Dealing With Depression

Today we’re chatting with Jennie Zraick who recently contributed to HJC with a post on Animal vs. Plant Protein. Depression is all too familiar to many as evidenced by the use of antidepressants. They have become the most frequently prescribed drug. Here is Jennie’s story:

Tell us a bit about yourself.
Where does one start with this question?!? I’m 47 years old, mother of two small dogs, Emma and Sammy. I’ve been married 24 years to an amazing man, my biggest blessing. In my “previous life” I was a CPA for AT&T Wireless. Now I’m kept busy with our home, and caring for my Mom who has dementia and lives close by in Cameron Park. My hobbies include beading jewelry, knitting, quilting, crocheting and scrapbooking.

When did you realize you were depressed? Tell us what that was like.
Looking back, I see signs of depression as young as 12 or 13. I have clinical depression. When people think of depression they think of someone who is weepy and sad. My symptoms are a complete physical exhaustion that makes everything seem completely overwhelming. As a result I just freeze up and can’t do anything. Some days getting off the couch was a challenge.

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Vegan Sausage with Vegetables Salad Recipe

Don't run in the other direction because you see vegan and sausage in the same sentence. This recipe is a surprisingly tasty dish. I promise!

This recipe was inspired by an appetizer of vegan sausage patties on cucumbers from Hallelujah Acres. I changed it up by using lentils, mung beans and adzuki beans instead of wheat berries to create the "sausage." It looks like and kind of tastes like the ground meat variety of sausage (although my husband who eats meat occasionally disagrees about the taste).

I used truRoots Sprouted Bean Trio (green lentils, mung beans and adzuki beans) purchased from Costco—the same as used in the Sprouted Bean Trio Salad. Follow the directions on the package to rehydrate the sprouts then measure out one cup for the recipe. You can sprout your own beans, but make sure to allow three days to get them sprouted. Check the How To Grow Bean Sprouts video if you need help.

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Animal vs. Plant Protein

Today's post comes from Jennie Zraick who has made healthy changes in her eating to conquer her depression. It's a perfect follow-up to my recent post A Diet Just Right For You where I address the myth about protein sources in your diet.

Myth: You need meat to get protein.

Fact: You can get the protein you need in a plant-based diet.

Jennie writes:

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A Diet Just Right For You

I know that there are lots of people out there wanting to make a change to healthier eating, but don't know what that should look like. You might think that it's going to be too restrictive and the food won't taste good. I challenge you to come along with me—see, taste and be amazed at how delicious and diverse eating healthy can be.

What Do I Eat?
Let's start with the diet I eat. Most of you know my story of beating colon cancer with diet alone when I found myself up against a genetic defect for colon cancer. It drove me to tighten my already healthy diet. I knew I needed to eat more vegetables, and I had a sugar addiction that kept it out of my shopping cart and thus in my cupboard except for (not rare enough) occasions where I would indulge. eat (mostly dark chocolate) until I got sick.

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Red Velvet Chocolate Squares Recipe

I have a real treat for you this week. Red Velvet Chocolate Squares is the yummy dessert I made for my birthday back in April. I taunted my Facebook friends with pictures and then promised to post the recipe. The time has come!

You will be amazed at how healthy this recipe is and so simple to make. I promise, you will love it! Now don't switch off when I tell you the main ingredients are beans and beets. You will not be disappointed.

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How to Brew Loose Leaf Tea

My post on the benefits of green tea prompted a question about the details of brewing. Especially if you're making the switch from coffee to tea.

First, get yourself a ceramic teapot with a stainless steel infuser. Peet's has some nice ones if you have a store close by.

Add 1 Tbsp. of loose tea per 8-12 oz. of water. You may need more (or less) depending on the "fluffiness" of the tea. Some teas are rolled tightly into beads that unfold as the tea steeps.

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Crunchy Napa Cabbage Asian Slaw

Since summer is in full swing, I have another salad for your "gotta make for summer" recipes. I found it at Kalyn's Kitchen. She puts out some very yummy salads full of nice veggies... and you know how partial I am to veggies. Gotta have lots of 'em.

I tried the Crunchy Napa Cabbage Asian Slaw with Sugar Snap Peas, Radishes, Almonds and Cilantro (Kalyn loves detailed descriptive names), making some of my own tweaks to the recipe (not much), and found it easy to make and delicious. I first made it in March and felt summer is the best time to introduce it to you.

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The Benefits of Green Tea

I LOVE coffee. I mean I like the taste—never ruined it with sugar (yeah, even me a former sugar addict). So when I found I needed to eliminate coffee from my diet I was devastated—kind of describes how I felt about ALL the things I needed to stop eating/drinking.

Reading the book Nature's Cancer-Fighting Foods by Verne Varona started me on my diet, which I attribute to the cure for my hereditary curse. Everyone is familiar with or knows about the addictive properties of caffeinated coffee—just try a day without it and get smacked with a whopper caffeine withdrawal headache. But did you know that coffee, regular and decaf, is very acid in the body? When the body becomes acidic due to a bad diet (consumption of processed foods with artificial ingredients and sugar), it becomes a cancer-producing environment.

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Introducing Purple Carrot Books

And now for something a little different. Some of you know I have another life as a writer (as opposed to an encourager for healthy living) and may follow my journey at Paws and Ponder. If this is new to you, this post will connect some dots.

Under the moniker, Purple Carrot Books, I'm making a picture book I wrote into an Apple iPad app. For kids 4 to 8-years old, The Prisoner of Carrot Castle ~ The Veggie Chronicles, is a suspense-filled story that just may encourage kids to eat their vegetables.

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