Well it's been 3 weeks...

Image via Wikipedia

Very interesting 3 weeks!!  So far I am really enjoying the change of my eating habits but still getting use to my food choices. 

I find I am eating too much starchy foods such as pasta, rice, potatoes in order to fill me.  I have found tons of Vegetarian recipe websites which have been very helpful but find that I am shopping more often to replenish the fruits that go bad, I guess I have to buy smaller amounts and shop more often!

My girlfriend that joined with me becoming a Vegetarian is doing awesome as well!!  It is so much easier to do this with support of friends and family. 

Just the other day my friend cooked spaghetti meat sauce for her family.  I was visiting and we were going to eat the sauce but without the meat, then we thought, we cannot do that as the sauce was cooked with meat so that is defeating the purpose, silly us!

A few days after going Vegetarian I was researching on vitamins and supplements (which I have posted the information on previous posts).  So I started taking a B12 vitamin and found that I could not sleep!!.  I was wide away at 3:00AM and was getting very frustrated.  I was wondering, WOW, did meat have something in it that made me sleep as soon as I hit the pillow?  Nope, it was the B12 tablet I was taking, I was taking too late in the day around 3:00PM.  Recently I have switched my vitamin intake to the morning as soon as I get up and I have found a difference in my sleeping, thank goodness!!  I have found the B12 gives me TONS of energy and LOVE the feeling!!

This weeks task is spending more time on balancing my food choices so I will not be eating to many fattening foods.  I will post some tips/ideas really soon!!

Importance of taking B12 while on a Vegetarian diet...

While searching the Internet for the vital nutrients and minerals that my body needs which I would be losing out on not eating meat and or fish.  I found information on the importance of taking a B12 supplement and posted the information below.
No vegan or vegetarian can afford to take the kinds of risks with their health that a B-12 deficiency can create. Simple to prevent, and impossible to repair once the damage is done, a vitamin B-12 deficiency can cause damage to the brain and nervous system, fatigue, low memory function and depression. Other symptoms of a B-12 deficiency are hallucinations, personality changes like irritability and confusion, bodily sensations like tingling and numbness, blurred vision and coordination difficulties that result in an abnormal gait.

Vitamin B-12 is a unique and essential water-soluble vitamin important for regulating the nervous system, the function of the brain and the formation of red blood cells. It contains the element cobalt and is also known as cobalamin. It is responsible for cellular metabolism, rapid DNA synthesis during cell division and for energy production. It also helps in the metabolizing of fatty acids, which are needed to create the protein myelin that surrounds the nerve fibers. Without this coating, the nerves can become irreparably damaged.

Vitamin B-12 is found naturally in shellfish and fish, all meats especially liver, poultry, dairy and eggs- in other words, in animal foods. B-12 is produced by bacteria that contaminate the animals and plants we eat, and not by the plants and animals themselves. The B-12 that does exist in small amounts in plant-based foods is not enough to supply the vitamin effectively.

Vegans, who consume no foods from animal sources, are the most at risk for developing vitamin B-12 deficiency. Enriched cereals, some yeasts, certain soy products, daily or weekly vitamin B-12 supplementation and b-12 injections are the best means for vegans to get enough Vitamin B-12. Although the structure of this vitamin can only be biosynthesized by bacteria, the human body can create a conversion between different forms of B-12 making supplementation possible.

Vegetarians may consume some of the foods that naturally contain B-12, but in some cases these foods, like eggs, will include another substance that blocks the absorption of B-12. The side effects of a deficiency in this vitamin are not to be taken lightly, so the same course of fortification and supplementation recommended for vegans applies to vegetarians as well.

The recommended daily intake of B-12 is 2-3 micrograms per day, with different standards if you are pregnant or lactating. If you are a vegetarian or a vegan, begin to check the labels of the foods you consume to see how much B-12 is already present in your diet. Visit your doctor regularly to test your levels of vitamin B-12. Additionally, test your folate levels, as Vitamin B-12 helps regenerate folate, and test for methylmalonic acid and signs of anemia, which can be caused by a lack of B-12.

Conversation or heated debate....

                                                                    

Since turning to a vegetarian diet I have had to decline some food when I am over at my family functions or friends houses.  When you say, "no thank you" and try to leave it at that they always ask "why are you not hungry"?  Then I tell them that I do not eat meat anymore.

WOW!  It's funny to watch the reaction on peoples faces, they look at you like you have just pulled your own finger nails off.  Then all the meat eaters all start congregating I start feeling like they are ganging up on me saying oh not me, taste too good, bring on the steak etc. etc.  Then they start talking about makeup (tested on animals) and the clothes I wear such as leather shoes or plastic flip flops (oil from animals that make the plastic)  like hello, why do I keep having to defend myself? 

