I found this recipe at detoxinista.com. I didn’t change much, but I didn’t follow the boiling water technique for soaking the dates since my dates were already very soft and I used a Vitamix to blend the ingredients.
Here are the changes I made to the recipe because I didn’t want it as sweet or salty.
I only used half as many dates
I used apple cider vinegar
I used diced tomatoes in place of water
Yet, here is the recipe as I prepared it. As always, feel free to make adjustments – start with a little change such as less garlic powder or salt and add more if desired.
INGREDIENTS:
3-4 Medjool dates, pitted
1 cup of boiling water (or broth, or diced tomatoes with the juice, or tomato sauce)
5 TBS white vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1 tsp fine sea salt (I used only 1/2 tsp)
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp yellow mustard (or 1/2 tsp ground mustard)
1/8 tsp allspice
pinch of ground cloves
any additional spices such as chili powder or hot sauce – if you like it spicy!
INSTRUCTIONS:
If your dates are not already soft or if you do not have a high-speed blender, soak dates in boiling water for a few minutes.
Add all the ingredients to the blender. You can use the soaking water or substitute diced tomatoes with the juice or tomato sauce. You may need to add up to 1/4 cup of additional liquid.
Blend until smooth. You may have to stop the blender and scrape the sides to get it all mixed.
Taste the mixture and adjust seasonings. (The original recipe says that the cloves and the acidity of the vinegar will mellow when it chills.)
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge. It should last at least 2 weeks in the fridge. You can also freeze for up to 6 months. (I freeze tomato products often.)
Well, we really don’t need to add oils to our food/diet. Oils add many calories and do not contribute much to our nutrition intake. We can eat a whole sweet potato (including the skin) for the same 100/125 calories that are in just 1 tablespoon of oil. Because oils lack fiber, it’s easy to over-consume them. And regarding salad dressings, there are many alternatives to using oils such as cashews or even beans. These salad dressings are full of flavor and nutrients and many times an additional dose of fiber. which is just what the “doctor ordered”.
In this episode we discuss these same items and more.
We want to come alongside you, as well, as we all continue moving toward a positive direction to support our healthy lifestyles. If there are any specific ways that we can be of assistance, please contact us through our contact form or send a verbal message through Speakpipe.
OTHER WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE AND LISTEN:
We invite you to listen and share your perspectives with us too. Send us a recorded message through Speakpipe. We may use your message in an upcoming episode, therefore, please leave your name if you would like it to be noted during the podcast. Leave an email address if you would like a personal response or feel free to use the contact form.
SHOW NOTES:
“The high-fat meals required an average of 42 percent more insulin in order to bring blood sugar under control.” PCRM – Fat Matters
[00:00:00] Shonda: Okay. So hey, what's the deal with oils and added fats?
[00:00:05] (Podcast introduction with music)
[00:01:05] Patryce: Wow. I'm glad we're talking about oils and fats, because I don't think we realize how important it is to eat the healthy oils and fats versus just consuming, whatever.
[00:01:20]Shonda: So, yeah, we all know that butter contains a high amount of calories and saturated fat, but did you know that most vegetable oils do also?
[00:01:31] Patryce: Wow. No.
[00:01:33] Shonda: Yeah. I mean the only thing that it doesn't contain that butter contains is cholesterol.
[00:01:37] Patryce: Okay. Yeah, that makes sense.
[00:01:39] Shonda: So that's a little step in the right direction, but there's really no reason to add oils to your diet. And we'll talk about that a little bit later. As far as flavor goes, because I have a lot of recipes that I use that are just as flavorful without added oils.
[00:02:00] Some of those are posted on the website, but we'll get to those a little later. I think the biggest thing about oils are well, In addition to adding just extra calories and extra fat to your diet, which, if you're trying to lose weight, you don't want those things.
[00:02:22] And without knowing it, you've added so many calories to your food that you weren't aware of. One tablespoon of oil is a hundred to 125 calories.
[00:02:36] Wow.
[00:02:37] You can eat a whole sweet potato for a hundred calories . Oils do not contain fiber, so they do not fill you up so you can consume them and consume them and consume them without realizing that you've gone overboard.
[00:02:51] Patryce: That's a good point. I'm thinking now about the days of the popcorn at the movie theater, then how it's great to get popcorn, but a lot of times just that pumping of that butter on top of it.
[00:03:06] Shonda: Yeah. Yeah. Just extra calories.
[00:03:10] But another thing, and I know many people don't think about this and it's just not something that, is highly known is that most oils contain excess Omega 6, and that's the fat that causes inflammation.
[00:03:31] Patryce: Wow. I did not make that connection.
[00:03:33]Shonda: And these are the top offenders that are in processed foods. Like, you know, chips and packaged foods, Baked goods, crackers, all these things.
[00:03:43] Patryce: The sweets...yeah. The buns/muffins ...
[00:03:46] Shonda: They're inexpensive and they also act as a preservative. So, but these are like corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, cotton seed oil, Sesame oil. These are used in a lot of those packaged foods and they have an excess of a mega six.
[00:04:11] Patryce: Which causes inflammation.
[00:04:14] Shonda: Think about it arthritis. That's just a natural trigger to think about, but you know, they're blocking your arteries. They're causing inflammation in those too.
[00:04:24] Patryce: Well, it's important to understand that, uh, these oils because of the Omega 6 content can equate to more inflammation in our body and you listed some practical things we want to avoid. We don't want to have arthritis. We don't want to have discomfort and pain.
[00:04:43]Shonda: When you buy those packaged foods, turn them over and look at the added ingredients, there's usually nine times out of 10 or even 9.9, there is an oil in that food. So added on top of that, you know, these are saturated fats and what they do in the body is they raise your LDL cholesterol, which is the bad cholesterol.
[00:05:12] Yeah. They immediately raise your blood triglyceride levels after meals. Hmm.
[00:05:20] So when we're cooking these oils there is more oxidation. It's an oxidized oil and that in our body is toxic. Okay. Yeah. So just like, um, if you leave an oil on your countertop too long, and I say it becomes rancid. Yeah. It's become oxidized. Ah, and that's not good for your body. So in the same way, cooking it at high temperatures causes oxidation of the fats that's in that food. So that's why we don't want to, you know, eat the oils that have been raised to these high temperatures.
[00:06:04]But in all reducing or eliminating oils is what I try to do. I mean, every now and then I use a little oil say, in the air fryer but I do not use oil in sautéing or cooking or salad dressings and things like that where they're just totally not necessary because there are options that are great options without it.
[00:06:27] You know, sautéing in water. I still get caramelized onions, sautéing in water. So, you know, you think that the oil is needed, but it's really not .
[00:06:40] Patryce: Great point and great tip about the onions.
[00:06:44] Shonda: Yeah. They always add flavor don't they?
[00:06:47]So we just thought that we'd talk about this a little bit, because there are benefits in reducing and eliminating oils. It results in taking in less calories, less saturated fat, those two things automatically create a lower body mass (lower your weight), right?
[00:07:10] Patryce: Should lend itself to a healthier heart.
[00:07:13] Shonda: Yeah. Yeah. And the lower LDL.
[00:07:17] Patryce: True.
[00:07:18] Shonda: Right. Lower blood pressure
[00:07:21] Patryce: That's important. The blood pressure.
[00:07:24] Shonda: Yeah. And I know blood pressure rises when you are in pain. So, I wonder if inflammation, you know, your body knows it's in pain and your blood pressure is higher. That's just a thought.
[00:07:36] Patryce: That's an interesting thought. And I'm glad you mentioned it though, because anything we can do to raise awareness about what might be triggering high blood pressure. I just wanted to sit there for a moment because so many people seem to be affected by high blood pressure. So many.
[00:07:55] Shonda: I know. I know there are many young people. I knew someone as young as in his teens that had high blood pressure.
[00:08:06] Patryce: No, I have not. Twenties, I did. I've heard of that. But see and I'm sure, uh, diet is something we need to look at as well as other healthy habits.
[00:08:17] But yeah. So this is another reason why to be intentional about our use or limiting our use even of, of oils.
[00:08:28] Shonda: Yeah, exactly. And one other thing to consider is, in addition to how it affects your blood pressure, is how oils affect your blood glucose level. Oils is a major contributor, and added fats, to diabetes.
[00:08:47] Wow. I don't know how many people know about that. Yeah, because they think they can't eat a baked potato or a whole grain rice or something like that. And it's not really the baked potato or the whole grain rice, or whole grain, pasta. Those are all things that are good, that will lower your glucose level because of the fiber. But the problem is that most people add butter, sour cream, cheese. Yeah. Yeah, you're adding all that fat on top. And I've heard many doctors explain it this way, that with all the extra fat circulating in the blood system, it prevents the glucose from getting into the cells.
[00:09:34] Patryce: Interesting. Wow. That's another reason to be mindful of what we're putting into our bodies, specifically having to do with the oils. Wow. Great points.
[00:09:46] Shonda: So if you're eating oils and salad dressings and sautes and potato chips and cookies and crackers and things, more calories are being consumed than one realizes. But guess what? You don't have to give up these foods. There are better ways to prepare those foods. For instance, like replacing the oils with apple sauce, you know? Yeah. Bananas and different things like that, that still will give it the moisture, but not the oil and the fat.
[00:10:22] Patryce: And that's a very good point. Yeah. So I think my sister, uh, mixes her pancakes for her children, primarily with bananas and one time she was out of bananas and made pancakes from avocado.
[00:10:38]Shonda: Yeah. So yeah, avocados, let's talk about good, healthy ways of getting fat. And when we look at the whole food plant-based categories, these come with added nutrients, added fiber they're just not empty calories. Nuts seeds, things like that they also have many, many more nutrients in them in addition to being a healthy, fat.
[00:11:07] Patryce: Well, that's all great information. Can we pause here though?
[00:11:11] And, and I'm just thinking about many people who may be listening, like myself. I used to be a salad dressing junkie, basically back in college. Um, I had some dressing with a little salad at times. But for example, just practically speaking, can you just quickly, what is a salad dressing you might whip up?
[00:11:34] Shonda: Okay. So one of my favorites is my cashew cilantro dressing, which contains whole cashews that are soaked, put them in a blender along with any seasonings that you like. But I like to put a lot of cilantro in there. You could use a fresh garlic or garlic powder, powdered onion, you know, your salt, your pepper, lemon juice, or really lime juice in this recipe and either water or a plant-based milk and just blend it up. And it's smooth and creamy and tasty
[00:12:15] Patryce: , Alternative to ranch, which used to be one of my favorite dressings way back when. Well, that sounds like a good one.
[00:12:22] You just shared. And then also you mentioned earlier about the example of the baked potato, because again, I'm thinking about practical information. And so many people eat the baked potato or even the rice and you put a pat of butter on there. Um, other things you can do, for example, for the big potato, top it with maybe hummus.
[00:12:42] Shonda: Yeah. And make sure that hummus is oil free. Just had to add that in there.
[00:12:48] Patryce: Yes. You can make it yourself with those garbanzo beans for sure and tahini.
[00:12:55] Shonda: Yeah a baked potato tastes great with an avocado. I'm telling you add an avocado, or some avocado in place of butter, you know, add that pat of avocado in place of butter.
[00:13:09] Patryce: Great alternative too, yeah. I just wanted to throw out some great practical examples. And I think that those are some good ones.
[00:13:17] Shonda: Oh yeah. Those are good things. And then we top our potatoes with broccoli still, you can do broccoli and a nutritional yeast, and an avocado.
[00:13:29] Or even one of the salad dressings. You can make a cashew cream sauce to go on top of that. There are many options. I know, and I know it takes a little bit of work or a little bit of forethought, you know, a little bit of planning, but it is just so well worth it.
[00:13:47] Patryce: It is worth it. I would not go back to my salad dressing junkie days ever.
[00:13:54] Shonda: Yeah, I know many people do make salads with the intention of making a healthy meal, but just not realizing that that salad dressing makes it a little less healthy with, with all that. And they're just great alternatives.
[00:14:14] So, yeah. We talked about sautéing in water instead of oil, eating oil-free salad dressings, and sauces, eliminating fried foods and chips and crackers and things that are made that way. There are other ways to make those things. I'll put some links in the show notes.
[00:14:31] Patryce: And then it just like so many things we've learned, it's about being more intentional.
[00:14:38] Shonda: Yeah. And just taking one step at a time.
[00:14:43] Patryce: Shonda you're so right , to encourage everyone listening and I'm encouraged that we can do this one step at a time. So just start by doing something differently and just being intentional about what we are doing and to be intentional about reading labels when we're buying things.
[00:15:04] So until next time be encouraged to just take one step at a time towards living a healthier lifestyle. To be aware of what kinds of oils we're consuming and just learning new ways to be intentional about better selection of oils and how to sometimes not even use oils, but still eat a nutritious and delicious meal.
GET STARTED WITH THE REAL FOOD AND DRINKS LIFESTYLE
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These plant-based burgers are not meant to mimic a meat-based burger, but they do make a delicious and satisfying alternative between two slices of bread (or lettuce). Plant-based burgers can be made using a variety of ingredients. Below is a template that you can follow to create your own one-of-a-kind burger patty. I think the must-haves include onions, bell peppers, garlic, and mushrooms. But whatever you create, don’t forget the most important part – the seasonings! Your favorite spices can be added for the best flavor to fit your own taste buds.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms, lightly sautéed – This can be any combination that you choose up to about 1/2 cup of ingredients. I think these three make a great base of flavorings for any combination of burger mix you choose.
1 cup of cooked grains – It’s best that the cooked grains are dry and separate, not mushy.
1 1/2 cup of beans – Any bean of your choice or any mixture of beans up to 1 1/2 cups.
1/4 to 1 cup of additional vegetables, finely chopped – I suggest cooking the harder veggies such as root vegetables, but the remaining (such as leafy greens) can be added when raw.
Choose 1 binding ingredient your binding ingredient to help hold the mixture together: 1 flax egg, 1 chia egg, or 1 tsp of psyllium husk powder (or 1 TBS psyllium husks)
Additional flavorings: Salt, pepper, and any of your favorite spices. Don’t be afraid of adding flavor!
Directions/Notes:
Lightly sauté the bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms in water to avoid added oils.
If using harder additional veggies such as carrots, or beets, it’s perfectly fine to cook those too.
Puree or mash beans, leaving a bit chunky will be good for the texture.
Remember to finely chop any raw vegetables that you intend to add to the mix.
Adding grains will create a firmer texture, but the grains are not necessary. If you decide to omit grains, you may need to cook the burger a bit longer on lower heat. If your burger is not holding together without the grains, add more beans, or be sure to use psyllium husk/powder.
If using a flax or chia egg, prepare this in a bowl. When the “egg” is ready add all the other ingredients and form it into a patty. If using psyllium husk/powder, add the psyllium along with all the other ingredients and mix well.
