Life Happens

Shoebox Flatbread rising (recipe from momonamission.me)
Homemade pizzas with the marinara and naan that I made today
Fresh basil for the marinara
A 6lb can of tomatoes from Sams! Great deal!!

I apologize that it has been almost a week since I've posted. One of my husband's pet peeves is when someone starts a blog only to post for about a week and then stops. I'm going to try hard not to be one of those people! However, as the title of this blog says, life happens and often very unexpectedly.

Last weekend my parents came to visit and we had a great time! I love having my family in town! They left Monday morning to head back to SC and David went to work. I enjoyed an afternoon of resting and cleaning with the kids. Early Tuesday morning (around 5 I think) as I was feeding Lily, I asked the Lord to help us all sleep late if that would honor Him because I was SO tired from the weekend (and from 4 months without a full night's sleep). At 9:00, much to my delight, Micah woke up. Yes!! We all slept late! BUT. . . Micah woke up in an almost panicky state. I ran in to find that he had thrown up in the night sometime and it was all over his pj's, the sheets, his pillow, and his hair!

So, for the last 4 days we have been dealing with the stomach bug in our house! Micah didn't really eat much of anything for 4 days, I fought off nausea and weakness Wednesday and Thursday, and David woke up throwing up early Friday morning.

That being said, we have been in survival mode here in the McWhite residence! Even in the midst of illness, I have been amazed at how God has given me grace to sustain me. I always feared Micah getting his first stomach bug because I wasn't sure how I would handle the throw up with my weak stomach. God was so gracious to help me focus on being a mommy and caregiver and to be able to stomach it! He has also been at work in my heart giving me a vision of what a godly mother looks like. I was so blessed by Lysa Terkeurst's testimony on the Focus on the Family's daily broadcast this week. (You can listen to the broadcast on their website.) She so powerfully reminded me that we need to let God write our motherhood story instead of trying to plan out our lives, our children (how many, how often, biological, adopted, etc), and our home based on our own desires. Good stuff!

The survival mode and family in town kind of shook up our eating habits. We have tried to stick to very bland fruits and carbs this week just so that we could keep food down! When my family was in town we ate out a couple of times but we also made homemade vegetable soup that was so yummy! A good, go-to, easy, vegan supper I discovered this week was veggie burgers, salad, and baked sweet potato fries. It was fast, easy, and very little clean up! We chose the Morning Star brand of veggie burgers. I don't want to eat too many meat substitutes, but it's a great option every now and then! We also enjoyed a simple Asian veggie stir fry with rice. Another easy go-to meal for us! One thing I learned this week in regards to our eating habits is that you have to be flexible! If you have a couple meals that aren't the healthiest, or if your family is sick and you have to eat crackers and drink Ginger Ale for a couple of days, or if it's a crazy time of the month and you could really use one brownie, or if things are tight financially at the end of a pay period and you can't afford the highest quality organic food don't let it discourage you from the overarching goal of having a more healthy lifestyle!

Today I have been busy in the kitchen making homemade crock-pot marinara (great for pasta, veggies, pita pizzas, and much more!) and a homemade dough that can be used for everything from Naan to cinnamon rolls. I found both recipes from a GREAT website--momonamission.me. This sweet Christian mom has perfected the art of bulk cooking/freezer cooking in order to provide quick, healthy, wholesome, preservative free meals for her family. Definitely check it out!!

On to another week . . .

Last week was very special for us as David and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. I have been so blessed to spend the last 4 years married to such an amazing, hard-working, loving, hilarious, selfless man! We went to Wild Wings and Cold Stone to celebrate. So yes, we did not eat vegan to say the least! It was a very delicious cheat night and a lot of fun!

Like I've said before, it's all about moderation! We have had some dairy over the last few days and I did have some red meat, but we are eating about 80% less meat than we used to if I had to guess. We are also discovering some new, very yummy, nutritious meals! I made some tasty vegetable soup last night for dinner using vegetable broth instead of my usual beef broth. I also found some good recipes for the next couple of weeks from onceamonthmom.com! I definitely recommend this website!

I have been blessed to have my family here visiting with us this weekend! I always love to share our life here in NC with my family. I also enjoy a little bit of extra rest = ) My sweet family has been getting up with Micah in the morning so David and I can sleep in a little and they watched the kids this afternoon while I napped! The Lord has been so gracious to me in giving me loving, godly parents and a great sister! Oh, I introduced my family to dark chocolate almond milk this weekend to their delight = )

Photos of Our Meals

Here are pictures from some of the meals we've eaten. We took these with our phones, so none of them are great, but they'll give you a good idea of what our meals have looked like lately.

