Going Vegan

Whaaaaaaat? Seriously?

I thought your front license plate says "EAT BEEF." I thought you're from Kansas and your father grew up on a farm? I thought you consider a plate of food without meat a non-meal? And milk? I thought you loved milk, drink it all the time?

All of the above are true. What's also true is that I've been reading a lot lately and learning about what's good for you in the long run. I just want to TRY the whole vegan thing out. Just for 2 weeks. I promise.

Here are a few reasons why:

1. I'm always interested in how to make my diet healthier. Since I work in healthcare, I feel the responsibility to pass on only the best and most helpful information to my patients.

2. A few blogs I've been reading from cancer survivors have let me realize that eating a plant-based diet isn't that hard. They usually post great recipes and I've tried a few!

3. I'm reading the book The China Study. It's pretty hard to argue with. Basically the research has shown that people who eat plant-based diets live longer and have less disease than people who eat animal-based diets.

4. I just went grocery shopping and it was a breeze! I spent most of my time in the produce section, and very little in the other aisles.

5. I've also recently seen Dr. Sanjay Gupta's (CNN medical guy) documentary on heart disease and in it, he talks about plant-based diets, including the hometown Austin Engine2 diet.

So here we go. I wanted my menu to not be all vegetables and grains - I wanted to try some substitutions and see if they measure up. I'll let you know when I make sloppy joes out of the meatless meat grounds I found. (It's really just fungi.)

Here's to the next two weeks!

Lost and Found

Sorry for the hiatus. I moved to a different house, then started D-School at my church, so I haven't had much time to blog. I've had countless stories to tell, but just not enough time to type them out. Here's the latest:

This past weekend we went to a conference in Waco called World Mandate. We decided to leave after Saturday night's session, so it was about 10:00 before we headed out to the cars. I had looked in my purse for my glasses earlier in the evening, but not finding them, assumed they were in the car. I also had noticed that my Bible reading plan (on cardstock) was not in my journal - I assumed this was in the car as well. However, when I got to the car, I didn't find them. Either. We were eager to get on the road even though it's only a 1.5 hour drive, so I got super frustrated that I couldn't find them and we had to leave. So, Dawn said a prayer and we got on the road.

I started calling everywhere I could think of - the hotel, Jason's Deli, Pei Wei, etc - but no one had seen them. My frustration lasted until Sunday morning church, where I finally decided to TRUST that God would either restore the glasses to me (at this point I was thinking they were lost for good), or provide financially for their replacement. I was still bummed about it and during work on Monday was really not doing well with the whole eyesight-without-glasses thing, but I knew God would provide.

This is turning into a long story, but I have to tell you how at loss I was when I didn't have my Bible reading plan. That's all I've been doing this year during my devotional time - reading once through the Bible - and so I had no clue what to do. Fortunately, God did! In D-school, we've been reading through my pastor's book on prayer, so I decided to go with the new and try something different. It was amazing! All I did for 45 minutes was write out all the reasons I'm thankful. At the end, I thought it'd be good to read a Psalm, so I opened my Bible up and BAM! there's my reading plan! I just laughed! God has such a sense of humor and knows what's best for me. I'm still not sure if He wants me to finish the plan this year, but I know that I'm enjoying my devotional time A WHOLE LOT more.

I also got a sense on Tuesday morning that today was a day of restoration; I was going to find my glasses. I went through most of the day still bummed and trying to think where my glasses were. Around dinnertime, before my small group arrived at our house, I texted a friend who's car we had ridden in for like maybe 20 minutes. It was my last thought of where they could be. Knowing it was a long shot, I left my phone on the kitchen table. After our group finished, I was chatting with my small group when I noticed I had a text. Not expecting much, I opened it up and in response to my "Did you see my glasses in your car?" she had said "Yeah, I saw them earlier." That's it. Casual. Yeah, they're in there.

I FREAKED! I started jumping up and down and yelling! Then I called her and asked hurriedly, you have my glasses? Really? Really really really really?!?!!?!??! It was great! I finally had both the items that I lost.

I realized later that while the conference was really good, what God really wanted to teach me was through what I lost and gained back. What I learned was to trust that He will provide, no matter what. And He can take away things that aren't healthy for our good. See, I was meeting with the Bible instead of meeting with God in my devotional time, and He wanted desperately to talk to me, listen to me, hear my heart, etc. Throughout the whole ordeal, I could just picture God smirking. I knew He was up to something.

Books That Changed My Eating Habits

1. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

(reviews taken from Amazon)

Fast food has hastened the malling of our landscape, widened the chasm between rich and poor, fueled an epidemic of obesity, and propelled American cultural imperialism abroad. That's a lengthy list of charges, but Eric Schlosser makes them stick with an artful mix of first-rate reportage, wry wit, and careful reasoning.

Schlosser's myth-shattering survey stretches from California's subdivisions, where the business was born, to the industrial corridor along the New Jersey Turnpike, where many of fast food's flavors are concocted. Along the way, he unearths a trove of fascinating, unsettling truths -- from the unholy alliance between fast food and Hollywood to the seismic changes the industry has wrought in food production, popular culture, and even real estate.