You can cook the burger patties on a stovetop (a low heat setting is recommended). Or you can place it in the oven between 350 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit until the desired firmness is reached. (The goal is to dry out and firm up the burger patties while they are cooking.)
Create a G-BOMB mealby including these burger ingredients: Leafy greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, flaxseeds/chia seeds. For dessert, add a berry sorbet and you have covered all of the G-BOMB requirements.
Plant-Based Burger Template:Click here to download/print.
Let’s talk about habits. It’s springtime. And this is just a good time to think about new beginnings. Have you thought about how important developing good habits are to facilitating living a healthy lifestyle…more specifically, good, healthy food habits?
We want to come alongside you, as well, as we all continue moving toward a positive direction to support our healthy lifestyles. If there are any specific ways that we can be of assistance, please contact us through our contact form or send a verbal message through Speakpipe.
OTHER WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE AND LISTEN:
We invite you to listen and share your perspectives with us too. Send us a recorded message through Speakpipe. We may use your message in an upcoming episode, therefore, please leave your name if you would like it to be noted during the podcast. Leave an email address if you would like a personal response or feel free to use the contact form.
[00:00:56] Patryce: Can you believe we are coming up on Easter 2021?
[00:01:00] I thought we'd talk about habits. It's springtime. And this is just a good time to think about new beginnings. And with that said about habits and how important developing good habits are to facilitating living a healthy lifestyle. And, we can start with what are habits?
[00:01:25] Shonda: Well, they're things done repeatedly and or regularly. Things that you know are just kind of a part of us. They just become a natural thing for us to do.
[00:01:36] Patryce: Exactly. We get to the point where we don't even remember doing them sometimes. It's just a habit to brush our teeth, hopefully, for example. So, with that said it's important to also have good habits when it comes to what we eat and drink.
[00:01:51] Shonda: Yeah. Some habits and routines I think will be very helpful.
[00:01:58] Very helpful habits, routines, something that becomes routine. And how can we start doing that? Well, we could start with a question. What are some of my biggest challenges or what is my biggest challenge related to eating and drinking healthily right now? So what, what is the biggest challenge in the way of forming good habits and then deciding what some goals are for forming good habits or replacing some bad habits.
[00:02:28] And then just prioritizing, uh, these habits that we want to create or replace by starting with what we consider most important.
[00:02:37] Yeah. I think that's really good. We can make a full list right now, but we can decide to just focus on one thing at a time.
[00:02:44] Patryce: One thing at a time sounds good to me. And I came across this quote by John Dryder, I believe. He said we first make our habits and then our habits make us. In other words, habits can make or break us.
[00:03:00] Shonda: Wow. Yeah. I liked that. I like that.
[00:03:05] Patryce: I thought it was really cool and so true. So maybe we can talk about just, just a few habits that many of us might have ourselves or our audience and talk about what type of habits we could replace these habits with.
[00:03:22] Shonda: Yeah, what's your first idea?
[00:03:25] Patryce: Regularly eating out, maybe we have a habit of doing that. Eating out more than we eat home cooked meals or prepared at home meals. So if we're eating out a lot or eating out regularly, that might be a habit that we want to change and form a better habit of planning meals that we prepare at home, because that way we're able to eat more real foods.
[00:03:55] Shonda: Right. Yeah. The focus is real food for sure. And so, I would say that regularly eating out is something that many do because they have not planned, right? Yeah. So it just becomes a habit because we have not planned.
[00:04:12] Patryce: Exactly on some level, just start, start simple. Decide that I'm not going to eat breakfast out anymore, or I'm not just going to have a cup of coffee at the local coffee shop. Instead, I will plan for maybe oatmeal or smoothie and, and see how that works.
[00:04:30] Shonda: Yeah. Those are really great ideas. Yeah. So what about those who do regularly eat out, but may need to change some habits about what they're eating at home also?
[00:04:43] Patryce: Wow. That's a good point too. Yeah, if you're eating at home and not eating out, that's a good start, but be encouraged that there are so many resources, including our past podcasts for ideas on how to change what it is that you're eating at home to something healthier.
[00:05:05] Shonda: Yeah, because I call it the Standard American diet. So if you're not sure the Standard American diet is mostly heavy on animal foods. Various meats, you know, let's just think about the typical burger. The burger has cheese some people may like bacon on top of the burger and, and usually the bun is a refined bun. It's not a whole wheat type of bread. So we're we're talking refined foods, fatty foods and foods void of vegetables in many cases.
[00:05:40] Patryce: Wow. That's a good point. So the habit of eating at home even, but eating a mainly Standard American diet, it's a good idea to instead look at eating a more plant based diet.
[00:05:54] Shonda: And you know, sometimes the step is, well I'm going to make my own bread. I'm not going to buy that bun filled with preservatives and that's refined. I'm going to make a whole wheat bread to go with that burger if you're still not ready to let go of that. Or I'm gonna make air fries instead of deep-fried fries. Or placing a nicely steamed vegetable on the side with that burger. You know, there's always some place to start.
[00:06:24] Patryce: Yes. I was just thinking, even just going without the bun at all. And a lot of people do that. Yeah.
[00:06:30] Shonda: On some lettuce. Exactly. And I even enjoy a plant-based burger on lettuce. So we've moved from eating out to moving it home. And so now we can incorporate more plant-based foods. More whole foods, more real foods. And it does take some time and some planning, but it will become a habit.
[00:06:53] Patryce: It will, it will. Yeah, that's encouraging. And we do have podcasts in the past to help you out. For example, the G-bomb series is another one to go back to. . Yeah.
[00:07:04] Shonda: Yeah. Yeah. Those are great habits to form around the GBOMBS, right. Get great nutrition in there.
[00:07:13] Patryce: True. And then what about the habit? Many of us have of drinking sugary or caffeinated drinks. I know there are some of these energy drinks are very popular and of course coffee, and I think people still drink soda water, soda drinks. And all of these are loaded with additives or artificial colors, just things that are not so good for you. So instead, make sure you start your day off with water and drinking more water throughout the day instead of these other drinks.
[00:07:54] Shonda: Yeah. And if water is not your favorite, you can always add some lemon to your water. And if that still isn't your favorite, you can add lemon and maybe some Stevia drops and that won't affect your blood sugar. But, yeah, we want to get that sugar out. We don't want to become dependent upon caffeine and all these things to give us energy.
[00:08:18] You know, we want natural energy from our food. We want water to hydrate us. That will give us energy. Like I was just telling you today, I felt tired I just went and drank about eight ounces of water and I felt much better. So, water is such a good thing.
[00:08:35] Patryce: Yeah. Great, great tip.
[00:08:37] Shonda: Yeah. And then we're talking about more things that we could drink in place of these, we could drink. Um, what is it? Sparkling water. Carbonated water. I know my husband loves that and he has a machine to do that. But, um, if you just like that fizziness in whatever you're drinking, you can just fizzy your own water or buy it fizzy.
[00:09:01] So after I've had my morning water and lemon, later on, I love a good smoothie or juice, and those are my favorites and they're hydrating too. But you know, I call them energy drinks. On the website they're called energy drinks because they definitely give me energy. So I invite you all to go and look at that energy drink category that's out there on the website. I'll put a link below the show notes for sure.
[00:09:29] Patryce: Great stuff. Wow.
[00:09:31] Shonda: So, another habit that we were talking about that may be something that you want to consider changing up a bit is cooking with heavy oils, meaning a lot of oils and maybe eating too many unhealthy sauces. Because sauces can be full of fat. They could be full of sugar, they can be full of salt . So you can just have all around not good things. But as far as sauces go, again there's a link below that you can take a look at some of the sauces and dressings that you may want to try out.
[00:10:10] But, I like to cook with the least amount of oils as possible. So, if I'm sautéing something, it is so easy to saute with water instead of oil. And oil, really, in that case, you're doing it so your food won't burn, but you can get caramelized onions just as easily with water alone.
[00:10:36] So, by using water instead of oils, you're avoiding added calories. And we're definitely going to talk about oils possibly next week. So, we'll go more in depth with oils, but just a little hint here that, you know, you may want to limit some of the oils that you're using your foods and unhealthy sauces.
[00:10:56] Patryce: I love that you shared that because I just recently had begun doing that more intentionally. And just with the mushrooms, I used to make my mushroom soup and so forth. I've been doing that where I'm just doing it with water and I'm surprised at how wonderful it is.
[00:11:12] And then you can. Be intentional about adding the spices and even if you choose to add oil it's different because you're adding just what you need or want.
[00:11:24] Shonda: Yeah. That's a good idea. And then also many oils you don't want to cook with because it changes the structure of the oils, which make it something that's not good for your body anyway.
[00:11:34] So yeah, like maybe add a little at the end or so. And then you can see exactly how much you're adding to that food. Definitely let's try to no longer deep fry. Air fry that's the way to go.
[00:11:48] Super, super good tip. Yeah. All great stuff, Shonda. And it seems like all these habits that we may already have, and we're looking to replace or change it really boils down to just being more intentional.
[00:12:05] Exactly. So, I invite you all to let us know what habits you will be making soon. If any of these or anything additional, please let us know.
[00:12:17] Patryce: Finally, with the celebration of Easter coming up this Sunday, what a great time to just begin considering what beneficial habits you want to develop. And it's like embracing a new start and embracing hope. Like the resurrection of our savior Jesus Christ which gives us eternal hope. So I hope everyone's encouraged during this Easter season to build better habits for a healthier and happier fulfilled life.
[00:12:50] Sounds great. Happy Easter!
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Here is a treat that’s good for your health. A real food, chocolate shake that’s made using whole, plant-based ingredients, and no refined sugars. Just last week in Podcast Episode 27, Patryce and I were talking about ways to create a healthy relationship with food, and during the podcast, I started the discussion about how to create a healthy shake.
Here is what I came up with after looking around online a bit. I found that many recipes use Dandy Blend Herbal Tea mix in many frappuccino-like drinks that usually contain coffee. And guess what? I just happen to have some on-hand.
I used to make an icecream/coffee drink way before I ever became aware of Star Bucks. Yet, by the time I because aware, I was no longer consuming what they put into their drinks. I have to admit, that I’ve never been a Star Bucks fan (too much dairy and sugar and coffee – coffee makes me very nervous/shaky).
But hey, here is one “shake” that I can handle. Since I couldn’t decide between the flavor of coffee or chocolate, I decided to have them both. But, of course, you can make this your own by choosing one or the other if you prefer.
Ingredients:
1 cup of plant-based milk
1/4 cup rolled oats (Added this particular ingredient because of Chef AJ)
1/2 tsp of flax seeds & 1/2 tsp of chia seeds (or 1 tsp of either)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3-5 drops of Stevia (vanilla flavor) or 1 tsp vanilla powder
1 TBS Dandy Blend Herbal Tea
1 TBS Cacao Powder (or 100% Cocoa Powder)
2 – 3 Mejool dates (or 5/6 Deglet dates)
2 frozen, ripe bananas
1 cup of ice (optional, makes more like a frappuccino)
Directions:
First, I like to blend everything together except for the bananas and ice.
Then once thoroughly blended and smooth, I add the frozen bananas and ice.
Notes:
Using coconut milk/cream will add more calories and fat to this recipe and create a very “rich” shake
The flax seeds and chia seeds add fiber and omega 3s
You can also simply use 2 TB Dandy Blend Herbal Tea or 2 TBS Cacao Powder
Medjool dates have a caramel flavor which I don’t think the deglet date has, but usually, they are a bit smaller so I suggest using a bit extra Deglet dates if those are what you have on-hand.
Instead of using ice, you can freeze some of the plant-based milk in ice cube trays for a bit “stronger” flavored drink.
Uncle Bill D, You can add greens to this shake too. A handful of spinach will be undetectable. (Smile.)
Today Deitra Dennis and Shonda have a conversation about Deitra’s journey to a plant-based lifestyle. She is a Registered Nurse and National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Health Coach who has a heart to help others live at their optimal health. After the death of a young patient, she began her path to take her nursing care from the bedside to the sidelines as a health coach and the table side as a nutrition/cooking instructor. Deitra’s new journey is one of dedication to educate and empower her clients to sustain a healthy lifestyle.
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[00:00:00] Shonda: Today, I would like to introduce you to Dietra Dennis, she's a registered nurse and national board certified health and wellness health coach who has a heart to help others live at their optimal health. Deitra's journey is one of dedication. And her mission is to educate and empower her clients to sustain a healthy lifestyle.
[00:00:23] And that's exactly clean what we love here.
[00:00:36] (Intro): Hi and hello. Welcome to the real food and drinks, lifestyle podcasts. We're building a community to talk about nutrition, lifestyle choices, and just feeling better. This is Shonda and this is Patryce. Let's just be real.
[00:01:02] Here's our disclaimer. We do not professionally practice in any of the various subjects that we discuss. We are only sharing our personal experiences with you to a healthier lifestyle. Please do your own research before taking part in any of these practices.
[00:01:21] Shonda: Good morning, Dietra I'm glad to have you here with me today to share your knowledge and things that you have for our community.
[00:01:30] So again, thank you for being here today.
[00:01:33] Deitra: And thank you for having me.
[00:01:34]Shonda: So Deitra, um, you have a very interesting story to share about why you named your health coaching service, full health coaching. From our previous conversations I learned this about you, that your family had a great impact on your choice to become a huge promoter of plant-based foods and even for your choice of a profession.
[00:01:56] Okay. So yeah, I remember you saying it all started when you were a child and you can just start there... sharing your journey with our listeners.
[00:02:04] Deitra: Oh, sure. Well, first I know you wanted to know about the name Full Circle Health Coaching, LLC. So the reason that I thought about full circle health coaching, LLC, and I value coaching so I have a coach myself, um, a life coach. And so in one of our coaching sessions, she asked me, and she's a business and life coach, and she asked me, "You know, what, if you were standing on stage, what is it that you would want for those who are in the audience? What would you want for them? And, you know, and I had to sit and think, I said, you know, I really want for peopleto, um, go back to where we were in a time and space when we were healthy. At that time, the name didn't come, but it was during my quiet moments, that full circle came to mind because full circle means going back to the original position. And so that's how full circle health coaching came to be. And then later on, I have a signature program called" Back to the Root" and back to the root again, refers to going back to the original and "Back to the Root", the nutrition program is specifically for people of color, uh, for us to go back to our African food ways are to the root of that in order to root out all the chronic conditions that we tend to lead in. Um, so that, that's how that came about.
[00:03:31] But yes, when I was about nine years old, I had a cousin that, um, passed away from complications of obesity, she had a heart attack, but from the complications of obesity. And can you imagine, you know, I'm standing there looking at my mom on the telephone when she received a call and just to see the expression on her face, you know, change from her smiling to, you know, just sadness, um, in her demeanor.
