On Valentine's Day this year I went to the library with my daughter, to go online (that's when the 2 computers in our house were rebelling). You may have seen that I have an affinity for most things Pat Condell, so while I was listening to his newest post, I saw another clip of halal meat butchering. To make a longer story short, I decided I could no longer be a part of the extreme torture of my fellow earthlings. :-) I've been questioning eating meat since I was around five. My mom used to say that they gave their lives for us...WHAT? Even a five yr old doesn't buy that! lol Please. Anyway, the pic here is of some vegan banana bread. It was very good and more soft than usual. Husband and son who are not vegan even loved it. I made this a couple weeks after having gone the way of the big V. I noticed that eating it started me thinking about and craving food again; something that hadn't happened since my new way of life started. It's made me see that I'm very sensitive to sugars and probably white flour. I'd been so used to eating mostly whole foods. So, it's nice to know that I can still bake, but I don't think it'll be happening very often. Here are some other things that are now staples, along with quinoa (super-num) and quesadillas:
Last night I made some Punjab Eggplant over brown rice, a big organic red leaf lettuce salad with red grapes quartered, strawberry slices, banana slices, walnuts and an English cuke. There was so much flavor no one even needed dressing. We also each had half a baked sweet potato with cinnamon and a little brown sugar. Perfect dinner. (not pictured)I can't even begin to describe how much better I feel internally...and that only took 2 or 3 days to manifest. I can breathe through my nose for the first time in over 2 decades! The arthritis that was steadily growing worse is gone completely (in 3 days!), and my mind is so much calmer. I don't sit and worry all the time. The biggest surprise so far, because I didn't realize that diet mattered in this area, was that after the first week, my vision is no longer blurry! I was ready to go pay cash at the eye guy to get an exam and buy some glasses. (I don't have insurance) My vision is perfect again! I can't get over that one. So cool.
I'll try to get off this rant for awhile. In other news, I finally finished the cat bed I'd done, but was afraid to felt. lol Here's this feat:
Lucy loves it. She actually uses it. Our dog loves it too:  |
| Daisy, this is a cat bed. |
Of course Lucy had been stealing Daisy's bed for months now. That's why I made her her own in the first place. I do believe they're just competitive with each other. lol
Yesterday I found my son's cd he'd been looking for while he was at school. It'd gone missing a week or so ago and it was causing him great, if relative, distress. So, I wrapped it up and made up some clues for a treasure hunt. I put an hour or so into its planning and got thrilled at thinking how excited he'd be. Apparently I overestimated things. He said, "Ya gotta start making these clues harder, I'm not a baby you know." ! ! LOL WHAT? I guess he's not, but he was happy to have his cd back. I wish I'd have done more of those fun things while he was younger (he's 12). I made a treasure hunt for daughter only one time and she still remembers it, 14 yrs later. Carpe diem, eh?
What else has been going on? Well, in line with the new veganist lifestyle, I've been stocking up on books and cookbooks. I got a huge kick out of Skinny Bitch. It was shocking and funny as hell. (I'd already gone vegan, but it was a great cementer of my views.) Of course, John Robbins is always a good read, as is Dean Ornish. The book I bought on Valentine's day after I'd seen that video was called Veganist by Kathy Freston. I'd start there, if you're wondering about things. Or Skinny Bitch...there's also a Skinny Bastard. I think it's funny that this all happened on Valentine's Day. A) It's "heart" day and nothing can be healthier for your heart than switching to V. and B) It was the eighth anniversary of my mom's death, who died of a stroke, due largely to her diet. And the auto immune disease she had...which can be avoided, in large part, with a vegetarian diet. The evidence is astounding. I'm so angry that no one mentioned this to my husband as they were taking fistful after fistful of money from him, for his first, second, and third stent. I'm going to change the subject now, but do yourself a favor and look into this subject. Not the nutties who are making a fortune on our buying meat and dairy btw, but the ones who've done scientific research. Read The China Study. Read Dean Ornish's books. Read http://www.drmcdougall.com/
Ok, I've had my say for awhile. Prayers and love to Japan's victims of the earthquake and to all of you.
