Some hiccups...

  Sorry for the unexplained absence! I was without cell data for three weeks. Hooray for new internet service!!! The only problem I'm running into now is that there are several posts I have lined up, but they're pointless without photos, and for some reason I can not get photos to load properly. Once I get the photo issue resolved, the postings will become more regular. For now, we'll just have to settle for words only posts. :)

  What have you missed in the last 3 weeks? Well, for starters, we added a new member to the family! His name is Spike, and he's a red eared slider turtle. He's about 2.5 inches long*, and he is very entertaining. When we picked him out, my oldest son was pointing to him in the tank, and Spike started swimming straight toward him. He seems pretty content in his temporary aquarium, swimming around, occasionally climbing up onto the rocks. I mention it's temporary because we must get him a larger tank, and very soon. These guys can grow up to 12 inches! Turtles require quite a bit of care to stay healthy, and part of it is having a roomy tank with plenty of space for swimming and a dry area with a UV light for basking. Since we keep our home pretty cool, he will need a water heater and thermometer for monitoring.

  Once I get the photo issues resolved, I'm planning a few posts where I will share my reviews of various things I've tried recently- cleaning recipes, food recipes, and more, so please hang in there with me while I get this straightened out!

* Turtles less than 4 inches long can not legally be sold as pets, only for educational purposes. As homeschoolers, we felt that caring for a turtle would be a great learning experience for our entire family. If you are considering adding a turtle to your family, please take the time to fully research all of the turtle's needs as well as preparing for an entire lifetime of care. Red eared sliders can live as long as 50-70 years in some cases, with 20+ years being common, so it is a big commitment.

Why Nutritarian?

  So, about 4 and a half months ago I went plant based. I had been following another popular food plan for over 2 years and wasn't seeing the results I wanted, and I was suddenly experiencing high blood pressure and just not feeling well. I was tired all the time, and I was constantly craving fatty, greasy, salty "comfort" foods (although I never felt comfortable afterwards). After binge watching several documentaries on the benefits of a plant based diet, I decided to give it a try. I read Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, and began implementing his guidelines. I'm still not perfect at it, but I try every day to do better. Here I am 4.5 months later having lost over 40 pounds and boasting better than average blood pressure (I dropped from 150s/90s to 112/68!), so this is now my eating plan for life.

One of the many things I love about Dr. Fuhrman's book is that he always cites his sources. He backs his claims with the studies to prove it. There are many other, similar, books on the market also supporting the whole foods plant based eating style, but few make their sources as clear as Fuhrman does. He has several other books as well, which I plan to read as I can- Disease Proof Your Child and The End of Heart Disease just to name a couple at the top of my list. He also has a cookbook that is at the tippy top of my wish list. For now, I get most of my recipes from the Forks Over Knives Cookbook (also really good!), Pinterest, and other ETL bloggers like My Momma Told Me. Don't get me wrong, I still very much value the work of other WFPB promoters such as McDougall, Esselstyn, and Campbell. Eat to Live was just the book that finally made it all click for me. Unlike other diets and things I've tried in the past, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the way I want to eat for the rest of my life. I don't want "cheat days". I don't want to allow "slip ups". I really, really, really want to stick to this 100% 24/7/365, and I've never been able to say that about a food plan before.

Another book that I recently started reading, which has helped me in recognizing real hunger versus just wanting to eat, is Never Binge Again by Glenn Livingston, Ph.D. It's actually free on Amazon right now! I will warn you, it is blunt and to the point, no holds barred, nothing sugar coated for the sake of feelings. So, if you're serious about conquering bad eating habits, strap on your steel toe boots and give it a read.