I feel I am making a healthy choice of staying away from meat, btw I only wear makeup on special occasions and it is not a daily application and I have never worn fur but when I made the decision to stay away from meat is based on two things.  The major one was because of all the garbage that is put into meat in order for it not to go bad and secondly was for the inhuman way the animals are treated and slaughtered.  It seems that you can never just say you are a vegetarian then the conversation stops.  This is something I will have to get used to and may use the option of "I'm not hungry" so I will not have to get into a heated debate.

I have always been conscious of products that I purchase such as soaps, lotions, lip gloss etc to see if their is a note stated *not tested on animals, so off I went searching on google for this information and found it on the peta website.  I have attached the link that shows all the companies that do not test on animals...

http://www.caringconsumer.com/pdfs/companiesDontTest.pdf

Foods that are high in Protein...

Image via Wikipedia

In order to find out how much Protein your body requires per day, take your weight and divide in half, that is approximately how many Kilograms you are

Weight divided in half = kilograms then x by 0.8

Eg:  150lbs = approximately 75kg 

75g x 0.8 = 60g of protein your body requires per day

FYI:  1 cup of soy beans equals the same amount of protein as 1 steak provides :)
Alfalfa seeds, sprouted, raw 1 cup 1.32

Artichokes, (globe or French), cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 medium 4.18

Asparagus, canned, drained solids  4 spears 1.54

Asparagus, cooked, boiled, drained  4 spears 1.55

Asparagus, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 5.31

Avocados, raw, California  1 oz 0.60

Avocados, raw, Florida  1 oz 0.45

Beans, baked, canned, plain or vegetarian  1 cup 12.17

Beans, baked, canned, with franks  1 cup 17.48

Beans, baked, canned, with pork and sweet sauce  1 cup 13.43

Beans, baked, canned, with pork and tomato sauce  1 cup 13.05

Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt  1 cup 15.24

Beans, Cowpeas (Blackeyes), immature seeds, boiled, without salt  1 cup 5.23

Beans, Cowpeas (blackeyes), immature seeds, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup
14.43

Beans, Cowpeas, common (blackeyes, crowder, southern), mature seeds,  1 cup 13.30

Beans, great northern, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt  1 cup 14.74

Beans, Kidney beans, red, mature seeds, canned  1 cup 13.44

Beans, Kidney beans, red, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt  1 cup 15.35

Beans, Lima beans, large, mature seeds, canned  1 cup 11.88

Beans, Lima beans, large, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt  1 cup 14.66

Beans, Mung beans, mature seeds, sprouted, cooked, boiled, without salt  1 cup 2.52

Beans, Mung beans, mature seeds, sprouted, raw  1 cup 3.16

Beans, Navy beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt  1 cup 15.83

Beans, Pinto beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt  1 cup 14.04

Soybeans, mature cooked, boiled, without salt  1 cup 22.23

Soybeans, green, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 28.62

Beans, Snap beans, green, canned, regular pack, drained solids  1 cup 1.55

Beans, Snap beans, green, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 2.36

Beans, White beans, mature seeds, canned  1 cup 19.02

Beet greens, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 3.70

Beets, canned, drained solids  1 cup 1.55

Broccoli, raw  1 cup 2.62

Broccoli, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 4.65

Beets, cooked, boiled, drained  1 cup 2.86

Beets, cooked, boiled, drained  1 beet 0.84

Cabbage, Chinese (pak-choi), cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 2.65

Cabbage, Chinese (pe-tsai), cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 1.79

Cabbage, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 1.53

Cabbage, raw  1 cup 1.01

Cabbage, red, raw  1 cup 0.97

Cabbage, Savoy, raw  1 cup 1.40

Carrots, baby, raw 1 medium 0.08

Carrots, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 1.70

Carrots, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 1.74

Carrots, raw  1 cup 1.13

Cauliflower, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 2.28

Cauliflower, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 2.90

Cauliflower, raw  1 cup 1.98

Celery, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 1.25

Celery, raw  1 cup 0.90

Corn, sweet, white, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 ear 2.56

Corn, sweet, yellow, canned, cream style, regular pack  1 cup 4.45

Corn, sweet, yellow, canned, vacuum pack, regular pack  1 cup 5.06

Corn, sweet, yellow, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 ear 2.56

Corn, sweet, yellow, frozen, kernels cut off cob, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 4.51

Corn, sweet, yellow, frozen, kernels on cob, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 ear 1.96