[00:03:59] And I'm like, as a child, you don't want to see your parents upset or anyone upset. And so, you know, from that, I started being very observant about, you know, what was going on around me with my family members. Um, I had an uncle who was diagnosed with diabetes and he was blind. Um, you know, complications of the diabetes. Had family members with amputation, on dialysis... and all of those things. As a child I remember verbalizing saying, I have to do something about this because this can't be normal. This can't be right. And I want to be [ um] the solution to help change this in not just my family, but the community at large. So that led me going into the nursing profession. Um, and so that kind of what began my path on this journey.
[00:04:53] Shonda: Wow. And as a child, you know, I know that many of us probably experienced those same things, but never really thought about it that early in life about, you know, wanting to make a change. That's something to say. Cause I say for myself, it was in retrospect looking back on childhood. So yeah. But what were your next steps then as you grew up?
[00:05:16] Deitra: Yeah. So after going into nursing and again, my passion for helping others, you know, you know, it's still with me. But one of the things, when I was in nursing school, then we had the pinning ceremony and we had the Nightingale pledge and the one part that stood out to me is that I am devoting myself dedicated to the wellbeing of those assigned to my care.
[00:05:42] I take that with me today to heart. Still today, even though I'm not at the bedside anymore. I still take that with me to heart because I really want those assigned to my care, and to me, the community is assigned to my care and I desire for everyone to live at their optimal heart health. Um, so that, you know, stayed with me.
[00:06:06] And so once I started in my nursing career, I, again, being observant, seeing patients coming back frequently and what we call in the, um, healthcare a frequent flyer, meaning the person is coming in frequently. It's like a revolving door. They're coming in frequently for the same thing, many of the times. And for me, I'm like, okay, well we're not helping them be well. How is this, you know, really helping someone, even though I knew for me, when I'm going in with patients, I came with my best self because I wanted to extend love to them in my care and compassion.
[00:06:44] But I had one patient and quite a few of my patients had an impact on my career, but I had one patient that really, um, kinda changed my trajectory, if you will. He was in his twenties. And if I didn't mention my cousin, um, back in my, um, when I was talking about my family, my cousin was in her twenties that passed away. And here again, this to me was another full circle moment. Um, because this young man, he was in his twenties, he was morbidly obese. He was well over 500 pounds. He was really close to six or 700 pounds. And, you know, having this guy as a patient, he required a lot of care and attention. I worked at night during that time. And, um, you know, in the caring for him, I spent a lot of time in his room and it was coaching before I knew what coaching was, because I would ask him several questions. Nothing to judge him, but just to ask, you know, how did you get to this point? What was it that led you to being where you are in this state right now? And then asking him, you know, what will you do different in order to live a healthy lifestyle? And so, um, this young man he was in the hospital for a long period of time, but he finally was discharged and went to rehab because he had to learn to walk again. Upon discharging from rehab he went back home and unfortunately he went back to his old way of eating. And as a result, this young man, I'm sad to report, you know, at a very young age, he passed away. You know, again, in his twenties. And so I had that same feeling as that young girl saying I have to do something. I had that same feeling again, saying, okay, there has to be more to this. And I would love to be able to help people sustain a healthy lifestyle.
[00:08:41] And so that, like I said, it changed the trajectory of my career, taking nursing care from the bedside to the table side, the nutrition and cooking, um, and then on the sidelines as a coach. Because a coach, really what a coach does is kind of draw out, what's already in you and helping you guide you along the way to get you to your desired goal.
[00:09:06] And so, um, growing up, I'm from Macon, I'm a Southern girl, um, and Macon, if you're not familiar with, you may know the late Richard Penniman, or you may know him as little Richard. He was from Macon and so making is about 150 miles from Atlanta. So I relocated, um, the young man passed away in 1998 and I relocated in 1999 to Atlanta.
[00:09:29] And one thing that I do know that my life, even as a young child, um, to this day and forward, I know that I'm guided and directed to be in the right place at the right time, meeting the right people, and being offered the best opportunities. And so through the course of time, I've been able to meet different people to help me get to where I am today, so that I can be that vessel to help guide others to live at their optimal heart health.
[00:09:59] Shonda: That is a great insight into living and into giving of yourself in this space is just amazing to me to hear your story. I enjoy hearing your story. So, from that point. I mean, is that when you started, it was so I guess it was in Atlanta or, well, in Macon, Georgia? Or what led you to plant based?
[00:10:21] Deitra: So, that journey... so, like I said I moved to Atlanta in 1999 and that, first of all, I felt that, you know, a lot of healing needed to take place for me. Um, so, you know, just some things from my childhood, you know, I was able to do some self reflection. And so it was, um, and then in 2001, I had the opportunity to meet a young lady who now is a dear dear friend. Um, she, um, was here in Atlanta and she and her husband had a lifestyle center and she, you know, was sharing her story of how she reversed an aggressive form of breast cancer by, you know, going plant-based as well as other lifestyle principles.
[00:11:08] And immediately I said, well, okay, you know, I can do that, but you know, I'm just gonna continue to eat my cheese. I, I admit at that time, and many other people... cheese is addicting, and I just did not want to let that cheese go. So I went vegetarian, lacto-ovo, so I was still, you know, eating eggs and I only ate cheese. I didn't drink the dairy milk anymore. I had switched that, but I was vegetarian from 2001 until 2016. And so, um, and looking back at myself, I was like, okay, well, Dietra, you're not a small person here. You you're, you're leaning towards, you know, obesity yourself. So I love music, and so the song that stood out to me at that time was Michael Jackson, "The man in the mirror", or the woman in the mirror.
[00:12:03] And I said, Deitra, if you're wanting to change lives, you have to be it first, you have to be the example before you do your life's work. And so, you know, again, the vegetarian part was there for me, you know, that I followed. And during that course of 2001 to 2016, I can say, I may have lost 10 pounds. My highest weight was 235 pounds and I am five, seven and a half. Don't forget my half.
[00:12:31] And so, um, then, like I said, the max I may have lost was 10 pounds. And so.
[00:12:38] Shonda: Yeah. Um, I'm wondering, do you think that it's because you met her, she had a miraculous story, but you weren't faced with breast cancer at that time.
[00:12:49] Deitra: No.
[00:12:49] Shonda: So you weren't thinking about even avoiding it because you hadn't...
[00:12:54] Deitra: Yeah.
[00:12:55] Shonda: Is that, do you think that's why you just like, well, I'm just going to do this little part and didn't do the full part...that she had done?
[00:13:02] Deitra: Yeah. Well, I felt, okay, well, this is a way, you know, and I will even say, and being in a health care industry. I knew the importance of having fruits and vegetables. And then growing up, we had gardens. So we had fruit and vegetables, but we still had meat on a plate. But I felt, okay, this is a way. You know, that was, I felt, okay, this is the path to help me do what my desire is to help people live a healthy way. But I just didn't want to give up the cheese.
[00:13:30] I didn't start, um, teaching, um, until 2017. Yeah, I didn't. Um, but I was gathering information of what can I do? Um, you know, in that time I started my business in 2013. Um, back to the food, but Donna's food was just delicious. And it was familiar food. Um, because many times when patients are, you know, in, in the community at large, I would say when you think of eating healthy, many times, people think, okay, it's going to be bland, I have to give up, you know, traditional foods or generational foods. But now knowing no, you can modify it and still have those flavors and not sacrificing the taste.
[00:14:19] Uh, but then...
[00:14:20] Shonda: You had a story from your family about that.
[00:14:23] Deitra: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So when I went vegetarian , you know, I was still excited to share it with my family. So, um, being overzealous, I decided, okay, well, Thanksgiving I'm gonna just, you know, make this cornbread dressing and I'm going to take it... didn't mention anything. My aunt Mary is my mom's, um, older sister and she passed away, um, April 8th, 2020. And she's a dear, was a dear heart to me because, uh, my, my mom's mother, Emma, aunt Mary's , you know, they, their mother had passed away and my mom was a baby, so I didn't have my maternal grandmother. So my aunt Mary was like grandmother to me.
[00:15:03] And so, um, I didn't even, and she aunt Mary, did all the cooking for whatever occasion, she did all the cooking. And so, I just said, okay, I'm going to take this. And when I got there, Thanksgiving, and with my little dish in hand, all excited, like, okay, I'm going to help my family transition to eating healthier.
[00:15:24] And she tasted it and she said, "No, this tastes like stuffing", and no offense if someone, you know, calls it stuffing, but in her mind, stuffing means bland. And so, you know, my little feelings were hurt and I'm like, okay. But I'm trying to help us live healthy, now. So I had to put myself in time out and really have a conversation with myself to say, okay, she's been cooking much longer than you just asked what can I do to improve the recipe, to make it flavorful orlike her cornbread dressing. So I went back and I asked her and she gave me some tips, like, you know, adding, um, mushroom soup to it. And now I know how to make it vegan, but fast forward now everyone loves my food and ask, okay, so what are you bringing?
[00:16:15] What are you bringing Thanksgiving? What are you bringing Christmas? You know, things like that. So, yeah.
[00:16:20] But, so my tip is if you are introducing a new way of eating to family, number one, don't force it. Number two, if you're going to the... ask the host, if it's okay that you bring a dish. Um, you know, tell him that you're embracing a new lifestyle or what have you, you know, can you bring a dish?
[00:16:41] Um, just do that part. And again, if some... don't force it on anyone, meet people where they are. If they ask you about it, don't discuss it at the table. Just say, okay, we'll talk about it after we finish eating kind of thing, but that that's a tip. I would say, don't do what I did, you know, with that, because that, wasn't a great experience.
[00:17:01] Shonda: Wow. Thanks. Thanks for sharing that with us because, you know, I know I've probably done it wrong in the... I'm sure I have done it wrong in the... in some cases. Um, but yeah, that's, that's really good insight to sharing our new found food. Right? Okay.
[00:17:19] Deitra: So 2013 was when I started the business. And so, um, Full Circle Health Coaching, LLC was born and we are a health and wellness of solution offering evidence-based and culturally relevant services.
[00:17:33] You know, that specializing in heart health for women of color. And we do that through coaching nutrition and cooking.
[00:17:41] Shonda: For those of you listening, the contact information is below in the show notes. So I know you had some stories, some history about African-Americans and traditional foods. And we'll talk about a little bit more about "Back to the Root", if you have just a little tiny bit to share there, whichever one of those you'd like to start with.
[00:18:05] Deitra: Uh, well, going back to how our ancestors ate prior to enslavement. They ate primarily plant-based. They ate meat, but it was on occasion, like a celebration or a ceremony. It was not the star of the plate when they did eat meat.
[00:18:24] And so at that time, following that way of eating, they were truly the epitome of health. It wasn't until after enslavement, when our ancestors were brought here to America and you know, were given scraps to create a meal with where soul food came about. And the term soul food didn't come about until the sixties, because it was a way of saying that our community has culture.
[00:18:52] And so in the soul food, again, it was more of survival. Food. It wasn't the traditional way of eating. And so that's how "Back to the Root" my, my, uh, nutrition, my signature program came about, because I want us to go back to the old way. I mean, because you know, Shonda in thinking about, you know, when you hear about chronic conditions, who is normally leading with those diagnosis? It's our community.
[00:19:22] And so if we can go back to the way our ancestors ate, who were the epitome of health, that is how we will then go back to living at our optimal health, by going back to the root and we can root out, um, all of those chronic conditions. And so in my program, I share a little bit with that. Um, and like I said, I am revamping it.
[00:19:46] It was a two week jumpstart. Um, but I felt that I was overwhelming people with all of the information I was sharing, because it was a lot, um, to, to take in because it was involving coaching, cooking, and there were many elements of it, of how to adopt a whole food plant-based way of eating. So I am in the process of revamping it and it will be a little longer.
[00:20:11] Um, we still will talk about meal planning, grocery shopping on a budget, resetting your, um, kitchen, um, you know, with making sure you have the correct foods in your home. Because if we take it back to the heart of the home, we can heal our heart by doing that. And the heart of the home is the kitchen. And we also talk about meal prepping and things of that nature, and many other things of how to live a healthy lifestyle. Not only, you know, nutrition, but every aspect of lifestyle, um, nutrition is about 50% of getting lifestyle, right, so that's why I spend a lot of time on nutrition. But it's important to get the rest. It's important to have the sunlight, getting, um, you know, out in the environment, taking a deep breath, stress reduction, social connection, um, being at your optimal weight. And like I said, nutrition is a part of it so... And physical activity.
[00:21:04] So, you know, it's all of those components that will be included in the new program that will be launched.
[00:21:13] Shonda: Yeah, that sounds good. I, and I was thinking about back to the root. I mean, you know, we got lots of sunlight, just like you said, and you know, we were moving around more than, than we do today, so yeah. Yeah, that's, I'm sure that's a really good program that you've created, so I'm eager to see it.
[00:21:34] So that was so intriguing to me when you were talking about the rice put in the hair for the African-American. Oh well the Africans, when they came over.
[00:21:44] Deitra: Yes. So, um, actually, so, um, when we were talking about tracing the path of our ancestors, so those who knew the women who knew that they were going to, you know, be enslaved, um, they were very innovative.
[00:22:03] And just thinking back just about the rice. The women were the ones, um, in the motherland that cultivated the rice farms, they were the rice farmers. And so, because they wanted to maintain legacy and wasn't sure what was going to be here in the new land. They wanted to be able to bring food with them and bring something that was familiar.
[00:22:28] So what they did was the rice seeds, and as I studied more, it was also bean or pea seeds as well. They put it in their hair and braided them like in the corn row, because if they move their head, it didn't matter how they moved it, those seeds were not going to come out. And so they brought that here, um, to the American South with them.
[00:22:50] And I'm not sure if you're familiar, but in South Carolina, the Gullah, or Geechee, community, they still maintain the traditions of West Africa and they dostill have the rice and cultivating the rice there, um, in South Carolina. And so, yeah, that was what, um, our ancestors, I mean, who would have thought to do that?
[00:23:13] I feel that they were very innovative, um, in that one maintaining legacy and then two like, okay, we need to eat so we can still do that when we get to wherever we're going.
[00:23:25] Shonda: You know, and, and listening to that about, you know, just thinking about blacks or African-Americans farming, I recently saw an article from EWG, the Environmental Working Group, the link was to a webpage they had dedicated, and they were talking about the decline of African-American farmers.
