Mackenzie lined up my iPhone, Scott’s cell phone, and Scott’s iTouch. She picked up each in turn and said the following:

“Hello?”

“Is Anne Bean.”

“Great.”

“Goodbye.”

And for Scott’s flip phone, she appended a:

“Close the door.”

After watching her make several rounds of the same conversation on each device, I drew an obvious conclusion: I like to cut to the chase when I make phone calls.

I was shocked to the core a few days ago when my friend mentioned her baby was now 7 months old. I would have bet money he was born just last month or maybe the month before… 7 months? The time has blown by lately.

Note to self: Be less busy. Spend more time savoring.

Fast forward to tonight. Scott and I were talking and I mentioned that my half birthday was earlier in the month so I’m already 26 1/2. He just looked at me.

“You’re not 26.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re 25.”

And just like that, I got a free year of life. Good thing too, I needed it!

Here’s to making the last half of being 25 even more fun than the first half of being 26 was.

Scott Bean*, Mackenzie and I walked down by the Scioto river yesterday and soaked in the fall.

The leaves were spectacular and Mackenzie was thrilled to be running free and making “crunch crunch” sounds everywhere as her daddy chased her.

I can’t think of a time I’ve been happier. We have relished our time in Columbus, but are fully aware this may be our last fall here.

With Scott so passionate about ophthalmology**, we’re willing to move anywhere to make sure he’s in a residency program he loves. Between the two of us, we’ve lived for a prolonged period of time in:

Oregon – Scott was born and raised in Salem and we also honeymooned in Oregon and vacationed there. Beautiful.

Texas – I spent several years of my childhood in Houston and Dallas, where I learned to talk and developed a respectable drawl. The people were so friendly.

California – I was born and spent the majority of my life living in the heart of Silicon Valley. My whole family still lives there so we visit frequently. Scott has spent two fabulous summers there with me, one as a sports camp counselor. We played in the hot sun with a great group of kids until the afternoon before our wedding. It worked for us, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone worried about their flower arrangements Scott had nearly blond hair and a never-before-never-again tan for the wedding, and I had a face full of freckles and a truly impressive farmer’s tan.

Illinois – Scott worked for a law firm in Chicago in the year between high school and college. He lived in a beautiful suburb and enjoyed living so close to such a cool city.

No photos from Chicago, sadly. Time to go back!

Utah – We went to undergrad, and met each other in Provo. Mmmm mountains.

Zion’s National Park – Angel’s landing.

Please accept that photo of me skiing in Lake Tahoe as illustrative of the deep and abiding love Scott has for snowboarding in Utah. I realize the relationship is tenuous, but alas I have no photos of Scott snowboarding!

Ohio Medical school at Ohio State University. We love the changing of the seasons here and the people are so welcoming.

I can honestly say, we’ve loved every place we’ve lived and that has surprised us in many cases. Looking through these pictures brought back many good memories. So the adventure of not knowing where we’ll match and live for the next four years? Exciting.

(A little bit scary, because I can see us wanting to put down roots wherever it is… and a computer makes the decision for us. )

*Scott and I often call each other by our first and last names. Examples include “Anne Bean, could you check the recipe for me?” and “Scott Bean, it called for leeks, not onions.” It was pointed out to us recently that this behavior doubles as a term of endearment and as a positive identifier and that made me laugh.

**I just want to add here that I am so proud of Scott! He had wanted to be a doctor for 10 years when I met him and now we’re nine months away from achieving that dream. I know he’ll be an outstanding doctor and I’m glad he found a field he loves.

I know I said I wasn’t going to post for a while.

But, dude.

In the last 30 minutes, my 21 1/2 month old little girl did the following:

- Asked to get down from dinner, asked me to take off her diaper, sat down on the potty and nonchalantly pooped (for the first time ever in the potty).

- Counted to nine on her own. Unprompted, she slowly and deliberately enunciated each number.

Um, I wasn’t aware she had super powers.

The potty success was one thing, but she had peed on it a couple of times in the past few weeks so tonight’s matter-of-fact victory was thrilling for me but didn’t completely upend my universe.