Cucumber, peeled, raw  1 cup 0.68

Cucumber, with peel, raw 1 cup 0.72

Dandelion greens, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 2.10

Endive, raw  1 cup 0.63

Garlic, raw  1 clove 0.19

Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt  1 cup 17.86

Lettuce, cos or romaine, raw  1 cup 0.91

Lettuce, iceberg (includes crisphead types), raw  1 cup 0.56

Lettuce, looseleaf, raw  1 cup 0.73

Mushrooms, canned, drained solids  1 cup 2.92

Mushrooms, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 3.39

Mushrooms, raw  1 cup 2.03

Mushrooms, shiitake, cooked, without salt  1 cup 2.26

Mushrooms, shiitake, dried  1 mushroom 0.34

Mustard greens, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 3.16

Okra, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 2.99

Okra, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 3.83

Olives, ripe, canned (small-extra large)  5 large 0.18

Onions, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 2.86

Onions, dehydrated flakes 1 tbsp 0.45

Onions, raw  1  1.28

Onions, spring or scallions (includes tops and bulb), raw 1 cup 1.83

Parsley, raw 10 sprigs 0.30

Parsnips, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 2.06

Peas, edible-podded, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 5.23

Peas, edible-podded, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 5.60

Peas, green, canned, regular pack, drained solids 1 cup 7.51

Peas, green, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 8.24

Peas, split, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 16.35

Peppers, hot chili, green, raw  1 pepper 0.90

Peppers, hot chili, red, raw  1 pepper 0.90

Peppers, sweet, green, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 1.25

Peppers, sweet, green, raw 1 cup 1.33

Peppers, sweet, green, raw 1 pepper 1.06

Peppers, sweet, red, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt1 cup 1.25

Peppers, sweet, red, raw 1 pepper 1.06

Potato pancakes, home-prepared 1 pancake 4.68

Potato, baked, flesh and skin, without salt 1 potato 5.05

Potatoes, baked, flesh, without salt 1 potato 3.06

Potatoes, boiled, cooked in skin, flesh, without salt 1 potato 2.54

Potatoes, boiled, cooked without skin, flesh, without salt 1 potato 2.31

Potatoes, boiled, cooked without skin, flesh, without salt  1 cup 2.67

Potatoes, hashed brown, home-prepared  1 cup 3.78

Pumpkin, canned, without salt 1 cup 2.70

Pumpkin, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 1.76

Radishes, raw  1 radish 0.03

Spinach, canned, drained solids  1 cup 6.01

Spinach, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 5.35

Spinach, frozen, chopped or leaf, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 5.97

Spinach, raw 1 cup 0.86

Squash, summer, all varieties, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt  1 cup 1.64

Squash, summer, all varieties, raw 1 cup 1.33

Squash, winter, all varieties, cooked, baked, without salt 1 cup 1.82

Squash, winter, butternut, frozen, cooked, boiled, without salt  1 cup 2.95

Sweet potato, canned, syrup pack, drained solids 1 cup 2.51

Sweet potato, canned, vacuum pack 1 cup 4.21

Sweet potato, cooked, baked in skin, without salt  1 potato 2.51

Sweet potato, cooked, boiled, without skin, without salt  1 potato 2.57

Tomatoes, red, ripe, canned, stewed  1 cup 2.42

Tomatoes, red, ripe, canned, whole, regular pack  1 cup 2.21

Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average  1 cup 1.53

Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average 1 cherry tomato 0.14

Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average 1 tomato 1.05

Tomatoes, sun-dried  1 piece 0.28

Tomatoes, sun-dried, packed in oil, drained  1 piece 0.15

Watermelon, raw  1 wedge 1.77

Buckwheat flour, whole-groat  1 cup 15.14


Buckwheat groats, roasted, cooked  1 cup 5.68

Bulgur, cooked  1 cup 5.61

Bulgur, dry  1 cup 11.70

Cornmeal, degermed, enriched, yellow  1 cup 17.21

Cornmeal, whole-grain, yellow 1 cup 9.91

Noodles, chinese, chow mein  1 cup 3.77

Oat bran, cooked 1 cup 7.03

Oat bran, raw 1 cup 16.26

Peanut butter, smooth style, with salt 1 tbsp 4.03

Quinoa, cooked - 1 cup 11

Rice, brown, long-grain, cooked 1 cup 5.03

Rice, white, long-grain, regular, cooked 1 cup 4.25

Rice, white, long-grain, regular, raw, enriched  1 cup 13.19

Spaghetti, cooked, enriched, without added salt  1 cup 6.68

Spaghetti, whole-wheat, cooked 1 cup 7.46

Spaghetti, whole-wheat, cooked  1 cup 7.46

Tempeh 1 cup 31

Tofu, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate and magnesium chloride  1/4 block 6.51

Tofu, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate and magnesium chloride  1 piece 7.86

Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached  1 cup 12.91

Veggie burger 1 patty 1 patty 5.24

Wheat flour, whole-grain  1 cup 16.44

Wheat flour, white, bread, enriched  137 16.41

Whole wheat bread 2 slices 2 slices 5

Foods that are high in iron....

