The thought of cooking lasagna used to intimidate me and taking on vegan versions of yummy comfort foods, well, that can feel daunting as well. Imagine my surprise when I made lasagna for the first time last month and 1) It was  easy, 2) The vegan version was delicious and 3), Best of all, the meat eaters at our party liked it!

So for tonight’s dinner (I love to cook something on Sunday that will taste great throughout the week), I decided to make this again and change a couple things that I felt could be improved upon from the first go around (more sauce/less vegan “cheese”).

Side note: If there is one thing that I hope I can influence in your journey around healthier eating, I hope it is this: It’s a journey and it’s not always perfect and if you wait for the exact right conditions to learn and start, it just won’t happen. The more you do it, the more you learn, the more ingredients you have on hand, the easier grocery shopping becomes.  However, tonight is a great example of make do with what you have and it works.  Back to why you are here…

I went to the grocery store yesterday and at some point I decided that I wanted to make lasagna on Sunday so I picked up some lasagna noodles.  From there, my brain moved on to other things and  I did not get anything else one  would need for this recipe. (See, not perfect).  The good news is that I keep a lot of plant-based staples around  so I began my meal prep very confidently, until I remembered that I did not have any mushrooms.  No fear, the recipe called for mushrooms, but December’s version was also mushroom-free due to guest preference at our dinner and it was  great! Next spinach- which I like to put in the vegan ricotta mixture.  No spinach?  No problem! I do have a bag of frozen broccoli in the freezer.  Why not? Again, I want to show you that you can cook like this every day with what you have. Meal prep, grocery lists, planning…all of that is fantastic and it saves time, but you can start today without making this a formal process. You can start now!

All you need is:

• A jar of marinara sauce
• A package of Lasagna noodles (You will not need the whole package – about 15 noodles)
• A block of extra firm tofu
• Frozen Spinach (or Broccoli)
• Nutritional Yeast
• White Miso
• Lemon Juice
• Minced Onions (Can be dehydrated)
• Minced Garlic
• Agave Nectar
• Italian Seasoning and/or Basil 

Directions:

• Cook noodles per package
• Cook spinach per package
• Squeeze water from tofu and cooked spinach
• Crumble tofu and add, then mash together until well combined and set aside
  • 1/3 cup Nutritional Yeast
  • 1 TBS white miso
  • 2 TSP lemon juice
  • 1 TBSP Italian Seasoning
  • 1 TBSP Minced Onion
  • 1 TSP Garlic
  • Add cooked spinach
• I enjoy sprucing up my jar sauce with some additional garlic, basil, onion and a few drops of agave nectar and mix together
• Line pan with layer of sauce
• Then add layer of noodles
• Next add layer of vegan ricotta mixture
• (I added a layer of broccoli next)
• Continue alternating and end with a ricotta layer on top
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I think back to why I held on to fish and dairy for so long, it was primarily to make eating out easier, especially on vacation.  The first six months of my vegan diet were a little hard for me to navigate, but two years later it feels like something I have embraced my whole life.  So when my husband asked if I would be interested in going to a Sandals resort for vacation, I was ready to take on the world of all-inclusive eating, even though I  was fairly certain there would be nothing “inclusive” about it.  If nothing else I assumed I could handle living off of a steady diet of salads and pina coladas (coconut milk) for seven days.

We booked the reservation and in the comments section, I wrote “vegan”, then I got nervous, and wrote “vegan – no meat, dairy or eggs”.  Hmm..  Changed to ” vegan – no animal products, meat, poultry, fish, dairy or eggs”.  That should do it.

D and I have been to Sandals before and I know one of his favorite parts (next to sailing a hobie cat) was the idea of eating anywhere and everywhere without having to plan or clean up.  I was sure we wouldn’t have to do dishes, but not so sure about the blissful indecision of last minute dining choices.  For weeks I envisioned that we would arrive and, given my “comments” above, we would be instructed where to eat in order for me to retrieve my carefully planned salad.

Thankfully, I was very wrong.  The resort boasted seven restaurants all complete with amazing staff that would ask about dietary restrictions before taking your order.  Once any restriction was mentioned they would bring out the Head Chef who was more than willing to customize any menu selection or would make up a delicious chef’s special.  Even the buffet was highly accommodating and by the end of the week, the sous chef called out from behind the entrees “Hi vegan – are you getting enough food?!”.

