Easing towards vegan

2009 a new year, a new resolution

2009-01-04T18:52:00.003-05:00

Seems I've been writing this blog once a year. This year's resolution is to write more-- write as if my life depends on it, because it probably does. Nearly everything I do, except my artwork, happens through my writing-- emails, blogs, social-media-- keeping up with friends, doing marketing so I can earn a living, and researching things online to make life go more easily.

As I mentioned in my last post on taste buds, Betty wants meat, and because she has it, I tend to eat it too. But I've been cutting down on doing that recently. I've been able to provide her with meat, sometimes by cooking it for her, or by stocking up on frozen dinners. At the same time, I've been making soups, eating more lightly and feeding myself what I need to eat to be healthy and happy.

I lost some weight in the last year-- but not for a good reason. I had a hell year with trying to refinance my house and stay solvent. This meant that I often skimped on food for myself, while making sure that Betty and the animals had what they needed. When I saw that I was losing weight as a result, I paid more attention to what I was doing and tried to keep it up. Then a gold filling fell out of my mouth and I had trouble chewing. Lots of oatmeal, applesauce and soups kept me full, but I was still losing weight. Total weight loss has only been about 12 pounds, but it's progress.

Just today I was looking for information on how to cook steel-cut oats on the stove, instead of in the crockpot as my friend April taught me. I found a terrific post, and a number of commenters had terrific suggestions-- veganyumyum.com. What better way to begin the year than focusing on food that is delicious, healthy, extremely versatile, and good for the wallet!

Taste buds

2008-09-01T14:23:00.003-04:00

Can't believe it's been ten months since I posted. I post in my head pretty often. Getting thoughts from my head out onto the computer is the sticking point. There's always too much to do, not enough time.

For awhile I was doing pretty good, eating mostly vegan food. Now, I'm eating more dairy (because I miss my cheese) and more meat. Betty just saw the TV commercial (Wendy's I think), where the guy tells the girl he's dating that he's a meatatarian, and she loved it! Agreed! Living with that makes it hard to be vegan.

Something I saw on CNN recently taught me that our taste buds change because of medication and age. Mom always told me my tastes would change as I got older-- in a positive way. She didn't tell me they'd continue to change and lose sensation. Apparently, having less of a sense of taste and/or smell can lead to overeating because a person is craving TASTE (which could be part of my problem, since I have a hard of hearing nose). But this is probably also part of the reason Betty wants more meat than ever before in her life. She used to be a chicken/turkey lover. Now, she still likes that, but wants her beef-- much more than she did we we first got together 21 years ago. And Betty thinks a lot of my vegetarian food is tasteless.

So, I've gotta see what I can do to ramp up the taste, without resorting to hot spices that cause gastric distress.

Electric knife didn't do it's job

2007-11-25T02:54:00.000-05:00

Well, I made the Maple Orzo Squash, and it was great. But the electric knife didn't have the power to cut the butternut squash easily. I finally microwaved it for four minutes and it softened enough to cut. It was cool enough to de-seed easily and finish cooking in the oven.

A couple of days ago, I made Harvest Pot Pie, http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/9989?section=, and cubed the squash first. I pre-cooked it for four minutes, again, but still the knife had trouble, and the blades even slipped out. Oh well.

The one I want, that will probably work, is sonic, using sound waves to cut. But it's about $100 and I can't afford that just now. Looks great, though: http://www.sonicblade.com/ -- impressive, huh?

Electric knife arrived

2007-11-12T18:22:00.000-05:00

It's been on backorder for a couple of months, but my electric knife arrived today. Feels weird, since I'm eating less and less meat, but I didn't buy it for that. I bought it to cut open squashes before cooking them-- I just don't have the strength for it. So tonight, is Maple Orzo Squash for Betty, Carolyn and me.

You don't need an oven to cook a squash-- cook it like a baked potato in the microwave. Prick the squash so the steam can escape, and after it's cooked (fork goes in easily) you can cut it open and scrape it. But I want to see if the taste and texure is really different in the oven, and I want the burned edges look and taste. So, for the oven, have to cut it in half and seed it before it gets cooked.

taco salad

2007-03-25T16:59:00.000-04:00

Last night, Carolyn made a taco salad for dinner. It was great! She made a vegan chili that was really good all by itself. Then served it on top of salad, chips, and veggie cheese. I think all four of us had seconds. It was a good way for me to eat more salad than I normally do. Sadly, I didn't think to get the recipie from her, but it's starting to be Spring now, so the chili season is almost over.

Gotta get serious

2007-03-11T15:22:00.000-04:00

It is time to get serious about cutting meat and cheese out of our diets, at least 6 days out of the week!

Last week Betty was complaining about her big toe hurting her. She couldn't remember what she had done to it, but I suspected she dropped something on it. So I did all of the home care things I knew, and some others I looked up online-- soaked her foot in warm salt water, elevated it, used homeopathic remedy, got Dad's walker from the basement so she'd not have to put weight on it. Instead of getting better, she got worse.

So, on the second day (well, night, 1 am), called the advice nurse and because Betty's pain was severe, she told me to take her to the ER. I did that, and we were there till 4 am. The diagnosis was gout!