Some of our healthy purchases from Sam's. From left to right: pumpkin flax granola, dried blueberries, Kashi Mushroom Trio & Spinach pizzas (top), multi-grain crackers, & fresh salsa.

A cutting board full of fresh ingredients for lentil soup.

Our veggie & brown rice dinner.

Bean burritos on whole-wheat & corn tortillas (Artisan-style, by Mission), topped with steamed corn, sauteed peppers & onions, fresh salsa, & avocado. These are one of David's favorites!

Day 7 of New Eating Habits

This morning I was finally able to go to my first MOPS meeting thanks to my sweet husband who watched the kids! I went into pre-term labor with Lily about the time MOPS started up in the fall and was unable to attend last semester. I am able to go now because David can stay home with the kids on the Wednesday's that we meet. Lily isn't quite at a point to be in public or among other babies or children because of flu season, which is why David graciously watched them today! What a blessing to be encouraged in my walk with the Lord, to be challenged to be a better mommy, and to enjoy some adult interaction = )

My breakfast was provided by MOPS and, I won't lie, it wasn't the healthiest choices I've made this week but it was very yummy!

For lunch I had leftover black bean soup, Micah had a whole wheat tortilla with hummus, and David fixed his own version of stir-fried vegetables and rice with Chinese brown sauce. He is so creative and talented in the kitchen! I am blessed = )

For dinner I made Eggplant Parmesan over whole grain pasta. My sweet husband took a picture of our meal! I hope to post some more pictures that I've taken over the last week sometime soon!

Photo by David McWhite

Days 5 and 6 of New Eating Habits

For those of you who have actually been reading this blog and care, I apologize that I am just now posting about days 5-7. They have been some very busy, tiring days and this is the first chance I've had to sit at the computer and write!

Some thoughts I've had over the past couple of days: this type of eating requires a lot of cooking (which means a lot of dishes too), the longer you go without meat and the more creative you are with your meals the easier this gets, and if you fall short for one meal or even one day don't give up!! It takes time to adjust, and even if we never go completely vegan we are eating SO much better because we are limiting meat and animal products and we are eating a LOT more fruits, veggies, and whole grains!

I'm going to change the format for our meals a little because to be honest, I don't remember every little detail of the last two days = )

Our meals consisted of:

*black bean soup (Thanks to Bridget Lane!! It was delicious!!!)

*Asian stir-fried vegetables over noodles

*Vegan waffles with scrambled eggs and turkey bacon (this was one of our 1-2 meals this week with meat/dairy)

*whole wheat blueberry muffins, whole grain cereals, fresh fruits, lots of avocados, leftovers from past meals, and black bean brownies

Yes, I ate a brownie! It wasn't completely vegan but you can make it that way by making the brownie mix from scratch. I simply bought a box mix for dark chocolate brownies and added pureed black beans with a little bit of water. I rinsed and drained the beans and then added enough water to make it a smooth, slightly "liquidy" consistency.

Here is the link for the vegan waffles recipe: http://www.grouprecipes.com/21727/easy-vegan-waffles.html

Here is Bridget's recipe for black bean soup too!

2tbsp. olive oil, small yellow onion chopped (i pulverize mine), two cloves of garlic, minced, 2 cans or 1 box of chicken stock (or veggie stock), 1 can rotel (mild for kiddos), cup and half of match stick carrots, cup frozen corn, 3 cans black beans, 2tbsp itallian seasoning, s&p to taste. Saute onion and garlic in oil over low heat until tender, add corn and carrots heat until tender, add stock, beans, rotel, and season. simmer for as long as you have.

As I mentioned before, the recipe for the muffins is in the Forks Over Knives book.

Day 4 of New Eating Habits

So I think I've decided to only blog our every meal for the first week. It gets a little tedious but I really enjoy doing it, especially if it encourages someone else who is trying to eat healthier! I want to reemphasize that our daily prayer is that this new way of life would not become an idol--something that we constantly think about or put above the Lord and our devotion to Him--but be a way for us to serve him better with healthier bodies and be good stewards as we teach our children how to eat.

One word of wisdom that I was thinking about today, if you are going to try to switch your diet to healthier foods, whatever that may be, you need to plan ahead!! Fill your home with healthy snack and meal options, try to plan your meals in advance, and even cook ahead if you can. For example, Sundays are CRAZY for us with David helping in the praise band, working in the afternoon, and trying to get ready on time, so I made refried beans and cut up the peppers and onions last night to save time today. This made it much easier to stick to our healthy, vegetarian meal.

