The Odyssey of Serenity

My Journey towards full body health: Physical, mental, and spiritual. 

[odysseyofserenity]

Staying With It

Isn’t it funny how much food affects us?  It affects our mood, our energy, our hormones, our skin, our mental, emotional, and physical health.  It makes sense. It is, after all, our fuel.  It is necessary to stay alive.  For centuries, food was simply viewed as that. A source of survival. A source of fuel.  I’m sure, depending on the culture, there were treats and valued meals and recipes as the concept of food and how we relate to it on a more .... shall we say, philosophical level, developed.  However, one thousand years ago, there were no grocery stores lined with colorful rows of pasta’s, canned foods, pop-tarts in 17 different flavors, and soda-pop.  The convenience of food, the taste of food, and our whole concept of food and what it means to us has changed drastically.  My whole life revolves around food - and not just in the literal sense. It’s a battle I’m constantly struggling against.  Constantly struggling to be mindful of what I eat, to eat food that makes me FEEL good, and to make the “right choices” - whatever those may be (I’m still figuring that one out).  A little over a year ago (May of 2015 to be precise) I started a new journey - eating low carb, higher fat/protein, and virtually - sugar free. I lost 40.lb.  I felt much better - more energy, less rashes, less joint pain (from my AS), my hip pain went away altogether, and of course .... I could feel comfortable in my own skin again.  I stopped obsessing about the number on the scale and just decided to be healthy. That was it.  Just ... be healthy. Feel good.  Eat food that makes me FEEL good ... not food that makes me lose weight.  I’m over trying to lose weight. If I stayed at 220.lb and I FELT good, healthy, energetic - I wouldn’t give two shit’s about losing the weight. However, losing weight is often a natural side-effect to achieving a healthier lifestyle and sure enough - that is what happened to me. 

Living in Korea - while adjusting to this new way of eating - was extremely challenging. I had to trek 2 hours on a Subway with two large rolling suitcases to Costco. Then I would fill up the suitcases and trek 2 hours back.  Finding certain foods such as almond flour and natural sugar alternatives (such as Stevia or Eryithritol) were almost impossible to find - thankfully I could order most of that stuff online from a wonderful company called iHerb.com (seriously - if you live abroad and can’t find specialty type foods - this company was HEAVEN sent! They ship to just about any country and the prices aren’t bad either). 

I knew I had to start baking and cooking for myself.  So I would make things like guacamole burgers with almond flour buns. 

Sugar free, gluten free (low carb) snickerdoodle cookies with a side of almond milk (my local E-Mart in Incheon sold unsweetened almond milk, for which I was SO grateful for!) 

Sliced up Zucchini and Shrimp topped with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and home-made Alfredo sauce. 

“Mac” n Cheese (made with Cauliflower, cheese, salt, pepper, mustard, cream cheese, and a dash of paprika). 

Sugar free home-made Eggnog! 

“Fathead” Pizza Dough with delicious toppings!

Shrimp and Mozzarella Omelette topped with sour cream and avocado. 

Zucchini ravioli stuffed with chicken and feta cheese - topped with low sugar tomato sauce and parm cheese.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There were many more recipes I made.  This whole time I lived with the tiniest kitchen you ever saw, a mini fridge, and a toaster oven.  I couldn’t WAIT to get back home. Oh the possibilities! I would have a larger fridge, a larger kitchen, and an ACTUAL oven!  I returned home and managed to keep my way of eating.  I celebrated one year eating low carb (or ketogenic, as some call it) in May of 2016 - shortly after returning home from Korea. As the summer went on, I began to hang out with friends, go out to lunch and dinner, and cheat just a little bit more here and there.  “Oh one hamburger bun isn’t going to kill me!”  ...... “Oh two regular slices of pizza won’t hurt.”  And for awhile they didn’t.  I still felt fine ... despite the occasional cheating (I did this MAYBE once a week).  I wasn’t gaining weight.  I knew it was going to catch up to me though, because this is what always happens with me.  I find a healthier way of eating - a healthier life style.  I exercise, I have more energy, I feel good.  Then I get complacent and I slip - slowly but surely - back into old habits.  I still don’t eat sugar.  I hate sugary ice cream, cookies, and soda now. I won’t touch them with a ten foot pole. I have plenty of sugar free options (most of which I bake myself) where I live now, in Oregon. We have SO many health food stores - just LOOKING at them will make you lose 10.lb!  No ... my issue comes with the bread, the pasta, the simple carbs.  One bun on a hamburger a week becomes two, then three and well ... you get the point.  A lot has happened in the last few months.  I got married in September.  My husband and I moved into a larger townhouse with our friend just 2 weeks ago.  We have also been having problems with extended family - that I won’t go into - but needless to say - it’s been stressful.  Also it’s getting cold. REALLY cold. I can feel it in my bones and joints as they stiffen and swell up.  Moving was really hard on my body.  But ... more than the pain, more than the swelling, more than the aching back and aching knees ... the thing I HATE the most - - is my lack of energy.  I’m tired ALL THE TIME.  ALL I want to do is sleep.  It’s true that I get up at 3 a.m. to teaching English online to kids in China - I do this until 6 a.m.  I go to bed around 7:30 p.m. - so technically I AM getting enough sleep, but it doesn’t seem to matter.   I know a lot of it has to do with how I am managing my food intake. So here I am again ... even though I still eat relatively close to my “diet” .... I know I need to try harder.  I need to find that healthy relationship with food again.  I need to have energy again. I need to live again ... and start again.  That’s ok, though.  As long as you don’t give up ... you aren’t failing. 

