Week #4
Our Path to a Healthier Life
Our Path to a Healthier Life
Hello! Thanks for checking back with us as we travel down this path for a healthier life!
This week, Kyle weighs in at 235 lbs! He's so excited and shocked that its coming off so fast - just by changing his diet! We do try to walk daily for 30 minutes (that's about 2 miles for us); but being the last days of school has really been hectic!
We've had banquets to deal with - the solution is bringing in our own food! I bring an extra container to take home for the boys to eat later (for example - brisket, baked beans and potato salad served at the All Sports Banquet) in exchange for Couscous Tex-Mex that Kyle loves! (Link for recipe - here) It worked out just fine & didn't feel awkward or jealous because everyone else was eating!
This week's top pick
HEART HEALTHY RECIPE
for a plant-based diet is a
Black Bean and Potato Hash
Here is the recipe for the Black Beans and Potato Hash! (This turned out to be a pleasant and tasty surprise! We both enjoyed this and had it again the next day for lunch - even the boys ate one and didn't gag...!)
Link for Salsa recipe is - here! Here's another great lunch recipe for a soup here! I cooked it in the crockpot and finished it up for a tasty lunch this week - very good. Lotsa Vegetable Chowder at this link - here.
Black Beans and Potato Hash
Served this with whole-wheat mini flour tortillas. I splurged with a small amount of avocado on my tacos! Kyle added regular salsa to his!
1 Onion; chopped
1 Garlic clove; chopped
2 small sweet potatoes; peeled & chopped
2 tsp Chili powder
⅓ cup Vegetable broth
1 can Black beans
¼ cup Green Onions; sliced
Sriracha
Cilantro; chopped
Sauté onions in a skillet and with a tablespoon or two of broth over heat, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic, add the sweet potatoes and chili powder. Stir to coat the vegetables with the chili powder. Add remaining broth and cook for about 12 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are cooked through. Add more liquid 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time as needed, to keep the vegetables from sticking to the pan. Add the black beans, & green onions. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes more, until the beans are heated through. Add the Sriracha - taste and adjust the seasonings. Top with chopped cilantro and serve.
A question we often receive from family & friends while following a plant-based diet is:
"Do you take any vitamins?"
YES! Kyle has recently added a multi-vitamin to his daily dosage of pills. I have always taken a multi-vitamin along with a probiotic pill. We have added a Vitamin B12 pill! We are starting to take daily a 500 mcg pill of B12. Vitamin B12 is found in soil and is made from microorganisms that live in our environment. The program does suggest that you should "PEEL instead of pill"... so this may be something that we change later!!
So far, after 4 weeks into this lifestyle change - the hardest for me is OIL!
I'm a baker... to cook without OIL or to even find food on the shelf without OIL is very difficult!
But all OIL damages the lining of our human arteries! That's what we are trying to mend in Kyle! We want him to have healthy, clear arteries! I have used some oil - but very SPARINGLY! I always thought OLIVE OIL was a healthy oil... it comes from a plant... but it's squeeze out of an olive leaving the healthy fiber, vitamins & minerals. The oil is then refined and concentrated down to be FULL of calories!!
