Vegan Lentil Shepard's Pie

I made the best thing ever a few nights ago. I am seriously so impressed with it.

Here we go!

Ingredients:
For the Pie
1 cup green lentils
1/2 bottle Full Sail Amber (this is an important ingredient!)
1 TBSP vegetable bouillon
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
Some diced carrots
A bunch of spinach
Water
Salt and pepper
For the Mashed Potatoes:
2-3 potatoes depending on size (I didn't use enough potato so more may be better)
2-3 TBSP Earth Balance vegan butter
Salt and pepper

Directions:
For the Pie
Preheat oven to 425.
1. Saute up onions and garlic in 1 tbsp oil until caramelized.
2. Add washed lentils, about 2 cups water, vegetable bouillon, and half a bottle of full sail.
3. Let simmer until lentils are mostly tender. Add carrots in or any frozen vegetables you may want.
4. Once lentils are cooked, throw in spinach and let wilt. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add to baking dish and cover with mashed potatoes.
6. Cook in oven for 15-20 minutes.
For the Mashed Potatoes
1. Boil water.
2. Peel potatoes and cut into smaller chunks.
3. Put in boiling water and boil until fork tender.
4. Once tender, drain and transfer to a bowl.
5. Mash however you want.
6. Add in Earth Balance butter, season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. If needed, add in some non-dairy, unsweetened milk (I used almond), to make more creamy.

So freaking amazing. I swear, cooking with beer makes everything better. It reheats well too. I just ate some and may go eat more right now!

Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup

I adapted this recipe from High Carb Hannah on YouTube, but I want to write it down so I don't have to keep looking for it! It's really easy, healthy, and low calorie.

Ingredients:
1 potato (russet)
1 head broccoli
1 clove garlic
1/3 yellow onion
2 tsp vegetable bouillon
Chili powder (to taste)
Black pepper (to taste)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Directions:
1. Cook the onion and garlic in a pot with a little bit of water to release the flavors (3 min or so)
2. Add in potatoes and bouillon and cover with water.
3. Boil potatoes covered until fork tender.
4. Add in broccoli and boil covered an additional 5 min or until tender.
5. Turn off heat and add chili powder, black pepper, and nutritional yeast.
6. Transfer soup into blender and blend until smooth (or desired consistency).
7. Add any additional seasonings needed and eat over rice or with bread.

It may look gross, but it was delicious!

If I could change anything I would double the recipe! It would be good with a little extra salt, but I'm avoiding that. Especially after binging all weekend! It felt like a good dish to get myself back on track. I haven't exercised since Friday and I've been eating so much pizza. Last night was a BBQ at my cousin's house where I had too many beers and unhealthy food. I've been feeling so great with eating better and this weekend sort of undid that so I am just jumping right back on the healthy-food wagon. I will try to ride my trainer today, but I have a bit of a cold and a lot of school stuff to get working on and that may take priority. I may just try to do 30 minutes, slowly, to get something in! Tomorrow is a 12-hour clinical day so it probably won't happen then.

I realize I need to get a new phone with a better camera or learn how to take better pictures! Seriously though, my camera on my phone is terrible because it is so old.

Lentil Coconut Curry

I made a yummy dish yesterday for meal prep and I want to write it down so I don't forget. I'm not great at measuring so it will not be exact but eh...

Ingredients:
1 cup lentils (I used green)
1 can coconut milk
About 2 TBSP red curry paste
1 red onion diced
1 red bell pepper diced
2 gloves garlic minced
Squirt of lemon juice
1 tsp vegetable boullion
1 head of broccoli
Some basil
Extra red pepper and/or curry seasoning to taste

Directions:
1. Add onion, garlic, and red pepper to a pan with some water (could use oil, but I'm avoiding oil, extra salt, and sugar).
2. After a few minutes, add coconut milk, lentils, and curry paste.
3. Add vegetable bouillon and some lemon juice.
4. Cover and cook on med-low heat until lentils are soft. Stir occasionally. Taste occasionally and add extra spice, curry flavor, or salt as desired.
5. Once lentils are almost to desired consistency, add broccoli and basil (I wanted my broccoli still green and crisp so added it later, but it is your preference).
6. Allow to simmer until lentils and broccoli are desired consistency.
7. Serve over rice, noodles, or eat plain.