[odysseyofserenity]

Keto in Korea

So last month I got really depressed and decided I needed to start being healthy and good to myself again (why is this “lifestyle” so damn difficult? Oh yeah, because it takes will power!)  For along time now I’ve been researching food and nutrition. What does food and specific foods and what they are made up of (protein, fat, carbohydrates, sodium, etc.) do to your body and more specifically - MY body.   I believe the key to living a healthy lifestyle when it comes to food and having a good relationship with said food is to really KNOW your food.  KNOW what you are putting into your body.  I know I’ve mentioned this before, but when I lost weight a few years back - like 60.lb - I don’t feel that I did it the “right” way.  Sure, I was healthier.  I was exercising and doing portion control. Counting my calories. Hitting it hard in the gym.  I had a personal trainer. How could I go wrong?  Well . . . that was fine for a time. You see, I was still eating processed foods.  There were some better, whole foods in there . . . but i was still eating white flour tortilla’s, deli meat that is preserved with sugar (honey ham anyone?), low fat puddings, etc.  Processed crap essentially.  It’s no surprise I gained all the weight back over a period of following 3 years.  I probably could have kept my weight where it was at if I had kept counting my calories and kept being really strict, but that’s just not practical.  It’s no wonder that people often fall off the wagon shortly after they lose weight on diets.   I don’t want to be on a “diet” - - I want to eat. I want to live. I want this to be a way of eating.  Food and I have had a strenuous relationship most of my life. Fortunately, I have never topped over 225.lb (not that that is a good weight for me, because it isn’t).  I have never been morbidly obese.  That doesn’t excuse anything though. You can be thin and still be terribly unhealthy . . . still have the worst relationship with food.  It doesn’t really matter what size you are when it comes to that. I know plenty of larger people who eat REALLY freaking well and exercise . . . WAY more than I do.  All bodies work different.  I am learning this and I am learning what works for MY body.  I have AS, I have a disorder that gives me a lot of pain. This makes exercise hard. This also makes it very confusing to know what I should and shouldn’t put into my body.  I’m the queen of research and I’ve researched food a lot.  Some people say “Don’t eat eggs, they are inflammatory” while my Doctor says there isn’t any solid proof on this and I should be fine.  Don’t eat coconut oil. Do eat coconut oil. Don’t eat cooked meat. Do eat cooked meat.  I don’t even know anymore.  So instead  . . . here is what I am going to do . . . monitor my food (only for a while), figure out what makes me feel bad.  What makes me feel good.  This whole outlook lead me into researching a WOE (way of eating) called Keto or more simply, low carb, high fat.  The Atkins diet does this in the low carb area, but not quite as much high fat as Keto.  What is Keto?   A keto diet is well known for being a low carb diet, where the body produces ketones in the liver to be used as energy. It’s referred to as many different names – ketogenic diet, low carb diet, low carb high fat (LCHF), etc. When you eat something high in carbs, your body will produce glucose and insulin.Glucose is the easiest molecule for your body to convert and use as energy, so it will be chosen over any other energy source.Insulin is produced to process the glucose in your bloodsteam, by taking it around the body. Since the glucose is being used as a primary energy, your fats are not needed, and are therefore stored. Typically on a normal, higher carbohydrate diet, the body will use glucose as the main form of energy.By lowering the intake of carbs, the body is induced into a state known as ketosis. Ketosis is a natural process the body initiates to help us survive when food intake is low. During this state, we produce ketones, which are produced from the breakdown of fats in the liver.The end goal of a properly maintained keto diet is to force your body into this metabolic state. We don’t do this through starvation of calories, but through starvation of carbohydrates. Our bodies are extremely adaptive to what you put into it – when you overload it with fats and take away carbohydrates, it will begin to burn ketones as the main energy source.

