No-label Nutrition

No-label Nutrition

or

Why I Will Never Declare Myself A Vegan

"All things in moderation" -Proverb

Labels: Vegan. Gluten-free. Dairy-free. Paleo. Bacon. Low-carb. No-carb. No-sugar.

photo cred: Dina Marie

I have no formal training in nutrition (except the time when I paid $500 for a mail-correspondence Nutritional Certification course and did all the work and studying but never mailed in the test due to fear of failure). I almost constantly think about food, how it tastes, and how my body will process it for better or for worse. I love to read books and articles about the biology of how our bodies process food and the benefits of different nutrients in the body.  Please do what feels right for you, follow your doctor's guidelines about any food allergies you have, do some research about where your food comes from.

Now that that's done,

Here's what I do for eating. I'm not vegan, but I eat about 80-90% plant-based (vegan). Eating many many plants - colorful fruits & vegetables, whole grains like Bulgar wheat and rice, seeds, beans, and nuts - makes me feel super amazing. Chronic problems like eczema and afternoon lulls in energy go away (and return when I have a more animal-centric few days). Also, dairy-related gastrointestinal discomfort (aka farts) is kept at a minimum.

I know that colorful foods are the most nutrient-dense and have been proven to be anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and pro-health. I also enjoy cooking them (or just chopping them up) and eating them because they are delicious and did I mention plants make me feel super amazing?

Typical Lunch

You know what else makes me feel super amazing? Bacon. Not so much in my stomach or GI tract but in my happiness/heart-of-hearts/soul. Also, decadent desserts makes me feel super amazing. With refined sugar and butter and refined flour topped with whipped buttercream frosting. It kind of makes my tummy hurt. But I luuuhve it so I have it on occasion, enjoy the moment without guilt, and move on.

Most of the time, I don't eat animal products, and I do my best to limit refined sugar and flour. But I will never say never when it comes to these things. Food is of course, fuel for our bodies but it is ALSO fuel for our souls. Kinda cheesy (literally?) but it really is. I think it's important to do what makes us feel good in all components of our self.

So I eat lots of plants I love. I fill in the gaps with other foods I love, from every category.

Eat well, be happy, and don't stress about labels too much. (I mean labels like vegan. If you want to read labels on food packages in the grocery store to make sure things don't have high fructose corn syrup listed as the first ingredient, please do.)

xoxo Phae

A Little Obsessed.

This sewing hobby of mine is getting out of control. Not that I'm going to do anything to cut back, but I have just been in the zone so much that other things are falling down on the priority list. Things like "paying attention to my children" and "home cleanliness"... those aren't THAT important, right?

I love browsing blog tutorials, and I just keep adding to my list of sewing projects. Here's what I have so far. And hopefully when I type it out it will make me STOP LOOKING AT MORE TUTORIALS OF SUPER CUTE THINGS TO MAKE.

1. Finish my 2nd shift dress, which I'm making out of a super-themey harvest-colored flower print. I'm making it out of a thicker stretch knit and added longer sleeves so I can wear it for Thanksgiving. I need to move the pockets (I measured where to place them but somehow they ended up weirdly low so I need to move them up, grr), finish the neckline and hem it. It's so interesting working with the same pattern/tutorial but with different fabrics. It feels so different than the same dress I made with the batik woven. Bonus: The knit version is stretchy enough not to need a zipper! Have I mentioned that I love learning a new skill??

 

2. Matching PJ pants for the boys. Daddy was so jealous of Max's that he wants a pair. He picked some gray flannel with a fishing design.

Check out the tight spiral on my imaginary football, yo

 








3. A slouchy bag for my aunt - I'm going to use this tutorial. I haven't picked out all the fabrics yet but I DID pick out this super awesome button with a coffee mug on it (shh, don't tell!)
4. Infinity scarves for Christmas gifts following this tutorial from my current blog crush Merrick. She is tots amazing. And so is her and Leanne's online sewing course that everyone should do. I made a scarf already with some knit and it was very easy:

Plus its easy to add my "xoxo Phae" tags to them which are so awesome

5. A baby dress for a close friend - I've already bought the most adorable corduroy!
6. A baby blanket for another close friend - haven't chosen the fabric here. They are a unique couple and so I want to find some unique fabric to match their personality!
7. I would love to make a copycat of my Pascha dress, but in a thicker black fabric with some texture. Ideally I want to wear it for Christmas Liturgy but if I'm being realistic, that is not going to happen with the aformentioned other projects!!!!