[00:23:46] There's a documentary, um, called "Homecoming" that was created. It was based in Montezuma, Georgia, which is uh, not too far from Macon. Um, but the young lady was sharing... so what would happen is that, you know, again, when the enslaved, um, our enslaved ancestors came the, um, slave owner would give them a small piece of land and I can speak to my grandfather was a peanut farmer. But what would happen when it was time, you know, to pay the taxes or what have you, and when the black farmers would try to go, it was a lot of barriers that were placed in their way in order to, you know, pay the taxes that they needed to do. And so they ended up losing the land. So it was, you know, they would go and they would say, well, you don't have the right whatever. Um, so you know, they go back and get what they need and then they'll tell them, well, it's too late. You've missed the deadline. So then they will lose their land.
[00:24:48] So it was, it was a lot of barriers. Um, that were put in our ancestors way, you know, in order to maintain what they were used to ...farming, you know. So yeah, it was, um, is very, you know, it's touching, but they still were resilient, you know, they did the best they could with what they had. And so that's how it ended up being, you know, they were given the scraps, um, and they made do with what they had. You know, and so, um, again, um, honoring them for the ingenuity to say, okay, well, what we have, we're going to make the best of it and make it very flavorful. And one other thing that many of the, um, you know, again, when they, then the ancestors came over and if they worked in a restaurant and they had recipes, many times, they didn't write it down and some did, but in order to work in a restaurant, they had to give up their recipes in order to work there.
[00:25:50] And from there, the restaurant owner may have written a cookbook and it was the ancestors' recipes, but they didn't acknowledge them at all. And so that's why now I'm not sure if you've had like your grandmother, or, you know, um, an elder in your family, that's like, no, I'm not giving you that. I'm not writing it down. They didn't write it down because it was stolen from them for so long. It's like, okay, I'm going to keep this, like, okay. But I'm your family though. You can tell me, but you know, that is that, you know, some other things that came about from that as well, but. Those again, I just say that they were very resilient and we owe it to them to honor them each and every day, not just uh black history month, um, in the food ways.
[00:26:39] Um, you know, in many ways, but food ways is what we're talking about now. Um, just to really honor our ancestors.
[00:26:47] I see that you have many books, booklets, pamphlets, and things. So can our listeners find these from your website? Like the African Heritage Power Plate booklet. Is that out there?
[00:27:01]Deitra: It is. So if you go to my website and you click on, um, books, you'll see them all there. And the African heritage power plate booklet is downloaded. You can download it in PDF. Um, there is another booklet now it's not totally vegan, but there are a lot of vegan recipes. Um, it's called Oasis. It's the old ways, again, going back to how our ancestors ate. And so I share a little bit more about my story with my aunt Mary, um, for, for my recipe that's in there. So that's on there is Oasis. Um, so that one is there. Um, And then one for if, if someone is in the healthcare profession, um, "How to bring this to your patients". It's a new book that just came out. It's about seeds of health. And so that one was new, that was released in 2020. So that one is there as well.
[00:27:53] But if you just go to my website and click on books, you can see all of those and that one you can purchase on Amazon.
[00:28:00] Shonda: I'm just thinking. And, you know, we have some listeners that are likely new to plant-based living. Um, you know, or creating that plant-based plate. You have shared with us if we're new and how to share with others, but I guess what would keep us motivated? You know, you mentioned how important it is, the energy that we put into our food.
[00:28:23] Deitra: Yes. It is very important that when you're preparing your food, that you are in a great space, you have a right attitude. Don't be upset. Don't be tired, you know, or it's like doing it as a chore. Because that comes out in your food, especially when you're talking about plant foods, because you know, when the food is picked, it may still be in his process of ripening. So it's alive. So just like, you know, you speak life into things, you know, you want to be able to have the right energy when you're preparing food. And as our ancestors who say you cook with love. Right? So you want that to come across on the plate. And I would say the same thing when you're eating, be present with your food, don't be preoccupied with other things, but really take in and enjoy your food as you're eating it.
[00:29:16] Um, and I'll give you an example. There was one time I was really tired and you know, was trying to cook when I was tired. And the food just did not turn out right at all, because it was just like, okay, I'm just doing it because I'm tired, but I know I need to eat. Um, but when you're not in the right frame of mind or not having the right, feelings, you know.
[00:29:37] I cook to music. I always have music on when I'm cooking. Um, because that brings me joy and therefore I'm adding that joy and love into the final product that I'm either cooking for myself or cooking for others. So yes, it is so important to have the right energy when you're cooking, you know, and again, you are preparing this meal, not just for satiety or to feel satisfied, but this is, you are fueling your body with health.
[00:30:06] So, you know, think of it that way and you present it in a beautiful way, you know, make it pretty on the plate because if it's pretty on the plate, it will go on the fork and you will eat it. If it's not pretty, you know, nobody probably will touch it.
[00:30:20] Shonda: That's true. I'm just thinking. Yeah. You're, you're preparing it in love, right? To share, or to love yourself, do this. And then you just, you just talked about making it pretty. I have this lady that I shared, you know, eat more colors. So now she texts me her plates all the time and they are beautiful plates. You know, she's decorated them and she's, you know, she goes that extra... Just puts that little extra thing in it. And she is really enjoying it. Her health has improved and it's just, um, amazing to see it. Yeah.
[00:30:53] Deitra: I certainly agree. And the other part where you were asking, you know, what will help a person stick to it? So if you don't mind, if we can start back, if someone is very new and don't know where to start, I always say start small.
[00:31:07] If you start with one day a meatless Monday. There are so many resources out on the Meatless Monday website, if you want it to do, just start on a Monday with eating meatless. Um, taking one of your traditional recipes that you really, really love, veganize it. And what I mean by that have that recipe and how can I take away if it has meat in it? What can I substitute in its place? If it has dairy in it, what can I do to substitute in its place? I'll give you an example. I love corn bread and corn bread goes with collard greens because they are a dynamic duo not to be separated. And so with my collard greens, growing up, how my mom and aunt Mary and my grandmama, um, my dad's mom would make them, of course they use pork to season it. So, because I love the greens like that. I said, okay, let me think. What does the pork give it? The pork gives it smoke. Okay. Well, I can substitute that with liquid smoke and smoked paprika. Okay. Pork also gives it fat. I don't use oil, but I use just a little bit of coconut cream to give it that fat. And going back to Africa, they season their greens with peanut butter in it. And you can find, because we want to keep things low fat, you can find the powdered peanut butter, and you know, mix that up and it'll have the same consistency as this regular peanut butter. So you can use that as your fat. And the other thing that the pork gives you is the salt. And so if you're using salt, you can put a little bit of salt in there, and that is how you veganize that.
[00:32:48] Corn bread, corn bread, normally in the south we use buttermilk. Okay. I can substitute that, by using a plant-based milk. So one cup of a plant-based milk and you add an acid to it. I like putting apple cider vinegar in it, that a tablespoon of that, and that makes it buttermilk, if you will, or sour milk. Instead of oil or butter, I put, um, apple sauce, and you, that's a one-to-one ratio. So if you were putting a fourth cup of oil in there, you put a fourth cup of applesauce. That's a one-to-one ratio. So I did do put a little bit of that coconut cream in there just to be, have that fat in there for the field on your mouth. That's cornbread. And so that's how you do that.
[00:33:34] But before doing any of that, what will sustain you in this lifestyle is knowing your why. Having a strong enough why, knowing your why will help you in the how?
[00:33:46] My, why is one. I want to be an example, and I want for my community to live at their optimal health. So that is why it has sustained me in my choices to say, okay, this is the lifestyle for me. So knowing your, why will help you in the how.
[00:34:05]Shonda: Wow. That's really great insight and an encouragement for us to carry on. Uh, many of us want to be, you know, helpful to those around us.
[00:34:15] Well, I just want to thank you for taking time out today of your busy schedule. Cause I'm looking at your full list here of all the things you're involved in. And, uh, I'm just thankful that you came to share with us. I will be following you and keeping track of what you're doing so that we can invite you back to hear more about what you have going on and what you're sharing and how you're sharing. Because I think how you're sharing it is really the, uh, important link, you know, the important way. And I just thank you for, for doing what you do.
[00:34:51] Deitra: Thank you so much Shonda for everything that you are doing as well. Um, and bringing this to the community, you know, a support system, if you will, because the support is important.
[00:35:04] You know, you may not have anyone in your family that you know, is on this journey with you, but to be able to have that support and connection is very helpful. So thank you for all that you're doing as well.
[00:35:17] Shonda: Well, thank you. Yes. We want to build a community, a place for everyone to come and feel comfortable and welcome.
[00:35:24] So, um, thank you. Thank you, Deitra. And we'll be talking again soon.
[00:35:29] Deitra: Okay.
[00:35:29] Shonda: Thanks everyone!
[00:35:32] Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy today's podcast. Remember you can catch show notes and additional details at RealFoodAndDrinks.com under the podcast menu. Also subscribe to our podcast if you aren't already a member of our community.
[00:35:52] And if listening through Anchor.fm, please send us a message of topics you would like to hear us have conversations about until next time. Let's just be real. .
GET STARTED WITH THE REAL FOOD AND DRINKS LIFESTYLE
Enter your name and email address below and I'll notify you weekly of podcasts, website posts, recipes, videos, and events that have been shared during the week because you won't want to miss these.
Today we complete the discussion of the 15 helpful hints from the pure food chapter in Stormie Omartian’s book “Greater Health God’s Way”. Today’s hints 11-15. See below for the full list.
We want to come alongside you, as well, as we all continue moving toward a positive direction to support our healthy lifestyles. If there are any specific ways that we can be of assistance, please contact us through our contact form or send a verbal message through Speakpipe.
OTHER WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE AND LISTEN:
We invite you to listen and share your perspectives with us too. Send us a recorded message through Speakpipe. We may use your message in an upcoming episode, therefore, please leave your name if you would like it to be noted during the podcast. Leave an email address if you would like a personal response or feel free to use the contact form.
SIMPLE FOOD CHOICES (Show Notes)
Helpful hints and tips: (Items discussed today are in bold text.)
Always ask yourself, “Is this man-made or God-made?” and “How pure can I get this food?”
The fewer items in a meal, the less you are tempted to overeat and the easier it is to digest.
The more natural the food, the more healthful it is, and the harder it is for you to overeat.
The less active your life or work, the less you need to eat.
Space your eating to put five or six hours between each meal. A possible schedule could be: breakfast at 7 am, lunch at 12 pm, and dinner at 6/7 pm.
Eliminate one or two foods from the foods-to-avoid list every week and add from the foods-to-include list.
Don’t eat overcooked or processed foods.
Eat foods ripe and in season.
Drink water, herbal teas, and freshly squeezed juices.
Don’t eat fried food.
Eat simply and plainly.
Don’t overeat.
Chew well.
Read labels.
Fifty percent of every meal should consist of raw or properly cooked fruits and vegetables.
Foods to Include:
Natural sweeteners such as honey, blackstrap molasses, maple syrup (or at least unrefined sugar) – used sparingly
Foods sweetened with natural sweeteners
Whole-grains/flours: oats, millet, buckwheat, brown rice, etc.
Whole-grain products: such as pasta or bread
Natural fruit juices, substitute sparkling water/drinks for sodas (or even fermented drinks)
Natural nut butter made without added oils and unsalted is best
Fresh and/or frozen fruits and vegetables
Beans and legumes
Fresh herbs: cilantro, parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, etc.
Springwater, herbal teas, and freshly squeezed juices
Adding more properly cooked foods (that are not processed):Soups
“Greater Health God’s Way” by Stormie Omartian
Stormie’s book is a great overview of how to live in a healthful way. The last copy of the book was published in 1996, yet the information is still very relevant to today. She explains 7 steps to greater health: 1. Peaceful LIving 2. Pure Food 3. Proper Exercise 4. Plenty of Water 5. Prayer and Fasting 6. Periods of Fresh Air and Sunlight and 7. Perfect Rest.
We will definitely be discussing more areas of this book in addition to completing the 15 helpful hints/tips for making food choices in upcoming podcasts.
Shonda: Welcome to episode 23, making simple food choices. Part three of three. Today, we complete the discussion of the 15 helpful hints from the pure food chapter in stormy. Oh, Martin's book greater health. God's way. Today's hints are numbers 11 through 15.
[00:00:30]Shonda and Patryce: Hi, and hello. Welcome to the real food and drinks, lifestyle podcast. We're building a community to talk about nutrition, lifestyle choices, and just feeling better. This is Shonda and this is Patryce. Let's just be real.
[00:00:56] Here's our disclaimer. We do not professionally practice in any of the various subjects that we discuss. We are only sharing our personal experiences with you to a healthier lifestyle. Please do your own research before taking part in any of these practices.
[00:01:16] Shonda: So we're back to discuss part three, which is the final part of making simple food choices. And today we're going to be discussing items, ten through 15.
[00:01:28] Patryce: I'm excited about this list because like the ones we've already discussed, there are some additional good tips here, starting with number 11, eat simply and plainly. Shonda you can comment on that. I'm sure.
[00:01:43] Shonda: Okay. So we were discussing this earlier and I have a lot of other things to do and preparing food is not on my agenda at that moment. I mean, even sometimes. I have to make a meal out of fruit, nuts and some water. No, I mean, really it can be that simple or a meal without the sauce., But you were talking about brag seasoning?
[00:02:08] I mean, something like that. I still consider that simple, you know, if I were having rice and beans and I wanted to put a little brags on it, I mean, I think that's still a simple food choice ... beans and rice.
[00:02:19]Patryce: I hear you. Okay. Well, and also just to piggyback off of what you're saying, I think it goes back to do we live to eat or do we eat to live?
[00:02:34] And as simple as that may sound, I definitely can attest to being more in the camp of. Living to eat especially in my twenties and, and just, just having such a, just liking the taste of food and liking to eat. And not that I don't like to taste food now or eat food now. I do see though, that it's more important to eat to live. My meals not the be-all end-all and you know, I have to have it just so and all this it's, it's, it's more of a mindset now for me, and I think it's been more that way for you for a long time to eat, to live versus to live, to eat.
[00:03:18]Shonda: Yeah. And I think that it's, it was easier for me, of course, because I had the reactions immediately after eating, I would know did that food do anything for me or does it make me feel horrible? So having a simple food especially during those earlier times, allowed me to know what was working for me and what was not working for me.
[00:03:41] So that's one benefit of eating simply and plainly. Is this food good for you? Is it giving you energy? Or is it taking away from you and pulling energy away from you?
[00:03:55] Patryce: So true being intentional about what we're eating and also just to observe how we feel after we eat. I think that's a great point, great point that you brought up.
[00:04:06]But I don't know if this is going into too many details or just going on a rabbit rabbit trail, but my husband and I . We were just looking at commercials the other day and the commercials definitely are not advocating eating simply and plainly when you see not only pizza commercials like usual, but now it's not only cheese on top of the pizzait's in the crust. Right?
[00:04:35] All these other things that just seem a little over the top. Yeah. So anyway, I don't know how much that plays into our selection of food, but I wonder how much people are impacted by advertising.