There have been endless studies done on this particular way of eating (a way of eating that has sustained humans for thousands of years more or less.)  Here are just some said studies.  In any case, because of my AS, I’ve learned that eating as little sugar - even natural sugar - as possible as well as starch is best for me.  This WOE cuts out pretty much all sugar, save a bit of low carb fruits from time to time (i.e. most berries), as well as all starch.  I started eating this way 7 days ago - but I’ve been slowly easing into it - figuring out. Figuring out what is good for my body.  I’ve lost roughly 9/10 pounds of mostly water weight ( When you cut the carbs out of your diet, your body empties out the "emergency" stores of carbohydrate it keeps in the liver and muscles in the form glycogen.  You also pee A LOT).  I’m not counting this as “OMG! It works!”  This is to be expected and I may even gain a pound or two of it back as I start working out (which I started doing today).   It takes a week or two for the body to enter ketosis state and only once you are in this state do you really start burning fat. You can drop out of ketosis, but your body will respond differently than before (you likely won’t gain much weight back, you’re body should stay where it’s at, unless you are totally going to town with the carbs) and it’s much easier to get your body to go back into ketosis.  Well here in Korea it’s been a bit difficult as I don’t have a lot of money until I get paid so my ingredients are super minimal. Hopefully that will change soon.  I’ll start posting what I eat shortly.   That’s pretty much it!  It’s still a learning process. Still figuring out my body, what to put in it, and what it needs vs what it craves/desires.  I’m getting there though and that is a good feeling. 

[odysseyofserenity]

3 months ago - almost to do the day - I moved to Korea. I came here to teach English as a foreign language to elementary students at a Hagwon (an after school learning institute).   So far - it’s actually been quite a good journey, although a hard one - as I am separated from family and friends, which is never easy.  I told myself before I came of all the reasons I was doing this.  I was doing this to pay off some debts.  To use my degree. To gain some life experience. To help my family. Most of all though, to learn more about myself.  To know that I could be away from my fiancee for a year and still know what it was like to not rely on him as much as I do - - to have the strength to do things on my own.  Before I left to cross the great Blue - as is evident by this blog - I was struck with a desire to change my eating habits.  And I did!  And I did really well and I felt really good and I lost weight and  . . .  I’m not doing any of that anymore.  And boy - do I feel it.   I was diagnosed last year (although I’ve lived with this condition since about age 17) with a autoimmune deficiency disorder called Ankylosing Spondylitis which is basically arthritis of the spine and SI joints as well as a whole array of other fun problems and issues.  Lately my knees have been taking a bad turn.  I can barely go up stairs.  It’s not good.  In the TL;DR version of this - - I stopped being good to my body.  I feel like shit.  I feel awful.  Now, granted I didn’t feel the greatest before I left either - I still lived with A LOT of chronic pain - but changing my eating habits (and exercising regularly) really helped me with the intense fatigue I battle as well as other problems.  I had this sense of urgency that I had to get to the best point I could before I left for Korea.   Well, I got here and that all went right out of the window.  I chopped it up to change and that I would get back on the bandwagon soon.  It’s been 3 months and the bandwagon is still a long ways down the road to success - - a road filled with weekly trips to Korean BBQ, McDonalds Happy Birthday ice cream cones, late night Oreo binges, and a regular occurrence of eating a hot dog wrapped in fried garlic pastry (a cheap “lunch” at the Paris Baguette pastry shop in the building where I work).   Sigh.   Well I FINALLY went on a semi-decent shopping trip. I sold my soul for some things like nuts, frozen fruit, salmon, and other healthy eating essentials.  It cost a pretty penny but I’m glad I have this food now - because I no longer have excuses to eat poorly.  For me - it’s all about preparation and knowing what I’m going to eat. If I don’t - - I eat horribly.   Well - - today I did alright.  I had fruit and plain yogurt for breakfast with one yet.  Salmon with homemade Guac for lunch and a shrimp and broccoli salad with a homemade avocado dressing. For dessert - as pictured - my favorite banana peanut butter ice cream (almond milk, frozen banana’s, peanut butter, ice - blended, frozen - topped with walnuts).  I CAN get back on this.  I have to.  I don’t want to be miserable. I don’t want to hate my body or my quality of life. I don’t want to spend another day watching everyone explore this beautiful country while I sit on the sidelines because I’m too tired to walk a mile or too in pain to climb a few steps.  Right now it’s one day at a time and that’s ok.  But I’ve got to learn to love myself again. I had that once and I’ve lost it.  I don’t hate myself necessarily - but I do hate my body and that’s not good.  This is the only one I’ll ever have - - and I won’t have it for very long - I damned well better be good to it! So the odyssey begins again.  

