Home Alone!

It's just me at home tonight, Rod is at a Funeral Director's Convention.  That's right, I'm married to a Funeral Director!  So you should see me (Holistic Health Counselor) so you don't have to see him!  Ha Ha!  I have a client call later tonight, so that means I need something quick, healthy, and easy for dinner.  You know what that means, right?

LEFTOVERS!!!

I love leftovers.  A few nights ago I made this Polenta Bean Casserole, and there is always a lot of leftover goodness with this recipe.   I made a huge salad last night, so I'll eat that plus steam some frozen green beans with a sprinkling of Mrs. Dash for a yummy Eat To Live friendly dinner.  All for me!

Here's what it looked like:

That's some Pau D'Arco tea in that Disney mug.  And yes, I ate all that!  Here's the recipe for the Casserole:

Polenta Casserole**

1 Can Black Beans, rinsed well

1 Cup Tomato sauce

1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

3 Tbs. onion, minced

2 tsp. thyme

1 1/2 tsp red wine or balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp tamari

1 tube prepared polenta, grated (use large holed grater)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 cup vegan cheese, (optional

1/2 cups fresh basil or parsley leaves, or chives, chopped for garnish

Preheat oven to 375.  In a bowl, combine beans, tomato sauce, corn, onion, thyme vinegar paprika, oregano, mustard, tamari.  Mix to combine well.  Transfer to a baking dish and distribute evenly.  In a separate bowl, combine polenta 1 Tbs. olive oil and cheese, then sprinkle on top of bean mixture.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, until top is golden and cheese is melted, or a little longer for a crunchier tipping  Place casserole under broiler for 1-2 minutes to melt cheese if needed.  Garnish with sprinkling of herbs if desired. 

**Adapted from a recipe from “Eat, Drink and Be Vegan” by Dreena Burton

My Ongoing Success Story

 I don't want to sear your eyeballs with my "before picture" first, so here is one of my favorite pics of my husband and I.  This was taken after I lost all the weight, the dress I'm wearing is a size 4!

Never in a million years did I think I would ever have a weight problem. I was always the short, scrawny little girl that no one wanted to pick for their team at school. When I graduated from High School many moons ago in 1974, I weighed and impressive 88 pounds. I had to get a waiver for my weight to join the Army!

My weight stayed fairly level all through my 20’s and 30’s. I bounced right back after my daughter was born in 1982. All of this changed when I had my right thyroid removed due to a cyst in 1997. My weight suddenly ballooned and I gained about 40 pounds which was a lot on my small 4’ 11 ½” frame. I was addicted to McDonald’s quarter pounders with cheese and sodas. I ate Payday candy bars like they were going out of style. Even though I had always eaten a lot of junk food such as butterscotch krimpets , chips and cookies everyday for lunch (something everyone teased me about) suddenly everything I ate went to my waist and I was devastated! I was fat, tired and depressed.  The before photo you see here was taken at  my heaviest.  Pretty scary,  huh? 

The day I tried to bed over and tie my shoes and couldn’t reach them was the day I finally realized that something had to change.  I really hate looking at this photo, but here's how I looked at my heaviest:

YIKES!!!!!!

This started a journey of learning about nutrition, exercise and being kinder to myself.  I decided my focus would be on workout Videos and DVD’s, and I’ve amassed quite a collection over the years!  This helps beat the boredom, I always have something new to choose from at home.  I can roll out of bed at 5-am and workout before going to work.   

I worked out consistently for about 5 years using a combination of weights, cardio and T-tapp and then hit a very frustrating 2 year plateau.  It wasn’t until I read Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s Eat to Live book and started eating a more nutrient dense diet that I finally started to lose again.  Now instead of eating crappy fast food I eat a variety of plant based foods that include beans, nuts, seeds, leafy greens and fruits.  Do I feel deprived?  Not a chance!  I”m enjoying what I eat now more than I ever had in the past.  The butterscotch krimpets really don’t appeal to me now. 

Don’t get me wrong, I still have a sweet tooth that I battle every day.  But now I have the tools to fight the cravings I get.  Sometimes the cravings win and sometimes they don’t and if they don’t I know not to beat myself up.  I now know what to do to get back on track and feel happy and energetic! 

I’ve read alot of books on diet, nutrition and exercise and as a Dental Hygienist I love to share what I have learned with my patients.  I felt uncomfortable just sharing what I considered anecdotal information with them and wanted some kind of certification to back up my recommendations.  I enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and graduated in July 2009.  I am now proud to say that not only am I a Registered Dental Hygienist,   but I’m a Certified Holistic Health Counselor with the American Association of Drugless Practitioners!  I’m currently enrolled in IIN’s Immersion program. 

My mom died of cancer when she was 55. She was obese for many of her adult years until the cancer treatments made her lose the weight. I am now 53,  not many years off from her lifespan. That is very scary to me! I do not want to get older only die of some degenerative disease that could have been prevented. I am trying to do all I can to stay active and healthy and diet and exercise is a very big part of that plan and always will be.

I tell this story in hopes of inspiring others to get out there and do the same thing I have done.  Also to point out that changes don’t happen overnight.  I’ve been at this for 12 years and am still learning about nutrition and most importantly about myself.  I dont’ ever see myself changing this! 

I’ll end this post with a little self promotion here,  Please visit my web site at www.happilyhealthynow.com and if you’d like a free health consultation just fill out the form and I’ll be in touch with you.

Please check back often and I’ll be posting more great information about a high nutritiant diet, exercise, recipes and more!

I Graduated!

It's official, I'm finally a Certified Holistic Health Counselor!! I"m so excited, I graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition on Aug 26, 2009. This is a dream that is 5 years in the making. I remember when I first heard about IIN, I thought the program sounded great, but it was expensive and classes were in New York City. I just couldn't figure out how to swing the logistics of actually doing the classes.

So a little background!

I've been dying to go back to school for over 20 years and knew it had to be something nutrition related. I remember my first nutrition class when Iwent to Dental Hygiene school in 1980. I thought it was fascinating and I actually did a related essay about the FDA in my English class that semester. (I wish I had kept that report, I would love to see how my view have changed since then!)

But circumstances never seemed right for me to go back to school, even though I felt I needed to do something.

As I continued working in the dental office, my discussions with my patients turned to nutrition many, many times. I felt strongly that I needed more substantial credentials behind me to back my dietary recommendations!

I got an email from IIN inviting me to go to an open house, the experience was incredible! I decided to enroll for the class and the details somehow fell into place. I’ve met some really wonderful people and have made many new friends. And I have a fun new career to fall back on.

I've been accepted to IIN's second year Immersion program, so the experience continues! I can't wait!

Who is Ardent and What's a Nutritarian???

Good question! Merriam- Webster's definition of ardent is "characterized by warmth of feeling typically expressed in eager zealous support or activity". Nutritarian is a word coined by Dr. Joel Fuhrman to describe his "Eat To Live" way of eating. I believe that ETL is the gold standard of diets!

Sound boring? Well then, I'll take this concept one step further and say that the Ardent Nutritarian is a person who eats a high nutrient diet and has a high nutrient lifestyle. How can you have a High Nutrient Lifestyle? Quite simply by loving and living your life to the fullest.

I'll be going into both of these concepts in more detail in posts to come! I'll also be writing abut my adventures at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City! I'm almost halfway through their Professional Training Program, it has already changed my life and I can't wait to see where this leads.

Thanks for reading; I hope you continue to check back with me!