Christ is Risen!

SELF: stop looking at tutorials. Just stop.

(But you know you're not going to.)

xoxo Phae

Creating

You know how when you're pregnant, there's suddenly a whole lot more pregnant ladies out there?  Of course, you're just suddenly more aware because it's suddenly on the forefront of your mind. So, lately I've been doing some introspection. Maybe because of the new year... I don't like to admit that I conform to secular traditions like resolutions, but there is something wonderful about new beginnings.  Fresh page, clean slate, blank space...and I'll write your name (ok ok, I digress.)

Anyway, so my introspection showed me that I was kind of jealous of Husband because he is currently working on a project to build us a storage shed in the backyard.  And he is often spending his time on house projects that you can SEE and TOUCH when they're finished, and they last...  I realized I spend my time on things that are near-instantly destroyed or consumed: a tidy living room; clean, folded clothing; nutritious, 5-star-restaurant quality meals...

And then this happened. My clever, creative aunt posted this gem on FB, and my wise father (a professional artist) posted this response:

And then this happened. I was randomly looking at my Google calendar (that I never look at) and saw these tasks that I made for myself a long time ago (2012???):

At least we've gone to the museum & zoo.

Growing up with an artist father meant that my childhood and teenage years were filled with the availability of all kind of art supplies, and the encouragement to use them. We used to work on so many projects that are some of my favorite memories: making beads and miniature scenes out of Sculpey clay. Weaving scarves on a child-sized loom. Making super intricate magazine-cut-out collages to hang in my room. Decorating Pysanky eggs at Pascha.  And for some reason (oh, I don't know, working on a Chemical Engineering degree, caring for 2 small children round the clock, just some guesses) in my adulthood I've gotten out of the habit of creating things. And it felt like I was missing something. 

So I've made a few things lately.  They didn't get eaten, and they didn't get muddy tracks all over them. It feels wonderful! It feels right. There's a sense of accomplishment and pride and happiness and joy. The process is soothing and joyful and exciting, and the end product is (hopefully) useful. I even got to use math and optimization on one of the sewing projects. YES! Win, win, everywhere.

can I fit more pieces with the long side on the x or y axis?

God willing I'll continue this streak of creating, and I will actually have a hobby!

P.S. If we are FB friends, sorry/not sorry about posting pictures of all these new creations of mine.

What have YOU created lately?

Working on Wellness: Weekly Meal Planning

Here's why I meal plan:

1. I'm a weirdo and I love it;
2. I like being organized;
3. The more I get to think about food, the better;
4. I don't have to stress about what dinner will be during the afternoon of the day-of;
5. I avoid multiple trips during the week with the kiddos, which is a) hard work and b) costly, since I definitely don't just get the milk I was planning to buy but also end up getting Starbucks, treats for the kids, extra goodies, etc.;
6. Easier to track the budget for groceries (less trips = less marking on the budget sheet);

Here's what works for me:

I've shamelessly stolen Sara's original spreadsheet and have tailored it with my own recipes and grocery shopping pattern. I also added a "fasting/meat/fish" column to be able to filter according to the fasts of the Orthodox church. It helps me to adhere to the fasts! Up front, it takes a bit of time to think of your family's favorite recipes and separate the ingredients into the columns in the spreadsheet. But then, as time goes on, you will have a pretty good selection of recipes, and now usually I am just adding one or two recipes at a time as we try new things and like them.


Early on Monday morning:

Each weekday I wake up with husband (~5:30a) and spend time doing whatever I want sans kids. They typically wake up between 7:30 and 8 so I usually get a good amount of time to myself to have my coffee, listen to the daily Bible readings from Ancient Faith Radio, do dumb/enjoyable stuff like check Facebook and reading internet articles, catch up on housework, and sometimes work out using Nike Training Club app. On Mondays, I use that time to plan out the week. I print out a blank schedule for the week, populate it, then print and hang it on the fridge. I choose 5 recipes from the spreadsheet (filtering for fasting as needed), hide all the other recipes, then print that. It's the grocery list for the week! Then, once the kids get up, we pack up (making sure to bring the list!!) and head to the store to shop. I love grocery shopping on Monday morning because they are typically restocking so I know everything is fresh! And sometimes we get treats from Starbucks if I'm feeling generous.

