Vegan "Meatballs"...

You lika' da meatballs? Well, this is my vegan version.

I know this sounds like an oxymoron but these Vegan Meatballs are yummmm! Even my veggie self-deprived hubby loves them.

I am trying to go vegan for three weeks while addressing some hormone imbalances.

So far, so good.

I am the only one in the household that is trying, so when it comes to dinner I gotta cook something tricky.

I was a vegan for a year after my final endometriosis surgery. I cut gluten and did low sugar.

I even took sugar out of my daily coffee.

(I impressed myself with that one.)

Sugar is a big craving for people with endometriosis.

I went a little hard core with my diet but it helped me to heel. I gradually started introducing food back in. That was years ago.

Now, I am mostly curious if I can pull off veganism again. I ain't gonna lie. I love food, all kinds, that includes bacon.....mmmm bacon.

But I am also very conscious of the hormone disruptors in meat and dairy. I am estrogen dominant and I am currently tackling it with some supplemental support and taking away meat, dairy and sugar for the most part. Gluten was already out of our diets due to the hubby being gluten sensitive.

So fun facts for you all. Here is a list of other items that mess with your hormones:

• BPA-in canned food- especially with tomato which is an acid

• Triclosan- in toothpastes and soaps

• Oxybensone- in sunblock

• Dioxine- mostly in meat, fish, milk, eggs and butter

• Atrazine- in non organics mostly corn and unfiltered drinking water

• Phthalates- in some plastics, fragrance- called “death-inducing signaling” in testicular cells... enough said

• Perchlorate- in produce and milk- nearly impossible to avoid. Combat with iodine.

• Fire Retardants- they are everywhere, whatcha gonna do?

• Lead- little known fact, lead is stored in bone so when women have bone loss of any kind they may have an influx of lead coursing through their body

• Arsenic- in unfiltered water, rice and juice concentrates- it is a natural occures in soil and ground water but we don't need a ton!

• Mercury- in Silver Amalgam fillings, fish, and some adjuvants of vaccines- again it occurs naturally in nature but it loves to rest in fat cells...like your brain!

• Perfluorinated Chemicals (PFCs)- in non-stick cookware. Try a cast iron skillet, you can actually gain iron and less PFC.

• Organophosohate Pesticides- in non organic produce. Was originally used by Nazis for chemical warfare... Thanks NAZIS!!!! 😲

• Glycol Ethers- in paints and cleaning products

Don't get scared. Crap is all around us. We have to be diligent and minimize what we can. Read labels now and then.

Okay! Now that I have scared you all from ever going outside of your house again.

Here is my recipe:

Vegan "Meatballs"

• One peeled and cubed Eggplant

• One 6 ounce carton of Baby Bella Mushrooms- finely chopped

• Once small Onion - finely chopped

• 1/2 cup Vegan "Bread Crumbs" (Chickpea Crumbs like Watusee)

• 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed- in place of egg

• 1 Tbsp EVOO

• 1 Tsp Garlic Powder

• 1 Tsp Dried Oregano

• 1 Tsp Dried Parsley

• Salt and Pepper

If going vegetarian:

• Feel free to use regular bread crumbs or Panko

• Add Parmesan if you are feeling dairing- get it? dairy...daring

Heat oven to 400℉

In medium pot, put cubed Eggplant in with an inch of water. Cook with lid until tender- 10 or so minutes. While eggplant cooks, heat a medium pan with EVOO. Cook your Onions with salt and pepper until soft. Add chopped Mushrooms.

When eggplant is soft, put in mesh strainer and drain out moisture.

When Onion/Mushroom mix is soft, put in mesh strainer and drain out moisture.

Put Egglplant into mixing bowl, mix in Ground Flaxseed, salt and pepper. Add cooked Onion/Mushroom mix. Add spices and Bread Crumbs to the flavor and consistency of your choosing.

Wet hands to form 1 inch balls. Place on oiled cooking tray. Cook for 20 minutes. Flip and cook for additional 10 min. They should be brown and crisp on the outside and moist on the inside.

Enjoy!

My Ice Pop Debacle...

This story is a story about my "first world" problem.

A problem that isn't a problem to most.

Hell, most people have probably never had one thought about it.

But here I am, airing my grievances about the Ice Pop world on my "first world" blog.

My son, Max, has been going to the same summer camp for years. He loves it. I love it. What's not to love?

Outside air, swimming, nature hikes, basic summer fun.

But to my dismay, they give out lots and lots of ice pops. 200 a day to be exact.

Upon pick up, Max would hug me with blue lips or an orange tongue.

Some days beaming with pride that he earned extra ice pops for cleaning up the playground.

