The Rocks are movin'!

It's been a while since I've posted. No, I haven't been lazy. I've been movin'!.......Got ya! Not movin' away-movin' in place! That's a good excuse right? We're exercising! The Rocks have always been outdoorsy and active, since even before we were The Rocks. Now we're focussed on making it part of our daily family routine for good health. (BTW, the family is aka "The Rocks" Rodgers.)

Regular exercise seems like an obvious thing to do for good health, but how many of us actually have a regular exercise routine? And follow it?  Here's why I think it's vital. 

1. What's good for the heart is good for the brain. Good heart and brain health has been my motivation for veganism. I've been given the opportunity to change my lifestyle and start preventative measures for good health with every choice I make. I've been consciously thinking about each meal and how I use my time to benefit my new lifestyle. So why not do the same with exercise? I know that by changing my lifestyle, I am changing the entire family's habits. 

Exercise shouldn't be a burden, it should be part of everyday life. A nature walk, walking with friends, a bike ride etc. Research has shown that exercise, especially endurance exercise, has been known to improve cognitive function, such as awareness or memory recall. According to the Alzheimer's association: 

"It is most effective when done regularly, and in combination with a brain-healthy diet, mental activity and social interaction." 

2. What's good for the heart, is also good for blood sugar control, which is in turn, is good for the brain. .....See the connection here! Exercise after eating can also help control your blood sugar. I learned that when I had gestational diabetes with my son. Since part of good brain health is also keeping your blood sugar under control, that is a plus! Here's a recent article on Web MD about it. (I'll be blogging more about Type 3 diabetes or brain related diabetes in future.)

All this makes sense and sounds like where I need to be headed. Nothing about these changes seems like work and it really shouldn't. At least that's what my Newsfeed told me this morning in Dr. Hyman's post. 

So here's a few things The Rocks are doing to make exercise part of our lifestyle. 

Fit bit flex

So I am taking my techy husband's lead and I'm going to wear a fit bit. For those of you who don't know what that is, check it out. www.fitbit.com. I tested his out (now he's getting the force) and it made me aware of my daily routine. I started to compete with myself. I guess we will compete with each other. Justin in an office setting, and me, chasing Arlo. I've devised ways to increase the number of steps I take. I even started to move my feet while I was washing dishes, parking further away from the stores in a parking lot, etc. So our family daily goal will be 10,000 steps. This is equivalent to about 5 miles. Sounds like a lot, but once you track it, and think about meeting your goal, it's easier than you think. 

Bike Riding
I'm hoping to continue this throughout the winter. We got a bike seat for Arlo and we've done some great bike riding this season. Although I'm not much of a challenge for Justin's fitness level, it's an enjoyable family activity. Arlo loves the scenery and the fresh air. He picked leaves and held them the entire ride last time we went. 

I'm also using Map my walk app on the iPhone to track the workouts I'm doing.  I'd like to start using the C25k app soon. 

That's a summary of The Rocks, 10,000 steps a day to good health! 

I'm baring it all for Feng Shui!

Ok, I'm baring it all. Just for everyone to see. This is totally unedited. This is not cleaned, organized or "staged."  I didn't use a food stylist or a special lens on my camera. This is my fridge, baring it all...for feng shui?

I'm beginning to become proud of my fridge. After one of my weekly produce runs to the grocery store, I stood back and saw the variety of colors and textures I just put away. For a brief moment, it took my breathe away. I couldn't believe how dramatically my fridge was changing. There were a lot less bottles and containers, and a lot more life. Life that creates a new energy each time I go food shopping.

Some of you will think this next statement is far fetched, but it's true. The energy has changed in the kitchen. These items are living things. I mentioned before that I enjoy creating meals with color. Color affects our mood, so does the type of food you bring into your home. It hit me at this moment that I was creating a good energy flow in the house, for our meals, in our lives. I decided that there was something to this. Could it be refrigerator feng shui? Is there such a thing? Why yes, there is.


From About.com:


Good nutrition is good feng shui, so add healthy, organic foods to your diet, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. Besides the high nutritional value, organic fruits and vegetables carry strong healing vibrations from earth that your body dearly needs. 

Little did I know that I was naturally changing the vibration of the kitchen and our home by changing my lifestyle. What an added benefit. I found this topic intriguing, so I did a little more research. I've always been interested in feng shui and of course interior design so here are some great tips for everyone to consider in their own homes. Some of these we follow, some we need to work on. I hope to inspire you to improve your kitchen energy! Here are 9 easy tips for you. (written on Care2.com.)