It was tasty, but would have been improved with a little extra salt. I'm still not completely used to lower-sodium foods (probably because I cheat sometimes), but I am really trying to avoid adding salt if possible. This reheats well. I ate it for breakfast-lunch (at 10 am) with cauliflower rice and I remembered that I am not a huge fan of cauliflower rice and should have made regular rice!

Pre-Hypertension

Monday, July 24th, I had my annual physical with my doctor and my blood pressure was 138/70!! Very close to stage 1 hypertension. So I immediately cut my sodium waaay down (like less than 1200 mg) for a few day and my BP dropped almost instantly. The past two days I have had more sodium, but my blood pressure is still down. I'm back on track today though. Yesterday my cousin and I took our kids to the International Wildlife Museum and then we went to McDonald's which of course is loaded with sodium. Then I had half a sandwich later in the evening which added on tons more sodium. I feel a little puffy and bloated today, but my bp is still down so as long as I stay back on track today and don't have another cheat meal/day for a week or so I should be okay. For breakfast I had oatmeal with a bunch of fruit and I know for lunch I am going to make a tofu scramble with a bunch of veggies.

My weight has come down a bit, but went up some with the past few days of eating more junk (and too much). I'm disappointed in myself for getting out of control, but I have to remember that the overall picture is what matters more. I didn't weigh myself today because I feel so puffy (plus that time of the month is here), but I have been trying to weight myself daily. I will tomorrow after a day of healthy eating today. 

I feel a bit healthier, but I've also still been really tired. The first few days where my bp dropped down to 110/70 or so I was exhausted and dizzy. A 28 point drop in systolic will do that I guess. 

I am worried about how I will sustain healthy eating during the semester since I tend to eat out way more because I am so far away from home. Eating out, even healthy options, all have tons of sodium. Chris and I bought a decent sized cooler for camping this summer and I think I will put food in there since it kept food really cool. Either way, my body just has to withstand one more year of nursing school!

I got back to the gym today and had a great workout and feel a zillion times better than yesterday. Now the problem is I am approaching the afternoon where I want to drink beer and I am going to try to refrain! I'm going to plop myself in the pool once I get my kid down for a nap so hopefully that will help! I hate to say this, but I almost want a summer cold to help get me over the hump of going a week or so without beer!

I'm going to write my workout down because it was a good one and killed my upper body! I did chest, shoulder, and triceps.

HIIT to start:
25 sec work/10 sec rest
*****************
T-push ups
Weighted straight jacks
*Repeat 4x*
Mountain Climbers
Squat and press
*Repeat 4x*
DB triceps extensions
Weighted sit ups
 *Repeat 4x*
Squat hold with weighted punch (tried 8 lb dbs and had to drop them)
Incline plyo push ups
*Repeat 4x*

Strength workout
**************
Chest flies 3x10
Superset
   - Incline DB press
   - Front shouler plate raise
Superset
   - Decline bench press
   - Lateral shoulder raises
Superset
   - Skull crushers
   - DB rear delts
3x5 overhead shoulder press (heavier)
Superset
   - Tricep rope extensions (drop set last set)
   - Plank shoulder touches

Finished off with a 20 min incline walk on the treadmill.

Then I went home and ate a lot because this made me hungry! I'm definitely starting to incorporate my body weight stuff into my routine again because I got really good results when I did before and it makes me feel bad ass and it is fun!

I'm struggling a bit...

It's been a long time since I've posted anything here because I haven't wanted to or even thought about it in a forever.

Quick update: I'm on summer from nursing school, but taking 4 classes online as a dual enrollment thing with NAU. I'll graduate in May (hurray!) and take the NCLEX as soon as possible and hopefully get a job quickly. In regards to being home, as a stay-at-home mom...it's hard and I've been having trouble with it. I love my kid, but I feel directionless and useless most of the time and that has been making me drink too much (still at 2-3 beers max, but it's every day). I've just been really nostalgic for the days when I worked at my old job, with no responsibilities other than myself and my dogs. And I just really miss working and having a sense of purpose.

My weight has also gone up a bit and it's bothering me a lot. I've been good about working out and actually feel very strong, but I miss how my body used to look pre-pregnancy.