Ongoing maintenance:

I periodically try new recipes from cookbooks I have, and I only have a few that I keep around that have awesome food photography; that's the only way I'm compelled to look through them! My favorites are Oh She Glows and a book from Williams-Sonoma called A Taste of the World. I also have my own recipe book for scrawling family recipes or frequently-used internet recipes so I don't always have to find the link. This pancake recipe is one the ones I had to write down!  I sub coconut oil for the butter. Srsly it's the bomb dot com. The touch of vanilla, the coconut oil, and little tidbit of sugar....nom nom.

I also love looking at food blogs (OSG, Smitten Kitchen, and Food Network everything are frequent stops when I'm clicking around the internet)

What are some of your favorite (fasting or not) recipes?  How do you stay organized in the kitchen? (Or do you not?)

xoxo Phae

Working on Wellness: Planning, Anticipation, and Accountability

Plan for the next nine months of my life.

Ok, some of you may think I'm nuts for doing this. But, here I am: 8 months pregnant figuring out how to get back in shape after baby, and maybe even thinking about my next half marathon.

I love creating long term workout plans!  Here's why - it helps my mental bowling ball stay in balance between the following two proverbial bumpers:

• It helps me to get motivated! GO GO GO! Get that body back!  Feel energetic again!  Be healthy!  Run the half again!
• It helps me to be realistic.  If I use the above calendar as an example, I won't be able to run 10 miles in September of this year.  That's OK - I'll be within the process.  It takes (a lot of) time reach lofty fitness goals especially when you are essentially starting from zero (I can barely walk around the block without getting winded right now.)

Now, as much fun as it is to sit down with highlighters and multi-colored pens to create the workout plan... I have a little bit more trouble sticking with it.  This go-round, I'm planning to have two pieces of ammunition in my arsenal:

1. Now my workout plan calendar is out on The Interwebs for the world (or at least my facebook friends) to see.  I think that means I'm going to have to check in with ya'll on my progress, too.
2. I'm going to keep a log of my daily workout activities.  When I was training for the Houston marathon hoping to qualify for Boston, I had the most successful marathon training of my life (out of the 7 fulls I have run.)  That's because I actually had the log next to my bed, and wrote down every day what I had done.  Nobody else looked at it, but just knowing that I was going to write it down made me more accountable.  I'm going to use that tactic again, since in retrospect I see how successful it was (I did qualify for Boston that year.)

My running crown jewel



Obviously, I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch.  If any complications arise with the birth and healing process, or if things are going better or worse than I'm assuming right now, then by all means I will adjust my calendar along with my expectations.  I'm just looking forward to the process of figuring out the balance between my own wellness, the baby's wellness, the family's wellness...and anticipating the fun we'll have as a family of four (HOLY CRAP.)

What planning and/or motivational tools work for you?
xoxo Phae

P.S. I just noticed that I didn't mention weight anywhere in this post.  Sweet!  That means my own philosophies are quite ingrained in my mind.  I don't think "losing weight" should ever be the goal - I think that living a healthful, active, disease-free lifestyle should be the goal such that you can enjoy this life as much as possible while you have it.  Sure, losing weight is often a side effect of eating healthfully and being active - but the focus should primarily be on balance & happiness.

Working on Wellness: May Yoga Challenge!

My new friend Alex has a great idea for a fitness challenge:  Can you do some yoga every day in the month of May?

Check out details on her blog Greetings from Nolandia (also check out her other posts - she's super inspiring when it comes to eating well and staying fit!)  I am going to do a modified version of her challenge, with my goal being 25 minutes of yoga every day.

Zoe is going to help me - check out how well she can do plank:

My mini yogi

Because I love being frugal, I'm going to forgo the $15-20 classes and do my yoga at home (or in the office...)  I have a few videos that I can use.  Also, I have the "Simply Yoga" App on my iPad (I sprung for the full version at all of $2.99) which has several 20, 40, and 60 minute guided sessions.  I could also just make up my own sequences of all my favorite poses.  I'm also going to make sure that 5 of the 25 minutes are prayer/medidation minutes.  I'm going to use The Jesus Prayer to help even out my breathing (an old trick of mine): breath in - - "Lord Jesus Christ" - - breath out - - "Son of God" - - breath in - - "have mercy on me" - - breath out - - "a sinner"

Anyone else want to join in the May challenge?  What will be your adaptation?
xoxo Phae

Working on Wellness: Sleep

We covet sleep in our house a little more highly than others do. My wonderful (full-grown, adult) husband takes naps on a regular basis. Zoe, as a toddler, sleeps about 11 hours at night plus a daily 2-hr nap. I trail these two with my dinky 8 hours (Also, confession- sometimes I close my door at work and take a 15 minute snooze. But I'm pregnant so it's ok)

It's well known that sleep is necessary and imperative for well-being. Even though we all know, we need to be reminded of the benefits and guidelines every once in a while! Most adults need 7-9 hours a night.  Both of the adults in our house are on the 8-9 hr end of the spectrum... but of course, everyone is different!  Just do what's right for you.

