Weekly Tao Te Ching Verse - Week #12

So Friday night I taught my first Community Class at 3 Sisters Yoga + Fitness and had my first class as the "permanent" yoga teacher at Fitworks in Highland Heights. Spent the rest of Saturday cleaning out closets and getting rid of clothes which is what happens when you lose 50 pounds in two years. Sunday was a fun day with a Marni class (of course), lunch with my friend Jenny, and trying my hand out at Lentil, Chard & Sweet Potato Curry from Forks Over Knives. It was delicious!

Welcome to this week's Tao Te Ching verse. See here for what this is all about. 

Verse 12

Colors blind the eye.

Sounds deafen the ear.

Flavors numb the taste.

Thoughts weaken the mind.

Desires wither the heart.

Memorial Day Weekend 2016

Had Caitlin Hawkins​ and Barbara Hawkins​ over yesterday for Memorial Day, my birthday, George Hawkins’​ birthday, my graduation from Marni Task’s​ Jivasara Yoga Teacher Training and Caitlin's graduation from grad school at Case, the finding of an apartment, and landing a job here in Cleveland!

Since it was Memorial Day weekend, I wanted something "traditional". So I decided to try carrot dogs as a replacement for the typical hot dogs. To be honest, I was skeptical. In addition to the fact that I'm not really a fan of trying to recreate "meat" foods with veggies, since that's like an alcoholic drinking near beer (not really a good idea) I'd rather just go straight for a new thing altogether.

Much to my surprise, though, it was actually really good. The liquid smoke I think is really what makes it, but I topped it with arugula, mustard, Ketchup and caramelized onions.

I also tried out two new recipes this time from the PlantPure Nation Cookbook. Three actually since one them called for Tofu Cashew Mayonnaise also from the PlantPure Nation cookbook. The first was a Thai Tofu Wrap which was only okay. It'll be good if I can figure out something else but it needs a little more moisture, more of a kick, and more peanut butter maybe. It called for Sriracha which we didn't have so I used Cholula which we did, but probably not enough.

You can see the wraps on the plate covered in saran wrap. There's a pun in there somewhere.

The second recipe used a quarter cup of the Tofu Cashew Mayonnaise. For my fellow no oil friends, this recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of tahini. I bought tahini that had no extra oil added but it was still quite oily. I like the flavor of tahini I just don't want the oil. But for yesterday I used 1/2 teaspoon of tahini.

Other than that though the tofu cashew mayonnaise was fantastic. Here's the recipe

Recipe

1/4 raw cashews soaked for 2-3 hours

7 ounces extra firm tofu

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (I used less)

1/2 teaspoon tahini

4 teaspoons lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar (I bought the Braggs because of Theresa's comment at the last PlantBaseCle meeting)

2 1/2 Tablespoons Agave Nectar (I only used 2, but will probably use 1 next time)

2 Tablespoons Water

1/4 teaspoon xanthum gum (I didn't have any so I used potato starch as a kind of binder

Tweak to your heart's content, particularly perhaps just grinding sesame seeds up yourself will reduce the oil.

I used this mayonnaise for the Eggless Tofu Salad. For what it is worth I never really liked egg salad so I don't consider this a replacement :-) The Tofu Salad was fantastic, the dill adding it the perfect flavor. The bowl bigger bowl in the picture to the left is a Quinoa salad my wife Arisa featuring Chayote.

I used my friend Lori Palmer’s (website) suggestion to make "chips" out of Engine2’s Sprouted Ancient Whole Grains Tortilla (you only need to bake for maybe 5 minutes, I had mine in a just a little bit too long), and used them to scoop the tofu salad. Thanks Lori that was a fantastic suggestion!

For scheduling reasons we started earlier than we would have normally and we finished earlier as well. Which was just as good because by the time we would have normally just been settling in to eat we were inundated with rain.

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Links For A Friend

I have a friend that recently disclosed that they experiencing some issues that sound to be dietary related. Or perhaps their cures are. The person is seeing a nutritionist that I know so I'm feeling good about the information they are getting. I did want to provide some links as well and decided to do it via this blog so others might see it as well.

