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Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Organic Lifestyle | This is a LIFESTYLE, Not A Stupid Diet That Doesn't Work!

I still have much to learn and more to grow, but here's what I've learned in the last year and this has been my consistent diet for almost a year (except I only stopped using the microwave a couple of months ago now).

I eat Organic produce, plus my own researched "Clean Conventional Produce List":

  • avocados
  • ginger
  • turmeric
  • sweet potatoes
  • serrano peppers
  • onions

I buy a lot of produce when I go to the store. I buy avocados (organic if my little store has them), onion, kale, spinach, carrots, apples, potatoes, and tomatoes (again if I can find them). If I cannot find organic or it's not on my "Clean Conventional Produce List" then I don't buy it. Period. I don't trust that clean thirteen list. Some of them still get a lot of pesticide sprayed on them. And, as you know, you can't wash that off. Let me say that again. Nothing will get that pesticide off. It's already poisoned your food. 
"Organic food keeps you fuller longer because your body absorbs more nutrients than conventional produce. Conventional produce has pesticides. Those pesticides invalidate the nutrients. Your body needs nutrients to survive. You need to learn to feed it what it needs." -CC Liedecke, Non-GMO Activist

Because plastic sucks I use canning jars to store food. I cook with cast iron and wooden or metal utensils.


Plastic is toxic. It's made of oil. Why would you want it touching your food? It creates hormone and metabolical imbalances. I believe this attributes to the obesity problem in the United States and I'm trying to eliminate my remaining fat from my "I'll eat fast food and anything the FDA tells me is Good Diet". Anything that comes in a plastic container from the store goes into a glass jar. My refrigerator is full of glass jars holding this or that. I don't throw away my glass jars from the food that I buy. I wash and reuse them unless it's not a size that works well in my kitchen. 

"Healthy Lifestyle Number #1 Rule: Listen to your body and know it's rules." 

I am a Vegan/Vegetarian Pescaterian and here are my Food Rules...

*Please note the available links. It give you further reasons to eat well.

I know. I'm a little weird in what I've found works for my body, but that's what we all have to do. As long as you're eating organic and listening to what works for your body then that's really all you need to do to have a healthier lifestyle!

     Meat has a lot of acidity in it and I do not recommend eating it three times a day. 

My meats are feta cheese, eggs, salmon, occasional tuna and chicken broth in my extremely occasional mexican rice. If you must eat meat, think about reducing that to once a day. Remember that dairy counts as a meat. The more meat you eat the worse it is for your body unless the rest of your diet is extremely alkaline.

     I remember that, "This is a lifestyle, not a stupid diet that doesn't work!"

I eat bread, potatoes and pasta. I'm not on Weight Watchers. I don't count carbs. My body has never felt bad after eating carbs and so I continue to eat them.

     I grow and eat sprouts with every meal.

I put sprouts in my breakfast tacos (I'm a hispanic Texas woman. I can make a mean breakfast taco!), sandwiches, greek cous cous tacos, even my vegan beans. Sprouts are healthy, nutritious and they cost next to nothing. You sprout them in a large glass pickle jar inside your apartment. You can make an entire raw garlic, sprout and vegannaise sandwich and be totally satisfied! I highly recommend it with a healthy glass of vanilla hemp milk! YUM.

     I juice vegetables and a little fruit together for breakfast. 

My juice consists of what I can find in my area that's organic, but usually includes kale, spinach, swiss chard, carrots, cucumbers, ginger, apples, cilantro, and beets (not necessarily altogether, but these ingredients are necessary for a variety of recipes). You must drink your juice within 15 minutes unless you are using a slow juicer (that stays good in the fridge for three days! I totally wish I had one!).

     I only drink hemp milk

I buy the Pacific original, vanilla and chocolate from HEB in Texas. I don't feel like my kitchen is complete without all three. The original is used in my kid's Annie's Mac N Cheese and any baking that I need to do. The vanilla is a yummy coffee creamer and so is the chocolate. My youngest LOVES the chocolate. Sometimes I mix it up with the original or the vanilla. It comes on the grocery shelf, so I like to have some on hand in my pantry. I never have to worry about refrigerating it until after I've opened it.

      I use coconut oil instead of butter. 

Butter is kinda gross. At least that's what I've concluded after a year of not eating it. Coconut oil took a few times of eating on toast before I accepted it's taste, but now I put it in everything. I fry everything in it. Potatoes do especially well and only a couple of teaspoons is needed for a big pan.

     I put onion and garlic in everything. 

There's not a dish that I make that doesn't have those two ingredients. They keep my immune system on guard on a consistent basis and keep the yeast at bay.

     If I feel bad after eating something, then I don't eat it again. PERIOD. 

I know that goes without saying to some people, but others continue to eat food that upsets their stomach simply because it tastes good. Taste is fleeting. Your health is not. Refer back to a healthy lifestyle's number #1 rule!

     I only eat 70% or more cacao dark chocolate.

I keep it in the dairy section in the refrigerator. It tastes the best cold. I love it for when I'm feeling hormonal or depressed. Always puts a smile on my face. I don't really miss other sweets.I don't eat much fruit. I put apples in my juice, but other than that I don't really eat fruit. I just don't crave it. I think because I lean toward the diabetic side that my body just doesn't like it. I listen to my body.

