Love and lupus

It can be very hard to open up to someone and tell him or her about your past. It can be even more difficult when there is a terminal illness in the mix. No matter how content you maybe with yourself, it can be very difficult to open up about a disease.

Dating for me as been ummmm a challenge. I took myself out the game for a minute to get to know me a little better. I needed to understand more about how I was feeling and the emotions I dealt with on a daily basis. I can officially say I’m ready to open up again. This time off I have learned a few tips that just about everyone can benefit from.

Just be honest: Any relationship you enter, the foundation must be honesty. Be honest about your intention with that person, issues, and past experiences. No I’m not saying let it all out on the first date but there needs to be some communication on the front end.

Open communication: No one can know how you’re feeling if you don’t say anything. I’ve learned this even with my Lupus. It’s important to be open and honest about your situation with any potential partner. There are days I can feel like crap (not look like it) and won’t say a word about it. The only way to get help is if you ask. “Have not, because you ask not.” Always stay open about how you’re feeling and thinking. It will make life so much easier.

Be patient: Give yourself and your date time to process all that’s taking place. Of course there is going to be a little hesitation in the beginning because there aren’t too many people that know anything about lupus. Explain in detail and let the rest happen in it’s own time. Remember the more questions, the better (it means they are interested).

Fear and anxiety are understandable; just don’t allow it to control you. Also don’t allow your insecurities to settle just because you’re tired of being single. Live, Love, Laugh 🙂

Health benefits of peaches

One of the main reasons I love the summer time is for the amazing juicy fruits like peaches. Not only do they taste amazing, but there are so many great benefits to them. There is a long list but here a just a few.

 

Weight Control
One large peach, about 2 3/4 inches in diameter, contains just 68 calories and no fat. Eating peaches instead of more fattening, processed snacks, such as chips, baked goods, cereal bars and cookies, can help you manage your weight. Peaches are naturally sweet and can replace some of the added sugars in your diet.

Vitamins

Peaches contain 10 different vitamins. Peaches contain vitamin A, important to healthy vision, vitamin C, an antioxidant and tissue-builder. Peaches provide lower levels of vitamins E and K. Vitamin E is another antioxidant, while vitamin K is essential to your body’s blood clotting capabilities. Peaches are also a source of thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, niacin, folate and pantothenic acid

Minerals

A peach provides potassium, which can help you maintain healthy blood pressure as well as prevent kidney stones and bone loss. Peaches provide some magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, manganese, iron and calcium as well. These minerals work to support red blood cell, bone and nervous system health.

Antioxidants

One of the major antioxidants in peaches, chlorogenic acid, helps scavenge free radicals — compounds that your body acquires through exposure to pollutants, food and the environment — to reduce the effects of aging and deter chronic diseases. This antioxidant may also help ward off cancer and reduce body

Fiber

A large peach provides 17 g of carbohydrates, 3 g of which come from fiber. Fiber is essential to smooth and healthy digestion, preventing constipation and ensuring digestive health. Fiber may also play a role in regulating your cholesterol levels, helping to reduce your risk of developing heart disease. An adult woman should try to consume 25 g of fiber daily, and an adult man 38 g daily.

Peaches are a lot of great source of zinc, which has anti-aging properties. The consumption of zinc-rich foods such as peaches promotes the production of antibodies and inhibits the cellular damage caused by toxins. Peaches also interferes with the aging process of male reproductive organs by boosting the levels of the reproductive hormone testosterone in the body.

So next time you’re out grocery shopping, be sure to pick up a bag of peaches for yourself.

Udemy Coupon Code

Hey Peeps

 

I have made available until Tuesday April 12, a coupon for my “How to maintain and succeed with a plant-based diet” on udemy. The Code ID is VEGAN10. Be sure to check it out while the price is good.

 

Spread the love 🙂

https://www.udemy.com/how-to-maintain-and-succeed-with-a-plant-based-diet/?couponCode=VEGAN10

Mental health and Lupus

To date, this was the most difficult post for me. Within the last three years, I just got to the point where I was comfortable enough to even talk about the fact that I’d been battling lupus for the last 15 or so years. This is the first time that I’m publicly revealing that I suffered with depression, suicide attempts, emotional eating, and alcohol abuse. My early 20s were a mess, and sometimes it showed. I didn’t know if I was coming or going half the time.

Living with Lupus was a hard battle to fight, but the internal battle I faced everyday was even harder. The physical pain I felt had me wanting to give up on life all together. There was always a small still voice inside of me that begged me not to give up. So I fought as hard as i could. With much prayer, self-love, and meditation, I eventually got to the point where I loved me again. In the video below, I share in more detail how I felt back then and the steps I took to get over it all.