However, the counting thing? I had only ever heard her count to four, and it usually took careful prodding. But out of nowhere, she started calling out how many spoonfuls I was measuring in the mixing bowl. When she passed “five” I started looking around for someone prompting her around the corner (we were home alone).

“Six.” (Scott? Are you SURE you left for barbershop chorus an hour ago?)

“Seven”. (Surely there is a hidden camera in the room.)

“Eight”.

“Nine”.

Shocked to the core, I waited expectantly for her to continue on to one hundred. But, apparently “ten” eluded her. I’ve always felt that number was overrated anyway.

The blog got the shaft the last few weeks as I’ve been swamped at work, but I will be back with lots of good stuff just as soon as I get a little wiggle room in my schedule.

Why so much work? It’s holiday time at SmugMug and we have some fabulous new card designs and features coming. I’m burning the 2am oil most nights trying to get things locked and loaded before the real rush hits.

As such, I’m trying to find 10 hours a day to work while Mackenzie is asleep. She’s a good napper, but even still… my sleep time has been encroached upon. And as it turns out, when I’m forced to choose between sleep and blogging… sleep wins every time.

Explanatory Aside: When Mackenzie is awake, I do all my cooking, cleaning, laundry, exercising, etc. in addition to any urgent work stuff (conference calls, keeping up with email)… none of which is all that fun for her. Thus, I steer clear of all non-essential computer stuff when she’s up and able to play so as to maximize the fun factor around here.

I’m excited to get back to blogging (and sleeping) again soon, though.

Here’s what’s coming:

• Highlights from the 2009 MacAskill Reunion, a trip known in this house as The Week Mackenzie Kept Falling On Her Face. You can tide yourself over (and see wipeout #4) by viewing this epic video by my dad (turn up your sound):
  http://cmac.smugmug.com/Family/Videos-2009/7075789_rXFqW#659756865_BwEpi-A-LB
• More nutrition stuff. More recipes. For better or worse, your comments have motivated me to be more transparent about what does and doesn’t work for us.
• Apple picking and our first foray with canning (homemade, peels-on, no-sugar, lovely-shade-of-red) applesauce:

• Our garden report and what I did with THIS much fresh basil:

• …and the bizarre story behind this photo:

Get excited.

And if you have any extra hours in your day, please send them my way. Thanks.

Read Part I
Read Part II

Part III: We’re not that weird

Before my dad mentioned the China Study to us, I was basically clueless about nutrition. I was the top student in 4 or 5 different nutrition classes in college and was well versed in the government guidelines, but I had never before taken the time to look behind the curtain and read the studies and data myself.

I was floored to discover so much of what I had been taught was pure marketing. Just like pharmaceutical companies are constantly criticized for “buying” doctors to push their products, the meat and dairy industries (plus junk food makers, sugar producers, fast food restaurants, flour mills, and an amazing number of businesses) are putting major money into persuading us that eating the Standard American Diet is healthy and will make us feel better.

Yet Americans are getting fatter and sicker every year.

Gratefully, a large number of doctors, researchers, and ordinary people (hey, how are ya?) have realized that the root cause behind our nation’s epidemics of obesity and preventable disease is pretty simple to understand: a poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle. While type II diabetes clearly has a genetic component, the vast majority of people don’t get it because their parents had it. They get it because of the way they eat. People don’t get heart disease because their parents had it. They get it because of the way they eat.

In one sense, that’s incredibly liberating to discover. Although my grandpa died of a heart attack and I might be more inclined to do the same, if I take care of my arteries by eating well my risk drops to nearly zero. On the other hand, it makes people uncomfortable. Nobody likes to realize they are responsible for their own sickness, or even worse, getting their children sick. It’s easier for most people to choose to set asides millions of dollars of our taxes to “find a cure” for Type II Diabetes than it is for them to turn their own diet around.