Image via Wikipedia

Well it's been one full week that I have become Vegetarian!! 

This week tasks are finding out more information on the foods that I eat to ensure that I am receiving the same benefits of iron that I received when I was eating meat.  Below is a chart of foods in measurements and the mg of iron it provides.

The RDA for iron age    19 - 50 for adult men is 8mg
                                      19-50 for women is 18mg
                                      50 - over for w/m is 8mg

* Both calcium and tannins (found in tea and coffee) reduce iron absorption. Tea, coffee, and calcium supplements should be used several hours before a meal that is high in iron

Bran flakes, 1 cup 11.0

Oatmeal, 1 packet 6.3

Pasta, 1 cup, cooked 1.7

Samolina, Cream of wheat, 1/2 cup cooked 5.5

Wheat germ, 2 tablespoon 1.2

Whole wheat bread, 1 slice 0.9

White bread, 1 slice 0.7

Iron in Vegetables (1/2 cup cooked)

Sea vegetables 18.1- 42.0

Swiss chard 2

Turnip greens 1.6

Sweet potatoes, canned 1.7

Turnip greens 1.6

Pumpkin, cooked 1.7

Potato, baked with skin 1.7

Turnip greens 1.6

Prune juice, 4 oz 1.5

Spinach cooked 1.5

Beet greens cooked 1.4

Potato, 1 large 1.4

Bok choy cooked 0.7

Peas, cooked 0.65

Green beans, cooked 0.60

Tomato juice 0.6

Broccoli, cooked 0.55

Watermelon, 1/8 medium 0.5

Iron in Legumes (1/2 cup cooked)

Lentils 3.2

Black eye beans 2.6

Navy beans 2.5

Pinto beans 2.2

Lima beans 2.2

Kidney beans Rajmah 1.5

Chick peas (200 g) 6.2

Iron in Soy foods (1/2 cup cooked)

Tofu 6.6

Soybeans 4.4

Tempeh 1.8

Soy milk 0.9

Iron in Nuts/Seeds (2 Tablespoon)

Pumpkin seeds 2.5

Figs, dried, 5 2.0

Dried apricot, 5 1.6

Almond, 1/4 cup 1.3

Tahini 1.2

Sesame 1.2

Sunflower seeds 1.2

Cashew nuts 1.0

Soybeans, cooked 1 cup 8.8

Black strap molasses 2 Tbsp 7.2

Lentils, cooked 1 cup 6.6

Spinach, cooked 1 cup 6.4

Quinoa, cooked 1 cup 6.3

Tofu 4 ounces 6.0

Bagel, enriched 3 ounces 5.2

Tempeh 1 cup 4.8

Lima beans, cooked 1 cup 4.4

Swiss chard, cooked 1 cup 4.0

Black beans, cooked 1 cup 3.6

Pinto beans, cooked 1 cup 3.5

Turnip greens, cooked 1 cup 3.2

Chickpeas, cooked 1 cup 3.2

Potato 1 large 3.2

Kidney beans, cooked 1 cup 3.0

Prune juice 8 ounces 3.0

Beet greens, cooked 1 cup 2.7

Tahini 2 Tbsp 2.7

Veggie hot dog 1 hot dog 2.7

Peas, cooked 1 cup 2.5

Black-eyed peas, cooked 1 cup 2.3

Cashews 1/4 cup 2.1

Brussels sprouts, cooked 1 cup 1.9

Bok choy, cooked 1 cup 1.8

Bulgur, cooked 1 cup 1.7

Raisins 1/2 cup 1.6

Almonds 1/4 cup 1.5

Apricots, dried 15 halves 1.4

Veggie burger, commercial 1 patty 1.4

Watermelon 1/8 medium 1.4

Soy yogurt 6 ounces 1.1

Tomato juice 8 ounces 1.0

Green beans, cooked 1 cup 1.2

Kale, cooked 1 cup 1.2

Sunflower seeds 1/4 cup 1.2

Broccoli, cooked 1 cup 1.1

Millet, cooked 1 cup 1.1

Sesame seeds 2 Tbsp 1.0

GREAT website I found!

While searching the Internet for vegetarian dishes for me to try, I found an awesome website called "Fresh 365 online".

She has everything on her website regarding appetizers, meals, deserts and you can even sift through by ingredients!

Here is her website link...http://www.fresh365online.com/

I will be trying out a few of her dishes in the near future and will post some feedback on here.

Benefits of drinking lemon water and other healthy info....

