices and pat them dry with paper towels. Spray a baking sheet lightly with olive oil and place the slices on it (you may have to do this in two batches). Spray the tops lightly, and place under the broiler. Watch carefully, and remove when the slices start to brown, about 3 minutes.


Assemble the casserole: Preheat the oven to 350. Spray or wipe an 8x8-inch non-metal baking dish with a small bit of olive oil. Place half of the eggplant slices on the bottom of the dish, edges overlapping. Sprinkle with half the breadcrumbs. Spoon half the tomato sauce and pour half the cheese sauce over the breadcrumbs and sprinkle lightly with soy parmesan. Repeat the process with the remaining ingredients (reserving some bread crumbs for on top, as mentioned above). Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes, until slightly browned on top. Sprinkle with fresh basil just before serving.

Serves 4.Each serving provides approximately: 238 Calories (kcal); 9g Total Fat; (30% calories from fat); 13g Protein; 32g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 477mg Sodium; 8g Fiber. (These figures, especially fat and sodium, vary drastically depending on the exact ingredients you use.)

Copyright 2006 Susan Voisin and Fatfree Vegan KitchenAll rights reserved.If you re-post this recipe, please give credit where it is due and post a link to http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/09/vegan-eggplant-parmesan.html

Various Questions - Salt?

Ok, so what is wrong with salt?

That is a question I often hear when someone asks about the way I eat. I even wondered that myself.

This was the one thing that was so difficult for me to give up. Well mostly give up. The types of food I eat; vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes all have salt. In fact, each day I consume about 700-800 grams of salt. I am allowed 300 extra grams of salt per day which is not very much if you compare the amount of salt consumed by the SAD (standard american diet). The DASH study showed that Americans eat anywhere from 5-10 times this amount.

While our bodies do need sodium, they do not need the amount that most Americans consume on a daily basis. I don't know if you've experienced this or not but as I added salt to my food over the years I have continued to add more and more. I guess our taste buds get use to one amount and require more and more until we think it tastes just right.

One of the health issues for too much salt is one that most people have heard of or read and that is hypertension or "high blood pressure". And this in turn will lead to heart disease.

Salt can also contribute to osteoporosis by taking calcium and other minerals, excreting them through our urine.

Just for your own information, maybe one day while grocery shopping you could begin to look at canned goods, frozen items, bread, cereals, etc. and find out how much sodium per serving they contain. You might just be surprised at what you find.

Some might ask about more healthy salt like sea salt but the bottom line is salt is salt and no matter where it comes from it will still do allot of damage if taken in large quanities. If you are a person who likes to salt their foods, it is best to not add it while cooking and just add a tiny bit at the supper table if you must. You could transition by adding less and less each day until you are adding little to none to you food.

Many may think that high blood pressure is the result of old age. But a larger population are now finding themselves in the doctor's office with raised blood pressure at a younger age. For the past 5 or more years my blood pressure has slowly been increasing. This last time it was up to 135/99 and the doctor was ready to put me on medication. I asked her to give me a chance to bring it down myself. This is when I found E2L and after 3 months I went to see the doctor and she took my blood pressure. It was 110/70. What a relief that was! E2L really works!!!

A New Year

I just wanted to say hi to everyone. Sorry I haven’t posted recently. I haven’t been feeling too well. I have been in allot of pain lately. I also had some computer problems. that hopefully are resolved.. I want to try to post daily.

The December challenge went really well. Overall I did do pretty well with eating nutritionally. What I learned by joining in the challenge was that first of all, it was fun.
*smile* I also learned that I have allot of cravings that I can either indulge or refuse to pay attention to. I have had success in doing both. Ha!

I am the type of person that it’s either all or nothing. Either I’m going all the way with E2L or I’m not. Well I have had to adjust my personality a little. When I first began E2L it was all or nothing and I did so well. I indulged once in awhile but for the most part it was Kale days all the way. And then Thanksgiving came and we visited my daughter and family for 4 days. So we were away from our home and my vitamix. Yikes!

I did do really well but I did have some pumpkin pie and for one meal I ate some of the Thanksgiving leftovers. Doing this challenged my all or nothing ideal. Then December comes and there are more food temptations to deal with. So I guess what I learned is that its okay to have cravings and its okay to give into them every once in awhile and not to feel bad about it. I also learned that next year I’ll be better prepared.

We have a New Year’s challenge going on and I was going to keep up with it, but I haven’t been checking in because of the pain. Actually I have been challenged to throw in the towel! If I am in pain whether doing E2L or eating SAD why bother to struggle with preparing two meals, one for my husband and one for myself. And when I’m not doing well why not give in and let someone else prepare the meal. There are lots of restaurants to choose from. Hehehe!

You know, I can never go back. I know I am so much better off nutritionally and that this way of eating is really better for my health, even if I don’t feel the benefits of it at the moment. E2L will always be my way of eating. At times if I eat something else, that will be okay but it will only be those once in awhile occasions.

My goal at the moment is still to do a fast. I’m just waiting to see the doctor and see what she says about the liver enzyme elevation and then I’ll check with Dr. Fuhrman to see if he thinks I’m ready for the fast. This has been my goal the whole time and will always be my goal. I’m learning patience and perseverance each time it has been delayed because of my blood work. I have refocused and decided that it is more important to fill my body with all this wonderful, nutritious food. This is my medicine. And hopefully sometime in the future I’ll be able to do the fasting.

Well I guess that is it for now. I’ll try to post again tomorrow. Eat To Live everyone!!!