Here’s the thing, though… even people that are making an effort to eat better are falling short and getting frustrated. I think in large part this is due to massive amounts of misinformation about what constitutes a healthy diet. The people who have a financial interest in persuading you to eat their food have muddied the waters to such a large degree that it’s easy to follow “guidelines for health” (which, coincidentally, are heavily biased) and still get sick with a preventable disease. For example, if you think that having adequate amounts of calcium and protein in your diet will prevent osteoporosis you may choose to load up on Lean Cuisine, Kraft Singles, and meat. Unfortunately, this won’t keep you from getting osteoporosis. What it will do is wreak havoc on your body.

The Information War

About a month ago, I stumbled across the transcripts from the meetings to determine The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which are “the cornerstone of Federal nutrition policy and nutrition education activities.” I was interested to see that they invited the public to come and comment in their meeting and I wished I could have been there to voice my opinion. I skimmed the transcript of meeting 2 day 1, down to where members of the public stood up one by one and had the floor for a few minutes each. What unfolded had me glued to the edge of my seat. Seriously.

Public voice #1: Executive Director of McCormick Seasoning

He, predictably, wants more “spice” in the dietary guidelines. “Sounds like a good food group to encourage.” (He says, in reference to spices.)

Public voice #2: Senior Vice President of Nutrition Affairs with the National Dairy Council

“leading health authorities recommend three to four daily servings of dairy.” (She says, to a group of supposedly THE authorities on health.)

“If dairy foods are not included in the diet, calcium and potassium are severely compromised.” (Fascinating, considering it’s well documented that the countries consuming the most dairy have the most cases of osteoporotic hip fractures. And I’m not aware of widespread hypokalemia (potassium deficiency) in countries that skip dairy. Low-dairy Japan is ranked #3 for life expectancy whereas America is #50. I’m glad we aren’t severely compromised like Japan.)

Public voice #3: Vice President for Consumer Marketing at the National Pork Board

“Americans are not overconsuming meat.” (Well, since he says it, it must be true!)

“Many people don’t realize that a 3-ounce serving of lean beef or pork provides the same amount of protein as a cup and a half of legumes but in half the calories. ” (I have never, ever met anyone who’s protein-deficient in America, including vegetarians, vegans, and people who survive on junk food. I guarantee you haven’t either. Protein isn’t the point, people. Obesity, cancer, and heart disease are not caused by lack of protein! Meat absolutely has protein. So does every whole plant food I can think of. Is that really the best you can do?)”

Public voice #4: dietitian at the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine

“Every five years since 1980, the government has given new health and nutrition advice to the American public through the Dietary Guidelines, and every year since then, the American public has become markedly more overweight and obese. ” (Well, she certainly got MY attention)

“The average American now eats more than 200 pounds of meat per year, approximately the double global norm. We eat about 30 pounds of cheese per year, three times as much as we did in 1970.” (Still listening…)

“It is time for the Guidelines to take direct aim at the diet-related diseases that claim millions of American lives each year.” (Drumroll please…)

“Vegetarian diets should be touted as the ideal”

“Science supports a low-fat, plant-based diet for optimal health.”

“The studies continue to show that these types of diets still prevent type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some types of cancer.”

“Guidelines should rely solely on evidence-based research and disregard any special interest groups. It is possible to set the bar as high as the science dictates.” (And the crowd goes wild. Ok, maybe just Anne Bean goes wild. )

Public Voice #5 – Vice President for Nutrition with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

“In fact, today’s pork is 30 percent leaner than 30 years ago, and beef is 20 percent leaner than 14 years ago. ” (Stores also sell Kool-aid with less sugar. Does that make it an essential part of one’s diet? I’m just sayin’.)

“Despite the common reference that animal fats are saturated, nearly 50 percent in red meat are monounsaturated, and one-third of the saturated fat in beef and pork is stearic, which have a neutral or cholesterol-lowering effect.” (So, what you’re saying is… animal fat is saturated, just not all of it? Sweet. Sign me up. )

Vote count thus far? 1 for plant-based diet, 3 for meat & dairy.

Take note that the plant-based vote came from someone with no obvious financial motivation, whereas the beef, pork, and dairy people have billions of dollars at stake.

