This read-the-Bible-in-a-year things was a really good idea. I can't believe I wasn't wild about it. I feel guilty that I hadn't been doing it all along (although, to be honest, I don't think I will do it next year, for reasons that I will go into). I cannot believe how GREAT the book of Esther is! What a story!!! I mean, I could have given you the bare bones of the plot a month ago, but reading it and getting all the details is just wonderful! And I cannot tell you the last time I read Ezra or Nehemiah. Decades. I mean, every now and then a verse from one of those books will pop up, but a straight-through reading of those books? It's been forever. Shame on me.
The reason I don't think I will do this next year, though, is that what this reading is making me want to do is dig deeper. To go back and re-read Ezra alongside a detailed historical commentary. I just know I'm missing a TON. Anyway, we'll see what I do. Next year is a long time away.
My portion in Genesis today was the cat fight between Rachel and Leah regarding having babies with Jacob (chapter 30). I am glad my thoughts and actions will not be recorded in Scripture. Talk about using your children as weapons -- these women were professionals.
I also started Romans today. What a majestic book. Here is Paul's salutation:
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, to all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Wow! (And if you remember chapter 1 you know he gets heavier from there on out!)
I have been bogged down reading Orthodoxy. This happened to me last time. I like to read at night and it's not a light book so it knocks me out. Or I don't remember what I read. Something like that. Now that I am at home for a few weeks I need to set aside some time to read it and focus on it.
This afternoon I made chocolate mousse with silken tofu. Since it was the first time, I followed the recipe exactly, but I think I will make adjustments in the future. Here is the recipe.
Okay, so I didn't make it EXACTLY like the recipe. I didn't have "high quality bittersweet chocolate" so I used some vegan chocolate chips that I found at Earth Fare (the chocolate chips you can buy at Publix have milk in them). I used the special dark cocoa that Hershey's sells, so while my chips were probably lighter than what she called for, the cocoa was a bit darker. I used the brandy, but was tempted to go with cointreau instead (if you don't want to use brandy, add a teaspoon of vanilla). And -- of course -- I didn't make the whipped cream that she tops everything with.
I used "lite" silken tofu -- the whole package is just 120 calories. I divided it into four servings; each serving is about 250 calories. A big chunk of those calories is in the sugar, so there is a place to make changes if you are so inclined. (The sugar was about 400 calories and the chocolate chips were about 400 calories. All the other ingredients added up to around 200 calories.)
Dinner was "Modified Uzbek Plov." This is a very, very fancy way of saying "rice pilaf." It was boring. I used short-grain brown rice (as the recipe called for) and it was very gummy instead of a more separate texture like I wanted. This was my fault (well, kind of) -- I know better than to use short-grain rice like this. But I was blindly following the recipe, so I went with it. There was onion, garlic, golden raisins, toasted almonds, cumin, a bit of agave nectar...not bad, just not whoopee. Bruce dumped some spices in his and pronounced it good. Oh -- we also had big salads.
More later...
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Back in the Kitchen
I like to cook almost all the time. Oh, sure, I have dry spells and times when the idea of slicing an onion is almost too much to bear, but it's my observation that I like cooking a lot more than many people do. This is a blessing when you're trying to eat differently than 99.9% of the restaurants out there cook, believe me! So when I am away from home for two weeks I am eager to get back into the kitchen when I return!
I decided when I was in St. Louis that we need to eat more salads. Or I need to eat more salads -- Bruce eats more than I do because he has them for lunch and I rarely do. I'm not doing this to get more vegetables into our lives since we eat tons of them, but there is a method to my madness. First, salads fill you up without lots of calories (I'll be making nonfat or low-fat dressings to go with them). Second, we'll eat less of the entree if we've filled up on a salad first and that will leave more for me to freeze. I'm working more these days and have less time to re-stock the freezer for Bruce to eat out of when I'm away.
SO -- salad it was tonight. I went in with the idea of a chopped salad. Instead of a bite of tomato, a bite of cucumber, a bite of broccoli I wanted a bite of tomato-cucumber-broccoli. So I chopped everything up small. Besides the aforementioned trio I added a handful of corn, some sliced pickled beets (that I cut into even smaller pieces), red seedless grapes (that I halved -- you get the idea), grape tomatoes, a grated carrot, yellow squash, kidney beans, dried cranberries. I think that was all. Just a little of everything. I made the dressing -- it is from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's book Appetite for Reduction. The dressing is called Sundried Tomato Walnut Dressing, but the predominant flavors are balsamic vinegar, shallot, and the earthy sweetness of the sundried tomatoes.
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (not packed in oil -- Publix sells them in a bag like prunes in the produce section -- they are very soft and lovely)
3 tablespoons walnuts
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 tablespoons chopped shallot
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
a few pinches of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
I will not type out her instructions because I didn't exactly follow them. I took a cup of water and put it into the microwave and zapped it for about a minute. I put the tomatoes into a bowl and poured the water over them to soften them -- but honestly, these are pretty soft already. You would DEFINITELY not want to skip this step if you buy those real dry dehydrated tomatoes, though. I toasted the walnuts for about six or seven minutes in a little skillet on top of the stove. I put the walnuts and fennel seeds into my Vitamix and ground 'em all up (she calls for a food processor). After they were ground up I popped the shallot in there (whole, because it's a Vitamix -- if you do it in a food processor you might want to chop it up a bit first), and then all the rest of the ingredients except for the marjoram. I blended it all up until it was smooth and then I stirred in the marjoram.
I liked the taste. It's not a pretty dressing at all -- sort of a brick red -- kind of the color of refried beans. And it's pretty thick, too. At first I thought about thinning it with something (orange juice?), but it actually worked pretty well -- instead of finishing the salad with a puddle of dressing in the bottom of the bowl it all clung to the veggies nicely. Bruce loved it, I liked it a lot. It's only about 40 calories per three tablespoons, so that's hard to beat.
Bruce made cornbread and he did a dandy job. It's this recipe with unsweetened applesauce in place of the oil. I love it and could eat it daily. Oh -- we almost double the sugar, too, because we are bad that way.
I made soup, too, although I did not have any because I was stuffed after that big salad and a piece of cornbread. Bruce had some, though, and loved it. I had one taste so I could write about it and liked it. He loves real "herb-y" flavors and I just like them, so there you go. He says if I took the soup, added kale, and blended it up into a smoothie I would love it. He's probably right. The recipe is from the same book as the salad dressing. She calls it Ceci-Roasted Red Pepper Soup ("ceci" is Italian for chickpea).
2 large red bell peppers
1 medium onion, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 pound tomatoes, chopped roughly
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3 cups vegetable broth
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
To roast the peppers, preheat the oven to 375, cut out the stem with a paring knife, and discard it along with the seeds [I rinsed them out a bit to get more seeds but there were still some that I removed after cooking]. Stand the peppers in a small baking pan (a pie plate or bread pan works great). Bake for about 35 minutes. They should be really soft; they might even collapse a bit. [After 35 minutes my peppers were starting to brown just a bit so I took them out. They were not collapsing and were even still a tiny bit firm. I let them sit on the counter for a couple of hours (I roasted them early in the day) and they got soft and did the collapse bit.] Remove from the oven and store (see note) or use a fork and knife to chop them into bite-size pieces (because they'll be too hot to touch). If storing overnight, chop into bite-size pieces when ready to make soup.
In a skillet, saute the onion in the oil for about 5 minutes [I did not use any oil -- I water-sauteed them] until translucent. Add the garlic, rosemary, salt and black pepper, and saute for another minute. Mix in the tomatoes, stirring constantly for about a minute.
Add the coriander, vegetable broth, and chickpeas; stir and cover. Bring to a low boil and cook, covered, for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You just want the tomatoes to break down and the flavors to meld.
Add the roasted peppers. Use an immersion blender to blend about half of the soup or transfer half of the soup to a blender and puree, then add it back to the pot. If you're using a blender, be careful not to let steam build up when you blend. [What I do is I remove the little plastic cap in the top of the blender and hold a dish towel there.]
Let the soup sit for a few minutes, taste for salt, and serve.
Note: To have this dish come together in a flash, roast the peppers the night before. Place them in a sealed plastic bag and refrigerate. They'll be ready to use when you want them. Alternatively, you can roast the peppers, then get the soup started. Once the peppers are done, it will be just about time to add them to the soup.
I doubled the recipe so I had a lot left over (which was my goal). Bruce was tickled to have plenty to freeze.
I forgot to take pictures. I'm out of practice.
More later...
I decided when I was in St. Louis that we need to eat more salads. Or I need to eat more salads -- Bruce eats more than I do because he has them for lunch and I rarely do. I'm not doing this to get more vegetables into our lives since we eat tons of them, but there is a method to my madness. First, salads fill you up without lots of calories (I'll be making nonfat or low-fat dressings to go with them). Second, we'll eat less of the entree if we've filled up on a salad first and that will leave more for me to freeze. I'm working more these days and have less time to re-stock the freezer for Bruce to eat out of when I'm away.
SO -- salad it was tonight. I went in with the idea of a chopped salad. Instead of a bite of tomato, a bite of cucumber, a bite of broccoli I wanted a bite of tomato-cucumber-broccoli. So I chopped everything up small. Besides the aforementioned trio I added a handful of corn, some sliced pickled beets (that I cut into even smaller pieces), red seedless grapes (that I halved -- you get the idea), grape tomatoes, a grated carrot, yellow squash, kidney beans, dried cranberries. I think that was all. Just a little of everything. I made the dressing -- it is from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's book Appetite for Reduction. The dressing is called Sundried Tomato Walnut Dressing, but the predominant flavors are balsamic vinegar, shallot, and the earthy sweetness of the sundried tomatoes.
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (not packed in oil -- Publix sells them in a bag like prunes in the produce section -- they are very soft and lovely)
3 tablespoons walnuts
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 tablespoons chopped shallot
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
a few pinches of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
I will not type out her instructions because I didn't exactly follow them. I took a cup of water and put it into the microwave and zapped it for about a minute. I put the tomatoes into a bowl and poured the water over them to soften them -- but honestly, these are pretty soft already. You would DEFINITELY not want to skip this step if you buy those real dry dehydrated tomatoes, though. I toasted the walnuts for about six or seven minutes in a little skillet on top of the stove. I put the walnuts and fennel seeds into my Vitamix and ground 'em all up (she calls for a food processor). After they were ground up I popped the shallot in there (whole, because it's a Vitamix -- if you do it in a food processor you might want to chop it up a bit first), and then all the rest of the ingredients except for the marjoram. I blended it all up until it was smooth and then I stirred in the marjoram.
I liked the taste. It's not a pretty dressing at all -- sort of a brick red -- kind of the color of refried beans. And it's pretty thick, too. At first I thought about thinning it with something (orange juice?), but it actually worked pretty well -- instead of finishing the salad with a puddle of dressing in the bottom of the bowl it all clung to the veggies nicely. Bruce loved it, I liked it a lot. It's only about 40 calories per three tablespoons, so that's hard to beat.
Bruce made cornbread and he did a dandy job. It's this recipe with unsweetened applesauce in place of the oil. I love it and could eat it daily. Oh -- we almost double the sugar, too, because we are bad that way.
I made soup, too, although I did not have any because I was stuffed after that big salad and a piece of cornbread. Bruce had some, though, and loved it. I had one taste so I could write about it and liked it. He loves real "herb-y" flavors and I just like them, so there you go. He says if I took the soup, added kale, and blended it up into a smoothie I would love it. He's probably right. The recipe is from the same book as the salad dressing. She calls it Ceci-Roasted Red Pepper Soup ("ceci" is Italian for chickpea).
2 large red bell peppers
1 medium onion, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 pound tomatoes, chopped roughly
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3 cups vegetable broth
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
To roast the peppers, preheat the oven to 375, cut out the stem with a paring knife, and discard it along with the seeds [I rinsed them out a bit to get more seeds but there were still some that I removed after cooking]. Stand the peppers in a small baking pan (a pie plate or bread pan works great). Bake for about 35 minutes. They should be really soft; they might even collapse a bit. [After 35 minutes my peppers were starting to brown just a bit so I took them out. They were not collapsing and were even still a tiny bit firm. I let them sit on the counter for a couple of hours (I roasted them early in the day) and they got soft and did the collapse bit.] Remove from the oven and store (see note) or use a fork and knife to chop them into bite-size pieces (because they'll be too hot to touch). If storing overnight, chop into bite-size pieces when ready to make soup.
In a skillet, saute the onion in the oil for about 5 minutes [I did not use any oil -- I water-sauteed them] until translucent. Add the garlic, rosemary, salt and black pepper, and saute for another minute. Mix in the tomatoes, stirring constantly for about a minute.
Add the coriander, vegetable broth, and chickpeas; stir and cover. Bring to a low boil and cook, covered, for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You just want the tomatoes to break down and the flavors to meld.
Add the roasted peppers. Use an immersion blender to blend about half of the soup or transfer half of the soup to a blender and puree, then add it back to the pot. If you're using a blender, be careful not to let steam build up when you blend. [What I do is I remove the little plastic cap in the top of the blender and hold a dish towel there.]
Let the soup sit for a few minutes, taste for salt, and serve.
Note: To have this dish come together in a flash, roast the peppers the night before. Place them in a sealed plastic bag and refrigerate. They'll be ready to use when you want them. Alternatively, you can roast the peppers, then get the soup started. Once the peppers are done, it will be just about time to add them to the soup.
I doubled the recipe so I had a lot left over (which was my goal). Bruce was tickled to have plenty to freeze.
I forgot to take pictures. I'm out of practice.
More later...
Friday, January 27, 2012
Arrived Alive
I did not go home on Thursday. I am hiding out in the produce section of the Whole Foods store that I last wrote about. As long as I keep moving, I think I can stay here, undetected, forever.
Okay, that's not true. Well -- it's true that I did not go home on Thursday. The weather forecast for that day was pretty much bad to worse all the way between St. Louis and Prattville. I am home now, however. Today the roads were dry and calm and it is very very good to be here.
More later...
Okay, that's not true. Well -- it's true that I did not go home on Thursday. The weather forecast for that day was pretty much bad to worse all the way between St. Louis and Prattville. I am home now, however. Today the roads were dry and calm and it is very very good to be here.
More later...
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Here Comes the Sun!
Well, I have found the Mother Ship. I'm considering moving to St. Louis. Remember how I went to Whole Foods on Sunday? I don't have a TON of Whole Foods experience, but it was the worst Whole Foods I'd ever been to -- small, narrow aisles, etc. Well I went to a different one tonight and for the life of me I can't figure out how the other one stays in business. The BEST one I've ever been to. Gorgeous, huge...sigh.
I got there kind of late, so a lot of the food on the hot bar had already been picked up. I got a yucca dish -- yucca with peppers and onions -- and if you hadn't told me it was yucca I would've guessed potatoes. I got a square of vegan lasagna. Some kind of tofu in a vegan sauce, but I can't remember now what it was. A quinoa salad with little pearl onions, cranberries, nuts. Another tofu dish with a peanut sauce. A vegan wrap for my lunch tomorrow. I am a happy (and full) camper.
I started Esther today in my Bible reading. What a great book that is. When I was very young I went with a neighbor to her vacation Bible school. It was held in the evening and I don't remember what church (or what neighbor), but this I remember: a young woman (she could have been a teenager -- to me she seemed grown up) who told us the story of Esther. She didn't use props or illustrations -- she just walked back and forth in front of a big room of kids and kept us spellbound. I still remember how nervous I felt when Esther went in to see the king: would he stretch out his scepter to show she would not be punished for approaching him?
We are talking about a memory that might be 45 years old! Never discount the work you do with children (or anyone else, for that matter). You don't know what is going to stay with them, influence them, make a difference in their lives. Praise God for faithful teachers.