[00:04:51] Shonda: Yeah. I think when we aim to eat simply and plainly it's more like it's more on purpose.
[00:04:58]Patryce: Intentional, purposeful. That's right. That's good point. Okay. What's the next one?
[00:05:05] Shonda: The next one number 12 is never overeat. So yeah, I mean, do we know when we're overeating?
[00:05:15] I mean, I do personally. I think everyone has the same result, right? When you overeat there's a little ache in the tummy, or feeling tired again, the food is overwhelming. I don't know?. What do you think ? Or time for a nap?
[00:05:34] Patryce: I think I am more sensitive to the fact that I'm overeating, whereas in the past, I either didn't realize it or flat out ignored it because I liked what I was eating and there was still more there, so I was able to just eat it. So yeah. That's an interesting question.
[00:05:52]Shonda: If we're not eating real food, we could be eating food that has chemicals in it that are drawing us to the food, you know, more so than we're being drawn to the nutrients and things that are provided in the foods.
[00:06:07] So. Yeah, commercially prepared foods could easily cause us to overeat.
[00:06:15] Patryce: Such a great point because I believe there have been studies about the french fries at some of the most popular, fast food joints and how they have such high sodium content on purpose so that people keep wanting more. And same with sugar.
[00:06:33] Hm, these types of additional sugar and, and fake sugar and artificial sugar they lend themselves to people becoming even borderline addicted, right?
[00:06:44] Shonda: Yeah. So go back to eating simply and plainly because sugar, fat and salt may cause you to over eat for sure.
[00:06:53] Patryce: Great points.
[00:06:56] Shonda: All right. Let's move on to number 13. And it says to chew well.
[00:07:03] Patryce: Wow. That's very important. And I, just feel like I'm a perfect example of before and after, because I'm still working on it, but I definitely did not chew well in the past. And I remember the kids even being in a track club. Where the coach during say a celebration and he would observe the kids eating and he would start explaining to them chew at least so many chews before you swallow.
[00:07:32] He was very adamant that we need to slow down when we're chewing so that we can process our food better, digest it better.
[00:07:42] Shonda: Wow. Yeah, I think you've mentioned him before. What a good coach. Yeah, I think so. I mean, there are times when I too, have maybe waited too long to eat and I finally get a plate of food and I just start eating without even pausing before eating.
[00:07:59] I mean, taking a pause is a good thing to remind ourselves, you know, the purpose of eating... to be thankful for eating. And then, I think if we slow down in that process, we will chew well. And it's important to chew well, because we can savor the food . So yeah, that's all, that's, that's a very good tip. Enjoy your food. And you can do so by chewing well.
[00:08:27] Patryce: I love how you said, enjoy your food. And you also mentioned the thankfulness. I think, as we're chewing and being more intentional to chew well, we are able to reflect on, you know, I am thankful for this food.
[00:08:41] I'm thankful for how it was provided and how it was sourced. There, there is a farmer somewhere helping to grow this food. Yeah.
[00:08:50] Shonda: And I'm thankful for the way it tastes and for the nutrients given to my body.
[00:08:55] Oh, okay. So here's number 14 is something that we stress too. Read labels.
[00:09:01] Patryce: Definitely definitely . We need to read the labels. That will lend itself to not over eating, because if you read some labels, you're like, oh, I can't eat much of that. And reading labels lends itself to eating more simply and plainly and yeah, reading labels is so important.
[00:09:21]Shonda: Yeah. Yeah. It's very important. And of course, Ideally, we want to eat foods that don't really have labels. We want to get most of our food out of the produce department. But let's say in the frozen food section, there's a package of vegetables.
[00:09:38] Are those vegetables plain? Or are they loaded with salt? And perhaps butter, other seasonings, hydrogenated oils? We have to go for the plain packages.
[00:09:52] Patryce: So true because you're right. The more we can just stick to the produce the better, but it's not a bad idea to get the frozen fruits, especially for your smoothie making, but make sure you're not getting, for example, the Acai packs. We like to add those to our smoothie. But there are different ones. There are some that are truly just the acai, but there are others that have Acai with additional sugars added. Where you want to be able to monitor your sugars by adding your own, like a banana or whatever it is. So again, the labels are, are key. Key to knowing what we are putting into our bodies.
[00:10:28] Shonda: Yeah, definitely. Even though we're going for plain fruit or plain vegetables, make sure they're plain read those labels because they can be deceiving.
[00:10:41] Patryce: Great tip.
[00:10:45] Shonda: Okay. So we've come to item number 15, which is 50% of every meal should consist of raw or properly cooked fruits and vegetables.
[00:10:59]Patryce: Wow. Wow. That's an easy one for those who are plant-based heaters or vegetarians, vegans. And but this is a great tip for you. If that's not the lifestyle you've chosen and you, you do incorporate meats and seafoods. Being intentional about 50% of that meal consisting of fruits and vegetables and even raw fruits and vegetables is something to remind ourselves of.,
[00:11:29] I think this is a great tip as well, and this can help people who are in the process of wanting to maybe go more plant based or wanting to become vegan.
[00:11:42] Shonda: Yeah for example, for breakfast, you know, you may have cooked oatmeal, but on the side you can have fruits, you can do a fruit smoothie . If you're going for the breakfast foods or just go for vegetables in the morning,. I like greens and polenta for breakfast. And just make sure that those are in 50/50 portions.
[00:12:04] Patryce: And I'm reminded of say, you're, you're still incorporating meat in your foods, but maybe you want to start with having at least one or two meals a day without meat at all. And so one substitute for breakfast, I've noticed in other countries it's very popular to have beans. Beans for breakfast. Yeah.
[00:12:27] Shonda: There's no reason why we shouldn't. So as we move on to a lunch or a dinner meal that can easily be done through the use of salad, either a side salad or making the entire meal your salad. Most of my salads do contain raw and cook foods. Cooked foods, such as a rice or quinoa added to the vegetables.
[00:12:54] And even some, some fruits such as raisins or slices of apple and things like that. And of course, we know that avocados are fruits and they make the show a good dressing. Yeah.
[00:13:07]Patryce: And the more I think about it, it's a great way to maybe transition to a different type of eating... different way of eating.
[00:13:16] Shonda: Yeah. I think these can be great guidelines. Great guidelines for healthy eating.
[00:13:28]Patryce: I do notice I that in Stormy's book here, she does end this particular chapter with God's way... a way of life. And so these 15 tips or hints that we've gone through the last three podcasts, it really does go back to God's way. Because God ultimately is the one who's provided all that we have to start with.
[00:13:59]Shonda: Be secure in what you know of the way God made food. And she says, don't jump on any food-fad bandwagon. There always be one. Mm.
[00:14:13] Just make sure we're eating basic simple foods and prepare them in simple ways. And she's not saying without flavor, but simply prepared. Natural seasoning, spices, herbs. Those all can be used to wake up a dish. Or wake up your taste buds.
[00:14:37] Patryce: You know, we've gone through these excellent tips, but we do not want to forget the importance of also minimizing stress because even if you're doing all these things, but you're living a highly stressed life constantly, perpetually. That's not going to be good.
[00:14:56]And we've talked about stress before. We're just saying these things are important, we also want to be mindful. Always trying to minimize our stress, be aware of our stress levels and we can ask God to help us with that.
[00:15:09]Just like he made the vegetables, he made all these things. He made it, I think so that we wouldn't be stressed out, but we do that to ourselves.
[00:15:16]I just hear more and more people you know, more and more opportunities to allow ourselves to get stressed. Maybe I'm speaking only from my own experience, but and yeah.
[00:15:26]Shonda: I'm glad that Patrice brought up this point about stress. We can do all of these 15 tips properly. Yet. If we are stressed, they just may not benefit us as well until we get stress under control. It just so happens that it was our first episode in which we discussed stress. So I invite you to go back and take a lesson.
[00:15:49] Also. We will definitely be revisiting this book by stormy sometime in the near future. And if you're looking for help in experiencing greater health, why not try God's way.
[00:16:02]Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy today's podcast. Remember you can catch show notes and additional details at RealFoodAndDrinks.com under the podcast menu.
[00:16:16] Also subscribe to our podcast if you aren't already a member of our community. And if listening through Anchor [Anchor.fm], please send us a message of topics you would like to hear us have conversations about. Until next time... let's just be real.
[00:16:41]
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Hi, this is Shonda and I’m back to continue the discussion from Episode 21. Patryce and I were discussing 15 helpful hints from the pure food chapter in Stormie Omartian’s book “Greater Health God’s Way”. We only discussed hints 1 – 5 and so here I will be sharing with you hints 6 – 10 and giving a bit of my input and thoughts. Stay tuned for tips 10 – 15 in a future episode. (See show notes below for more information about the book. (See show notes below for more information about the book.)
We want to come alongside you, as well, as we all continue moving toward a positive direction to support our healthy lifestyles. If there are any specific ways that we can be of assistance, please contact us through our contact form or send a verbal message through Speakpipe.
OTHER WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE AND LISTEN:
We invite you to listen and share your perspectives with us too. Send us a recorded message through Speakpipe. We may use your message in an upcoming episode, therefore, please leave your name if you would like it to be noted during the podcast. Leave an email address if you would like a personal response or feel free to use the contact form.
SIMPLE FOOD CHOICES (Show Notes)
Helpful hints and tips: (Items discussed today are in bold text.)
Always ask yourself, “Is this man-made or God-made?” and “How pure can I get this food?”
The fewer items in a meal, the less you are tempted to overeat and the easier it is to digest.
The more natural the food, the more healthful it is, and the harder it is for you to overeat.
The less active your life or work, the less you need to eat.
Space your eating to put five or six hours between each meal. A possible schedule could be: breakfast at 7 am, lunch at 12 pm, and dinner at 6/7 pm.
Eliminate one or two foods from the foods-to-avoid list every week and add from the foods-to-include list.
Don’t eat overcooked or processed foods.
Eat foods ripe and in season.
Drink water, herbal teas, and freshly squeezed juices.
Don’t eat fried food.
Foods to Include:
Natural sweeteners such as honey, blackstrap molasses, maple syrup (or at least unrefined sugar) – used sparingly
Foods sweetened with natural sweeteners
Whole-grains/flours: oats, millet, buckwheat, brown rice, etc.
Whole-grain products: such as pasta or bread
Natural fruit juices, substitute sparkling water/drinks for sodas (or even fermented drinks)
Natural nut butter made without added oils and unsalted is best
Fresh and/or frozen fruits and vegetables
Beans and legumes
Fresh herbs: cilantro, parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, etc.
Springwater, herbal teas, and freshly squeezed juices
Stormie’s book is a great overview of how to live in a healthful way. The last copy of the book was published in 1996, yet the information is still very relevant to today. She explains 7 steps to greater health: 1. Peaceful LIving 2. Pure Food 3. Proper Exercise 4. Plenty of Water 5. Prayer and Fasting 6. Periods of Fresh Air and Sunlight and 7. Perfect Rest.
We will definitely be discussing more areas of this book in addition to completing the 15 helpful hints/tips for making food choices in upcoming podcasts.
Search real food and drink recipes using this link.
Fight COVID-19 with FoodTuesday, Jan. 19 – Tuesday, March 9, 2021, 4-5 p.m. ET (1-2 p.m. PT) Weekly on Tuesdays with class recordings available on-demand for registrants https://www.pcrm.org/nutritionclass
Episode 22 - Simple Food Choices (Part 2 of 3)
And I'm back to continue the discussion from episode 21, Patryce and I were discussing 15 helpful hints from the pure food chapter in stormy Omartian's book, Greater Health God's way. We only discussed hints one through five and so here I will be sharing with you hints six to 10 and giving a bit of my input and thoughts.
[00:00:35] Hi, and hello. Welcome to the real food and drinks, lifestyle podcast. We're building a community to talk about nutrition, lifestyle choices, and just feeling better. This is Shonda and this is Patryce. Let's just be real.
[00:01:01] Here's our disclaimer. We do not professionally practice in any of the various subjects that we discuss. We are only sharing our personal experiences with you to a healthier lifestyle. Please do your own research before taking part in any of these practices.
[00:01:21] Helpful hint, number six. Eliminate one or two foods from the foods to avoid list every week and add from the foods to include list.
[00:01:34] Now I realize you don't have that list right in front of you, but I definitely will be posting these two lists or most of what's included in these lists on the website. And you can get to that through the show notes. This book was written for someone who is trying to make a change. Therefore, anyone who's trying to make a change... we need to consider a way or manner to do so. And I think that tip number six is very helpful. And you know, it's not like we have to go and do it all overnight... toss out that whole pantry and bring in all new foods and you know, that can be a bit drastic. So I think this is a very helpful hint. I didn't think that that's what I was actually doing, even though I was doing that.
[00:02:24] I didn't have any guidelines. Like I didn't do it every week or so, but I was just slowly looking into, okay, what can I change? And when I get that down, you know, what can I improve upon? You know, what's, um, thing that I need to get rid of, or what's a new cooking technique or what's a new food I need to try out?
[00:02:43] So item. Uh, number six on this list, I think is very helpful. And there are just many ways that you could go about doing that.
[00:02:51] The next helpful hint, number seven, is don't eat over cooked or processed foods. So yeah, we're always talking about processed foods here on the real food and drinks lifestyle podcast.
[00:03:05] And that is one of our major goals is to help you eat real food and not go for the processed foods. I'm in total agreement with this of course. I just think it's really helpful that we look at food this way, you know, real food versus processed foods. Real foods are full of vitamins, minerals, nutrients, fiber, all the things that we need to nourish our bodies with and process foods are usually very lacking and void in these things.
[00:03:39] Also stated in this hint is to not eat over cooked foods. So when I think of over cooking foods, I kind of think about burning food or, you know, maybe cooked on a grill for too long and just way too charred. I know there's lots of debate over pressure cooking or steaming. And cooking on high temperatures, but I'm not sure that's what they're talking about here.
[00:04:07] Ideally. Yes. You just don't want to burn your food and ideally yes, it is good to cook your food at lower temperatures. So I think I would take number seven to saying,,"Hey, why don't you try lightly steaming your vegetables, maybe leaving a little crunch there because, um, that can be very delightful in a dish, especially crispy vegetables or I won't say crispy, but more like crunchy vegetables served in a bowl of rice or a different grain. Yet. I think it's perfectly okay to long stew vegetables or even fruits on the stove top or in a crock pot or something like that.
[00:04:53] I must say that I do a lot of high pressure cooking, which is supposed to preserve nutrients, especially if you drink the water that the vegetables are cooked in. So it's ideal for soups and stews. At least the food is not burned to a crisp.