What my thin-air knowledge says is that means she's been eating too much meat. And, I'm partly right. The previous week Betty ate a lot of meat. Seems that as I try to cook more vegan foods, she reacts by eating more meat.

Well, I think the universe isn't only trying to tell Betty something, it's hitting her over the head with the message! She now has four things wrong with her body, all directly connected to food: gout, pre-diabetes, GERD (reflux disease), high cholesterol.

Good thing Betty likes my cooking! And good thing I've been cooking vegan food for years-- it's not entirely new to either of us. It's the focus that's new, and the elimination of other things we like that is hard.

Cheese woes

2007-02-13T16:25:00.000-05:00

I've said it before, I love cheese!! And I've been rediscovering soy cheese. It used to be awful, but now it's very satisfying. It works in recipies, and grilled cheese sandwiches. And for cream cheese, I've been buying Tofuti Better than Cream Cheese and it's good. It's NOT the same, but it has the same creamy quality that satifies.

Betty loves it, but she doesn't seem to know it. It's an action speaks louder than words situation. The last time I bought the Tofuti cc, she said, "you know that's not cream cheese right? I prefer cream cheese!" But the next time I looked, both tubs were gone, and I hadn't had any.

Today, though, it's starting to snow and the store we went to isn't good for tofu products. I just had a grilled cheese with Real American Cheese. And it was wonderful. Been years since I even had American cheese, and bought it on a whim. Guess my taste buds are lagging behind the changes in my mental attitudes.

New Year, still old habits

2007-01-28T14:18:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been three months since I've posted anything! I've written into this blog so many times in my head! Trouble is, I think of things when I'm not near my computer, and when I get up I'm onto something else and forgot what I wanted to blog. Old habit, not blogging. New habit? Thinking of food when I'm near the computer?

It boils down to the same thing-- having the right access. Being near the computer when I think of food is access. Having vegan products in my fridge and pantry is access. Luckily, some things are becoming easier to find in my local supermarkets, so that's better access. Vegan cheese is the big one for me. I LOVE CHEESE. And I tried vegan cheeses years ago and hated them. So, time has passed, I read that they are better now, and they are. They melt better and come in different flavors now, so they make satisfying grilled cheese sandwiches.

The brand my local store carries is Veggie Slices from Galaxy Nutritional Foods. Right on the package it says, "Melts Great!" I have learned to cook it more slowly and cover the pan to help it melt. But the old ones burned the bread before the cheese would even begin to melt! So it's a big improvement.

So my old habit is still easy grilled cheese sandwiches, or cheese and crackers most days. My new habit is buying the vegan cheese, cuz if the other isn't in my fridge, it's not on my plate.

only adds a year or two!?!

2006-10-27T01:10:00.000-04:00

I'm overweight. About 12 years ago I went on Jenny Craig diet, lost a lot of weight and kept it off for two years. Then I hit an emotional sandbar and started gaining weight again. I'd like to take it off, but it's such hard work, and I don't want to do the work. I'd rather try to eat more healthy food, go vegan, and let my weight take care of itself.

It's nearing Halloween, so there's a lot of "strange" stories available. I saw this one on Reuters: Web Life: Want to diary your death? Ask online. (LINK is below.) The article is about different websites that asks you questions, then predicts your date of death.

The funniest one was from evil.berzerker.net: "Nancy: At age 73 while showing your work at a major art gallery, you will be accosted and later slain by PETA activists." Nice to know I'm going to show my work at a major art gallery!

Estimates ranged from death at age 73 to 94. But, I was also doing an experiment. On several of the sites, I did it honestly first, and then put in that I was at my optimum weight. That was the only change I made. Seems that working to lose weight only added one year to my life at one site, 2 years at another one, and 3 years at a third site. Not a big difference for all that work -- especially if you're in your 90s and the quality of your life isn't what it used to be.

Guess longevity isn't a good reason to lose weight. Quality of life with whatever years I have left is more important -- less pain, less medicine, less hospitalization.

a nearly vegan day!

2006-10-27T00:32:00.001-04:00

Nearly vegan and mostly healthy. Pretty good for today. I even had soy latte, which I don't like as much as whole milk.

I didn't really feel like cooking, so took it easy but cooked anyway. I did one of my standbys-- baked potato with some sauted stuff on it. Usually I put onion, frozen peas, bacon if I have it, and some cheese or sourcream on the potatoes. Tonight I used mushrooms that were past their prime and needed to be used or thrown out, onions, frozen peas, kalamata olives, capers and ended the saute with sherry and some high heat to evaporate it.

It was delish! Betty loved it. I did find myself thinking that it would taste good with some feta cheese, or goat cheese on it, but to be honest, my tastebuds really didn't miss the dairy. Only my head did.

So what wasn't vegan? Store-bought cookies. At least it was in the baked goods, and not a meal dripping with cheese!

Definitely not VEGAN!

2006-10-26T15:15:00.000-04:00

Well, trying to be dairy-free only lasted 2 days. Then I added some feta cheese to my salad.

