Baby Steps (Towards Cool Ranch) ...

Happy Saturday to you, Gnawers!  I really love Saturdays.  It is like getting a guilt-free pass to do anything I want.  That often results in me ending up at the beach at some point.  The beach has been like a best friend to me my whole life.  She keeps my secrets, silently listening as I pour my heart out.  She calms me and brings me peace with the gentle sound of her waves crashing on the shore.  It is easy for me to get wrapped up in her fun and lose time while with with her.  She reminds me that the world is much bigger than me and helps me look beyond myself.  Her cool, laid-back way of being makes me want to spend my time with her because I like who I am when I am with her.  She provides a haven like no other place in the world.  I am so grateful for this friendship.

It was strangely a very warm day today, so I decided to bike down to the beach this afternoon.  I sat for awhile taking in the warm salt breeze and sun on my skin.  I started thinking about the days when I would visit the beach before I started this health journey two months ago.  I always had to drive.  Biking and walking seemed out of the question back then.  I had started to feel hopeless about my health situation.  I did not know how to fix something that could not even be diagnosed yet by some of the best doctors in the country.  I only knew that I felt horrible.  I knew that making changes in my lifestyle would help, but the task seemed overwhelming and I did not know where to begin.  Plus, it felt like it would take forever.

When a starfish loses one of its arms, it is actually able to regenerate it all by itself.  It is able to return to that which it used to be... what it was created to be.  It does not happen over night.  In fact, it can takes weeks to several months for the starfish to be complete again.  Still, the starfish does it without question using only what is inside of it to reach greatness once again.  

I am feeling a bit like a starfish myself these days.  The health issues I have encountered over the last two years have felt like someone snatched away one of my limbs.  I have felt unsteady and not myself.  I think I kept hoping that some external force was going to come along and reattach my broken limb.  I started to realize that no one nor anything was coming to hook my limb back onto my body.  I also realized that was not what I actually needed anyway.  Instead, I needed to dig deep inside and "regenerate" the limb myself... a brand new, healthy, shiny, functional limb ... a way of being.

That all sounded well and good, but the amount of effort that it would take felt beyond daunting.  I wasn't sure I could do the work.  Like the starfish that doesn't make it ... I wanted to bury myself under the sand and let fate take its course.  But, something inside of me would not let me do that.  I had to try.  I had to make something happen.  I could not let my fear of failure keep me from trying to move forward.  

In the past, I had always tried to make giant changes, but that ultimately resulted in me failing every time.  Too much too soon never works.  So this time, I started with tiny baby steps towards health at the start of this year.  Easy does it.  I could not focus on how far I needed to go ... just on the single baby step ahead of me.  I continue to do this each and every day.  It astounds me when I look at how different I am and how much has changed since I started this journey at the at the beginning of this year.  Tiny baby steps have led to nearly 20 pounds lost, less pain, lower fevers, and better blood pressure.  Tiny baby steps have led to leading a vegan lifestyle that seems to be making me feel healthier every day.  Tiny baby steps have reinstated my belief in myself and hope for the future.  These tiny baby steps are taking me further than I ever thought I would go.  

It is so easy to get so caugh up in fear that we feel paralyzed and do not change.  When we have a long way to go, it is easy to give up because we want results right NOW and think we just cannot endure waiting.  As someone who knows this way of thinking all too well, let me tell you ... I have finally learned the lesson I think I have needed most my life:  Slow and steady wins the race.  I still have a very long road ahead of me, but these little baby steps are adding up now, and I think it is safe to say that I am officially "on the move".  There will be no more "I'll start tomorrow's"... nope.  Today is the day.  Right now.  And, who knows where I will be once another two months pass!

So I am sure you are thinking, "What do we eat on this long journey o' baby steps, huh?!"  I will tell you.  I decided to attempt a recipe for Vegan Cool Ranch Dressing that I got from the Healthy Happy Life website today.  I believe that Ranch dressing is something that no one should have to go without. It is basically an American delicacy (if you have grown up in burger joints and bars like me!).  So, you can imagine my excitement when I stumbled across this vegan version of ranch.  Well, I say excitement ... the pictures looked awesome, but I was fearful of the taste.  Ranch dressing made from tofu? Come. On.  I expected a funky tasting version of ranch that I would not like, similar to the light and fat free versions that make me want to vomit.  Ranch is something that is just best not messed with.  All of these thoughts aside, I had to give it a shot because of my love for Ranch and my commitment to this new healthy lifestyle.

Guess what?!  It turned out SO good!  I even fed it to a non-vegan friend this afternoon who could not tell that it wasn't regular ranch!  I know, right?!  Another vegan prayer totally answered.  Even better is that it is packed with protein and low in fat.  Perfection.  I put the extra ranch dressing in a jar and have it stored in my fridge for an upcoming ranch craving (you know there will be one).

I also made the Vegan Frisée Ranch Salad featured on the Healthy Happy Life Website.  Wicked good.  The extra protein snuck in with the tofu and spinach in the dressing is a bonus!  Your kids (or husband, or roommate, or whoever) will never know it is in there!  Nutrition doesn't get much better than that, people.

Vegan Cool Ranch Dressing


Ingredients:

• 15 ounce container of firm silken tofu
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 3/4 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons grape seed oil
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed sea salt (or more to taste)

Preparation Instructions:

1.  Put all ingredients in blender (VitaMix!).

2.  Blend until smooooooth.  

Vegan Frisée Ranch Salad

Ingredients:

• For Zesty Green Dressing
• 1 cup Vegan Cool Ranch Dressing (see above)
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 bag organic baby spinach
• For salad:
• 4 cups Frisée salad
• 1/2 cup Vegan Cool Ranch Dressing (see above)
• 1/4-1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2-1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 cucumber, chopped or sliced
• 1/2 cup croutons
• crushed sea salt to taste
• cracked black pepper to taste

Preparation Instructions:

1. Add ingredients for dressing to a blender (VitaMix!) and blend until smooth.  It will be thinned out and slightly watery.

2.  In a large mixing bowl, add Frisée salad, sunflower seeds, and the blended green dressing (I actually used a little less than half of it).  Toss until greens are well coated.  

3.  Put salad on plates to serve.  Top each serving with a bit of the original white cool ranch dressing.

4.  Top with grape tomatoes, cucumber, croutons, sea salt, and black pepper.  You might sprinkle on a few extra sunflower seeds too to make it pretty.

5.  Serve and enjoy!!!

I hope that you enjoy a great salad like I did this afternoon!  I also hope you will continue to think about the baby steps you want to take while being proud of the ones you have already made so far.  Until next time, dear Gnawers, take care of you!!!