[00:05:13] So let's move on to item number eight in the list. It says to eat foods ripe and in season. And this is one that I really enjoy for many reasons, because when we eat foods that are ripe and in season, first of all, they taste great. Um, they're usually sweeter. But not only are fruits delicious when ripe and in season, but vegetables are also delicious when in season. They make great salads and [when] you're purchasing at the grocery store they're usually the ones on sale. They have a good price because they're not being shipped from so far away.
[00:05:57] And one great way to find foods, though, that are ripe and in season would be to visit a local farmer's market. And that is ideal. And that can help you figure out what is in season and what is not in season.
[00:06:13] Item.Number nine in the helpful tips list is to drink water, herbal teas and freshly squeezed juices. I believe this is very crucial because our body needs water to carry out its body functions. Our body composition is highly made of water and it requires water to function. So we want to give our bodies the best water that we possibly can when we consume water. There's an article written on the real food and drinks website that will help you make water decisions.
[00:06:51] And personally I prefer spring water because it's naturally filtered and not man-made water. If you go and visit that article, which will be linked below in the show notes, you will see [that] for a while I was drinking reverse osmosis water. And that water was void of minerals and did not help with the electrolyte processes that needed to happen in my body.
[00:07:17] But you know, one other great thing to do is to drink herbal teas. In episode three, we go a little deep in to learning about herbal tea. So I invite you to take a listen to episode three. It's full of great information. Patryce and I both learned some things during that discussion. That will also be linked in the show notes below.
[00:07:44] Some things to note mostly about herbal teas is that most are caffeine free. They have many immune system boosting properties. I think something great to note to note about teas is that they can be warm or hot. So if you need a warm drink, drinking an herbal tea would be a great option. You can also make teas out of spices, such as turmeric and ginger and cinnamon and all these things help with reducing inflammation and just boosting the immune system overall.
[00:08:20] So tea can be made from an actual tea plant or a tea could be an infusion of spices into water.
[00:08:30] She also mentioned freshly squeezed juices here. And so when I think about the most beneficial thing, the quickest and easiest beneficial thing could be like squeezing a lemon or lime in your water. And that helps with digestion also.
[00:08:48] It helps the water to become more alkaline. And we have an upcoming episode where we're going to talk about alkaline foods. So please stay tuned for that one. I enjoy fresh homemade juices. Yes, using a juice machine. I think that taking the fruits and the vegetables, putting them through a juicer, gives my body a great deal of vitamins and nutrients ...more so than I could get out of taking any pill or supplement.
[00:09:20] And so last in today's discussion is item number 10 on the list, which is, do not eat fried food. Definitely when speaking about fast foods or fried foods that you get out at a restaurant that oil has been used over and over and over again. And so that oil has been over processed.
[00:09:44] It's mentioned in item number seven, do not eat over processed foods. So if that oil has been used all day to fry foods, it is definitely over-processed. There's something that happens to oil when it is cooked at high temperatures that has a negative effect on the body. I'll definitely link some items below in the show notes.
[00:10:08] So what are the alternatives? The alternative is to stir steam, your food. That's one option. If we're talking about creating a stir fry, you can stir steam by stirring your vegetables, using water broth or juice and slowly adding enough liquid so that the food does not burn while it's cooking.
[00:10:33] I recently have purchased an air fryer and I think it is a really great thing. So to make any food fried, like, um, the air fryer works really great. You can bread, whatever you would normally fry and then cook it inside of the air fryer without any oil. Or even, I know some have to take a baby step by baby step and you use maybe a little bit of oil, but you are not deep frying foods using an air fryer.
[00:11:07] And the best thing that I eat almost every day are potatoes or French fries made inside of the air fryer. And it's really yummy. Now I want to give a plug here for InstantPot, because I feel like I searched far and wide looking for the perfect air fryer, but I found that InstantPot - even though they make an individual air fryer, they also make one that's a combination of an air fryer and a pressure cooker and a yogurt maker and a dehydrator. And I just said that was the one, even though I [already] had an InstantPot I went ahead and purchased this option because I thought it provided much more options for me. So if you do not yet have an air fryer or any of those other items that I mentioned, the InstantPot version would be ideal for you too.
[00:12:07] Well, there we have it. Items six through 10 on the pure food helpful hint list by Stormie.
[00:12:16] And I hope this has been helpful for you. In the next episode, we will follow up with the last five helpful hints from this chapter. So I invite you all back next week as we complete the last pure food helpful hints in this chapter.
[00:12:35] Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy today's podcast. Remember you can catch show notes and additional details at RealFoodAndDrinks.com under the podcast menu.
[00:12:49] Also subscribe to our podcast if you aren't already a member of our community. And if listening through Anchor [Anchor.fm], please send us a message of topics you would like to hear us have conversations about. Until next time... let's just be real.
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In today’s episode, we discuss helpful hints and tips when making food choices. We found these tips in Stormie Omartian’s book, “Greater Health God’s Way”. The main goal is to eat pure food (or real food is the term we like to use). In episode 21, we discuss tips 1 – 5. Stay tuned for tips 6 – 15 in a future episode. (See show notes below for more information about the book.)
We want to come alongside you, as well, as we all continue moving toward a positive direction to support our healthy lifestyles. If there are any specific ways that we can be of assistance, please contact us through our contact form or send a verbal message through Speakpipe.
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SIMPLE FOOD CHOICES (Show Notes)
Helpful hints and tips:
Always ask yourself, “Is this man-made or God-made?” and “How pure can I get this food?”
The fewer items in a meal, the less you are tempted to overeat and the easier it is to digest.
The more natural the food, the more healthful it is, and the harder it is for you to overeat.
The less active your life or work, the less you need to eat.
Space your eating to put five or six hours between each meal. A possible schedule could be: breakfast at 7 am, lunch at 12 pm, and dinner at 6/7 pm.
“Greater Health God’s Way” by Stormie Omartian
Stormie’s book is a great overview of how to live in a healthful way. The last copy of the book was published in 1996, yet the information is still very relevant to today. She explains 7 steps to greater health: 1. Peaceful LIving 2. Pure Food 3. Proper Exercise 4. Plenty of Water 5. Prayer and Fasting 6. Periods of Fresh Air and Sunlight and 7. Perfect Rest.
We will definitely be discussing more areas of this book in addition to completing the 15 helpful hints/tips for making food choices in upcoming podcasts.
Search real food and drink recipes using this link.
Fight COVID-19 with FoodTuesday, Jan. 19 – Tuesday, March 9, 2021, 4-5 p.m. ET (1-2 p.m. PT) Weekly on Tuesdays with class recordings available on-demand for registrants https://www.pcrm.org/nutritionclass
Introduction with music: Today we are discussing 15 helpful hints for making food choices from a book titled "Greater Health God's way" by Stormie Omartian.
[00:00:11] Hi, and hello. Welcome to the real food and drinks, lifestyle podcast. We're building a community to talk about nutrition, lifestyle choices, and just feeling better. This is Shonda and this is Patryce. Let's just be real.
[00:00:36] Here's our disclaimer. We do not professionally practice in any of the various subjects that we discuss. We are only sharing our personal experiences with you to a healthier lifestyle. Please do your own research before taking part in any of these practices.
[00:01:08] Shonda: So stormy listed 15 helpful hints. In her pure food chapter. So we just want to discuss those 15 helpful hints and see what we think. Right?
[00:01:21] Patryce: Exactly. And I'm not sure we'll get to all 15 today in depth, but it's a great starting point we thought for the month of February.
[00:01:33] Shonda: Yeah, that'd be good. So what is our first point? It says when choosing food always ask yourself, is this man-made or God-made and how pure can I get it? That's pretty deep.
[00:01:48] Patryce: That's a great question because how pure can I get? It reminds me of this whole community, of real food and drinks. It's about being real food and pure food. And before that, asking the question, is this manmade or God-made. And I wonder Shonda, if many of us ask any question at all when we choose food or do we just go through the process of choosing food and we're not intentional.
[00:02:22] Shonda: Yeah, I think though, but we can be more intentional. I think I'm more intentional when I actually go to the grocery store, the food that I'm bringing into the house, so that when I'm at home, I don't really have to think about, is this man-made or God-made because I have brought mostly God-made foods back home from the grocery store or the farmer's market.
[00:02:47] Patryce: Good point. You're right. We can be more intentional and that's a great way. And another great way to, to become more intentional is to actually make a list. And I know in the past I've been inconsistent, but when I consistently have that list, even if it's a running list of the staples, I will be less tempted to just grab other things.
[00:03:10]And I stay more on the outer perimeters. And not lured into those inner aisles like I have been because I just like to shop for groceries period. But I think having a list helps don't you?
[00:03:23] Shonda: Yeah, I would think so. When I go on my general grocery shopping, I know what I get from that store and I just go and get it, but , if I'm going back to the store in the middle of the week, I always take a list, but I'm not a shopper. So I just go for, , the basics, get out of there. Cause I have other things to do. I don't want to be in the grocery store. But yeah. So I think that's a really good thing though.
[00:03:52]Maybe when we're going out to eat. , was it man-made or God-made made. Did this come out of, , how was this process? How was this food created or whatever. So, yeah, that, that's a really good thing.
[00:04:05] Patryce: That is a very good question. And I guess that's one reason I stay on the outer perimeter more than the inner, because that's where more, the God-made foods are the less processed foods.
[00:04:15]Shonda: So helpful hint number two is what? The fewer items in a meal, the less you are tempted to overeat and the easier it is to digest.
[00:04:28] Patryce: Hm. I want you to comment on that one first.
[00:04:32] Shonda: Okay. So let's say, yeah, I'm thinking when, when I just know that I just need something to eat, and this is me because I have many other things I want to do other than eat many times.
[00:04:50] So if I need a dinner, like I may just make some Keene wall and some beans and throw some greens in there or a green salad and I am done . So that's like three items . I mean, additionally, I probably season the beans with some onions and a little spices and stuff. But I can eat very basic foods. And I think it is easier to digest because your stomach doesn't have to ,decode all the different foods you have in there.
[00:05:21] Patryce: That's that's good. I like what you shared and I definitely can see the benefit of having fewer items and it coming to our digestion. Making it easier to digest if we have fewer items. I guess for me, I was looking at that statement, the fewer items in a meal, the less you're attempted to overeat.
[00:05:43] I don't really know if I put a lot of items. I do tend to garnish my food a lot. So say I have a salad. So I consider that salad one item, but my salad might have a few other items in 'em like cucumbers, carrots all these other good things, but I guess that's not what they're talking about.
[00:06:04] The salad would probably be considered one item. So I would think this is a good tip.
[00:06:09] Shonda: Yeah, actually I think the salad is considered multiple yeah. Items. Oh, I think, yeah. Yeah.
[00:06:16] Patryce: And then I totally go against this thinking in some, when it comes to my salad eating, I will say that I will put beans on my salad. I will put carrots on my salad. I would put cucumbers ...a few items.
[00:06:28] Shonda: So I don't think that's overeating because for one thing, You're eating mostly raw foods. Okay. And a salad. Most of it, it probably at least half or even more is a raw food .
[00:06:42] It could go so many ways. I mean, you could make your salad too big and really shouldn't be eating that much salad, ?
[00:06:49] Like, so let's say you, you want to eat what an eighth of a cup of every food you put in that salad? Like if you want 10 items. Yeah. This is going to get to be a pretty big salad, , but if you're just like, I'm going to do five items at an eighth of a cup, then the salad is going to be smaller, ?
[00:07:08] Patryce: That's a good point.
[00:07:09] Shonda: Yeah. Yeah. So I just think the more items, the bigger your plate's going to get, that's a good point.
[00:07:16] Patryce: Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
[00:07:17] Shonda: So, yeah. Did you have any thoughts on her helpful hint, number three?
[00:07:21] Patryce: The more natural the food, the more healthful it is and the harder it is for you to overeat. Yeah, I think that, again, the more natural, the food that goes back to just the more real, the more healthy it’s going to be. And we've talked about that in many of our podcasts that real food, natural, more pure food, less processed, is healthier because the more it's processed, the less healthy it is. So I totally understand that. And the harder is for you to overeat. So. I guess even if you were to overeat with, with your plate of more natural or real foods, it's still less overeating than a plate of processed food, which will have more empty calories.
[00:08:10] Shonda: Yeah. Right. You're probably going to get less calories if you're eating natural foods and because there's more fiber in there you will get full much quicker than if it were a refined food. So that's a good, a good hint. A good tip.
[00:08:30] Okay. So tip number four is the last act of your life or work the less you need to eat?
[00:08:39] I wonder how many people take that into consideration? Yeah. I think we have to be aware of if we're really hungry, because some people are in the habit of I need to eat breakfast, I need to eat lunch. I need to dinner, and that's just kinda ingrained in our society. I've been very busy this morning and I have had nothing but water. I had a little bit of cashews and raisins together so far. I would be eating ... my stomach's growling. It's ready. So as soon as we're done, I will go eat, but I'm just saying, when I wake up in the morning, I'm not hungry.
[00:09:16] So drink some water, stay well, hydrated and move on about the day. And then when you start feeling hungry, go ahead and eat. Don't let it go too long because then you may overeat. But , I think still, if I eat by one o'clock I still have time to get one more meal in before the end of the day.
[00:09:37] Patryce: Wow. That's great. That's great that you shared that. And I would just say each of us have to find what works best for our body, because I know my friend, she wakes up very early, like five o'clock or six is late for her. So she's definitely had something to eat way before 11 o'clock because of her timing and her sleep schedule and her waking up.
[00:10:03] But for me, I need to start eating earlier again, even if it's just some fruit , or my yogurt, because I need to try to avoid eating late at night. But to go back to this point of the less active your life or work, the less you need to eat. I totally agree with that thinking about it now. Because it's not even just less to eat. For me it's not just the less, but it's what I eat. And so people have asked me, , why do you choose to do more plant based? And for me, it's because I'm not a person who's working out vigorously, or I don't have an intense workout routine.
[00:10:41] So honestly, when I had not as much of a plant-based lifestyle with eating and that with not working out as much, then I tended to gain more weight. But I came to the realization I don't need to eat as much, and I don't need all those heavier foods because I'm not an athlete or I'm not someone who's doing a lot of strenuous activity on a regular basis.
[00:11:10] Shonda: And the heavier foods do bring more calories. You're right. So, but I know that if our community has not seen yet the game changers documentary, it's about weight-lifters and bodybuilders who have chosen plant-based foods. So plant-based foods can be heavy or they can be light also. And, of course we're here pushing plants all the way. So it is still about, if you are expending a lot of energy, you need a lot of calories. So you need a lot of potatoes. You need a lot of whole grains, , go ahead and go for that because you're hungry and you need those calories and those carbohydrates to give you the energy that you need.
