Day 22 of my post Water Fast by Sacristia Blog entry

Blog: My Health Journey
by Sacristia

Day 22 of my post Water Fast

My daily Journey to a healthier life style

Date: 12/17/2010 1:33:54 PM ( 15 y ) ... viewed 42536 times

December 16, 2010

I am feeling much better today and I didn't do much coughing last night, but I did so some sneezing. I made a 12 ounces of Sleepy Time tea, but I didn't drink any of it, as I drank the water I took to bed instead. LOL. I guess my body needed it more, as I was really dehydrated.

I was packing my lunch today, and I realized how easy it was to do so. In the past I have always had a hard time packing a lunch, as I didn't get up early enough or didn't care to do it. Now, I find myself looking forward it to it, as I have developed a routine.

My Morning Routine: I get up and heat my water for my tea, and get my 12 ounce travel mug and my 18 ounce thermos (I just found out that it holds 18 ounces, as I looked it up on the internet to see it for sure. It is a Thermos 18 oz Stainless Steel Hydration Bottle. )I just was saying it was 12 ounces, as it similar in size to my 12 ounce travel mug ready with the tea bags. I as I am doing that, I am figuring out what I am going to have for lunch. I know that I usually pack 2 different types of veggies (either two different veggies or a veggie and a salad) and two types of snacks (either a two types of fruit or a piece of fruit and a serving of nuts) and my main dish, which is either a meat or bean or pasta. While after I have packed my lunch, I also dish out my breakfast (as of late it has been a ½ cup of bean stew, which at this point in time, I have not gotten sick of yet. LOL. Sometimes it is fruit, as I have read that one should eat fruit on a empty stomach and alone, as it is healthier then eating it with other stuff, such as a dessert) and eat it before I leave the house. I have never been much of a breakfast eater, the last couple years, but I realize now that eating breakfast is important and I can tell that my performance during the day is much better because I feed my body good food to start off the day.

As I was dishing out my lunch and breakfast, I measured out the last of the bean stew (which was 2 ½ cups) and realized that I should make some more beans. It is really funny last night as I was dreaming about making some homemade bean veggie burgers, as I printed out recipe yesterday. I was dreaming about mixing everything but the beans in the mixture, as I knew the beans I had were too soft, as I cooked them a little too much (as the last batch was made in my crock pot. LOL)

There is the recipe I am going to use for making mine!

HOMEMADE BLACK BEAN VEGGIE BURGERS from Allrecipes.com submitted by Laurenmu

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) can of black beans drained and rinsed
½ green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
½ onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 egg
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
½ cup bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS

1.If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.

2.In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.

3.In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.

4.In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.

5.Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.

6.If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

NOTES/COMMENTS from recipe:

**Make sure the beans are dry before mashing them. Strain the onion, garlic and pepper mixture through a fine strainer to remove any excess water. If you add 50% more bread crumbs, it will hold much better. The submitter, Larenmu, freezes hers and grills them frozen

**Substituted rolled oats instead of bread crumbs. Used two eggs and blended everything in a food processor, beginning with onions, peppers, and garlic, then oats, then eggs and spices, beans last. Chilled the mixture, then rolled onto waxed paper. She froze the burgers.

**One person added corn to it, and another person added mushrooms (I am thinking on added a bit of portabella mushrooms to make it seem meatier.)

I have been wanting to document the ingredients of the Fresh Express mixed spring greens that I used alot. Here is it:

Baby lettuces (baby green romaine lettuce and red romaine lettuce, tango lettuce, baby green oak lettuce and red oak lettuce, lolla rosa, baby green leaf lettuce and red leaf lettuce, baby green butter lettuce and red butter lettuce), baby greens (red swiss chard, mizuna, tatsoi, baby spinach, arugula), frisee and raddichio. Ingredients may vary.

I also used a lot of Kroger's Zesty Blend Garlic and Herb, which has the following ingredients:

Garlic, Onion, spices (Black pepper, parsley, fennel, basil, bay, majoram, Oregano, Savory, Thyme, Cayenne Pepper, Coriander, Cumin, Mustard, Rosemary, celery seed) Carrots, Orange peel and garlic oil.

I could used this mixture on everything, which I love to add to my beans, my steamed veggies and chicken. I costs me about $2.09 a container, but I used it so much, that I really should be 3 or 4 of them, since I go through it so often. LOL

I have been reading a lot about how beans are healthy for you. I read this in an article found at Greenlivingideas.com

“Patti Bazel Weil R.D, diabetes nutrition educator at the University of Kentucky in Lexington and author of “Magic Beans,” eating a cup of cooked beans a day can lower your total cholesterol by up to 10% in 6 weeks. A study conducted at the University of Kentucky has shown that only three weeks of increased bean intake (3/4 cup of navy and pinto beans) lowered the men’s cholesterol by an average of 19%. This reduces the risk of heart attack by almost 40%.”

I wonder what a difference it has made on my body.

I serious thought about starting another short term water fast, starting December 26, 2010. I am going to make sure that I am only eating good food, except on December 25th, I might have a little something out of the ordinary, as I will be probably having dinner of at my friend's house. I will just have to see what they are going to have, and pick my plate fixings careful. I am sure I will eat something a little fattening, which won't be too bad for me, as I have been eating healthy for a while now. Just as long as I don't made it a weekly habit ore an everyday habit. I have calculated that my water fast will be 14 days (December 26th to January 8) but I am shooting for longer if I am able to hand it. We will just have to see this time. Since I know that I was severely detoxing at day 10, I might have it planned to make some fresh veggie juice to help with the detox symptoms and possibly get farther in my fast then I did last time.