My class is winding down. Tomorrow is a short-ish day and Thursday is even shorter. Some of my students want to leave on Thursday so I gave them the option of starting class at 8:00 and they wanted to do it (it's final exam day and the students do a role play with me, one-on-one). Enough students said they would not mind going before 9:00 that anyone who draws that time can switch with someone if they want and everyone will be happy. Including me, because I'm going to drive home after class. I used to always give my classes the option of starting at 8:00 on the last day, but I haven't done it in a long time. I wouldn't have done it this time either, except they approached me about it. It works out for me, so I'm happy to do it, even though I like getting up at 8:00. :)
Today was actually a gorgeous day -- I saw the SUN!!! The temps were in the 40s, I think, which seemed warm after last week. Spring can't come soon enough for me, though!!!
More later...
I got there kind of late, so a lot of the food on the hot bar had already been picked up. I got a yucca dish -- yucca with peppers and onions -- and if you hadn't told me it was yucca I would've guessed potatoes. I got a square of vegan lasagna. Some kind of tofu in a vegan sauce, but I can't remember now what it was. A quinoa salad with little pearl onions, cranberries, nuts. Another tofu dish with a peanut sauce. A vegan wrap for my lunch tomorrow. I am a happy (and full) camper.
I started Esther today in my Bible reading. What a great book that is. When I was very young I went with a neighbor to her vacation Bible school. It was held in the evening and I don't remember what church (or what neighbor), but this I remember: a young woman (she could have been a teenager -- to me she seemed grown up) who told us the story of Esther. She didn't use props or illustrations -- she just walked back and forth in front of a big room of kids and kept us spellbound. I still remember how nervous I felt when Esther went in to see the king: would he stretch out his scepter to show she would not be punished for approaching him?
We are talking about a memory that might be 45 years old! Never discount the work you do with children (or anyone else, for that matter). You don't know what is going to stay with them, influence them, make a difference in their lives. Praise God for faithful teachers.
My class is winding down. Tomorrow is a short-ish day and Thursday is even shorter. Some of my students want to leave on Thursday so I gave them the option of starting class at 8:00 and they wanted to do it (it's final exam day and the students do a role play with me, one-on-one). Enough students said they would not mind going before 9:00 that anyone who draws that time can switch with someone if they want and everyone will be happy. Including me, because I'm going to drive home after class. I used to always give my classes the option of starting at 8:00 on the last day, but I haven't done it in a long time. I wouldn't have done it this time either, except they approached me about it. It works out for me, so I'm happy to do it, even though I like getting up at 8:00. :)
Today was actually a gorgeous day -- I saw the SUN!!! The temps were in the 40s, I think, which seemed warm after last week. Spring can't come soon enough for me, though!!!
More later...
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Eat the Rainbow
White, green, red, purple, yellow, orange. And assorted beiges.
They say to eat lots of different colors -- different vitamins and nutrients show up in plants that are colored in particular ways.
Beta carotene, for instance -- that fabulous anti-oxidant that the body uses to make Vitamin A -- is found primarily in red, yellow, and orange fruits and vegetables.
Leafy green vegetables tend to be good sources of folate, a B vitamin, and also contain lutein which helps to keep eyes healthy.
The anti-oxidant anthocyanin shows up in blue and purple foods -- blueberries, eggplant, plums, purple grapes.
As Dr. Campbell likes to remind us, there has never been a "magic bullet" nutrient. His example is a study linking increased tomato consumption (tomatoes are high in lycopene) to a lowered risk of prostate cancer. Nobody had ever heard of lycopene before, but suddenly there was a run on supplements at the health food store. And -- no corresponding decrease in prostate cancer. He does not take supplements, believing them to be (for the most part) untested, and uncontrolled. When we eat a tomato, he explains, we are not just consuming lycopene. We are eating dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of chemicals (some of which we haven't even discovered yet), and that symphony of ingredients works together to provide our bodies with everything we need. If we eat whole foods, and a variety of them, we do not need to worry whether or not we are getting the right things for our body. (He likes to remind us that in countries where women take calcium supplements there is a greater risk of osteoporosis than in countries where women do not take those supplements.)
There is one exception, of course: Vitamin B12. This nutrient is created by bacteria that live in fertile, healthy soil. In times past vegans would consume enough of this naturally, but we are clean freaks now (we don't get cholera or typhoid, Campbell adds, so it's a good trade off) and our diets may be lacking in this important substance. I try to take three pills a week -- Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays. I forget a LOT. But that is the only supplement I take (another reason why eating this way is less expensive than eating SAD (Standard American Diet). We store about a two-year supply of this nutrient, so skipping a few doses isn't critical.
I went to Whole Foods and loaded up. In my salad today I have a foundation of mixed greens, thick slices of cucumber, broccoli florets (I like it raw!), edamame, chickpeas, a marinated mushroom salad, slivered carrots, corn, peas, red cabbage, a quinoa pilaf with almonds and raisins, dried cranberries, a beet and sweet potato salad ("Beets and Sweets")...happy sigh. When I get home I'm going to start making more salads. I never serve them -- when I eat them at home they always make me feel like I'm on a diet, but Bruce likes them and I think my tastes are changing a bit. Not that I ever DIDN'T like them, I just only ate them when I was out. I used a bottled dressing, Maple Grove Farms Fat Free Raspberry Vinaigrette. And for dessert I picked up some date rolls (basically, just dates smooshed up and rolled in a bit of coconut) and their "energy squares" (which are wonderful -- dates and chocolate chips and cocoa) -- all plant based, of course!
More later...
They say to eat lots of different colors -- different vitamins and nutrients show up in plants that are colored in particular ways.
Beta carotene, for instance -- that fabulous anti-oxidant that the body uses to make Vitamin A -- is found primarily in red, yellow, and orange fruits and vegetables.
Leafy green vegetables tend to be good sources of folate, a B vitamin, and also contain lutein which helps to keep eyes healthy.
The anti-oxidant anthocyanin shows up in blue and purple foods -- blueberries, eggplant, plums, purple grapes.
As Dr. Campbell likes to remind us, there has never been a "magic bullet" nutrient. His example is a study linking increased tomato consumption (tomatoes are high in lycopene) to a lowered risk of prostate cancer. Nobody had ever heard of lycopene before, but suddenly there was a run on supplements at the health food store. And -- no corresponding decrease in prostate cancer. He does not take supplements, believing them to be (for the most part) untested, and uncontrolled. When we eat a tomato, he explains, we are not just consuming lycopene. We are eating dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of chemicals (some of which we haven't even discovered yet), and that symphony of ingredients works together to provide our bodies with everything we need. If we eat whole foods, and a variety of them, we do not need to worry whether or not we are getting the right things for our body. (He likes to remind us that in countries where women take calcium supplements there is a greater risk of osteoporosis than in countries where women do not take those supplements.)
There is one exception, of course: Vitamin B12. This nutrient is created by bacteria that live in fertile, healthy soil. In times past vegans would consume enough of this naturally, but we are clean freaks now (we don't get cholera or typhoid, Campbell adds, so it's a good trade off) and our diets may be lacking in this important substance. I try to take three pills a week -- Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays. I forget a LOT. But that is the only supplement I take (another reason why eating this way is less expensive than eating SAD (Standard American Diet). We store about a two-year supply of this nutrient, so skipping a few doses isn't critical.
I went to Whole Foods and loaded up. In my salad today I have a foundation of mixed greens, thick slices of cucumber, broccoli florets (I like it raw!), edamame, chickpeas, a marinated mushroom salad, slivered carrots, corn, peas, red cabbage, a quinoa pilaf with almonds and raisins, dried cranberries, a beet and sweet potato salad ("Beets and Sweets")...happy sigh. When I get home I'm going to start making more salads. I never serve them -- when I eat them at home they always make me feel like I'm on a diet, but Bruce likes them and I think my tastes are changing a bit. Not that I ever DIDN'T like them, I just only ate them when I was out. I used a bottled dressing, Maple Grove Farms Fat Free Raspberry Vinaigrette. And for dessert I picked up some date rolls (basically, just dates smooshed up and rolled in a bit of coconut) and their "energy squares" (which are wonderful -- dates and chocolate chips and cocoa) -- all plant based, of course!
More later...
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Patriarchs
Sue Bohlin, who knows a thing or three about writing and blogging and writing a blog, sent encouragement my way this morning. She wanted to make sure I knew that even if no one is making comments there are still folks reading. I love you, Sue, and know that you have the heart of an inspirer. Thank you!
Have no fear, however. I know this much is true: I have to write for myself. My best guess is that about six of my friends read this blog (hi Irene, Diana, Mom, Sue, Bruce, and Linden), and I think I know who they all are. (I mean, I know all my friends, of course, but what I mean is that I think I know who reads this.) I don't have a counter or anything else like that, so whether I have four readers or four hundred, it's all the same to me. Sometimes I think I should try to expand -- post links on Facebook every time I write, go to vegan (or Christian, or Christian-vegan) sites and post there, that sort of thing. But right now I just don't have that kind of ambition. Maybe I will later on. My feeling is that folks will stumble across my blog and if it offers something of value to them they will stick around.
I've been eating terribly for the past few days. Oh, I've been completely plant-based, but there have been some crazy things happening here and I've been getting to my room late in the evening with no time to eat. One night I ate pretzels and cranberry relish for dinner. That sort of thing. Good for the scale, but not the way I want -- need -- to eat. BUT -- we all have patches of busy-ness in our lives that knock us off stride. I'm happy to have stayed plant strong -- no animal products in 2012!!!
I DID eat better today. No breakfast -- I was rushing -- but I went to Chipotle for lunch and had a big burrito. Yum. Dinner will probably be a tangerine (or two) and a frozen Amy's enchilada. :)
On a completely different subject, here is what I thought about yesterday when I was reading my portion of daily Scripture (it was not exactly spiritual or high minded, I will warn you). Okay, in Genesis 18 Sarah is told that within one year she's going to have a baby. She has that baby in Genesis 21. She's ninety years old when she gives birth, so she has to be 89 or 90 in chapter 18, right?
In Genesis 20, Abraham (as is his annoying habit) passes off Sarah as his sister because she is apparently so gorgeous that King Abimelek wants her and Abraham is afraid that he'll be killed if the king knows that Sarah is his wife.
So do you see where I'm going with this? Sarah -- at age 90 -- is so gorgeous that kings want her. What is up with that? Seriously. One would not guess that tent living would be conducive to keeping one's looks, but I guess one would be wrong. Or Sarah had mighty good genes (I almost wrote "jeans" -- maybe she dressed for success, if you know what I mean). Anyway, I find this interesting -- and Abraham -- on many levels -- infuriating.
For instance, God says, "I'm going to give you and Sarah a son," but Abraham doesn't trust God enough to tell the truth to King Abimelek (obviously Abraham can't have a son if he's killed). But when God says, "Take Isaac and sacrifice him" THEN Abraham believes God. When it's HIS life, not so much. When it's his son's life, absolutely. I have always maintained that God had to ask Abraham to perform that particular task because if He'd asked Sarah she would've flat-out refused. God did not make mothers that way. (If it seems like I'm being flippant here, I'm really not. I think God programmed mothers to protect their children no matter what and asking a mother to kill her baby -- even as a sacrifice to God -- is a bridge too far for many -- most -- of us.)
I've pondered this story very often -- the whole Abraham saga. If ever there was evidence that God chooses whom He will, it's Abraham. There are a lot of things about him that make him sound pretty unappealing, as far as I'm concerned. But then -- I'm not God! And to be fair, Abraham lived a very long time and we only have a very little bit of information about him -- I suppose if someone were to write about all my worst moments I wouldn't come off looking all that good either.
More later...
Have no fear, however. I know this much is true: I have to write for myself. My best guess is that about six of my friends read this blog (hi Irene, Diana, Mom, Sue, Bruce, and Linden), and I think I know who they all are. (I mean, I know all my friends, of course, but what I mean is that I think I know who reads this.) I don't have a counter or anything else like that, so whether I have four readers or four hundred, it's all the same to me. Sometimes I think I should try to expand -- post links on Facebook every time I write, go to vegan (or Christian, or Christian-vegan) sites and post there, that sort of thing. But right now I just don't have that kind of ambition. Maybe I will later on. My feeling is that folks will stumble across my blog and if it offers something of value to them they will stick around.
I've been eating terribly for the past few days. Oh, I've been completely plant-based, but there have been some crazy things happening here and I've been getting to my room late in the evening with no time to eat. One night I ate pretzels and cranberry relish for dinner. That sort of thing. Good for the scale, but not the way I want -- need -- to eat. BUT -- we all have patches of busy-ness in our lives that knock us off stride. I'm happy to have stayed plant strong -- no animal products in 2012!!!
I DID eat better today. No breakfast -- I was rushing -- but I went to Chipotle for lunch and had a big burrito. Yum. Dinner will probably be a tangerine (or two) and a frozen Amy's enchilada. :)
On a completely different subject, here is what I thought about yesterday when I was reading my portion of daily Scripture (it was not exactly spiritual or high minded, I will warn you). Okay, in Genesis 18 Sarah is told that within one year she's going to have a baby. She has that baby in Genesis 21. She's ninety years old when she gives birth, so she has to be 89 or 90 in chapter 18, right?
In Genesis 20, Abraham (as is his annoying habit) passes off Sarah as his sister because she is apparently so gorgeous that King Abimelek wants her and Abraham is afraid that he'll be killed if the king knows that Sarah is his wife.
So do you see where I'm going with this? Sarah -- at age 90 -- is so gorgeous that kings want her. What is up with that? Seriously. One would not guess that tent living would be conducive to keeping one's looks, but I guess one would be wrong. Or Sarah had mighty good genes (I almost wrote "jeans" -- maybe she dressed for success, if you know what I mean). Anyway, I find this interesting -- and Abraham -- on many levels -- infuriating.
For instance, God says, "I'm going to give you and Sarah a son," but Abraham doesn't trust God enough to tell the truth to King Abimelek (obviously Abraham can't have a son if he's killed). But when God says, "Take Isaac and sacrifice him" THEN Abraham believes God. When it's HIS life, not so much. When it's his son's life, absolutely. I have always maintained that God had to ask Abraham to perform that particular task because if He'd asked Sarah she would've flat-out refused. God did not make mothers that way. (If it seems like I'm being flippant here, I'm really not. I think God programmed mothers to protect their children no matter what and asking a mother to kill her baby -- even as a sacrifice to God -- is a bridge too far for many -- most -- of us.)
I've pondered this story very often -- the whole Abraham saga. If ever there was evidence that God chooses whom He will, it's Abraham. There are a lot of things about him that make him sound pretty unappealing, as far as I'm concerned. But then -- I'm not God! And to be fair, Abraham lived a very long time and we only have a very little bit of information about him -- I suppose if someone were to write about all my worst moments I wouldn't come off looking all that good either.
More later...
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Sailing Along
I've decided not to mention my weight again until I'm down a total of fifty pounds. Alex's wedding really threw us off stride and we started eating out too much, I started snacking on unhealthful things too much, etc., which put my weight loss on hiatus (and I gained over the holidays). I'm back on the straight and narrow and feeling really REALLY happy about it.
Remember -- I'm NOT dieting. I don't count calories, weigh portions, measure nutrients. I make (mostly) smart decisions about what to put into my body and let the weight take care of itself. And -- it does.
Going back to January 1 of last year, I decided I wanted to lose a total of one hundred pounds. You don't get to be a HUNDRED POUNDS overweight by demonstrating a love for healthy foods, an avoidance of fat and sugar, an abundance of willpower, or an abhorrence of empty calories. No one I know ate worse than I did for the last couple of decades. Period.
But an amazing thing has happened, is happening -- I've written about this before because it is a real miracle for me (one I've actually cried about): my tastes are changing. Have changed. You can't live on willpower -- you just cannot. I know this because I've relied on it since I was twenty years old and it got me an extra hundred pounds. When you rely on willpower everything is a struggle and you simply cannot do it over the long haul. This is why diets (statistically) never work (that's the subject of another post).
