健康素 / Healthy Vegan

漂亮的當季食材 / Beautiful seasonal produce

大家是不是很好奇為什麼很久都沒看到我發關於飲食的文了？ 其實這過去的三個半月來, 我們非常認真的在享受全素的排毒飲食, 沒錯, 不是蛋奶素, 是全素! 可能你也早就在我的FB上看到我一直提到”我們最近在養生“的訊息但一直不確定我們到底怎麼養生。

Are you all curious as to why I haven’t been posting any food-related writings for a while? Actually, I have a confession to make, in the past 3 and 1/2 months, we have been enjoying a thoroughly vegan detox diet, nope, not vegetarian, vegan! Perhaps you have seen on my Facebook page about my messages on “we are trying to eat better,” but you probably were wondering how we have been doing it.

滿滿鈣質的杏仁奶 / Calcium-filled almond milk

一切都是從我自己本身開始的, 自從青少年時期我便一直有臉上冒痘的困擾, 一直到現在都過30了還是不間斷的有這樣的困擾。曾經好幾次都有皮膚科醫生或者是美容師勸我戒掉乳製品, 但在今年之前的我卻一直以”怎麼可能不吃乳製品”為藉口從來沒有試過。另一個偏方, 每天清晨一杯熱檸檬水來解毒, 我倒是試了一陣子, 但成效不彰。除了痘痘的問題, 我也有最惱人的女生每月下腹疼痛。隨著疼痛, 全身腫脹及情緒不穩也都會跟著一起來。。這些問題從我14歲搬來美國後都變得更加嚴重, 我一直認為反正很多人和我有相同的困擾, 這些都是正常的。但一年一年下來我感覺自己變得越來越不健康, 就算運動正常睡眠也還是常容易感覺疲累, 容易感冒, 肩膀及後背常工作久了就非常痠。我真心的想解決這群小小的生理問題。於是年初開始我和老公說, 我打算不吃乳製品一陣子看看身體會不會有變化, 這句話一出口, 我到現在也沒有碰過任何的乳製品。

The whole thing started with my relationship with my acne-prone skin. I have always had acne problems ever since I was a teenager, even now at over 30, I’m still having breakout issues. Several dermatologists and estheticians have made recommendations for me to cut dairy out of my diet, but before this year, I’ve always used the excuse of “how could I give dairy up?” and ignored the thought. Another recommendation was to drink a warm glass of lemon water every morning as an detoxing agent, I tried that for a while and somehow it never really worked that well. Besides my love-hate relationship with my skin, I also have the horrible monthly cramps that many girls have, bloating and ill emotions come with the cramps as well. All of these problems have become worse ever since I moved to the US when I was 14. Honestly, I always thought since a lot of girls have the same problems, I was normal and all these symptoms are normal. But year after year, I noticed that my health is not as good as before, even if I exercise regularly and sleep my 8-hrs a night, I still often feel exhausted, got sick a lot, and easily had tightness around my back and shoulders. I really wanted to fix all these little physical annoyance so at the beginning of this year, I told my husband, no more dairy for me for a while, I want to see what happens. I’ve not touched dairy since I spoke those words.

紅豆沙腰果拿鐵 / Warm red bean and cashew latte

瞭解了乳製品中含的激素及酪蛋白對人體產生的害處後, 我著實震驚了一陣子也有點半信半疑, 但在戒掉乳製品觀察自己身體的轉變後, 我認真的相信了。從痘痘漸漸的消失, 皮膚亮了起來, 每個月身體不再腫脹, 一半生理上的問題通通消失。我不需要看醫生也不需要止痛藥了。

After some research and readings on the negative impact hormones and casein in dairy do to human bodies, I was still on the fence but definitely shocked to the core. After some dairy-free weeks, I noticed major changes to my body and finally believed that dairy is not great for me. My breakouts have lessened, my skin started to glow more, my monthly bloating and cramping session disappeared, half of my physical discomforts were gone. I didn’t need to go see a doctor or carry pain killers with me any more.

時蔬芝麻醬蕎麥涼麵 / Cold soba noodle with seasonal vegetables and tahini sauce

去年的七月我曾認真的去Natural Gourmet Institute上了兩個星期的廚藝課, NGI除了教導我料理中的技巧之外, 還很認真的讓我瞭解食物和健康的關聯。我學習到了用當季食材做出蔬菜滿點的料理, 學到了運用植物性蛋白質的方法, 也瞭解了所謂酸鹼性與身體健康的關聯。眼界打開後我全心的和老公一起改善了我們的飲食。我仔細觀看我之前所食用的物品, 很多都是經過加工, 並不是”真正的食材”。我們下定決心要學習怎麼利用天然食材以及食補的方法吸取更多不同的維他命及酵素。我也因此發現之前為什麼喝檸檬水沒有用, 如果真的要改善體質, 不能從小小的單方面著手, 那一小杯檸檬水只會被其他的破壞性食材抵消。

Last year in July, I attended a two-week summer intensive session at the Natural Gourmet Institute. Not only did I learn culinary skills, we also learned so much about the correlation between eating and health. I learned to make dishes with lots of seasonal produce, got my knowledge about plant-based proteins, and really understood the impact of alkalinity and acidity balance to our health. After seeing a whole different world through my teachers’ eyes, I made up my mind to try to change the way we eat for the better. I identified so many processed food in my regular diet, many of them don’t even belong to food groups. The two of us embarked on a journey to learn about natural ingredients and how to absorb vitamins and enzymes through food. And I also understood why the daily warm lemon water technique never worked before. If we truly wanted to change the condition of our health, we can’t just change one little thing, the affect of the lemon water was probably cancelled out by all the toxic bites that I put in my mouth.

