almost ready....

My new blog promoting healthy eating is almost ready!

Brace yourself...it will be different than GreenTea Birdseed.

But alot better.

Alot.

Wanna sneak peak...click here.

funny how time changes things

Wow, a whole year has almost past since I have blogged on GreenTea!

I found myself reviewing this blog and cannot help but think how DIFFERENT life was when I was blogging all of my eats...really different...really, really different.

Honestly, I have a hard time relating to these posts...I suppose that means a new blog is in the works?

Hmm...

Just wanted to say "hello" and hope you're all doing well this year.

cafe party

So I've been brainstorming for some time about a new blog....truth is, I like something about them...blogs, that is.

I've needed to retreat from the sites I began with.  I've done that and now think I would like to begin a new one..."cafe party".  So, here it is.  

merry little break

Yikes, where have I been?

Thank you for your sweet wishes for me to feel better.  I am slowly on my way to feeling like myself again.

I decided to take a little break from my rather extensive postings....something I have thought about for some time.

I don't think this is the end of GreenTea Birdseed...I suppose this will be a pause, a moment to recollect my thoughts and motives for promoting and striving for health.  I've learned soooo much about myself from posting meals and from reading other foodie blogs and have been encouraged by many of you, so thanks!

I'll be back!

PS - It feels really weird to not snap pics or share my meals with you.  Today I had plain yogurt and cinnamon with mango and a wheat mini bagel, 10-grain hot cereal with roasted, curried veggies, a banana, pasta with a spicy red sauce with caramelized onions and garlic and a chocolate mint cliff bar....lots of tea, lots of hot water because it's cold here in Hollywood!

bed bound (lunch, dinner, 12.12.08)

So I decided not to go to work today.

I cannot shake this sick feeling...it's gone from my throat, to my sinuses and evolved into a killer headache and overall achiness and I think it's a little in my ears?  They feel itchy.  Weird.  

I've been in bed pretty much all day.

I've hardly moved and haven't needed much food to keep me going.  My body aches and wants to stretch and move but after I finally showered it even hurt to put on deodorant so yeah...no workout, needless to say.

I made myself an easy late lunch that turned into an early dinner...polenta with spinach from the FM, sea salt, cracked pepper, Dijon mustard and some orange cranberry sauce.

Where's my Mom to make me toast?  Where's my husband to make me laugh?

Today I hardly tackled the food groups but let's be honest, I've hardly tackled anything besides some online job-hunting and keeping up with Google Reader.

Rob is out for the evening with a work Christmas party.  I miss him and want him to come home soon.

thoughts on veggie living

About two and a half years ago I was at lunch with co-workers enjoying some chicken noodle vegetable soup.  Actually, I was picking though the chicken, eating mostly veggies and broth (who knew if that chicken was really even chicken, we were dining from a cafeteria...I couldn't tell?)...

I'm not sure how the discussion evolved the way it did, but somehow we were chatting about rumors of animals being mistreated in factory farms.  Eww...and weird, since we were feasting on various meats.

Ignorance was bliss, we thought and that was that.

I couldn't help myself.  Nosy-Rosy...that's what my Mom called me growing up...always wanting to know what was happening, when, where, who, why....curiosity killed this cat all too often and I suppose it interfered with work that day because I went back to my office and searched the web for whatever I could find on animal abuse and found myself shocked with horror, jaw-dropped, eyes squinted and head slightly turned away.

Yeah...you guessed it...I found the PETA website.

Have you ever checked it out?

To say the very least, I was appalled and right then and there decided I was done with meat.

Ok, track with me.  I grew up eating lots of meat, lots of animal products.  My family raised steer for beef, we had a freezer full.  We had our own chickens.  I snuck in their cage each morning before school to collect the eggs.  While I have never been a fan of milk by itself, cheese...never the fake stuff but the really strong, authentic stuff, was a staple and I think I had vanilla ice-cream with peanut butter every night for dessert.

I was pretty convinced that a diet without meat was insufficient for meeting nutritional needs...you know the ever popular questions...but where do you get your protein, your iron, your fat?

So after the initial shock of what actually goes down in the slaughter houses and overly crowded cages I decided to take a break from meat, at least temporarily and do my own research.

And I researched....alot.