I ventured out into the cold and across town to pick up Christmas gifts for the Attorneys this year. I wasn't looking forward to it, as I really couldn't afford it, as well as it brought the loneliness of the season in the forefront. Everything was so cheery and bright, and truthful my relationship with Phil was in darkness, where I didn't want it. In my family, Christmas season was time to spending time with those people you loved and doing things together. I wished I could spend more time with Phil and his son. Last year, it was hard as well, especially when Phil went to go play pool on Christmas eve. It was hard being alone, when I shouldn't have been.

I was surprised when heard some one say “Hi Xxxxxx”. I looked to see that it was my pastor! I was so surprised and a bit ashamed, as I haven't been to church in weeks and I felt that he knew that. Out of a congregation of at least 1,000 people, I am still amazed how he really remembers my name. I saw him again, while I was standing in line to purchase myself stuff, I watched glanced at him, and realized how nice it was to see him. As I was driving to Walmart to pick up groceries, I thought about my encounter and if it was a nudge to something. When I got to Walmart, I was greeted by a woman that was trying to sell me Internet Service. I told her that I had it once but that I had to turn it off due to bills and my boyfriend (it is funny how I still call him that even though he doesn't consider me his girlfriend) not helping with bills. She told me that God works in mysterious ways and everything happens for a reason. She spoke to me about how I should turn to my Bible and read Pslams. But most of all, that I should trust in God, because God will bring the right person along. I was kind of surprised that she said that, because it was as if God was speaking through her. I told her how, at one point, I was very faithful to God, but over the last year and a half, I have struggled with my faith. Not in a way that I walked away, but more like that my faith has been clouded by things going on in my life. She said “Distractions” Yes, she was right. Distractions that caused me to stop doing my faithful things in my love for God. Phil has been a distraction, instead of a additive to my faith in God, as I had hoped. I have stopped spend my morning hours with the Lord. I have stopped praying during the little quiet moments I have during the day. I have stopped going through my prayer cards. Most of all I have stopped reading my Bible and going to church. I still talk to God once in while, but mostly at night when I am struggling with issues of loneliness and other pondering question. I told the lady that I really needed to hear what she said and it has given me more hope that I have had lately. I told her Thank you and left, as she had a job to do, and we were just standing there talking. She wished me a Merry Christmas, which at the moment, I felt the sincerity in her words.

While I was in Walmart, I bought 9 bags of frozen veggies ( 2 corn, 2 mixed veggie, 1 green beans, 2 sweet peas, 1 cut up of broccoli) They were were not processed, just as said in the ingredients. I picked up some yellow squash and zucchini (so I could used up the rest of my eggplant and make some Ratatouille -which by the way, I ate while I was watched the movie. LOL) I thought these veggies would keep a bit, as I could use them little by little in this or what. Succotash tomorrow! Also when I was in the grocery store, I bought some rolled oats, so I could make my bean burgers. I would have made them last night, if I hadn't of forgotten my recipe at the office. LOL I also bought the Ocean Pacific lounging outfit, ( T-shirt, boxer shorts and legwarmers) that I was going to wait until the beginning of the year to buy. They only had one black left in large, which I decided to buy, if I really wanted it. I think I did well enough on watching my diet to deserve to have a little early Christmas present to myself. It was on sale too.

I went home and tried it on. The T-shirt is a bit tailored, (as it is a Junior size), but it fit, but not tightly. I actually looked good it in, that I wanted to prance around the house in it, showing off my slimmer body. But Alas, no one would have seen it, as PJ was in his room, and Phil was out playing pool, so it felt like I was in the house alone. Still, I smiled and felt beautiful that I could see a change in my body.

FOOD INTAKE:

BREAKFAST (Around 9:30) ½ cup of bean stew (Approximately 65 Calories)

DRINK: 12 ounces of Oolong Tea (consumed over 3 hour period)

SNACK: None (as I ate my breakfast late, as I heated it up to be too hot. I took it to work and ate it there, as it was cool enough to eat then. It is very filling, even though it doesn't seem like a lot.)

LUNCH: ½ cup of Bean Stew (65 calories) and 1 ½ cups of Fresh Express mixed Spring greens (approximately 20 calories) Balsamic vinaigrette spray ( 3 squirts – 3 calories) TOTAL CALORIES: 88

DRINK: 18 ounces of Oolong Tea (consumed over 3 hour period)

SNACK: (around 3:30 p.m.) Medium Navel Orange (62 calories)

DRINK: one cup (coffee cup) of STASH Licorice spice Tea

DINNER: (around 8:00 p.m.)1 cup of Ratatouille (sliced yellow squash, sliced zucchini and sliced eggplant(60 calories), tomato sauce (¼ cup at 10 calories), garlic and herb seasonings and a half of a Portabella mushroom(30 calories) TOTAL 100 Calories

SNACK: (around 11:00 p.m) 1 1/2 cup of Ratatouille (sliced yellow squash, sliced zucchini and sliced eggplant(90 calories), tomato sauce (15 calories), garlic and herb seasonings (105 Calories)

TOTAL CALORIES FOR THE DAY: 420 (which is very low, I will try to step it up a little bit, even thought I am not starving myself. Every time I eat, I am very satisfied and full (but not in a way of a stuffed stomach, if that makes any sense)

EXERICISE: Walking around work, home and stores, as I did a little Christmas shopping. My pedometer got accidentally re-set so I don't know what it was. When I took it off of the night, It must have just happened as it didn't have a lot of steps on it.

WATER INTAKE: 13 ounces ( was going to drink the rest of 15 ounces in my water bottle, but I was afraid that I would be up and down all night going to the bathroom. I have to work at drinking more water.)

WEIGHT: 134 pounds