其中有幾本書帶給我很深的影響, 其中一本叫做Clean, 是屬於21天的排毒概念。若摒除了所謂21天這件事, 裡面講了不少東西都是很有趣的。這個概念主張著把帶有過敏原的食物在21天內剔除, 也就是所謂的刪除法, 21天排毒後再一樣一樣加入日常飲食。這段時間內仔細觀察身體重新接受這些食材的反映, 認真聽自己身體告訴你的訊息, 像我就發現我如果吃了太多的麥類製品腸胃便很不舒服。Green for Life還有The China Study對我也影響很深, 也使我認真的開始吃起全素, 除了戒掉了讓體內容易生痰且非常酸性的乳製品, 我連一樣是酸性且對腸胃造成很大負擔的肉食也停止食用, 我希望腸胃能好好的休息也吸收植物性維他命。雖然有這些改變, 我們的每一餐都還是有著讓血糖穩定的兩份蔬菜, 一分蛋白質, 一分澱粉的黃金組合。很多人一定問我難道不會很沒營養嗎? 真的不會, 懂得怎麼運用食材的話, 素食也可以吸收到足夠的蛋白質及鈣質。這三個半月下來, 我們非常享受從多種食材攝取營養的生活, 我也認真的決定我要繼續研究這方面的料理。

During this whole journey of realization, I ran into a few good books and they left huge impressions. One of them was Clean, it’s focused on the idea of a 21-day cleanse. But if we take away the 21-day restriction, lots of the thoughts behind the book were really useful. It stressed on the idea of an elimination diet, where you exclude the types of food that are known as natural allergens. After 21 days, you could start adding these ingredients back to your diet one by one. A close observation on how your body reacts to these food groups is a must, because it will help you identify what your body is sensitive to. It’s a great time to really listen to your own body. For me, I discovered that if I had too much food with wheat, my digestive system gets really irritated. Two other books shifted my attention to a vegan lifestyle, they’re Green for Life and The China Study. Besides getting rid of the highly acidic and mucus forming dairy in my diet, I also decided to stay away from meat, which is difficult to digest and also really acidic. I’m giving my digestive system a big break and allowing it to gently absorb the plant-based vitamins and nutrients. With these changes, we still ate very well and stuck to the golden rule of 2 parts vegetable, 1 part protein and 1 part starch so our glycemic levels stay balanced throughout the day. A lot of people are probably wondering if I get enough nutrients, trust me, I do! If you know what ingredients to use, vegans also get enough protein and calcium. During the 3 and 1/2 months, we truly enjoyed trying so many new vegetables, grains, legumes and fruit. I also decided that I would like to dedicate a lot of my effort in studying and trying recipes that support this lifestyle.

這篇文是報告我們的近況, 也想讓大家知道我沒有放棄飲食這一塊。反之, 我比之前更加認真的學習, 也很慶幸住在紐約這個對素食者非常友善的城市。我希望能把身體調養到最佳狀態, 想要拿到廚師執照的心也沒有改變, 但還在慢慢存學費種。吃了素後, 在最近設計案子異常忙碌之下, 我發現我還是有很多精力完成所有的事, 也不會像以前一樣一直喊累, 唯一的遺憾是少了時間好好寫文和你們分享。健康及飲食真的是一門大學問, 我從自己小小的二人家庭開始管理, 這三個半月我學到的是認真觀察自己對身邊食物的反應, 並從中改善。也開心的發現原來簡單的料理方法, 平衡生食及熟食組合, 是對我們的身體及腸胃最溫和的飲食。接下來我們會不會一直吃素, 說真的我不能完全肯定, 但我知道我們精神越來越好, 思緒非常清楚, 健康也維持住了。看看能不能達到一整年甚至兩整年都不生病的目標吧。

This post is really about a status update from me to you, and to also let everyone know that I have not given up on learning about food. On the contrary, I’m getting more and more into it and really glad that we live in New York, a town that is ultra friendly to the vegans and vegetarians. I want to get my health into tip top shape, and my desire to go to culinary school hasn’t changed, I’m just slowly saving up to get to the point. On this healthy vegan life, even with a demanding office job, I noticed I have so much more energy to finish my tasks, and I don’t really complain about how exhausted I am any more. The only drawback on my busy schedule is that I am having less time to write and share with you… Health is our wealth, learning about food and nutrition is a major undertaking but I want to start with my little two-person family. During this whole detoxing period, I mastered the skill of spotting what my body loved and hated, and try to make changes or adjustment this way. I also am ecstatic to come to a major realization that really simple cooking, and a mix of well-balanced raw and cooked food are really the most gentle to our digestive system. I’m not extremely sure right now if we would continue to be vegan forever, but I know I’m reaping some major benefits such as great energy, incredible focus, clarity in mental thoughts and of course, health. Let’s see if we can reach our goal of not getting sick for a year, maybe two!

＊對於這些排毒話題有興趣, 願意和我分享及討論的朋友們, 非常歡迎問問題!! 但因為我不是營養師也不是醫師, 所以要先聲明我只是分享經驗, 不是在教導方向喔, 一定要先瞭解自己的體質再進行飲食改善, 每個人都不太一樣, 但一定要聆聽你們身體傳達的訊息喔。

*If you’re also interested in cleanse and detox and have questions, or you just want to share your experiences with me, I welcome all comments and contact! But because I’m not a nutritionist or a doctor, so please understand I’m just sharing my experiences, not providing directions on how to manage health. Please get to know your body better before changing your diet, everyone is a little different, but listen to your body!