My review: I loved this book. It basically exposes the effects of a fast-food culture on our nation: obesity, worker's rights, farming industries, etc. It also made me never EVER want to go to a McDonald's, Burger King, or the like again.

2. Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Author Barbara Kingsolver and her family abandoned the industrial-food pipeline to live a rural life—vowing that, for one year, they’d only buy food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is an enthralling narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat.

I loved this book because it made me so much more aware of where my food comes from. Gardening, farming, and writing about it was all she did for a year, so it's a full-time job. Maybe someday I can do that - even just a small garden.

3. South Beach Diet by Dr. Arthur Agatson

I love several things about this series of books, cookbooks, and guides. First off, Dr. Agatson is a cardiologist, and created this diet out of need for a lack of heart-healthy diets for his patients to follow. As a cardiac rehab employee, this really resounds with me. My patients are constantly asking about which diets are safe, effective, etc. This diet is not only healthy, but also it tastes amazing. My second reason for loving this diet is that the recipes are very simple, but also elegant and cater to a more foodie crowd. I used the cookbook for ideas for salmon glazes, quick snacks, and healthy desserts. I need to buy the cookbook because I keep checking it out from the library and have to return it!

So that's my list. What's yours?

Shrimp and Feta Stuffed Zucchini and Avocado-Chocolate Mousse

I'm in no way wanting to start a food blog - God knows I barely have time to write a regular blog - but this food adventure was just too much fun not to share. My mom was in town and so I had some extra support (and hands) to help out!

The recipe was fairly accurate as far as time - 1 hr 15 min prep - and was easy to follow. Basically you make the filling of veggies and shrimp, put it in the zucchini boats, and then bake! Last step is to top with the feta cheese.

The only change I would make is to add less crushed red pepper. Just made it a tad to spicy for my tastes. We served it with some asparagus, as shown, but if we were planning more would've served it with some cous-cous or similar light grain. I think brown rice might be too heavy with this dish.

On to dessert! I got this idea from this blog, and it was pretty amazing! I must've added too much almond extract, but otherwise was wonderful on graham crackers. Yum! Enjoy!

Change

I'm going to start blogging more, and I thought July would be a great chance to do so since I'll be attached to an IV every Thursday for 4-5 hours this month. :)

Last December during one of my small group meetings, we went around the room and shared what we thought the Lord had for us in the next year. I shared that I had an overwhelming sense of "newness," that I felt there was going to be a lot of new things in 2011. I can tell you midway through the year that there have definitely been some new things so far: healing from past emotional wounds, new understanding of God's love, experiencing medical treatment for a flare-up of my autoimmune disease, and on and on. What I didn't think about was that in order for something to be new, there must be a change, and sometimes that means letting go.

I've written about my approach to change before, but in short I like change and like to see where it will take me. In general, that is my approach. There is a lot of change that has happened, aside from the above short list, and with it, new circumstances. I've found myself a little more apprehensive than usual, but its not troubling. It's that good, something-great-could-happen kind of feeling. There are changes with staffing at work, come August, that will be fairly significant. There may be changes in my schedule this fall - maybe taking on more responsibilities and/or opportunities. And there may be changes in my social environment. For once, though, the change feels like a good direction and I'm excited to see what happens.

TERD

So today was a long day. After leaving work I felt like I had worked a whole week and it was Friday afternoon. Clinic was crazy, and then all this last-minute stuff kept happening. In addition, I was coming off of a weekend where I slept all but 4-5 hours of it and ate about 500 calories total. For now, I'll blame it on the infusion. But today was just ridiculous.

We get into work at about 6:45 AM. By 3:00 PM, we were delusional. There was a lot to do and as the pile was mounting, I told myself I'd leave at 4:30. At about 4:15 I decided to put in the patient's charges for the day, and when we do so the ordering physician's monogram comes up. The way the computer orders it is the first 3 letters of the last name and the first letter of the first name. So, I would be "MAYR." As I was going down the list, there was a patient under a Dr. David Terryson. His monogram is TERD. Yup, that's right, TERD. I immediately busted out laughing, mostly because it's almost inappropriate at my age to do so, and then my co-worker came in to see and that set her off. But I couldn't stop! I was so tired, and so worn out and burdened from the day, that all I could do was laugh.

And then I left work and felt so much better. :)

Summer Reading List

For some reason, albeit the longer days, brighter sun, and illusion of more free time, summer is full of activities, vacations, and usually lots of fun. With my RCEP exam out of the way, I am looking forward to taking this season of the year to plow through some books I've had on my list for awhile. Some are from my former book club, some recommendations from CNN, and some from friends. Such are:

1. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (funny!)

2. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris (additionally funny!)

3. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathon Safran Foer

4. Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson

5. Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante

6. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

7. The Supernatural Ways of Royalty by Kris Valloton and Bill Johnson

8. Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet (re-read)

9. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (for my new book club!)

In addition to devouring these books, after watching the latest X-Men movie in theaters, I would like to watch the other 3 in the series. And, as always, I'll be climbing my way through the AFI top 100 films. I'm halfway there!