[00:11:56] But , I'm looking ahead here and we have to get to number five because ... if she really knows what she's talking about, then I'm doing it all wrong because let me tell you, number five says "space you're eating to put five or six hours between each meal. So check. Okay. I got that. No problem. A good schedule would be breakfast at seven. I'm not even awake at seven, so that's not going to work lunch at noon or one. Okay. So I would be way behind schedule and dinner at six or seven. A bad schedule is breakfast at 11, which is normally what I do lunch at half past one. Yeah. And dinner at 10. So I'm more like lunch at three or four and dinner it depends on what I made. I don't know, but I'm still, even after 10 o'clock, I'm still usually awake three more hours. ,But sometimes, , I don't have three meals a day. I'll have only two meals. I'll have a smoothie and two meals. So I may be okay. What do you think?
[00:13:02] Patryce: Honestly, I think what she's prescribed here or suggested is a good suggestion. Now the dinner time, I would, I would say that that's unique to each person because to me, 10 is a bit late for eating dinner and we also have to keep in mind, we have different metabolism rates.
[00:13:20] And I can just speak for myself that eating dinner consistently at 10:00 PM would not be the best for me. Definitely not, but I do think the whole breakfast at say seven is telling me that I need to get more sleep or go to sleep earlier. So if I were to go with her schedule, I probably would change some other habits too, for the better.
[00:13:44] So I actually like the suggestions. I am totally on board with what she's saying. I not always doing this, but I would, I would agree with this.
[00:13:53] Shonda: Yeah, it sounds good. But I could never eat breakfast at seven in the morning. I'm just barely waking up. I'm drinking water. I'm doing my exercises like I said, I think we have to go back to, are you hungry? That's just it, , are you hungry?
[00:14:09] Patryce: But Shonda that question? Are you hungry? What about all the people who skipped breakfast consistently? I would say, they're not asking themselves, are they hungry? Or even if they do ask and they say, no, they should still maybe have something. What do you think about that? Whether it be fruit or smoothing skipping breakfast consistently, it just seems like it's opening the door to be tempted, to eat something, a bigger lunch, maybe even a more processed lunch. You're going to be giving into hunger pains earlier. Especially for someone combating weight.
[00:14:44] Shonda: Yeah. Someone combating weight. Yes. And I think it depends on you and your schedule, , like if you're going to be at work and you didn't take your lunch or you didn't take any food and that's going to be more likely that you going to get off of your meal plan then yes.
[00:15:01] I recognize when I'm hungry. So for me, , I don't think my body digests well if I eat and I'm not hungry,. My body's not ready to digest food. So, , it just depends. I think it depends on the person, but yeah, the it's an important thing would be to be prepared.
[00:15:22] If you're going to be leaving, , pack some food with you, because maybe you don't know when that hunger's going to come.
[00:15:29] Patryce: I love the insight you shared it, it all depends on your situation. But I do remember vividly working outside the home and those days where I was rushed, rushed, rushed, and busy with young kids, or just a busy time of life going to work, not eating breakfast, and then when it came to lunch, everything looks so good standing in line. And then getting probably a larger lunch than I really needed.
[00:15:52] Shonda: Right. And that's the thing where you have to know yourself, because for me, I'm out, there's nothing for me to eat. I will not eat. I will not eat just to eat. Because no, it's just not good for me to pick foods that are outside of my diet.
[00:16:07] So if I didn't prepare and take foods with me, I'm going to not eat. There are some of us that will just not eat and I will starve myself. Yes, I will starve myself. When I get home, I'm just going to eat.
[00:16:21] Patryce: Well, I can just speak for myself, but I think there are a lot of people who... We're just not at that point. I'm not as disciplined. If I just get hungry. And especially, I keep thinking about that busy, season of life outside of the home, working where there's just so many temptations. If you haven't packed your lunch, you're going to be in that line. You're going to be at that line at the fast-food restaurant, or even if it's not fast food, it will be food that seems healthier, but it has added oils.
[00:16:48] We just, we just don't have as much control over how it's prepared. So I guess that's why I see the best of both worlds for that person having something earlier in the day would maybe stave off you overeating for lunch or making bad choices for lunch?
[00:17:08] Shonda: Yeah, definitely for that person, they need to prepare ahead of schedule because, okay.
[00:17:14] So are you saying I'm just in the minority? Cause I just, I learned my lesson, I guess too, too soon and I just will not eat just to eat and I can't, , I can't, I can't.
[00:17:25] Patryce: You're in the minority. Okay. I'm just telling you that because especially, and I know everyone has different kinds of jobs, but very often a part of lunchtime while working outside the home.
[00:17:36] It's a very socia lhour. So ...
[00:17:39] Shonda: Girl, please no,.See I'm in the minority because I like to eat lunch by myself. Okay. That's my time to decompress. I have never eaten lunch at a social time. I did have one friend I remember we would make like a lunch date, like once a week. But even then I would take my lunch and she would eat at the restaurant.
[00:18:02] Patryce: Okay. You're in the minority. And because oftentimes maybe because of my industry, we had lunch brought in, or it was part of the month to...
[00:18:11] Shonda: Girl I've been in meetings where there are food brought in. No. Shonda has her pack on the side of her and she is eating from her foods. I don't care. That is me. That is. So, hey, I want to encourage some of you out there. Hey, bring your lunch like I did. And don't care about what other people think. You're taking care of you. Bring enough to share with other people and bring in some good vibes and some good food.
[00:18:41] Patryce: That's a great shout out for packed lunches.
[00:18:46] Okay. Well, I think we'll cut it off there but we will follow up with other tips. I guess very soon.
[00:18:54] Yes. I'm looking forward to it. These are some good ones.
[00:18:57] Okay. Sounds good.
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In today’s episode, we discuss dairy alternatives for milk, cheeses, yogurts, snacks, salad dressings, cookies, and ice cream. Wow! There are many places where we can make substitutes that will lower our cholesterol and fat intake and allow us to avoid antibiotics and hormones in our food choices. We share store-bought and homemade options for most of these categories.
We want to come alongside you, as well, as we all continue moving toward a positive direction to support our healthy lifestyles. If there are any specific ways that we can be of assistance, please contact us through our contact form or send a verbal message through Speakpipe.
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DAIRY ALTERNATIVES (Show Notes)
One important note: Plant-based alternatives do provide an excellent choice for avoiding hormones and cholesterol in your diet. Also, many of the calories are have lower amounts of fat per gram. Plus, in most cases, you will get added fiber which is a great benefit. Yet, if you are desiring to lose weight,you still must be careful that you do not overdo calories by using too much salad dressing or still eating too many ice creams, too many snacks, too many cheeses, etc – even though you are choosing plant-based options.
Store-bought options: (Aim to avoid high amounts of sugars, added oils and preservatives/stabilizers.)
Milks: Most local stores will have plant-based options. One popular brand is Silk – look for their organic varieties. HEB stores (Texas) have their own line and so does Wal-mart. The switch to non-dairy milks are it’s pretty easy these days because you have so many alternatives like soy milk, almond, oat, pea, coconut, rice, cashews, and Macadamias as well as hemp milk and quinoa milk.
Cheeses: CREDO and SIETE Cashew Quesos, M I Y O K O S Quesos and Dips; DAIYA Brands – sliced and shredded (Simply search ‘vegan cheese brands’ to find so many more.)
Yogurts: Silk and So Delicious are popular brands. HEB Stores (Texas) have their own line too.
Salad Dressings: Annie’s Organic Cowgirl Ranch
Snacks: HIPPEAS organic chickpea puffs
Ice cream (Search ‘vegan ice cream brands’. These are plentiful.)
Homemade Dairy-Free Recipes
Milks:Praline Milk , Basic Milk Recipe: Blend 1/3 cup well-soaked nuts plus 1 cup of water (straining is optional.) Buttermilk Recipe: Add 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (raw, with the mother) to 1 cup of plant-based milk. Allow it to sit on the countertop for a few minutes.
Fight COVID-19 with FoodTuesday, Jan. 19 – Tuesday, March 9, 2021, 4-5 p.m. ET (1-2 p.m. PT) Weekly on Tuesdays with class recordings available on-demand for registrants https://www.pcrm.org/nutritionclass
Shonda and Patryce: [00:00:57] Hi, and hello. Welcome to the real food and drinks lifestyle podcast. We're building a community to talk about nutrition, lifestyle choices, and just feeling better. This is Shonda and this is Patryce. Let's just be real.
Here's our disclaimer. We do not professionally practice in any of the various subjects that we discuss. We are only sharing our personal experiences with you to a healthier lifestyle. Please do your own research before taking part in any of these practices.
Shonda: [00:01:52] Okay. So, Hey Patryce, I'm glad we were together once again to discuss a very important topic that can help power our community make the transition from, you know, consuming so much dairy.
Patryce: [00:02:09] Good subject. Very good subject. I know I had to convert myself years ago.
Shonda: [00:02:15] Right. And I did the same in order to avoid the seasonal allergies. It's been a real blessing in my life to give up dairy.
So I know many people may not be able to believe that, but you know, or experience those same things. But, um, I'm just hoping that by sharing these alternatives today to, uh, dairy. Well help someone, um, realize the benefits, you know, dairy has high amounts of calories, fat, even some antibiotics and hormones, many times in dairy.
So we just don't need those things and, you know, our diets are better without it, and there are great alternatives to dairy these days, even more than, you know, a few years back. And so probably what we're going to end up doing is I know that, um, you shop a lot and you observe in the grocery stores, you know?
So I thought maybe you can share more of the like store-bought items that you find or packaged things and, I can maybe suggest some homemade options too.
Patryce: [00:03:24] Sounds like a plan.
Shonda: [00:03:26] Okay. So, hey, let's first. Let's just talk about the milk.
Patryce: [00:03:30] Wow there's a lot of, you know, nowadays milk is advertised for those, like you said, in an earlier, previous podcasts as lactose free.
And I think some people consider that well, you know, that's good enough. But we're talking about leaving the cow's milk altogether and seeking out all these wonderful alternatives. Can I just list some of them with, with the switch from dairy cows, dairy goat, dairy, all those dairy products. The switch to non-dairy milks are... it's pretty easy these days because you have so many alternatives like soy milk, almond, oat , pea, coconut, rice, milk made from nuts, cashews, and Macadamia as well as you have hemp milk. And lastly, I wanted to share there's quinoa. Quinoa milk might be newer to most people, but it's... it's quite tasty. So when it's on sale, I, I have picked it up because I like to try different things.
Shonda: [00:04:35] Wow. Yeah. I've never even seen quinoa milk. And so I've never tried it. Uh, I can't imagine, I don't know. I have no idea what it tastes like. I don't, I don't think I would like quinoa milk, but, um, you know, I'll just have to give it a try one day.
Patryce: [00:04:50] Yeah. It's nutty and a little sweet, but a nuttier taste. And I do like quinoa itself.
So you got to try it one day.
Shonda: [00:04:58] Okay. So, hey there, I mean, that's a pretty extensive list, you know, uh, somewhere in there you're bound to find one that you like that it's agreeable to your palette, right? And they, the prices range, you know, uh, there's uh, there are organic options and they would likely raise your price.
But you know, many of those foods really aren't required to be organic because they may not be, you know, as highly sprayed with pesticides and things. So that's something you can consider, um...
Patryce: [00:05:38] Just to piggyback off what you said about price now that you mentioned it, there is, there is a price range. And honestly, what I've observed is that almond milk you can find on sale or even not on sale, less than for example, the quinoa or the nut milks. The other nuts, the cashew macadamia, will be more expensive, just like the Macadamia nut itself is more expensive.
So the milk is usually a little more expensive, but what I have found that many go on sale, so maybe one week you're getting a lot of almond milk and then the next week there's coconut milk for sale with whatever's on sale.
Shonda: [00:06:14] You know, there are good reasons to make that change too, because you're getting a different, a different nutrient profile.
So why not, you know, switch it up and buy what's on sale this week, you know, it just makes, um, different foods, you know, the more delightful. You know, different change in tastes and things. And you know what? I, my daughter just bought some oat milk for the first time. We've never tried oat milk. And she said that she likes it.
You know, I have never, um, made homemade, uh, oat milk. Now, you know, I just recently made the, we'll talk about a little later. I'm just going to give it a plug here, uh, the oat cheese, but I've never done oat milk. But I just want to remind everyone that you can make milk at home too, using your blenders or using your food processors, you know?
Um, and there are many, uh, juicers these days that have that function on them to make nut milks. So that is an option. And I find that like, if I'm making a nut milk, one-third cup of almonds to one cup of water is the ratio I usually go for. And you can even do it with coconut flakes to make your own coconut milk.
Um, what else have I done? I'm going to have to try that oat milk and see what I find. And, um, if, if I get approval, I will be sure to share that with everyone, but homemade milk alternatives are just as possible, you know, to do it yourself.
Patryce: [00:07:51] I'm glad you brought that up because not only is it,,,it less expensive, most likely, if not always.
Uh, it also helps you to avoid the added sugar. And that's one thing I would just... a heads up when you're buying these different milk alternatives. Make sure you don't. Make sure it's not with the sugar added. Make sure it's not with the sugar added. And regarding the nutritional makeup, uh, one thing I will say is that if you see a formula with the B12 added, that might be something you consider.
If you're low in B12, uh, apparently. Well, people lacking in B12 sometimes can get the B12, which is added into these different milk options.
Shonda: [00:08:35] And one more tip. Uh, I like to add is that, um, if you need buttermilk, like for making your pancakes or something like that, you can add, I think it's about a teaspoon, maybe a teaspoon or tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to one cup of these plant-based milks in order to get that buttermilk flavor.
And I'll be sure to link a recipe for that below, too. Hey, let's go ahead and move on to, um, plant-based cheeses now. Alternatives. Do you have any particular ones that you like to use or do you really use them or not? What do you think about that?
Patryce: [00:09:14] Well, we actually do, uh, because in our family we're big fans of nachos, so that would be that queso cheese.
So, uh, I have found there's, there's a cheese queso type, um, dip that's offered at Trader Joe's. That's really good. And it's made with potato, some nut. It doesn't have any dairy in it. So, uh, yes, we, we do do cheese alternatives. And I will say though, with that, that's something you really, to me, you have to experiment because some sound great when you read the labels, but the taste just is not there. It's not working for us or at least myself. But one other brand that I can say we, the family seems to like , I think it is, is SIETE cashew. queso the other queso is CREDO, C-R-E-D-O. And it's also made with cashews, but the interesting thing is it has these white beans in it. So it's delicious.
Um, you can just, that could be a whole meal, the little container of that, but yeah, we do use some cheese alternatives. But it..., you have to experiment because if you're trying to do pizza and melt it, I would say some brands are better at melting than others. And then some brands have a different texture than others.
So those are the two brands I feel comfortable sharing one other brand. That I'm aware of and have tried our we've tried ourselves is Myokos I believe. And it's spelled M-I-Y-O- K-O-S. And this is not a queso cheese, but they have slices. They have shredded. And that one, someone recommended when I was in the store, she told me herself, she liked it.