In general, I strongly recommend nutritionfacts.org. This site contains work by Dr. Greger to review various scientific data "so you don't have to". You'll get that if you watch this behmoth of a video which is over an hour long. And the content, oh my. It's incredibly informative, but it's long. The video is called Food as Medicine and was released on August 23rd, 2015.

Plant-Based Lifestyle

So a friend came up to me recently and asked me how I did it. It, you ask? The implied question really was on multiple levels. The first implied question was how did I lose the weight that I've lost, was it really only diet and which one. The second implied question was about my diet and how I stay plant strong, plant perfect or what have you. At the time I answered it well I think but upon thinking about it could have put more thought into answer better.

This post will attempt to describe what has really made me successful up til now - and hopefully out into the future.

2015 Year in Review

If you have been in and social media site in the last week or so you have been probably been bombarded with year in reviews which randomly select pictures you have posted over the last year to create a montage of the last year. So you know it's that time of the year again. You would also know it is that time of the year again since I have started posting on this blog again. :-)

In January of this year, I posted my goals for the year, here. I did not say resolutions because that seems to imply binary, yes or no. You either did it or not. Resolution doesn't need to be binary but that seems to have become the norm. So in my post I called them targets. So let's review them to see how we did.

Random Thoughts - Engine 2 Diet 28 Day Challenge

So as I mentioned in a previous post I finished my Engine 2 Diet 28 Day Challenge with some really nice results. This post is just a few random thoughts I had that are prompted by participating in the Challenge.

I really don't have anything planned to say this time around so we'll see what happens. We'll all be surprised.

So let's start with something thought provoking: my farts stink.

How's that for a starting topic?(!)

Seriously thought they stink. Actually I should stay the smell is different. Clearly it is from the change in diet and the substantial increase in the amount of beans I eat. Black beans, kidney beans, navy beans, beans, beans and more beans. But it's also because I am eating more vegetables across the board. I bring this up because while I remember thinking about it during the challenge, this morning my wife, Arisa, told me that smell of my breath was different. She didn't say "bad" she said different. And I asked for the clarification. Twice.

Progress to Celebrate - Kinda Sorta

Last night we had great Thanksgiving dinner. We had traditional Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes covered in gravy. We added some #plantstrong dishes as well. I added the Sweet Potato Bowl from the Engine 2 Diet. I also saw some really good looking recipes on +forksoverknives (Forks Over Knives Plant-based Thanksgiving Recipes post). I was going to make a couple of them then realized we had way to much food so I just picked the Brown Rice Casserole with Lentils. So we had that for dinner.

Wrap Up - Engine 2 Diet 28 Day Challenge

Tuesday was the final day of the challenge so I had my blood test done again on Wednesday morning. The numbers pretty much speak for themselves actually. But I like to babble so you will have to wait. ;-)

So the 28 Day Challenge ended on Tuesday night but Wednesday was a busy day besides getting my blood work done and meeting with the Dietitian. So I treated it pretty much like any other day of the 28 day challenge. Thursday night though we went to Pacific East in Coventry in Cleveland Heights for our year end Board of Directors Meeting for the Japanese Association of Northeast Ohio (JANO). Reality is that I really like sushi and if I had not been mindful I would have eaten way more than I should have.

One of the take aways I have from the Hyland sponsored nutrition classes I took this summer, meeting with the Dietitian, but most of all through implementing it during the 28 Day Challenge is being aware of eating when I am eating. So Thursday night with literally a miniature boat of sushi placed in front of my I started to go into shark mode - a mindless feeding frenzy. Until I caught myself and realized that I was stuffing my face as fast as I could - so I slowed down and noticed that I was actually full. So I stopped eating. VICTORY!

Week 3 Recap - Engine 2 Diet 28 Day Challenge

Happy SaturdaySunday! I spent 3-4 hours shoveling the snow off our driveway(yesterday). May not be exercise from Rip's books but it was a lot of work and sweat. So I'm going to count it anyway.