1. Make it Bright and Happy

Bring in nature!

Kitchens are one of the more active or yang areas of the home, so bring in brighter colors, active, happy and inspiring artwork and brighter lighting, and bring in nature. Live plants and/or pictures from nature will always inspire out souls!

2. Get Organized
Kitchens are magnets for everything to land, so you want to head it off at the pass and create places for everything to belong. Baskets are great for this. Train yourself to always put keys and mail in your designated container.

3. Clear Refrigerator Door Clutter
Does your refrigerator door look like an overwhelming cacophony of to do lists and a hodgepodge of assorted pictures?

A good rule of thumb it to take everything down, store in a shoe box and rotate the pictures, giving everything and everyone prominence, rotating them every few weeks.

4. Clutter Clear Drawers and Cupboards
Kitchens are great places to do some quick purging of clutter and the junk drawer is a great place to start. If you haven’t used it in six months, deep-six it.

5. Clear Counter Tops (Justin this one is for you.)

• Keep on the counter top only appliances you use every day.
• Discipline yourself to keep objects off the counters that you do not use on a daily basis such as toasters, blenders, mixers and Cuisinarts. Store them in your newly cleared cupboards and replace with a few lovely vases and/or objects that inspire you. 

6. Make it Safe

• Store knives in knife blocks and remove unfriendly hooks overhead if you have installed them to hold pans.
• Hang dish towels away from stove and remove anything close to it that could catch on fire. Many of the home accidents happen in unsafe kitchens!

7. An Empowered Cook is a Happy Cook!

• Stoves and burners should always be clean and in working order and ideally be in the empowered position, where the cook can see the action.
• If they have their back to the door while cooking, put a mirror or a reflective metal piece behind the stove so they can see what is going on behind.

8. Have A Calm Place to Share Meals Without the Television On

• Sitting down to a meal together should be the time we share our day, relax and replenish our bodies.
• You need a good place to eat every day, a place for people to connect and communicate. It is important to have comfortable chairs and an inspiring piece of artwork on the wall.
• Television shows are fine to watch as a family, but are not conducive to good conversation or good digestion during a meal. Discipline yourself to always keep them off while you are eating.
• If you live alone, make a ritual of eating. Turn off the television, light a candle, put on inspiring music and treat yourself as if you are the important person coming to dinner.

9. Bring in the Earth Element

• Good 'earthy' counter top materials
• The earth element brings in a grounding energy and encourages us to be in our bodies, an important feature when dealing with the fire and knives that are inherent in kitchens.
• If you were planning on remodeling your kitchen, a good choice for the counter tops would be earthy granites or tiles in earth tones. If you have black granite, it is always good to have lighter more earthy colors for the cabinets. You can also bring in pottery, mats, dishware, and/or other decorative pieces in yellows, golds and earth tones. Black represents the water element and encourages us to be too “floaty” and un-grounded, which is not a good idea for kitchens.

Creating a nurturing, happy, organized and inspiring kitchen will support the needs of the family while uplifting their souls, making your hearth truly the heart of your home!

I'm sorry my fellow Italians!

OK, so first off, my apologies to my fellow Italians- friends, family, acquaintances etc. I committed the ultimate sin in order to test my will. I did a secret swap for Sunday Dinner. After I apologized to my dear husband and son, my husband-and fellow Italian, he forgave me and even complimented me for my bold action.

So what did I do? I made tofu ricotta.

Yes, tofu ricotta. Then I used it for a tray of stuffed shells. I must tell you, it wasn't half bad! You know, tofu can be made to taste like just about anything. In this case, the texture was right and I think I nailed the seasonings. So here's what I did. (Again, please bear in mind, this is not technical-if you want to know more detail, please contact me.)

I sautéed a 1/4 of a white onion in olive oil- while sautéing I added to them a dash of balsamic vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes, oregano, and some parsley. I let everything soften and get close to caramelization. Then, I put them aside to cool.

In the meantime, I took 1 package of soft tofu and added it to my blender. Added salt, pepper flakes, 3-4 roasted garlic cloves, kale, fresh basil from the garden and finally the onion mixture. Added a squeeze of lemon. Then, yes...I went above and beyond and added some flax seeds. Blended it together until it looked like ricotta cheese. Here is what it looked like.

Then I stuffed my shells and lined them up in a pan as you always would with stuffed shells. For an extra added health benefit, I made my own quick fresh tomato sauce from the garden. Here is what the shells looked like before the sauce and after!