[odysseyofserenity]

9) Eye on the Prize

It's been a little while since I updated.  I'll admit, life is catching up to me - but in a good way! For the first time in a long time I am feeling really good about where my life is going and how I'm living it.  I've noticed my mood is a lot more stable lately - - I feel this has a lot to do with eating more nutritionally. Bad food can cause depression, anxiety, and a whole slew other mood problems.  I was trapped in that cycle and I had just had enough of it.  Of course - depression can happen to healthy people as well - but I think it is a lot less likely and I think if you have the right tools you have a better chance of fighting it and a better overall attitude to combat it.  I've been struggling a little bit with meals - not with eating poorly. I still haven't had any processed foods, refined sugar, anything of that nature. I've kept myself about 98% dairy/gluten/sugar/red meat free.   It's more just having the time to research meals, get the right foods, having the money to get these foods, and put them together. I don't have a lot of time - only about 3 hours in the morning to make my breakfast, lunch, AND dinner - - and to eat breakfast and lunch. So it can be rather time consuming, however I AM learning ways to be more proficient.  Here are some recipe's I've had in the past week:

From the Fisherman's Market in downtown Eugene - Coho "Silver" Salmon, caught fresh from Washington every week. They are having a special for a whole fish for $4.99/lb. I purchased a little over 6 lb and for about $34 I got the salmon filleted and vacuum sealed. I have salmon about once a week (about 1/2 a fillet) and it is AMAZING! Very rich in protein, Omega 3,6,9, B12 and a ton of other things.  Here is some info on the health benefits of fresh caught (not farmed) Salmon. 

Here is my Salmon cooked with 1TB whole butter (not salted), a little bit of black pepper and Himalayan pink crystal salt, lemons, and some garlic. It was cooked in foil at 350 for about 15 min. It came out perfect! I LOVE having asparagus (cooked in a little lemon juice, red pepper, and garlic) as a side with Salmon. 

I have been looking into making vegan "cheese" as I'm not eating any cheese (at least for now).  One of my books "Ani's raw Food Kitchen" has some great "cheeze" (as she calls it) recipes. This one came out very tasty! 

Sun-Dried Tomato Cheeze

2 Cloves Garlic

1 ts. sea salt

2 c. Brazil Nuts (can also use cashews)

Juice of 2 lemons - about 4 TB

1/2 c. water, as needed

1 c. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (I like getting the pre-chopped ones in a bag with no oil at Trader Joe's) Process Garlic and salt into small pierces. Add nuts and process into a powder. Add lemon juice and mix well. Gradually add only enough water as needed to make a heavy kream. Scoop kream into a bowl and mix in sun-dried tomatoes. Will keep for about 5 days in the fridge. 

Coconut Butter:

There isn't much to this recipe. I bought some full-fat dried coconut flakes from Market of Choice and soaked them in warm water for about 45 min (to soften them up).  Drain the coconut and add to a food processor with a few TB of water. Blend. It will take about 20-30 min of blending, stopping, scrapping, and blending. So be patient. Once it's a creamy consistency (it's normal for it to still be a bit grainy) put it in a glass container and in the fridge! Enjoy!  Coconut butter is great for making yummy treats that have a creamy feeling like these Strawberry Creme Truffles I made! SO good!

Here is a Vegan Gluten Free Mac n Cheese I made just the other night. Her recipe isn't gluten free - however I used quinoa pasta and it turned out just as well!  I found myself craving mac n cheese like crazy the other day so i found this recipe and while it's not as "rich" as normal mac n cheese it was still very satisfying and felt like a comfort food - which I enjoyed. 

Well, that's it for now! I have kept up (every other day) with my DDP Yoga which has been helping me a lot with my chronic pain as I build strength and flexibility. So that's good! 