Speaking of Rip, I finally got my Engine 2 Diet book back from the Hyland dietitian. So the general theme for Rip, as well as his father's, is diet. Make your diet #plantstrong and good things will happen. That is not the only message though, particularly with Rip who as a triathlete knows the importance of exercise in all of this. In fact, the whole entirety of Chapter 6 is about exercise with pictures to help you learn. In fact he has a host of Youtube videos with stretches and then workouts(and #2) to help guide you.

Week 1 Recap - Engine 2 Diet 28 Day Challenge

So Wednesday was started Week #2 of my Engine 2 Diet 28 Day Challenge. Normally I would have met with the dietician on Wednesday to review the week and take my Body Fat % measurement with that little gadget she's got. The power company had other plans for us - we were sent home due to a power outage and a failure in the backup generator.

Wednesday is also my spinning class but since we went home early Arisa and I ended up going to Planet Fitness where I did the PF 30 Minute Express circuit for the first time in ages. I really like that workout since you can push yourself as much or as little as you are up to on a given day. And you can see progress over time as the weights or reps increase as you get in better shape. But I'll tell you my arms have been killing me for the last two days because of it! I keep telling myself that old adage No Pain No Gain.

28 Day Challenge

Beginning on October 22, 2014 I will start the Engine 2 Diet's 28 Day Challenge. Arisa is going to do a modified version, but already there is no meat other than fish in the house!

Okay, so the last time I posted on my blog was almost a year ago and this my first post of 2014. My last post was about the Holiday Hold that I did last year through the New Year. I actually did lose weight an ended up under 170. At least for a short while anyway.

Well, it's October a year later and the news isn't so good. I ended up putting back almost all the weight. While my official "Holiday Hold" weight was 178, prior to that I had been as heavy as 190 pounds. At 5'5" that made me obese. (Using BMI of 32 to mean obese) So when I say I put almost all the weight back on, I was 5 pounds short of 190. When I hit 185 again I decided I couldn't wait anymore, so in late August I started making changes.

Pizza at Crostatas

This last Thursday night Arisa and I, just the two of us, went out for dinner. This is not an occurrence that happens often. In fact, it's been pretty rare. Though I expect it will start happening a lot more than it has in the past since Elly and Ken are off at college and George isn't far behind.

In particular, on Thursday during the day at work Arisa had her OBP1 certification test at Hyland Software. Yes, Arisa and I now both work at Hyland. Anyway, Hyland has a fairly extensive training program for new employees with "certification" tests afterward. Needless to say all the training is in English as are the tests. So for Arisa it was a very long and mentally tiring day. George wanted to go see the Mayfield Varsity Soccer team play Shaker in the District Finals at Brush High School so we dropped him off and went to eat.

Power Breakfast

 This is my favorite "power breakfast". The calories in this thing have to be huge. But it's not completely unhealthy either. In fact, take out the bacon (God No!) and the hash browns and it should be downright brilliantly healthy.

First off the omelette uses cholesterol free eggs subsititute. So while the calories may still be there no cholesterol from the eggs. I chopped and cooked up green onion, yellow onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, garlic clove, mushrooms and spinach. For the sauce on top, the same but cooked with one small tomato and other seasonings (basil, etc) Hell, even our egg-hater Ken likes this omelette.

The granola bar is a creation of Arisa's. It is really good actually and feels more like a candy bar. It contains over 15 different ingredients including oatmeal, peanuts, quinoa, almosts, and various dried fruit. It probably has too much sugar for it to actually be considered "healthy", but I'll tell you what it's really good. Arisa's work mates are asking for the recipe but she won't give it out - but that's more because I think she's still trying different balances of all the ingredients.