The only way to achieve success is to find something that you don't have to fight. Well -- I can eat cake and waffles and pizza all day long and not fight it. But that's not going to get me where I want to be. I needed a miracle. I needed for my tastes to change -- which they never have, despite promises to the contrary from just about every diet guru out there.
Thanks to my classes in plant-based nutrition (specifically a lecture by Dr. Doug Lisle), I now understand that resetting our taste buds takes three to four months. I never lasted that long (until now). Let me tell you what happened to me today...
We catered lunch for the students today. Ed ordered pizza: cheese, pepperoni, meat lovers, veggie. Stuffed (with meat) fried ravioli. A salad loaded with bacon and cheese and high-fat Ranch and Italian dressings. Cherry dessert pizza, loaded with icing.
I was over there getting the food ready for the students to eat and when Ed took over I had to leave because I was getting nauseated. Just the sight of all that meat, all that fat, was getting to me. The smell of the cherry pizzas was off putting. The cheesy-meaty salad looked sad (and I watched my colleague take the salt shaker and shake it eight times -- I counted -- on top of his salad). I don't know how people can eat that stuff. (I mean, I KNOW how people can eat that stuff because I did. But now -- shudder.)
On Monday I forgot my lunch. I'd brought a nectarine and I wandered into the lobby of the hotel, hoping they'd have pretzels or something. The best I could do was a snack mix (like Chex Mix, but a different brand). No animal products, less fat than potato chips -- not ideal. That night I was STARVING. I went to Dierberg's and made a salad. When I got to the checkout and weighed that sucker -- it cost me FIFTEEN DOLLARS!!!! That's a BIG salad!
Well, my eyes were bigger than my stomach, so that salad actually lasted me for two nights. Today for breakfast I had Amy's oatmeal -- steel cut, so it's chewy, and very lightly sweetened. Lunch was Amy's again (wish I'd remembered my Vitamix): their tofu scramble, which is one of my favorites (the tofu is scrambled with spinach and carrots, there are slices of tomato on the side, and some hash browns). I ate some fresh pineapple that I bought peeled and sliced at Dierberg's. I feel great and the students are out there nodding off because they had a huge lunch that was high in fat and empty carbs.
I'm not trying to minimize the length of time that three or four months is. It's LONG when you're craving things (which is why I never stuck it out before). But there are a couple of ways to tackle this. First, my original motivation was not to lose weight. I wanted to be healthy, and the weight part was just one part of it. I immersed myself in literature. I read so many books, articles, took classes, read blogs, etc. The time went by pretty fast (in retrospect). I didn't even know any vegetarians, much less vegans, so I knew I was going to have to find my own encouragement and motivation.
But -- you don't have to do it that way. You can ease into the process. You can give up one thing at a time. Or a couple of things at a time. Kathy Freston (author of Veganist) advocates this approach (she calls it "leaning in" to a vegan lifestyle). She suggests giving up poultry first because there is no creature on the planet more abused than the birds we eat. But you can make your own path. Give up meat first, maybe. Then give up dairy, after you've got the meat part down. Give up added fat. Give up processed flour and sugar. You don't have to become perfect overnight. And when you drive by a Krispy Kreme and see the "Hot Now" light on, black out, and wake up with an empty box and sugar-crusted napkins all around you, that's fine. The next food you put into your mouth will be healthy. Climb right back on the...horse. Hmmm. Maybe I need a plant-based metaphor!
More later...
Remember -- I'm NOT dieting. I don't count calories, weigh portions, measure nutrients. I make (mostly) smart decisions about what to put into my body and let the weight take care of itself. And -- it does.
Going back to January 1 of last year, I decided I wanted to lose a total of one hundred pounds. You don't get to be a HUNDRED POUNDS overweight by demonstrating a love for healthy foods, an avoidance of fat and sugar, an abundance of willpower, or an abhorrence of empty calories. No one I know ate worse than I did for the last couple of decades. Period.
But an amazing thing has happened, is happening -- I've written about this before because it is a real miracle for me (one I've actually cried about): my tastes are changing. Have changed. You can't live on willpower -- you just cannot. I know this because I've relied on it since I was twenty years old and it got me an extra hundred pounds. When you rely on willpower everything is a struggle and you simply cannot do it over the long haul. This is why diets (statistically) never work (that's the subject of another post).
The only way to achieve success is to find something that you don't have to fight. Well -- I can eat cake and waffles and pizza all day long and not fight it. But that's not going to get me where I want to be. I needed a miracle. I needed for my tastes to change -- which they never have, despite promises to the contrary from just about every diet guru out there.
Thanks to my classes in plant-based nutrition (specifically a lecture by Dr. Doug Lisle), I now understand that resetting our taste buds takes three to four months. I never lasted that long (until now). Let me tell you what happened to me today...
We catered lunch for the students today. Ed ordered pizza: cheese, pepperoni, meat lovers, veggie. Stuffed (with meat) fried ravioli. A salad loaded with bacon and cheese and high-fat Ranch and Italian dressings. Cherry dessert pizza, loaded with icing.
I was over there getting the food ready for the students to eat and when Ed took over I had to leave because I was getting nauseated. Just the sight of all that meat, all that fat, was getting to me. The smell of the cherry pizzas was off putting. The cheesy-meaty salad looked sad (and I watched my colleague take the salt shaker and shake it eight times -- I counted -- on top of his salad). I don't know how people can eat that stuff. (I mean, I KNOW how people can eat that stuff because I did. But now -- shudder.)
On Monday I forgot my lunch. I'd brought a nectarine and I wandered into the lobby of the hotel, hoping they'd have pretzels or something. The best I could do was a snack mix (like Chex Mix, but a different brand). No animal products, less fat than potato chips -- not ideal. That night I was STARVING. I went to Dierberg's and made a salad. When I got to the checkout and weighed that sucker -- it cost me FIFTEEN DOLLARS!!!! That's a BIG salad!
Well, my eyes were bigger than my stomach, so that salad actually lasted me for two nights. Today for breakfast I had Amy's oatmeal -- steel cut, so it's chewy, and very lightly sweetened. Lunch was Amy's again (wish I'd remembered my Vitamix): their tofu scramble, which is one of my favorites (the tofu is scrambled with spinach and carrots, there are slices of tomato on the side, and some hash browns). I ate some fresh pineapple that I bought peeled and sliced at Dierberg's. I feel great and the students are out there nodding off because they had a huge lunch that was high in fat and empty carbs.
I'm not trying to minimize the length of time that three or four months is. It's LONG when you're craving things (which is why I never stuck it out before). But there are a couple of ways to tackle this. First, my original motivation was not to lose weight. I wanted to be healthy, and the weight part was just one part of it. I immersed myself in literature. I read so many books, articles, took classes, read blogs, etc. The time went by pretty fast (in retrospect). I didn't even know any vegetarians, much less vegans, so I knew I was going to have to find my own encouragement and motivation.
But -- you don't have to do it that way. You can ease into the process. You can give up one thing at a time. Or a couple of things at a time. Kathy Freston (author of Veganist) advocates this approach (she calls it "leaning in" to a vegan lifestyle). She suggests giving up poultry first because there is no creature on the planet more abused than the birds we eat. But you can make your own path. Give up meat first, maybe. Then give up dairy, after you've got the meat part down. Give up added fat. Give up processed flour and sugar. You don't have to become perfect overnight. And when you drive by a Krispy Kreme and see the "Hot Now" light on, black out, and wake up with an empty box and sugar-crusted napkins all around you, that's fine. The next food you put into your mouth will be healthy. Climb right back on the...horse. Hmmm. Maybe I need a plant-based metaphor!
More later...
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Waiting...
I'm sitting in my hotel room waiting for Ed and Brian to arrive. I expected them before this, so I figure if I start writing a blog entry they'll come almost instantly. For those of you who don't know every detail of my life, Brian is my boss and the president of Qp3 Training Systems. Ed is the senior trainer. I've known both of them since I was thirteen years old (Ed was the youth leader of a Christian group that Brian and I attended).
Anyway, Brian is here just for a few days -- to be sure that everything runs smoothly in my facility because it's our first time there. Ed and I will be teaching the same thing at the same time in two different locations. I'm not sure what we're doing today -- we have to run over to Ed's training center to get some papers that I'll need for tomorrow, but otherwise I don't know what's going on. I really don't want to hang out and watch football, although that is probably what they will do. I have food to eat in my room (although I need iced tea), so I may run around with them for a bit and then bow out.
What I'd like to do is stay in my room and get completely ready for tomorrow. I've done this a hundred times, but I still think I'm going to forget everything when I get up there to teach. And Brian will be watching me tomorrow! (He doesn't make me nervous, though, really. I HAVE done this a hundred times, after all.)
I have some paperwork to do; I usually leave it until Tuesday or Wednesday because I don't teach on those days. The students will be shuttled over to Ed's training facility and a respiratory therapist will teach them the clinical portions of their training for those two days. I will sit in the conference room and make up my files, set up my grade sheet, get my expenses up to date, get the student summaries set up, etc. And -- I have a rolling filing cabinet that looks like a mini-tornado has been through it. Seriously. One of my goals this trip is to fix that. Oh -- I have a new video camera that I have to know how to use by Saturday. That's definitely on the agenda.
Have I mentioned that I am reading Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton (or "Gilbert Keith," as I like to call him)? There is a certain way of writing that was so evident at the beginning of the last century (and particularly by Englishmen) that Chesterton does in spades. It's wonderful, glorious, smart, witty -- amazing, really. Let me share with you an example (it's kind of long-ish, but fabulous):
The truth is that there is a real humility typical of our time; but it so happens that it is practically a more poisonous humility than the wildest prostrations of the ascetic. The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from stopping; not a nail in his boot that prevented him from going on. For the old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder.
But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which will make him stop working altogether.
At any street corner we may meet a man who utters the frantic and blasphemous statement that he may be wrong. Every day one comes across somebody who says that of course his view may not be the right one. Of course his view must be the right one, or it is not his view. We are on the road to producing a race of men too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table.
We are in danger of seeing philosophers who doubt the law of gravity as being a mere fancy of their own. Scoffers of old time were too proud to be convinced; but these are too humble to be convinced.
The meek do inherit the earth; but the modern sceptics are too meek even to claim their inheritance. It is exactly this intellectual helplessness which is our second problem.
Do you see what I mean? I love that. I love the multiplication-table line especially. And doesn't it sound like today? If this was a problem in Chesterton's day (he published this in 1908) we can surely say that the more things change, the more they stay the same. We call it "multiculturalism" now, or "moral relativism." Nothing can be better than something else -- at least, nothing I believe can be better than something someone else believes. Such a sweet, reasonable-sounding lie!
Anyway, my biggest problem with this book is that I like to read late at night and my brain isn't awake enough to swallow Chesterton whole. I know this is a book that needs to be read more than once. I know this for two reasons: first, because John Piper wrote that this is one of only a couple of books that he re-reads. But second, because I read about half of it once before and am getting so much more out of this second go round. So I am trying to sneak in some reading during the day when I'm more alert, but I will not be too hard on myself if I struggle in the evening. After all, there won't be a test.
Okay, my theory has been proven false. No Ed or Brian. I am THIS CLOSE to going to Dierberg's to stock up on bottled iced tea. That would definitely make them come (although I think Ed might have to go to Dierberg's, too, and I feel like I ought to wait for him).
More later...
Anyway, Brian is here just for a few days -- to be sure that everything runs smoothly in my facility because it's our first time there. Ed and I will be teaching the same thing at the same time in two different locations. I'm not sure what we're doing today -- we have to run over to Ed's training center to get some papers that I'll need for tomorrow, but otherwise I don't know what's going on. I really don't want to hang out and watch football, although that is probably what they will do. I have food to eat in my room (although I need iced tea), so I may run around with them for a bit and then bow out.
What I'd like to do is stay in my room and get completely ready for tomorrow. I've done this a hundred times, but I still think I'm going to forget everything when I get up there to teach. And Brian will be watching me tomorrow! (He doesn't make me nervous, though, really. I HAVE done this a hundred times, after all.)
I have some paperwork to do; I usually leave it until Tuesday or Wednesday because I don't teach on those days. The students will be shuttled over to Ed's training facility and a respiratory therapist will teach them the clinical portions of their training for those two days. I will sit in the conference room and make up my files, set up my grade sheet, get my expenses up to date, get the student summaries set up, etc. And -- I have a rolling filing cabinet that looks like a mini-tornado has been through it. Seriously. One of my goals this trip is to fix that. Oh -- I have a new video camera that I have to know how to use by Saturday. That's definitely on the agenda.
Have I mentioned that I am reading Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton (or "Gilbert Keith," as I like to call him)? There is a certain way of writing that was so evident at the beginning of the last century (and particularly by Englishmen) that Chesterton does in spades. It's wonderful, glorious, smart, witty -- amazing, really. Let me share with you an example (it's kind of long-ish, but fabulous):
The truth is that there is a real humility typical of our time; but it so happens that it is practically a more poisonous humility than the wildest prostrations of the ascetic. The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from stopping; not a nail in his boot that prevented him from going on. For the old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder.
But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which will make him stop working altogether.
At any street corner we may meet a man who utters the frantic and blasphemous statement that he may be wrong. Every day one comes across somebody who says that of course his view may not be the right one. Of course his view must be the right one, or it is not his view. We are on the road to producing a race of men too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table.
We are in danger of seeing philosophers who doubt the law of gravity as being a mere fancy of their own. Scoffers of old time were too proud to be convinced; but these are too humble to be convinced.
The meek do inherit the earth; but the modern sceptics are too meek even to claim their inheritance. It is exactly this intellectual helplessness which is our second problem.
Do you see what I mean? I love that. I love the multiplication-table line especially. And doesn't it sound like today? If this was a problem in Chesterton's day (he published this in 1908) we can surely say that the more things change, the more they stay the same. We call it "multiculturalism" now, or "moral relativism." Nothing can be better than something else -- at least, nothing I believe can be better than something someone else believes. Such a sweet, reasonable-sounding lie!
Anyway, my biggest problem with this book is that I like to read late at night and my brain isn't awake enough to swallow Chesterton whole. I know this is a book that needs to be read more than once. I know this for two reasons: first, because John Piper wrote that this is one of only a couple of books that he re-reads. But second, because I read about half of it once before and am getting so much more out of this second go round. So I am trying to sneak in some reading during the day when I'm more alert, but I will not be too hard on myself if I struggle in the evening. After all, there won't be a test.
Okay, my theory has been proven false. No Ed or Brian. I am THIS CLOSE to going to Dierberg's to stock up on bottled iced tea. That would definitely make them come (although I think Ed might have to go to Dierberg's, too, and I feel like I ought to wait for him).
More later...
The Basket
Okay, Miss Smarty Pants, here is a picture of my welcome basket. Besides the cookies and the bottle of water, everything else is toiletries: a shower cap, two sewing kits, two bottles of hand sanitizer, Q-tips, coupons, a little fake flower pot (that looks nicer in real life than it does in my shot-in-low-light-with-my-iPhone pic), a toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, etc., etc., etc. The ice scraper is in there, too, but it's ivory colored and was shoved up in the front of the basket and was simply not noticeable. And since I don't need any toiletries, I hadn't really poked through the basket. Not sure why I did last night, actually. :)
More later...
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Flotsam and Jetsam
I am in St. Louis. It's too cold; I have enough food so I am not leaving my room until tomorrow. I passed through several temptations and was true to my plant-strong vows, so I'm quite pleased with myself. This is going to be a ramble -- just thoughts as they appear to me. I apologize in advance.
First, the last thing I cooked at home was this lasagna. I took a picture, but it looks just like hers, so there's no sense in me posting it. (I'm very lazy right now.) I made this once before, a long time ago. It's...okay. I mean, it's very edible, but I don't love it. I think I would like it more with homemade sauce, maybe with more things in it, although I love the sauce that I use (I buy it at Earth Fare and it's their house brand, low fat, and is really one of the best jarred sauces I've tasted). I dunno...maybe what I really want is cheese in this. Alisha said that the spinach/tofu part would make a good dip. ANYWAY -- there are a lot of leftovers for Bruce, which was what I wanted.