The very best part was the room service staff who went off menu any morning that we wanted to enjoy a delicious breakfast on our gorgeous balcony.

So if you are considering a plant based lifestyle, but afraid it will stifle your vacation plans, fear not, Sandals is ready for you!

Typically, when I post something about breast cancer, (especially related to my journey) one or more of my kind and loving friends will comment and say something like “You are so brave” or “You are an inspiration”.  While I long to embrace these words (and believe them), if I’m being honest, I got to a place of “I didn’t have a choice” or “I’m not inspiring I just have to try to stay alive” and “I’m not brave. I AM Scared”.  The only time I feel like I even get close to bravery is when I have a moment of fearlessness and let people know my very true and deep feelings – today may be one of those days.

This past week has been one of the harder ones of the past three years post treatment.  You see, most people expect that when you are done “fighting like a girl” with your special pink weapons or finished with treatment, that you are indeed finished with doctors, hospitals, and well, fear.  This actually could not be further from the truth, but I totally understand why people think this way – hardly anyone talks about life in remission, most people just talk about life.

The past several days have been a mix of trying to do my job with excellence, attending multiple doctor’s appointments, lab work, repeating an ultrasound of the breast that wasn’t trying to kill me to check for new cancer, having a chest X-Ray on my lungs, and scanning my liver for signs of metastasis.  One would think that after fours years of this that you get used to it – You do not.  Or at least I do not.  Living in remission is a gift that I cannot describe with enough words of gratitude, but also comes with a lot of “what if” reminders.  Thankfully, I am still cancer free.

Maybe my friends are on to something, I used to think they used words like “brave” because they didn’t know what else to say when I posted a facebook memory of being bald or when I would check in at the cancer center, but now I am wondering if they have known something all along that I didn’t.  While I feel weak, anxious and like I am living on borrowed time, they see a person that loves her life, family and job, who chooses to get out of bed in the morning and not succumb to the fear of how fragile life is by hiding underneath that big fluffy king size comforter all day.  Today I hope that we can all recognize that brave is simply taking the next step, pushing forward, setting goals, and LIVING.  Thank you friends for teaching me this valuable lesson; as always we never know how a simple comment or message can change someone’s life, mind or outlook and you all have inspired me!

I’m sure most of us have been on the quest for a healthier donut, but I am looking for a healthier vegan donut.  When a girl needs a donut, she needs a donut, so off to the kitchen for some experimenting.  Last week you may recall that I tried out a plant-based chocolate donut recipe.  Due to the fact that I don’t have a donut pan, I made a donut muffin hybrid.  Since last week I have researched that “duffin” is actually trademarked, so I now have two tasks in front of me today:  make an original flavored cake donut (I’m not the biggest chocolate fan) and give it a clever name.

One of of two isn’t bad, so here you go – I present the Original Donut Disc and it was delicious!  Recipe below:

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup cashew milk (you can use any nut based milk)

1 TSP Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 cup Unsweetened Applesauce

1 TSP Vanilla Extract

1 TSP Coconut Oil (could totally be eliminated – I just wanted to try it)

1 TSP Lemon Juice

3 TBSP Maple Syrup

1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

1 TSP Cinnamon

1/2 TSP Baking Soda

1/2 TSP Baking Powder

1/2 TSP Salt

Mix wet and dry separately and then combine wet into dry.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Once cool, glaze with a prepared icing of 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 TBSP maple syrup, 1 TBSP cashew milk and 1 TSP vanilla.

PS – accepting ideas for a better name than Donut Disc!

The goal of this blog is not to convince you to be a vegan, but to have an open, transparent discussion about the journey of health.  With that said, I wanted to share some of the wins of eating a plant based diet.

Plant-based eating is a healthier version of vegan eating.  Vegan-ism is simply not eating any animal products (honey optional).  Plant based eating is plants only (grains and legumes included) and low to no oil.  For example – Oreos (the epitome of genetically engineered food) are vegan, we call this “accidental vegan food”, however they are not considered plant based, because, well they are created in a lab.  Sorry if any of you thought they were growing on trees. 🙂

My goal is to eat plant-based, but I will occasionally cheat with vegan junk food.  If you are wondering if I have ever eaten anything in last 13 months that was not vegan, the answer is no.  My splurges are always vegan, just not always the healthiest choice.

