I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this before but I used to be a vegetarian (like a good yogi)... until about two and a half years ago, when I started adding back animal proteins into my diet.
I'm not really proud of it, nor am I ashamed... but (hangs head) I was so desperate to lose weight after a period of not being able to exercise (another - prior - injury) that I went on Dr. Bernstein's (gasp) diet plan about two and a half years ago.
I know... I know... but you know what? It helped me to learn about portion control (I'd never had to worry about that before) and it helped me to learn how certain foods affected me (bloating... non-satiating... whatever... ). I also lost 28 lbs (when you are tiny - 4'11" - that's a LOT of excess to be carrying!) which (unlike most people who have done this diet, I am told...) I mostly kept off (give or take about 10-12 lbs recently)
All of this preamble is to explain that the reason I went back to eating animal proteins was because on that diet, I was forbidden to have grains, lentils, beans... in other words - my staple foods... it was basically, eat chicken or starve to death...
Anyhow, fast forward to December 2012, and once again I'm feeling desperate about my weight and unable to exercise (for reasons noted in my prior December 2012 post) and utterly miserable.
I asked a couple of my nutritionist friends for some help because - god help me - I was almost desperate enough to consider Dr B. again in this never-ending pelvic injury that prevents me from being active.
Instead of spending all of my money on that, I embarked (on January 2, 2013) on a '3-day green cleanse' to help me kickstart some healthier eating habits and give my system a break from the foods (animal proteins and simple sugars) I had been consuming. Besides, once again, the texture of fish, chicken and beef and become abhorrent to me and when I bit into it, I felt like I was eating a cousin... I knew it was time to be a vegetarian again.
Three days into my green cleanse, I was feeling so fantastic that I just kept on going... and so was born the new and improved me: a vegan. Trust me, I was surprised... I really thought I would miss eggs and cheese - turns out I was wrong.
SO, in true OCD fashion... I've been embarking on some new adventures with culinary delights created in my blender, juicer and food processor.
I'm really excited about some of the recipes I've created (which, unlike my fabulous non-vegan cakes and cookies) are vegan and anti-inflammatory - which, let's face it - I sorely need right now with this horrible osteitis pubis condition that I have.
So - onward!
Hiya! Catching up on blogs and you've got some great food stuffs here. One day I'll be brave and try them out. I am eating less meat these days and I'm also off wheat and desperately trying to be completely off sugar. I tell myself every week that wine doesn't have sugar but every Monday my ass disagrees as it grows larger. I've got my eye on you. :-)
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