Let’s see what happens next:

Public Voice #6 – Associate Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University and President of the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington.

“The preventive power of a meatless diet against heart disease, weight problems, diabetes, and other conditions exceeds that of other diets.” (Anyone else catching the MEAT! / NO MEAT! drama unfolding here?)

“Prospective studies confirm that milk-drinkers have no better bone development early in life and no fewer hip fractures later in life. “

Public Voice #8 – Christina Pirello, Host of Christina Cooks on National Public Television (#7 was blah blah blah)

“The simple truth is, if people changed their diets, healthcare would reform itself.”

“We must encourage the consumption of vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole unprocessed grains.” (She also hits on vegetarian and vegan diets specifically.)

Other interest groups were… interesting

A bit of a side note, but this stuff really got me thinking of being more of an advocate to policy makers. If ordinary people won’t, than the landscape in D.C. will be dominated by those with a financial stake in things.

This decision had me sick to my stomach a few weeks ago. Why are so many government dollars supporting an industry that’s making us sick? To me that’s like having the government subsidize candy makers or people who make ding dongs. Bleh. If the government is going to support an industry, let it be broccoli or blueberries please.

I digress.

By my count no fewer than 5 out of ~50 presenters advocated that for our health, we should eat MORE refined grains. I’m not making that up. Three of them had an obvious horse in the race (they were grain producers, and I’m sure it’s cheaper and easier to store and market refined grains), but all 5 cited the risk of birth defects from not consuming enough folic acid. (Enriched grains are fortified with folic acid.) Hello? Why not fortify whole grains with the same? Or even better, eat some vegetables. They’re loaded with the stuff.

We also had the sugar people ask us not to blame sugar for America’s fatness, Martek Biosciences advocating supplementation with Omega-3s, the salt people asking us to not blame salt for America’s heart disease, tree nut people asking us to replace refined foods as snacks with nuts, the fish people wanting the council to recommend fish without caveats, and the processed Dairy people want us to have discretionary calories to sweeten up our milk and yogurt

Here’s what gets me, though. Nearly half of the 50 people that presented advocated for a plant-based diet. That’s incredible! From what I could tell, 3 were from animal-rights groups (though it doesn’t discount the studies they cited about the nutrient density of plant foods), and 2 were from produce organizations. All the rest? Concerned citizens. School lunch coordinators. Doctors. Dietitians.

Here are a few snippets from those who appeared (to me) to have no motivation for being there other than their hope that Americans will become healthier:

Plants = Healthy

Public Voice #10 – Concerned citizen

“A couple of months ago, I was diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. I weighed over 225 pounds, and I was told I had diabetes, high blood pressure, and I was on the verge of taking five different pills. I was assigned to meet with a dietitian, who told me I had to follow the Dietary Guidelines that included dairy, meat, and, of course, fruits and vegetables. I indicated to her that I was interested in following an alternative diet, which was vegetarian, that I had read could improve my diabetes.

” I followed this diet, and was able to lose almost 100 pounds… I am no longer diabetic…. My cholesterol went from 215 to 137. My blood pressure, which was 140 over 80, is now 102 over 63. “

Public Voice #11 – Executive Director of the Wellness Forum in Columbus, Ohio (woop!)

“It is quite clear to me that the reason we have such a health crisis in this country is based on food intake. When people come into our office, we put them on a near- vegetarian or vegan diet, and their health issues start to resolve and they lose weight.”

“I would ask the Committee to really think about looking at some of the myths that perpetuate bad diets, one of which is that we don’t know what really constitutes the best diet for humans, but I think the research is quite clear: plant-based diets are better for human health.”

“Another is that people won’t adopt this type of diet, so why bother to tell them about it? But my experience is completely different. When we talk to people about the dangers of the American diet, and we show them how to adopt a near vegetarian and vegan diet, a lot of them do it.”

“Still another myth is that children won’t adopt this kind of diet, but they will.”