     I drink Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) twice a day. 

I pour a tablespoon in the bottom of a jelly sized canning jar and pour room temperature water to the top. I find that the ACV helps boost my immune system and it aids with any digestion problems that may arise. I can remember eating a huge bottle of tums every week until I found this trick. Now if I'm having a little indigestion I just drink some ACV. If I get a rare cold then I bump this up to three times a day.

     I take very few over the counter and pharmaceutical medications.

I have a brain disorder that does require a small dose of medication. With that disorder comes migraines, but I've found that those are few and far between if I take an Alieve when I feel one coming on. I try to limit all chemical consumption.

     I don't eat unless I'm hungry.

I know that probably goes without saying, too, but it's necessary to say. I only eat when I'm hungry. Some people are hungry all the time. If that's the case then eat smaller meals. Eventually your body will become accustomed to eating only when hungry and you will feel fuller longer. Organic food does that!

I choose not to own a microwave because they take away the nutritional value in food. 


Studies prove the microwaves change the molecules (atoms) in your food as it cooks. The human body consumes that food it is unable to metabolize that food because the body doesn't recognize that it is food. The nutritional value of the food is null and void if you place it in a microwave. Studies show that it causes immune deficiencies, lessens intelligence, creates gastro intestinal diseases, and male and female hormones are disrupted from repeated use.

I exercise my body and my brain.


Why not enjoy the exercise? Spend half an hour to an hour having vigorous sex, work up a sweat and there's no need to hit the gym. Variation in all physical activity is recommended by any good physical fitness trainer. Keeping your heart rate up for a good half and hour or so a day does your mind and body good. A little spiritual awakening like that lifts your spirit. I work in a swim here and there, too, along with a bit of yoga to keep me limber. 

I started meditating a couple of years ago. I had a difficult time letting go and I would get so mad at myself because instead of allowing my mind to be clear it would fill up with thoughts that I wanted to go away. I tried so hard to control my thoughts that it made me think meditation wasn't for me, but it so is! I just had to learn to let go and find meditations that encouraged me to be in the moment. Now I listen to guided meditations. My new favorite is Overtone Chants. Those Buddhist monks really know a thing or two about meditating. Not only can I meditate now and it gives me joy in the moment, but I've really noticed a difference in my stress levels. It's a miracle worker!

I live in the moment.


Stress is horrible and it makes people sick. I used to stress every day, all day long about everything. Now I stress about nothing. I just have learned to live in the moment. I know when I first heard that term I didn't understand what it meant, but I do now. To live in the moment is to feel everything, notice everything like this moment might be your last. You'd want to taste the air, wouldn't you? Notice how your lover blushes. Notice how blue the sky is. Notice every little thing like you're going to have to report it later to some very important person. I don't worry about the next moment. I just care about this one. This is the one that matters. I am still an ongoing project, so I falter sometimes, but I just get back up and remember the moment is what matters. You can't change the future or the past. You can only alter this moment.

I grow what I can in terra cotta pots, not plastic ones.


I'm currently growing herbs, strawberries, carrots, swiss chard and cilantro. I used to grow more food, but it's difficult in an apartment. When I was able I had kale all the time. My produce bill was a lot cheaper!

If I do not eat at home, I eat out responsibly (most of the time) and I NEVER eat fast food.


I stick to my diet as much as possible. There are some things that I can't live without that I won't buy in my home. I'm horrible about eating corn chips. I know (!), but I'm in Texas and I love guacamole. If it's chips and salsa I'll eat a few chips and then I just don't eat them. I make nachos at home a lot with non-gmo corn tortillas. My girls love them and I cook them in Sunflower Oil. I know I'm a bad, bad girl for eating those GMO chips at the restaurant, but that leads me to my last Clean Diet Rule.

I cheat on my diet once a month.


Sometimes I'll eat meat or I'll eat cheese. I try to make it organic. Sometimes I'll eat a venison or bison burger. I prefer to cheat on my Vegan/Vegetarian Pescaterian diet at home so I can control how organic the meal is. Last month I had chicken. I don't believe I'll be having chicken again. It was kind of gross. I've noticed that since I've been doing so much research and since I don't keep eating something that is not good for my body that I am so much healthier and I'm throwing out all previous notions of food!

It may not be a diet, but I'm still losing weight!


Many choose a healthy lifestyle just to look svelte. I know that attracted me initially. I try to remember that it's better to lose weight slowly and naturally. When I first started a healthy lifestyle I didn't see any weight come off right away, but the more I learned about my body the more I learned that it doesn't need to come off tomorrow and return. I need it to come off naturally and it will stay away as long as I remember the Number #1 Rule!

I just just dropped another dress size. I'm down to a size 10. That's amazing for a girl who was once a size 22. I just bought a modest bikini. I'm looking forward to slimming down to a healthy size six. The goal is not to be thin, but healthy. 

The absolute bottom line to a healthy lifestyle?

DO YOUR RESEARCH!

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