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Maintenance

PROFILE

Wow...to even have the word "maintenance" in any way associated with my name is still somewhat surreal. Inside of me I have grown so accustomed to being "weight-loss mommy" that it is going to take some time to appreciate that I am FINALLY in maintenance mode. Hooray, hooray!! My journey definitely began as a crusade to lose weight (something I have struggled with since I was 13 and my mom told me I needed to start watching what I ate). It wasn't until I firmly rooted myself in the desire for HEALTH and not WEIGHT that I finally achieved my goal. It was a much different journey than I thought and I was infuriated that the knowledge and information I needed had eluded me for so long. All I want now is to share it with the WORLD!!

Description

 
Welcome Maintenance Mommies!
 
You’re ready to take your family's nutrition to the NEXT LEVEL!!! You have gone through the NEWBIE phase and feel confident for more. You have opened your kitchen doors to vegetarian cooking and your children are adapting well. You have taken on the CHALLENGE of limiting dairy and processed foods in your home and have been reaping the benefits. You consider yourself open to new ideas about nutrition and are finding the information that works for you & your family. People around you are noticing your healthy changes and may start asking for advice. BE CONFIDENT in what you have accomplished and keep moving forward on your journey of health. You know nutrition and LOVE feeding your families healthy home cooked meals.
 
 

 

 

You might be a “maintenance mommy” when:
 

1 - Your kids beg to taste the white stuff kids at school call "Wonderbread"

 

2 - You now look at nutritional labels before you look at the price!!!

 

3 - When your children  ask "What's for dinner?", they're really wondering how you will be disguising the vegetables (ie. lasagna, stir-fry, burrito etc.)

 

4 - Your night stand novels have been replaced by Health Books and Vegetarian cookbooks (which, let's be honest, you enjoy reading as much as a romance novel :)

 

5-  Meat is not the STAR of  your weekly dinners (but still might make a guest appearance) and you've finally tried one recipe with tofu.

 

6 - The members of your family actually have a "favorite" plant milk - soy, rice, almond, or even hemp (my kids love Vanilla Almond Milk...mmmmm)

 

7 - You're familiar with the  vegetarian options at most of your local restaurants, and your friends have said "Let's go somewhere that you can eat!" (keep close to those kinds of friends:)

 

8 - When your kids ask what they can have for a snack you respond, "Anything you want....as long as it's a fruit or a vegetable!" (and you know there's plenty to choose from)

 

9 - When ordering a  salad you've been heard to say, "No cheese, no croutons, and dressing on the side please!"

 

10 - Beans are no longer the "musical fruit" in your house (since your bodies are well acquainted with them and have adapted wonderfully)

    • The Best Basil Bean Dip

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    •  5/17/2013 1:25:01 PM
    •  

      I love dips. 

       

      I love hummus (only the homemade kind though :). 

       

      I love guacamole and I love yummy spreads that can be put into wraps.  Oh and I love pesto.

       

      So I thought why now make of blend of all these delicious things into one incredible veggie dip!  The creaminess of the avocado and the flavor of the toasted walnuts make a divine combination.  There is a mildness to white beans that I absolutely love and what would any dip be without garlic!  Yum!

       

       

      Best Basil Bean Dip

       

      1 can of white beans (any variety will work), rinsed and drained

      1 large avocado

      1/3 cup of  toasted walnuts (just toasted them in a frying pan over medium heat until browned)

      3 gloves of garlic

      juice from 1/2 lemon (about 1 1/2 TBS)

      1/4 cup of fresh basil

      2 TBS olive oil

      1/2 tsp salt

       

       

      Combine all of the ingredients into a food processor or high-powered blender.  Simply pulse until it is smooth.

      Serve with veggies (carrots, jicama and red peppers shown here), your favorite chips or crackers.

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    • Wheat Berry Salad

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    •  5/10/2013 4:58:13 PM
    • In this country it is very very rare that we eat wheat in its WHOLE form.  The kernel of the wheat is called a wheat berry and is very nutritious when cooked.  People shy away a little because of how long it takes to cook.  For this recipe below I used my Cuisinart Pressure Cooker (which I absolutely love) and it took less than an hour from start to finish.  The wheat berries freeze nicely too.

       

      3 cups cooked wheat berries (about 1 ½ cups dry white or red wheat)

      1 large cucumber, peeled and chopped

      2 roma tomatoes, chopped

      1 avocado, chopped

      1/4 dried cranberries

      Corn cut from one cob, optional

      ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

      ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

      2 TBS fresh basil, chopped

       

      Combine all of the above ingredients into a large bowl.  Prepare the salad dressing and pour over the bowl.  Mix thoroughly.

