Forks Over Knives

We watched "Forks Over Knives" as a family last night. I asked the gals to write me a reflection on the film. For the most part my gals have been pretty understanding of my vegan lifestyle, but I have never declared them to be vegans. In this post I will share with you their reflections on the film. I want to give my mothering disclaimer; I will not be requiring my gals to be vegans. I want them to feel comfortable and educated to make their own choices. My kitchen is vegan, but their friends may not be accommodating. I will support them in sending vegan dishes with them if they so choose, but I want them to enjoy being kids. I will type their words out so you can read them.



Forks Over Knives Reflection By: Clare Benton age 8
I thought is was very inspiring. About how the lady lost her diabetes. The part that is most breathe taking to me is that 90% of the average Americans eat fried food and fake food. Not only does it make you lose energy it may make you sick or make you be in risk of heart attack or death. A vegan lifestyle is for someone like us. Did you know you might love veggies and you maybe very skinny but your kids can get fat and it might happen so quick you might think they are a balloon? You notice on this documentary you do not see skinny people eating cakes, cookies, or a happy meal it is the fat people eating crud like that. You all who read this will love this reflection. I believe if you set your mind to it you can do it. Lay off your drugs. You can die from drugs your doctor prescribes everyday. I hope you enjoy this, then you should watch the movie.

Forks Over Knives Reflection By: Rudy Benton age 8
I thought is was INSPIRING! It made me think about being a vegan, something else that inspired me to be a vegan is Christy Dryling (sp). One thing people do when they put fast food in their body is killing themselves. I have decided to be a vegan, you may decide to also be a vegan after I tell you most people with diabetes get it from this eating too much diary and animal products. Have you decided yet? It was cool how many scientist are on this case. I like the part when the athlete becomes a vegan. I thought what a great achievement in life. People have life changing experiences.

Forks Over Knives Reflection By: Emily Benton age 11
Forks over Knives has a feeling that even though those doctors could not talk back to you, they were trying to help you. They let you now that you may not be the only person who believes that you could die from diary and meat. Some people stop eating meat because they think it is wrong to eat an animal while others believe that eating meat your whole life could cause your blood stream to get clogged. Both of these are correct. Meats can cause your blood stream to stop flowing. You do not need meat, there are proteins in plants and grains. People say that you need milk for it's calcium, while the truth is it can cause your bones to weaken and even shrink. Most kids do not want their bones to weaken and shrink during a sport. People also believe they need caffeine to get through the day. While sugars and caffeine will cause you to get super hyper you will soon crash. Sometimes if you are unlucky you won't get hyper you will just crash. For more information on Forks Over Knives watch the movie or go to www.forksoverknives.com

From the mouths of my babes. I am very proud of their thoughtful reflections. We hope you all will take time to watch the film and consider cutting back on animal products.

My juice fast plan

With me there must be a plan and that plan MUST NOT be followed.............I always write a plan and then I always adjust it, but here is where I started anyway.

Meals for the rest of the family:

· Burritos

· Pad Thai

· Soup

· Beans & Rice

· Sandwich & Chips

· Alfredo Pasta

· Red Pasta

· Calzones

· Bean Burgers/Bratwursts

· Waffles

· Roast Beef

Gifts to myself for the Reboot

Saturday Fat Sick & Nearly Dead

Sunday Ear Candling Nap

Monday Hair Treatment

Tuesday Mud Mask 120g Multi -action French Red Clay face mask, Radiance Repair and re-texturiz...

Wednesday Forks Over Knives [Blu-ray] Thursday Mud Mask and Salt Bath

Friday Buy a new outfit

Juicing Plan

Saturday VEGETABLE SUPER JUICE Ingredients: 1 whole cucumber 4 sticks of celery 2-4 handfuls of spinach 8 lettuce leaves Optional boosters: parsley and fresh alfalfa sprouts Water HEALING JUICE Ingredients: 3-4 Carrots 125g Fresh Spinach Handful of Flat Leaf Parsley 2-3 Sticks of Celery Water Sunset Blend Juice 1 large Sweet Potato 1 medium Carrot 1 Red Bell Pepper 2 large Red Beets 2 Golden Delicious Apples 1 Orange, optional

Sunday SKIN CLEANSE Ingredients: 1 Cucumber with skin 1/2 bunch Fresh Parsley 1 4-oz. tub Alfalfa Sprouts 4 Sprigs Fresh Mint Water GARDEN OF EDEN Ingredients 6 carrots 2 kale leaves 2 brussel sprouts 1 apple