We've tried it out and we find it tasty too.
Shonda: [00:11:09] Okay. So are you you're into the con dips and...
Patryce: [00:11:13] Yes. That one comesin in a the dip. You know how we, people like the spinach cheese dip or the cream cheese with the chives? Well, they make some money and similar.
Shonda: [00:11:25] Are these on the shelf or are they in the cold food section? Where do you go?
Patryce: [00:11:31] Great question. They're in the refrigerated section.
Shonda: [00:11:35] The last time I was at Trader Joe's, I was kind of looking around, I didn't see any of this at all, you know, so I guess you really have to look because...
Patryce: [00:11:44] Well, I honestly, these are mainly from Whole Foods. I don't generally go there on a regular basis, but I will say HEB for sure. And some other stores from time to time, from time to time, we'll have these same brands. But for sure Whole Foods does. Trader Joe's has one that... they have about two, um, brands or two, two offerings. But you're right. You can't, you don't always see them everywhere. And I'm glad you brought that up because there's another store called A-L-D-I... ALDI's.
And although they don't always have the same thing every,. Every... every time when they do have it, um, it's usually the best price.
Shonda: [00:12:27] So yeah, that's good. So I hear you saying Whole Foods, so... that's why we need to make our own because like, even me, I don't even shop at Whole Foods. It's not convenient. It's not close by. The prices I know are much higher and there are so many things you can do at home, you know, with the blender or stove top to make cheese alternatives. Now I do know that at HEB, they have... And Kroger and your general grocery stores do have like cheese slices. You know, and cheese shreds and things like that.
So, you know, that's a possibility. So I don't go to any of those because they, for me, they have, they still have too much fat in them and too much oil. So all the cheeses that I make are usually... the oils naturally come from the, uh, fat in the nuts when I make a nut cheese. Um, and I have two really good nacho cheese ,um, recipes that I... that are my go-to. And one is the cashews is the cashew sauce that's made in the, in the Vitamix. Or you can do it with a regular blender, as long as you soak the cashews long enough. And that is an excellent recipe. I'll be sure to. Link that below. And recently I have the oat cheese and I like the oat cheese because it, I don't know, it's a bit thicker. It's it's, you know what, I'm really going to have to put them side by side and do a taste test, but the oat cheese is much cheaper than making the cashew cheese. So that is just, yeah, that's something to consider if you're trying to decide which one to try first.
And recently, I also made a tofu ricotta cheese.
Hmm that I used in a lasagna, and that was really tasty. Uh, what I did was I made it and I let it sit overnight instead of like making it and then using it. And it was so very flavorful and I mean, it, it kept the consistency or the texture just like ricotta. It looked like ricotta. It tastes like it because of the nutritional yeast that was in there.
So it was really good. And as far as pizza goes, uh, recently, and I'm looking forward to making it again, was when I made the spinach artichoke dip and I actually spread it on the pizza as the cheese sauce portion. And that was really good. So I'll be sure and link all of those below for everyone to take a look at.
So there, we have it, as far as cheese alternatives, there are just so many out there. And if you'd like to shop, um, just start looking at... or you, you've probably already found them already. I'm just not sure, um, where to find them exactly, but we will definitely list some in the show notes. And along with some homemade recipes, as far as cheese goes
Patryce: [00:15:26] And Shonda regarding your homemade recipes, which are delicious by the way, the ones I've tasted. Um, are you using your Vitamix for that? Or can you just use... for those of us who don't have that type of machine that goes to the point where it heats up. Can you use the regular blender? Because there may not everyone listening may not have...
Shonda: [00:15:48] Yeah, uh, like you just want to... if you're doing nuts, because that's the one that's difficult, you just have to soak them overnight and then you can use any blender to mix/to to blend, but you do want to so... I would say soak them overnight to have the softest, uh, texture of the nuts then.
Patryce: [00:16:06] And if you don't have a blender right now, but have a food processor, you should still be able to make that right?
Shonda: [00:16:12] You should be able to. Um, it depends on the food processor that you have. If it's a tight fit, you know, you don't want all this liquid sloshing around in there, you know what I mean? And so these are pretty liquidy. Uh, one other thing that I think would be helpful, especially if it's a hot sauce, like a nacho cheese sauce, and you want it warm. If you were to do this on the stove top, you could use an immersion blender.
Patryce: [00:16:38] Ah, good idea. A lot of people have that even if they don't have the other, the other things.
Shonda: [00:16:44] Yeah. You may have to do some straining a little bit. You know, you may want to make the, um, you may want to make the cashew milk first and then strain it. To get all the bits that didn't get -- blended by the immersion blender.
But, um, one other alternative is you want to do cashew milk. You could start with a cashew butter, a cashew nut butter for that recipe. So I think I I'll make sure that I list all those possibilities on making that cashew sauce. But, you know, most people do have blenders, so
Patryce: [00:17:19] True. The blender they do have, yeah. A lot of people have blenders, but they're in between blenders and they don't hurry out and when it breaks down, they don't always get it right away. So I liked the fact that you brought the immersion blender too, though.
Shonda: [00:17:33] Yeah. Okay.
Patryce: [00:17:34] What's next?
Shonda: [00:17:35] So, um, I thought next we could just mention a few yogurt alternatives.
I'm not really big into yogurt. But there are times when I do like to use yogurt for instance, like, uh, when I'm making an Indian dish, like, you know, like a curry or something, and to be able to stir a really tart, like you want sour cream or yogurt in, in with the curry, you know. Although coconut, canned coconut milk does wonders in a curry. I mean, it is my top recommendation. And I like to, I do like to get my coconut milk at Trader Joe's because it's the only one that I can find without the added gums and stabilizers and things like that. I've never found it. Yeah. I've never found it anywhere else but trader Joe's. So usually when I make that trip, I buy like five, six cans of coconut milk at a time.
Um, but so back to yogurt, um, pretty much in any grocery store, you know. Walmart, there's a coconut yogurt, there's a soy based yogurt. I'll be sure to list the name of the names of those below. But again, just like in the milk you want to be careful about. Added sugar. So I would go for the plain and add my own, you know, you can add your own honey, your own, um, fruit, your, you know, your own things.
If, if yogurt is something that you're used to using in the morning, right? Um, as for a breakfast option, then, um, it's very easy to make that replacement. And I will say, I do know that if you buy a bigger jug, that you will get the better price.
Patryce: [00:19:18] That's a good tip too. And going to... speaking of yogurts, I used to be a big time yogurt person, but so many of them... that the dairy yogurts have the sugar and all these different things. But I, I will say all the different non-dairy yogurts again, like the milk, the milk alternatives. You really just have to say. I see which ones agree with your palette and a popular one for me is the Coco-yo living coconut yogurt here. It's, I get the, um, they offer the plain and I'm reading the ingredients. It's raw young coconut, raw young coconut water prebiotic cultures. And that's it. Delicious. It has a bit of a tanginess to it, but that is delicious. And like you said, Shonda adding the blueberries and your homemade granola on that is delicious.
Shonda: [00:20:11] Yeah, that sounds good. Well, the only other thing I can think of where many people eat, uh, dairy would be. Well, there were a couple of more, one is, um, like a salad dressing, like a ranch salad dressing or something like that. So I have a couple of recipes that I can suggest. I'm sure there are some, oh yeah, there are on the aisle there... I've seen those. The dairy alternative ranch dressings on the condiment aisle.
Um, but you have to be careful there because they've replaced those things with, you know, probably high fat and salt and sugar and all kinds of stuff to, you know, to make it more palatable. I don't know. What, what have you found?
Uh,
Patryce: [00:20:55] I'm a recovered ranch dressing user. And, uh, there was a cow girl ranch dressing that they have by Annie's that was really good, but I can't always find it. So to be honest, I've pretty much, I go more for the vinaigrettes now. And you got me onto the tahini. You can do tahini with some garlic, some... I use tahini because it has, it's not a ranch per se flavor, but it gives that same creaminess and I've now been converted.
So I just say, look at some of the other type of, you don't have to go with ranch, maybe look at something based on tahini or, uh, at Trader Joe's I get the ones based off of almond butter. They're... they're delicious. And, uh, just finding alternatives that are not necessarily the traditional ranch. But now I think, uh, any type of homemade, like you make so many homemade dressings and I see more and more people on YouTube doing it, and you can have fun with it. It'll taste good. And you know what you're getting? Cause like you said, That traditional ranch. It's not good for you.
Shonda: [00:22:05] Right. Um, you know, and now I want to do a comparison. I want to show what's in there. What's in what? And what's not in a homemade dressing.
Patryce: [00:22:13] Interesting. Yeah.
Shonda: [00:22:14] So I, I do like doing those type of things.
So, yeah, for sure. I'll post some dressings and we... I do have the idea to make a playlist on YouTube and list more on the website about dressing alternatives. Because I think when people try to go, uh, eat more plants and like eat more salads, unfortunately those salads are high in calories and fat because of the dressings that they put on, you know, on top of the salad to make it. taste good. There's just ways that you can make your salad dressings that are lower in fat, lower in calories so that you're not overeating in those areas.
Patryce: [00:22:58] Exactly. Or if you're getting... added... an addition to what you're saying, if you're going to get fat from your dressing, have it be good fat. Avocados as a base for salad dressing and these different butters almond butter.
Um, yeah, it's a healthier fat for you, but yes, I'm one of those rare, like I said, I used to eat more dressing. It seemed than salad.
Shonda: [00:23:20] Right? Yeah. I see that a lot. Yeah.
Patryce: [00:23:22] Not any more though, I've come a long way.
Shonda: [00:23:26] Well, that's good.
Patryce: [00:23:28] There's one other thing I want, the last thing I thought we might discuss are dairy free alternatives to butter.
Or just oils period, because I was looking at butters and I've gotten some good brands in the store. And I know in the past you used to use ghee and make ghee and you can buy ghee, which is a clarified butter. But then I, I was reminded that, you know, what, the things that we traditionally used to butter for, I noticed now, and [that] we can just substitute other things instead of butter. So, instead of the butter use avocado oil, or use olive oil, a pumpkin, pumpkin, or mashed bananas, coconut oil, um, these are all... and applesauce. You see some baked cake recipes or baked goods, good recipes. And that... they use applesauce as a substitute for oil.
Shonda: [00:24:22] Yeah. And you know, there was, uh, I had a chocolate chip cookie recipe. And I would add cashews or macadamias or pine nuts just in small amounts because they give it that buttery flavor, you know? Yeah. So there's your butter right there. And it's full of nutrients and vitamins. You know, and fiber instead of just empty calories and things that your body's like, yuck, let me get rid of this anyway.
Patryce: [00:24:54] That's a good point because a lot of the, uh, marketed butter alternatives, I'm not even sure some of them are good for you at all. Now we know,for the most part, I, there's not margarine as readily available. Uh, I do. I still have seen some recipes that call for that, but I'm like, well, I don't even know if you can buy it, but that would be an example of what, what we're saying is that just because it says not butter you need to look at the label.
Shonda: [00:25:20] Yeah, that's a very good point. Okay. So let's move on to somewhere else that we normally find butter sneaking in. You know, even if we don't even know it. There sometimes. Now we know, so we're talking about snacks. So we know, you know, like if it's a sour cream chips, we know that there's probably some milk in there. And on the ingredient list is going to say contains milk, but there are some other flavors that you may turn it over and says contains milk but, but these are barbecue chips. So why do they have milk in them? Whatever.
Patryce: [00:25:55] That happened to me, I was showing Grady .I got the root chips. They are made from sweet potatoes, the different color ones and other potato, and I was shocked to see that there was milk on the back.
Shonda: [00:26:07] Yeah. They use milk as a flavor enhancer. Yeah. So there are alternatives. Of course, if you buy a chip that says vegan. So I'm not pushing snacks. But I know that, you know, a lot of us want them need them sparingly. You know, um, yeah, so there's chips, there's crackers there are um, I don't know other, I suppose, cookies that would have dairy in them.
So do you have some go-to snacks now that you...
Patryce: [00:26:42] I do. Definitely in high school, I was that Dorito girl and Cheeto. And then I graduated to the healthy Cheetos, but now that I'm dairy free, I don't eat either them. I eat now something called Hippeas and they have two or three flavors. One is a vegan white cheddar, and they're made from chickpea flour and they're delicious. Yeah.
Shonda: [00:27:08] A lot of great uses for chick pea flour, for sure.
Patryce: [00:27:13] It is good. Yeah. It's all about the crunch and being able to bite down on something. So that's what I've noticed. It's about the mind for me when it comes to snacking. Now I try to do that. So, um, yeah.
Shonda: [00:27:26] Yeah, I know, like for, um, popcorn, we can, uh, just put the nutritional yeast on the popcorn to give it a cheesy flavor for those who like cheesy popcorn, that's an option
Patryce: [00:27:40] And celery I know people used to put the cream cheese sometimes in it. Uh, for celery, but you can just put some nut butter. And now that you mentioned celery and carrots, instead of dipping your vegetables in ranch, you can dip it in hummus.
Shonda: [00:27:53] Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And I'll be sure... there's one other thing that I used to make quite a bit ...it was like a cheesy flavor, kale chips, but it requires a dehydrator or baking in the oven at a really low temperature. So it does require some work, but they are delicious. And I have even taken them and, uh, I'll crumble them over popcorn, eat them together with the popcorn. So, well, I think that's all we have today.
Um, wait, I can hardly believe it. We forgot to mention ice cream. I think that's because Patryce and I really no longer eat ice cream or even think about it. The fact is that even vegan ice cream in the grocery stores have way too much sugar. So unless it's just an occasional treat, it's not something that you want to eat very often.
So instead, I invite you to take a look at the recipes I've posted in the show notes. These recipes, use fruit in place of cream to make "nice" cream and one popular one that you may have already heard of is banana "nice" cream, but you can also make something like a sorbet or something similar to that. So please check out those recipes if you're craving something cool, creamy and delicious.
But, you know, as always, if any of you out there have any alternatives that you would like to share with us in the community, please send those into us and we'll be sure to share them.
I'm still thinking about you all and I'm just out there searching for your fiber posts on social media. Remember to tag them with real food and drinks (#realfoodanddrinks) and I'll be looking for you. And I hope you're out there adding more fiber to your diet. So that's a reminder to go back to episode 19, to listen to ,uh, ways to add more fiber to your diet.
And then actually episode 18 was when we talked about the health concerns for dairy.
So be sure to check those last two episodes of the podcast out. Also.
Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy today's podcast. Remember you can catch show notes and additional details at realfoodanddrinks.com under the podcast menu. Also subscribe to our podcast if you aren't already a member of our community.
And if listening through Anchor, please send us a message of topics you would like to hear us have conversations about. Until next time let's just be real.
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