The last 4 weeks: 7, 8,9 and 10 of my Plant Based Journey

It has been days and weeks since I last got on and posted an update on my plant based journey. So today I’m posting about weeks 7, 8, 9 and 10 - I know - I haven’t gotten on in forever. Life has been hectic and I have piles of excuses. Please know that I am staying plant based and working on losing weight. Yesterday I even made homemade fat-free, plant based ramen with traditional Japanese ramen noodles (WHICH ARE NOT FRIED and horrible for you)! How could we ruin a meal that is so healthy and fantastic? Seriously - I love ramen because it just tastes like noodle soup that has ginger and garlic throughout. And I added shredded bok choy as my greens. I slightly used the following recipe as my base but my tofu was air fried so it would be crunchier.

I had even canned my own stock to use as the base of ramen and other healthy Oriental soups. I used Japanese turnips, otherwise known as Hakurei turnips, and kombu (seaweed), onions, garlic and fresh ginger along with the standard celery, broccoli stalks, and carrots. The stock smells fantastic and using my pressure canner I got 7 quarts put in permanent storage and 3 quarts in my fridge. More plant strong stock without fat or salt or sugar - that makes my pantry so much better.

And here is huge news: I finally exercised. I know, I know - it is unbelievable. I finally hooked up my Nintendo Switch and started playing with two programs: Just Dance and Ring Fit. I won’t say I’ve done piles with it as of yet, but I have done it. So finally, talking about my list of rules will say I have done exercise this week. But to even start my exercise took a day off work because I had to take my Mom to 2 doctor appointments but it was started.

So, the business of my life currently involves trying to set up a home health aide for my mother as she is dealing with Alzheimers, teaching full time and also working a side job with teaching online - I have decided I was too ambitious here at the start of my plant based journey. That isn’t even mentioning the fact that my daughter keeps having to take my two-year-old granddaughter to the hospital for GI/Urology issues that they can’t figure out. They both live with us. The entire house is on edge.

All this leads me to thinking that I was chomping off too much here at the beginning.

D. Thea Baldrick in the Fat Cell 7: Will Power, has pointed out that maybe exercise should not be my first line here and supports the idea that maybe I can't use my limited will power at this moment to stress about adding exercise. I want to exercise because I know it is so good for me, but right now I'm treading water. I want to keep on making plant based meals and finding ways to eat well and lose weight.

I need to work on my habits. My breakfast varies between toast with peanut butter and fruit and something savory like roasted veg on a toasted corn totilla with hummus. I make my own hummus with my canned hummus in a jar and my own roasted red pepper sauce (also canned). Sometimes I add a can of chickpeas because I want to make a double batch. Lunch is hummus and veggies quite often. I'm trying to find a way to eat lentils or beans for 2 or 3 meals of the day.

I made sushi rolls this last weekend and I had them for dinner yesterday and will have them for lunch today. It is all veg with sushi rice and then served with low-sodium soy sauce and wasabi. I'll also take some edamame for a side snack or roasted chickpeas. I also love spring rolls with a Thai peanut sauce (homemade) for lunch.

Between D. Thea's article on will power and knowledge of my own struggles right now, I have decided to change my list of rules slightly:

My list of rules:

1. Plant Based mostly on McDougall but using G-Bombs and F-Goals to help maintain the correct daily nutrition. KEEPING THIS ONE!
2. Use my canned foods and easy recipes to make it WORK! EASY!
3. Will not spend an entire day during the school year on preparation unless it is a canning day (in autumn I do sugar-free applesauce, marmalades, stock, etc) This is a given so removing it.
4. Exercise twice a day (will start small and work up to 15 in am, 30 in pm) with allowed one day off a week. Changing this to: EXERCISE at least 3 times a week without guilt!
5. Once a week - allowed one meal with vegan substitutes because I don’t want this to be so strict I quit.KEEPING THIS!
6. 10 meals during the year can be “specials” - off plan BUT only 10 meals. And I’ll report them to you. I'm down to 8 meals left.
7. Every Tuesday I will submit my weekly article to VOCAL which should show up by Thursday. NOW - combining with the next one: Every WEEK I will submit one weekly article - including both recipes and my plant based life and goals.
8. Every Friday I will submit recipes that are easy to prepare that are plant based in a second article.