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Category Archives: Optimal Health


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90 Day Vegetarian Adventure, Day 87 Carmen’s Shake

Here is a new recipe inspired by my granddaughter, Carmen.  She is just a year old and is being introduced slowly to adult foods.  Every morning Grandma makes a breakfast shake for me and she has to share it.   She is allergic to strawberries but bananas are safe so the following recipe is a shake that she loves and is good for her growing tummy.

Carmen’s Shake:    1 cup of soymilk, 1 banana, 1 scoop protein powder, a few drops of vanilla and a shake of cinnamon.  Place ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.  Share it with those you love.


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90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day 82 The Traveller

The recent road trip to Denver proved to be a challenge for vegetarian eating.  A few discoveries are noteworthy. For breakfast we packed protein shakes and meal replacement bars.  They make your tummy feel good when you have to eat early in the morning and they keep you from veering off the road into hash browns and sausage sandwiches.

For lunch we found at Sonic, of all places cranberry juice, sugar was added but it was a wonderful break from bottled water and orange juice.  Quiznos grilled mushrooms and onions for my veggie sub and made it to my specifications.  It was delicious.  Of course the Morningstar brand of veggie burger is available at Burger King and if I’m feeling deprived I also order the onion rings.   Finally, the old standby, Cracker Barrel has a four vegetable side dish platter with corn muffins that is very satisfying and they serve pinto beans with a really nice pickle relish.  Their Apple Iced Tea and Sweet Potato Casserole are a highlight of the menu.

Once in Denver we ate at two different restaurants.  Las Fuentes near Speer Blvd in downtown has homemade Mexican food with bean and rice fillings.  The sauces make the food extraordinary.  The Old Spaghetti Factory is a great place to eat if you are hungry and like homemade Italian food.  We ate Mizithra cheese from Greece with  browned butter on pasta, which was the best entree of the week.

Finally, we never go into the higher altitudes without our Perfect Water.  It is purified, re-mineralized, ionized, micro-structured, and oxygen rich which is very helpful when trying to walk or climb stairs in the Mile-High City.

If you have tried to eat a healthy, vegetarian diet on the road send me your finds.  I would love to hear from you.


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90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Cooking for Carnivores

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The baby boy is home from college and he is building muscle for wrestling season.  My daughters and husband are looking at me with big puppy dog eyes when I mention cooking a meal with meat while he is home.  The truth is, they enjoy the vegetarian cooking but they never signed on to the lifestyle.  So, tomorrow I’m making Carolina BBQ for them.  The dilemma is, what do I cook for me?  Do I cave and go back to old ways of eating for one day? Or do I sit righteously at the end of the table with my cup of tea and pretend I’m not hungry?  Actually, I decided to make mushroom sliders with slices of onion and a homemade tomato based BBQ sauce.  The sides will be of course coleslaw with low-fat dressing and baked potato skins.  Pear sauce and nonfat molasses cookies for dessert.   The key to cooking for carnivores is to make my own preferences for vegetables just as important as their preference for meat.

Any of you have similar dilemmas?  Send me a comment or questions and we will talk.


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90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day #65 Lower Weight, Lower Cholesterol

Since the 90 Day Vegetarian Adventure began I have not eaten any red meat, hot dogs, pork, dark meat poultry or eggs.  There have been isolated incidents where certain recipes have contained a small amount of ground turkey or chicken breast and full fat cheddar cheese.  Also, we live in an apple  growing area and cheddar cheese with fresh apples is a lunch that I have chosen to enjoy.  The only nonfat dairy that I want to add to my diet is yogurt, however, my food choices have been less than perfect.

You must be asking why I’m giving you the background.  Yesterday, I visited my Family Physician to discuss the effect of the imperfect vegetarian diet, supplementation, exercise and Statin medication.  I’ve lost weight according to the Doctor’s scales, and it’s been a lot of years since that has happened.  My Total Cholesterol reading is 34 points lower and my blood pressure is lower, in the healthy range.   Plus I’m fitting into one dress size smaller.  The combination of a vegetarian diet, exercise, supplementation and Statins is producing healthier results.


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90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day 52 Sweet Tea

Growing up in the country during the fifties and sixties meant that every friends’ house had a pitcher of sweet iced tea in the refrigerator.  We drank iced tea with lunch, dinner and on very hot days, all day.  Everyone had their own recipe and a special pitcher in which to make it.  My mom was terrible at making iced tea so we used a pre-made mix or just drank milk and water.

Mrs. K on the other hand made the best iced sweet tea I have ever had.  She lived just up the road and her daughter was my best friend.  We drank the tea out of tall Tupperware cups and now when I drink sweetened iced tea it takes me back to those halcyon days.

Anyone ready to share their favorite sweet tea recipe?  Something the rest of us can duplicate?  Send me your formulas and I will reproduce them to the best of my ability.  I will taste test them in a Tupperware cup and publish the one that takes me back to childhood and Mrs. K’s kitchen.


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Life’s Journey with Tea

Blogging about tea started me thinking about the memories that go along with certain teas.  For example, the first tea I remember drinking is called Cambric Tea, made from milk, hot water and sugar.  My grandmother used to heat the water on a wood cook stove and make this tea for me when I was a child.

