Struggling and needing help...

[joyfulmomof2]

making the changes I need to in my diet/lifestyle. Can anyone help me with this? I know this is kind of the wimp out way to go about this, but I feel like I need extra help. Here is the situation. I am working almost full time, have a four month old dd and a ds who is potty learning and has been sick this past week. I am eating terribly lately - junk (soda, chocolate, candy, big portions, etc.). I did lose a bunch of weight after dd was born, but will definitely put it back on unless I change my ways. I am also very busy at work with planning a curriculum for the 'kids' in the daycare and feel like the last thing I want to put any effort into working on is the way that I eat. But my desire is to be a vegetarian - if I get that far, I will work toward vegan, but for now, I will be content to be a lacto-ovo vegetarian - baby steps you know. I guess what I need right now is for someone to give me one thing I should give up or change immediately that I don't have to think about in any terms other than will power. Does that make any sense? I feel like I need to just do one step at a time - master it and then add one. But I am not sure what is the most important.

So can someone give me Step #1 so to speak?

Is there anyone else out there who wants to go through these challenges with me?

TIA!

[ShangriLewis]

Pick out some healthy snacks to take with you.

Make a big batch of Vegan cookies and freeze them. Take a frozen one to work with you. I know it's not healthy, but it's healthier than getting a bag of oreo's. So, far my favorite cookies are from Vegan with a Vengeance. You can do the same with muffins. Vegan baking can be really easy and saves a lot of calories. Plus, you can do it on the weekend and freeze enough for a couple of months. How about a bag of pretzels, cut veggies, baked tostitos and bean dip, hummus and flatbread, mini-bagels with tofutti cream cheese....

When I'm gone at school all day I like a variety of tastes. Something crunchy, salty, sweet etc. I really like the mini-baggies. I can divide up a big bag of something into small portions. I usually take 5 or 6 small things instead of one big sandwich and chips. If I have to eat out I go to Subway for a veggie sub. If I feel naughty I get some baked chips.

Occasionally, I will bring a Hansen soda or even better is the sparkling water that contains no sweetners or sugar. I really like the Berry flavor. Make sure you are drinking enough water. In the winter I carry extra tea bags with me. I can always get water at our cafetaria and make some tea.

My school has vending machines and they are so tempting. There are so many calories in those little bags. I carry gum with me, too. I can always chew some gum and sometimes it changes my mind. I always choose mint because I never crave mint. It's such a different taste than other foods.

Would any of these things appeal to you?

[joyfulmomof2]

I knew you would have some great ideas, Heather! :tu Thank you so much. It just seems like for me when I am already in trouble it is hard to see the forrest for the trees? Like with my children - I can often give advice to people about situations that I am not facing myself, but when I am in those same situations, I have no idea what to do suddenly. Do you ever feel that way?

Yes, all of these ideas are great. I will cut up some veggies and make some cookies or muffins for work and freeze them. I often drink tons of water, but then I days where I am dehydrated so I will focus on that too. I think I have only eaten out for lunch a couple of times. I am more likely to grab something on the way to work - like an egg and cheese bagel from our local bagel shop. Usually I have Grape Nuts Trail Mix cereal mixed into Yoplait strawberry yogurt and some orange juice. I was giving my ds a breakfast bar and some juice on the way, but it didn't seem like enough to last the morning for him. He plays hard with all of the kids at work. He likes to drink his juice around 10am - which gives him a little pick-me-up to make it until lunch, but I think he needs protein in the morning. I love strawberry yogurt, but I know that Yoplait has a lot of sugar in it as well as cow's milk. Is the soy yogurt very good? Does it have a lot of sugar too? I have not been able to develop much of a liking for soy milk yet. I am ok with Almond Milk, but it is very strong and is also sweet - that part I like especially in smoothies. And Rice Milk smells very strong to me too. I do not mind the taste as much as soy milk, but I can't stand the smell. All of them are alright in smoothies though. I would like ds and dd to drink something other than regular milk too. Well dd isn't drinking anything but mommy's milk right now, but when she starts I would rather that she drank an alternative to cow's milk. So it would be nice if I could develop a taste for something different. Does that eventually happen?