Last but not least is the smoothy. This smoothie is truly a power drink, exceedingly high in protein and vitamin C. I have been experimenting with various fruits and in various proportions. This particular drink includes 1 quarter lime, 1 half lemon, 1 apple, 1 bannana, 1 orange, 1 kiwi, 20 blueberries, 10 blackberries, 10 raspberries, 4 strawberries, 4 large spoonfuls of nonfat yogurt, one scoop whey protein, and 5 cubes of ice. One word for this conoction - DELICIOUS.

I've mentioned in other posts this year, I am not on a diet, nor am I truly trying to lose weight - though I should. My focus this year is to remain cigarette and smoke free. I am no 146 days without a cigarette - or in different terms I have not smoked 2929 cigarettes since January 4th.

On the other hand, I am putting on weight since I tend to eat food as a substitute. I've tried simply eating carrots, for example, but that's boring. So I end up cooking something as well. Since that's the way it's working out I've decided to try and make healthy items. Relatively healthy mind you.

Wheat Germ Meatballs and Pasta

Last night's dinner. A meatball pasta dish. The meatballs had added nutrients because we used a wheat germ recipe that we found here (third one) on the internet - Thanks Shirley!

If you are curious, the drink is raspberry tea. I may have to sweeten that tea a little bit next time.

Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Bread Mix

Today, I'll be making Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Bread Mix. It's been kneaded and has been set aside to rise for the next 90 minutes.

禁煙、ヘルシー食事、運動

昨年末には医者さんのアポがありました。ちょっと恥ずかしいんですが、本当はかなり久しぶりに医者さんのとこに行きました。でも、ありさに約束していたし、年末に余った有休の残りを使う必要がありましたのでアポを取りましたというのhが建前ですが、本当は一番メインな目的がタバコをやめるためにChantixのprescriptionをもらうためでした。それが出来ましたけど、やはり色々なテスト結果があって、もっと健康的な生活を送らないと危ないなと思い始めたのです。ありさに言わせれば、やっと大人になったって、この面に限っていえば。。。笑。

Bangkok Thai in Lyndhurst

昨日、ジョージがウインターフォーマルという学校主催ダンスパーティに行っていました。ケンがもうシニア（4年生）なのでウィンターフォーマルに行くと逆に恥ずかしいということで行かなかったです。ジョージはAlfredo's at the Innというレストランに12人で行ったそうです。半分はカープルですが、実際に「付き合っている」カープルが一つだけだったらしいです。残りのカーブルが「友達カープル」でその中でジョージが入るそうです。ありさがジョージから聞いたらしいですが、相手の女の子が他の男にシツコク誘われていて、その男と行くのが嫌でジョージに助けを求めたらしいです。可愛いインド系女の子に助けてあげるジョージが可愛い。

ということで、ありさ、ケン、と僕も外食すると決めました。

The Long, Slow, Quick Update

I started this post out as a quick update several weeks ago. I kept getting interrupted and it never made it out the door to be published out here on these internets. So I changed the title to The Long, Slow, Quick Update from simply Quick Update.

Tuesday, I officially enter my fifth>sixth seventh week of no smoking. 33 39 days ago I quit smoking and since then have not smoked 674 788 cigarettes. It's astounding to me to think of it in those types of numbers. It would have never crossed my mind. I have also saved $204 and 54 cents $239.66.

2010年感謝祭 - Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

今年の感謝祭は自宅でした。母はボストンに行っていますので、5人家族だけでした。特にエリーがワシントンDCのアメリカン大学にいってから始めて帰って来ていますので5人だけで楽しく過ごせました。

Mayfield Fine Foods

Arisa and I went shopping today to get some extra things for our family bbq tonight. After shopping at Giant Eagle for our stuff, we went to Micro Center at East Gate and then to Best Buy to do some comparison shopping on laptops. Elly is going to get herself a laptop to replace her Dell netbook which she doesn't feel is sufficient for when she starts college at American University in August. In particular, I was looking at laptop pricing and system specs so I could compare them to the employee purchase program prices.

Anyway, on our way out of the Best Buy parking lot my wife notices a sign for "Mayfield Fine Foods". She asks me, "What's that?". Since I have zero idea as to what it was, I said "no clue, wanna go find out?"