[odysseyofserenity]

8) Day #15 - Does that make me crazy?

I probably will stop with the numbering here pretty soon. . . because this isn't a diet. It's not something that is only going on for so long . . . it's a permanent life change. Things will change - especially when I go overseas. I will have ups and downs.  I'm sure I will eat something processed and something refined at some point in my life. I'm not perfect.  But my goal isn't to be perfect  . . . it's to learn. To live. To be healthy overall to the best of my ability. And by God, I will certainly never stop trying! That being said, I started a new job recently. So far I really enjoy it.  I'm in a training class with 29 people - all but 3 of them women - for the next 3 weeks. 

I've been doing well eating clean and when I look around the classroom and I see all the soda's and the energy drinks and the candy bars - - I'm not the least bit tempted. All I can think is (for a class that goes till Midnight): "I wouldn't have any energy if I ate those things! I'm still super tired as it is!"  I have noticed that I'm less lethargic - - I imagine this is due to majorly decreasing my sugar intake, especially that of refined sugar. The only sugar I'm eating is natural sugars in fruits.  I LOVE fruit - but I'm trying not to eat TOO much of it in one day.  I definitely try to have more veggies - which is still difficult for me, but I am getting a lot better. I incorporate them somehow into every meal - - whether it's putting spinach or some leafy green in my morning smoothie - - having mushrooms or kale or asparagus with lunch - - or butternut squash soup, which I had last night.  Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut and Lime

I've made this a few times now and it tastes really good! Squash is a wonderful fall/winter food. I love zucchini, however I've learned that there are other types of squash that have far more nutrients in them, one being Butternut.

Learn about the health benefits here 

Something else I've been incorporating hugely into my diet is the amazing power packed hemp seed.  It is recommended to have 4-6 TB of this Omega 3/6 rich food. It is also a more digestible protein than meat, whole eggs, cheese, human milk, cows milk or any other high protein food.   I found a really good deal at Costco in Eugene - a 24 oz. bag for $24.99 - which is actually a really good deal compared to the cost elsewhere. 

It's funny - - as I sit in the cafeteria with my teammates from work and they look at my florescent yellow curry and quinoa dish or my vegan "pad thai" sauce over zucchini or the fact that I'm pouring hemp seed on virtually everything I eat - - I often get a few, "Wow you're crazy!" Not so much in a judgmental way, but more in a "I'm impressed you can eat like that" way. Is it really SO hard to eat healthy? I guess it is and that makes me crazy. Which I think is pretty sweet. I'm also glad that I can inspire others to eat better as well.  Now I'm still on a loooooooooong road of recovery to feeling the best I can. I still have tremendous pain in my body. Yesterday morning I bent to pick up a piece of string and my back twitched and then gave and I couldn't walk for awhile (without shooting pains in my back, hips, and legs).  This brings me to the second component of my healthy life change. My odyssey.  And that is exercise. Movement. Something that I've started doing that has a had A LOT of success for others is DDPYoga. Diamond Dallas Page - a famous former wrestler - dedicated his life several years back to a resistance based workout routine that anyone can do.  Well I've started doing it. I'm only in week one. but I CAN do it. It doesn't cause a lot of pain and he is big on modifying which is really important to me. 

[odysseyofserenity]

7) Day #7

One week down on my journey to better health! I haven't had any processed foods or refined sugar this whole week and honestly it's been great!  I'm not very tempted - except for when I'm hungry and I don't have something better to eat with me. However, I have not given into any of the temptations.  I went to Walmart yesterday and it just struck me how much our society WANTS us to fail.  Everywhere in the aisles were candy and soda and donuts and literally not ONE nutritious thing except for water and Snapple (maybe). The produce section is tiny.  

I saw a little girl in front of me in the checkout who grabbed a candy bar and begged her mom for it. Her mom said no 3 times and the little girl threw a temper tantrum so the mom gave in.  I'm never taking my child to Walmart. I've just decided. 

I made a pretty delicious pizza the other day with almond flour and flaxseed for the crust.  I used this recipe: http://thehealthyapple.com/2014/05/05/almond-flour-pizza-crust-paleo-grain-free-gluten-free-dairy-free/ I put sun dried tomatoes, dried oregano, zucchini, and spinach on it.  It was about 1,000 calories because almond flour has quite a bit. However, I only ate 1/2 and was very satisfied. 