Monday IMMUNE BOOSTER Ingredients 2 tomatoes 1 handful of parsley 2 celery stalks 1/2 cucumber 1/8 onion The Skinny Apple Ingredients 1/2 honeydew melon 1 apple 1 lemon A handful of red grapes

Tuesday Alert Me Ingredients 200g/7oz raw beetroot or beets (use fresh beetroot only) 1 carrot 1 large orange 50g/2oz spinach Mean Green 1 Bulk of kale 4 Stalks of celery 1 Cucumber 2 granny smith apples ½ lemon Ginger root (thumb sized)

Wednesday All Green Use as much greens as needed Romaine Hearts Kale or Collards Spinach 2 Handfuls Parsley 2-3 Celery Stalks ½ Lemon 1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized) Green Lemonade 1 Green Apple 3 Handfuls Spinach 6-8 Kale Leaves ½ Cucumber 4 Celery Stalks ½ Lemon

Thursday Carrot-Kale Combo 1 Green Apple 3 Handfuls spinach 6-8 Kale Leaves 4 Large Carrots 1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized) Apple-Cantaloupe-Honeydew-Kale- Swiss Chard 2 Apples 1/2 Cantaloupe 1/2 Honeydew 6-8 leaves Kale 6-8 leaves Swiss Chard

Friday Blackberry Kiwi 1/4 large Pineapple, core removed and roughly cubed 1 cup Blackberries 1 Kiwi Fruit 1/4 Comice Pear 1/4 cup Coconut Water 30 Mint leaves Gazpacho Juice 4 Plum Tomatoes 1 large Cucumber 2 stalks Celery 1 Red Bell Pepper 1/4 small Red Onion 2 cups Parsley, leaves and stems, roughly chopped and packed into the measuring cup 1 Lime

Saturday, October 15, 2011

I had my “last meal” this morning at 5am. (vegan pizza leftovers from Hillsdale Bank BBQ last night) This is my second day with no coffee and the headache is horrible. Really frustrating to me how much of an affect coffee has. I love it so, but becoming obvious that I need to let it go. I had a veggie juice of mostly spinach at noon and juiced another large one to have this evening.

I juiced a bag of spinach, a bag of lettuce, 8 pieces of celery, 3 cucumbers and 5 radishes for my first day. I drank 70 ounces of water. Besides my headache I have no ill effects. I think the headache is keeping me from feeling hungry. The blessing of a headache!?!

I took a salt bath in the evening that helped with my headache. I was amazed at the amount of toxic waste already coming out of my skin. Coffee junkie on detox is bad news. J

Sunday, October 16, 2011

I slept over 10 hours last night! That was amazing. I even took a little nap in the evening time. I still have a slight headache today, but not as bad as yesterday. I have no hunger, which is weird because I am usually very hungry in the morning. Could it be that the micronutrients are filling me up? I am trying to keep busy, but my focus is a little off because of the headache. I taught Sunday School this morning and went to late church service. I find my mind wandering a little more today. I haven’t checked my weight yet because I don’t have a scale here at home. I usually weigh myself at work. I should probably go in tomorrow and weigh myself. One of my concerns is losing too much weight too quickly. I am at a “healthy” weight. I understand I may lose some weight, but I should monitor it. I am doing the juice fast to give my body a break from processing and to change some of my bad eating habits, not lose weight. I love coffee, wine and tortilla chips…………………..which I will have none of during this fast.

By around 2pm my energy shot up and I was feeling great! It was like a switch flipped and I was feeling normal, maybe even better than normal.

Tonight I took another salt bath, did a mud mask and ear candling. I have been drinking lots of water. I had a little bit of hunger this evening while my family was eating dinner. I am very thankful that Justin is taking on the kitchen and preparing food for him and the kids. It would be hard to cook and not eat. I was pretty tired after church today, but after a little rest I was feeling great. My headache was gone by noon. I must admit I was a little sad to have my headache leave as I believe it was controlling my hunger. But it also means I cannot say, “I have to drink coffee, this headache won’t go away!”

This fast is making me focus on myself. I absolutely can’t take a short cut for myself. I am juicing when I “need” to rather than when I want to. I am stopping to relax and rest when my body tells me. I am being selfish and while it feels weird, it is putting life into perspective for me.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Another great night of sleep, however, I did dream of food. It was weird rounds and rounds of non-vegan food. I wouldn’t eat that stuff if I wasn’t fasting. It gave me a giggle when I woke up. I still have no hunger. I woke up after 8am this morning and made 60 ounces of green juice. I drank 20 first thing in the morning and packed the rest for the day out with my gals. I did a 30 minute dvd workout video. I took the girls to the pumpkin patch today and we ran around the field, we had a great time. As I sat and watched them play in the field and on the hay bales enjoyed my last juice for my fast. The fast was shorter than I had originally planned but I lost a considerable amount of weight and I achieved my goals of resetting my diet and breaking some bad habits. I was amazed at how great I felt after not eating for 3 days. I enjoyed the fast and will definitely do another one in the future. It was a great experience and a great way to focus on myself. 3 days is a long time for me to focus on myself!