Most of our meals are vegan, but we do have some that are vegetarian too. The whole point is to eat lots more fruits, veggies, and whole grains so either way we are getting more of these!

*Breakfast

-Total Whole Grain Cereal mixed with some pumpkin flax granola and fresh strawberries and blueberries

*Snack

-Micah ate humus and whole grain crackers (his favorite! = )

-banana

*Lunch

-Bean burritos with whole wheat and corn tortillas, sauteed peppers and onions, corn, avocado, fresh salsa, and a little sprinkle of cheese (the only thing making this meal not vegan =)

*Dinner

-Green beans, carrots, brown rice, and black eyed peas (a quick, easy, healthy veggie meal!)

*Snack

-Whole wheat blueberry muffin

Day 3 of New Eating Habits

Well, it's already 10 pm and I'm very tired so I'm going to make this short and sweet. David works a lot on Sat, Sun, and Mon so we ate some leftovers and a variety of different snacks between the three of us.

*Breakfast

-whole wheat blueberry muffins with almond milk to drink

(Micah ate carrots and humus = )

*Lunch

-lentil soup (http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2006issue2/vj2006issue2mealplans.htm#three) with whole wheat garlic toast (you can use olive oil or vegan "butter" spread for this)

*Dinner

-Kashi mushroom and spinach whole grain pizza and baked sweet potato fries

(I do two variations of the fries: one with olive oil, salt, and pepper and another with 100% pure maple syrup and cinnamon. One trick to make them crispier is to let the baking sheet sit in the heated oven for 10 minutes before you put the potatoes on them!)

For snacks today we ate granola, fruit, whole grain crackers, salsa, and the leftover muffins. Like I said, we all kind of did our own thing today when it came to snacks = )

A little word of encouragement for kids. We have been praising Micah with cheers and dances and whatever else it takes when he eats these newer, more healthy foods. You would have thought we had won a jackpot today when I was praising Micah for eating some lentil soup = ) It really makes a difference for him! We also bribe him with his favorite fruits and veggies, so either way he's eating healthy!

One last confession. David and I did eat a small amount of ice cream this afternoon. It's another one of those foods that David had just bought before we cracked down and we don't want it to go to waste = ) We've also decided to allow ourselves 1 or 2 meals a week with meat. However, we're still going to try to make that meat as lean as possible.

Day 2 of New Eating Habits

*Breakfast

-whole oat blueberry muffins with a little bit of vegan "butter" spread and homemade apple butter, fresh strawberries and banana, milk, and coffee

(A little explanation for breakfast: the recipe for the muffins came from the Forks over Knives book and called for whole oat flour, but I was unable to find it at the regular grocery store so I substituted whole wheat flour. I was also unable to find sweet potato puree so I made my own! We did drink a little cow's milk this morning because the grocery store was completely out of almond milk yesterday. I'm headed back today in hopes that they have restocked! = ) 'Tis life! Oh, and the vegan spread came from Trader Joe's and it's really yummy! It's all natural, Non-GMO (genetically modified organisms), non-dairy, and is an excellent source of ALA Omega-3. It's good to cook with too! I am still going to drink one cup of coffee, half decaf/half regular, each day but be sure to drink even more water since the caffeine dehydrates my body.)

*Snack

-Micah snacked on some blueberries

*Lunch

-Pasta with greens (and a tiny sprinkle of cheese to attract Micah = ) and a kiwi

(The recipe for the pasta also came from Forks Over Knives and was super easy! It is just any type of whole grain pasta, pasta sauce, kale, zucchini and mushrooms. You dry fry (which simply means use a non-stick pan and no oil) the zucchini and mushrooms (which smelled AMAZING as I was cooking it!) and cook the kale with the noodles during the last 3 minutes of cooking time. I must admit I was craving something sweet when I finished so I opted for a Clif Kids fruit rope that is organic, all-natural, and equals one serving of fruit! I bought the fruit rope, Bertolli organic pasta sauce, kiwi, and fresh strawberries at Sams Club for a really great price!!)

*Snack

-Peanut butter and honey sandwich on wheat bread

-(Micah had whole grain crackers and humus = )

*Dinner

-Asian stir fry with zucchini, onion, squash, and chicken and brown rice

I want to add that I had just made a normal weekly grocery run before we decided to change our eating habits, so in order to not be wasteful we are eating the chicken, cow's milk, and white pasta that we already had. Like I mentioned yesterday, we are easing into this lifestyle so that it lasts! = )

David and I enjoyed a wonderful date night at the movies tonight thanks to David and Amy Eill who so graciously watched our kids! I think it's been about 4 months since our last date. I told you I was going to be transparent so I have to confess that we split popcorn and I took an all-natural organic chocolate chip cookie with me. Considering we go to the movies about twice a year at most and movie popcorn is such a treat for David, we decided to buy some. One different thing we did was chunk the leftovers so that we are not tempted at home to eat it again later!