[odysseyofserenity]

6) Day #6 - The Power of Food

I am big on research. I always have been.  I don't like being ignorant and I enjoy knowing the facts, however I like all the "in between's" you find as well. You know, the "maybe's," the "I'm not sure's," and then some.  These are what keep me going. Keep me researching.  Keep me truth seeking.  I expect no less out of myself - or out of my research - when it comes to my health.  Let me tell you - once you open Pandora's box on that one it never shuts.  Out pours thousands of cookbooks on everything from the "low-carb" to the "paleo" to the "vegan" to the "no sugar" to the "coconut based" and this and that and it never ends! Or so it seems.  It's the same with exercise.  However for the sake of my sanity - I am only focusing (as far as research goes) on food health at the moment.  I went to my local library and picked up a few books, mostly ones that endorse raw foods and recipes on how to make these foods come to life.  One such book caught my attention and I've been reading it as much as I can since yesterday: "The Power of Food" by Adam Hart. 

Hart's story isn't one that particularly stands out, however it was one that strongly resonated with me.  He joined the ranks of millions of North Americans who live a life full of un-health.  A life marked with depression, anxiety, often being overweight and/or out of shape, a life that is caught up in the rat race of business and work, a life that is spent sitting or standing in one spot 85% of the time (and this doesn't count sleeping).  

    Hart writes, "Most of my thoughts in the past did not serve me in a positive way. Do any of these thoughts sound familiar? Why does this always happen to me? When is it going to be my turn to . . . ? It's not fair they always get . . . Why am I such a failure? Why can't anything go right?     Angry at being overweight, upset from being depressed, sad at not being able to eat foods I had loved in the past and frustrated at begin dependent on medication, I was caught in a vicious cycle of negative thoughts that fed off one  another. Once I began to shift my daily thinking to the positive, I was able to create a little mental clarity. This clarity provided me with just enough light in my very dark world to ask myself, What would I really like to be doing with my life?" 

Hart goes on to explain how he was done with being miserable and set out to make a full-life change. Mind, body and spirit.  He got into rock climbing and began forming a very new, and exciting relationship with whole, living foods.  He speaks about how there are essentially two different types of foods.  1) Living  2) Processed He encourages his reader to ask, "Does my food come from the earth? Does it come from a tree, a bush, or grow from the ground?"   The majority - if not nearly all - of the foods we intake should be living foods. Everything else - the processed stuff, the refined sugar, and everything in between - is dead, for all intents and purposes. What real nutrients are we getting out of such things?   Sure, some foods pretend to be good for you claiming "it's natural!" (which really means jack shit) or "it has mango's in it!"  - - yeah, as the 26th ingredient on the list maybe. Then there is the subject of reduced fat peanut butter or flavored yogurt or diet soda. Even most health/protein bars are filled with large amounts of sugar and bad fats!!  We are fooled so easily by these words: "non-fat, reduced fat, diet, no sugar, etc." we have no idea the damage that is really being done to our bodies and our health and the worst part is . . . we have absolutely no real relationship with food. We just think we're doing better.  This is why I really am enjoying "The Power of Food."  Hart has a wide array of recipes that are comprised almost completely of whole, living, organic foods.  He bases a set of recipes off of the power of an individual food item ranging from avocado's to black beans to quinoa to chia seeds and then some.   This evening I decided to "splurge" and try the veggie burger recipe from the book. 

The recipe included:

1 med. onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2TB extra virgin olive oil

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 egg

2 tsp lemon juice

2 c. chopped vegetables of your choice (I used a portobello mushroom, spinach, and zucchini) 

1TB prepared mustard

2 TB your favorite spices and 2 TB favorite herbs (I used some - all Trader Joe's brand - red pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, fresh rosemary, fresh dill, and fresh basil)

1 tsp Himalayan crystal salt

1 tsp ground black pepper  You sautee the onions and garlic in olive oil for 2 min and then combine all of the ingredients. Process them in a food blender. 

I also toasted 4 pieces of Ezekiel 4:9 Sesame Bread and ground them to make bread crumbs.  The breadcrumbs are combined with the mixture and then formed into patties and baked on a sheet at 350!  They turned out DELICIOUS!  A lot of flavor. I had my burger on a bed of arugula on 1 slice of Ezekiel bread  I also made this guacamole recipe: http://thehealthyapple.com/2014/06/23/summertime-basil-guacamole/ paired with some Blue Diamond Nut chips. 

