Always Learning, Always Growing
Leaning in
There is no reason to do it alone. We humans often take the long way, the hard road. I am not sure why. If it is simple do we feel like it wasn’t earned? For me, it was not knowing where to find others doing what I was doing. If I Google it and it doesn’t show up does it exist? Most likely, yes. I decided I needed a little help. Enough feeling isolated with your food choices. When your life is in flow things seem to come easy. When your life is traversing a more difficult pathway remember to ask yourself how can I do this with ease. Life will still work out for you. In my past Newsletters I have referenced that I had a medical diagnosis in my 40’s and I opted to change my diet when I found out the medications' side effects. (My choice, no judgment for anyone on medication. I was fortunate to have the option, many don’t. Do what’s best for you.) I Googled recipes, saved links, made folders, bookmarked pages, and many of the sites I researched I did not use. Due to my personality, I had to keep researching and reach the saturation point and only then did I start making a few easy vegetarian meals. I also started buying vegetarian cookbooks. I love to cook but at the time I did not realize how much more I was going to love it. I would find a few key recipes that I could make and add protein. I was eating fish at the time. And my husband and kids were also eating healthy, including beef or chicken.
Then one weekend morning a few years into this pescatarian lifestyle I came upon Molly Patrick’s, Clean Food Dirty Girl, Saturday F@#keries. Do not click on the link if swearing offends you, the recipe is below. She is marvelous. It was a whole food plant based blog. I think she has since changed it to “Saturday Love Letters”. Either way, it unlocked my brain, I realized my plant-based eating options were limitless. It was irreverently on point and I went to her free recipes. I remember making her easy black beans. It gave me hope and inspiration because I realized I was not alone. Even though no one I worked with, lived with or hung out with ate like me anymore I knew I could do it. I had found my community of people. You are uniquely you and get to do the version that best fits you. I ended up joining her plant based community for a few months and I noticed that although her ingredient lists were long, too long for me to commit fully each week, they were mostly pantry staples. I found out that once I built up my pantry with items I had not used in the past, creating great, easy and quick beans would no longer be a struggle. Even if you are not plant based there are many, many recipes that include beans that you can have alongside your animal protein and if you are up for purchasing a few key spices such as cumin, coriander, garlic (minced and powder), onion powder, oregano and turmeric powder you can be on your way.
Reflections
I had two helpful comments last week that I think others would appreciate and may feel similarly. The first let me know the bean protocol is too much. I agree, if it’s something you don’t need, it can all feel like too much. However, if you are in pain and have been looking, looking, looking for assistance, it may be just right. We are all on a health continuum and that is why beans are so lovely. They can help as much or as little as you need. Incorporating beans into our meals is normal for most of the world. If we were already eating beans there would be no need for such a protocol. For some of us, playing catch up is key to our health. The second comment happens more often than we realize. It came from a friend who was excited and she added beans to three meals in one day. Yessiree! She did. While I applaud the enthusiasm I also know what it feels like to have an upset belly if you have not been eating beans consistently. When you eat too many beans or add them to all three meals the first day it could backfire. I would not recommend this to anyone because instead of continuing to be excited your stomach may be upset and you may stop cold because that is how uncomfortable it is. Please take her learning experience to heart; I implore you, no matter how excited you are, be careful of jumping in too quickly.
In my first Newsletter, I said I would give some information on the bean protocol. So I gave the protocol information in the second Newsletter. I also communicated that once I healed and got to a place where I was no longer bent over in pain, I started to experiment with what I could bring back into my diet on an intermittent basis; foods I was missing. Hello berries, cheese, dessert and wine! You can do the same. I was pretty strict for 6 months, two mitosis cycles. That is how long I needed to eat following the protocol and at the time I wanted to do that to heal and maintain feeling well. We each get to decide where the balance is for our best life. Or perhaps you can work backwards. For example, If by some miracle you are here with no gastrointestinal issues but you would like to lean into beans, once you start (slowly) maybe a couple of times a week you can reach the point where you have one serving a day and that is perfect. That will keep your parts working well. If your tummy is not hurting and you don’t want to give up some items on the “no list”, don’t. It’s about enjoying your life and that includes meals. For me, I was moving into this way of eating (mostly plants) before I found the bean protocol and it was very natural for me, even more so in the summer months when the vegetables are in season.
If I go one step further and admit it, my achilles “heal” is sugar. (Get that pun?) When I am going to make dessert I have tried replacing sugar with maple syrup. There have been some baking missteps. I don’t recommend eating dessert if you are following the protocol. I did not for month and it helped with my inflammation. When/if you are eating desserts I can recommend Cookie and Kate's healthy banana bread; it is top notch and created with maple syrup. I did make a change, however. In order to follow what I know to be good health I cannot recommend the coconut oil or vegetable oil in this recipe. I used avocado oil (it’s only a ⅓ cup) and I could taste no difference. Add seeds and a couple of dark chocolate chips to the top if you would like. I usually keep my treats to weekends but when I do indulge I enjoy every bite-no guilt. In the end no matter what I am doing, at my core is the pursuit of growth which leads to joy, peace and freedom. Come grow with me, I promise to take care of you. Until then, try Molly Patrick’s easy hummus with no oil (below). You can eat this and because there is no oil the soluble fiber in the beans will bond with the bile molecule and travel out to the toilet. Hurray! So remember, start with beans.
Recommended Recipe
Molly Patrick’s Easy Hummus from canned beans
1 can organic garbanzo beans or if you already have cooked garbanzos in your fridge (I did) that you need to use up, one can of beans is equivalent to about 1 1/2 cups / 260g, drained and rinsed well (Remember to drain, I did not - see picture above - and my hummus was a little thinner and I had to add more beans.)
1 garlic clove peeled left whole
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini 60g
1/4 cup water 60ml
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Put everything into the food processor and blend until creamy. Lemony, garlicky deliciousness. Dip your crisp summer garden veggies into it, you won’t be disappointed.
Optional: I like to add extra lemon, some cumin, crushed red pepper and a shake of “The Works” from Ocean State Pepper Co. (It's like the seasoning on an everything bagel). You could add smoked paprika, or minced garlic on top. Make it to your liking once the main recipe is smooth.