1.Good for stomach

Lemon can help relieve many digestion problems when mixed with hot water. These include nausea, heartburn and parasites. Due to the digestive qualities of lemon juice, symptoms of indigestion such as heartburn, bloating and belching are relieved. By drinking lemon juice regularly, the bowels are aided in eliminating waste more efficiently. Lemon acts as a blood purifier and as a cleansing agent. The intake of lemon juice can cure constipation. It is even known to help relieve hiccups when consumed as a juice. Lemon juice acts as a liver tonic and helps you digest your food by helping your liver produce more bile. It decreases the amount of phlegm produced by your body. It is also thought to help dissolve gallstones.

2.Excellent for Skin Care

Lemon, being a natural antiseptic medicine, can participate to cure problems related to skin. Lemon is a vitamin C rich citrus fruit that enhances your beauty, by rejuvenating skin from within and thus bringing a glow on your face. Daily consumption of lemon water can make a huge difference in the appearance of your skin. It acts as an anti-aging remedy and can remove wrinkles and blackheads. Lemon water if applied on the areas of burns can fade the scars. As lemon is a cooling agent, it reduces the burning sensation on the skin.

3.Aids in Dental Care

Lemon water is used in dental care also. If fresh lemon juice is applied on the areas of toothache, it can assist in getting rid of the pain. The massages of lemon juice on gums can stop gum bleeding. It gives relief from bad smell and other problems related to gums.

4.Cures Throat Infections

Lemon is an excellent fruit that aids in fighting problems related to throat infections, sore throat and tonsillitis as it has an antibacterial property. For sore throat, dilute one-half lemon juice with one-half water and gargle frequently.

5.Good for Weight Loss

One of the major health benefits of drinking lemon water is that it paves way for losing weight faster, thus acting as a great weight loss remedy. If a person takes lemon juice mixed with lukewarm water and honey, it can reduce the body weight as well.

6.Controls High Blood Pressure

Lemon water works wonders for people having heart problem, owing to its high potassium content. It controls high blood pressure, dizziness, nausea as well as provides relaxation to mind and body. It also reduces mental stress and depression.

7.Assist in curing Respiratory Disorders

Lemon water assists in curing respiratory problems, along with breathing problems and revives a person suffering from asthma.

8.Good for treating Rheumatism

Lemon is also a diuretic and hence lemon water can treat rheumatism and arthritis. It helps to flush out bacteria and toxins out of the body.

9.Reduces Fever

Lemon water can treat a person who is suffering from cold, flu or fever. It helps to break fever by increasing perspiration.

10.Acts as a blood purifier

The diseases like cholera or malaria can be treated with lemon water as it can act as a blood purifier.

How much should I drink?

In case you are in good health and weigh 70 kg or less, it is advisable for you to have juice of one-half of the lemon squeezed into one glass of water, twice daily. However, if you weigh more than 70 kg, juice of one whole lemon in a glass of water should be preferred. For maximum benefit, this mixture should also be taken two times a day, though you may dilute more lemon juice according to your taste if you wish.

Do not just remain oblivious to the gifts of nature such as this, for you should always try to make the most of them. So, make it a part of your daily routine to drink a glass of warm lemon water in the morning and then open your gateway to enjoy its health benefits.

Understanding food labels...

This is one task that will take some figuring out. There is tons of information on reading a food label on the Internet.

Yesterday I posted information on ingredients to look out for when purchasing your food. Today is information on the nutrients and how to calculate and see what the % of the food that provides that nutrient.

Five easy steps to help you read a label.

Step 1: Look at the serving size

Compare the serving size on the package to the amount that you eat. If you eat the serving size shown on the Nutrition Facts Table you will get the amount of calories and nutrients that are listed.

Step 2: Look at the calories

Calories tell you how much energy you get from one serving of a packaged food.

Step 3: Look at the per cent Daily Value (% Daily Value)

% Daily Value puts nutrients on a scale from 0% to 100%. This scale tells you if there is a little or a lot of a nutrient in one serving of a packaged food. Use this percentage to compare the nutrient content of different foods.
• If a food has between 5% and 14% of a nutrient, it means that the food is a source of that nutrient.
• Between 15 and 24%, means the food is a good source of a nutrient (over 30% for vitamin C)
• And over 25% is an excellent source of a nutrient (over 50% for vitamin C)

Step 4: Try to get more of these nutrients

• Fibre, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium

Step 5 : Try to get less of these nutrients

• Fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, cholesterol

Below is more detailed information (label broken down)

You'll find the serving information listed right at the top of the Nutrition Facts label. This is important because everything you read on the rest of the label is based on one serving. There are two parts to the serving information on the Nutrition Facts label, the serving size and the number of servings.
The serving size tells you the size of each serving. It could be an number or a common measurement. For example, one serving of chicken noodle soup is 1/2 cup. Sometimes this information can be very misleading. If a package contains six cookies, but the serving size is two cookies, then the package contains three servings, not just one. So if you eat all six cookies, you are eating three servings.
On the chicken noodle soup example above, it is important to note that a serving is one-half cup of the condensed soup as it comes in the can and not one-half cup of the soup after it has been mixed with water. Always look to see if the serving size should be measured or counted before the product is prepared or after.
Sometimes the number of servings may be easier to understand than serving size. On the chicken noodle soup Nutrition Facts label, the number of servings is given as about 2.5. That means if you prepare the can of soup with any amount of water and eat the whole thing yourself, you have eaten two and one-half servings (and that doesn't include any crackers).