I made some very difficult yet long last changes in my life. I created a daily routine that shifted me to the place I am today. I’ve grown physically, mentally, and spiritually over these last 5 years. Each day is still a learning process for me. I’m still learning about me and what I love. Throughout this journey I’ve found a few things that have helped me along this path. A few books that I absolutely love are

Power of Positive thinking
As a man thinketh
Think and grow rich
By any greens necessary
These are just a few of the books that have helped me to grow stronger, along with spiritual counseling, and a strong support system. No one can do this alone, be sure to surround yourself with people you trust, and people who will speak light into your dark situation.

Be sure to check out my video below. LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT

Udemy course

Im so excited to announce my brand new Udemy course, “How to maintain and succeed with a plant-based diet.” I get questions all the time about how was I able to make the switch and the steps I took. In this course I share personal tips of mine that I’ve used for the last 3 years. The information is very simple and can be incorporated immediately. I hope you find this information helpful, and look forward to working with you soon. 🙂

Here is the link:

Two Years Later (Life as a Vegan, June 2015)

TWO YEARS!! I can’t believe it’s been that long since I’ve eaten any dairy. It’s been even longer since I’ve had a piece of meat. These last two years have taught me a few very valuable lessons. I’ve noticed that I’ve grown to become stronger and more energized. Not only has it changed my outlook on food but life in general. Here are a few of them.
1. Patience – When I first started the journey, there were instant changes. I was so excited! About 8 months in, my body started to fight back. As it was saying, “Girl we didn’t ask for this.” One month I would feel like a million bucks. The next month it felt like I was making the wrong decision. Regardless to what I felt, I stuck with it. I knew that temporary discomfort couldn’t compare to the overall benefits I would receive. I recreated meals that I enjoyed so they would fit into my new vegan lifestyle. I learned to slow down and listen to my body.
2. Endurance – There were absolutely days I really wanted to give up and bite into a fish sandwich. Early on I would wake up with cravings, and despite anything I did it would not go away. I continuously found myself wanting to quit. I had to remind myself why I started this journey. I began to remember the nights in the hospital, the pain of drawing blood, and all that money I spent on co-pays and medication. I refused to go back to that, no matter how hard it was.
3. Acceptance – the hardest part about this entire journey was getting use to EVERYONE questioning my decision. I felt attacked; no one seemed to understand my reasons and thought I was just crazy. Even today, there are still family members and total strangers that try to teach me what the proper diet is for me. Instead of defending myself, I just allow my health and progress speak for itself.
4. Creativity- not to brag but my cooking skills have gotten even better. flips hair
Learning about new foods and spices and combining them in dishes have really expanded my taste buds. Dishes that I enjoyed in the past that consisted of dairy or meat, I’ve recreated to fit my new lifestyle. Foods that I would have never considered in the past are now my favorites.
I find myself even now growing and changing each and everyday. There are foods I knew nothing about that I love. Also I’ve adopted something I call “90% raw vegan meal a day.” Basically I eat an uncooked (raw) vegan meal majority of the day and one cooked vegan meal. Doing this my body is taking in more nutrients and getting everything I need to stay healthy.

I’m so excited to share my progress over the next few years as well as share a few of my favorite recipes. cookbook coming in the near future

Resolutions

First I would like to start off by saying, THANK YOU.
To everyone that has taken the time to read my post, I REALLY appreciate you.
I never thought I would be doing anything like this, I am truly grateful for the support.
GREAT things are coming in the near future 🙂

I’m sure many of you have already started things of things that you want to improve on for the new year. I know for me, I’m working on writing more and working towards expanding my audience. I want to reach more people with my message about my vegan eating and putting out more info on Lupus.
The most common resolution has to be weight loss and fitness. Well, I think I can help in this area. If you haven’t heard, Urban Remedy is a great company that caters to organic, holistic eating. They provide many guidelines on juicing, vegan, and organic eating.
So if diet is one of your resolutions, check out the links below. I’m sure you’ll enjoy.
Be on the look out this upcoming year, I have a lot of projects that I am excited to start implementing 🙂