Vegan Pad Thai and Sushi Rolls

My gals love sushi, but only if they get to make it. I love it no matter what! I chop all the ingredients they may want inside their sushi rolls and they fill it up and roll it. They have so much fun making the rolls and eat so many veggies. Another favorite dish of mine is pad thai (vegan of course). Both of these recipes scared me at first, but after a couple you tube videos I feel like a pro!

Vegan Pad Thai

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Asian-style rice noodles
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 2 tbsp hot sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar (i used coconut sugar)
  
• 1 block tofu, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts
• 1/4 cup chopped or crushed peanuts (optional)
• 4 green onions (scallions), sliced

Preparation:

Cook noodles according to package instructions.

Whisk together the soy sauce, peanut butter, lime juice, hot sauce and sugar.

In a large wok or skillet, sautee the tofu, onion and garlic in sesame oil for a minute or two, stirring frequently. Allow to cook for another minute or two.

Add the cooked noodles and the peanut butter and soy sauce mixture. Stir well, and allow sauce to thicken as it cooks for about 3 minutes. Top with peanuts, bean sprouts and green onions and serve hot.

The most common question a vegan gets asked: "Well then what do you eat?"
Cashew Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup raw cashews
1 1/2 cups boiling water (best to use the starchy pasta-cooking water)
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1-3 garlic cloves, to taste
1 tbl olive oil
2 tbl nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste

Place raw cashews in food processor and pulse until nuts are very fine. Carefully add in the boiling water; process until smooth. Add the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and nutritional yeast; process again until smooth. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
It's the blending process that the sauce thickens, which is why using starchy water is your best bet, so it takes a while. If it isn't thickening enough for you, heat it in a saucepan over a low temperature for a few minutes and that should do the trick.

Serve over cooked pasta. I added mushrooms and red peppers to mine. Broccoli would be a nice addition as well.

I could get so much done if.............

I have stated this so many times; "I could get so much done if my kids would let me". Friday afternoon my mother in law picked my kids up at 3:30pm to get them ready for a square dance. They love going to the square dances with them. This week they had a 50's dance theme. I hopped in the van with Justin and headed to downtown KC, KS to look at a job with him (yes, our dates are always this romantic). After drawing out a bid, we headed to the plaza. We had an amazing time at Eden Alley and Bird Sings! These are truly awesome businesses, I cannot wait to go back and take my kids. WHAT!!!! Yes, my grip and whine over my kids is false. I guess I just want to fit in. :) I enjoy my kids and they help me function. Saturday morning when I woke up, I had big plans for projects I wanted to do while my kids were still at grandmas. And what I did was nothing! I drove to the bank and back, because I forgot the checks. I drove to the store and back, because I needed the girls to pick out presents for their friends. I followed Justin around, until he started a plumbing project in the kitchen. I put a load of laundry in the washer and then stopped because I wondered if the girls had some laundry they wanted to toss in. So here is my shift: "I can get so much done when my kids are home!" I love my girls!

Weekend on Wheels

Friday we hit the weekend running with a van full of giggling girls and headed to my favorite Vegan cafe FUD in Kansas City! The kiddos got to try some amazing food and they loved the milkshakes. It was a great evening with friends and family.

Saturday morning I was up early baking for our trail ride with MiCo Velo. As the buzzer went off for the muffins, Justin fire pager went off and he was out the door. The much anticipated family bike ride was now on me?????? Luckily it was a false alarm and Justin was back in 30 minutes loading bikes and kilts!

Cousin Amira, made her novice appearance on the bike and made it 20 miles! Very proud of her.

My mom made the boys some kilts so they can change out of their shammy after riding. I know they look cute, but they sure do love having their own private changing room.

I also long for my own private changing room. I wanted to go shopping with out 3 girls in the dressing room asking all kinds of questions I do not want to answer. :) So I requested that today and Justin replied with more wheels. He took the gals to Lawrence to mountain bike.
They loved mountain biking and stopping in to see Aunt Beth for dinner! Dad and babies are very happy spending the weekend on wheels.