This section of the Nutrition Facts food label contains information about calories, fat content, amount and types of carbohydrates, and amount of protein in the product. The label shows the amounts in grams (g) or milligrams (mg) and the percentage of the daily value (the amount needed every day) for each of these nutrients. This information is based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet. So it won't be exactly right for everybody. But it will give you an idea of how the food item will fit into your energy nutrient needs.
Notice that sodium information is located here rather than with the other minerals down lower on label. In the chicken noodle soup Nutrition Facts food label above, you can see that one serving of condensed chicken noodle soup has 37% of your daily value for sodium. If you eat the whole can of soup, you would get 92% of the recommended amount of sodium you should consume for the entire day.
This part of the label also contains information on fiber. You can see from our example, chicken noodle soup from a can doesn't contain much fiber .

This part of the Nutrition Facts label shows the vitamin and mineral content of the product. The FDA requires information on calcium, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin C all be included on the Nutrition Facts label. Sometimes the food manufacturers will add information about other vitamins like niacin or folic acid if the product contains any significant amounts of those nutrients.

On the chicken soup Nutrition Facts label, you can see there is some vitamin A and some iron, but no vitamin C or calcium. That means you'll have to get those nutrients from the rest of your diet. Remember if you eat the whole can, you'll have to multiply those percentages by the number of servings you just ate to get the correct total amounts.

First experience ordering from a menu....

Today my Nanny took the family out to lunch. It was the first time since becoming Vegatarian ordering from a restaurant menu.

Before: I would open up the menu eg. lunchtime. See if they have a roast beef dip or a clubhouse sandwich and place my order with a coke.

Now: I must have looked at that menu over 4 times, seeing what was there, if they had a vegatarian section, then re looked to see how i can switch something up and not add meat etc. I had so much selection that the process was fun and interesting to me, which I would never have thought that ordering could be.

Since it was lunchtime and all i had for breakfast was a peach i still wanted something to fill my breakfast craving. So I ordered a toasted western sandwich. I ordered the sandwich on brown bread, requested no meat and with a ceasar salad and not the fries. With my sandwich there was a choice for sweet potatoe fries which I was going to try as that sounded interesting but thought a salad would be a healthier choice. While ordering I felt a little feeling of "who do you think you are" kind of way, it was weird no meat, brown bread, no fries, where I have never put any adjustments on my food before. The feeling quickly passed as I was then feeling...I am making healthier choices and I shouldn't feel that way. The waitress is lucky as I almost asked how the sweet potatoe fries were cooked and in what type of oil....LOL!

So ordering from a restaurant has been a good one even though I watched my uncle eat a toasted clubhouse sandwich with regular fries in front of me. I was all good!

Ingrediants to avoid on food labels....

I started doing my research regarding "how to read a food label". There is tons of information on the Internet but still finding it a bit confusing, so i googled, ingredients to stay away from as this is what I need to pay attention too. Below I have posted information on a Chips ahoy cookie and below that you will find more information on other ingredient's to watch for when you are viewing a food label. I felt this one would be of importance as i believe everyone loves a chocolate chip cookie..

1. Hydrogenated oil (often labeled as trans-fat): It's made through a process that turns free-flowing oil into a lard-like solid at room temperature. The food industry uses it because it's inexpensive and increases shelf life of products, so companies can increase their profits. Eating this trans fat increases the bad cholesterol in your body and is bad for your heart.

2. Enriched flour: All the grain’s nutrients are destroyed in the refining process. Companies add a little bit of the lost nutrients back and label it “enriched” so it seems nutritious. Fewer nutrients mean you'll be feeling hungry soon after, so choose foods made with whole grains instead.

3. High-fructose corn syrup: Your body processes this differently than good old-fashioned cane sugar. It contains more fructose than sugar and converts to fat more easily, which can cause weight gain.

4. Refined sugar: When you put sugar into your system, you experience a sugar high that rapidly raises your blood-sugar levels. So two hours later, you crash, feeling tired and empty. Sugar that is naturally combined with fat or fiber sources, like in fresh fruits, will absorb into your body much slower, helping you avoid the roller-coaster sugar ride.