Here is what prompted this. I have been on this board for 3 1/2 years now and have wanted to become a vegan the entire time. However, my h wanted meat in his meals or cooked meat all of the time. We had very little money and I didn't know how to work it out financially so that he would have meat and ds and I would have something nutritious as well. Now I am living at my parents' home and there are a lot of choices here of food and I can go and pick other things up, but am not sure what to pick up. But everyone here eats meat also except for my ds for the most part. I often make him a cheese quesadilla. I could make the same for myself, but there must be other things to eat. I don't have much of a taste for cream cheese or hummus either. The bean dip idea I do like, though. And I believe we have pretzels and I am sure everyone here would like baked Tostitos. Ok, I am digressing again. Anyway, my mom was talking to my aunt and was telling her about a baseball game we went to recently. I ate a hamburger while I was there. :blush My aunt was shocked. She said 'I thought she was more of a 'purist' than that!' Both of her daughters (my cousins) are vegetarians - possibly vegans and have been for some time. I was always afraid to announce that I was a vegetarian here because I thought my family would scoff, but now I don't think so and if they did, I don't think it would be that big of a deal. I guess what is bad is that I come off that way talking about nursing for 3 years, cloth diapers, homeschooling, etc. But then I eat so terribly. I am really rather embarrassed about this whole things. And I don't really focus too much on what ds is eating either. I am just happy when he eats something! But he has been sick this past week and since I work in a daycare - we all get sick more than I would like. So I should be focusing on what he is eating, what I am eating (especially since I am nursing) and what steps/supplements we are taking to combat illness and boost our immunities much much more than I do. It is just an area that I have not given much weight to - no pun intended. :giggle But jokes aside, it is fast becoming something that is really important to me. I want my children to grown up eating healthy and I feel like I have already ruined that for myself and my ds. Can I really make these huge changes in life - going from being a carnivore to a vegan - and stick with it? I know I do not have to do it all in one day, but I haven't done it at all in 3 1/2 years! And what kind of a mother am I to not focus more on what my ds is eating or what my dd is taking in from my breastmilk?

Anyway, do you see why all of this is so hard and why it is making me so confused? There is so much information and seems like there is so much to do and no time to do it. I think the first step I am going to take is to declare that ds, dd and I are lacto ovo vegetarians and then we will cut out dairy. But first I will cut out meat and try to develop ds's taste for veggies more. Sorry for babbling, but thanks for listening! It felt good to get all of that out!

[Katiebug]

One thing I do that helps more nutritious choices come naturally is avoiding (for the most part) refined carbohyrates. Just whole grains and natural sugars. Whole wheat instead of white pasta, brown rice, honey or mollasses (in moderation) instead of white sugar. It takes the fast food options away pretty quickly and helps regulate your blood sugar so you don't move from one craving to the next. I know for me, especially in the beggining, it helped to have a "rule" to guide me.

So, for example, instead of buying sugary yogurts, I will buy plain, organic yogurt in a tub, put a reasonable portion in a bowl, add maybe 1/2 tsp honey and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and eat it. Takes about 30 seconds longer to prepare, but you're saving yourself a good 20 grams of sugar. You could even add low-sugar fruit preserves to that.

We don't eat pretzles or potato chips, but we do eat organic corn chips sometimes...with fresh salsa and homemade guacamole :grin

Don't drink soda. Like almost never. Either water, sparkling water, soy milk or 100% juice. :tu

A few ideas my kids like to eat....

Whole wheat pitas and hummous
Hardboiled or scrambled eggs, with or without cheese
Homemade whole wheat waffles w/ blueberries and flax seeds (you can make a big batch and freeze them)
Guacamole and chips or raw veggies
Fruit kababs...fresh cut fruit on a stick, with yogurt for dipping
Grilled cheese sandwiches on whole grain bread.
Brown rice, black beans and salsa in a bowl
Almond butter spread on a tortilla, mashed banana on top, rolled up
Tofu cooked in soy sauce, cut into cubes
Homemade granola bars w/ seeds/dried fruit
Oatmeal w/ applesauce
Fried apples and cinnamon
Steamed zucchini
Black olives
Homemade whole wheat pizza w/ roasted veggies///zucchini, bell peppers, eggplant
Cucumber cut into sticks w/ a yogurt/sour cream dip
Sweet potato fries
Whole wheat pasta w/ tomato based sauces
Garden Burgers

Hope that gave you a few idea......

[joyfulmomof2]

Yes, those are great ideas, Katie! Thanks! :tu I am definitely a rule person. I like a checklist actually. Then I can see my progress. So I will try to create one from what you have both said.

What if I have a problem with plain yogurt? Should I try the soy strawberry yogurt or is it no different in sugar content than the Yoplait?