The more I studied the more a meat-free diet was the way to go.  I read informative books and online reports and to spare you of many facts advocating a meat-free diet I decided I would give it a go.  Keep in mind, I still ate dairy and fish, maybe once a week so I wasn't calling myself a vegetarian, when asked.  About a month into this I went to Maui with my family and had eaten and seen enough fish for awhile and decided I just didn't want any more...that was that.

So...how was life without the pets?  I felt great.  I filled up on nutritious fruits and veggies, low-fat dairy and whole grains...I maintained a fitness schedule and performed in my first triathlon (actually, my only...turns out I am a terrible swimmer).  While I do not regularly weigh myself and do not ever want to make numbers on a scale a driving point, I did shed some weight...kinda a given if you are eating cleaner.

It wasn't difficult eating enough, as some believe it would be.  I've always had a big, healthy appetite.  I've always begun the day with breakfast, rarely skip meals...so not eating enough wasn't a problem.  Sometimes it was difficult filling up on the right foods.  I personally find that when I do not eat enough protein I crave sweets, usually in the form of carbs...I'm a cookie person, not a candy bar person...so all that to say the first year or so of experimenting veggie included lots of produce, lots of cheese and lots of desserts.  This is all too common amongst veggies.  Broccoli is vegetarian...so is cake and Velveeta.  I suppose you could eat this way but to reap the most benefits of eating meat-free I believe you really should feast on a balanced diet of whole grains, fruits, veggies and protein.

I also have a big obsession with cooking so experimenting with new recipes has been fun.  Rob and I have tried more recipes and flavor combos than ever since I've ditched the animal kingdom.  It might be boring at our place and we might have starved if I didn't know how to use my kitchen.

Later the same year I researched more about eating diary and egg-free.  I was stunned with the overwhelming information on how healthy a low cholesterol diet was and decided I wanted on that band wagon, too.  I stopped buying as much cheese (a shame, since Rob loves it...and actually, I do, too), stopped ordering as many scrambles when dining out for Saturday morning breakfast and started checking ingredients not only for the many weird hidden animal ingredients (cow's stomach lining, aka, animal rennet, anyone?) but also for things like whey and butter...I never gave up plain yogurt, though.  I just really like it and non-fat varieties taste nice and don't contain animal cholesterol so I guess I've justified it, for myself, anyway...I really don't care what others eat...actually, I do care and think we would all live healthier (not necessarily happier) lives if we paid attention to the food we ate but anyway...I found it took me a little while to figure out just how much food was enough for me (mostly based on how active I am at any given stage of life), how much protein I needed, what I wanted to find it in...I experimented alot.

So....this story is getting rather long.

About a year and a half later I started researching what it meant to eat intuitively...eat when you are hungry, stop when you aren't, eat foods you love and the most important detail of all, never expect your diet to offer you more satisfaction that Jesus Christ.  There is a weird and satisfying feeling about eating healthy, especially in today's economy where green and sustainable living has become rather religious, ultra stylish and self-defining...think about it.

I suppose my story has become more that you were expecting...it has for me, too...but it never would have evolved into the thought-provoking and sensitive issue it has if I hadn't pondered a diet without meat.  I suppose the Lord has used this issue to help me discern how I can honor Him through an unavoidable routine we practice three to five or six times a day...eating.

There have been many other circumstances and people who have also influenced my eating habits...not necessarily limited to going  meat-free (some people's eating habits I admire most eat meat and animal products regularly) but to eat in a fashion that is thankful, moderate and more concerned about the Lord and His people that what is on their plate.

I've thought about poking my fork at meat again.  On occasion I say to Rob, "Maybe I will have some meat today", but so far no...maybe a scramble or a romantic picnic of French bread and cheese, though...you might be seeing more of that...

to go or not to go (breakfast, 12.12.08)

It's Friday!

I'm trying to stay positive but I am feeling really sick.  It seems to just keep getting worse.

I cannot sleep or breath well and I am lacking motivation to get stuff done...gotta remember that it's just a cold (that has taken over my body, lol) and it could be alot worse!

Breakfast was rather indulgent this morning...stove stop oats cooked in water, a ripe banana, AB, cocoa, dried ginger, sliced almonds and honey.

It's Friday, why not?

I am debating work today....I mean, about going, not actually doing a debate, hehe.

I'll be back...in the meantime, I have been gathering my thoughts about living meat-free and reading some very interesting forums from other women who live or who have lived meat free.

I was excited to read this...now I just need another job to afford going out again....