“Last but not least, I’d like to address a very important myth, which is that little changes result in health change, and they don’t. People come into my office, they’ve been trying to change their diet for a long time without success, but when we address the totality of their diet, the good changes in health status begin to emerge. “

Public Voice #13 – A High School Junior

Summary: Wants vegetarian diets added to the guidelines because she piloted a vegetarian lunch program at her school to much success.

Public Voice #24 A doctor in Howard County, where 31% of youth are overweight or obese

She urges the council to “incorporate into their policies the many scientific studies that demonstrate the benefits of plant-based diets and the dangers associated with high consumption of animal-related foods, meaning meat and dairy. “

“Now is the time for a groundbreaking 2010 Dietary Guidelines similar to the 1954 Surgeon General’s report on the danger of tobacco use. Further delay is putting millions of Americans at risk of various chronic diseases.”

Public Voice #27 – an ordinary citizen

Summary: She tells the story of her experience. She read that a vegan diet is best and convinced her mother to eat that way and her mother lived to be 93. All 12 of her mother’s siblings died before the age of 40 from cardiovascular disease. (Just one data point, but what a tragic story.)

Public Voice #34 – Dietitian and faculty member in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina

“I, like so many of the presenters so far this morning — it seems about half — encourage you to put more emphasis on choosing a more plant-based diet.”

“A plant-based diet is an eating pattern characterized by a foundation of whole grains, dried beans, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. These foods are nutrient-dense and confer significant advantages in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity, cancer, and type II diabetes.”

Public Voice #44 – Director of the New York Coalition for Healthy School Food

“Chicken nuggets, mozzarella sticks, pizza, cheeseburgers, and hotdogs…. It is unbelievable that these regular menu items are described as balanced and nutritious and that they meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”

““The majority of school meals are not health-supporting. Since school meals are to be consistent with the Guidelines, we recommend these changes:”

- “Meat and beans group: Change the name to the protein group, with legumes and other plant proteins as the primary source. Animal proteins should be listed as optional or infrequent. “

- “Dairy group: Change the name to the calcium group. It is a mistake to focus so much on dairy when people in the U.S. cannot digest it, including the majority of people of color.”

“Research does not support that dairy prevents osteoporosis.”

- “The 2000 Guidelines stated that most of our calories should come from plant sources. This was removed for 2005. Please add that statement back, emphasize it, and make it very clear that the majority of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers are preventable with diet.

It is a free country. People can choose to eat how they want, but, please, let’s tell them real truth, the kind that is not paid for or influenced by the food industry.”

Public Voice #46 – Ordinary citizen

“I grew up eating the standard American diet. Fast foods several times each week; Sunday mornings of eggs and bacon; every lunch and dinner centered around a meat dish. “

“I was 40 pounds overweight by the time I was 17 years old. At that time, I began searching for information about losing weight and being healthy. Today my weight is where it should be, my cholesterol is 148, I take no medications, I have no health issues, and have been vegetarian for 17 years and vegan for 11.”

“In contrast, my father, who never changed his eating habits, has had two heart bypass surgeries, several angioplasties, takes numerous medications to control his blood pressure, cholesterol, and other chronic conditions, and has been diagnosed as pre- diabetic. “

“I point this out to show that choosing a healthy diet, regardless of family genes, can prevent the majority of chronic diseases that are now prevalent in epidemic proportions in this country, and to serve as an anecdotal example of what the scientific studies we’ve heard about today, I’m sure you all know about, support.

Standby #4 – registered dietician

“..Encouraging Americans to begin the process of moving away from our typical meat-based fatty diet toward a healthier plant-based diet just makes sense. “

“The health rewards of doing so are enormous, as I see every day in my practice. People lose weight automatically. High blood pressure drops. Blood sugar levels improve. Cholesterol improves. People are able to lessen or entirely get off their medications.”

Get Educated

Clearly, there is a growing movement towards better health but I think most of us are only exposed to what we see in the news or in ads and commercials. Break out of the shell. Seek out information for yourself and apply what you learn to your family. You just might save a life.

Our journey to better health started with my dad and I’m determined that it won’t end with us.

What color are Mackenzie’s eyes?

Seriously, I’d like to know.

Scott’s are cow-brown and mine are dark blue.