So I wanted to start writing down things again just to help work through some of my feelings and to actually write things down that I want to change about myself. I'm just going to make a list of things I want to fix and how to accomplish it.

1) My weight: This one is hard because I do not want to diet or obsess about food and calories. I had started intermittent fasting, did 2 weeks, loved it and felt much less bloated. Three days or so ago I've gone off the rails and have had trouble fasting until 12 pm (I was doing 16:8). One hard thing it that I work out in the morning and that will not change right now. I was doing well those first two weeks and sticking to it really well. I'm going to try to get back on the ball again tomorrow. Another thing in regards to weight I have been trying to do is incorporate more cardio. It's hard though because with not working and having online classes right now, I sit so much more...hence the weight gain.

2)The drinking: Of course this contributes to the weight. I have been cracking open a beer or two everyday when Lucas takes a nap and that's not okay. Today I had three (it is 4th of July) and I just feel sluggish and gross and out of control. Also so bloated. This is going to be the hard one to change. I simply need to stop buying beer. And stop drinking it. So that's what needs to be done and there's really no other way around it.

3) Figure out what is going on with my stomach: Heartburn, indigestion. It was so much better until the past few days. It may have something to do with me eating like crap and maybe the extra drinking. So when I was doing IF, I wasn't getting any of that stomach pain. Coffee in the afternoon does it. Sometimes wheat bread. Dairy seems to sometimes do some bad things as well.

4) Find something to clean everyday (besides the usual daily stuff). I want to avoid prolonged sitting except when I have to for school work. Unfortunately is summer and really hot so walks in the middle of the day are not really an option...maybe once monsoons start up *fingers crossed*

Anyways, I'm hoping getting back on track tomorrow will help with everything. I actually ate my last meal today around 4 so technically I could eat much earlier than 12, but I'm going to try to wait and sort of reset my digestive tract and keep with the schedule that I normally use.

Let's hope than things get back to normal and I can have some willpower.

Life Lately.

So I am trying to get into Nursing school. It's super competitive and because of that I have to re-take 3 classes due to a time limit on prerequisites. I also have to take the HESI at some point...and test out of a math class so I need to study for that. I am feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment with 3 classes and having a newborn. I wasn't feeling overwhelmed until my online, PSYCH 101 class started and oh my goodness there is a lot of work for it. I have taken a few online classes and know they are a lot of work, but this one seems excessive. I feel bad because I have been trying to do work for it today and have been ignoring my kid. Also I was getting frustrated with him taking so long to nurse (it wasn't that long, I just have no patience). He's only 5 months old so I CANNOT feel like that. Time management is going to be so important and I am just going to have to find a way to make everything work.

I have an interview to volunteer at a hospital next Tuesday which will also be good for my application. I have volunteered there before in high school and really liked it so I am excited to do it again. Hopefully I can volunteer Tuesday morning before class or on Friday when my mom can watch him. I know I will be able to get everything done that I need to this semester to apply to nursing school, but I am currently stressed out by the sheer volume of everything combined with trying to be a good mom.

How am I handling the feeling of being overwhelmed completely? Well I have had two beers and am typing this up. I know I know, not the best idea. Sometimes I am a completely well-adjusted individual and use working out as my stress relief. Other times I need a beer (or two) and feel a bit of a mess. I'm much better than I used to be though. Also, my baby is napping so give me a break.

In baby news, having a 5 month old is AWESOME! I love the stage he is right now. He laughs, he loves his bouncer, he is good at going to bed, he sleeps until at least 5 am. I really think my kid is perfect (even if he wasn't I would think he was because I love him so much). This is why I feel so bad for ignoring him to do school work today. I don't know if I am just lucky with a great kid or as my mom says, I have a good attitude about it. I don't know, but I know I love him to pieces. I think one problem that new moms have is they expect too much from their baby. We can not expect babies, or children, to act like adults. Heck, I am an adult and sometimes I protest the things I need to do. They get done, but some days I miss playing WoW all day with no responsibility. With having a kid my responsibilities have increased a ton. What with keeping a child alive. That's why on some days like today when I get overwhelmed, I drink beer (or two) in the middle of the day. I shouldn't, but we are not all perfect so shhhhhhhhhhh.