Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Day Two- I remembered my food!!

Well I can safely say that all those years of being in the body building industry have paid off in one way or another!! This time in food preparation...NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!!

Yesterday being day two I had yet another challenging day ahead of me. Mom and I left home very early- her to head to the doctor's to have her eye's checked for extreme dryness and for testing to find the cause of her anemia and me to spend the day with Gramma and take her in for her rapidly depleting eye sight.

I spent a good hour and a half preparing our food for the day as I am still getting used to the vegan regimen as well as to mom's tiny kitchen. Oh how I miss my big kitchen...but I digress. This summer I am committed to be here for mom and then move to the beach so it's only temporary :)

I packed our bags with fresh juice, as usual, containing everything from beets to grapefruit to collard greens, the lentil-brown rice mix from the day before packed in lettuce and kale cups for easy eating on the go, salad with many colors, banana slices with almond butter, grapes, almond-walnut-date mix, and sweet potato pudding.

Spending time with Gramma before leaving for the doctor I was thankful to have brought my food along! The home that she chose to move into does not feed her much in the way of produce so we have a fruit of the month sent to her year-round and bring food with us on each visit. I was happy she ate grapes, dates and banana with me.

As we sat in the waiting room I felt a bit hungry, not unusual as I feel like I can't stop eating now that I am vegan, so I drank some juice. Of course it got a bit of attention and an older gentleman came over to ask if I had brought lunch for the group? I told him I'd be happy to share my vegan treats but he seemed more inclined to speak to my gramma about why she was there and to ask her age...she said 39, he said 40. Eventually she confessed her real age of 94 and he responded with "pushing 80" and had she noticed, she may have had a date!

What I truly love about my gramma is that she is never afraid to be herself. She kept her composure when I told her about his attempts and said "honey, what in the world would I do with him anyway!?!" We had a good laugh.

Our day was filled with smiles as I spent time talking about her life, appreciating the adventures she has had and observing the world together. I am so grateful for her coming into my life when she did...we adopted her in 1984; the year my parents divorced and the same year she lost one of her last living relatives.

We compared our hands and I was taken back by the beauty in her fingers! With such slender, straight fingers and soft skin it's hard to believe those hands belong to a 94 year-young woman. It's no wonder the man came over to inquire about her!!

Now, it's been quite some time since I've stepped foot into an actual doctor's office. Looking around reminded me of how the concept of specializing in one thing has a tendency to overlook the big picture. I can say that I was pleased to hear her doctor recommend her continue on her eye vitamins and to increase her amounts of green leafy vegetables.

After the appointment we sat down for lunch at the cafe as we would not be back in time for dinner at the home; their term for lunch. She enjoyed her ham and cheese sandwich with side salad as I took out my vegan treats. Her eyes showed such joy as she watched me eat and kept saying "Honey, you're so healthy! I am so glad to have you on board now. Tell your mom I'm having a wonderful day."

I can't help but wonder just how many aging ailments and diseases are caused by poor diet. While I never would have thought after 8 years that I would return to a vegan diet but after only a couple of days, I can feel this time is life-changing.

By the end of the day I was exhausted! Every ounce of energy was spent in play with Gramma but we laughed and had such joy that I would not have traded it for the world. I ate all my food and then some...after mom and I took our daily walk, this time at 7pm, we sat down to a Rainbow Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing. 

Day two was a great success in the vegan journey. While I have maintained my weight despite the high amount of carbs and nut fats I am consuming, my waistline has trimmed down quite rapidly. A big surprise to me having spent years in the low-carb, high protein mindset!!

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