Interestingly, in trying to be dairy-free I went so far from vegan-- I ate meat, vegs, fruit, etc.... but it seems that the more I focused on trying not to eat cheese, the more meat I wanted. Guess this will be a long road for me!

Not very vegan, but trying for non-dairy today

2006-10-21T16:39:00.000-04:00

I haven't been focusing on food-- mostly because I've been busy and don't have the time.

Today, though, I'm trying to be non-dairy at least. I've been coughing a lot recently, and I know that dairy products increase mucus production. I'm addicted to cheese, though, and struggling to get through a day without it.

The last time I tried being non-dairy, I succeeded for about one week and it didn't make any difference. So I went back. Later, someone told me I didn't give it enough time.

So, like the AA Program says, "one day at a time," I'm trying to be non-dairy today.

Pronunciations

2006-09-08T02:22:00.000-04:00

Like a lot of orally trained deaf people, I want to know how to say things properly. I've always said vegan as "veg-an" with a hard g? As in vegetarion, not veg out. Carolyn Brick told me her son says "vee-gan". I finally looked it up.

At http://dictionary.reference.com/ I found:

veg‧an [vej-uhn; especially Brit. vee-guhn]

So I guess both are right.

Trying to accept the work

2006-09-04T02:24:00.000-04:00

One of the things that I have a hard time with is the work involved in becoming vegan. I can go across the street and get a pizza or cheesesteake or a hamburger, but I can't as easily go out and get a vegan dinner. And while I've always liked cooking, it is the results I really like, more than the actual standing and cooking in itself.

I've been in the habit of planning two, or maybe three, meals a week and just winging everything else. That's harder when you can't grab some deli turkey to make a sandwich, or whip up a cheese omlette. It's hard, too, when you need to satisfy two people's needs for satisfying food.

It's slow going to change my mental habits and accept the work involved in planning and cooking more meals each week. Making that committment is the only way this will work, though.

Partial success with Ginger Lemon Stir Fry

2006-09-02T14:28:00.000-04:00

Last night's dinner had a mixed outcome. I've been cooking a lot of beans lately, so to get away from that I chose to make "Ginger Lemon Stir Fry" from my favorite vegan cookbook, "The Vegan Gourmet." Larry and Carolyn loved it, but Betty didn't like it. The main veggie is supposed to be broccoli, but I prefer cauliflour so I bought a pre-cut mix of the two. Turns out Betty isn't crazy about either of them. The ginger-lemon sauce was great, though. I should try it again with completely different vegetables.

Dinner was rounded out with brown rice, a salad that Larry and Carolyn brought, and vegan cookies.

I made the cookies we had last night (more on those later) but today I was watching TV and found out about Allison's Gourmet (http://www.allisonsgourmet.com/), an online store that ships vegan cookies and browies from their bakery in South Carolina. They have a monthly club too.

Looks like there's a new version of my fav vegan cookbook:

Taking it easy

2006-09-01T18:18:00.000-04:00

I've been a vegetarian cook for about 30 years or more. I got started because my roommate in college, Marian, was vegetarian, and we all cooked for each other, so I had to learn if I wanted to feed her. That was back in 1973, and oh the experiments Marian and Mary had to put up with! I had a hard time finding recipies and I remember one tragic loaf -- lentil and oatmeal loaf -- from a meat cookbook that was trying to include some vegetarian info, of course.

I was vegetarian for about three years, but started eating meat again because it was too hard to go out to eat with friends, or go to their house and eat -- especially in Texas! Plus, I have to admit, I like the taste of meat. I just don't think about where it comes from or how it got to my mouth.

I never went back to cooking meat, my partner Betty has to do that. But I'll eat it, or put it in some dishes. But slowly over the years more and more meat made its way into my diet.

What's changed? My friend Larry Brick read a book, "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell and it scared him into a plant-based, low-fat, vegan diet. He and his wife, Carolyn, have eaten well for years, focusing on healthy food, but not vegetarian. This book impressed Larry so much that he's embraced vegan eating with enthusiasm, and they bought the book for me and Betty. Campbell wrote a very compelling book proving through study after study that a plant-based diet can reverse the causes of cancer, heart disease, dementia and probably alzheimers. So, I am easing my way back to how I was eating and cooking 30-some years ago.

Carolyn and Larry seem to have an easier time of it because they both like salads and raw fruits a lot more than Betty and I do. Betty isn't willing to cut out meat. But she read a few pages of "The China Study", the ones focusing on dementia and alz, and agreed to stop eating lunch meat every day. So I'll have to make her beloved turkey sandwiches an occasional part of our dinners when we're in the mood for simple soup and salad suppers. I don't want to give up cheese and eggs yet! But I'll work on reducing my dependence on them for quick meals.

While often through the years I've had vegetarian days or weeks -- no meat, poultry or seafood, but I haven't had a vegan day yet. Every day I've had some cheese, or yoghurt, or something! Today Larry and Carolyn are coming for dinner. When I woke up from an afternoon nap, I decided to have a vegan day. So I had a banana, and some tortilla chips with hummus instead of of sour cream, and some more granola with soy milk when I was still hungry.

Gotta get cooking for dinner!