Send in your comments about tea, favorite flavors, and memories associated with them.  More of our recollections tomorrow.


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90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day 49 The Benefits of Tea

One of the unexpected results of the 15 day Juice Reboot, see category below, was a change from drinking coffee to tea.  My daughter asked me about my favorite teas and if I’ve seen any benefit from the change.

Drinking tea instead of coffee has completely healed the acid reflux I was experiencing.  It doesn’t seem to matter what type of tea it is, the calcium antacids remain in the bottle.  I was taking at least 2 antacids before bed almost every night before the reboot.  I was also drinking decaffeinated coffee from Starbucks and other cafe’s along with sodas with fast food.  The sodas and coffee were associated with the acidic problem in my stomach.

The other major benefit comes from fresh mint tea which is by far my favorite.  We grow spearmint, peppermint, and for the first time Stevia  in our garden.  The mints are easy to get started and hard to kill, plus they spread over a period of time.  12 stalks of mint plus about 20 leaves of Stevia make 2 quarts of tea.  Iced or hot it is delicious without the effects of sugar and it settles all stomach issues.

Whenever, my children caught a stomach flu or other digestive tract disorder, the first thing we would do is run to the garden for some mint and make tea.  It always made them feel better.


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90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day 47 New Fall Wardrobe?

I forgot what I was going to blog about today, so I will give you an update instead.  Since the Juice Reboot at the beginning of the summer I have dropped almost 2 sizes in slacks and blouses.  This means that when I unpack my winter clothing most of it will be too big.  Unfortunately, or not, I do not hold onto clothing that doesn’t fit.  If I haven’t worn it during the past year, the item is donated to the local used clothing shop.  That means it’s time for a new wardrobe, yahoo!!

I also have a profile on Fitday.com and have begun entering my daily calories.  This is a great site for keeping track of weight loss goals and exercise.  Just want to make sure that I don’t regress into denial.  Believe me it’s easy to overeat and gain weight on any eating plan, just increase your calories past your activity level.  However, it’s much easier to stay within bounds when meat and high fat dairy are not on the plate.

I’ve been downloading and watching the “Heavy” TV series from Netflix.  Just like the “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” Documentary these shows greatly improve motivation.  Please send comments about how you motivate yourself to stay on an eating plan.  We accept all diets here, not just Vegetarian.  Though my personal results show that it is the plan that works for me.


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90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Birthday!! How to Celebrate?

How do I celebrate a birthday low fat vegetarian style when in the past my favorite meals involved pork chops and cake?  Placing an order for Ma Po Tofu and Vegetable Lo Mien from my favorite Chinese carryout should do it with nonfat Frozen Yogurt for dessert. And I won’t feel stuffed or unhealthy afterward.


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The 90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day 40 The Great Frederick Fair

Normally, I love this time of year and one of the highlights of September is attending the Great Frederick Fair.  This is a county agricultural fair with something for everyone.  In past years I have entered baked goods, canned goods, artwork and photos for competition and a prize.  It’s good to know that I can bake prize-winning bread, brownies and pickle superior green beans.

However, this year is different.  With all of the changes in my schedule, I haven’t had the time or energy to make any entries.  Also, the Vegetarian Adventure has given me a different gastronomic perspective because most of the food sold at the fair is animal-based.  So, all of the lovely ham sandwiches, crab soup, full fat ice cream and gyros don’t call my name anymore.  In fact, I’m not even tempted to go back to the meat-eating orgy that the Fair used to be for me.

So, what am I going to do at the Fair this year?  Attend the Horse Pull on Friday night and eat a delicious bag of kettle popcorn.  Browse through the Farm & Garden building that is full of beautiful fruits and vegetables grown in the county this summer and pick up a free apple.  In this same building there is delicious local honey for sale.  I always buy honey sticks for the grown 20-somethings.

If I’m upping my fat intake for the day there are fantastic apple dumplings made by the best cooks in the world, Methodist Church Ladies.  And, sweet potato fries are always tasty and filling.  But, I guess that’s about it as far as the food will take me.

I love to look at the healthy, well-cared for, livestock.  It’s fun to watch the 4-H kids show their animals and to realize that each sheep, goat, cow and pig represent a lot of hard work to get them to this event.  The auctions are bittersweet.  I’m happy for the kids who get a good price for their animals but sad that the beautiful critters will end up in the freezer.

Then, there is the Household Building, where in past years I competed with the best of them.  This year I’m not even interested because none of my stuff is there.  That’s pretty childish, but it’s how I feel.

The free yardsticks, frisbees, key chains, erasers that look like cows, pencils, pads of paper and jar openers are all there for the picking.  The kids used to love getting Fair bags full of the stuff.  Only one college kid this year has requested freebies from the Fair, so I’ll wander around with my plastic bag advertising the local newspaper and collect for him.

This whole vegetarian lifestyle change has definitely changed the source of excitement caused by the Fair.  It has made me realize that I did go mostly for the food and now that fried meat doesn’t look or taste good anymore and full-fat dairy is not on the menu what’s left?  Just a different experience that’s all.  Still fun and satisfying, with a new, healthier perspective.