On my way to St. Louis I drove through snow most of the time. Just flurries -- nothing accumulating. Still...brrrr. I am starting to HATE the cold. I want to move to Naples (Florida) because that really is the most beautiful place I've ever been. Well, Sanibel, too. Or Marco Island. I'm not picky (ha!).
When I was somewhere in the wilds of Illinois I saw a bald eagle. There was a freshly killed something in the middle of the road and the eagle was trying to dive down and get it while avoiding cars. It was not a heavily trafficked area, so I saw him make a successful pass. Anyway, it was quite dramatic for me. I think the only other bald eagles I've ever seen in the wild have either been just sitting on a tree limb (like the nesting ones by the St. Pete/Clearwater airport) or flying. Never one DOING anything.
There was a welcome basket in my room with Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies in it. I have avoided them (and, actually, I feel pretty optimistic that they are going to last until Monday when I will take them to the other hotel and give them to the students). I was hungry when I saw them, though, and there was no food in the room so there was a moment's hesitation...
Same thing happened when I went to Dierberg's (the grocery store here). It is really a fabulous store. It is the nicest normal grocery store I've ever been to (by "normal" I mean "not Whole Foods"). They have a great selection of frozen entrees for folks like me. They have a great salad bar, too, and a wonderful array of hot foods (although practically all of them are not vegan, so I don't usually get anything from that area). I haven't checked out the Whole Foods yet, but I have enough food now for a few days, so I'll get there later in the week. Anyway, I was hungry and there were so many tempting foods...But one of my 101 goals is to go one month without eating animal products, so I resisted. Yay me. :)
I did not do everything right, however. I got a small-ish bag of Red Hot Riplets (a local "delicacy" -- they're ridged potato chips with a very HOT bbq flavor to them) and I've eaten the entire bag. I will not buy them again.
I'm thinking of giving up caffeine. This will be a project for a future month because I just bought a case of blue Monsters at Costco and I'm not letting them go to waste. I was watching a video (hey -- this is the link) of a talk by Dr. Esselstyn and he was listing foods that are bad for our hearts and he mentioned, of course, oil (gulp -- Red Hot Riplets) and caffeine. I'm actually doing really well on the oil part -- I haven't eliminated it, but I've cut WAY back -- but I could get rid of caffeine. I guess. Even if it means giving up tea, which would be tragic. I'll do some research, because I know that tea has some good qualities. Maybe what I'll learn is that I should give up the blue Monsters, but keep drinking the tea.
I am unexpectedly enjoying my read-the-Bible-in-a-year plan. I mean, it's been fourteen days, but still. I'm halfway through Matthew and Acts, I'm almost a third of the way through Genesis, I've finished Ezra and have a good chunk of Nehemiah under my belt. Quite nice. I try to really concentrate on what I'm reading, but I could do better on that score.
Have you read this article on Tim Tebow? Take the time. Rick Reilly is an ESPN guy, not a religion guy. He is a remarkable young man (Tim Tebow, not Rick Reilly); wish there were more like him.
I can't make myself turn on the tv today. I almost never do when I'm working and even though Tim Tebow is losing to the Patriots as I type, I just can't make myself invite the noise into my life.
When I was about an hour away from home I realized that I'd forgotten to pack my Vitamix. There is no blender in either hotel room (the one I'm staying in and the one I'll be working from). So -- no green smoothies for the next two weeks. I stocked up on Amy's frozen entrees when I was at Dierberg's, though, so I will eat those for lunch and bring fruit for a snack.
Okay, enough drivel. I mostly wanted to post SOMETHING -- and this is what you get when I have no real purpose.
More later...
First, the last thing I cooked at home was this lasagna. I took a picture, but it looks just like hers, so there's no sense in me posting it. (I'm very lazy right now.) I made this once before, a long time ago. It's...okay. I mean, it's very edible, but I don't love it. I think I would like it more with homemade sauce, maybe with more things in it, although I love the sauce that I use (I buy it at Earth Fare and it's their house brand, low fat, and is really one of the best jarred sauces I've tasted). I dunno...maybe what I really want is cheese in this. Alisha said that the spinach/tofu part would make a good dip. ANYWAY -- there are a lot of leftovers for Bruce, which was what I wanted.
On my way to St. Louis I drove through snow most of the time. Just flurries -- nothing accumulating. Still...brrrr. I am starting to HATE the cold. I want to move to Naples (Florida) because that really is the most beautiful place I've ever been. Well, Sanibel, too. Or Marco Island. I'm not picky (ha!).
When I was somewhere in the wilds of Illinois I saw a bald eagle. There was a freshly killed something in the middle of the road and the eagle was trying to dive down and get it while avoiding cars. It was not a heavily trafficked area, so I saw him make a successful pass. Anyway, it was quite dramatic for me. I think the only other bald eagles I've ever seen in the wild have either been just sitting on a tree limb (like the nesting ones by the St. Pete/Clearwater airport) or flying. Never one DOING anything.
There was a welcome basket in my room with Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies in it. I have avoided them (and, actually, I feel pretty optimistic that they are going to last until Monday when I will take them to the other hotel and give them to the students). I was hungry when I saw them, though, and there was no food in the room so there was a moment's hesitation...
Same thing happened when I went to Dierberg's (the grocery store here). It is really a fabulous store. It is the nicest normal grocery store I've ever been to (by "normal" I mean "not Whole Foods"). They have a great selection of frozen entrees for folks like me. They have a great salad bar, too, and a wonderful array of hot foods (although practically all of them are not vegan, so I don't usually get anything from that area). I haven't checked out the Whole Foods yet, but I have enough food now for a few days, so I'll get there later in the week. Anyway, I was hungry and there were so many tempting foods...But one of my 101 goals is to go one month without eating animal products, so I resisted. Yay me. :)
I did not do everything right, however. I got a small-ish bag of Red Hot Riplets (a local "delicacy" -- they're ridged potato chips with a very HOT bbq flavor to them) and I've eaten the entire bag. I will not buy them again.
I'm thinking of giving up caffeine. This will be a project for a future month because I just bought a case of blue Monsters at Costco and I'm not letting them go to waste. I was watching a video (hey -- this is the link) of a talk by Dr. Esselstyn and he was listing foods that are bad for our hearts and he mentioned, of course, oil (gulp -- Red Hot Riplets) and caffeine. I'm actually doing really well on the oil part -- I haven't eliminated it, but I've cut WAY back -- but I could get rid of caffeine. I guess. Even if it means giving up tea, which would be tragic. I'll do some research, because I know that tea has some good qualities. Maybe what I'll learn is that I should give up the blue Monsters, but keep drinking the tea.
I am unexpectedly enjoying my read-the-Bible-in-a-year plan. I mean, it's been fourteen days, but still. I'm halfway through Matthew and Acts, I'm almost a third of the way through Genesis, I've finished Ezra and have a good chunk of Nehemiah under my belt. Quite nice. I try to really concentrate on what I'm reading, but I could do better on that score.
Have you read this article on Tim Tebow? Take the time. Rick Reilly is an ESPN guy, not a religion guy. He is a remarkable young man (Tim Tebow, not Rick Reilly); wish there were more like him.
I can't make myself turn on the tv today. I almost never do when I'm working and even though Tim Tebow is losing to the Patriots as I type, I just can't make myself invite the noise into my life.
When I was about an hour away from home I realized that I'd forgotten to pack my Vitamix. There is no blender in either hotel room (the one I'm staying in and the one I'll be working from). So -- no green smoothies for the next two weeks. I stocked up on Amy's frozen entrees when I was at Dierberg's, though, so I will eat those for lunch and bring fruit for a snack.
Okay, enough drivel. I mostly wanted to post SOMETHING -- and this is what you get when I have no real purpose.
More later...
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Full of Beans
I forgot to mention that on yesterday's Mushroom and Spinach Stroganoff I used probably four times the garlic that the recipe called for. Just wanted to add that. :)
Tonight's dinner was excellent and very easy to make. It cooks on top of the stove for an hour so it's not quick from that perspective, but the part you have to do is very easy. White Bean and Garlic Stew -- excellent for a gray, rainy day (which we had here in Alabama).
The recipe calls for a whole head of garlic. This doesn't scare me, but if you aren't sure about that let me reassure you that cooking the garlic this way really makes it very mild. I have a trick, too, for peeling lots of cloves of garlic. I don't mind my fingers smelling like garlic -- I've gotten so I hardly ever use my garlic press because I just mince whatever I need by hand. But peeling cloves, especially if they need to be kept whole -- is a pain (if you're going to mince the garlic, just crush the clove with the side of a chef's knife blade -- the clove will slip right out of the skin after it's been crushed). The worst part is that the garlic gets sticky and you can't get the papery skins off your fingers.
I saw a video online of someone peeling garlic by shaking it in a metal bowl. I have developed my own version. I take the head of garlic and SLAM it down onto the counter. Sometimes I have to do this a few times, to break the head apart and separate the cloves. Then, I put the separated cloves into a martini shaker and go to town shaking like crazy. If you have a lot of cloves you may have to stop, take the naked cloves out and put the cloves that still need to be peeled back in, and do this a few times. But for some reason this works. It's a lot easier than peeling them by hand. I wouldn't bother with this if I only needed a few cloves, but for an entire head it's definitely a time saver.
Some of my cloves were quite large, so I cut them into two or three pieces -- about the size of a normal clove of garlic. I did not use bay leaves because I got this recipe off of her web site, not her blog, and that version didn't use them. And I used twice as much parsley, for the same reason. Minor details. Otherwise, I made it just as she describes. [I just remembered that I used an extra carrot because I know they're not going to be any good when I get back from St. Louis and I wanted to use more of 'em up. :) ] It REALLY hit the spot.
This was very much like a soup. I didn't make brown rice (she suggests serving it over rice). I offered to make quinoa, but Bruce just wanted to eat it with toast, so that's what he did. Here is the pic (you can always click on my pictures for a bigger image):
I'm going to try to write more later. I'm pooped already, though, so we'll see. :)
More later (eventually)...
Tonight's dinner was excellent and very easy to make. It cooks on top of the stove for an hour so it's not quick from that perspective, but the part you have to do is very easy. White Bean and Garlic Stew -- excellent for a gray, rainy day (which we had here in Alabama).
The recipe calls for a whole head of garlic. This doesn't scare me, but if you aren't sure about that let me reassure you that cooking the garlic this way really makes it very mild. I have a trick, too, for peeling lots of cloves of garlic. I don't mind my fingers smelling like garlic -- I've gotten so I hardly ever use my garlic press because I just mince whatever I need by hand. But peeling cloves, especially if they need to be kept whole -- is a pain (if you're going to mince the garlic, just crush the clove with the side of a chef's knife blade -- the clove will slip right out of the skin after it's been crushed). The worst part is that the garlic gets sticky and you can't get the papery skins off your fingers.
I saw a video online of someone peeling garlic by shaking it in a metal bowl. I have developed my own version. I take the head of garlic and SLAM it down onto the counter. Sometimes I have to do this a few times, to break the head apart and separate the cloves. Then, I put the separated cloves into a martini shaker and go to town shaking like crazy. If you have a lot of cloves you may have to stop, take the naked cloves out and put the cloves that still need to be peeled back in, and do this a few times. But for some reason this works. It's a lot easier than peeling them by hand. I wouldn't bother with this if I only needed a few cloves, but for an entire head it's definitely a time saver.
Some of my cloves were quite large, so I cut them into two or three pieces -- about the size of a normal clove of garlic. I did not use bay leaves because I got this recipe off of her web site, not her blog, and that version didn't use them. And I used twice as much parsley, for the same reason. Minor details. Otherwise, I made it just as she describes. [I just remembered that I used an extra carrot because I know they're not going to be any good when I get back from St. Louis and I wanted to use more of 'em up. :) ] It REALLY hit the spot.
This was very much like a soup. I didn't make brown rice (she suggests serving it over rice). I offered to make quinoa, but Bruce just wanted to eat it with toast, so that's what he did. Here is the pic (you can always click on my pictures for a bigger image):
I'm going to try to write more later. I'm pooped already, though, so we'll see. :)
More later (eventually)...
Monday, January 9, 2012
On a Roll
Man, every night, one meal better than the last. Even last night's, which I grumped about, was better than a lot of meals I've eaten. Tonight was wonderful -- AND it was quick and easy. Can't beat that!!!
First, I will link to the recipe. Then I will tell you how to make it better.
The dish is called Mushroom and Spinach Stroganoff. (One gripe -- the dish calls for garlic, but it is not listed in the ingredients list. I hate that. It's no big deal because I ALWAYS have garlic, but still. It's annoying.)
The recipe calls for 4-5 cups of sliced mushrooms. This is about 12 ounces of 'shrooms (I bought two 8-ounce containers and I have half of one left). Go ahead and use all the mushrooms. Up the liquid by a cup (use 1 1/2 cups of nondairy milk and 1 1/2 cups of broth). Taste the sauce at this point to see if you need to add more soy sauce. My sense is that you won't, but your mileage may vary. Up the cornstarch to three tablespoons (and the accompanying water by two tablespoons).
This would be a good recipe to add broccoli to, for those who like the stuff. Sundried tomatoes, maybe. Or (maybe better) a can of chopped tomatoes.
Anyway, this was excellent just the way it was, don't get me wrong. We ate a TON of it. But I would've liked just a little more sauce, and that's what I've done with these suggested changes.
I used whole wheat spaghetti because God forbid Publix should have whole wheat fettuccine. I dumped the pasta in a bowl and then dumped the sauce on top and started to toss the pasta before I took a picture. So the picture does not show a lot of the sauce -- some of it is buried under pasta. :)
Do not lose focus! If you stick to the program it will get easier. Your tastes WILL change. It takes a few months -- between three and four -- but your brain will reset and the things that you used to crave will fade away. I asked Bruce tonight what he craves. He thought for a few minutes and said, "Bacon. I like the way bacon tastes. But I don't crave it -- I don't crave anything."
I am the same way, although my relationship with food is different than Bruce's (who is much wiser than I am). For me, food is comfort and boredom relief and reward, and it's hard to shift that paradigm. So I have cheated more than he has (although not in 2012!), but my rewards have been even greater. And even for me it has become easier. Remember why you want to eat this way -- I think for most people reading this it is health reasons, but if you are concerned about factory farms or the environmental toll that raising animals takes -- whatever it is, remember!
One of the best things about eating this way is that you can feel good for a LOT of different reasons. You are making a big difference in your health. You are making sure that you don't get heart disease (or if you have heart disease you are on the way to making yourself a former heart patient). You are refusing to participate in the cruelty that is inherent in the factory farm system. You're saying goodbye to diabetes and obesity. And more important than living longer, you are living better. Your grocery bills will decrease. Now that I've made the initial switch I spend far less at the grocery store, especially when I stay away from processed foods. You make a positive impact on the environment -- growing crops for people to eat takes far less energy than raising meat to eat. And the more you do this the more grocery stores and restaurants will take note and will start providing more options for plant-based diets.
Every day I hear about someone else going vegan. The latest: Venus and Serena Williams. Not a lot of people, I grant you, but more every day. Wallow in it. Go to the grocery store and fill your cart with beauty. Don't get in a rut. Make variety your theme. Ask questions -- I'll answer. I want to help. I can recommend books, recipes, anything to help. I know that it takes determination and that you feel like you're out there all alone, but it's worth it. I promise, it's worth it.
More later...
First, I will link to the recipe. Then I will tell you how to make it better.
The dish is called Mushroom and Spinach Stroganoff. (One gripe -- the dish calls for garlic, but it is not listed in the ingredients list. I hate that. It's no big deal because I ALWAYS have garlic, but still. It's annoying.)