       

      Dressing

      1 clove of garlic, minced

      2 TBS balsamic vinegar

      2 TBS olive oil

      2 TBS rice vinegar

      Juice from 1 lemon – about 2 TBS

      2 TBS honey

       

      Combine all of ingredients and mix until the honey is dissolved.
      (A Vitamix works great!)

       

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    • Dairy-free Tapioca Pudding

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    •  5/3/2013 8:00:22 PM
    •  

      Well let me start by quoting my daughter....."Wo Mom, this stuff tastes waaaay better than it looks!"

       

      Haha, I must agree.  Taking a decent picture of a gelatonous mess was a little tricky.

       

      This recipe comes straight out of The Cancer Survivor's Guide that I use to teach The Cancer Project Classes.

       

      This is a treat that my kids love and wish I would make more often...although they only like it when it's fresh and not when it's leftover....picky kids :)

       

       

      Tapioca Pudding

      Makes about 4 servings

       

      Tapioca is a starch derived from the root of the cassava plant. It may be ground into flour for baked goods, or used as a thickener in jellies and pie fillings, though it’s most perfect use may be in this delicious pudding. Using non-dairy ingredients is important since the consumption of dairy foods has been linked to cancers of the prostate, breast, and ovary.

       

      1/4 cup instant tapioca **
      1/4 cup sugar (preferably turbinado)
      1/4 teaspoon salt
      2 cups soy- or other non-dairy milk
      1 teaspoon vanilla extract

       

       

      ** If you want to save money, you can buy the tapioca pearls instead of the instant tapioca.  You will simply need to cook the pudding longer (think instant oatmeal versus the thick cut oats for example).  Cook time is about 15 minutes with the tapioca pearls.  I found them in the bulk section at Winco.

      Combine tapioca, sugar, salt, and non-dairy milk in a saucepan and stir to mix. Let stand 5 minutes, then place over medium heat and bring to a full boil, stirring often. Remove from heat and let stand 15 minutes. The pudding will thicken as it cools. Stir in vanilla. Serve warm or chilled.

      Stored in a covered container in the refrigerator, leftover Tapioca Pudding will keep for up to 3 days.

      Per serving

      • Calories: 150
      • Fat: 2 g
      • Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
      • Calories from Fat: 12%
      • Cholesterol: 0 mg
      • Protein: 4.3 g
      • Carbohydrates: 28.9 g
      • Sugar: 15.1 g
      • Fiber: 1.4 g
      • Sodium: 222 mg
      • Calcium: 163 mg
      • Iron: 1.6 mg
      • Vitamin C: 0.4 mg
      • Beta Carotene: 1 mcg
      • Vitamin E: 1.7 mg

      Source: The Survivor’s Handbook: Eating Right for Cancer Survival by Neal D. Barnard, M.D. and Jennifer Reilly, R.D.

      • What's the red on top?
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    • Eat to Live Tracking Chart

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    •  4/26/2013 8:35:23 PM
    • I've only recently discovered that I like charts!!

       

      Truthfully I should have known since I am a total list girl.  I'm one of those people that puts things on the list just for the satisfaction of checking it off.

       

      I am left-brained, Type A (Type 3 for some of you) and I am task-oriented.  Ok, I'll admit, I' may not always be that fun, but by golly I AM efficient :)

      So in my discovery of being a "chart girl ", I thought why not create something that I could look at each day that could remind me of how I want to be eating.

       

      I've been on a few too many vacations lately, which for me generally for me means less than ideal eating!

       

      Those of you Dr. Fuhrman fans will immediately recognize the list on the chart.  This is a basic summary of his best seller "Eat to Live". (The 'Raw' and 'Cooked" are veggies)

       

      I left the bottom row blank for you to add your own item.  Mine currently says "2 Bites" on the bottom line.  That means that if there is a food that I really want to have/taste then I simply need to limit it to 2 bites.  Dr. Fuhrman includes 3 fruits on his chart, but that is something that is very easy for me, so I wanted to add something a little more challenging.

       

      You can DOWNLOAD the chart HERE if you want to print it.

       

      Also, if you are a chart lover, or if you are curious about whether or not your children are motivated by charts (which most children are!), then you and your family could benefit by our Challenges that we create each month in our membership.  Each challenge comes in a printable chart format to be checked off each day.  There are 2 challenges each month and when you join the membership you will get access to all of the previous months!!!

       

      Eating healthy involves finding ways to stay motivated!  Hope this one helps!

      Charity - Maintenance Mommy

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