[Punkie]

OK, I have only read the first two chapters, and it contains a LOT of bad language, but there's a book out called skinny female dog, well, except the last 2 words are replaced with a synonym. Anyways, it is kind of a kick-your-booty look at what non-vegan foods do to your body. A bunch of my friends had recommended it to me so I sat down and read the first two chapters at Borders the other day. I'm not sensitive to language, and it was pretty over the top even for me. Still, the information it contained was really good. It convinced me to kick my Coke habit all together. It refers to soda as "liquid satan" :giggle

Like I said, if you are at all sensitive to language, it is NOT a good book for you. Its too bad that they wrote it that way because I was enjoying the rest of the content.

[ShangriLewis]

I loved that book, but it is full of bad language.

I think we all struggle. It's hard keeping everything together as a mommy. You have all this stuff to do and everyone to think about and everything is your fault and your responsibility :P~

I came from a big dairy family. I just kept making myself drink the substitutes. It's a lot easier if you just remove the milk and start drinking the other stuff. You will get over it and your tastebuds will change. I promise. It does take time.

I hope you have gotten some helpful suggestions. You are welcome to keep us updated with what is working for you or your downfalls. We can help you through them.

As for dinners..in the summer I hate using our stove. So, it's lots of salads, sandwhiches, nachos, burritos. I will use the electric wok though. It cooks fast and doesn't heat anything up.

Do you have any cookbooks? It's just nice to get ideas.

[Katiebug]

Oh, and for the record, I hate soy yogurt. I'd rather have nothing (and when I'm dairy free, I just go without).

[Punkie]

I've only found one brand of yogurt that we like, and its Silk. The whole soy and co one is especially revolting. Stoneyfield farms (is that the name?) is pretty good, but processed on the same equipment as their dairy yogurt :sad2

[HuggaBuggaMommy]

One thing I do that helps more nutritious choices come naturally is avoiding (for the most part) refined carbohyrates. Just whole grains and natural sugars. Whole wheat instead of white pasta, brown rice, honey or mollasses (in moderation) instead of white sugar. It takes the fast food options away pretty quickly and helps regulate your blood sugar so you don't move from one craving to the next. I know for me, especially in the beggining, it helped to have a "rule" to guide me.


This is also what I did in the beginning - I got rid of all the refined products and bought whole grains. It helped. Then I stopped buying packaged snacks (mostly - each grocery shopping ds picks out one organic snack - usually cookies - and i'll buy a bag of organic pretzels or corn chips) and focused on fruit, veggies, seeds and granola. You learn to like what's in the house :mrgreen

I live with two carnivores, one who hates veggies (actually, he seems to hate anything healthy). I plan two meat meals per week, two vegetarian meals, and one vegan meal (the other two nights are leftover nights). When I make the meat meals, I just make sure to prepare a vegetable side dish and rice, or a huge salad that I can eat. The veggie meals are usually pasta or soup, and I will make something with *meat* crumbles for the vegan meal. I also will prepare a few favorites in advance (I love mashed curried vegetables, so I'll make a huge pot, freeze 3/4 in several containers, and leave the rest in the refrigerator for a quick meal). I keep a few Cliff bars and Lara bars for when I'm on the go (when I haven't had time to make granola bars), and when I bake vegan, I bake double portions so I'll have some to freeze.

HTH a little. :praying for your journey into Veggie World :lol

[ShangriLewis]

I love homemade soy yoghurt, but I only use storebought for baked goods or as a dressing for fruit salad.

[joyfulmomof2]

PAK ;) (that's playing with dd at keyboard - she just wants to sit with mama and talk and laugh :giggle)

Christa, I like your system of preparing two meals of this and two meal of that. I am going to work on that. I think that sounds very helpful. :)

I will say that I didn't eat great today, but there were a few times when I made good choices. I ate a banana instead of more sweets and I drank a sparkling water instead of a soda. Yay!! It really does help to have this support. I really appreciate you all, ladies. :grouphug

I also made ds some oatmeal with Vanilla Silk. I drank some too. I liked it way better than I used to and I liked it way better than the chocolate for some reason. I am going to keep trying it, Heather like you suggested. I am sure it will get easier. I am hopeful that soy does not give dd the same type of allergies that dairy seems to. We shall see.

Happy fourth!! Hope you all had a great night!

[peacefulveganmom]

:hug Just keep at it. Stay optimistic, because those baby steps really DO work! :tu You can do this.....

[joyfulmomof2]

Thank you for the encouragement, vegmom! I am going to start working on my goals and get them on paper. I always do better when I do that. :)