----------------------------- I'm very excited for a future of KNOWING my food. Having a relationship with my food instead of just shoving it in my mouth and hoping everything turns out ok.  It's amazing how much our lives revolve around food.  We might as well understand the power of food and live up to our name as Human Beings . . . Be.  Be more always. 

[odysseyofserenity]

5) Day #3 - #5: The Learning Curve

After messing around with a few different green smoothie recipes and combinations that didn't work out so well I have finally found a green smoothie that works for me and doesn't taste awful!  

What I put in it: 2 Avocado's 1 Pear 1 1/2 C. frozen peaches 2 TB Vanilla Whey Protein Powder 2 1/2 C. Spinach  1 C. Almond Milk  1 TB Flax Seed  It's very creamy and a good combination of flavor with the sweetness of the peaches and the pear (and a little bit from the vanilla flavor of the powder) and the taste of the avocado and the spinach.  It has quite a bit of protein in it with a decent amount of fiber as well.   I am a bit picky with my taste buds (something I am also trying to retrain) and have had some trouble with getting the flavor right on a green smoothie, because let's face it - - if it tastes gross (at least to me) I'm not going to drink it.  Even if I do force it down, it just isn't appealing and I don't want GOOD food to become "yucky" to me.  I've learned that I would much prefer to eat celery than put in a smoothie.  The other day I made a smoothie that had a granny smith apple, over a c. of fresh pineapple, an orange, organic pure mango juice, celery, spinach, and a few other things.  The taste wasn't awful but the consistency (very slimy and chunky) made me literally gag with every drink. I was able to get down about 8 oz. of it, but only barely.  I almost threw it up (much to my embarrassment) but was absolutely determined to not lose all those nutrients and hard work I had just put in to drinking it and managed to keep it down!  It's been a learning curve for sure!  But I'm getting there  . . . 

[odysseyofserenity]

4) Day #2 - Green?

Yesterday I attempted to make a green smoothie that was very green but tasted awful. It had kale, celery, almond milk, frozen mango cubes, a little bit of honey, flaxseed, and parsley.  I think the parsley and the kale are far too bitter with such a weak offset of the sweet from the mango and what little honey I added in there to make it taste like anything more than a slightly sweet earthy cocktail. 

At least I got the green part right! 

I ended up pawning it off on my boyfriend later since I didn't want to waste the nutrients. He has the stomach for anything and had no problem downing it.  For myself I replaced it with a smoothie that consisted of mixed frozen berries, 2 TB plain Greek yogurt, 1tb ginger, 1/2 c. almond milk, 1 TB flaxseeds, 1 TB pumpkin seeds, and 1 TB of almond butter.  It turned out very delicious!  For lunch I had a salad that consisted of 1 whole avocado, sesame seeds, spinach, arugula, broccoli some ground black pepper, and a dash of balsamic vinegar to taste.  For dinner I had a salad as well, however I added strawberries to it and ground up in my food processor 1/2 an avocado with some walnuts and a bit of lemon juice as a type of dressing. Overall it was pretty good.  My meals for the most part are a bit bland and not super filling.  However for the first week I'm trying to get myself out of the addiction and craving of processed foods and refined sugars as well as cleansing out my system.  I'm drinking A LOT of water as well . . . so that certainly helps! My pee has never been clearer! 

[odysseyofserenity]

Went grocery shopping at Winco for a haul of new, unprocessed foods! This included things like:

kale

celery

arugula 

romaine lettuce

spinach

tangelo's

frozen berries

frozen mango cubes

parsley

cilantro

broccoli

coleslaw 

asparagus

cucumber

zucchini

millet

quinoa

pumpkin seeds

sesame seeds

chickpeas

almond flour

goji berries

organic peanut butter

tahini

garlic

virgin coconut oil

extra virgin olive oil

avacado's

organic honey

black rice

plain greek yogurt 

And a few other things! 

[odysseyofserenity]

3) Day #1 - Juicy!

What I'm doing:

My Goal:

Eliminate toxins from my body

Overcome cravings for sugar and other processed foods

Listen to my body and teach it to listen to how I react to foods

Restore my gut health, which is connected to my entire body

Reduce inflammation (and the pain it causes) 

Identify food allergies and intolerances

1) A 14-Day GNC Living Nutritional gentle cleanse that involves a fiber flush, and vitamins to improve blood circulation, as well as liver, colon, and kidney health. 

