A Different Kind of Coconut Song

I didn't have a monumental food day. I felt kind of blah, actually; not bad but not good either. I didn't feel like eating, so nothing I ate was very exciting. So, with that being said, I thought I'd share a coconut water with you that my son found called Harmless Harvest. Since coconut water has become such a "thing" and it's everywhere, I have to say the best kind is the one you get from the actual coconut. There are just a couple of little problems with that. These are a bit of a challenge to bust open to get their delicious liquor, and it is very perishable. Also, I found out they soak the coconuts in formaldehyde to keep them from molding while they are transported out of Thailand, their country of origin. So what's a fella to do?

Some brilliant marketing genius decided to start processing the coconut water, so all we had to do is pick up a pack and have all we want. One problem. It didn't really taste much like real coconut water. Now, if you've never had real coconut water, that may not be a problem. But for me, it was. I'd buy a few here and there and use them in smoothies, but I couldn't drink them straight up. Until now. These Harmless Harvest guys figured out a way to cold press the coconut water so that it is not heat processed. I was still skeptical until I tasted it. Wowee Kazowee. It tastes like the real thing, and I really love it. I'm finally able to buy coconut water again and not have to worry about the formaldehyde thing since these are organically grown. Check out their website for more info: http://www.harmlessharvest.com/

Sultana Cucumbers; We call them baby
cukes, but these are full size at 4 to
6 inches. We eat them peel and all.
Thanks, Emil, at Beli Farms for
growing them and Viva La Verde
who delivers them to
my house. (Who does that?)

And ... here's what else I ate today:

Breakfast: 16 oz Harmless Harvest coconut water, 135 g raisins

Lunch: an apple, 2 mangoes

Dinner: 1 oz Stacy’s multi-grain pita chips w/ 4 oz Hummus in a blender; 4 slices Alpine Valley Multi-grain w/ Omega 3 bread (oops, found out it has honey and is therefore not vegan) w/ Dijon mustard and Sultana cucumber slices (my favorite vegan sandwich)

Total calories: 1007 fruit;  1819 total

Caloronutrient ratio (carbs/protein/fat): 80/10/10

I'll Always Remember You, Dad

Not sure what to talk about today. My father passed away on this day in 1985 from a throat cancer. I was living in Utah at the time, and I was having trouble trying to figure out when to come as I had two small children at home, and a 12 year old. When I finally got my ticket and got to Ft. Lauderdale where my dad was staying at my Uncle Jimmy's, I was able to be with my father for the last 12 hours of his life. I treasure this time; it was one of the most sacred days of my life, and I learned a lot being with him in those last hours. I arranged his funeral the next day at my old Church in Ft. Lauderdale since daddy didn't have one. I flew home the next day, and was reunited with my nursing baby and the other 2 boys. It was a tough week for all of us and one I will always remember. I also got to stay with my Aunt Katherine while I was there, and we had a wonderful visit as well. She was very kind to all of us girls. You can see by the picture that daddy was in the Air Force. I was born on an Air Force base in Ft. Worth, Texas while he was stationed there during the Korean conflict. Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast: watermelon

Lunch: bananas

Dinner: Vegan corn chowder

Total calories: 1998 fruit (Yay!);  total 2509

Caloronutrient ratio (carbs/protein/fat): 90/5/5

Fruit, Fruit, and More Fruit

I learned yesterday while reading the comments on a Facebook post that 2000 of my 2500 calorie minimum are supposed to be in fruit before I get to the dinner meal. I had been wondering what would motivate someone to eat minimally before hitting those starches when the clock strikes 4:00. (I just got an image of Fred Flinstone checking out of his job at 4:00, yabba dabba do.) 

I guess that speaks to the addictive nature of the cooked foods and/or grains if we think about it that way as the fruit in itself is so delightful. I know from the 3 weeks I spent only eating fruit that I got tired of it some days. I just wanted something savory. Salads were very appealing. The day I stopped and went to this plan, I had a giant salad with Thousand Island dressing for lunch. I still remember how good it tasted. Maybe I needed to be eating more greens. Maybe I just take the fruit for granted when that is all I'm eating. I can't wait to eat fruit in the morning and don't miss savory dishes at all at breakfast time. Here's what I ate yesterday:

May 1, 2015 Friday

Breakfast: watermelon, dragon fruit

Lunch: Youhoo daterade, banana

Dinner: boiled potatoes w/ El Pato tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and yellow corn

Total calories: 1650 fruit; 2794 total

Caloronutrient ratio (carbs/protein/fat): 89/6/5

Deceptive Marketing Targets Dumb Vegans (like me!)

