Effective Treatment for Alopecia - Part 2

I am not a doctor. I am not prescribing this plan in an attempt to treat a disease or illness. This is merely my opinion and the results of my own experience. Consult with your doctor before ceasing any medication.

Here we go, Part 2 of this blog series on how I effectively treated my Alopecia. I have gotten a few questions, so I wanted to address those in this blog.

How long were you on the diet?

I have now been on a modified version of the vegan diet (as mentioned in Part 1 of this blog series) for nearly a year now. I say modified because I cheat - often! I cheat out of laziness, being so busy, and pure cravings. However, I eat vegan more often than I do not.

How much hair growth did you have?

I only did the Fish Oil for about a month. I gave my bottle to a family member who needed it worse than I did. However, I am buying a new bottle today. That said, in the month that I did the fish oil, I did have peach fuzz on my head and nothing more. This is significant because I have had AU for over 25 years with no regrowth.

I am not going into this to grow hair but rather to build my cells and immune system. Hair growth would just be the icing on the cake.

Where do you get your calcium if you are not drinking milk?

This is a big one! Here is a FAQ that answers the why and now I will answer the what! I get my calcium through natural plant sources and then supplement with Vitamin D so that it is better absorbed.

Here are some plant sources of calcium (as found on Livestrong.com):

• Green Leafy Vegetables
• Legumes
• Nuts and Seeds
• Whole Grains

In Part 3 of this blog series, I'll answer more questions and maybe even throw in a delicious non-dairy milk recipe!

Vegan Report Card - Target

Store: Target
Location:  Gastonia, NC 
Vegan Friendly Grade:  C


When this brand spanking new Target (now with Fresh Grocery) opened - the whole town got excited!  Yep - me too!  As nice as it is, I would have to give it a mid grade.  The vegan selections were not as impressive as I had hoped they would be.


Here are the vegan pros and cons of this Target store.

Let's start with what is missing:

• No refrigerated faux vegan products - no soy dogs, Vegenaise, or Daiya cheese.
• No vegan or organic pet food.
• Very weak organic make-up selection.
• Most disappointing gluten-free offering.
• Very limited (if any) organic produce.

What was all right!

• Vegan snack options galore, include smoothie drinks for kids!
• Decent selection of "milk" options.
• Several non-chemical based cleaning product options.

Huge Redeeming Factor!!!

This Target store had a massive spice section with affordable spices.  I loved the little bottles and found msyelf really wanting to buy one of each.

All things considered, I would shop at this store to purchase snacks and spices but I would not use this Target store as my grocery shopping destination.




Code Red Alert!


Lyvie loved the Cutie drinks (made by the same folks that bring you the Cutie clementines) - I read the ingredients and they were all approved ingredients.

It wasn't until I went to the website that I found that some of them are not Vegan Approved!  New blog to come on that - the site says that each drink has 10 grams of Whey protein!  The one that Lyvie drank, Tangerine Pineapple did not have that ingredient on the label.  I'm looking into it!

WHAT?


Disclaimer:  I do not own, represent, or work for any brand mentioned in this blog.  I was not paid or provided with product to write this review.  This review is pure opinion based on my own shopping experience.  To submit your product for review, click here.

Holiday Food Rant...

I had a bad week on the diet front. I ate horribly because of a super busy schedule. I am paying for this physically!!! Now on to my rant!

If I can't handle eating right when I am busy, what am I going to do about the Holidays? Food is huge during the holidays for my family. This is what we do! We have so many traditions that are focused on food. I am on the quest to find replacements for all my traditional Holiday favorites!

I know I am not going to find a Turkey replacement but what about everything else? Suggestions are appreciated!

I have found a Raw Pumpkin Pie and I just found a Gravy Recipe today. Oh, I totally plan to make this Sweet Potato Casserole because I LOVE coconut. Also, I can make cranberries by using agave nectar and oranges. So, what's left?

Vegan Versions of the Following:

1. Really fluffy mashed potatoes
2. Magic Cookie Bars
3. Green Bean Casserole
4. Stuffing
5. Pecan Pie
6. Some type of whole wheat dinner roll

Do you have a great vegan holiday recipe? If so, please share!

Fell off the bandwagon and hit by a truck!

Lesson learned!!!

I fell off the whole foods, plant based diet bandwagon and paid a great price for it. We had a crazy busy weekend and although I didn't spend it eating tons of animal flesh, I did eat some really unhealthy stuff. Then my daughter had to be taken to the hospital for a fever and it just went downhill from there.

There's a saying that goes, "I feel like I've been hit by a truck." WELL, when I fell off the bandwagon - I was hit by a truck! I am so sick now! I've got this unrelenting cold that is turning into bronchitis that is keeping me up all night coughing and gasping for air. Miserable I tell you!

So, it's back on the Raw Vegan bandwagon for me. I don't like this feeling at all and I am not willing to feel this bad anymore!

1. Probiotics - check!
2. BarleyMax - check!
3. Processed sugary foods

Keep checking back, I've tried a new hair care product that I love! I'll be sure to post a review one day this week.

What's missing?

I am trying to lose weight and I have been eating really well. I'm talking raw vegan eating really well! I'm not gaining weight, which is a step in the right direction but I am not losing it very fast either. Wanna know why?

Exercise! I just can't seem to find the time in my day. I have got to do better with this. Someone here at the office suggested I get up at 5am. WHAT? ME? I did really well when I was doing the Exercise Essentials Program but when that ended, so did my fitness schedule.

Here's my plan, hold me to this now, this weekend I am going to start up on exercising again. I think I'll go through the Exercise Essentials program again for the motivation.

Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica!

I can't even look at a beet without thinking of Dwight Schrute. In fact, when the kids and I are in the grocery store, we pick up a beet and announce, "Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica!" It's an automatic response for us. SO, you can imagine their surprise when after making my proclamation, I placed the bunch of beets in our buggy.

The boys have stared at them in the fridge now for two days. I plan to wash them and juice them tonight. We've seen scenes in the Office of Dwight eating the beets raw and Angela with red teeth from drinking Beet juice. I am sure this little experiment will prove very entertaining in addition to being nutritious.

Dwight Schrute would be so proud...

Raw Vegan Juice Recipe

Laura’s Salad Juice

(Makes roughly 16 oz of juice.)

•1/2 lb of Kale
•2 Tomatoes
•6 Carrots
•A handful of parsley
•1 Granny Smith Apple
•1 Cucumber (peeled)
•3 Sweet Peppers (2 red and 1 yellow - the little ones)
•1 Clove of Garlic (if you like it spicey)
DELICIOUS!!!!