The recipe calls for 4-5 cups of sliced mushrooms. This is about 12 ounces of 'shrooms (I bought two 8-ounce containers and I have half of one left). Go ahead and use all the mushrooms. Up the liquid by a cup (use 1 1/2 cups of nondairy milk and 1 1/2 cups of broth). Taste the sauce at this point to see if you need to add more soy sauce. My sense is that you won't, but your mileage may vary. Up the cornstarch to three tablespoons (and the accompanying water by two tablespoons).
This would be a good recipe to add broccoli to, for those who like the stuff. Sundried tomatoes, maybe. Or (maybe better) a can of chopped tomatoes.
Anyway, this was excellent just the way it was, don't get me wrong. We ate a TON of it. But I would've liked just a little more sauce, and that's what I've done with these suggested changes.
I used whole wheat spaghetti because God forbid Publix should have whole wheat fettuccine. I dumped the pasta in a bowl and then dumped the sauce on top and started to toss the pasta before I took a picture. So the picture does not show a lot of the sauce -- some of it is buried under pasta. :)
Do not lose focus! If you stick to the program it will get easier. Your tastes WILL change. It takes a few months -- between three and four -- but your brain will reset and the things that you used to crave will fade away. I asked Bruce tonight what he craves. He thought for a few minutes and said, "Bacon. I like the way bacon tastes. But I don't crave it -- I don't crave anything."
I am the same way, although my relationship with food is different than Bruce's (who is much wiser than I am). For me, food is comfort and boredom relief and reward, and it's hard to shift that paradigm. So I have cheated more than he has (although not in 2012!), but my rewards have been even greater. And even for me it has become easier. Remember why you want to eat this way -- I think for most people reading this it is health reasons, but if you are concerned about factory farms or the environmental toll that raising animals takes -- whatever it is, remember!
One of the best things about eating this way is that you can feel good for a LOT of different reasons. You are making a big difference in your health. You are making sure that you don't get heart disease (or if you have heart disease you are on the way to making yourself a former heart patient). You are refusing to participate in the cruelty that is inherent in the factory farm system. You're saying goodbye to diabetes and obesity. And more important than living longer, you are living better. Your grocery bills will decrease. Now that I've made the initial switch I spend far less at the grocery store, especially when I stay away from processed foods. You make a positive impact on the environment -- growing crops for people to eat takes far less energy than raising meat to eat. And the more you do this the more grocery stores and restaurants will take note and will start providing more options for plant-based diets.
Every day I hear about someone else going vegan. The latest: Venus and Serena Williams. Not a lot of people, I grant you, but more every day. Wallow in it. Go to the grocery store and fill your cart with beauty. Don't get in a rut. Make variety your theme. Ask questions -- I'll answer. I want to help. I can recommend books, recipes, anything to help. I know that it takes determination and that you feel like you're out there all alone, but it's worth it. I promise, it's worth it.
More later...
No Meat, No Politics
You may have noticed (possibly with relief) that I have not written about politics in this blog. The reason for it is simple: this is not going to be a blog about politics. I have, in the past, been so wrapped up in current events and have found it very easy to spend hours reading, searching, listening, writing about all things political, and I'm just not going to do it anymore. At least right now, in this season of my life.
There are many reasons for this, but the overarching reason is that I feel convicted about it. I am a member of what is called the Church Militant (that is the collection of believers who are still alive on earth, as opposed to the Church Triumphant, which is comprised of believers who have already died). The purpose of the Church is to advance the Kingdom of God. Period. There are many, many ways to do this, which is why Paul writes about the body having many members. Toes don't do the same job as ears or livers, but we would be worse off for not having a toe or from missing an ear. I think that right now, my job is not to be political. I am moving from the head to the hand, perhaps.
Politics arouses passions, at least in me. Usually (not always) what is "right" is so clear to me that it makes me frustrated when others don't see it the way that I do. Being involved in politics very often made me angry with people I have no business being angry with -- at least not for the reasons I was getting riled up. And when I am passionate and angry about political issues I am not advancing the Kingdom.
Please do not pull out of this that I don't think believers should be involved in politics. I hope I have not given that impression. I would not presume to tell anyone what vocation (or avocation) God has for them (although I might be confident that being a mob hit man or a Wiccan priestess is beyond the pale). It is hard enough for me to know what I'm supposed to do without defining an overarching rule for everyone else. For a while now, though, I've felt...off...about politics. A year ago I would not have been able to imagine giving it up (and "giving it up" is too strong a term for what I am doing -- I still read, still ponder, still believe what I believe). Today I feel like I am being encouraged to go in another direction and it is incumbent upon me to follow that nudge.
I will not say "ever" or "never" because I don't know what God's plans are for my future. Right now -- today -- I want to encourage others in their daily walk, both physical and spiritual. So that's where my efforts are going to lie.
Speaking of the physical, last night's dinner was liked more by Bruce than it was by me. I think the fault is mine, however. The name of the dish that I made was Black Bean-Pineapple Soup Stew Chili. Whenever I see the word "chili" (even if it's preceded by "soup" and "stew") I have a particular taste in mind and if the dish doesn't taste like that I'm not happy. Bruce ate two huge bowls and said he loved it. I didn't dislike it by any means, but I think I wanted my chili and not this. My bad.
I did alter the recipe a bit. I tasted it and it seemed a little "thin" to me (SOUP Stew Chili). I added about half of one of those little cans of tomato paste -- I had it leftover from something else. I think a whole can would've been good. And then I wanted sort of an underlying sweetness (which my chili has), so I added a couple of tablespoons of sugar. I also used plain chili powder and plain oregano. You absolutely would never know there was pineapple in this (which, see, I WANTED to know), so if that scares you don't let it.
Here is a picture:
We have been on a rice kick lately. We both love it and will sit down with a bowl of plain brown rice and be very happy about it (I salt mine, but I don't think Bruce does). Bruce believes there should always be leftover rice in the fridge. When I first heard about rice cookers I thought, "Who would ever buy such a thing?" And now I'm THRILLED to have one. I use it all the time. (Yes, of course I could live without it, but it is so nice to dump in rice and water and to punch a button and not have to think about it again.) Anyway, I made rice and served this over brown rice, even though the original recipe doesn't mention that.
I think if she had just called this Black Bean-Pineapple Soup I would have liked it more. :)
I am getting ready to head north (crazy to head north in January, unless you have skis on the roof of your car) to St. Louis for two full weeks. I'll be driving up on Thursday and will not come home until the Thursday two weeks from then at the earliest (and probably not until Friday -- we'll see). I am plotting my course carefully; I have found St. Louis not to be the most vegan-friendly town in the world, but maybe I have been looking in the wrong places. I'll be teaching in a hotel and they have given me a suite for my office (with a kitchen in it), so I'm going to bring my Vitamix with me and make green smoothies for lunch. Yum. For breakfast I usually buy Amy's oatmeal. It's frozen in this little bowl and it's not too sweet, which is important for me. They also make a delicious tofu scramble and there are a couple of vegan breakfast burritos that I've never tried but I'll bet are good.
Near my hotel is a grocery store called Dierberg's, which is glorious. They have a wonderful salad bar and a very extensive frozen section with more Amy's products than anyplace outside of Whole Foods. The down side is their hot food area. They take things that could be vegan -- like a rice pilaf -- and cook it with chicken broth. I eat from Dierberg's pretty often, but I get tired of a salad for dinner every night and the same goes for frozen entrees. There are two Whole Foods stores about twenty minutes from my hotel, though (I'll check both of them out to see which is better -- they are less than twelve miles apart, so I'm not sure why there are two of 'em). They usually have a hot bar with a good selection of vegan entrees. And there ARE restaurants -- a Chinese place near my hotel where you can "make your own bowl" and I can order tofu and veggies and the like.
SO -- no excuses. One of my Day Zero goals was to eat no animal products for a month (not counting honey). This may seem pretty simple, but I didn't want to stretch it out too long. I'm definitely on track for that for the first nine days of January. I WANT to eat NO animal products EVER, but in order to accomplish that I have to eat no animal products for one month!
Today's Bible reading was the first to veer from the pattern, and then only slightly. Today I read Genesis 9 AND 10, Ezra 9, Matthew 9, and Acts 9. It was pretty exciting because that chapter is about Paul's conversion. So much goes on in that chapter that is worth pondering. I have often thought that Paul would not have been the easiest guy to live with. When that man committed, he COMMITTED. He's the kind of guy who, if he'd been a Yankee fan, would have had his donkey painted in pinstripes. Anyway, he's great to read about, though. I can just imagine the disciples hearing that he was knocking on their door and freaking out. "Wait, wait! I'm on your team now!" Pretty amazing. That God would choose a man who had been seeking to imprison and kill Christians is mysterious -- and such an encouragement for us.
More later...
There are many reasons for this, but the overarching reason is that I feel convicted about it. I am a member of what is called the Church Militant (that is the collection of believers who are still alive on earth, as opposed to the Church Triumphant, which is comprised of believers who have already died). The purpose of the Church is to advance the Kingdom of God. Period. There are many, many ways to do this, which is why Paul writes about the body having many members. Toes don't do the same job as ears or livers, but we would be worse off for not having a toe or from missing an ear. I think that right now, my job is not to be political. I am moving from the head to the hand, perhaps.
Politics arouses passions, at least in me. Usually (not always) what is "right" is so clear to me that it makes me frustrated when others don't see it the way that I do. Being involved in politics very often made me angry with people I have no business being angry with -- at least not for the reasons I was getting riled up. And when I am passionate and angry about political issues I am not advancing the Kingdom.
Please do not pull out of this that I don't think believers should be involved in politics. I hope I have not given that impression. I would not presume to tell anyone what vocation (or avocation) God has for them (although I might be confident that being a mob hit man or a Wiccan priestess is beyond the pale). It is hard enough for me to know what I'm supposed to do without defining an overarching rule for everyone else. For a while now, though, I've felt...off...about politics. A year ago I would not have been able to imagine giving it up (and "giving it up" is too strong a term for what I am doing -- I still read, still ponder, still believe what I believe). Today I feel like I am being encouraged to go in another direction and it is incumbent upon me to follow that nudge.
I will not say "ever" or "never" because I don't know what God's plans are for my future. Right now -- today -- I want to encourage others in their daily walk, both physical and spiritual. So that's where my efforts are going to lie.
Speaking of the physical, last night's dinner was liked more by Bruce than it was by me. I think the fault is mine, however. The name of the dish that I made was Black Bean-Pineapple Soup Stew Chili. Whenever I see the word "chili" (even if it's preceded by "soup" and "stew") I have a particular taste in mind and if the dish doesn't taste like that I'm not happy. Bruce ate two huge bowls and said he loved it. I didn't dislike it by any means, but I think I wanted my chili and not this. My bad.
I did alter the recipe a bit. I tasted it and it seemed a little "thin" to me (SOUP Stew Chili). I added about half of one of those little cans of tomato paste -- I had it leftover from something else. I think a whole can would've been good. And then I wanted sort of an underlying sweetness (which my chili has), so I added a couple of tablespoons of sugar. I also used plain chili powder and plain oregano. You absolutely would never know there was pineapple in this (which, see, I WANTED to know), so if that scares you don't let it.
Here is a picture:
We have been on a rice kick lately. We both love it and will sit down with a bowl of plain brown rice and be very happy about it (I salt mine, but I don't think Bruce does). Bruce believes there should always be leftover rice in the fridge. When I first heard about rice cookers I thought, "Who would ever buy such a thing?" And now I'm THRILLED to have one. I use it all the time. (Yes, of course I could live without it, but it is so nice to dump in rice and water and to punch a button and not have to think about it again.) Anyway, I made rice and served this over brown rice, even though the original recipe doesn't mention that.
I think if she had just called this Black Bean-Pineapple Soup I would have liked it more. :)
I am getting ready to head north (crazy to head north in January, unless you have skis on the roof of your car) to St. Louis for two full weeks. I'll be driving up on Thursday and will not come home until the Thursday two weeks from then at the earliest (and probably not until Friday -- we'll see). I am plotting my course carefully; I have found St. Louis not to be the most vegan-friendly town in the world, but maybe I have been looking in the wrong places. I'll be teaching in a hotel and they have given me a suite for my office (with a kitchen in it), so I'm going to bring my Vitamix with me and make green smoothies for lunch. Yum. For breakfast I usually buy Amy's oatmeal. It's frozen in this little bowl and it's not too sweet, which is important for me. They also make a delicious tofu scramble and there are a couple of vegan breakfast burritos that I've never tried but I'll bet are good.
Near my hotel is a grocery store called Dierberg's, which is glorious. They have a wonderful salad bar and a very extensive frozen section with more Amy's products than anyplace outside of Whole Foods. The down side is their hot food area. They take things that could be vegan -- like a rice pilaf -- and cook it with chicken broth. I eat from Dierberg's pretty often, but I get tired of a salad for dinner every night and the same goes for frozen entrees. There are two Whole Foods stores about twenty minutes from my hotel, though (I'll check both of them out to see which is better -- they are less than twelve miles apart, so I'm not sure why there are two of 'em). They usually have a hot bar with a good selection of vegan entrees. And there ARE restaurants -- a Chinese place near my hotel where you can "make your own bowl" and I can order tofu and veggies and the like.
SO -- no excuses. One of my Day Zero goals was to eat no animal products for a month (not counting honey). This may seem pretty simple, but I didn't want to stretch it out too long. I'm definitely on track for that for the first nine days of January. I WANT to eat NO animal products EVER, but in order to accomplish that I have to eat no animal products for one month!
Today's Bible reading was the first to veer from the pattern, and then only slightly. Today I read Genesis 9 AND 10, Ezra 9, Matthew 9, and Acts 9. It was pretty exciting because that chapter is about Paul's conversion. So much goes on in that chapter that is worth pondering. I have often thought that Paul would not have been the easiest guy to live with. When that man committed, he COMMITTED. He's the kind of guy who, if he'd been a Yankee fan, would have had his donkey painted in pinstripes. Anyway, he's great to read about, though. I can just imagine the disciples hearing that he was knocking on their door and freaking out. "Wait, wait! I'm on your team now!" Pretty amazing. That God would choose a man who had been seeking to imprison and kill Christians is mysterious -- and such an encouragement for us.
More later...
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Yum!!!
Okay, last night's dinner was fabulous, if not all that original. And I have a couple of ideas for how to make it even better next time. And there will be a next time.
It was just a simple stir fry. Instead of using teriyaki sauce from a bottle, though, I made it from scratch. Or -- Bruce made it from scratch. He's started helping me in the kitchen and it's fun. For me, anyway. Here is the recipe. I made half of it and used all of it. One of the reasons this meal was so good was because of the fresh ginger in the sauce, so if you take a shortcut and use the powdered stuff it won't be as good.
Publix sells mirin (rice wine), by the way -- it's not terribly difficult to find.
So -- we made the sauce and then set it aside. I took a block of extra-firm tofu that I had pressed for maybe 45 minutes. (To press tofu, which just takes some of the liquid out of it and makes it firmer, you place it on some folded paper towels on a small plate, place some more folded paper towels on top and set another plate on top of that and then place a weight on top of the whole thing -- like a can or two of beans. Or a heavy book. Press it for at least ten minutes, but for as long an hour.) I sliced the tofu into cubes and put them into my biggest pan and browned them. I've found that you don't have to use any oil if you use a nonstick pan and don't cook them at too high a temperature. At the end of the browning process I dumped a little of the teriyaki sauce into the pan and coated the tofu cubes with the sauce.
