We have had a very busy month, and it gets nothing but busier from here! As some of you know, we are moving (yes, again). We will be living closer to my mom. There is also a really fantastic (and new!) program up at the local community college that Allen is really excited to start. I love the area and cannot wait to show the girls all the neat outdoors stuff we can do. I am sure we will make our way back to the ocean in the future, but for now, we are getting excited for our new adventure inland!
And what an adventure it will be! So many new places to discover! We have also decided to home-school both the girls, so we have some work ahead of us. I know this will be so great for all of us.
This past month we have had some wonderful visitors! My sister-in-law and her kids (grown) came for about a week. They had a great visit, and we showed them some wonderful places. Then my Aunt and cousin came, and we were able to hang out with them for a couple of days. So awesome! Now this next month we will be coming and going all over, have another guest scheduled to visit, need to pack and move, and then we go on our vacation! We will make the rounds down to Southern California, and then back to our new place. Wow! Well, I guess I can never say I am bored.
So for the month of July I decided to follow a pescatarian diet. This is a vegetarian diet, except adding in seafood. I chose to do this to help kick start a lifestyle change for a healthier diet. I did not track my weight, but I tell you that I have lost enough weight for other people to notice, and I am down a size in pants. Not too bad! Most importantly, I FEEL so much better! For the most part, I have more energy and improved mood. I have also been sleeping better. Now, I did not monitor my protein intake enough a couple of times, and I found the days this happened, I was very tired and a little crabby. Overall, I think it was great, and not as hard as I thought it would be.
Okay, I began my diet at dinner on June 30th, so I get my first meat meal for dinner on July 31st. And my wonderful husband brought home smoked garlic pork sausages that they made in school. Oh yummm! I am very happy, and know I am going to be able to make the changes I need. Now just to get back to the exercising more regularly. I think I will try a wheat free diet for 30 days after the move. We will see…..
There were some yummy recipes that helped me through this month. I will share them with you. Here is the first one:
If you have ever been to Eugene, you may have eaten or heard of a place called the Yumm Café. I have never been, but have recently heard many people rave about an item on the menu called a Yumm Bowl. Even hardcore meat eaters say how much they look forward to having these on the menu. They are essentially a rice and bean bowl with added goodies. However, there is a sauce. It is called, you guessed it, Yumm Sauce. To be honest, I made it and it did not taste so great. But everyone said to let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours. Did that, still didn't seem like anything special. Thankfully I do not easily give up on new things. We went ahead with the meal, assembled our bowls the ‘traditional’ way, stirred it all up and dug in. Oh my, these are WONDERFUL!! Every one of us could not stop shoveling the yumminess into our mouths! The sauce just adds that little something that brings it all together. Seriously, give it a chance. My husband actually requests these A LOT! Alright, enough. Here is the sauce recipe:
YUMM Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 cup canola oil (preferably cold pressed)
1/2 cup almonds (for a creamier sauce, use almond flour)
1/3 cup nutritional yeast (find at Whole Foods, Fred Meyer and natural stores; usually in the bulk section)
1/2 cup chickpeas or 1/2 cup garbanzo beans, cooked
1/4 cup soybeans, cooked (not green edamame beans)
1/2 cup filtered water (important for flavor)
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh is best)
1 -2 garlic clove (small to medium size)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried cilantro
Directions:
1. In a blender or food processor blend almonds, beans and oil.
2. Add all other ingredients and puree until creamy smooth.
3. Cover and let stand in the refrigerator for one hour (24 hours for best results)
4. Don't cover to tight, remember the yeast (I put the sauce in a jar and cover it with a coffee filter and rubber band)
The wonderful thing about these bowls is that you can do whatever you want to them. Meats, veggies, cheeses, anything you want! We do it the original way from the restaurant. Here is the clip I watched to see how they make them in house:
I cannot guarantee how soon I will be back, so I just had to share these wonderful recipes! I will make two more posts with the others. I really hope you give one (or all) of them a try! And let me know how they turn out!!
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