Also: Is “a little bit of everything” an appropriate thing to put down for eye color on a passport?

Read Part I

Part II: Our Journey to Better Eating

Nearly three years ago, my dad stumbled on a book called the China Study. He was trying to reconcile the fact that he was an ironman triathlete, maintaining a healthy weight, and eating the recommended diet of lean meats, skim dairy, and mostly whole grains that most experts recommend… yet his cholesterol was through the roof. He didn’t react well to the medication the doctor gave him, and he worried that he would die of a heart attack like his father did and miss seeing his grandchildren grow up.

A book called The China Study caught his interest and made him wonder if maybe the “experts” he had been following had been too influenced by the deep pockets of the dairy and meat industries. Maybe it was actually the underfunded broccoli and berry councils who had the secret to better health. The breakfast cereal makers are always quick to fortify with the latest and greatest nutrient, but what about the foods that just come packed with nutrients, right from the ground?

My dad wanted our opinions on the scientific basis for the claims the book made about plant-based diets. We actually took issue with the methodology of some of the studies cited in the book, but reading it did force us to re-examine our diets and our understanding of nutrition. When we took a hard look at some of the nutritional “facts” we believed, (milk is good for your bones, you need meat for protein, breakfast cereal is a health food, etc.) we discovered they were more marketing than truth.

All this research sparked in us a train of thought we couldn’t shake: We believe God patterned our bodies after His.

Though sickness and bodily discomforts are a part of this life, we weren’t designed to be slaves to food cravings, miserable about our weight, and or dependent on Kraft foods to tell us what to eat and to fortify our mac&cheese in a plastic microwaveable cup with Vitamin C so we don’t get scurvy. Ahem. Our bodies need Vitamin C, sure, and God put lots and lots of colorful fruits and veggies on earth that come packed with it. He designed our bodies to eat real food that he put on the earth for that purpose. Fresh strawberries and pineapple, in particular, are gifts straight from God to Anne Bean to make her happy.

Scott and I are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. One of the things that is unique about our church is that we know we have a prophet here on earth today. A modern day prophet revealed a code of health over 150 years ago that was peculiar at the time but since then, science has been catching up. He revealed then that tobacco was not good for man, that tea and coffee were not good, and that meat should be eaten sparingly. As a church, each member is left to determine how best to apply God’s commandments in their lives. Lots and lots of Mormons eat lots and lots of meat. But, when we looked closely at this code of health three years ago (and when we look at it today), it seems clear as day that for optimal health, the Creator of our bodies commands us to lay off the meat. Although I made chicken or ground turkey most nights for dinner, and Scott loved his ham sandwiches, bacon, and steaks. We decided to stop eating meat for 6 weeks.

Though it was a major change for us, we thought we needed to at least “try it and see”.

We were hooked. We could absolutely tell the difference in our energy levels, in our waistlines, and in our food cravings. Kicking the meat out of our diet left a void and we tried our best to fill it with healthier foods like vegetables, fruits, and legumes. There definitely was a learning curve. When we made the change, I hated cooked vegetables and pretty much only liked raw carrots and bell peppers. Eating salad was a chore, and cheese was a staple.

Since that point in time, we’ve really kicked out almost everything unhealthy. Those changes have come more gradually, as we’ve switched to whole grains, consciously tried different vegetables, and abandoned many recipes altogether in favor of ones we’ve discovered or created ourselves that are much more in line with our health goals. We found that our palates adjusted so now real, simple, whole plant foods are much more flavorful to us than they used to be. Honestly, I can’t describe this well enough to do it justice, but I have to try. Everything. Tastes. Better. Because we eat real, fresh food, our tastebuds aren’t constantly bombarded with sugar, salt, and fat all day. When we do indulge, it’s so much more satisfying, and we can be much more discriminating because many unhealthy foods no longer tempt us. No more mindless empty calories.

That’s our story. What’s yours?

Read Part III

I have written this post a million times in my head, but this topic is huge and hugely important to me so I’ve chickened out of writing it for a couple of years.