Well, another day of our new eating habits has concluded and I feel pretty good about the day's choices. I was pretty tempted by the smells of hamburgers in the movie theater parking lot but I just kept reminding myself of why I'm eating healthy. It's to honor God with my body and set a good example for my children. That keeps me motivated!

Day 1 of New Eating Habits

Day 1 (Well, our first official day that I have recorded = )

*Breakfast

-pumkin flax granola with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, fresh strawberries, and dried blueberries

*Snack

-Clif Kid Organic fruit rope (from Sam's!!)

*Lunch

-Kashi Whole Grain Spinach and Mushroom pizza (from Sam's!!)

*Snack

-whole grain crackers with hummus or fresh salsa

*Dinner

-Grilled chicken breast with roasted brussel sprouts and baked sweet potato fries

*Snack (Yes, I had to have another snack after dinner! I am nursing Lily and she has been eating like crazy this week which has made me extra hungry! = )

-another bowl of pumpkin flax granola with fresh fruit and almond milk and carrots with humus

Micah really enjoyed eating lots of fresh fruit throughout the day and he liked the pizza and the sweet potato fries! We are slowly getting him used to the almond milk by mixing half of his regular cow's milk with it or by adding a little bit of chocolate syrup to the almond milk.

We are also trying to drink lots of water and very little to no soft drinks or sweet tea, although I do confess I may have to have an occasional glass of sweet tea = )

I just finished baking some muffins for breakfast and they are delicious! I had to sneak a bite = ) They are vegan whole oat blueberry muffins. The recipe came from the Forks over Knives book.

The Journey to Healthy Eating Begins!

It may seem kind of nerdy to make my first post on our blog about food, but I thought it would be helpful for others to read. Several times in our marriage David and I have talked about how we wanted to eat healthier and we would make a few changes but then eventually revert back to our old habits.

Earlier this week we were perusing Netflix and came across a documentary entitled "Food Matters." We decided it looked interesting enough so we watched it. Afterwards we both looked at each other and said "Ok, what do we do about this." The documentary talked about how disease and sickness are so rampant in our country because our bodies are so depleted of nutrients. Many recent studies have found that by switching to a whole foods, fruit, and vegetable diet we can reverse many of the common illnesses in our nation. Even cancer!! God created our bodies to work best when they have adequate vitamins and minerals and are not being filled with junk!

The next night we watched "Forks over Knives." This is another documentary about the health benefits of eating only whole foods/grains, fruits, and vegetables. I recommend watching this documentary first! The documentary was very informative and not too "extremist" for me. The two main doctors that narrate this film have done extensive research for many many years on how meat and animal products are linked to negative health problems including cancer. They have also cured numerous patients of diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer by simply switching them to this kind of diet. AND these doctors both grew up on dairy farms eating lots of meat and drinking lots of cows' milk! Go figure!

My first thought after watching both of these documentaries was "What am I feeding my children? Am I harming them by what I'm giving them?" David and I both felt strongly that eating healthy needs to be a priority for our families because God has called us to honor Him with our bodies and they are a temple where He abides through His Holy Spirit. We need to be good stewards of our bodies that ultimately belong to Him! I also want to give my children every possible opportunity to live a healthy life!

I am very much a beginner at vegetarian and vegan cooking and eating so I decided to post our meals, recipe ideas, reactions, likes/dislikes, and successes and failures. Since David and I have both eaten meat and dairy products our entire lives we are going to ease into this new lifestyle. We have also agreed that we don't mind occasionally cooking with eggs or cheese in small portions and that when we go over to friends and families' homes or have people over we are not going to make a big deal about no meat and dairy. We don't want our new way of eating to become an idol or a stumbling block. Fellowship with others is more important than having a meal with no meat or animal products!

Now you may be asking some of the same questions that I initially did like "How will we get enough calcium and protein? Will this diet cost a lot of money?" Two quick answers that I've discovered: 1. When you are not buying meat and cheese and milk you have more money to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables! 2. Almond milk (which we all like the best!) has 50% more calcium than cow's milk and without the unnecessary hormones/steroids and there are a wide variety of grains (granola, oatmeal, etc), beans, and nuts with lots of protein.