Each Thursday I make a meal for our middle son who delivers produce for his organic produce business, and we are his last stop before he heads home. We enjoy socializing together, and I enjoy trying out new recipes on him. I'm not much of a shopper, so most of my meals are from scratch, but I got a wild hair today while in the big city, and did some vegan shopping ... or so I thought. I had wanted to make a Vegan Italian Hoagie that was a knockoff from a traditional recipe I had in my archives. It was all pretty simple except for the cheese. I had never had any type of vegan cheese (except soft, spreadable cheeses I'd made from cashews or almonds). I headed for the health food store after finding nothing at the grocery store. There was a whole section of "health food cheese" including organic dairy cheese, so I knew I'd have to shop smart. I found the soy cheese I'd heard people talk about, and there were many varieties. I chose a Monterrey Jack variety and headed back home to set up my sandwich bar.

My son has been a vegan for several years, so apparently he knew the game better than I did. He asked to see the package the cheese had come in, and one of the ingredients was casein. I didn't know what that was, but surely it couldn't be a non-vegan ingredient if it was in soy cheese. Who would buy soy cheese except someone who is avoiding dairy? Anyway, he informed me that it was an animal product, so he would not be eating it. Fortunately there were enough other ingredients on his sub for him to enjoy it: arugula, roasted red pepper, olive tapenade (I made this myself so that I would know what was in it), and he piled some kimchee on there too. Now, let's not get into the bread issue, at least not today. I'm still reeling because of the cheese.

After he left, I did a google search on foods vegans might not realize contain animal products (search: vegans beware). Here is one site that explained the casein and a few other things if you'd like to check it out.

http://www.drinksvelte.com/2014/05/vegans-beware-these-animal-ingredients-could-be-hiding-in-your-food/

It is a little overwhelming to think how best to plan my menus. Like I said before, I like to cook from scratch with very basic foods, so it sounds like I better stick with that plan. 

My food today:

Breakfast: watermelon; 3 bananas later on

Lunch: 8 bananas; 16 oz Harmless Harvest coconut water

Dinner: Italian Vegan Hoagies, kimchee

Total calories: 3042

Caloronutrient ratio (carbs/protein/fat): 85/8/7

Just wondering where we got these ideas ...

Have you met my friends? For all they know, they are headed for some playful days in the mud. I was thinking today why so many animals have been bred for eating. It is a weird concept. My children raised pigs for their 4-H projects, and they are amazingly intelligent creatures. Same with our goats. That's the only farm animals we've raised, but I'm sure the same can be said of other animals. I wonder where we got the idea that farm animals are stupid. It is weird to think of a world where no animals are eaten. I wonder what the numbers would look like.

Here's what I ate today while the fam dined on Bar-B-Q pork nachos (sorry, fellas):

Breakfast: 1 large cantaloupe

Lunch: 8 bananas

Snack: 2 mangoes, 16 oz Harmless Harvest coconut water (this tastes like the real thing)

Dinner: 2 lbs potatoes, 4 oz salsa

Total calories: 2442

Caloronutrient ratio (carbs/protein/fat): 92/5/3

Transitioning

I was thinking today about this journey I'm on and how much it has changed me already. I am not doing the total raw anymore as I think I needed a little more transitional time to get my calories up. I was seriously undercarbed almost the entire time, and it was starting to put me in the starvation mode which I wanted to avoid. So I switched to "Raw til 4" (RT4), which means that I eat raw fruits (mostly) and veggies (occasionally) until dinner time. Then I have a cooked high carb meal. I am still striving to eat as close to 90% of my calories as carbohydrates, 5% protein, and 5% fat (90/5/5), but the numbers are coming out closer to 80/10/10 which is still okay in some books.

I'm still struggling to know how much food to buy and keep it from spoiling before I can eat it. There is a serious learning curve with this lifestyle, but it is not so much difficult as different. I am enjoying the challenge, but I don't want to take too long to figure it out as I'm running out of time. 6 decades of bad eating is not going to change overnight.

Here's my food for the today:

Breakfast: 6 bananas

Lunch: 1 qt apple/cherry juice

Dinner: Roasted red pepper sauce, pasta, vegan Parmesan

Total calories: 2445

Caloronutrient ratio (carbs/protein/fat): 85/10/6

I didn't start out doing this for the planet as many of my young friends have done. I think that's a great reason to do it, but I never felt motivated enough to actually make the change for the animals' sakes, especially dairy and eggs. Since going vegan 3/24/15 (one whole month YAY) that has changed, and I am increasingly repulsed by meat, eggs, and dairy products. It is very strange really. That's not to say they do not seem inviting to me when I prepare them for my family, but when I think what they are, they no longer appeal to me, and I feel a little sick. If we did not have a freezer full of sacrificial animals, I would be unwilling to prepare them for my family. They have been put on notice that I will no longer purchase or prepare animal products for them when these are gone. They will have to get their fixes elsewhere. I'm trying not to be snotty about it as I have spent the better part of the 6 decades eating my friends, so who am I to look down on someone else? But it is increasingly disturbing.