The Highlights

Nearly three years ago, my husband and I became vegetarian. We initially made the change primarily for religious reasons, but also with an idea that it would improve our health. Since then, we’ve done much more reading on nutrition and made many more changes in our diets.

I really feel like we’ve stumbled on something that improved our quality of life by such a large degree, I want to shout it from the rooftops.
- We feel fantastic. We sleep better, have higher energy during the day, no post-meal stupors, fewer cravings for unhealthy food, we’re sick less often, and enjoy *ahem* excellent digestive health.
- It’s really freeing to know that if you eat the right things, there’s no need to count calories, go hungry, or agonize over food choices in order to maintain a healthy, attractive weight.
- Our food costs have increased by very little, and we see the extra cost as an investment in our health.
- Our diet will:

• Nearly eliminate our risk for heart disease
• Lower our cholesterol without medication
• Completely eliminate our risk for obesity
• Completely eliminate our risk for Type II Diabetes
• Drastically reduce our risk of developing cancer
• Protect our child and future children from developing the above diseases

That blows my mind. But, the science is there and that science is at complete odds with the heavy marketing and lobbying from the dairy and meat industries.

So many Americans are suffering from preventable and reversible diseases. Scott and I are convinced that you really are what you eat and that our bodies are designed to function much better and for much longer if given the right fuel.

It breaks my heart to see so many children growing up overweight and getting high blood pressure, clogged arteries, and type II diabetes before they even learn algebra. Millions and millions of people are on medications made necessary by poor food choices (and lack of correct scientific information and understanding). People who bend over backwards for their kids in every other aspect of raising them often set a terrible example when it comes to what they put in their own bodies.

What We Eat

Cutting to the chase, the following foods compose upwards of 90% of our diet:
- Vegetables
- Fruit
- Beans / lentils
- Whole grains
- Nuts & seeds

In picture form:

We still eat cheese about once a week and a decadent dessert about once a month. When I bake bread I’ll use some oil and honey to do it. We’ll put maple syrup on our waffles sometimes. But the above list really covers nearly everything we eat every day.

This may seem incredibly limiting, but we’ve found it’s the exact opposite. I eat such a greater variety now than I ever did before.

Sample Diet From 5 Years Ago:

It should be noted I did try to eat “healthily” even then, meaning whole grains, low-fat dairy, lean meat, no fast food, few sweets, etc.

Breakfast: Special K with skim milk
Snack: strawberry yogurt
Lunch: banana, PB&J sandwich on whole wheat bread
Snack: pretzels and 2 chocolate chip cookies
Dinner: lasagna, garlic bread, apple crisp for dessert

Let’s look at the actual ingredients in that day. I’ve bolded each one the first time I encounter it except for the incomprehensible additives at the end of ingredient lists:
SPECIAL K: rice (refined grain), wheat gluten (Uck, really that much? I guess I’d call that wheat flour?), deffatted wheat germ (um…wheat flour again), salt (twice as many mg salt as there are calories, not a good sign!), high fructose corn syrup (yum, this is corn), dried whey, malt flavoring, calcium caseinate
SKIM MILK: milk
STRAWBERRY YOGURT: milk, sugar, nonfat milk, modified corn starch (also corn, which we’ve already had), inulin (I’m not going to call this a food, though there is more of this than strawberry. Ew), strawberry puree, kosher gelatin, tricalcium phosphate
BANANA: banana
WHOLE WHEAT BREAD: whole wheat flour, sugar, oats (um, less than sugar but I guess they count), yeast, wheat gluten, salt, soybean oil, vegetable oil phytosterols, milk, grain vinegar, sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium propionate (preservative), monoglycerides, ascorbic acid (dough conditioner), soy lecithin
PEANUT BUTTER: roasted peanuts, sugar, molasses (sugar again), fully hydrogenated vegetable oils, mono and diglycerides, salt
JAM: strawberries, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, sugar (does anyone else suspect they split sugar into three to prevent it from taking over strawberries for the top spot?)
PRETZELS: white flour, corn syrup, salt, yeast, malt extract, sodium bicarbonate, ammonium bicarbonate, and artificial flavor
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: white flour, sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter (this is chocolate again, but the worst part), dextrose (sugar again), soy lecithin, sugar, soybean oil, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, high fructose corn syrup, ammonium phosphate, salt, whey, natural and artificial flavors, carmel color
LASAGNA NOODLES: white flour, salt
RED PASTA SAUCE: tomato puree, diced tomatoes, onions, salt, basil, garlic, olive oil, dehydrated garlic, spice
PARMESAN CHEESE: milk
LEAN GROUND BEEF: Beef (did you know that in 93% lean ground beef, 42% of calories still come from fat?)
MOZZARELLA CHEESE: milk
GARLIC BREAD: white flour, butter (milk), yeast, granulated sugar, canola oil and/or soybean oil, nonfat dry milk, garlic, aged parmesan cheese (milk), salt, vinegar, soy flour, spices, wheat gluten, corn syrup solids, sodium alginate
APPLE CRISP: apple, white flour, oats, butter, sugar, cinnamon

