The beginning...

Most of the people who know me know that weight is something that I’ve struggled with most of my life. Is this going to a weight loss blog? Yes and no. I’m blogging to hold myself accountable for making healthy choices that will become a healthy lifestyle. If I am successful, I think weight loss will continue to be one of the major benefits.

For those of you that know my husband, Jimmy, you know he is a dedicated runner. Not just any runner, but a marathon runner who is more committed to running that I have seen anyone commit to anything else. I admire him for that. If you me, you also know that he and I could not be more different. I don’t have a desire to become a runner like Jimmy, but I do have a desire to live a healthy lifestyle. I owe it to myself, and I owe it to him.

Jimmy and I once decided we were going to go an entire month without eating processed foods. We quickly decided how incredibly difficult that would be, and we gave up…. until now!
I recently found out about the +Vitamix ! If you haven’t heard of it, it is a “blender.” I really hate to use that word because it does so much more than blend, but that is the best way to describe it. I’ll be posting all of things I do with the Vitamix to improve the way that we eat. I think the Vitamix will get us the closest we will get to eating unprocessed foods.

Ok.. so this is the Vitamix I bought. https://secure.vitamix.com/5200-Super-Healthy-Lifestyle.aspx Is it expensive? Hell yes. I got mine at Costco and saved $50. I still almost threw up when I ordered it because of cost, and almost got sick again when I got it wondering if I would actually use it. After just a few days, I feel like I’ve made one of the best decisions ever. If you browsed the Vitamix website at all, you have seen some of the cool things you can do with the Vitamix including making smoothies, ice creams, hot soups, nut butters and nut milks. If you have the dry container, you can also mill your own flour from whole grains.

I have really high aspirations, and I am hoping that this choice will be the first of many great ones. I will keep you updated with my weight loss, as in the number of pounds I have lost, not how much I weigh! Do you think I’m crazy? I’m not that brave… yet!

I just got my Vitamix last Wednesday, and here is what I have done so far!
Smoothies! The first one had frozen strawberries, banana, an orange, and spinach! As you can see, it was a really pretty green color. The Vitamix blended everything so well. It was nice and smooth, but very thick like a smoothie from Jamba Juice.





The next smoothing I made had frozen raspberries, strawberries, a banana, kale, and some orange juice. This one came out BROWN! I was a little scared to drink it, but it was delicious. I use to juice quite a bit, but one the Vitamix is so much better than a juicer. The Vitamix takes the entire fruit/vegetable (peeled if needed and de-seeded if needed), and it liquifies it. You still get all of the vitamins and minerals, but you get the fiber too which is something you don’t get out of a juicer.



Any blender can make smoothies right? Maybe.. but today I really began to use the Vitamix to make things I like to eat in a healthy, unprocessed (except by me) way. Today I made peanut butter from dry unsalted peanuts, and I made coconut milk from unsweetened shredded coconut and water.



I used 2 cups of dry unsalted peanuts, and it took about 2 minutes to grind them into peanut butter. The peanut butter was so creamy, more so than when you get fresh peanut butter from Whole Foods. The bubbles you see are air bubbles. I was really surprised by how delicious it was! I didn’t need to add salt, sugar, or anything. I am thinking about adding a little honey in the future though. The peanuts I found for $1.99/lb. I paid $1.79 so I had just under a pound. It probably made about 4 - 6 ounces of peanut butter, and that will last me 2 - 3 weeks since I only eat it about once a week.



The coconut milk was even easier! 1 cup of shredded coconut (I used unsweetened) and 2 cups of water. It took 3 minutes, and I had fresh coconut milk. I spent $1.48 on the coconut, and it made about 2 1/2 cups of coconut milk. I’m storing it in a Quart Mason Jar. It tasted really good, but it did have a little bit of a “gritty” consistency. Since I’m going to use it for smoothies and curries, that does not bother me. I may try to blend it a little longer next time and see if that helps.

Tonight is Meatless Monday, something Jimmy and I have been doing for over 2 years now. We are having salads and smoothies for dinner. The smoothie I’m going to make tonight will have frozen pineapple, coconut milk, a banana, and a plant based protein powder. If it was for breakfast I would also add coconut oil, but I’ve heard it gives you a lot of energy, so I’ll try that another day.

I’m looking forward to this year and all of the changes in store for me! Feel free to follow and leave comments. I’ll need all of the support I can get!