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Health, Tips, Tricks and Hacks

The Holidaze

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Cheat No Evil

The holidays can be such a challenging time for some who want to follow this lifestyle. We are surrounded by family members and friends, traditions, comfort foods and memories connected to highly palatable foods.

When I began this lifestyle in 2012, I made the  decision to not look back, but to look forward. This is a lifestyle, and if I intend to continue on with this throughout the years, I will have to get through many more Halloweens, Thanksgivings, Birthdays, parties, vacations, and more.

For some it is to have a plan as to  what to do to get through each of these social gatherings. These tips can be helpful every day and especially during the holidays:

Fell off the wagon? Binge Eating? Cravings?

Making Deals With Cheat Meals

Tips on Eating Out

Don’t Leave Home Without Food

Find a Restaurant – Eat Vegan, No Oil Food

The Cravings Beasty – Sweets

Conquer Cravings: Coffee

Conquer Cravings: Ice Cream

Conquer Cravings: Baked Goods

Conquer Cravings: Salty Things

Conquer Cravings: Crunchy Things

Conquer Cravings: Chocolate

Conquer Cravings: Cheese

It is helpful to be around like minded people. Consider joining a group in your area who hosts Whole Food, Plant Based, pot luck dinners. Meet Like Minded People: The Free, Pod Program.

Please remember to follow me by clicking on the FOLLOW link.

Also, Subscribe to my Be Green With Amy YouTube Channel for recipe demos, lifestyle hacks and more! 

Need someone to get you through this? Contact Amy. 

I have helped many people maintain this lifestyle. If you would like help to learn ways to navigate this lifestyle, please contact me for a coaching session. I have learned many strategies, tips and hacks while coaching people since 2012. I would love to help you be successful as well.

Amy holds a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell

If you would like to help support my blog, consider shopping on my Amazon Store for Whole Food, Plant Based kitchen gadgets, books, food, home delivered food and more!

If you would like to donate to help me with the costs of maintaining this website, recipe development, social media publicity and more, please donate here. 

Be Strong, Be Well and Be Green🌱!

Amy

 

Cashews, Dates, Dips and Hummus, Dressings, Easy Delicious Recipes, Hey, I Can Make That!, Nuts, Recipes, Vinegar, Vitamix or Nutribullet

Delicious Dressing SOS Free!

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Easy to Make Sauce/Dressing
Hey, I Can Make That Sauce/Dressing!

1 1/4 cup Raw, Unsalted Cashews

1/2 cup No-SALT Stone Ground Mustard 

2 cups Filtered Water

12 Pitted Dates or Date Paste

1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Put all ingredients in a high powered blender 

Blend until smooth and creamy

Check out my YouTube recipe demo! 

Refrigerate.

Enjoy!

Please remember to follow me by clicking on the FOLLOW link.

Also, Subscribe to my Be Green With Amy YouTube Channel for recipe demos, lifestyle hacks and more! 

If you would like to learn other ways to navigate this lifestyle, pleasecontact me for a coaching session. I have learned many strategies, tips and hacks while coaching people since 2012. I would love to help you be successful as well.

If you would like to help support my blog, consider shopping on my Amazon Store for Whole Food, Plant Based kitchen gadgets, books, food, home delivered food and more!

If you would like to donate to help me with the costs of maintaining this website, donate here. 

Amy holds a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell

Be Strong, Be Well and Be Green!

Digestive Issues, Health

Constipation

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If you are constipated after adopting this lifestyle, you may find this article helpful. 

One reason for constipation may be the exclusion of coffee. While some may use coffee to aid in going, this should not be an excuse to drink coffee. What About Coffee and Wine?

Here are some suggestions:

Avoid over the counter remedies as they can be deleterious to your health.

Eat raw red cabbage. Chew, chew, chew all food to a cream. 

Add ground chia seeds to your smoothie or make into a Chia Drink. Chia seeds are a natural laxative. Chia seeds hold water in the digestive tract and make the stool softer.