I like to think of myself as a "chill" mom. We eat sugar and hot dogs. We drop food on the floor, pick it up and dust it off. I really try to relax my judgement. Especially after gaining knowledge through my nutrition schooling.

But when I did the math, I realized my son got 40 ice pops within 8 weeks. That is 40 extra doses of artificial flavors, high fructose corn syrup, and food dye. I was a bit uneasy.

I thought...

Hey, let me make a change for Max and get natural pops for him during the summer.

Then I thought...

Hey, why don't I try to make a difference in more children's lives. Ice Pops for EVERYONE!

Isn't that why I am going to school?

Taking a small step forward. I chose to tackle one toxin at a time...FOOD DYE!

Food dyes are synthetics made from petroleum. In 1985, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) confessed to the knowledge that dyes were dangerous. They still did not remove these said dyes from food items. They added labeling without any warnings.

Some negative effects of food dyes:

• Bronchoconstriction (asthma attack)

• Chromosomal damage (cancer)

• Sperm damage

• Blood pressure issues

• Genotoxic damage to DNA

• Thyroid tumors

• Immune system inhibition

• Eczema

• Behavioral, mood & sleep changes (ie. ADD, ADHD, compulsive disorders, depression, etc.)

• & Many, many, many, many more

Now, I knew this summer camp was quite progressive. I asked if they would mind me searching for an alternating ice pop. I got the go ahead.

Some people work on big agendas- climbing Mount Everest, ending world hunger, cures for cancer... my work right now is finding a dye-free ice pop. I got this!

Or so I thought. I searched high and low. I found most ice pop companies do not even attempt an alternative. Even the 100% juice pops are filled with food dye.

Power of Fruit Company supposedly had a dye-free pop. They seem to have gone out of business.

I finally found that Otter Pop makes a colorless pop.

I called the company directly. They sent me to Costco and two other separate companies that did not carry the dye-free pop. The companies sent me back to Otter Pop.

After 5 separate attempts, Otter Pop hooked me up with a private broker.

I have left messages with no call back.

I get it. If we don't ask for better, we don't get better.

And if you haven't figured it out by now, this is'n't all together about ice pops.

Our children are bombarded with toxins!

• Pesticides

• Artificial flavors, dyes and preservatives in food

• Refined sugars & flour that works on opiate receptors in the brain

• 54 doses of vaccines

• Chemicals and carcinogens that are in skincare products and clothes

• Heavy metals and fluoride

Children today struggle with issues our grandparents never heard of-

Auditory, Visual or Sensory processing disorders. Autism. Hyperactivity.

It is neurological mayhem. We are in Generation Disorder.

We will never protect our children fully. They can not live in a bubble. But we can try little by little to keep them from overloading.

Make a vow to our future to make small changes. I will.

I vow to help parents decode this mystery of food and give hope where needed.

I vow to read labels

I vow to cook most nights instead of open a meal

I vow to teach my child about real vs. fake

I vow to start with one small step and never stop moving forward

I vow to find these stupid, godforsaken dye-free ice pops,

even if it kills me!

If you are interested in more information regarding food dyes, preservatives and artificial flavors visit

www.feingold.org

I Love You a Latte...

The holidays are over and it is time to recover. We made some wrong choices. We ate some crazy concoctions. Now... let's get back on track.

Life is wonderful.

We wake up each and every day with the option to choose.

Making mistakes is human nature. Holidays bring out the mistakes.

Did you single handedly eat all the cookies your neighbor made for your whole family?

Did you drink away the blues with booze?

Did you fight with family about walls and shut downs?

Did you binge watch GLOW, only to figure out that it isn't that great of a show?

In my case...maybe!

So, where does this leave us?

I like to think about life being a journey. I take many paths and some times I get lost.

In keeping to this thought, in no world I know would someone get lost in the woods and say,

"I guess I live here now!" And immediately succumb to a dank, dark wooded area as their new home.

And yet, we do this in our lives all the time. We wake up, having made wrong choices and feel there is no escape. We have aches and pains and feel we have no control. We gain a few pounds and just figure this is who we are now.

Hell NO! Get your ass out of the woods and find the path you are meant to walk.

Here is a Turmeric Latte Recipe that can help ground you back on your path to love.

Turmeric Latte

• 1 tbl Ghee

• 1 tbl Ground Turmeric

• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper

• 1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon

• 1 tbl Honey (local or manuka)

• 4 Cups Almond Milk

In a medium sauce pot over medium heat, combine Ghee,Turmeric, Ginger, Black Pepper, and Cinnamon and cook, whisking constantly, until Ghee is melted and the spices are blended. (1-2 Min.) Gradually whisk in the Almond Milk and bring to boil. Let simmer for 4-5 Min. Take off heat and whisk in Honey. Strain into individual cups. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!

Thank you Sun Basket for the awesome recipe!