Urban Remedy LLC

food substitute

So if you really know me, you know I LOVE to eat. A few of my favorite dishes are made with rice, noodles, and pasta. With that I have to be mindful of how much of those items I consume because those foods are heavy in unhealthy starch. Starchy foods aide in inflammation, joint pain, and weight gain. So of course I had to come up with an alternative because I just couldn’t see myself not eating pasta anymore. I was reading a recipe one day that required rice but it wasn’t used. Instead the recipe used cauliflower instead. Lets just say I tried it, and loved it. All you need is a good knife to get the cauliflower fine like rice would be. It’s a little bit fluffier than rice but still just as good. Add a little salt for taste and you’re good to go.
Cauliflower is low in calories and high in nutrients. Here are a few benefits of eating cauliflower.
1. Antioxidant
Cauliflower is a very good source of vitamin C and manganese, which are both powerful antioxidants. With these antioxidants, you can be certain that eating cauliflower regularly will help protect you from free radical damage and reduce your risk for diseases caused by oxidative stress, such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
2. Anti-Inflammation
Cauliflower also contains high amounts of vitamin K and omega-3 fatty acids, which help decrease inflammation. Potentially, regular cauliflower consumption can help decrease the risk of inflammation-mediated diseases such as arthritis, obesity, diabetes mellitus, inflammatory bowel disease.
3. Cardiovascular
By decreasing chronic inflammation, cauliflower is able to maintain the patency of the blood vessels and keeps excellent blood flow to essential organs of the body.
4. Digestive
A cup of boiled cauliflower delivers about 3.35 g of dietary fiber, which helps clean your digestive system and gets rid of unnecessary substances.
5. Nutritional
Cauliflower also contains vitamins B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine) and B9 (folic acid). It serves as a good source of proteins, phosphorus and potassium.
If cauliflower is still not your thing, try wild rice and black noodles. Both every tasty but still needs to be consumed sparingly. Try it out, you may just add another favorite to your meals. 🙂
What are some food substitutes that you use. Share 🙂

Taste The Rainbow

Ok, honesty time. So when I first decided to go vegan I didn’t know what I was doing. It was really hard for me because cheese and fish were the hardest foods for me to give up (I still kind of miss ice cream). As I started to do more research, I learned that eating a wide variety of colorful foods were all I needed in order to get the daily amount of nutrients into my body and to satisfy my cravings.

Since I have Lupus, I’ve always been concerned whether or not I was getting enough nutrients. Protein is one of the main concerns I had about switching to a vegan lifestyle. Once symptoms were eliminated, I knew then there was no need for those concerns. The difference in my skin, and overall health is very noticeable. AND I LOVED IT!!!

One thing I started doing more of was picking colorful peppers to cook with instead of just the green bell pepper. The red, orange, and yellow peppers are high in vitamins A, B6, C, and potassium. All these are very helpful factors to keeping Lupus symptoms to a minimum, and reducing medicine intake. Other colors like blue, purple, and deep red are high in antioxidants that aid in good heart health. With Lupus comes, pleurisy (inflammation of the heart and lungs) so eating plenty blueberries, red peppers, etc. will assist in eliminating those symptoms.

Following the color wheel of food has truly helped me with controlling my Lupus and keeping my weight balanced. Here are a few links that can explain more about “eating the rainbow.” Also two very helpful books By Any Greens Necessary by Tracye McQuieter http://byanygreensnecessary.com, and Food Cures (link below). There are many resources out there but these have really helped, hope you guys enjoy.

Resources:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vegetables-full-story/

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/superfoods/add-more-color-to-your-diet/?page=6

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Cures-Readers-Digest-

http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-report/diet-nutrition/eating-the-rainbow-for-good-nutrition.aspx

Put the table salt down

When it comes to cooking, seasoning is very important. The way you season your food determines how it will turn out. What you season with is also very important. Growing up I loved watching my mom mix stuff together, that’s basically how I learned (and getting on her nerves until she would let me cook with her!). One thing we never used a lot of was salt, mainly due to my lupus. Once I was diagnosed, all of our eating habits changed. Once I moved out on my own I became more aware of what I was putting in my food. I didn’t buy the store brand seasonings filled with bleached salt and other preservatives. I became very careful and started reading all the labels. 

Being the nerd I am, I remembered so much from my science classes and how different minerals helped keep the body functioning. One very important mineral the human body needs is salt. Not the white stuff we find at the grocery store, REAL SALT. The best would be pink salt. Pink salt identified 84 essential minerals required to sustain human life. The reason there are so many people suffering from diseases it because we have chronic mineral deficiencies. Pink salt is the purest and most natural form of salt on earth. It contains less sodium and only requires small doses when using. It helps to balance out water throughout the body (Ladies it helps with water weight during that fun time of the month..ha). Balances pH, lowers blood pressure, removes and dissolves toxins, and helps the intestines absorb nutrients. 

Pink salt is also good for strengthening bones, improving circulation, prevents cramping, and increases hydration. I can be a witness to how much it has helped me over the last three years. When I cook my food, I can tell that I don’t have anymore flairs because there isn’t much sodium that I’m consuming. It has really made a difference in my arthritis and osteoporosis. Exercising is much easier for me and the winter months aren’t as painful either. 

So go throw that table salt away and go buy PINK SALT or any unbleached salt for that matter.