Before you get out of bed, gently massage mid section of front of body over intestines starting from top right side of rib cage closing inwards in a spiral circle. 

Use this and look behind you, as you do in spinal twist, left and right. 

Conquer Cravings: Coffee

Of course, if you have prolonged symptoms, seek the advice of your physician.

Are you having challenges with this lifestyle?

If so, what are / were they and how do / did you deal with them?

I would love to provide you with more help. Please contact me for a coaching session:

If you would like to help support my blog, consider shopping on my Amazon Store for Whole Food, Plant Based kitchen gadgets, books, food, home delivered food and more!

If you would like to donate to help me with the costs of maintaining this website, donate here. 

When you subscribe, I will  know that you like this blog and that you want more helpful hints, recipes and offers. Subscriptions are FREE!

I also have great recipes, tips and tricks on BeGreenWithAmyYouTube

Amy holds a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell

Be Strong, Be Well and Be Green! 

The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. The purpose of this website is to promote broad consumer understanding and knowledge of various health topics. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

How to own this lifestyle

It’s Fool Not Food

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Fool not Food Graphic

Many of my clients have told me that a barrier they encounter is buying food for others in their home. They tell me “It’s my husband’s favorite cereal.” or “My daughter loves these cookies.”

These are not foods, they are fools. They fool your brain into believing that you are not really buying them for yourself, but for someone else. They fool you because you are only going to eat a small amount or “just this once because I am (fill in the blank), mad, sad, celebrating, rewarding myself, etc.).  

Owning this lifestyle is not easy when we are bombarded with advertisements, displays at stores, movies with product placement, etc. The worst thing we can do is allow these insipid things into our fortress or for that matter our lives. The voice in your head that tries to convince you to put any of those fools in your shopping cart (virtual or real), must be dealt with. The shopping cart is the drawbridge over your moat which protects your castle. Only foods not fools are allowed there.

Nothing worthwhile is easy. Everyone has a different strategy that works for them.  

I hope that by reading this, it will help you to find something out about yourself or someone else in your life. It is my hope that you surround your life with food not fool.

Are you having challenges with this lifestyle?

If so, what are / were they and how do / did you deal with them?

I would love to provide you with more help. Please contact me for a coaching session

If you would like to help support my blog, consider shopping on my Amazon Store for Whole Food, Plant Based kitchen gadgets, books, food, home delivered food and more!

If you would like to donate to help me with the costs of maintaining this website, donate here. 

When you subscribe, I will  know that you like this blog and that you want more helpful hints, recipes and offers. Subscriptions are FREE!

I also have great recipes, tips and tricks on BeGreenWithAmyYouTube

Amy holds a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell

Dates, Dressings and Sauces, Hey, I Can Make That!, Tofu

Mayonnaise From My YouTube Video

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Mayonaise Youtube Thumbnail.png

When I first began this lifestyle, there were many dishes which we did not care for and just throw in the garbage.  I finally learned that the trick is to make the (new to you) sauce separately. Taste the sauce first and if you like it you can later add to beans, potatoes, steamed or roasted vegetables.  This helps to avoid waste and frustration.

It also helps to join local groups where you can meet and eat with others who have adopted this lifestyle. Learn how to find local groups where you live.

I am fortunate to have created a group which meets twice monthly for healthy, Pot Luck dinners. We try to incorporate presentations before we eat. I found this yummy and versatile recipe for mayonnaise, which also makes a great base for other sauces.

You can watch me demonstrate the “Hey, I Can Make That!” recipe here.

               Mayonnaise 

Ingredients:

8 oz box of Organic Silken Tofu 

3 Tsp white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp ground mustard seeds or dry mustard

1 Tablespoon salt substitute

1 small pitted date (optional)

2 Tablespoons Water

Blend ingredients in high speed blender.

Store in refrigerator.

Keeps in refrigerator for about 5 days.

I would love to provide you with more help in adopting this lifestyle.  Please contact me for a coaching session.

