Rooted in ME

The Rooted in ME guide outlines my personal approach to eating and exercise. This resource offers practical strategies, plant-based recipes, and reflections. On this page, you will learn about my approach, which has worked well for me. I share it in hopes that it inspires your own journey to discover what works for you.

Cadence Overview

I consume these foods within the proposed timeslots. Click links to jump to additional tips, recipes, and resources.

By 11 AM

Greens with cheese sauce, dried fruit, and nuts

Nut butter popsicle, granola, cream, peanut butter, and carob cream

By 1 PM

Vegetable, grain, legume assortments with cheese sauce, dried fruit, and seeds

Crepes with cream, fruit cream and dried fruit

By 3 PM

Greens with cheese sauce, dried fruit and nuts

Nut butter cup, granola, cream, peanut butter, and carob cream

By 5 AM

Vegetable, grain, legume assortments with cheese sauce, dried fruit, and seeds

Crepe with cream, fruit cream and dried fruit

Schedule:

Start at 9 AM

End at 5 PM

Bedtime 8 PM

Eating before bedtime

Exercise

Additional Resources

Exercises are performed for about 10 minutes between each meal cluster, totaling around 40 minutes daily.
See Base and Creamy recipe in Foods From Scratch for additional variations, such as sour cream, soup, and mayonnaise.
As a sweetener, dried fruits can be used in fruit creams, chopped up and sprinkled, or drizzled as a syrup over a dish.
Spice options to enhance flavor are available in the Foods From Scratch Seasoning section. Favorite seasonings in a shaker include carob, date sugar, and pumpkin spice for sweet flavors, nutritional yeast for a cheese-like taste, lemon and lime for a sharp or refreshing flavor, and Sea Seasoning.
Portions can be managed by using tablespoon and teaspoon scoops for the sauce and creams.
Eating with chopsticks requires more focus, and because of their shape, leads to taking smaller bites.
Additional Resources include herbal tea recipes, supplements, techniques for activating the parasympathetic nervous system, and tools.
Think about the flavors you crave, like salt, sugar, and umami. Is there a vegan way to satisfy those cravings? Our taste buds change every few weeks, so over time, new flavors become familiar while original options might seem strange.

Solutions

This approach addresses the following issues:

Proximity to organic produce

Consuming a variety of unprocessed organic foods

Using cost-effective whole ingredients in simple recipes

Adopting a plant-based diet

Implementing an efficient system that fits a busy schedule

Establishing a cadence of eating and exercise that supports sustainable weight management

Maintaining regular start and end times for eating to aid weight loss and sleep

Identifying and resolving factors that lead to binge eating or deviation from nutritional goals

Utilizing various tools to foster an enjoyable experience and manage portions

A Story

The wide variety of vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds packaged this way has been the most effective method for me to eat whole organic foods. It’s so tasty that I look forward to every meal. Additionally, the systematic approach simplifies grocery shopping, cooking, and meal preparation. When I run low on granola, base, or nut butter treats, for instance, I make large batches of each, which helps me avoid making everything at once and keeps it manageable. As someone managing a chronic illness, I inherited, I find this method sustainable and motivating. After trying many recommended health strategies, listening to my body and discovering what works best for me has been the most promising.

Having a structured plan is beneficial because it provides a set schedule with portion sizes, which helps me prevent overeating and allows for adjustments based on my goals, whether it's gaining or losing weight. I don't always complete all my exercises, and sometimes I deviate from my planned meals. If I overeat, I simply go back to my routine, and my desired weight follows. It has given me stability.

Base

Select a portion from each assortment to fill a Vitamix or something similar. Add water and blend.

This process can be repeated until all 4-cup Assortments are blended. They can then be frozen in 7-cup containers.

4-cup Assortments

Frozen Vegetable Assortment: carrots, butternut squash, cauliflower, and green beans

Frozen Vegetable Assortment: corn, peas, mushrooms, avocado, and broccoli

Fresh Vegetable Assortment Chopped and Frozen: zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus, and brussel sprouts

Fresh Vegetable Assortment Chopped, Cooked, and Frozen (Root): Rutabaga, turnips, parsnips, sweet potato, and yams

Dry Legume Assortment Cooked and Frozen: chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, great northern beans, cannellini beans, adzuki beans, navy beans, soybeans, mung beans, fava beans, black-eyed peas, and pinto beans, along with green, red, brown, and black lentils.