We dumped the tofu into a little bowl and put a sweet onion that I'd chopped up into the pan. I kept the vegetables a little big because you want each one to retain its own personality in a stir fry. We dumped sauce into the pan and cooked the onion pretty well. I don't like raw onion -- or even onion that's cooked crisp -- so we cooked that until it was soft -- you could cook it less if you like onion that way. I added a green bell pepper, a red bell pepper, and some broccoli florets (which I tried -- with limited success -- to pick around). Added some sugar snap peas, 8 ounces of mushrooms, and a small zucchini. Obviously, you could add anything you like. I meant to add a can of pineapple chunks, but I forgot. And sprinkling this with walnuts or cashews would be heavenly. We ended up using all of the sauce. I think next time I will make a whole recipe of the sauce and add even more veggies to the stir fry (I'd like water chestnuts, the aforementioned pineapple, some carrots, and maybe some bean sprouts).
Served it over brown rice and it was fabulous. Really, really good. Here's a pic:
Okay, here's something to think about...
I got an email the other day from the PCRM group (this is the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine -- they have great stuff on eating a plant-based diet and stupid stuff regarding politics). They invited me to apply for a class to become a Food for Life instructor. Food for Life is a book written by Dr. Neal Barnard in which he describes the four "new" food groups (legumes, grains, vegetables, fruits) and how they can make you healthy. The instructors do four-day classes in hospitals, clinics, community groups, etc. You're self-employed and have to find your own venues to do the classes. You set your own fees, but they provide you with a VitaMix and cookware. You have to do at least four classes a year.
Now, they did not email me because they thought, "Man, that Sharon Herbitter would be a GREAT instructor." They probably got my name from the classes that I took online. Anyway, their last class was in November. They took 16 students from over 200 applications. This time they're going to accept 20. Dr. Barnard does part of the training -- it's held in Washington DC in May.
SO. On the one hand, I would LOVELOVELOVE to do this. On the other, finding my own places to do the classes is just not me. But -- they help. And, if I end up deciding I don't want to do it, it's no big deal. The training is just $599, so it's not a fortune. They would like for you to commit to one year and I'm sure I can scare up four classes in that time...The classes should be small-ish (no more than thirty), so I'd think some hospital or clinic somewhere would be willing to let me do one.
The application deadline is February 20. I'm thinking about it.
More later...
It was just a simple stir fry. Instead of using teriyaki sauce from a bottle, though, I made it from scratch. Or -- Bruce made it from scratch. He's started helping me in the kitchen and it's fun. For me, anyway. Here is the recipe. I made half of it and used all of it. One of the reasons this meal was so good was because of the fresh ginger in the sauce, so if you take a shortcut and use the powdered stuff it won't be as good.
Publix sells mirin (rice wine), by the way -- it's not terribly difficult to find.
So -- we made the sauce and then set it aside. I took a block of extra-firm tofu that I had pressed for maybe 45 minutes. (To press tofu, which just takes some of the liquid out of it and makes it firmer, you place it on some folded paper towels on a small plate, place some more folded paper towels on top and set another plate on top of that and then place a weight on top of the whole thing -- like a can or two of beans. Or a heavy book. Press it for at least ten minutes, but for as long an hour.) I sliced the tofu into cubes and put them into my biggest pan and browned them. I've found that you don't have to use any oil if you use a nonstick pan and don't cook them at too high a temperature. At the end of the browning process I dumped a little of the teriyaki sauce into the pan and coated the tofu cubes with the sauce.
We dumped the tofu into a little bowl and put a sweet onion that I'd chopped up into the pan. I kept the vegetables a little big because you want each one to retain its own personality in a stir fry. We dumped sauce into the pan and cooked the onion pretty well. I don't like raw onion -- or even onion that's cooked crisp -- so we cooked that until it was soft -- you could cook it less if you like onion that way. I added a green bell pepper, a red bell pepper, and some broccoli florets (which I tried -- with limited success -- to pick around). Added some sugar snap peas, 8 ounces of mushrooms, and a small zucchini. Obviously, you could add anything you like. I meant to add a can of pineapple chunks, but I forgot. And sprinkling this with walnuts or cashews would be heavenly. We ended up using all of the sauce. I think next time I will make a whole recipe of the sauce and add even more veggies to the stir fry (I'd like water chestnuts, the aforementioned pineapple, some carrots, and maybe some bean sprouts).
Served it over brown rice and it was fabulous. Really, really good. Here's a pic:
Okay, here's something to think about...
I got an email the other day from the PCRM group (this is the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine -- they have great stuff on eating a plant-based diet and stupid stuff regarding politics). They invited me to apply for a class to become a Food for Life instructor. Food for Life is a book written by Dr. Neal Barnard in which he describes the four "new" food groups (legumes, grains, vegetables, fruits) and how they can make you healthy. The instructors do four-day classes in hospitals, clinics, community groups, etc. You're self-employed and have to find your own venues to do the classes. You set your own fees, but they provide you with a VitaMix and cookware. You have to do at least four classes a year.
Now, they did not email me because they thought, "Man, that Sharon Herbitter would be a GREAT instructor." They probably got my name from the classes that I took online. Anyway, their last class was in November. They took 16 students from over 200 applications. This time they're going to accept 20. Dr. Barnard does part of the training -- it's held in Washington DC in May.
SO. On the one hand, I would LOVELOVELOVE to do this. On the other, finding my own places to do the classes is just not me. But -- they help. And, if I end up deciding I don't want to do it, it's no big deal. The training is just $599, so it's not a fortune. They would like for you to commit to one year and I'm sure I can scare up four classes in that time...The classes should be small-ish (no more than thirty), so I'd think some hospital or clinic somewhere would be willing to let me do one.
The application deadline is February 20. I'm thinking about it.
More later...
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Mad Scientist
I have what I think is a great recipe idea, inspired by that tofu-eh thing I did the other day. I'm going to take tofu, press it to get some of the moisture out of it, slice it thinly and marinate it in teriyaki sauce, saute it to make it crisp, and then make a stir fry out of it and serve it over rice. I will take pictures and let you know how it is.
Bruce had a tooth pulled the other day and I haven't really cooked since then. I've been living on smoothies, oatmeal, and random things (like last night I sat down with a new jar of Wickles and ate half of 'em; the other night I ate a big bowl full of pickled beets). Basically, this was how I ate before Bruce went plant-based. Just weird stuff that sounded good at the time.
I decided to jazz up my morning oatmeal and I did the pumpkin thing again. SO good. I use half a cup of dry oatmeal, add one cup of water to a big mug, and microwave it for one minute (I use the quick cooking oats that you zap for a minute and a half). I took it out after the minute, added a heaping scoop of canned pumpkin (I didn't measure, but it was around a quarter cup), a shake or two of pumpkin pie spice, and some brown sugar (the original recipe called for maple syrup, but I like the brown sugar better). Zapped it for thirty seconds, sprinkled some pecans on top, and -- heaven!
I've got a lot to add, but I've got to get to the grocery store. I just wanted to post something so you wouldn't think I'd forgotten about you. :)
More later...
Bruce had a tooth pulled the other day and I haven't really cooked since then. I've been living on smoothies, oatmeal, and random things (like last night I sat down with a new jar of Wickles and ate half of 'em; the other night I ate a big bowl full of pickled beets). Basically, this was how I ate before Bruce went plant-based. Just weird stuff that sounded good at the time.
I decided to jazz up my morning oatmeal and I did the pumpkin thing again. SO good. I use half a cup of dry oatmeal, add one cup of water to a big mug, and microwave it for one minute (I use the quick cooking oats that you zap for a minute and a half). I took it out after the minute, added a heaping scoop of canned pumpkin (I didn't measure, but it was around a quarter cup), a shake or two of pumpkin pie spice, and some brown sugar (the original recipe called for maple syrup, but I like the brown sugar better). Zapped it for thirty seconds, sprinkled some pecans on top, and -- heaven!
I've got a lot to add, but I've got to get to the grocery store. I just wanted to post something so you wouldn't think I'd forgotten about you. :)
More later...
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Tofu Eh
One of my 101 challenges is to select ten books based on recommendations of friends and to read them all. I've done the first one: The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I've known about McCarthy forever, of course, but I always knew that his books were very tough, and I'm a wimp. Back in August, John Piper tweeted "Cormac McCarthy is to the American literary canon what Judges is to the the biblical canon." That made me think again that I needed to read him. My friend David, who knows me and my literary sensibilities better than anybody else, recommended Suttree because of my wimpiness. But The Road is probably his most famous book; he won the Pulitzer for it.
Well, David was right, of course. I hated the book -- it's SO depressing. (It's the story of a father and son attempting survival in a post-apocalyptic world.) I finished it in less than 24 hours because I could not stand to live in that world any longer. But in the middle of it I suddenly thought that God is in control. If there's some horrible event God will not be surprised by it. And God controls my present and my future. That was a comfort.
I've gotten some very intriguing suggestions, so I've made a list and will pick others off it and update as I go. One of my other 101 goals is to read a Christian-themed book every month and I think my next selection will be that. I need something a little more...hopeful.
Interestingly, my daily Bible reading today was Genesis 4, Ezra 4, Matthew 4, and Acts 4. The Genesis chapter was about Cain killing Abel and in his punishment God tells him that he will be "a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." I guess it was just a day for that sort of thing. What a hard life most human beings have had on this earth. I don't think I appreciate how safe and comfortable I am.
Dinner tonight was not a huge success. I made Thai Salad with Slow-Cooked Tofu in Pineapple Barbecue Sauce. If you read about it on her link you will see that it looks delicious and she says it's one of the best salads she's ever had.
Well -- my results were quite different. First -- here's how mine looked:
NOTHING like hers. The sauce wasn't great, either. It needed more zip. I forgot to put any extra salad dressing on the salad, but I don't think that was a huge thing. I used slivered almonds instead of the whole raw almonds that she used and I liked them fine.
I think the idea is good; here is how I would change it in the future. I'd skip the slow cooker. I'd just use barbecue sauce from a bottle and I'd simmer it on top of the stove for a while. (She suggests baking it in the oven, so that might be fine.) Then I think something has to be done to make it kind of crisp on the outside -- maybe sticking it under the broiler for a minute. Anyway -- I'm taking the leftovers, adding some better barbecue sauce, and serving it over a baked potato. Oh -- maybe just browning the cubes in a skillet, putting them on a baked potato, and then squirting barbecue sauce on top of that. A lot easier and I think it would be very good!!!
I served it with cornbread. This is the recipe I used, but I substituted unsweetened applesauce for the oil (couldn't tell a difference), used white whole wheat flour instead of the all-purpose flour, and I added about half again as much sugar (I like it sweet). I make mine in a cast iron skillet. I put the pan into the oven when it's preheating, take it out when the batter is ready, spray a little Pam in the skillet, and dump in the batter -- it sizzles when you pour it in. It makes a crusty outside that I like. So that part was a winner. :)
Kael came over this morning, so I didn't eat breakfast. I wasn't really hungry, so I made a small peanut butter and banana sandwich. I don't like no-sugar natural peanut butter, but I don't like the hydrogenated oils in regular Jiff or Skippy. Smucker's makes the perfect compromise: it's natural peanut butter with honey added. I love it. I used that five-grain bread, so the slices were pretty small and I only used half the banana. Maybe the other half will be breakfast tomorrow. :)
More later...
Well, David was right, of course. I hated the book -- it's SO depressing. (It's the story of a father and son attempting survival in a post-apocalyptic world.) I finished it in less than 24 hours because I could not stand to live in that world any longer. But in the middle of it I suddenly thought that God is in control. If there's some horrible event God will not be surprised by it. And God controls my present and my future. That was a comfort.
I've gotten some very intriguing suggestions, so I've made a list and will pick others off it and update as I go. One of my other 101 goals is to read a Christian-themed book every month and I think my next selection will be that. I need something a little more...hopeful.
Interestingly, my daily Bible reading today was Genesis 4, Ezra 4, Matthew 4, and Acts 4. The Genesis chapter was about Cain killing Abel and in his punishment God tells him that he will be "a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." I guess it was just a day for that sort of thing. What a hard life most human beings have had on this earth. I don't think I appreciate how safe and comfortable I am.
Dinner tonight was not a huge success. I made Thai Salad with Slow-Cooked Tofu in Pineapple Barbecue Sauce. If you read about it on her link you will see that it looks delicious and she says it's one of the best salads she's ever had.
Well -- my results were quite different. First -- here's how mine looked:
NOTHING like hers. The sauce wasn't great, either. It needed more zip. I forgot to put any extra salad dressing on the salad, but I don't think that was a huge thing. I used slivered almonds instead of the whole raw almonds that she used and I liked them fine.
I think the idea is good; here is how I would change it in the future. I'd skip the slow cooker. I'd just use barbecue sauce from a bottle and I'd simmer it on top of the stove for a while. (She suggests baking it in the oven, so that might be fine.) Then I think something has to be done to make it kind of crisp on the outside -- maybe sticking it under the broiler for a minute. Anyway -- I'm taking the leftovers, adding some better barbecue sauce, and serving it over a baked potato. Oh -- maybe just browning the cubes in a skillet, putting them on a baked potato, and then squirting barbecue sauce on top of that. A lot easier and I think it would be very good!!!
I served it with cornbread. This is the recipe I used, but I substituted unsweetened applesauce for the oil (couldn't tell a difference), used white whole wheat flour instead of the all-purpose flour, and I added about half again as much sugar (I like it sweet). I make mine in a cast iron skillet. I put the pan into the oven when it's preheating, take it out when the batter is ready, spray a little Pam in the skillet, and dump in the batter -- it sizzles when you pour it in. It makes a crusty outside that I like. So that part was a winner. :)
Kael came over this morning, so I didn't eat breakfast. I wasn't really hungry, so I made a small peanut butter and banana sandwich. I don't like no-sugar natural peanut butter, but I don't like the hydrogenated oils in regular Jiff or Skippy. Smucker's makes the perfect compromise: it's natural peanut butter with honey added. I love it. I used that five-grain bread, so the slices were pretty small and I only used half the banana. Maybe the other half will be breakfast tomorrow. :)
More later...
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Before I write about what I really wanted to write about, here is a picture of my green smoothie. I've settled into a routine, although I've no doubt that I'll shake things up in a bit. Here's how I make it. I take four or five dates (check 'em for pits because every now and then I'll find one) and put them into the bottom of the blender. I use dates so that I don't have to add any sweetener to the drink at all. I put in two or three big handfuls of kale -- until the blender is about half full. I put about two inches of water in the blender and let 'er rip. After I have my green soup, I add a banana (frozen is best), a small can of pineapple (in its own juice, of course), and maybe two cups of frozen mango chunks (maybe more -- I don't measure, I just dump 'em in). It is faboo. It makes at least two glasses (I drink 'em both!) and I have to hide under a blanket for a bit afterwards because it makes me cold. :)
Some of us are all about setting goals. I love making New Year's resolutions, for instance, and I'm not really sure why. I was struck by this phenomenon, which seems to have gone viral, when I was doing something that my daughter-in-law showed me.
It's a web site called Day Zero Project. What you're supposed to do is come up with 101 goals to accomplish in 1001 days (that's a bit less than three years). It's not easy (although after I finished my list I came up with about five more that I think I like better than some of the ones that are actually "official"). The web site has all these little hints to help you come up with your goal. The one that I used the most was to just go to a random stranger's list to see what they put. After awhile, though, this got kind of depressing. EVERYONE does it, so tons and tons of the goals are the same. This is supposed to be "personal" goals -- but just about every list I looked at had "get a new tattoo" or "get married" or "lose ten pounds." Not that those aren't necessarily personal goals (I went the weight route myself), but they're just not unique or all that unusual. Not self defining. Just...ordinary.
I did it anyway. And there are some goals that I know I won't meet. I have the following goals, for example:
Go to New York City
Visit Elaine in California
Go on a non-work trip alone
Go on three trips with Bruce
Go to England
See the Northern Lights
Go on a cruise
Go to Vancouver
Go to the new Yankee Stadium
Go swimming in the Gulf
Go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Go on a mission trip
Go to a spa
Visit Steve and Trudi in Oregon
Go to Ellis Island
See a whale (in the ocean)
Eat at the Old Spanish Sugar Mill in DeLeon Springs State Park
That's a LOT of travel-related goals for three years. I know a lot of them can overlap, but still. It seems unlikely that I'll do them all. But -- I'd LIKE to do them all! I guess that counts for something.