If you would like to help support my blog, consider shopping on my Amazon Store for Whole Food, Plant Based kitchen gadgets, books, food, home delivered food and more!

If you would like to donate to help me with the costs of maintaining this website, donate here. 

When you subscribe, I will  know that you like this blog and that you want more helpful hints, recipes and offers. Subscriptions are FREE!

I also have great recipes, tips and tricks on BeGreenWithAmyYouTube

Amy holds a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell

Be Strong, Be Well and Be Green! 

Kids

Psst…Your Kids Are Watching

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F2B89542-CED9-409B-A4C1-71CF32D2C841_4_5005_c

Psst…Your Kids Are Watching

Lately, I have read comments on the web from parents / grandparents who have changed their diet in order to lose weight and/or obtain better health.

Someone recently posted a picture of their sad faced, preschool daughter holding a bag of Cheese Puffs. The mother commented that her daughter was sad because her dieting Mommy would not eat the one her daughter offered.

Some parents / grandparents are abstaining from certain foods but still have them in the home, available to the children.

Huh?

What message are we giving our young? Are we saying that we believe that Cheese Puffs and the like are alright for them to eat, but not for us?

Wouldn’t we be doing these young ones a better service if we did not make certain offending food items available in the home?

Sure, cigarette smokers don’t like when you take their cigarettes away. Many of us have never smoked or have quit, but should that be a reason to buy cigarettes and keep them in the home for our young ones?

The kids are watching and learning from what we do and what we do and don’t do for them. They look to us for guidance and feel loved when we do things for them that show we care about their welfare.

If we bring foods in the home that we are choosing not to eat, aren’t we setting them up to have the same problems with these foods that we are struggling with now? How can we teach them discretion if we don’t model this behavior?

Wouldn’t it be easier for these children in the long run if we eliminate the unhealthy foods and share the delicious alternatives we are choosing for ourselves?

Do you interact with children while navigating this lifestyle? What are your obstacles? What are your strategies?

I would love to provide you with more help. Please contact me for a coaching session:

If you would like to help support my blog, consider shopping on my Amazon Store for Whole Food, Plant Based kitchen gadgets, books, food, home delivered food and more!

If you would like to donate to help me with the costs of maintaining this website, donate here. 

When you subscribe, I will  know that you like this blog and that you want more helpful hints, recipes and offers. Subscriptions are FREE!

I also have great recipes, tips and tricks on BeGreenWithAmyYouTube

 

Chocolate, Cocoa, Dates, Desserts, Hey, I Can Make That!, Snacks, Sweet Potato, Treats

How to Make Chocolate Pudding

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Chocolate Pudding

I had not eaten pudding since adopting this lifestyle in 2012. When Beverly, a member of my WFPB Meetup group, brought this dish to our pot luck dinner, it rocked my world! I hope it rocks your world too! Don’t let the ingredients fool you. As with many dishes in our lifestyle, healthy ingredients can put a delicious twist on a dish. 

This dish is simple to make and you can watch me demo by clicking here

Chocolate Pudding – Sugar, Oil and Salt Free!

4 Cups Mashed Sweet Potatoes

1 Cup Pitted Dates or 4 1/2 ozDate Paste

1/2 Cup Cocoa or Cacoa Powder

2/3 Cup Plant Based Milk

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Powder (optional)

In high speed blender, blend ingredients till creamy and smooth.

Refrigerate for several hours or until cool.

Enjoy!

Also, Subscribe to my Be Green With Amy YouTube Channel for recipe demos, lifestyle hacks and more! 

Need someone to get you through this? Contact Amy. 

I have helped many people maintain this lifestyle. If you would like help to learn ways to navigate this lifestyle, please contact me for a coaching session. I have learned many strategies, tips and hacks while coaching people since 2012. I would love to help you be successful as well.

Amy holds a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell

If you would like to help support my blog, consider shopping on my Amazon Store for Whole Food, Plant Based kitchen gadgets, books, food, home delivered food and more!