Grains: millet, quinoa, amaranth pop, teff, sorghum, kamut, fonio, rolled oats, polenta, and buckwheat.

Note:

These combinations were chosen to be incorporated into the Base and other meals.
Root vegetables, legumes, and grains are cooked in an Instant Pot and then frozen.

The sauce takes on different colors depending on the variety of vegetables, such as beets, which create a red hue.

Solutions: Unprocessed organic foods, cost-effective whole ingredients, a plant-based diet, and an efficient system.

Greens with Cheese Sauce, Dried Fruit, and Nuts

Greens

Spinach, romaine lettuce, arugula, kale, endive, watercress, beet greens, turnip greens, napa cabbage, collard, dandelion, mizuna, komatsuna, mustard, radicchio, bok choy, red butter, and chard.

Greens are chopped and stored in 11.5-cup containers with vented lids, then kept in the freezer for weeks. Cabbage isn't included in this; it stays whole in the fridge, but supplies are sliced off a few days at a time. Creating a box of loose greens is much more economical than buying a premade one.

Time Saver: Start with boxed lettuce and add other types of loose greens not included in the box.

Cheese Sauce

4 cups of Base

2 tablespoons of Micro Ingredients Nutritional Yeast

1 tablespoon of South River Miso

1 tablespoon of Real Pickles Sauerkraut

1/2 cup of hemp seeds optional

1/2 cup of rolled oats optional

Blend in a Vitamix or something similar. Add water as needed for the desired consistency. It can then be refrigerated in 7-cup containers. If frozen, may need to blend it again to restore the texture.

Note: hemp seeds and rolled oats help create a creamier consistency.

Cover greens with a scoop of cheese sauce, nuts, and dried fruit.

This meal included mix of greens, cabbage, cheese sauce, pecans, and dried blueberries on top.

Solutions:

The freezing of greens allows for infrequent visits to the grocery store, addressing proximity to organic produce.
Unprocessed organic foods, cost-effective whole ingredients, a plant-based diet, and an efficient system.

Nut Butter, Granola,
Cream, Peanut Butter, and Carob Cream

Nut Butter

Nuts: Brazil, walnut, pine, cashew, pecan, hazelnut, pistachio, and almonds.

Mix nuts in a food processor or something similar, then add sweet flavors using date sugar and pumpkin spice.

Popsicle (AM): Pour nut butter into a truffle mold and place in the freezer. After about an hour, insert reusable glass (5.5") or acrylic sticks. Once frozen, remove the popsicles and transfer them to a 11.5-cup glass container.

Cup (PM): Pour nut butter into a cup and place it in the freezer, and then eat with a tiny spoon.

I used this method because I was often tempted to stand in the kitchen eating frozen nut butter sliced thin with a knife. I thought I was having small pieces, so it wasn't too much. It was so delicious that it was hard to stop. The cup and tiny spoon system satisfied the craving and solved the problem. Another trick is to brush and Waterpik my teeth at 5 pm to create a clear separation between eating and sleeping.

Granola

Seeds: chia, flax, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, sacha inchi, and hemp.

Blend seeds in a food processor or something similar, then add sweet flavors using Deglet and Medjool dates, and pumpkin spice.

Bake in the indoor grill or griddle for about 5 minutes.

Cream, Peanut Butter, and Carob Cream

4 cups of Base

1 cup of hemp seeds optional
1 cup of rolled oats optional
1 cup Deglet and Medjool dates
Carob Cream only: add 3/4 cup of carob
Peanut Butter cream only: add 3/4 cup of Peanut Butter

Blend in a Vitamix or something similar. Add water as needed for desired the consistency. It can then be refrigerated in 7-cup containers. If frozen, may need to blend it again to restore the texture.

Note: hemp seeds and rolled oats help create a creamier consistency.

Scoops of granola, cream or peanut butter cream, and carob cream, along with a popsicle or a cup, depending on the time of day.

Nut Butter Lolliopop Cream Granola 2.png

Solutions:

Unprocessed organic foods, cost-effective whole ingredients, a plant-based diet, and an efficient system.
Identifying and resolving factors that lead to binge eating or deviations from nutritional goals.
Employing various tools to foster a pleasing and peaceful dining experience.