One interesting thing I've learned in doing some research is that experts don't actually know the exact reason we need sleep. Kind of funny.  Anyway, some of the things you accomplish by getting enough shut-eye:

- Decreased chance of being obese (which leads to a host of other health problems)

- Low levels of stress hormones

- Improved mood- SMILE!

- Better looking skin (resulting from better O2 circulation) - you know when people tell you "you look tired," that means "you look terrible"

- during REM sleep your brain is processing and organizing all of the sights, sounds, and thoughts from the day. This is why babies need so much sleep; everything is so new to them, they need a lot of sleep to organize all that input!  For adults, we are able to better face the stresses and difficult daily problems after some shut-eye.

Of course, there are so many reasons not to get enough sleep! The laundry needs to be done, it's time to party, you need to finish the book you're reading, Downton Abbey is on tv... But try and remind yourself of the balance you are trying to achieve in your life. Sleep is an integral part to this balance. Stop, take some big cleansing breaths, and relax.

Take a cue from me, and sleep whenever/wherever you have a chance (as chronicled by my sweet, charming hubs.... thanks...hanks, my love.):

t

Working on Wellness: The Neti Pot

The neti pot: the best allergy remedy

Get ready everyone.  Today's post is not only a general wellness tip...but there is also a related BONUS frugality tip!

It's springtime, which means soft rain violent thunderstorms, flowers, blossoming trees, and...allergies.

I've been using the neti pot to irrigate my sinuses for several years now.  For several years before that, I was vehemently opposed to the neti pot - mostly because my Dad kept trying to get me to use it, and I am both a) a contrarian and b) not usually ok with putting things up my nose on purpose. And how glad I am that I finally gave in and tried it!

The neti pot is the gentlest, most satisfying way to get rid of all the guck in your sinuses due to allergies or a cold.  I usually do the neti pot as part of my morning routine, and sometimes if it's been a particularly rough day I will do it in the evening, too.  I won't get into the mechanics of it too much, but you stick that sucker in one nostril and tilt your head to the side, and out the other nostril comes the solution + all the goodies.  If you are interested in getting or using a neti pot, make sure you read the instructions carefully and follow them! There are a lot of tips, tricks, and nuances. I don't really want to talk about those, I just want to tell you to get one and use it.

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, GET A NETI POT.  It is so cheap and effective for clearing out your sinuses.  It's better than taking medication every day, and it's certainly better than suffering with a runny nose for half of the year. I personally don't do anything else for allergies.

Now on to the BONUS FRUGALITY TIP: Home made Neti mix - save $70 a year!!

At CVS/Walgreens/Kroger/etc., you can buy pre-mixed packages of neti mix.  ORRRRR you can make it yourself!  It literally tells you on the side of the box exactly how to make it at home.  The packets are a 3:1 ratio of sodium chloride to sodium bicarbonate.  For those of you who don't remember your high school chemistry class, that is TABLE SALT and BAKING SODA.  We've been doing this at our house for a while now, but until I decided to do this post, I had't actually calculated how much cheaper it is to make your own.

Here's how I spent the past 15 minutes of my life:

Let me summarize my work:  buying the packets from the store is 11 cents per teaspoon (I measured: 1 packet = 1 tsp).  Home made mix is 0.6 cents per teaspoon.  To buy the packets is EIGHTEEN TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE and really, not that much easier.  Especially if you already have baking soda and salt at your house (which you do.)  Now, I understand we're only talking pennies here, but it's the principle of it.  18. x. more. $.  Plus, if you assume two people in a household use the Neti pot once a day (say you're unreliable and skip about 30 days a year) - you save $70 a year! 

Now go on a date to celebrate - or better yet, keep the money and have the peace of mind that it is happily working towards your early retirement/kid's college fund/summer vacation.

xoxo Phae