3) A (mostly) Smoothie Cleanse which involves a Green Smoothie in the morning, a fiber/protein fruit smoothie in the afternoon and a mostly raw foods dinner in the evening (exception: lightly steamed vegetables such as Kale that are difficult to eat raw). 

Don't worry- I won't be living off of only kale and lemon water for the next 14 days. I will live and I will enjoy my food. No need to fast. No need to go crazy. I'm just ready to say 'sayonara' and 'adios' to those processed, packaged foods. I've already done a mini cupboard and fridge makeover yesterday to get started.  I bid 'au revoir' to those shinny packages in my cupboards and welcomed Real Food. This is NOT a Diet. This is about Clean Eating and being the best I can be! What I did on 9/13:

Breakfast: 

1 c. Trader Joe's Pure Orange Juice, no sugar added

1 1/2 c. mixed frozen berries

1 TB. organic PB 

Blended!

The Peanut Butter provides protein and acts as a filler, the berries provide fiber and antioxidants, and the Orange Juice (the pure, good stuff - not that crap made from concentrate with a load of sugar!) also provides antioxidants, folate, and essential nutrients.  Lunch: 

1 cup frozen unsweetened raspberries 3/4 cup chilled unsweetened almond  1 Tbsp honey 2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger (I used organic ginger paste from Trader Joe's) 1 tsp ground flaxseed 1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Blended! 

Dinner:

Dinner didn't go as well as I went over to a friend's and had a delicious, rare cooked steak! It will be the last time I have that for awhile!  I'm going to be saying goodbye to meat for awhile and in particular red meat, not because it is inherently bad for you per-say, but to fully commit to this cleanse and moving myself toward a diet that is more vegetable rich, it is one of the things I am sacrificing for now.  When I do introduce meat back into my diet it will be fresh fish (not-farmed) and organic chicken mostly.  

[odysseyofserenity]

2) Who i am . . . or what defines me.

(Me: 2014)

A little about myself: This is not essentially who i am, but some things that define me:

My name is Erinn. I also go by Serenity from time to time. 

I am 25 going on 62. 

I have degree’s in Journalism and Anthropology and have also recently obtained my TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) certificate from Oxford Seminars in hopes of teaching English for a year in a South Eastern Asian country (i.e. South Korea / Japan / Thailand). 

I enjoy reading books about religion, philosophy, physics, Star Trek, astronomy, anthropology, spirituality, fantasy, sci-fi, as well as children's novels. 

I hate chlorine and much prefer to swim in the ocean or a river. 

I believe that we were created to obtain the best our bodies and minds have to offer us. 

I am a member of the Charter for Compassion and believe in the Golden Rule: It's not an eye for an eye, but a favor for a favor. Do unto yourself as you would unto your neighbor. 

I weigh 217 .lb and am 5"5. 

in 2010 I went from 220 to 160 in weight by working with a personal trainer at a gym and eating several small meals a day. It was easy. I felt great. I gained all the weight back. Now I don't feel so great. But that is for more than just gaining 60 pounds back. 

That being said: While losing weight I'm sure would help with my chronic pain (induced by Ankylosing Spondylitis, an autoimmune deficiency disorder that causes me a lot of grief, as well as a few bad life choices) I am not making a life change for the sole purpose of losing weight. I do not care about the numbers. I care about being healthy and feeling it inside and out! I also want to have a healthy, fun, joyful relationship with food, exercise, and myself! 

(Me: 2010) 

[odysseyofserenity]

1) Every Odyssey begins with a . . .

                        The word "odyssey" has a few different meanings. Of course it refers originally to "The Odyssey" - a Greek epic poem attributed to Homer describing the ten-year homeward wanderings of Odysseus after the fall of Troy. 

The English Oxford Dictionary also gives these descriptions of the word:

1. An extended adventurous voyage or trip.

2. An intellectual or spiritual quest: an odyssey of discovery. An Odyssey is so much more than a simple journey. It is a life-long struggle. A path not known. A quest that gains the traveler a sense of profound knowledge, spiritual insight, and most importantly, the notion of never stopping. Always moving forward.  Most journey's have an end. A destination.  An Odyssey is more than just the journey. It's about the adventure along the way. Challenges faced. Lessons learned. The feeling of vast emotions from sorrow to joy and everything in between. 

Every Odyssey begins with the desire to discover ones self - even if they didn't know it at the time. 

This is my Odyssey. It's already in progress, but I am making a pivotal change in my life right now and this is with the desire to obtain physical health and be the best that I can be.