Forks Over Knives.........big impact in my house!

Last Saturday, the weather was nice outside and my husband and I planned on doing some yard work, but for some reason I remembered a movie that I wanted to watch and suggested it. The movie is Fork Over Knives. Let me tell you before watching this, I already knew so many health problems could be cured and eliminated by eating only vegetables, fruits, grains, and beans. I have believed that for many years now. I still learn things all the time, and this movie reinforced the truth, the facts and studies that eating a plant based diet will STOP health problems! My husband who I have said before is the biggest meat eater and has said to me many times that he will never ever give up meat...well let's just say this movie turned him around. The studies they did, the proof they had about Norway's health problems declining so low when World World II took place and Germany occupied Norway and took their Dairy and Meat sources. The health issues returned and increased afterwards. That alone right there should be an eyeopener, along with all the other studies they did and are still doing. This movie left me wanting to share it with everyone I know, any one who will listen! So many people DO NOT want to listen, it's amazing how fast they want to get away from you when you tell them about it, almost like I am crazy, no I am educated now and have experienced it for my own self. It's a shame that the FDA is making so much money on medicines that they would NEVER admit that eating what we have already would fix problems so easily. God didn't even medicines, humans did, the health problems are increasing, the weight issues are increasing especially in children.

So after this movie we watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and my husband was more convinced then ever. He stopped eating meat on Sunday and lost 12 pounds already, he is eating a lot of food, just healthy food! He has problems with heartburn, digestion issues, headaches daily every day, etc. I know in my heart if he sticks to this, all of his problems will go away. He has said he will probaly eat meat again but doesn't know, he wants to see what happens. I have never pushed my eating on him or my children, but I am going to start making small changes in my kids foods. I did buy Hormone free skim milk but I told them after what is left, never again. I am only buying Almond, Soy and Coconut Milks. Small changes slowly that will affect their health as well. I don't want them not to be able to eat the foods they enjoy, but at the same time I want them to be healthy. If they make changes now, they can make even a bigger difference in their lives since they are younger.

July 31st, 2011 San Francisco, California

San Francisco is one of my favorite cities to visit. In 2008 we went and toured Alcatraz and that is a must if you visit! We spent one whole week in San Francisco that year and fell in love with the city. We have been back a few times since then and I could never get bored there, still so many places to visit and a never ending amount of places to eat.

In August of 2011 we flew into the SFO airport and started our road trip from there. We were so excited that our rental car was a Charger and even more excited that it was Orange :)

We stopped in San Francisco at Bob's Donut's and Pastries on Polk Street.

The first place on my husband's to go for lunch was Gorilla BBQ, we got there before it opened so we drove down to Rockaway Beach- Pacifica, CA for a little while and just walked around.

First we stopped at Viva Italiano for some pizza for the boys. Great service and Great pizza!

Next was Gorilla BBQ for Tom

There was a long line but it went quick. Tom said the BBQ was ok but not as good as he was expecting. He has not yet found anything he likes compared to the Salt Lick BBQ in Texas.

When staying in San Francisco, we have stayed right in Union Square at the Parc 55 before (loved this) and Holiday Inn right by the Fisherman's Wharf which are great for a first time visit to San Francisco, but we have stayed at the Embassy Suite South San Fransisco a few times and love it. It's not in the city so you have to drive in but the location is great. That is where we stayed this time again.

Tom and I walked around the water by the hotel while the boys got settled in, Gage took this picture from our room. We stay at Embassy Suites almost all the time, this gives everyone their own separate bed which my boys refuse to share one together. Our suites always have a living room that has fold out sofabed with a tv, then a room with 2 beds. The breakfast buffet that is included is great,  they have cereals, fruits, pastries, sausage and eggs, a omelet station that also makes pancakes. I always get an omelet with no egg just all veggies stir-fried. In the evenings, they have a Manager's reception with free drinks and snacks.

Clif Bar - Coconut Chocolate Chip = OH MY!

I promise my posts are not sponsored by Clif Bar. I just wanted to share my own opinions and experiences with food/products. This bar is so yummy and Vegan! Only .99 at Walmart, or a case of them was almost $11 at Whole Foods Market.

Delicious Food Cooked at HOME

I am a very lucky lady, I come home every night to a cooked meal by my husband and everything is fresh, homemade, and Vegan. He is a big meat eater but makes the best meals I have ever had, better than eating out by a long run. I actually sit here and day dream about his food.

When we were in Cleveland this past weekend, he found the pasta maker that he has been wanting to get. He was SO excited to make homemade pasta for the first time, and I think I was more excited to try it! I hung out behind him watching and waiting and saying how hungry I was :) The great thing about it, it's only made of water and flour! It's cool to see a small ball of dough turn into a long sheet, then into the spaghetti noodles. This was like angel hair, he said the net time he will make it a little thicker. It was delicious, and he also made homemade spaghetti sauce with zucchini in it, YUM!

homemade pasta, homemade sauce, garlic toast (Italian bread with Earth Balance Vegan butter & garlic powder)

2 cups of this flour & 3/4 cup water

Yesterday I told Tom we needed to make sure we used our leftovers and produce before it went bad, so when I got home he had prepared these for me. They are stuffed tomatoes (left over white rice with lime & cilantro, zucchini, onion, pepper, salt and garlic) he left me a text to put them in the oven for 400 for 25 minutes and broil for 5 minutes. They came out perfect, I ended up eating 6 of them and he had 2.

Clif Bar Carrot Cake = SO GOOD!

This bar is SO YUMMY and I just saw on their website that all of their bars are Vegan! My husband and I just bought a case of the White Chocolate Macadamia and their newest bar Coconut Chocolate Chip. I love that these are made with Organic ingredients, filled with vitamins and protein. This bar is 240 calories, 4.5 g of fat, 5 g of fiber. I have loved Clif bars for years and rely on them a lot when I am needing an energy boost or a healthy snack that fills me up.

Trader Joes & The Melt Bar and Grilled-Cleveland, Ohio

My husband and I decided to have a date day and head over to Cleveland to try the Melt Bar & Grilled for the first time. A friend of mine had just gone and told me they had Vegan Cheese. I have never tried Vegan cheese before so I was excited! There are 3 locations in Cleveland, we went to the one on Cedar Road in Cleveland Heights. It opened at 11 and I was expecting to be a long wait from what I have heard, but we got seated right away. Our waiter Patrick was great and the food came out quickly.

My sandwich was the Spinach Pie with Vegan Mozzarella -wilted garlic spinach, roasted red peppers, grilled onions. It was VERY Good, the flavor was great, there is a lot of spinach so the bottom of the bread started to get soggy. That was the first time that I tried Vegan cheese and at first I couldn't tell at all then it left an after taste that I didn't like. The texture is more rubbery than regular cheese. I don't think I will have vegan cheese again, but overall the sandwich was very good!

My husband ordered the Hot Italian - grilled salami, honey ham, pepperoni, sun-dried tomato pesto, roasted garlic, provolone. Both sandwiches came with fresh cut fries and coleslaw.

The atmosphere is fun, the place is decorated with all kinds of decor (Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Kiss, misc). There is a bar side and the restaurant side. We really enjoyed it.

We also spent the day shopping at Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel and Sur La Table. I posted a few pictures below from Trader Joes, their prices are better than Whole Foods and I love their selections. I saw Maple Sugar and got excited, I can't wait to try it! We had a great day together :)

Spinach Pie

Hot Italian