5. Saturated fats: These are found mostly in animal products such as butter, cream, hot dogs, beef, and skin from chicken. They increase your cholesterol levels and clog your precious arteries, which causes cardiovascular disease.

The easiest way to navigate a food label is to know how to avoid the top health offenders. If you’d rather enjoy your shopping instead of wading through confusing lists, watch out for the following eight ingredients and always avoid them at the grocery store.

Artificial Colourings: Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, and Yellow 6 have been linked to cancer and show up in candy, soda pop, baked goods and many other products.

Artificial Sweeteners: Acesulfame-K, aspartame, and saccharine. At the moment sucrose (also known as Splenda) gets a passing grade, but there is still some question about whether it’s truly safe.

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG): A flavour enhancer, MSG is often used to mask a lack of healthy ingredients in a food.

Partially Hydrogenated Oil (Trans Fat): Often found in frozen foods and bakery items, trans fats are more harmful to your heart and blood vessels than saturated fats.

Propyl Galate: A preservative added to meat products, chicken soups, and chewing gum. Studies suggest it is linked to cancer.

Sodium Nitrate, Sodium Nitrite: Nitrites, which also enhance colour and flavour, act as preservatives in many prepared meat products. They are potentially cancer causing.

Sugar: This familiar ingredient can appear on the label as fructose, corn syrup, glucose, and high-fructose corn syrup. Sugar has made its way into a huge range of products and is currently the number one culprit in the obesity epidemic.

Salt: Added in generous amounts to foods such as potato chips, soups, and crackers, salt adds flavour and acts as a preservative. High salt diets have been linked to high blood pressure and a greater risk of a heart attack

Our girlie getaway....vegie style!!

Well i thought it would be difficult weekend, smelling steaks bbq'ing, bacon sizzling in the morning but it turned out to be very entertaining and fun to create meals this weekend!!

Food shopping is usually a very boring task for me. I like to shop but when it comes to food shopping i find that I buy the same foods each week, boring foods. I buy the meats, the bread, breakfast items, milk and butter, have the same dinners each week and may switch it up but in the end, we have eaten the same dinners throughout the week just sometimes have pasta on Mondays instead of Wednesdays but that is the extent of our jazzed up meals.

When I had to go shopping for our getaway I found that I was writing items down, taking the time to figure out what our meals were going to be, organzing what we were going to eat, ensuring that we will be full from our selections. Since i brought my daughter along with me this weekend, i knew she would not want to stick to my regiment of fruits and vegetables so i had to add some pasta and bread to our meals. I have posted pictures below of some of our meals that we prepared.

Cooking is not one of my fortes, it always has seem to be a chore, something that i do not look forward too. This weekend, my daughter and I had so much fun cooking together, an activity that we have never done before together, only when she was small and we use to bake, but never cooked meals. Was it the cottage atmosphere or was it something that we are now both interested in and can lean on each other for support. Not sure, all i know is we both enjoyed it!!

The two other girls that we went up with are both meat eaters. This is where i thought i would find it difficult. What is the weirdest thing is they both didn't cook meat "all" weekend. Saturday morning they did head into town and have a bacon/egg breakfast but we never had to smell it cooking. For their dinner, Friday they had pasta with us and Saturday evening since it was so hot they were not hungry and had a potatoe with hellava dip for dinner....wow...not what i was expecting, but it did make things a little bit easier :) One of the girls husbands cooked homemade burgers to bring up for the weekend, she left them there for the following weekend when her and her hubby go up. Homemade burgers...i am hoping her hubby didn't think that i was trying to brainwash her over the weekend..yikes!!

This weeks task is being more informed of what is on food labels. Paying attention to what is in the package before purchasing. I will be googling info over the next two days and will post some info and tips on here this week.

Off to celebrate Spain's WIN today...having nachos and salsa!!

Our meals this weekend....

This pizza was awesome!! Red onions, Red peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, tomatoe sauce, mozzarella cheese and topped with feta cheese!! All placed on a whole wheat Naan bread...Mmmmmm, so good!

This is a stir fry that we made, bag of frozen assorted vegies, thin noodles and soy sauce!!

Vegetable spring rolls, fried in virgin oil...this was our snack!

This was our desert...so refreshing and so much better then having cake and sweets!!

Being Creative

Well i am on day 4 now of fruits and vegetables and will be heading out shortly for our girlie retreat. Since I have asked my daughter to come along with us I had to pick up more then just fruits and vegetables for our meals as she would not go for that.

My daughter loves east indian food. So yesterday she asked me to make her chana masala with Naan. The dish is made of chick peas with onions, tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of "spicey powder", add water simmer for 40 mins. to soften the chick peas and then served with naan which is a pita like bread. It was very tastey!!