Vegetable, Grain, Legume Assortments
with Cheese Sauce, Dried Fruit, and Seeds

Rotate vegetable, grain, and legume assortments provided in Base section.

Cheese Sauce

4 cups of Base

2 tablespoons of Micro Ingredients Nutritional Yeast

1 tablespoon of South River Miso

1 tablespoon of Real Pickles Sauerkraut

1/2 cup of hemp seeds optional

1/2 cup of rolled oats optional

Blend in a Vitamix or something similar. Add water as needed for the desired consistency. It can then be refrigerated and frozen in 7-cup containers. If frozen, may need to blend it again to restore the texture.

Note: hemp seeds and rolled oats help create a creamier consistency.

Cover assortment with a scoop of cheese sauce, dried fruit, seeds and/or seasoning.

This meal included mushrooms, eggplant and root vegetables wrapped in a zucchini sheet with cheese sauce, seed mixture and dried cranberries on top.

This meal included carrots, butternut squash, cauliflower, and green beans with cheese sauce and lemon powder on top.

Alternatives

Use the KitchenAid Sheet Cutter to make a zucchini wrap or sweet potato noodles.
Make root vegetable spaghetti or an apple dessert with a Spiralizer.
Place vegetables and legumes (like chickpea tuna) on a crepe or flatbread to make pizza or a sandwich.
Use mushrooms or tofu as a scramble egg substitute
As a side, use root vegetable french fries dipped in cream and sprinkled with nutritional yeast or ketchup.

See Foods From Scratch for flatbread, tofu, chickpea tuna, and seasoning

Solutions: Unprocessed organic foods, cost-effective whole ingredients, a plant-based diet, and an efficient system.

Eating solid foods versus smoothies and sauces. Please see: Is Green Smoothie a Replacement for Salad-DR FUHRMAN.

Crepe with Cream, Fruit Cream and Dried fruit

Crepes

Grains: millet, quinoa, amaranth pop, teff, sorghum, kamut, fonio, rolled oats, polenta, and buckwheat.

Legumes: chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, great northern beans, cannellini beans, adzuki beans, navy beans, soybeans, mung beans, fava beans, black-eyed peas, and pinto beans, along with green, red, brown, and black lentils.

Create grain and legume flour for each using a Vitamix Grains Container with a Vitamix or something similar, then combine them to make a flour mixture:

1/2 cup of grain flour
1/2 cup of legume flour
1 tablespoon of date sugar (optional)
1 cup of water

Blend ingredients to make crepe batter. Use 1 tablespoon to scoop batter onto the crepe maker and press to the desired thickness and cook completely.

These can be used with bowls and racks.

Fruit Cream

4 cups of Base

1/2 cup of hemp seeds optional
1/2 cup of rolled oats optional
1 cup of dried fruit (apples, pears, oranges, currants, mangoes, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, bananas, figs, persimmons, apricots, papaya, pineapple, mulberries, cherries, coconut, and/or dates)

Blend in a Vitamix or something similar. Add water as needed for the desired consistency. It can then be refrigerated in 7-cup containers. If frozen, may need to blend it again to restore the texture.

Note: hemp seeds and rolled oats help create a creamier consistency.

These creams included organic dried oranges and strawberries.

Make a crepe bowl filled with scoops of fruit cream with cut-up dried fruit on top. The crepes can also be cutup into triangles and covered with cream and fruit.

Alternatively, dried fruit and water blended together create fruit syrups to drizzle top.

This meal included pear and apple cream with diced dried figs on top.

Solutions: Unprocessed organic foods, cost-effective whole ingredients, a plant-based diet, and an efficient system.

Exercise

Exercises are done in between each meal with either the glider, bike, treadmill, or bands for 10 minutes, and then sit-up variations on the bench for a total of about 40 minutes per day.

Glider

Workout ideas: lean forward, lean backward, stand on tiptoes, do wide leg swings, turn body right and then left, and use bands on arms.

Bike

Workout ideas: Leg cycling while performing various movements with weights and pulling bands from handlebars in upward and downward movements. Also, use bands to do body twists.

The bike is placed in a stand with a basket for weights and bands.