You already know why I started eating this way, so I’ll share with you some of the benefits I have experienced over the last year.

Weight Loss:  Be honest, this is what you are most interested in, right?  Well, it has been an intentionally slow journey, however I have lost 12 pounds since I started eating this way.  I could definitely have sped this process up through more exercise and tracking calories in/out.  I lost this 12 lbs simply through eating anything and everything I wanted to under the vegan umbrella.  A dedicated whole food plant based (WFPB) diet will yield faster results.  The perk to eating vegan (even vegan junk food) seems to be that it is very hard to gain weight.  I love that part!  If you are interested in a WFPB weight loss meal plan, please go see my friend at http://www.happyherbivore.com.  She has an awesome program!

Less Sick Days:  Cancer aside, I used to take anywhere from 12 to 15 sick days a year before I changed my eating habits.  Getting into retail saved me because I could take a sick day and make it up later in the week.  Prior to eating vegan, I had a stomach ache every day.  EVERY DAY!  Sometimes they were manageable, sometimes not.  I went through days and sleepless nights of nausea and pain.  Again, this is outside of the cancer journey.  Giving up dairy changed my life.

Energy:  It brings tears to my eyes to think about how I used to manage my social calendar.  I knew that if I worked a full day, at my best, I could do something for an hour or two after work and then I was done.  The next day I would pay for emptying my energy bank and could only just work.  It was rare for me to ever have plans two days in a row as I just could not manage.  Now, I do not even think about putting limits on what I can accomplish (note: knowing yourself and establishing boundaries is always a good thing, but if there is a solution that is even better!)

Appreciating my body:  (It’s a Journey disclaimer – still in progress)  God tells us that we are wonderfully made (Ps 139:14), but full disclosure, most days I felt like my body was betraying me.  It was a fight between what my mind wanted to accomplish and what my body would allow.  Fear and sickness won out daily.  Today, I am grateful for every bit of me, the scars, the story, the background and that I can overcome the obstacles.  I can do all those things I said I could not do before.  Before marrying better food choices with spiritual healing I did not have the strength; I believe I do now!

No More Meds, Please:  While the thought of having energy makes me tear up, this topic can get me into a full blown ugly cry.  I used to live on a very broken cycle of infections, antibiotics and side effects.  Getting sicker from the very things that were expected to make me well.  In the last year I have gotten off all prescription meds and manage any small health crises through food and naturopathic options first.  I will admit that I occasionally partake in a random claritin or zyrtec due to some seasonal allergies that I am still working on clearing up through food.  Healing through food does take patience.  An avocado is not as quick as tylenol.  After a lifetime of throat, ear, bladder and intestinal infections, I have only had one sinus infection in the last 13 months.

When I finished treatment in February of 2013, I was taking at least 5 prescriptions a day, mostly to manage the intense pain and anxiety that accompanies the cancer journey.  Today I take zero.  That feels like freedom to me!

The Data:  A perk of seeing an oncologist regularly is that I get to keep close tabs on how my body is functioning. The lab work results fill me with joy.  Better blood counts than I ever had (Yes, I even have perfect iron levels – plants have protein!), vitamin/nutrient levels that confirm my eating choices.  I do have an ongoing electrolyte issue due to kidney damage from chemo, but I am diligent about treating it holistically.

Food Choices!:    I grew up loving processed foods and could never imagine a day without Mac n Cheese the color of electric orange, but I now find myself craving things I was scared to try:  eggplant, quinoa, brussel sprouts, kale…  I never ate a grape until a couple years ago and now I am convinced they are God’s version of skittles.  I was really missing out on a variety of food.

***

As we all strive to live our best lives, I hope this post motivates you to think about something you would like to accomplish and start working on a plan to get there.  Let’s get healthy!