Anyway -- here is my list, if you'd like to see it. If you do it, let me know. I'll follow you and keep track of your progress.
These sorts of things abound on the internet. "A Photograph a Day" stuff. There's one where you wear just six items of clothing for thirty days. Sites where you're supposed to answer these life-expanding questions. On and on. We think we're unique, but we demonstrate our uniqueness in lemming fashion. And don't get me wrong -- I'm right there in the middle of the pack. Maybe the difference is that I see how ordinary we all are and the young folks still think they're special. ;)
Part of my Bible reading today was from Ezra 3 (Genesis 3, Ezra 3, Matthew 3, Acts 3). This struck me. More than a year after returning to Jerusalem a new temple foundation was laid. "And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy."
The temple had been destroyed not sixty years before, so there would have been plenty of men alive who remembered the old temple. Why would they cry? Maybe because the old temple had been planned so thoroughly, because the materials were so fine in comparison to this new one. Maybe they were overcome with emotion. I don't know the answer -- it just tugged at my heart to imagine so many people shouting for joy but some of the older, wiser men weeping instead.
More later...
Some of us are all about setting goals. I love making New Year's resolutions, for instance, and I'm not really sure why. I was struck by this phenomenon, which seems to have gone viral, when I was doing something that my daughter-in-law showed me.
It's a web site called Day Zero Project. What you're supposed to do is come up with 101 goals to accomplish in 1001 days (that's a bit less than three years). It's not easy (although after I finished my list I came up with about five more that I think I like better than some of the ones that are actually "official"). The web site has all these little hints to help you come up with your goal. The one that I used the most was to just go to a random stranger's list to see what they put. After awhile, though, this got kind of depressing. EVERYONE does it, so tons and tons of the goals are the same. This is supposed to be "personal" goals -- but just about every list I looked at had "get a new tattoo" or "get married" or "lose ten pounds." Not that those aren't necessarily personal goals (I went the weight route myself), but they're just not unique or all that unusual. Not self defining. Just...ordinary.
I did it anyway. And there are some goals that I know I won't meet. I have the following goals, for example:
Go to New York City
Visit Elaine in California
Go on a non-work trip alone
Go on three trips with Bruce
Go to England
See the Northern Lights
Go on a cruise
Go to Vancouver
Go to the new Yankee Stadium
Go swimming in the Gulf
Go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Go on a mission trip
Go to a spa
Visit Steve and Trudi in Oregon
Go to Ellis Island
See a whale (in the ocean)
Eat at the Old Spanish Sugar Mill in DeLeon Springs State Park
That's a LOT of travel-related goals for three years. I know a lot of them can overlap, but still. It seems unlikely that I'll do them all. But -- I'd LIKE to do them all! I guess that counts for something.
Anyway -- here is my list, if you'd like to see it. If you do it, let me know. I'll follow you and keep track of your progress.
These sorts of things abound on the internet. "A Photograph a Day" stuff. There's one where you wear just six items of clothing for thirty days. Sites where you're supposed to answer these life-expanding questions. On and on. We think we're unique, but we demonstrate our uniqueness in lemming fashion. And don't get me wrong -- I'm right there in the middle of the pack. Maybe the difference is that I see how ordinary we all are and the young folks still think they're special. ;)
Part of my Bible reading today was from Ezra 3 (Genesis 3, Ezra 3, Matthew 3, Acts 3). This struck me. More than a year after returning to Jerusalem a new temple foundation was laid. "And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy."
The temple had been destroyed not sixty years before, so there would have been plenty of men alive who remembered the old temple. Why would they cry? Maybe because the old temple had been planned so thoroughly, because the materials were so fine in comparison to this new one. Maybe they were overcome with emotion. I don't know the answer -- it just tugged at my heart to imagine so many people shouting for joy but some of the older, wiser men weeping instead.
More later...
Plants!!!
Okay: this is why I'm eating this way.
It's not because I think cows are as important as people. I don't; they're not. I do think that we have a responsibility to treat the animals that we eat humanely, but I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with eating meat (Christ ate meat after all).
This is what I think about God and diet. Please understand that I am making some leaps -- I know I am and this is not a hill on which I would be willing to die. But this is what makes sense to me (I'm open to other interpretations).
In Genesis 1 God created everything. The world, the oceans, the sun and moon and stars, plants, animals, man. Everything was "good" (meaning perfect) because God did it and no sin had yet entered creation to corrupt it.
At the tail end of creation, just before the end of the sixth day, we have this: "And God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.' And it was so."
So this is the way we were designed -- the way all of creation was designed: to eat plants. When sin entered the world, though, everything changed.
Part of the specific curse had to do with the food that we eat: "'[C]ursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.'"
We should be living in a real land of plenty, where food springs up almost spontaneously. That is the way God created things. Instead, man would struggle for food all the days of his life. In some times and in some places it would be difficult to derive enough sustenance from the earth to keep man alive, so God gave man animals to eat. For most of human history the challenge has been to get enough calories to stick around. Widespread obesity is a thoroughly modern problem.
In 2012 America most of us do not struggle to find enough food to eat. We are so blessed -- SO BLESSED!!! If we choose, we can eat the diet for which we were designed -- a plant-based diet.
"Everything in moderation." If I had a dollar for every person who said this to me I could buy a Kindle Fire for my grandson. What IS "moderation"? If you look at me you can see that I obviously do not know how to eat anything "in moderation." I am sure that there is some level of consumption of animal products that does not affect one's health in a negative way -- I just don't know what it is. And I have found that for me, it's easier to give up all animal products than it is to eat them "in moderation." Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn says, "Moderation kills" because we simply do not practice the meaning of the word.
So my choice is to eat the diet that God designed me for. Plants -- all kinds of plants -- and no animals. Here is my favorite chart that I whip out when people say, "But where do you get your protein?"
This is from The China Study. Nutrients in various foods were examined. The foods were classified into two groups: plant-based foods and animal-based foods. The plant-based group contained equal parts of tomatoes, spinach, lima beans, peas, and potatoes. The animal-based group contained equal parts of ground beef, pork, chicken, and whole milk. Analyzing 500 calories of each group revealed the following:
Cholesterol: None in the plant-based group. There is no cholesterol in plants. The animal-based foods contained 137 mg. of the stuff.
Fat: Four grams in the plant-based foods. The animal group contained 36.
Protein: The plant-based foods contained 33 grams of protein. There were 34 grams in the animal foods.
Beta-carotene (this is the fabulous anti-oxidant that the body uses to make Vitamin A): Plants are the only place where beta-carotene is found. The foods in the plant group contained a whopping 29,919 mcg. of beta-carotene. The animal foods contained 17 mcg. (from plants that the animals consumed).
Dietary fiber: The plants contained 31 grams of fiber. There is no fiber found in animal foods.
Vitamin C: A fabulous 293 mg. in the plant-based group. Just 4 mg. in the animal group.
Folate: This is a B-vitamin that occurs naturally in foods (folic acid is a synthetic form of folate that is added to fortified foods). The plant group contained 1168 mcg. of folate; the animal group just 19.
Vitamin E: The plants contained 11 mg.; the animal foods just 0.5.
Iron: There were 20 mg. of iron in the plant-based foods. Just 2 in the animal foods.
Magnesium: 548 mg. in the plant-based foods; 51 in the animal-based group.
Calcium: 545 mg. in the plant group; 252 in the animal group.
WOW!!!
I saw this chart and it blew me away. If we think of food as fuel, it's clear which is the best source of calories for our bodies. I find these numbers to be just amazing. There is a reason why I feel so good when I stick to a low-fat, whole foods, plant-based diet.
In Part Two of The China Study Dr. Campbell goes through a litany of diseases and conditions: heart disease, diabetes, obesity, various cancers, etc., and shares the current research regarding a plant-based diet and the particular pathology. Sometimes -- as in heart disease -- the link is overwhelmingly clear. (Dr. Esselstyn calls heart disease a "food-borne illness" and "a paper tiger that never need exist.") In other diseases the link is less clear -- there may be some studies that show an effect and others that don't. One interesting thing, however: there are NO studies that show that any diseases are made WORSE by eating a healthy plant-based diet. (And we all know there are plenty of diseases that are made worse by eating animal foods -- butter, cheese, meat, etc.) So at worst a plant-based diet will have no effect on an illness; at best, it can cure it. (Read Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell Esselstyn to have your mind blown on that score.)
I realize, of course, that potato chips are vegan. One can eat an entirely plant-based diet and be unhealthy. I try to eat a wide variety of foods. I try to keep added fat to a minimum. I try to eat only whole grains. I try to avoid processed foods.
I don't have any desire to live forever. To be perfectly honest, I'm ready to go home now. If I knew that I would drop dead one day of a massive heart attack, I'd go back to eating Five Guys cheeseburgers. The problem, though, is that for most people that isn't how it works. No, our diseases of affluence kill us slowly, robbing us of our abilities one at a time, eroding our quality of life, eating away our retirement savings, turning us into burdens on those we love. THAT is why I eat this way. I want to be fit enough to do whatever work God has for me to do for as long as I'm around. I want to LIVE until I die.
I do not make the best choices all the time. My arthritis has bothered me, giving me an excuse not to exercise. My goals for 2012 are to stay committed to the plant-based way of eating and to find a move-my-body regimen that I can live with.
My breakfast today was oatmeal again (I remembered to add the honey -- so it was oatmeal, cinnamon, raisins, and a squirt of honey on the top). Kael spent the day here, so I was distracted and realized that I was hungry around 4:00 -- too late to eat. For supper I made spaghetti. The sauce was an onion, a bunch of cloves of garlic, a red bell pepper, a green bell pepper, a yellow squash, a couple of handfuls of cauliflower, and a bunch of tomato products. I water sauteed the veggies, tossed in my usual spices, and served it over whole wheat spaghetti. Really good. I had a big bowl, Alisha had a bowl, Bruce had two bowls -- I used a whole pound of pasta and there's just one medium-sized bowl left (more sauce is left -- I froze it for Bruce to eat when I'm out of town). Here's a picture...
I can tell that I will want something later, so I'll make a green smoothie (lately I've been using dates, water, kale, mango, banana, and pineapple and I think it's the perfect smoothie).
I am astounded at the bounty with which God has blessed us. I could have been an Israelite existing on manna every day. I could have lived in any other time in almost any other place, but I live in the United States in the twenty-first century and I can drive about four minutes and fill my cart with fresh bananas, tomatoes, mangoes, fresh herbs, seven kinds of apples, lemons and limes, five kinds of potatoes, summer squash in January -- AMAZING!!!
More later...
It's not because I think cows are as important as people. I don't; they're not. I do think that we have a responsibility to treat the animals that we eat humanely, but I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with eating meat (Christ ate meat after all).
This is what I think about God and diet. Please understand that I am making some leaps -- I know I am and this is not a hill on which I would be willing to die. But this is what makes sense to me (I'm open to other interpretations).
In Genesis 1 God created everything. The world, the oceans, the sun and moon and stars, plants, animals, man. Everything was "good" (meaning perfect) because God did it and no sin had yet entered creation to corrupt it.
At the tail end of creation, just before the end of the sixth day, we have this: "And God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.' And it was so."
So this is the way we were designed -- the way all of creation was designed: to eat plants. When sin entered the world, though, everything changed.
Part of the specific curse had to do with the food that we eat: "'[C]ursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.'"
We should be living in a real land of plenty, where food springs up almost spontaneously. That is the way God created things. Instead, man would struggle for food all the days of his life. In some times and in some places it would be difficult to derive enough sustenance from the earth to keep man alive, so God gave man animals to eat. For most of human history the challenge has been to get enough calories to stick around. Widespread obesity is a thoroughly modern problem.
In 2012 America most of us do not struggle to find enough food to eat. We are so blessed -- SO BLESSED!!! If we choose, we can eat the diet for which we were designed -- a plant-based diet.
"Everything in moderation." If I had a dollar for every person who said this to me I could buy a Kindle Fire for my grandson. What IS "moderation"? If you look at me you can see that I obviously do not know how to eat anything "in moderation." I am sure that there is some level of consumption of animal products that does not affect one's health in a negative way -- I just don't know what it is. And I have found that for me, it's easier to give up all animal products than it is to eat them "in moderation." Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn says, "Moderation kills" because we simply do not practice the meaning of the word.
So my choice is to eat the diet that God designed me for. Plants -- all kinds of plants -- and no animals. Here is my favorite chart that I whip out when people say, "But where do you get your protein?"
This is from The China Study. Nutrients in various foods were examined. The foods were classified into two groups: plant-based foods and animal-based foods. The plant-based group contained equal parts of tomatoes, spinach, lima beans, peas, and potatoes. The animal-based group contained equal parts of ground beef, pork, chicken, and whole milk. Analyzing 500 calories of each group revealed the following:
Cholesterol: None in the plant-based group. There is no cholesterol in plants. The animal-based foods contained 137 mg. of the stuff.
Fat: Four grams in the plant-based foods. The animal group contained 36.
Protein: The plant-based foods contained 33 grams of protein. There were 34 grams in the animal foods.
Beta-carotene (this is the fabulous anti-oxidant that the body uses to make Vitamin A): Plants are the only place where beta-carotene is found. The foods in the plant group contained a whopping 29,919 mcg. of beta-carotene. The animal foods contained 17 mcg. (from plants that the animals consumed).
Dietary fiber: The plants contained 31 grams of fiber. There is no fiber found in animal foods.
Vitamin C: A fabulous 293 mg. in the plant-based group. Just 4 mg. in the animal group.
Folate: This is a B-vitamin that occurs naturally in foods (folic acid is a synthetic form of folate that is added to fortified foods). The plant group contained 1168 mcg. of folate; the animal group just 19.
Vitamin E: The plants contained 11 mg.; the animal foods just 0.5.
Iron: There were 20 mg. of iron in the plant-based foods. Just 2 in the animal foods.
Magnesium: 548 mg. in the plant-based foods; 51 in the animal-based group.
Calcium: 545 mg. in the plant group; 252 in the animal group.
WOW!!!
I saw this chart and it blew me away. If we think of food as fuel, it's clear which is the best source of calories for our bodies. I find these numbers to be just amazing. There is a reason why I feel so good when I stick to a low-fat, whole foods, plant-based diet.
In Part Two of The China Study Dr. Campbell goes through a litany of diseases and conditions: heart disease, diabetes, obesity, various cancers, etc., and shares the current research regarding a plant-based diet and the particular pathology. Sometimes -- as in heart disease -- the link is overwhelmingly clear. (Dr. Esselstyn calls heart disease a "food-borne illness" and "a paper tiger that never need exist.") In other diseases the link is less clear -- there may be some studies that show an effect and others that don't. One interesting thing, however: there are NO studies that show that any diseases are made WORSE by eating a healthy plant-based diet. (And we all know there are plenty of diseases that are made worse by eating animal foods -- butter, cheese, meat, etc.) So at worst a plant-based diet will have no effect on an illness; at best, it can cure it. (Read Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell Esselstyn to have your mind blown on that score.)
I realize, of course, that potato chips are vegan. One can eat an entirely plant-based diet and be unhealthy. I try to eat a wide variety of foods. I try to keep added fat to a minimum. I try to eat only whole grains. I try to avoid processed foods.
I don't have any desire to live forever. To be perfectly honest, I'm ready to go home now. If I knew that I would drop dead one day of a massive heart attack, I'd go back to eating Five Guys cheeseburgers. The problem, though, is that for most people that isn't how it works. No, our diseases of affluence kill us slowly, robbing us of our abilities one at a time, eroding our quality of life, eating away our retirement savings, turning us into burdens on those we love. THAT is why I eat this way. I want to be fit enough to do whatever work God has for me to do for as long as I'm around. I want to LIVE until I die.