I can't say it tasted bad at all, in fact, I think it was a decent substitute for ricotta cheese with a lot of added health benefits such as kale and flax seeds. If I had some vegan cheese to melt on top, it would have been a total home run. This one will go in my repertoire for sure. Again, my fellow Italians, I may have committed a cooking sin, but my health will be better off with a few of these substitutions on occasion! Test your family! See if they can tell the difference.

Vegan Vengeance

Success is not something that happens overnight. It is comprised of failures, hard work and most of all perseverance to achieve goals. I think the hardest thing about success is overcoming obstacles. Recently while gathering resources for my vegan journey I came across The Vegan Society-a guide to vegan living. I was impressed with the amount of information and support for adopting a vegan lifestyle. One sentence stood out to me in the Top 10 Tips for Going Vegan list- It was point number 6.

6)    If you have barriers that are stopping you – come to them last.

It struck me that if we could only adopt this mantra in daily life, what a difference it might make? Wouldn't you know it, something as simple as putting the biggest obstacles aside could help achieve a goal? Celebrating the small successes along the way is important. It keeps you motivated. Then, before you know it, you've reached your goal and you've done so in a positive way! 

That's my vegan vengeance. I'll take pizza as I know it, ice cream, hot wings and seafood and put them aside for the moment. Meat "your coming with me" and I'll show you the door! (Justin, my hubby support, pointed this out to me while dining out this weekend. "Even if it has diary, just pick the one without the meat....at least is one more thing closer to your goal.") 

In the meantime, I plan to research ways of eating sustainable and farm raised local dairy as much as I can. I've been following two sites to help me along the way. Seafood Watch and Michael Pollan. Michael Pollan has some great resources about changing the way we cook, eat and live. I urge you to read up on him.  

"For the past twenty-five years, Michael Pollan has been writing books and articles about the places where nature and culture intersect: on our plates, in our farms and gardens, and in the built environment." Read More at www.michaelpollan.com

My accountability sucks! REALITY CHECK RECIPES

OK, so I've been pretty crappy at keeping myself accountable since my last post. A lot has gotten in my way. I went on vacation, which was not very vegan inspired. Then I spent time recouping from vacation..yada yada yada. All excuses! I admit I'm not great at keeping on track, but I always try to keep my goals in mind, I guess that is the important part. So, enough with my personal faults, let's get on with it.

The recipes. I promised to report back. Here are my results. You'll see I take a lot of personal liberty when it comes to cooking. I use what I like and what I have available. I substitute often, and I never write down a recipe :) Another personal fault of mine, but anyway. If you want to re-create something, just let me know.

1-Sweet Potato Smoothie: 10 out of 10 for dessert, REALITY CHECK: boiling the potatoes made this process a little more cumbersome then I like for my smoothies.

If you like sweet potato pie, then by all means give this a go. I found it to be more satisfying as a dessert, than a breakfast, which is when I made it. The strong sweet potato flavor in the morning, was a little much for me first thing in the AM, but awesome as a sort of guilt-free dessert.

2-Sweet Potato Pancake: 10 out of 10 for anytime, REALITY CHECK: I hate grating!!!

My mother and I made these last night for dinner with some personal modifications. I did 1/2 of a large sweet potato and 1/2 of a russet potato, added 1 egg (not so much vegan :)) added some baking soda, flour, cinnamon, salt and some scallions chopped up. Didn't use Rosemary or Cumin. For those of you who like scallion pancakes, you'll love this. These were great! I would make a bigger batch next time and then freeze the rest for a quick snack or meal. If you want more specifics, comment and I'll reply back.

3-Black Bean Burgers: Salsa...10 out of 10 even as a stand alone REALITY CHECK: Easy Peasy

OK, I have the ingredients to make the burgers, but haven't. I made the salsa, again with some personal modifications.

Modification #1: I made an avocado and tomato salsa (using small yellow and grape tomatoes from my garden) with lemon, oil, salt, and a dash of apple cider vinegar.

