Sunday, April 29, 2012

Great Soup!

So, I tried the soup recipe that I posted earlier this week.  It was a very uneventful process with only one really minor stab injury.  It was pretty minor because even with the blood thinner, by house did not look like a crime scene!

I added some nutritional yeast on top when I garnished it.  I think I will add some corn.  It needs just a little sweet flavor, but overall turned out very yummy!  Adding a little variety is good!

The scale is down just a little more.  I have lost 27 lbs and now have 26 to lose.  I have lost more than I have left to lose which is great!  I went shopping with my friend Deb (my Vegas friend Deb) yesterday.  First of all, I got rock star parking at a really packed mall and secondly, I came home with a size 10 Eddie Bauer jeans.  Not bad for wearing a size 16 in January!!  On top of the fact that my clothes size is getting smaller, I am getting healthier. 

Last week only went so so without doing any food preparation.  A whole lot of salad last week!  I did quite a bit more preparation today and should have a good food week this week!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Heart Sisters

Carolyn at Heart Sisters  has a great blog article on runaway stress today.  Check it out!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Asparagus and Broccoli Soup


Asparagus and Broccoli Soup
6 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, divided
1 large leek, white and light green parts only, sliced
2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 bunch asparagus (about 1 pound), trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups coarsely chopped broccoli florets
2 tablespoons chopped chives
Heat 1/2 cup broth in a large pot over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, add leek and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 6 minutes. Add remaining broth and potatoes and bring to a boil. Stir in asparagus and broccoli and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently until vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove pot from heat and set aside to let cool slightly.
Carefully transfer soup to a blender and purée in batches until smooth. Ladle soup into bowls, garnish with chives and serve.
--Recipe from www.wholefoodsmarket.com

Now this looks good, and I don't think there is any possible way to burn it.  I will try it this weekend:)

Sunday, April 22, 2012

My Work I Love

So, for sometime now, I have talked about working for myself in the future.  I thought I had a lot of time.  I have realized over the last six months that life is really short.  Do you know that 42% of women that actually survive a heart attack die within a year?  I still have six months of that statistic hanging over my head.  Every little pain I experience is magnified.  Back pain, shoulder pain, jaw pain and nausea are all symptoms of a heart attack but are also just an indication of back pain, shoulder pain, jaw pain and nausea.  I struggle with how I react to these things.  I suppose I will always struggle.  It is a harsh reality of post heart attack life.

I feel very fortunate to be around to try to turn my hobby into a business.  I have started booking weddings and hope that this business will pick up enough to allow me to do this.  I took engagement pics of a great couple yesterday morning at one of my favorite places in Kansas City, the West Bottoms.  They were so much fun and I can't wait to shoot the wedding!  I have resisted weddings, but that is really where the money is and as I know and want you to know, life is truly short.  If this is what I want to do, I best get on it!

I didn't do a whole lot of food prep this weekend, so we will see how the week goes.  I did shop, I just didn't prepare.  I think it will be the old standard of black beans, rice and corn for lunches this week.  Super easy and something that I really like!  The scale is down again this week and I feel like the elusive skinny bitch might actually not be such a lofty goal after all:)!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

6 Months

Well, I have thought a lot this week about the sudden journey I began 6 months ago.  Friday was the six month post heart attack mark.  I could have never imagined on the morning of October 13, 2011 what my life would be like today.

Today, I find myself in a small club of remarkable women.  Each one with her own story and her own motivation to meet heart disease head on.  We are in a club I never knew existed--the 20% of women that survive the "widow maker."  In a club of women that have survived heart attacks period.  I have come to find out how very fortunate that I was to survive.  There are not that many women that do.  That 20% statistic means that 80% of women die. 

In the last week, I came across the link to the Greater Kansas City Heart Walk.  I find that this event has been taking place for years and much like others, I always thought it was great people did that but I didn't pay much attention past that.  This year we have our team set to walk and it means a great deal to me.  I need to start looking for a way to share my story with more women.

I started a no added oil vegan diet on January 1 of this year and on April 15 I weigh 26 pounds less.  Yay to success!!  Surprising not only to me but to my close friends is that I have not had any catastrophic injury in the kitchen since I have actually been using my kitchen since January--I love that I have not lost a finger and should probably knock on wood!!! The other surprise is that I have not burned the house down! I still eat mostly raw, so perhaps this is the reason that I haven't burned the house down:)  Raw is just easier, keeps me on track and is probably always how I will eat.

Today was food day.  I did not like the marinated chick peas because I used the blueberry dressing.  I like the blueberry dressing just not on the chick peas. So I pureed them into hummus.  It has a fabulous taste spread on my no oil pumpernickel bread.  I continue to uncover more about the link between food and disease.  I am confident every day that I have made the right decision and will have much heart health in the future. 