If you would like to donate to help me with the costs of maintaining this website, recipe development, social media publicity and more, please donate here

Be Strong, Be Well and Be Green!

 

Fitness and Exercise, Health

Leg Cramps?

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Woman with calf feeling pain on white background.

After noticing the wonderful health benefits of changing the way we eat, we sometimes can look at some of our health issues and wonder if there is a magical food to add or remove which will help heal us.

I learned this tip about leg cramps from Dr. Michael Klaper. If you are suffering from leg cramps, you may find this helpful. 

If legs cramp while in bed, be sure that your covers are not tucked in as it can hold your foot in prone position creating a cramp. Yup, that’s it! It has helped many of my clients and I hope that you will find it helpful too.

Dr. Klaper has so much helpful information! Check out one of Dr. Klaper’s videos!

If you would like to learn other ways to navigate this lifestyle, please contact me for a coaching session. I have learned many strategies, tips and hacks while coaching people since 2012. I would love to help you be successful as well.

If you would like to help support my blog, consider shopping on my AmazonStore for Whole Food, Plant Based kitchen gadgets, books, food, home delivered food and more!

If you would like to donate to help me with the costs of maintaining this website, recipe development, social media publicity and more, please donate here. 

Amy holds a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell

Be Strong, Be Well and Be Green!

The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.

Hey, I Can Make That!, Vegan Twists on Old Favorites, Wraps

Easy to Make Tortilla Wraps Whole FoodPlant Bases No Sugar, Salt or Oil!

BeGreenWithAmy
Tortilla JoAnn
Our Green Star Member JoAnn is a great Plant Based cook and demonstrated this recipe COMING SOON here on our BeGreenWithAmy YouTube Channel.
Servings: 8 Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 5 Minutes
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups organic Masa Harina Flour
1/4 arrow root powder or organic flour or gluten-free flour mix
juice of half a lime (optional)
1 1/2 – 2 cups hot water
Procedure:
Combine the Masa Harina & the arrow root flour in a mixing bowl
Add a little water and stir with a fork until it forms little crumbles
Add a little water and stir with a fork until it forms little crumbles
Add a little water at a time until mixture forms a ball
Knead for a couple minutes
Press into a ball with a flat top onto the cutting board
Cut into 8 pie shaped sections
Roll into balls

Press each ball flat in a tortilla press lined with a cut opened (sides, not bottom)  ZipLoc bag

Fry on a griddle for about 1 minute on one side
Flip and fry other side
Keep warm in Tortilla Warmer
JoAnn found this recipe on The Plant Based Cooking Show.

If you would like to help support my blog, consider shopping on my AmazonStore for Whole Food, Plant Based kitchen gadgets, books, food, home delivered food and more!

If you would like to donate to help me with the costs of maintaining this website, recipe development, social media publicity and more, please donate here. 

Amy holds a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell

Be Strong, Be Well and Be Green!

Desserts, Hey, I Can Make That!, Snacks, Sweet, Treats

Nice Cream

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Freeze 5 very ripe bananas (without skin, cut into quarters).

In high speed blender:

5 Frozen bananas

2 Tablespoons cocoa or cacao powder

1 Teaspoon almond butter (just blended almonds, no salt or other chemicals)

2 cups water

Blend for about 30 – 60 seconds.

Serve immediately as soft serve or place in pop molds overnight.

Check out the YouTube Recipe Demo Video Here.

Naked Pumpkin Ice Cream

Conquer Cravings – Ice Cream

If you would like to learn other ways to navigate this lifestyle, please contact me for a coaching session. I have learned many strategies, tips and hacks while coaching people since 2012. I would love to help you be successful as well.

If you would like to help support my blog, consider shopping on my AmazonStore for Whole Food, Plant Based kitchen gadgets, books, food, home delivered food and more!

If you would like to donate to help me with the costs of maintaining this website, recipe development, social media publicity and more, please donate here. 

Amy holds a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell

Be Strong, Be Well and Be Green!