I didn’t include serving sizes above, but it’s clear my calories come from the following:
Milk, white flour, sugar, corn, white rice, and oil. The “variety” consists of whole wheat flour for one meal, strawberries in yogurt and jam (hehe), 1 banana, apple in my apple crisp, tomatoes, onions and garlic in my pasta sauce. That’s it! How are you supposed to fuel a vibrant, fit life and beat cancer and clean out your arteries with that kind of food going in your body?

Sample Diet Today

Don’t laugh. We really eat this way, especially in the summer when the farmer’s markets are in full swing.

BREAKFAST: homemade museli with cut up fruit, unsweetened soymilk, and all the fixings
LUNCH: homemade burritos, grapes
SNACK: carrots and broccoli dunked in hummus and fresh tomatoes from our garden
DINNER: ratatouille over brown rice, kale salad, melon for dessert

Again, here are the ingredients with the first mention being in bold:
MUESLI: rolled red wheat, rolled white wheat, rolled oats, rolled barley, rolled rye, rolled sunflower seeds
FRUIT: peaches, nectarines, blueberries, raspberries
FIXINGS: ground flaxseed, walnuts
UNSWEETENED SOYMILK: soy beans
WHOLE WHEAT TORTILLAS: whole wheat flour, salt
REFRIED BEANS (homemade): pinto beans, bell peppers, onions, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, garlic, cumin, oregano
GUACAMOLE: avocados, vinegar, jalapeno peppers, garlic, onion, salt.
GRAPES: grapes
VEGGIES: broccoli, carrots, tomatoes
HUMMUS: chickpeas, canola oil, sesame tahini, salt, citric acid, spices, natural flavor
RATATOUILLE: eggplant, zucchini, crookneck squash, red bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, garlic, salt
BROWN RICE: brown rice
KALE SALAD: kale, dried cranberries, pine nuts, white balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt
MELON: honeydew

I think it’s obvious that the foods listed here are simpler, but offer a much greater variety. This day consisted of 6 different whole grains, 6 different fruits, 3 different beans, 2 different nuts, 3 different seeds, 11 different vegetables, and much less added oil, sugar, and salt.

I want to be clear that I didn’t try to force variety into this day, but rather that because all the processed, refined foods are off the agenda, it opens a lot more space in your budget and on your plate for a variety of colorful plant foods.

More to come

This post kicks off a series of posts on nutrition, and I’d be happy to answer any questions you have about our diet. Just leave ‘em in the comments.

Some things I plan on addressing:

- What we do about dairy. Why we almost always skip it, what we use instead, and how our two year old daughter thrives without milk.

- Why we wear leather shoes. Or put another way, are we *that* kind of vegan?

- How we shop. How much we spend.

Part II: Our Journey to Better Eating

My sister-in-law Kristin believes in hair bows for little girls. So when we were visiting her last Sunday and I put Mackenzie in her church dress, Kristin whisked her off to the back room (AKA The Land of Bow) and brought her back looking like this:

Yeah. She’s a cutie McWee.