On the morning of October 13, 2011 I could never have imagined that on April 15, 2012 I would be able to say that I no longer eat meat or dairy products.  That was so foreign to me then.  I am still surprised at the ease that I have taken to this.  It is not all that great, I still drink diet soda.  I still fight that fight but expect that I will conquer it eventually.  Quite honestly, on the morning of October 13, 2011, I could not imagine being a "heart attack survivor" or how much being a heart attack survivor would have come to mean to me today.


Monday, April 9, 2012

Some Good Superfoods

The New Superfoods You Should Be Eating

I agree with all but the first one because it is dairy.  They give a good shout out to nutritional yeast which I love!  It is great on air popped popcorn and pasta.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Good Kitchen Day!

So, for someone who's kitchen hates her, I am actually having a great day in the kitchen!

First, I managed to very closely replicate the veggie wrap I had out at Toby Keith's Bar and Grill at Harrah's in Vegas. I diced up cucumbers and red peppers.  I added corn, leafy greens and avocado with the salad dressing I make.  I added hummus to the spinach tortilla before I wrapped it all up.  It was fabulous if I do say so myself!

Secondly, my hummus salad dressing I have been making?  Watch out, I went out on a limb and made a different variation of it:)  Instead of using orange juice I used blueberry pomegranate juice.  I love it!  I am marinating some chickpeas in it in hopes of duplicating the salad I had at Witchcraft at the MGM.

The rest is the same old food preparation I  do every week and I won't bore you with that.  I will tell you that I have managed to avoid any catastrophic injury and have not set off the whole house oven timers!!  WoooHooo!!

I posted the link to sign up to walk with me at the Kansas City Heart Walk.  You will have to walk a little fast because I have a daughter that is graduating from high school  that day at 1pm:)  I really need to be back for that!  There is also a link to donate to the American Heart Association if you can't walk with us!

If you celebrate Easter, I hope you have a Happy Easter.  If you don't, I hope you have a great weekend!

Friday, April 6, 2012

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Donate or join my team

I have our team all set up for the 2012 Greater Kansas City Heart Walk--so very important to me this year~

To Donate for the Skinny Healthy Bitches

To Walk with the Skinny Healthy Bitches

Yay Girls Trip!

I arrived home from Las Vegas two nights ago.  I had five nights out there with my two girlfriends.  We had a blast and my cardiologist will be happy that we walked about 20 miles over the five days!

On Thursday, we arrived and got settled in.  We had a great one bedroom apartment suite with two bathrooms at the Rivera and it worked perfect for us!
That is me on the left 25 lbs thinner than Jan 1!

I was really excited that I was able to follow my vegan for all but one meal!  I had Chipoltle for a few meals.  Toby Keith's Bar and Grill at Harrah's had a veggie wrap that was served with fresh fruit.  I had that a few times.  I also had a Vegan salad at Witchcraft at the MGM several times.  It was REALLY good!  Marinated chickpeas, marinated green olives, roasted red peppers on dark greens then the chickpeas in an iceberg lettuce bowl.  I ate a fruit cup and coffee every morning for breakfast.  I was glad to have my love crackers and the veggie crumbles.  I did snack on those.  All in all, eating was not as big of an issue as I feared!

We  hung at the pool and did a little gambling on Friday:


We did a little shopping as well.  I am someone who never wears heels, but I have decided a little post heart attack reinvention is in order.  I tried some on and bought a cute little pair of cork wedge heels.  I tried on a great shoe that I decided not to buy because I thought I couldn't walk in them.

On Saturday we hung at the pool again, did some more casino/hotel tours and some gambling.  In the evening, we watched our Kansas Jayhawks beat the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Final Four:

On Sunday, we stalked the Orange Carpet at the ACM Awards and I got some good pics of Darius Rucker, Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban and Taylor Swift and Kiss:




On Monday, we did some more shopping I went back to the shoe store and tried the heels on again.  They had been on sale and they only had the one pair in my size.  To my surprise, they still had them.  They were 75% off and I had to have them.  No one could believe that the girl that wears no make up and tennis shoes bought them!
(I wore them to work yesterday and I love them!!)

On Monday night we once again cheered on our Jayhawks, this time in the National Championship game against the Kentucky Wildcats.  They fell short, but did us proud!

On Tuesday we flew home--what a great trip!

Today, I found a link for the Kansas City Heart Walk.  I am going to put together a team and have set a fundraising goal of $2000.00.  I can't sign up until I have a team name.  Any suggestions???  I am so excited to do this on May 19.  This is very near and dear to my heart this year!  Anyone want to walk?  Let me know.  Once I have my team together, I will post the team link to sign up to walk and donate!

One thing I have learned by not going to the grocery store last weekend is that I really have to prepare the food on the weekends.  I have been struggling for food since I got home.  Shopping tomorrow!

I feel very good and on my way to skinny bitch.  I have lost 25lbs of the 55 I want to lose.  Yay me!!