For years I have viewed exercise solely as a means to be skinny, and any time it failed to yield this result I would quit.  In addition, my past history of illness and random medical problems created a lifelong fear of exercising, or I should say several fears of increased heart rate, palpitations, and sweating.  Then there were the added fears of exercising outdoors; what if I get hit by car, break my leg (that happened anyway and I wasn’t even exercising – what a waste!!!),  or faint, and there is no one around to help.  While these fears may seem irrational they were so real to me.  To make matters more difficult, there were social anxiety issues too; not looking good enough while exercising, not exercising hard enough or the “right way”, and gasp sweating in public!  What’s a girl to do?

No doubt that all of the above contributed to my overweight, fearful and sick existence.  When I was going through cancer treatment I gained an additional 35 lbs. on top of this already unhealthy frame.  As I would read about the impact of weight and lack of exercise on cancer recurrence, I came to a subconscious decision:  which fear would win out?  A fear of exercise or a fear of cancer recurrence.  As I have said, and will continue to say over and over in this blog, it is a journey.  Slowly, as I changed my eating lifestyle, I began to change my activity levels and I still have a long way to go.

Frequently, I find myself getting frustrated with exercising.  It is hard for all of us, but the emotional road blocks that are in my way can feel massive, but I just have to remember to just keep swimming, just keep swimming (side note:  I don’t actually swim; I am afraid of water.  Surprised?  😉

Part of my frustration with exercising is the result I expect.  Am I the only one that works out for 30 minutes on the elliptical and jumps on the scale to see if I lost those two pounds?

I have to remember two things:  Patience (that’s a hard one) and the real goal.  I want to be HEALTHY.  No cancer, no heart problems, and to enjoy being active.  It’s not just about weight loss.  I have to admit, I was in a FitBit challenge this week and with the amount of effort I put in I expected the scale to tell me I hit supermodel status this morning.  Not quite yet, but what the scale cannot tell me is that I will enjoy our outdoor activities tonight even more.  I won’t be exhausted from walking from the parking lot to the stadium, or having to stop as I walk up the steps.  I will think a tiny but less about cancer as I did one more thing each day this week to try to fend off recurrence.  That’s a lot of rewards for five days of exercise.

What are your goals this week?

Welcome Friends!

I am so happy you have joined me on this journey.  Why HerbiBear?  Well, I am anxious to share with you…

In December of 2011, I was diagnosed with an aggressive and fairly advanced form of breast cancer.  This diagnosis came after being sick the majority of my life with sinus, throat, stomach, gynecological, you name it and I have probably been diagnosed with it, illnesses.  After going through a year of cancer treatment (you can read the chronological blog here: www.caringbridge.org/visit/juliearaujo ), I started an incredibly slow journey toward living the healthiest life possible.

In the last three and a half years of living cancer-free (hooray) I realized that I had so much I wanted to accomplish.  I did not want to let fear and illness get in the way of living the best possible life – just a reminder, we only get to do this once.  So, I made some changes:  I have worked on understanding what is behind my fearfulness, I made changes to my diet, I am learning how to choose exercise instead of overeating (remember I said it was a journey…) and I have found that I love sharing my lessons learned and favorite things I have uncovered with my friends.

But I digress, HerbiBear comes from a simple thought process:  I want the readers of this blog to know what my friends know.  That I add “bear” to my name and my feelings to make things more fun and easier to talk about and I am passionate about food really being your medicine.  For me, this includes a plant-based lifestyle.  With that, HerbiBear was born and seemed like a better name than Plant Bear.

A few things I would like you to know as we walk this path together.  It is all about learning and growing and every day just being a little healthier.  I am not expecting anyone to adopt a plant-based diet, but I would love to help you learn to embrace fruit and vegetables and understand the power that food plays in your overall health.

The blog will be about much more than food as it is my hope to be transparent and share with you how I have worked through many of the things that have held me back and to also chat about current struggles as we all figure out how to maneuver through this life.

Lastly, a couple disclaimers:  While I eat vegan, I am not A Vegan.  I love animals and I may even occasionally post about my love for animals (especially my two dachshunds), but I still use goods that may contain animal products.  I also eat honey.

Since we are on the subject of what I am not, I am also not a doctor (even though some of my friends call me Dr. Julie which I secretly love).  Which means, you should consult a REAL doctor when making changes to your health which could include diet and exercise.

Who’s ready to be just a little healthier tomorrow?  I am.

 Julie