*One hundred grams of mature boiled chickpeas contains 164 calories, 2.6 grams of fat (of which only 0.27 grams is saturated), 7.6 grams of dietary fiber and 8.9 grams of protein. Chickpeas also provide dietary calcium (49–53 mg/100 g), with some sources citing the garbanzo's calcium content as about the same as yogurt and close to milk...as per wiki (another one of my favourite sites)

So for the weekend we purchase whole wheat naan, i figured you must be able to create a pizza using this, so off i went to google and presto found tons of recipes for naan pizza. I have included one of the links below, we are going to create this over the bbq so it will feel like we are doing something with the bbq this weekend.

For Saturday nights dinner i picked up whole grain thin pasta and of course tons of vegetables and going to make a stir fry!!

So far what i like about this life style change is the planning and creative thinking of what we are going to eat next. I also like the fact that i am paying more attention to food labels...wow once you do that you will be like what the hec is that word, also notice all the artificial flavouring when it states pure on the outside of the bottle...hmmmm that's kinda weird...

Well off we go for our girlie retreat, here of the picture of the naan pizza and link!!



http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=80

Detoxing

What I have decided to do this week is to only eat fruit and vegetables to clean out my system of all the toxins and hoping it will help replenish my body and get used to not eating any meat...this is what i am hoping it will do *keeping fingers crossed.

I also picked up some whole wheat bread and will be starting B12 vitamins. For snacks i picked up assortments of nuts and pumpkin seeds. I also read the benefits of adding lemon to water, so i picked up some fresh lemons too! I have posted a internet link regarding the benefits of lemons added to water below this post.

I have been discussing my findings with my neighbor, she too used to be a vegatarian but went back to eating meat a few years ago. She was listening to what I had to say about the book and said. "Laurie, let's do this together"

Off we went to the fruit market (asian grocery store) they have a great selection of exotic fruits and at great prices!!

Came home and tried my friends juicer...my findings...juicer machines take alot of fruit to make 1 glass of juice!! I may just do that once in a while as I found 1 glass of juice cost approximately $4-5 and the glass was small.

I may stick with my smoothie machine as I can add frozen yogurt and an assortment of fruits, add in some flax seeds and that will be a refreshing drink.

Tommorrow i am leaving for a girls cottage get away...have my bags of fruit/vegies ready and will be a true test of smelling the bbq cooking up steaks, chicken and smelling bacon in the morning, but i am determined to keep my fruit/vegie regiment till next Wednesday then will try tofu, my next experiment!!

Will be back in a few days to journal how my weekend went :)

http://www.lookgreat-loseweight-savemoney.com/lemon-water.html

Research, research, research....

After finishing the book i then turned to the internet finding ways to ensure that the foods i am giving up i will be able to find in other forms.

I google everything, i can have a friend on the phone asking a question and i say wait one sec let me google it. So i'm pretty savy when it comes to finding out information and this topic i had to find out as much as i could.

WOW! Everything you need to know about vegetarian recipes, tips, ideas is all on here! I will be sharing along the way of some good finds, for sure!

As i posted on my personal Facebook page I found alot of my friends are vegatarians and didn't even know it! We were able to share ideas, recipes, tips via social networking. I also found that I did not want to keep posting my daily info on FB as I didn't want people to think that I was trying to push or preach my new lifestyle so this is why i created a blog.

How it all started...

Approximately 3 years ago my now 17 year old daughter had to pick a non profit organization to study. She choose "Peta". She watched all the videos, research and came downstairs to me and said. "Mom, I am no longer eating meat" At that time she was 14 years old. I was devastated, she is so young and still growing I thought she had made the worst decision in her life.

I took her to our family doctor and said "Talk to her, tell her she needs meat"!! Our family doctor was on my daughters side and said as long as she is getting her protein from other foods and takes B12 she will grow into a perfect young lady. I was so upset, how can our doctor tell her that it's ok, their are so many vitamins and nutrients that are in our meat, chicken and fish. As time passed, I stood by her decision as best as i could, by adjusting our food preperations and purchasing vegetarian burgers when we went to other peoples homes for bbq's and dinners.

3 years have passed and our family still ate meat, fish, chicken everyday. Our daughter still continued to be vegatarian and kept telling me. "Mom do you realize what you are putting in your body and your sons body"? I tuned her out..."I LOVE my meat and you are not changing my mind" I told her.

A few days ago, July 3rd, 2010 she gave me a book to read "Skinny Bitch" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnonouin (bought at chapters). Since it was 100F outside, I sat in my bedroom with the airconditioner on me and read and read and read. Within 2 days I finished the book..went downstairs and stated to the family. "I am becoming a vegatarian"!!!

This is where my journey begins....