Modification #2: I made a mango and tomato salsa (seen below) with a mildly hot poblano pepper. I served the salsa with grilled shrimp. The better of two modifications was the mango and tomato salsa with hot pepper. I plan on using the left over salsa for nachos or a pizza (suggestion from my husband..sort of like a Hawaiian pizza)

4. Fresh Friday Pizza: REALITY CHECK: This was so easy, fresh and delicious, you ought to just try it! 

I didn't have a recipe to try, but I did make an awesome pizza. I used an all natural pre-made pizza crust-thin crust. I made a pesto with basil from my garden, pecans, parmesan cheese and oilve oil. Spread that across my crust. Added grated cheese (use whatever you like or have) sliced thin, Big Boy Tomatoes from my garden and thin eggplant sliced also from my garden. Sprinkled with a bit of sea salt and baked to crust instructions. (see below)

I bought all these veggies, now what?

Okay, so I bought all these veggies- now what?

I'm not the only person out there who is trying to transition to a vegan, so I'm turning to those who've paved a path for newbies like me. 

My challenge: I have to feed my 1 year old son and very accommodating-to-vegan-menu husband- thank god! My mother also joins us on occasion for dinner. Coordinating a menu to please everyone becomes a challenge for me, but I suppose this is going to be only one of the hurdles. (We won't discuss next week's challenge yet...vacation). 

Over the weekend, I attempted a green squash casserole-not vegan, but meatless. This turned out OK, but not great. I've also hit somewhat of a smoothie wall-and need some fresh inspiration to mix it up a bit. Here is are some recipes I plan to test this week and report back about. Stay tuned! I guess this is a start!

Sweet Potato Pie Smoothie from Brownvegan.com
I love sweet potatoes in all forms- so now I'm excited and inspired.

Sweet Potato Pancakes from Delicioustv
need some crunch in this menu. Delicious TV is one of my favorite resources. I 

subscribe to the podcast and their recipes are very accessible. 

Black Bean Burgers With Avocado Mango Salsa from Brownvegan.com
sounds yummy to me (one of my criteria)

Vegan color wheel

The other morning my mother said to me that my smoothie was a "funny green color" for a breakfast, reminding her of peas. I guess that's one way of looking at it. I look at it as a invigorating way to start the day! 

According to color-wheel-pro.com, the color green has many great characteristics. Being an interior designer made me aware of how colors evoke certain feelings. Here's what they say about green:

"Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated with money.

Green has great healing power. It is the most restful color for the human eye; it can improve vision. Green suggests stability and endurance. Sometimes green denotes lack of experience; for example, a 'greenhorn' is a novice. In heraldry, green indicates growth and hope. Green, as opposed to red, means safety; it is the color of free passage in road traffic."

So what does this have to do with becoming a vegan? Nicole has taught me through health coaching that you should view food as medicine. Ask yourself "What effect will this food have on my body if I eat it?" Well why not entice your stomach visually. 

For several months now I've been eating a bright green breakfast smoothie. I use kale and spinach (green) chop bananas (yellow), peaches (orange) apples (red) and or berries (red, blue) to add to my smoothie. Whip it all up with my vanilla zrii meal replacement shake and I'm good to go. The process of buying bright color fruits and veggies-laying them out in the morning -chopping and preparing them for my smoothie-in itself is therapeutic. I see it, smell it, touch it then eat it. Each step stimulates a sense, all beginning with color. I found this changes my thought process and motivates me to create beautiful color combinations with produce as I did in interior design and graphic design. I will use the vegan color wheel as a resource in more of my meals. 

Welcome to my leap!

I decided to take a leap. A leap to become a vegan. I might think I'm leaping, but I anticipate starting with a slow crawl! I have been a part-time vegetarian now for many years. I gave up dairy for a while because I was lactose intolerant, so I know I have it in me. There are things I love- like cheese- which are going to be a huge challenge. Seafood, another biggie. But I'm willing to try. Maybe I'll end up being a vegetarian with a focus on healthy, local and fresh eating? Or a pescatarian! I'm not sure just yet. My goal is to slowly change my lifestyle with the support of my family and friends. 

This blog will serve as my support, and hopefully keep me in check. I have my right hand Simplicities sister, Nicole to help me with her mad health coaching skills! She's already been collecting vegan recipes for me. She knows I'll actually cook, so that's a no brainer! Anything I encounter along the way, I know she'll help. It's time for me to make the change. I want to have long term health for myself and my family. I am motivated to do what I can to sustain a healthy body and a healthy brain.

I already went to the doctor's to get a baseline wellness exam, so I know where I stand. In fact, she is the one reccommending a low cholesterol and anti-inflammatory diet-given my stats and my family history. I am hoping to share my resources and recipes with you along the way. I may not be perfect, it may take some time, but it's worth it to me. If I can inspire someone else to be a little more healthy it will be worth the journey. Stay tuned, and keep me in check!