2011-09-27

Cook Exciting, Eat Well, Feel Fantastic!

Hello, my name is Amy and welcome to my blog: Amy's Nutritarian Kitchen!   (Nutritarian is a word coined by Dr. Joel Fuhrman to describe those who focus on the nutrient density of their food through eating whole foods like fruits, plants, seeds, nuts, whole grains, and beans)

Like many... most people in America, I have struggled with my weight for most of my adult life.  Considering that I am only 21, 'my adult life' doesn't seem too long, but it seems like an eternity for me because I have been constantly overweight and most importantly, not happy with my health and my body.  In January of 2011, I was in search of a solution to the weight I had put on from all that holiday eating that does "wonders on our figures".  I stumbled upon "Eat to Live" by Dr. Furman; a book that opened my eyes not only about the benefits of eating healthy, but also the consequences of eating poorly.  Since then I have weaved back and forth eating nutritarian and my old ways through the last several month's events of breaking up with my "boy"friend of four years, finding the "man" of my dreams, spending my summer at an internship far from home, and starting into a difficult senior year at Washington State University (Pullman).  Now, I am determined to find balance, not only with my everyday life, but with my health as well.


As inspired by my dad, who is 50 and just hitting a second peak of his life after fasting on juice for two weeks, I have been juicing for ten days.  My dad has had a kidney disease for over eight years and has found a way out of taking tons of drugs and being constantly water bloated; he cured himself by juicing and sticking to a whole foods, nutritarian diet.  As of now (9/27/2011) my dad is off all medicine, no longer swelled, and down 20+ pounds!  What am I trying to cure?  Firstly, I want my facial acne to leave and never return!  Secondly, I want to renew my relationship to food from one that is spastic, craving, and unhealthy, to one that is wholesome, fresh, nutritious, and delicious.  If you have any curiosities about doing a juice fast of your own visit the Reboot website.  I would also highly recommend watching "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead"; it is not only informative, but very inspiring.


As I said, I am currently on day ten of my juice fast.  My parents have been nice enough, and extremely encouraging and supportive, to have originally lent me, and now handed me down their juicer.  I am currently using a Juiceman.  My day to eat food is this Saturday morning!  I'm planning a visit to Spokane with my boyfriend Kevin to go apple picking at Greenbluff Orchards.  Yep, my first food for two weeks is going to be a golden delicious apple straight from the tree!  I don't think I have ever been so excited for an apple in my entire life.  If you have any questions about juicing or the experience of it, please ask in the comment section, I would be more than happy to answer them.


After I finish my juice fast I am determined to stick to a nutritarian diet and finally feel proud of the way I look and feel!  Please join me on my journey of trying out nutritarian and vegan recipes, exercising, and just life in general.  Cook exciting, eat well, feel fantastic!


Here is a general schedule of my blog:


Monday: Crockpot Monday!  I don't know if it's the same for everyone on the entire planet, but Mondays always seem like the longest days ever!  For me I leave my apartment and don't get back till nearly 7:30 at night after classes, meetings, and a work out.  I was raised a "dinner is at 5" girl, so waiting till 7:30 alone is just weird, let alone spending an hour or so making dinner before getting to start on homework or studying.  So I have come up with crockpot Monday to be able to throw ingredients in a crockpot on low when I leave, and come home to a lovely soup or stew or whatever!  Crockpot meals are not only filling, but big batches leave leftovers for lunches for a few days.  I hope you enjoy my crockpot endeavors as much I do.

Tuesday: Talk about Exercise!  Tuesdays tend to be the day that I get most excited about exercise because my workout record is 2-0 for the week.  My schedule revolves around gym classes of Core Conditioning on MW, Pilates on TTH, and changes up on the weekends from running, biking, hiking, tennis, and other activities.  On Tuesdays I will discuss strategies for exercise and sticking to good exercising habits.

Wednesday: World Wednesday!  Wednesday is cultural food days.  They will not only feature an array of cultural dishes from Indian and Thai, to Italian, Peruvian, and Asian.  I come from a family of German heritage, and am hoping to tweak some notoriously meaty and heavy traditional foods into delicious German inspired nutritarian dishes.

Thursday: Tasty Thursday!  Thursdays will feature a new favorite recipe of mine every week.  You never know what you'll see on Thursdays.  I'll include recipes on smoothies, breakfasts, lunches, appetizers, salads, main courses, desserts, and holiday food.

Friday-Sunday: Weekend strategies for sticking to goals and planning menus for the next week!  As a college student, I tend to get busy on the weekends, so I will generally be writing one blog post per weekend.  These will be about various topics from strategies for sticking to goals during weekend fun, discussions on planning meals, tips on handling social food situations, and replacements of nutritarian food for old favorites.

I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoy cooking... I mean making it :)
Please feel free to comment on any part of my post.  I will be getting into the habit of posting general healthy lifestyle questions for discussion at the end of each post.

Question: Do you and your household have a weekly eating schedule (i.e. Taco Tuesdays)?  Do you find a schedule helps keep you towards your dietary goals?  How could you change a weekly meal slightly to make it more nutritious?

3 comments:

  1. I just wanted to say that I have just discovered your blog. I, too, have turned my life around thanks to Fuhrman's Super Immunity book, which I sought out for health reasons. As a 55 year old woman, I am so grateful to have my life back. I thank you for the great recipe postings and for sharing your progress!
    Gayle

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  2. I recently found your blog, too! I found Eat to Live almost 1 year ago at Half-Price books waiting for them to quote me on some buy-backs. I bought it for my brother who is obese hoping he would read it and find some motivation to eat healthier foods. I read it casually at first, wanting to make sure I agreed with the theories in the book, and I decided to try it out. I really liked the chapter about toxic hunger. This book has changed my life! I had been doing so many things wrong that I didn't even know. I was not overweight to begin with, but I lost weight without even trying very hard just with the change of diet. I feel really good about the food I am eating, and I don't suffer from "hunger" or cravings every couple of hours like I used to. I have been vegetarian for 8 years, but now I am truly embracing the benefits of fruits and vegetables. Thanks for sharing your story and all your wonderful recipes!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Gira,

      That is wonderful to hear! It's amazing how you don't realize how bad you were feeling until you start feeling nutritarian-amazing! :) Keep it up!

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