What I eat on average

Might I just say that everyone has different nutritional needs, and everyone's body responds differently to certain foods. I might try to push nuts and watermelon on my mom, but when she says it comes up on her, I stop trying to force it on her. (After a few trys, always asking "Are you sure you tried it before?") Granted, that's because I believe some foods need to grow on you. I don't recall my first encounter with peas to be very pleasant, but now you'll find me tossing them in pasta. I don't recall liking chickpeas immediately, but now I can't get enough of them. But other times, there are just some things you don't want. Or need. For example, you can get a selection of vitamins and minerals from carrots, but if carrots aren't your thing you can get what you need from eating other things. As long as you're actually eating those other things, and not avoiding the whole category. So here's what you need on a daily/every-other-day basis...

1. A small amount of nuts and seeds
2. Whole grains (this does not mean whole grain bread, it means a wide variety of different whole grains, such as farro, wheatberries, red/white/black/brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, couscous, etc)
3. Leafy green veggies (not just lettuce - collard greens, kale, swiss chard, turnip greens, spinach, mustard greens, cabbage and dandelion greens)
4. Cruciferous veggies (like cauliflower) and those that fall into the "other" category like garlic and onion
5. Fruits
6. Beans

I'll admit, I have a really hard time working nuts into my diet at all, much less daily. I prefer coconut and rice milk over nut milk, and peanut butter over raw nuts. I do pretty well with fruit, usually only having a cup or less per day, and I do very well with the cruciferous veggies and "other" category. I eat plenty of whole grains, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, kale, beans (chickpeas!), potatoes and garlic. Although I could always use more garlic. Thanks Montel Williams.

However, I get stuck in little obsessions, where I eat one thing in particular for a whole week, such as pasta with carrots or cauliflower mashed potatoes. This week it's been pineapple coconut smoothies. And I don't usually make many smoothies and juices, which are really great in the morning. And for people who eat every type of leafy green, fruit or veggie, that's great. But I don't like apricots, peaches, ginger, orange cauliflower or black beans.

Baked Chickpeas

Two ingredients. Very delicious.

Bake [rinsed] chickpeas in olive oil and Italian spices at 350 for 15 minutes.

Soup & Peanut Butter Cups

Here's a picture of some soup I made today, using up what I had in the fridge. It has a base of vegetable bouillon cubes and tomato paste, and I put in four medium potatoes, a head of kale, half a bag of baby carrots, four red radishes, half a daikon radish, French green lentils, one can of white kidney beans, garlic, onion spice, fresh rosemary and purple basil, plus a dry leek/scallion/shallot mix. Turned out alright.

I also made some "two ingredient" peanut butter cups using all-natural peanut butter and Sander's dark chocolate fudge (which, by the way, was the only thing in the toppings aisle that didn't have high fructose corn syrup). I lined a muffin pan with cups and filled them with half peanut butter, half fudge topping, then froze them overnight. A little sticky, and they didn't freeze the whole way, so next time I plan on lining the cups with powdered sugar.

They should have turned out like these below, but I'm pretty sure this person used cake frosting.

Lunches

Found this on Pinterest, hope it inspires you to bring a healthy lunch to work or pack something similar for your kids. There's endless options - carrots, boiled egg, salad with those tiny dressing packets, sandwiches, jello, cucumbers, berries, an apple or orange, apple sauce, muffins, etc.

I could be a chimera

WTF is a chimera, you ask? Chimerism is a form of mosaicism, I believe, a condition in which cells within the same person have a different genetic makeup, affecting pretty much anything, including blood cells or skin cells. It is caused by an error in cell division. Apparently your kids get it worse, but I haven't learned anything really helpful. Both involve two or more populations of cells developed after conception. In my research I've learned a few things: the weird lightly shaded birthmark that looks like two wolf teeth on my belly could be a sign of mosaicism (I think this is called cutaneous mosaicism), the sectoral heterochromia in my eyes could be a sign, stunted growth (I was supposed to have grown to 6 feet) and even my inability to do math could be a sign. Chimerism, however, presents the possibility of having absorbed a twin, only one making it out. Spooky.

On the upside, sectoral heterochromia was believed to be a sign of royalty that even Alexander the Great and other European royals had, possibly even the doomed Russian royals. It is said that both parents need to present, and I'm not sure if my husband has it. My eyes are blue with a spot of brown, his are...hazel. Or more precisely, either brown with a spot of yellow/green, or hazel with a spot of brown. I can't be sure as he had an accident to the eye that is more different in color. But if we have a kid and they have heterochromia, I'll know for sure we're European royalty. I've been looking into what eye color our kid might have, and I think it would either be blue (heterochromia, possibly), hazel or green. My bet is on blue.

Why all this weird, uninteresting research, you ask? I was curious why I was losing pigment in my eyes. They've gotten lighter. More rain drop colored, less foggy blue. Could be glaucoma, which the eye doctor checks for frequently because I've shown signs to worry about, or it could be due to aging, or toxins and not getting enough beta carotene.

Wow. That was good.

Phillip Wollen: Animals should be off the menu debate. Best speech ever. (Sorry, Mom. Your speeches are good too.)

Best Veggie Stir Fry

1 to 2 cups your choice of brown rice or whole grains 

I to 2 cups kale

1 package Gardein beef tips

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed, baked at 350 for 12 minutes with garlic salt, olive oil and other seasonings

Cook whole grains and beef tips according to package instructions, mix with lightly boiled kale, add seasonings to taste, mix with pinto beans

Add other veggies the second time around to see what you like (corn, sweet potato, green beans, etc)

Green (or should I say pink) Smoothies

I decided that since I'm off work for the month I'd make a green smoothie every day for breakfast (it's hard to do when you have to be at work at 7:30am). I've also been taking black walnut hull capsules because I may or may not have a parasite, but either way I can tell it is doing something good in there. Day 1 was a mix of watermelon (juiced, then put in blender with other ingredients), pineapple, apple, flaxseed, blueberries and spinach. I lost 3 pounds that night and kept it off. Day 2 was pineapple, banana, watermelon, strawberries, flaxseed. Today was identical to day 2 but with spinach and lettuce included, plus a shot of juiced watermelon and some kukicha tea. I must say, it is very filling, makes you feel good, and gives you a bit of energy. And the juiced watermelon is delicious, perfect for a hot summer day. I once read that watermelon is great at keeping you hydrated.

I like to mix things up and I'm not afraid to get creative with any kind of recipe, so I use what I have in the fridge and don't measure portions or take ratios into account. I just dump stuff into the blender and somehow it turns out great every time.