I do not make the best choices all the time. My arthritis has bothered me, giving me an excuse not to exercise. My goals for 2012 are to stay committed to the plant-based way of eating and to find a move-my-body regimen that I can live with.
My breakfast today was oatmeal again (I remembered to add the honey -- so it was oatmeal, cinnamon, raisins, and a squirt of honey on the top). Kael spent the day here, so I was distracted and realized that I was hungry around 4:00 -- too late to eat. For supper I made spaghetti. The sauce was an onion, a bunch of cloves of garlic, a red bell pepper, a green bell pepper, a yellow squash, a couple of handfuls of cauliflower, and a bunch of tomato products. I water sauteed the veggies, tossed in my usual spices, and served it over whole wheat spaghetti. Really good. I had a big bowl, Alisha had a bowl, Bruce had two bowls -- I used a whole pound of pasta and there's just one medium-sized bowl left (more sauce is left -- I froze it for Bruce to eat when I'm out of town). Here's a picture...
I can tell that I will want something later, so I'll make a green smoothie (lately I've been using dates, water, kale, mango, banana, and pineapple and I think it's the perfect smoothie).
I am astounded at the bounty with which God has blessed us. I could have been an Israelite existing on manna every day. I could have lived in any other time in almost any other place, but I live in the United States in the twenty-first century and I can drive about four minutes and fill my cart with fresh bananas, tomatoes, mangoes, fresh herbs, seven kinds of apples, lemons and limes, five kinds of potatoes, summer squash in January -- AMAZING!!!
More later...
Monday, January 2, 2012
Dinner for Two
I know why it's important to eat this way -- but I forget. Or...the reasons lose their potency or something. It's like this for almost everything. We lose our first love for God, the flush of excitement that we had when we first met Him. We start an exercise program with excitement and determination...and then things taper off and the running shoes begin to gather dust.
I FEEL better when I eat well. WHY do I slide back into bad habits? Yes, fat and sugar taste good, but that pleasure is so transitory and the blah feeling lasts so long -- why? And I LOVE the food I eat this way. I think it's rebellion, actually. Doing the "wrong thing" just because I can. Stupid.
Anyway -- it's only January 2, but I already feel better. Going to Publix and filling my cart with tomatoes, green beans, parsley, bell peppers (green and red!), portabello mushrooms, lettuces, yellow squash, bananas, limes, etc., etc., etc., is such a happy thing. I want to keep eating this way all year long. Today, by the way, is the 365th day of my commitment to a plant-based diet. I started on January 3 of last year (a Monday). It has not been a straight ride, but it's been so good overall.
I got up and wasn't that hungry, so I had oatmeal (the usual -- cinnamon, raisins -- forgot the honey this time) around 11:00. So I didn't exactly have lunch -- I got hungry, but it was too close to dinner so I held off. I did a soup and salad meal tonight. For the salad, I took a recipe from my favorite blog: FatFree Vegan Kitchen. It's half a bag of spring mix salad greens, some garbanzo beans, and some chopped walnuts. I took a portabello mushroom cap, sliced it (I remove the gills because I don't like how they look, but they are edible, so you don't have to bother), and sauteed it in balsamic vinegar, water, and garlic. I put the hot mushroom slices on top of the greens and added a little more salad dressing (I used a fat-free raspberry dressing out of a bottle), and it was divine. Here's a pic...
Yum. Seriously.
Then I made my go-to vegetable soup. I found this on Food Network's web site and have made a few changes, but it's REALLY REALLY GOOD. First, here is the recipe. And here are the changes that I make...
I don't use any olive oil -- I water sautee the vegetables and it works great.
I use a large sweet onion (which is almost exactly two cups, as it happens). I made this with leeks the first time and spent three bucks on leeks. I made it with a sweet onion the second time and couldn't tell a difference. So -- it's been sweet onions ever since.
I use vegetable broth, of course (this isn't really a change, it's an option).
I use two cans of corn instead of the fresh stuff. I use those fat little cans -- I think they're around eleven ounces -- and I don't drain them first. They don't have much liquid anyway, and I like the flavor that it adds.
The soup is easy, of course, but there's a LOT of chopping. I've NEVER peeled and seeded the tomatoes (I just throw everything in) and the next time I make this I think I will use those canned diced tomatoes. I haven't ever done this, but I don't think it would matter a bit so I'm going to shorten the chopping time considerably and try it.
I usually add pasta to this, but I forgot this time. Doesn't matter -- it's still the best vegetable soup of all time. Here's a pic...
Yum again. I had some five-grain toast (it's not whole grain, but it was the best I could do) along with it. Bruce also had a HUGE baked potato covered in salsa. :)
I'm going to write more later about why it's important to eat this way.
More later...
I FEEL better when I eat well. WHY do I slide back into bad habits? Yes, fat and sugar taste good, but that pleasure is so transitory and the blah feeling lasts so long -- why? And I LOVE the food I eat this way. I think it's rebellion, actually. Doing the "wrong thing" just because I can. Stupid.
Anyway -- it's only January 2, but I already feel better. Going to Publix and filling my cart with tomatoes, green beans, parsley, bell peppers (green and red!), portabello mushrooms, lettuces, yellow squash, bananas, limes, etc., etc., etc., is such a happy thing. I want to keep eating this way all year long. Today, by the way, is the 365th day of my commitment to a plant-based diet. I started on January 3 of last year (a Monday). It has not been a straight ride, but it's been so good overall.
I got up and wasn't that hungry, so I had oatmeal (the usual -- cinnamon, raisins -- forgot the honey this time) around 11:00. So I didn't exactly have lunch -- I got hungry, but it was too close to dinner so I held off. I did a soup and salad meal tonight. For the salad, I took a recipe from my favorite blog: FatFree Vegan Kitchen. It's half a bag of spring mix salad greens, some garbanzo beans, and some chopped walnuts. I took a portabello mushroom cap, sliced it (I remove the gills because I don't like how they look, but they are edible, so you don't have to bother), and sauteed it in balsamic vinegar, water, and garlic. I put the hot mushroom slices on top of the greens and added a little more salad dressing (I used a fat-free raspberry dressing out of a bottle), and it was divine. Here's a pic...
Yum. Seriously.
Then I made my go-to vegetable soup. I found this on Food Network's web site and have made a few changes, but it's REALLY REALLY GOOD. First, here is the recipe. And here are the changes that I make...
I don't use any olive oil -- I water sautee the vegetables and it works great.
I use a large sweet onion (which is almost exactly two cups, as it happens). I made this with leeks the first time and spent three bucks on leeks. I made it with a sweet onion the second time and couldn't tell a difference. So -- it's been sweet onions ever since.
I use vegetable broth, of course (this isn't really a change, it's an option).
I use two cans of corn instead of the fresh stuff. I use those fat little cans -- I think they're around eleven ounces -- and I don't drain them first. They don't have much liquid anyway, and I like the flavor that it adds.
The soup is easy, of course, but there's a LOT of chopping. I've NEVER peeled and seeded the tomatoes (I just throw everything in) and the next time I make this I think I will use those canned diced tomatoes. I haven't ever done this, but I don't think it would matter a bit so I'm going to shorten the chopping time considerably and try it.
I usually add pasta to this, but I forgot this time. Doesn't matter -- it's still the best vegetable soup of all time. Here's a pic...
Yum again. I had some five-grain toast (it's not whole grain, but it was the best I could do) along with it. Bruce also had a HUGE baked potato covered in salsa. :)
I'm going to write more later about why it's important to eat this way.
More later...
Feels Like Saturday
Or something. Not Sunday, because we didn't go to church. But not Monday, of course, because Bruce is rattling around the house. I think all holidays should be on Mondays. Fridays aren't ever that bad because you're so close to a day off and Mondays are the worst (I remember reading somewhere that there are more heart attacks on Mondays than any other day of the week). So -- take Monday off and just kind of ease back into work. Seems wise.
Well -- my Bible reading was (no surprise): Genesis 2, Ezra 2, Matthew 2, and Acts 2. What struck me today was the bit from Peter's speech in Acts where he talks about women prophesying. I am on the conservative side of the spectrum when it comes to women in the church. Not as conservative as my denomination (and it's kind of starting to bug me, to be honest). We attend a PCA church (Presbyterian Church in America). In our denomination, women are fit for nothing except teaching other women and children. Period. I think it's very clear that women were deacons in the New Testament and I think it's wrong to deny women that office. The men in the denomination seem to think it's a "slippery slope" -- allow a woman to be a deacon and before you know it they'll be infiltrating the pulpit. And I agree with our denomination -- I don't think women are called to fill a pulpit. It's the whole Christ-is-head-of-the-church thing (and the picture of that is husbands as head of the marriage). The pastor is Christ's representative, filling that shepherding role until He returns, and I don't think there is a provision in Scripture for women doing that. And I need that -- I need to see where in Scripture that's allowed since it seems to me that God goes to great pains to give us examples.
ANYWAY -- in Peter's speech he talks about women prophesying in the last days (this is a recitation of Joel's prophecy), and it got me to wondering just where they're going to be doing their prophesying. Not in a PCA church, that's for sure. :)
Okay, I have to run to the grocery store to buy supper ingredients. I'll post about it all tonight.
More later...
Well -- my Bible reading was (no surprise): Genesis 2, Ezra 2, Matthew 2, and Acts 2. What struck me today was the bit from Peter's speech in Acts where he talks about women prophesying. I am on the conservative side of the spectrum when it comes to women in the church. Not as conservative as my denomination (and it's kind of starting to bug me, to be honest). We attend a PCA church (Presbyterian Church in America). In our denomination, women are fit for nothing except teaching other women and children. Period. I think it's very clear that women were deacons in the New Testament and I think it's wrong to deny women that office. The men in the denomination seem to think it's a "slippery slope" -- allow a woman to be a deacon and before you know it they'll be infiltrating the pulpit. And I agree with our denomination -- I don't think women are called to fill a pulpit. It's the whole Christ-is-head-of-the-church thing (and the picture of that is husbands as head of the marriage). The pastor is Christ's representative, filling that shepherding role until He returns, and I don't think there is a provision in Scripture for women doing that. And I need that -- I need to see where in Scripture that's allowed since it seems to me that God goes to great pains to give us examples.
ANYWAY -- in Peter's speech he talks about women prophesying in the last days (this is a recitation of Joel's prophecy), and it got me to wondering just where they're going to be doing their prophesying. Not in a PCA church, that's for sure. :)
Okay, I have to run to the grocery store to buy supper ingredients. I'll post about it all tonight.
More later...
Sunday, January 1, 2012
January, the First
Kael spent the night last night. Lord, thank you for Kael -- I did not know it was possible to love a child not my own in the way that I love him. He constantly delights me, constantly amazes me, constantly tugs at my heart. He has such good parents. Alisha has taught him so much and has been such an advocate for him. And Alex has an almost miraculous touch between hard and soft, discipline and affection. A child like Kael (well, most children) need that. I don't know how Alex is so good at it, but it's a blessing for me to see.
The folks who live behind us set off fireworks on all the typical occasions. Last night, starting around 10:30 or so, the fireworks started going off. It got so loud that I went in to check on Kael and he was standing in his bed peeking out between the slats of the wooden blinds. His window faced in the wrong direction, but he must have thought we were under attack or something. I took him, wrapped him in a big blanket, and went out onto the back porch to watch the show. He does not like loud noises, so his hands were over his ears all the time, but I held him tight and he never looked away. I've got to hand it to the neighbors -- they put on a fine show. The finale was really quite good.
Anyway, I didn't have a drop of alcohol last night, but I was sure dragging today. We forgot to get the car seat from Alex and Alisha, so though we'd planned to take Kael to church we had to pass. Not a bad deal on my part, although Kael does not really let me get a lot of rest. So after Alex picked up Kael and Bruce left for an afternoon ride, I took a nap. Not exactly hitting the ground running in 2012.
My culinary choices have not been anything to write home about today, either. I will not tell you how I ended 2011. Let's just say I did badly on just about every level. Breakfast this morning was oatmeal with raisins, cinnamon, and a bit of honey. I slept rather than eat lunch, but my early dinner was a can of (vegan) baked beans (I like Bush's Vegetarian) and two slices of five-grain bread. I will make a green smoothie later when I want something else.
Tomorrow, refreshed and rededicated, I'll hit the grocery store and the kitchen. I see a lot of soups and salads in our future.
There is a man named John Piper, the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church up in the Twin Cities, and I follow him on Facebook. I've never really been much for those read-the-Bible-in-a-year plans, but he suggested one yesterday, and timing being everything I bought it. (It's Robert Murray M'Cheyne's reading plan, for anyone who cares.) The plan gets you through the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice. Today's reading was Genesis 1, Ezra 1, Matthew 1, and Acts 1. Varied, for sure -- all so good. Later, when it's quieter, I will reread them. I always forget that Rahab is David's great-great grandmother. Always. Next time I read it I'll be surprised again. (I remember Ruth is David's great grandmother and Rahab was her mother-in-law. Maybe because I've written it I won't forget. Maybe.)
I will close this post with a link. This is a blog post by John Piper. He calls this a list of "Resolutions for Mental Health and for Staying Alive to God in Nature" made by his English literature professor when he was a student at Wheaton College. It's all SO GOOD. I want to reread this every day until I have it memorized. Here is my favorite right now: I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others. How wise is that? Here's the list: Clyde Kilby's Resolutions.
Happy 2012 everyone!!!
More later...
The folks who live behind us set off fireworks on all the typical occasions. Last night, starting around 10:30 or so, the fireworks started going off. It got so loud that I went in to check on Kael and he was standing in his bed peeking out between the slats of the wooden blinds. His window faced in the wrong direction, but he must have thought we were under attack or something. I took him, wrapped him in a big blanket, and went out onto the back porch to watch the show. He does not like loud noises, so his hands were over his ears all the time, but I held him tight and he never looked away. I've got to hand it to the neighbors -- they put on a fine show. The finale was really quite good.
Anyway, I didn't have a drop of alcohol last night, but I was sure dragging today. We forgot to get the car seat from Alex and Alisha, so though we'd planned to take Kael to church we had to pass. Not a bad deal on my part, although Kael does not really let me get a lot of rest. So after Alex picked up Kael and Bruce left for an afternoon ride, I took a nap. Not exactly hitting the ground running in 2012.
My culinary choices have not been anything to write home about today, either. I will not tell you how I ended 2011. Let's just say I did badly on just about every level. Breakfast this morning was oatmeal with raisins, cinnamon, and a bit of honey. I slept rather than eat lunch, but my early dinner was a can of (vegan) baked beans (I like Bush's Vegetarian) and two slices of five-grain bread. I will make a green smoothie later when I want something else.
Tomorrow, refreshed and rededicated, I'll hit the grocery store and the kitchen. I see a lot of soups and salads in our future.
There is a man named John Piper, the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church up in the Twin Cities, and I follow him on Facebook. I've never really been much for those read-the-Bible-in-a-year plans, but he suggested one yesterday, and timing being everything I bought it. (It's Robert Murray M'Cheyne's reading plan, for anyone who cares.) The plan gets you through the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice. Today's reading was Genesis 1, Ezra 1, Matthew 1, and Acts 1. Varied, for sure -- all so good. Later, when it's quieter, I will reread them. I always forget that Rahab is David's great-great grandmother. Always. Next time I read it I'll be surprised again. (I remember Ruth is David's great grandmother and Rahab was her mother-in-law. Maybe because I've written it I won't forget. Maybe.)
I will close this post with a link. This is a blog post by John Piper. He calls this a list of "Resolutions for Mental Health and for Staying Alive to God in Nature" made by his English literature professor when he was a student at Wheaton College. It's all SO GOOD. I want to reread this every day until I have it memorized. Here is my favorite right now: I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others. How wise is that? Here's the list: Clyde Kilby's Resolutions.
Happy 2012 everyone!!!
More later...
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