Ultra-Mind Solution Week #4

We have now completed the fourth week of the Ultra-Mind Solution. The diet portion is working really well. Michael and I are satisfied most days and he has lost 10 pounds. He is living proof what I have thought many times, that if we were to give up eating white things (bread, sugar, potatoes, rice) many of us could eat what we wanted without being overweight. I know that is an over-simplification but it is a good way to start at least looking at what you eat if for no other reason than to be able to decrease the size of your wardrobe by not needing multiple sizes.

One of the keys I have found over the last two weeks in particular is to have sufficient portable foods. I worked outside of our home for twenty hours for each of the last two weeks for the first time in over a year. In fact it was a year ago February that Michael had his colon removal surgery. Additionally it takes at least thirty minutes to drive to the nearest big city, if you can call Placerville or Auburn a big city, so grocery shopping can turn into a three hour excursion which means that at least one of us is going to get hungry and it’s usually me.

Although I fudged on the ‘mindful’ eating aspects of the program by drinking a home-made protein shake on the drive to work it did keep me away from my once familiar daily fast-food drive thru’s (can you say high fat and refined carbs). I now have this canvas bag that I carry with me whenever I leave the house. I check it before I leave and make sure that it has sufficient snacks and water. Lately I take things like: roasted nuts, raw seed and nut mixes, dried fruit, kale chips, apples, pears, and Michaels new favorite: Ultra-Mind Nut Bars or energy squares. You can make a meal out of this stuff and even though we make our own kale chips and Nut Bars you can buy them at the natural food stores. If you are really pressed for time and always need to grab something as you run out the door, try keeping a box of nut bars on your shelf. Not granola bars which are mostly sugar and carbs, think nuts and seeds for protein. I like Kind Bars and Trio Bars the best but because we are sugar free right now, even those won’t work for us.

Here are a couple of pictures of what we have been eating.

Coconut Curried Yellow Dal.

Raw Cashew Garlic Pesto Cheez on Flax Crackers. 

Now this recipe is not from the Ultra-Mind Solution but came to me by way of Joy Houston.  If you have ever been curious about a raw foods diet she has an awesome way to get you started.  She has a 14-day diet plan including shopping lists and full directions. Check it out at www.RockingBodyRawFood.com.

Tofu marinated with herbs and balsamic, sautéed chard with shallots, with

 butternut squash and pomegranate risotto.  

The risotto isn't from the Ultra-Mind Program either but a recipe I found and used at Thanksgiving and it is one of my new favorites.

I am so thankful for all the new recipes I have found this last year.  I love to eat and learning to eat gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, and food-sensitivity-free has been a real challenge.  The search was worth it as I can now say I no longer cringe when thinking about what I am going to eat at my next meal.  Now it is like, "Oh Boy! Is it time for lunch yet?"